Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-01-05

remember asking what they eat Anything
from piue-knot down, was the answer. as II
a pine-knot was their highest food. when
their stomachs are opened they are found
to contain pine-knots and black mud
from the bottoms Of the lakes. Tney
eat, however. many Of the best fish and
the largest turtles Of the lakes. The Floridians
DO not tn nix the gators dangerous. BOYS 60
into the lakes swimming where the alligator
lives, and are not disturbed One twelve feet
long is considered grown. Down in the Kissim-
NEE river they grow TO an enormous size,
having been seen eighteen feet long. Those
that are not accustomed TO man, am told.
are dangerous. heard of a young mau that
was bitten while swimming in the Kssimmee
and soon died. Their teeth occupy promi-
nent place in Florida jewelry. Some people
eat their tails. Just before a rain they are
heard to below somewhat like young calf.
AT night they frequently make a great splash
ing in the water"
Regarding the orange crop ia Florida, the
Fernandina Mirror says: "The orange crop of
the State, as far as we can learn, will fall much
short of the anticipations Of the sanguine esti-
mates made early in the season. a large part
OF the crop is probably already shipped, the
fear of a freeze and the loss from splitting
having induced the owders Of groves to gather
their fruit and send Ii 70 market as early as
possible. The loss from splitting, We learn, has
been very heavy on the river st. Johns. One
grower informs us that his loss was probably
Is per cent, and that some persons lost even
more. TIE orange CROP like all Others is sub
ject to vicissitudes and practical failures from
various causes. The rose colored statements
as to the invariai le abundant crops to be real
lied are Calculated to mislead and convey a
false impression. Providence has never yet
given us any product which is so certain as to
render US independent of that care on which
all things depend. We shall have frosts and
storms and blights and disease and insects and
short crops. But the average loss of the or
ange crops from such causes is probably much
less than befalls any other deso rption OF fruit.
1t may be that the further South the fruit is
grown the greater the security against cold,
but on the other hand the distance, risk,
loss, and expense OF reaching market is
greater, and probably it may be found that
d sease, nOxious insects and parasites are
nurtured to greater degree the warmer the
latitude. $50 far as our observation extends
we see no reason why the orange cannot be
prOftably cultivated in all parts of Florida
There Is probably no county in the State which
cannot exhibit fine groves ami successful re-
suits in orange growing OF course the liabili-
" to frOsts an to freezes is greater in Middle
Florida than in East Florida, but this may
only happen after considerable intervals Of
time Ia East Florida the trees have not been
killed by cold since 1885, forty-six years ago
and there is no record of so low a temperature
as then occurred. The severe cold OF 2Sth De-
cember, 1882 did not kill the orange trees any
where in Eat Florida, or cause the leaves to
drop, below the latitude Of 30 degrees"