The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-17
FLORIDA'S FRUIT TREES.
The Freeze Was Not a Blessing in Dis
guiSe.

Plowed and FertiliEed-Several New
Enterprises checked.-The Situation
Viewed BY the People Of the State.
Orlando. Fla. Jan. Elm his last pub
Ished letter. Bill ARP" relers 10 his visit
TO Sanford and to some Of The comments
he heard about the recent freeze. One
man said it was q good thing so far as
il killed out new groves. as there were
too many coming into bearing for profit
able orange culture.
Now, this is rather a harsh way 70
curtan over-production in any kind Of pro-
ducts Of the soil or the mandatory. 70
hail it through a general calamity 1t Is
true that many young Grange groves were
coming into bearing this year that are no"
dead beyond hope Of recovery yet /
should be very sorry to near any man re-
fer to the fact as a blessing 70 the owners
Of older bearing groves.
Again, there never were as many grape
fruit and lemon trees about TO come INTO
bearing. and they have ali been YES troyed-
Thousands Of choice budded lem oh trees
designed for the best marketable ifult
and seedless pomelo tor grape fruiD huf-
series have been cut down by the ire &C.
not 10 speak Of the thousands Of chp &c
budded orange trees destroyed. Their e
never was time when our fruit growers
were more active in the matter Of a variety
of the choicest kinds OF orange, lemon,
grape fruit, persimmon, guava and other
trees. In my own case. on a small area,
] have lost fifty valuable varieties Of these
different fruits, nearly all TO come into
bearing this year or next The question
of production does not enter into a
lose Of this kin1-rnn that strikes al
most deadly blow at Florida's progress IN
improving the quality OF her already
famous fruit products. II viii take many
years to repair the great loss IN this one
direction.
Another individual told Bill Arp" the
freeze was a blessing in disguise in that
il would rid the people Of dcngue fever,
which has resulted from an unusually
wet summer and fall and also clear the
scale from the fruit trees. Well, the
dengue fever may go away before the
breath Of the ice king but if 1t does
other and more deadly diseases are sure
to follow this unprepared-for severe
weather. I have not heard Of single
death from dengue fever alone, and only
two deaths where there was a complica-
ton of other diseases. And as for the
scale, it could not have better time TO
take possession of our trees than when
they are in a feeble condition and slowly
recovering from destructive freeze.
Healthy. growing trees, well cared for
and properly fortified, are seldom much
injured by the scale, which finds its chief
delight in neglected and half-starved
groves.
I have vet to meet the man who can
see any blessing In disguise in the re-
cent freeze. No section Of the state es-
capped its destructive raVages, all reports
to the contrary Notwithstanding. So
Slo4c Oh he mn ch-dIa
puted frost line" In some parts of the
state, as might have been expected in the
extreme southern regions. the damage
was not as great as in this vicinity or
Middle and Western Florida Still, all
marketable products We're more or less
injured over the whole state, ana While
some people suffered more than others in
individual losses, the entire population
will feel the financial pressure growing
out of the calamity. AS yet ] have met
only one man who "cussed' at the loss
of his share, and he was pretty hard hit
for a poor man. The mass of the orange
growers have resolved to pick the
fruit" again and bravely face the out
come of the freeze, whatever 1t may
prove to be in the end.
1t is too soon yet so far as the trees are
concerned, to tell what the final outcome
will be Some groves seem to have es-
capped permanent injury, while others nave
suffered severely The loss in young
budded trees, especially grape fruit and
lemons, is vastly larger than from all
previous freezes combined, as both these
fruits were being extensively propagated
for constantly expanding market. Al
ready old orange groves are being ploWed
! and fortified in the hope to stimulate
them into bearing good crop next sea-
son, when prices are expected 10 range
! higher This is based upon the damage
done to the new groves that We're just
! coming into bearing and the fact that
| many persons VIII be too poor to properly
/ fertilize their surviving bearing trees up
/ to a fruitful point. But there is danger
/ that future freeze this winter or in the
/ early spring may nip the forced growth
/ of the present stimulating process. We
/ are stiu having cold snaps here.
one cheering sign has shown up since
| the freeze, and that is the faith of new
/ Corners in the future of orange culture, as
/ manifested in their purchase of groves
| over which the frost king has blown
/ his icy breath. Several such transac-
! tons have been reported, while "aban-
/ doned" groves are not being mentioned.
! 1t is true that a serious setback has been
| given to several new enterprises. The old
/ cassava boom was again being revived,
4 while the castor bean industry was just
/ establishing itself near this city in an eX-
detrimental farm. OF course the trees are
! killed, as are many nber plants That were
! being experimental on in various parts of
| the state. The palmetto and Spanish
! bayonet are about the only ones to escape,
and the more tender of the latter have
/ been frosted. As one swallow does not
make a spring, so an occasional freeze
may not wholly paralyze these newly es-
/ tablished and once hopeful industries.
Fortunately for the pickers, hands, and
| packers, men greatly needing daily en-
! ployment. there has been a steady de-
mand for oranges since the freeze. and
while a great army of these workers has
been thrown out of what seemed a sure
! winters job, many hundreds have found
! profitable employment up to the present
/ time and this unexpected work has kept
/ them from serious trouble financially. II
has also helped the shippers and mer-
chants as the money came from the north
and west TO pay all the bills, including
! freight. One singular feature of this bust
ness is the fact that only a few groves
! are included in the shipments. Some of
! our largest and best groves have not ship
/ ped a single box since the freeze. This
/ does not, however. apply to grape fruit,
/ which was not so badly injured. being less
| ripe, and which is still being shipped TO the
/ northern markets in response to tele-