Milford chronicle., 1895-01-11
The Fatal Cold in Florida.

BLooMLAND, FLA, Jan. Amy stranger
who may have struck Florida within the
past two or three days might well have
asked himself if he hadn't missed counec-
tion ana landed IN Manitoba. We have been
frozen out here in this sunny lsnd-frozen
with a vengeance. The wires haye, e,no doubt,
told you the story in general way before
this, but one must be on the ground to ap'
preciate the extent and meaning of this cold
wave gone astray.
All Florida went to bed IN apprehension
last Thursday night, to awake Friday morn
ing millions of dollars poorer From the
meagre information at hand at this writing
learn that the whole ungathered orange
crop, aggregating probably 100000 boxes
is totally gone, and that the trees themselves,
in many instances, have been killed outright
or damaged beyond recovery. If the freeze
is as general as reported, the pineapple plan
tations of the extreme southeastern and
southwestern counties may be added to the
disastrous total. Nothing approaching it has
been kuown hereabout since the memorable
freeze Of 1886.
lust think of there at Eusts, half way
down the Peninsula, the thermometer went
down to I8o on Friday night and to az on
Saturday night And there was ice an inch
thick in tubs aud water barrels and grass
margining lake shores was filed with icicles
that did not thaw out till noon. But for the
high wind there would have been ice on the
lakes themselyes-lakes fringed with groves
laden with ripeued, yellow oranges, frozen
hard as balls of wood.
In this section very little of the orange
crop had been picked, the growers generally
preferring to hold their fruit fol better prices
Had the weather gone on as usual much
of this fruit would have been left on the trees
till March or April. In past winters there
has been little risk, this far south, in thns
holding oranges for the spring market, but
this time the venture has Involved the total
destruction Of this years crop at least. How
| far the trees have been affected remains 10
be seen, but it is apparent to every one that
the average orange tree is not built to stand
such blast and come through unscathed.
Some growers here entertain hopes that the
trees will escape with the loss Of their ten
derer twigs; others are apPrehensiye that
the freeze will unfit them for bearing for q
year or more, knocking out next years crop
as well as this, If it has uot already, as IN
1886, killed many Of the trees down TO the
ground.
| Delaware but worse, not only as TO the amount
involved, but more especially because 50
many Floridians are orange growers exelu
sivelv, and when that crop is gone all !:
gone. Hundreds raise practically nothing
else, not even potatoes for their own tables
nor proveuder for their horses.
In my own little garden have had un
pleasant, but IN some degree instructive, oP
portunity to observe the effect of the freezS
on vegetables Friday night killed radishes,
beans, tomatoes and egg plants, generally
and badly nipped lettuce aud peas. Saturday
night finished the lettuce and knocked ou
most Of my cabbage plants. Strangely
enough a few tomato plants, perhaps one ou
of 6fty survived both frosts, as did also
larger proportion of cabbage and egg plants
Some Of the peas also seem TO be still aliv'
but rather shakY. Young onions appear t'
have largely escaped, wkile my strawberrie
do not look any the worse for the ordeal A.
for my little grove, pessimistic ueighoor
one of those Jobs comforter fellows mai
meets in every community, kindly remarket
yesterday that he wouldn't give two cent
! for the trees. But they are not for sale a
that price just yet,-JUDGE in Every EVeH
ing.