Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-02-04
TUESDAY. FEsRUARY 4, 1880.
Es There Amy Danger of a Glut I'm
orange PrOaNcIiOm.

Es There Any Danger of a Glut Ina
orange Production.
Seventeen or eighteen years ago the
orange producer of Los Angeles found
himself with limited market but with a
still more limited production. The orange
orchards of this county were restricted in
number AS were those Of San Bernardino
county. The market was confined to
San Francisco and the Pacific Coast. At
that time it was supposed that the city
of the Golden Gate could perhaps yesrly
absorb five million oranges from the
Southern counties, in addition to those
which reached that market from Tahiti
and South and Central America,
The history of the early culture of the
orange in Southern California is quite pc
culiar. Old John Wolfskill, of happy
memory, was the great apostle of this
now powerful and prosperous industry.
The tradition runs that cargo of Tahiti
oranges, in rotten state, put into San
Pedro, and that Mr.. Wolfskill thought
that it would be happy thought to plant
some of the seeds. The result was the
superb Wolfskill orange grove, which
stood where the Arcade Depot of the
Southern Pacific Railway now stands.
Eighteen years ago orange orchards
planted by Don Benito Wilson, IL. Rose
and others, ornamented the San Gabriel
valley. There we're quite a number
of orchards in the San Bsrnardino valley,
principally in cid San Bernardino and
on adjoining ranches, such as the Van
Leuven, the Barton, etc., that contributed
to the orange supply distributed from
Southern California over the Pacific
Coast. But San Bsrnardino county, as
an orange producer, at that time had not
really begun to exist. Riverside, as late
as the spring of 1878, was mere sheep
range, which was being licked
into shape by Judge North. In
April of that year there were only
half dozen houses on the splendid
expanse which now comprises Riverside,
Arlington and all the adjoining settle
ments. All that superb development,
the cap-sheaf of which is the new,
promising and exquisite Rsdlands, at
the time which we make our standard
OF departure, had not even been dreamed
of in the widest imaginings of the SAN
guine. Ia fact, Redlands is a creation
OF the last four or five years-a creation
30 pregnant of profit and beauty, that
limits can scarcely be set to the futu q
OF this section, in view of the instant
accomplishment of such resplendent
possibilities.
This brief hint of the development OF
the orange in Los Angeles naturally loads
up to the inquiry, is it possible to
overdo the culture of the orange; that is
to say, is it possible to overstock the
market?
In such an inquiry regard should be
had to the statistics of European coun-
tries. OF course, the temptation is
natural to suppose that the consumption
of the citrus fruits in the United States
might furnish something like standard
to gauge the worlds markets. This is
highly absurd. A table of the exports of
oranges FROM the three leading orange
shipping ports of Italy, Naples, Messina
and Palermo, show that, for a period of
ten years, the average yearly shipments
of oranges froaa these three ports alone
amounted in value to $25, 100000.
Southern California is shut out from
no market to which the Italian orange
has access, and the first quality OF the
Southern California oranges are ineom.
parably ahead OF their Italian rival. The
extent of country which can produce cit
rus fruits in perfection is limited. iIt
embraces, in the u United States, narrow
strip in Florida, Louisiana and Southern
California. la both the former States
the region will be steadily curtailed be.
cause, every seven or eight years, will
come along severe time OF frosts, which
will not only kill the fruit but the trees
as well. This experience has already
nearly ended orangeculture in Louisiana.
In 1885 it killed half the oraRge orchards
OF Florida. This year it has annihilated
orange growing in tks Northern Citrus
Belt of California.
1t is no exagggasration to ssy that our
orange growers will be left in a practically
'anulsputed possession of the field, with
the markets of the United States and the
world to stimulate their energies. No
fairer prospect ever opened before the
seeker after gold. Gold mines are poor in
deed in comparison to the argosiee of
wealth that lay before the men who shall
exploit this unlimited market of all ma.
tions and climes.
Some OF the Things Huretng Us.