The Columbus journal., 1886-11-24

- tfS CtdnS'EtOW nr 49, ltS -.
P%eriiocptal ulrSer, il ;a~s.n.a:ncd FOR
the b"neii, OF the pra:ticu growers Of
citrus fruits. mos ri whom I've in Cal
Hernia and Florida. Il every person
who wants an orange tree f,v \ hot
house ornament was 10 he .ratitird, the
depS tment would have To greatly en-
large its :aci'i'iss for .rowinw plants.
The oh &C; is t., iair,du.o tbs Oest Va
riet;es of oranges that grow in any part
o the worl:i no the FLORIDA aud Cali
fOrnia orciar,is.
iiunn ng dow the III .iiin Of the hot
house there j. II ie'I % cath. rrohab!"
four feet wide. in winch III. .i Ma 20
trees are grow ~. The. may IN.
twenty or more Of these i,r-s, and most
Of them are fifteen Or tw.n'y - y old.
Constant prun n and ~c'i..in, has pre-
vented t EN- f:"m < owing to the usual
size. and the trunk Of the l,rees! is not
more than two in hes and q haf in di-
ameter. These trees rc:r.s.nt the best
varieties Ot Orange, ari unce a year
they bear fruit. whic', ntte-t. the excel
lsEce Of the family Of which each IN
belongs. The ~criptuIa: maxim. 'Ev-
cry tree is knows by ia ri t." is the law
Of this experiment al arden. and
such As do no: bear Soh fruit are
sp edilv torl III by the roots. In the
sum 4 or the rOO; is taken from the hot
house. and ma ure is allowed to have
Us own way. As soon rs frost is threat
ened the glass rOnf is put back in it,
place. and i any b an hes have puslei
t er way above tn. r:dg.p"le they are
cut Oh. 90 that no tree ever gets to he
T.,.r than four re ! fee, high. Orange
tees in Florida grow 10 a height Ut
forty feet in twenty-five years. One
tree has ben known to produce y crop
of 1919 - oranges in a single season.
The price Of Oran. es Mt the orchards
Il about ne cen, ani,.c So that this
Tree r.suyhi it, i.wncr $40 year. Not
many trees are 50 prolific. but Al Or
angr grove within ea~. reach Of rail-
road tran pU-. ati"n is y very In .iai;vc
i!.s,t. o; property.
Although the Oraaye is more apt to
lie ..Uiucr rO, the see / he Instructive
..iia ii cS Of tn. v.rieit 10 which Il be-
Ion: - han any other ;ra t. sometime.
it does not hence The department does
not risk the Z. ON NJ Ut guO,: oranges
from the seed Ali the little trees
are gratis from the big tree. in he hot
house. :eedS are put in pots. and
when the plant that springs the efrom
gels large enough y shoot from the b."
t:re ! 20 fled into l.. When ii arrives
= ie.r rg ace it produces the fruit Of the
big tree. The . grated plants grow
very slowly in pots. and ut three years
o. age they are nothing Tut switches.
When planted out in suitable soil they
grow much more rapidly, but at best
the o! anYe tree is of very slow VIII.
II is this circumstance that wrecks
the prospects of SO many people who
20 o Florida expecting to make MONEY
from an orange orchard. After they
plant their orchard they must wait
about twelve years before it comes into
goo! bearing. II i. Tot >urpri-in" that
ti,oS.. who ar past III ddle | lie get ii,.d
wait n for \ return tor their invrs.-
ment. Aged people should onlv plas.
orange g;ov 5 for their chi rem. lii.
trees are hard. and live = long time. II
is said tina! there are orange ir IS ST.!
producing frut that are Over .A1 eals
old. This may be All exaggeration. II
v utii. however, whose parents have
planted All orange orchard for him is
likely to continue 10 ~ of the nut
through his VIII lie life. even ii il bc pro
longed through the four years
allotted to man.
There IS All impression in the North
that Florida produces y 'ariety Of
oranges which differs from the :e>
If other cOu tries. When people ask
for Florida oranges. and are given
oranges that We're grown in Lat Stale.
they are satisfied. and il the fruit turns
out to be- 80 T. Or wood. in its structure
they presume that it has BEEN pulled
before il WAS ipe. anil make no COM
plant about il. Now ~ 4 ma ter of
fact. the.e y almost rs any varie, les
Of oranges ~ OF apples. and prett.
nearly all tn" varieties are grown in
lorida. some are delicious ard some
are very bad. The s%paniaris Lroi.ht
the orange to Florida more than ;; -
years 40. and probably for 40 wears
nothing was done I, improve the sock.
| There is I great tendency in al traits
"; e .ruwn from he seed to run back
into WI mess. AMI the Hlcrida Ola.,ge
su cred greatly from this deterioration.
| The BIRDS carried the seeds abO t. and
the wild. sour oranges that grow in the
swampS sse the l'gitima'e descendants
vi the good orangeI OF u couple o; ceA
tur. ss ayo. \ good many sour aud
bitter oranges Of The Od stoc are still!
sent 10 the North. and iin,i pur, haser
because they come f:Om Flor ia.
When Mr.. William Saunders. up.rin
tendent Ut Gardens and rOnn.is Oi til .
| Agricultural J apartment. Was on the
west coast Of Florida. last wint.r u
year. he WAS told st lamps that the
very best oranges grew at Manitee.
When the Loaf arrived at Man;tee .
man came On board with u baske, Of
oranges. and Mr.. aunjers bought y
dozen. After tasting four or i've. and
finding them bitter and sOur. h- threw
| them all into the water. The huckster
had evidently got hold Of = very bad
variety OF the native range The best
oranges that grow in Florida have been
i~nlro.iu. cd there since the war,
The Agricultural department gets
Oranye trees from all the Orang--grOw-
ing countries in the world, and plOpa-
gates those that seem IL bear COOL
fruit. The best orange tree in the b t.
house came from Bahia, Brazil. III.
iruit is medium sized. tbin-skinned, Of
| yOlucn cOiOT, anu uci!clOuS HaSOT.
Many hundred shoots from this tire.
have b c grated into plants aud sent
to california and florida. and from
these whole orchards have been pro-
ducsd BY budding and grating. In
I aliforaia particularly this orange has
obtained the highest reputation. and il
has taken the premium at all the fairs
where citrus fruits nave been exhibited.
Another very SO-d orange is the st.
Michael'S, 4 variety that is highly
priced in ! ONION. 1t seems to grow
better in Florida than in the tr pics.
The florida winter gives the rest that
oil fruit trees ought to have. iy far
The larger number of the orange trees
aud plants in the collection of the Ag-
%ricultursi Department were obtained in
Italy.
The orange takes nearly tho whole
year to mature. The trees blossom in
February. and the pulling of the fruit
begirs in November and continues