Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-29
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA.

SOUTHERN CALlFUhNlA AND rLUhlDAs
In Is to be hoped that the special work
OF the census bureau has been done with
greater accuracy and completeness than
much OF the other detail of that depart
ment. 1t was placed under the charge OF
Mr.. J. III. Hale, and he has accumulated
a great mass of statistics. The results
are contained in Census Bulletin 161.
1t shows that California is away behind
Florida in the number OF bearing trees
OF the citrus family. This is not to be
wondered at in view of the fact that
orange culture was stimulated in the
Flower state by her nearness to an un-
limited market in New York and the
other eastern cities, while the Southern
California orange grower was compelled
to await the completion of the trans
continental railways for q market
Though Florida leads us just now, it
will not be long before we shall over
take and pass her. At present Florida
has 10, l33, ,815 bearing orange trees, as
against 3, 81, ,591 in California. However,
we have in this state 1, ,45O,224 almond,
5S0, ,272 English walnut and 607 ,377 olive
trees, as against none in Florida,
which state leads US in lemons.
having 3S6,636 to our 279,371 !;
in lines, having 54,054 to our 9ls9; in
pomelos. having IA, ,403 to our 1743, and
in citrons, having 10,139 to our S20S.
We would wish to say, en- passant, that
we believe the statement of the num-
ber Of lime trees in California is a
ridiculous underestimate. Florida has
1,322, ZIG cocoanut trees, as against none
in California, and is credited with q, :
6O5, 900 pine apple plants, as against
l45 900 in the Golden state. The dis
parity in bananas is also great, Florida
having hundred to our one.
The subject is Of such absorbing in
terest that we transc1ibe literally from
Mr. Hale's report, and present there
with sn instructive table. He says:
In all these investigations it has been
found that the great march of progress
moving in other lines of industry has
not left these behind; in fact, go rapid
is now the increase in citrus fruit
planting, and go favorable are the con-
ditions, especially lin California, that
there are many well informed in the
buslness who believe that within
another decade the United States will
mot only produce its full supply OF citrus
fruits, but also export them quite
largely.
The acreage of oranges, as a matter Of
course, exceeds that of all the other
products, yet the possibilities of pineap-
pie culture on the southeast coast OF
Florida, and for 100 miles north of Key
West, on the Gulf coast, are such as to
give promise of very great and profita-
BILE extension of the culture of this de-
ieious fruit.
Pecan culture in Northern'Florida and
all the Gulf states has apparently just
begun to develop some of its wonderful
possibilities as reliable and profitable
crop, while there is every reason to be.
lieve that within few years the figs,
olives, Madeira nuts and lemons of
California will rival in value her won
drous crops of oranges; and yet COM
parison OF the tables of bearing and non
bearing trees will chow three times as
many non. bearing as bearing orange
trees In the census year, and as planting
has been going on more rapidly than
Rver since the census was taken, the
number of orange trees now growing in
California must be nearly double that
'of eighteen months ago, all of which
means an output of at least 10000, 900
boxes OF oranges from California before
the end of the present century.
The Florida figures, showing q still
greater proportion of non bearing to
bearing trees than do those of Caliior-
MIA, are somewhat misleading, if from
them is made the deduction that there
is q greater increase Of planting in
Florida than in California, for, as matter
Of fact, it is just the reverse. For few
years previous to the hard freeze of 1886,
which did such great injury to the or
ange groves of Florida, there was an
enormous planting of young orange
trees, while since that time there has
been very little Therefore, most of the
non-bearing trees reported have been
planted five or more years, while the re-
verse is true of California. Most of the
orange trees in that state reported as
non-bearing have been planted since
18S6, and very many of them during the
eensus year.
Arlzuna makes quite a showing of
young orange trees, the mere beginning
of new industry there, where soil and
climate seem we'll adapted to the pey-
feet development of citrus fruits, and
with an abundance of water for irriga-
'tion the development is likely to be
rapid. In November, 1890, the special
agent found in the Salt River valley pre-
parati0nB being made to plant more
Than 1000 acres of oranges alone