The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-05
THE ORANGES OF JAMAICA.
NO GROVES IN THE SENSE OF THE
WORD As USED IN FLORIDA.

HS heHa q tue tfult NroWS Wild
Increased Expectations Due to the
Iavases of Frost OF The Trees of
Groves In Florida.
Kingston Cor. New York Times.
In the month of February. 1894, the is
land Of Jamaica exported lC4sOO oranges.
In the month Of February Of this year
the exports of this fruit amounted 20
5,752150. In February of last year ia
maica's great competitor in the orange
trade, Florida, enjoyed ordinary weather.
This year found Florida ice-bound or
frostbltten. 1t was Jamaica's opportun-
ity, the greaes. it has even had. and how
well it has improved it the foregoing fig
ures show.
/ Since the first fortnight Of last month
when the full extent of the damage done
by frost in Florida, not only to the fruit
Itself, but to the trees, began to be real
lied, business men in Jamaica, the gov
eminent, and United States Consul Eek
ford, have been besleged by letters from
! Florida asking questions concerning
| orange growing in this island. These let
| ters have stated that the Florida groves
are ruined, and that it will be several
years before the new trees in that state
can be expected to bear. What can ia
maica do to supply the market? What can
orange groves be bought for? What does
land suited to orange growing cost?
These seem simple questions to ans
wer. and they would be in the United
States or in any country where accurate
/ information is readily obtainable; but a
| six weeks stay on this island has led me
/ to doubt IL there are two men in jamaica
/ who VIII agree on any subject on the face
| of the earth. a somewhat prolonged eS-
/ periepce wandering up and down this
world Seeking knowledge of various kinds
accounts for naught in this part of the
dominion of the Queen of Great Britain
! and Ireland and Empress of India. How
ever, the results of some conversation l
had yesterday and to-day with certain
gentlemen who ought to be, and l think
are, well-informed are here set down.
What Jamaica can do to fill the gap
made by the frost I'm Florida is indicated
by the figures quoted. Yet 1t could have
| done a great deal more When dispatches
| from New York reported a steady de-
| mand for jamaica oranges, the fruit was
| said to be rotting on the trees in the
| Parish of Manchester, from which The
Few of the oranges shipped from Jamai-
ca are sized. Ii is doubted here If those
shipped to New York were not so care
lessly picked, handled, and packed that
many of them arrived there damaged.
New York fruit merchants know more
about that than we do here at presnt.
There is a. cable connecting Jamaica
with the outside world, and one OF the
things the cable company is obliged to
do in return for a subsidy it gets from The
colony is to furnish daily a certain num-
Der of words of what purports to be news.
This news Is sent to every telegraph Of
fice on the island and there posted for the
benefit of whomsoever cares to read, or
can read. Certainly within three days af-
ter the blizzard swept down on Florida
its disastrous effects were known all over
this island.
So far as can be learned, no prompt ef-
fort was made to take advantage of the
calamity in Florida. BY and by after cof-
fee and late breakfast so to speak, the
men with oranges on their trees discover
ed that they had oranges 10 sell. More
reflection satisfied them that, having or
anges to sell, it would be a good thing to
sell them.
with these profound problems out of
the way, the oranges were sent forward
rushed forward" would be little too
strong a term to apply 10 business ven
lures in Jamaica. But the oranges came
Off the hsllsides and out of the valleys.
They went north IN tremendous quanti-
ties Just a week ago the cable brought
word to shippers here that the market in
New York was overstocked. If the rush
had been a steady flow. beginning the mo-
ment the frost in Florida became known,
there need have been no glut. This is the
opinion of Kingston business men, many
OF whom seem to recognize the peculiar
weaknesses@f the methods of doing bust
ness here. but apparently have not the
desire or the energy to do things differ
entity.
You arc slow here" said an American
when asked by Kingston merchant what
he thought Of Jamaica, "dreadfuuy slow. .
81 know it, said the Jamaican. placid
~ what we want hele is American
money. and enterprise and push"
Which is as true as the truest kind
of Gospel.
But this fact should be borne in mind.
and ft IS Of the utmost Importance 10
orange growers who are hoping to buy
or lease groves here. Orange growing In
Jamaica is not business In itself. II is
incidental to other labor. and not counted
as a specially profitable Industry Strictly
speaking, there g not an orange grove.
as the Florida grower understands the
w0id grove. on the island of Jamaica.
/ Oranges grow Wild here. AS nearly as /
can learn, the only cultivated orange trees
OF this island are owned by !. =. Clark.
Tho cusios OF Manchester, and ] was told
last night by an officer Of the colonial
Z government whose duties make him ia
nlliar Will the agriculture OF The colony.
that abe cultivated trees bad not done as
well as the wild ones
The owner ~ q farm o. property o. say.
100 acres, no more thinks % putting il
all INTO oranges. % relying exclusively on
/ thlf fruit, thuu H market gardener al
Nsf q "a.