The herald., 1895-03-18
Full Damage to the Oranges
Now Revealed
JACK FROST'S HEAVY HAND
All the Industries Suffer From the
Severe Blight
Farmers Will Appeal for ReIiefby Asking Inn
munity From Taxation for the
Next Year

Jacksonville, Fla, March 2.-Flofida is
now facing the most forbiddlng future
that has confronted her since the landing
of Ponce de Leon in search of the tabled
fountain of ct .rnal youth. The quest OF
the Spanish adventurer was vain, ana
vain has been the quest OF the latter-day
adventures who have sought not YOUTH
but fortune, in Florida fruit and veget-
ables. For no fortunes have been found
an even that which was invested IN the
hope of rich returns, has been swept
away by the two billiards which recently
ragged in the state in the last days OF
December and in the early part OF tebru-
ary. Probably the records OF no state VIII
show so much sudden and complete de-
struction as was wrought in Florida by
those two cold waves.
On December %, 1894, the outlook for
the state was very bright. The orange
groves had fruited more generously than
in years. Already the growers had
marketed about 5000, 900 boxes oi oranges
at remunerative prices, besides lemons,
lines, bananas and other tropical fruits.
There were still >, 500 600 boxes of oranges,
and there were hundreds of acres III veg
tables. which gave promise OF soon being
ready for the Northern markets. when
the morning of December Nth uawneu
all this had been swept away. The mer-
curry had fallen below the freezing point
throughout the state on the nis of the
2sth, and the fruit and vegetable growers
arose on the Doth to tndeoranges frozen
solid and the groves and truck farms look
ing as though they had been swept by
fire In a few hours fruit worth several
millions of dollars had been turned to ice.
The owners of orange groves were stag
gered by this stupenduous loss, but they
did not despair. When the mercury be-
gins to race downwards the first thought
of your thorough ored orange grower Is
not of the fruit on the tree. but OF the
tree itself. Ii the tree escapes injury he
can view with fair degree of equanlmlty
the spectacle of yellowed leaves and
oranges turned to golden balls OF ice. So.
after the Decembe freeze the growers be-
gan an examination of their groves ana
the result was an announcement that the
trees were not MORALLY hurt, and would
yield probably half a crop OF oranges
this year. They admitted that the young
budded groves Just coming into bearing
were probably killed, but assumed that
nearly all of the old seeding groves had
escaped without serious injury This i'm
munity of the old groves during the De-
cember freeze was due to the condition OF
the trees. Then they were dormant the
sap had not begun to run, they were pro-
tected by foliage, and, in fact, were in
lust the StaUe 10 nlOSU successfully reSlSJ
an attack of cold.
Developments during January seemed
to confirm the assertion of the orange
growers that the December freeze had not
materially injured the old trees. The
weather that followed the Christmas
bli zzard was exceptionally favorable, and
soon the growers began to report that the
trees were shedding the leaves that had
been blighted and were putting forth new
growth. Down on the Halifax and Indian
rivers where are located many large
groves, famous for the lusciousness of
their fruit the trees in the latter part of
January were reported in bloom. And so
by the first week in February the orange
growers of Florida were reasonably cheer
full, in spite of the fact that millions of
oranges had been frozen solid in Deem
Der and rendered unmarketable. On Feb
ruary 18th everything seemed to point to
an orange crop of 10000 boxes, which,
because of its shortness would enrich
the growers probably as much as full
frutage.
But this cheerful state of mind of the
orange growers was destined to be sue
ceeded by a condition of hopelessness Dor
dering on despair. For on February Sth
freezing point throughout the entire state
and remained below for three days. And
since this second freeze no orange grower
claims that there will be a crop of fruit in
Florida this year. The consensus of opin-
ion is tha' the last freeze was fatal and
that it will be years before the trees re-
cover from the blow.
A trip through the great orange section
of the state will convince the most hope
full that the great majority OF the trees
are either killed to the ground or so in
jured as to be incapable of producing
crop. The growers do not deny it. They
all say that there will be no crop this
and only the most omit site hone
for crop next year. The general opinion
is that there will not be full crop OF
oranges in Florida before 1897. The great
groves of Marion, Orange, Lake and DE
Soto counties have been recently visited
and carefully examined. In every grove
the majority of the trees have been split
to the ground and the sap is eXuding.
Men who have been growing oranges all
their lives say that when the sap runs
from tree after freeze its doom is
sealed. OF course here and there a grove
is found which. because of its protected
situation, largely escaped damage. But
such groves are so few as to be hardly
worth mention in summing up the work
of the freeze.
Several weeks have elapsed since the
cold wave weeks of the most favor
able weather-and no signs of life have
been shown by the great ma jority Of the
groves Ordinarily at this season of the
year an orange grove is the most de-
lghtfu spot, for the trees are CARRIED in
An emerald coat with snowy blossoms
for ornaments, But now the groves APP
pear as black and bare as a Northern
forest in midwinter. TO Judge by their
appearance the trees are only fit for fire
wood and already the sound of the AK is
heard in many groves.
At present Florida orange groves rep
resent absolutely no value. They can not
be sold, for everybody believes that the
trees are dead or so injured as to be in
capable of producing fruit. No bank
would loan money on a grove, for fire.
wood is considered poor collateral. The
following incident illustrates this point:
inst before the freeze grower in Orange
county sold grove for $4,000, receiving
half in cash and Il note Tor the remainder.
The freeze came and the purchaser saw
his first $4,000 turned to icicles and a note
for $4,000 still due on the icicles. lie saw
the former owner and proposed a com
promise He offered to let the former
owner keep the $4,000 already paid and the
grove if he would surrender the note Tor
$4,000. This offer was refused. Then the
new owner paid $500 more and they
called it square.
AS with the orange so with the lemon
groves. In the last few years much at
tention has been devoted to lemon grow
ing and there were many large groves III
the southern part of the state. This crop
had become a large source of revenue.
Last wear about 200, 600 boxes of lemons
were shipped and they brought fancy