The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-02-12

ldtlOn. lie generously WISHES tha1
two-thirds of his own trees may be
destroyed if all others interested
might suffer likewise. Yet if our
banker would reason on this subject
as clearly as he does in his own bus
mess, he must admit that that we
should get rid of surplus production
by finding other outlets and mar
kets, not by reducing the supply.
Let u. suppose that bearing trees in
Florida have the same ratio to
the non-bearing rs in other coun-
tries. In the season OF 1s64-5 there
were shipped from Florida little
over 100000 boxes of orangee.
Counting 100 TO the box we have
for that season 100000 of or
anges. During the season of 1854
(official report not at hand) the port
of New York received from foreign
countries 31O,O0o,0oo. If We only
take it for granted that the other
ports taken together received as
many rs New York, we will see
that the American people consumed
at least 100000, 900 of oranges in
addition to ali that Florida could
furnish. Now if the proportion of
bearing to bearing trees in 9th
er countries will hold good as we
know it is in Florida, then the num-
Der in foreign countries must exceed
those in our state rs over four to one.
But this is not all by long odds.
France, England, Germany, Italy,
Spain, Austria, and Russia are rich
and consume large quantities of for
eIgn oranges Suppose all these on
ly consume rs many as we do, do
mestic and foreign, and the number
of bearing trees in other countries
will be raised to n ratio Of over
nine to one as compared with those
in this state. Is not Mr.. Charles St.
John little wild in his estimate?
Then as to reproduction. Is it
not folly to dread this bugbear when
we consume OF foreign oranges en-
tered at the port of New York alone
double the number of oranges ship
ped from this entire state? 1t is
conceded that in point of quality
our oranges are so much superior
that will easily replace any other
when the conditions are equal.
Never until we have driven the for
eign fruits from our own markets
need we fear over-produstion and
then like Alexander we can seek
new worlds to conquer.
The low prices we sometimes re-
cieve is not due to surplus of prod
uct, but the very crude and imper-
feet manner in which the crop is
placed on the market. The orange
grower who has little To do at pres
enr must hereafter study chow to
market" his fruit, and some plan
must be discovered whereby the
present uasteful mode can be set
aside for one that Will give him
! more general satisfaction. 1t is
absurd to send fruits to market
where there is no demand, and still
more absurd 10 ignore, as we have
hitherto done, all common sense
| rules that should prevail in market
ing so large and valuable 4 crop.
Senator MeNIeekin has already made
some valuable suggestios, and it is a
matter of auxiou. thought with all
of US.
| 1t has been calculated that the to-
tai los. by the freeze in the orange
| belt alone will reach two million dol
lars. Now one-half of that will COW
er the loss of the crop, and We, rs
yet, know of very little loss of nur-
sery stock. For in 1884 100000
600 foreign oranges were received
at the port of New York a; Il cost
to importers with customs duly ad-
den of S2,O0O,oOO. Deducting from
our crop of this year the oranges
shipped before the freeze, those re-
manning marketable on the trees and
the number in store, and it is entire
ly within bounds to say that not one
half of the yield was ruined. This
would be $4,000, 900. Now suppose
we double the value of the foreign