Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-02-07

Iioses- Frozen Fruit Left To Rot On the
Trees and Become Fertilizer for the
Observation-Disclosures yisltors--A Huge
Catfish.
Special Corresponds OF Gazette and Journal
BLooNbANp, Fla, Jan. 30 Since that
unheralded blast of Dakota winter froZP
up Florlda-perdition seize the weather
bureau for letting 1t come unhoralded-
the climatic conditions have been id
mirnble in this section Of Uncle Sans
dominions. The new year came in with
the parting kick OF the freeze, a heavy
white frost, the only frost have seen ON
our side of the lake, and thin skim Of
ice on still wafer. With the thAw of that
ice and the dissipation Of that frost by the
rising sun of the first day of January
Florida ceased to shiver and became her
genial self again. The weather has been
on its good behavior ever since, the days
ranging from spring.like TO sumnery and,
what was lacking through the fall months,
the rainfall being plentiful, even liberal.
As consequence things are Ereening up
again and reYiying life Is wiping out the
tracks left by the desolating death which
marked the close OF the by-aonc year.
II was the most disastrous freeze in the
history Of Florida, for two reasons. First,
because there was more to freeze than in
groves now in bearing were newly planted,
the annual output being barely million
| boxes where il reaches four or tive times
| that quantity now. Secondly, the freeze
| of 1885 did not come acknowledgements
body in the weather department had the
| gumption to see which way the blast was
| travelling and to send advance notice
! thereof, Again, the weather immediately
| preceding was such that the trees were in
| better shape to withstand the cold. They
| were more dormant; this time the warm
! December days had stirred the sap into
/ almost yernal activity. This agrees also
] with the experience OF southern California.
| Scott Way, who. as well known to many
old friends in Delaware, spent six years in
that delectable land-and | Use the word
III no invidious sense-came down here u
few days after the freeze and told me some
things not usually found in books about
California. He had seen as cold weather
there, but the trees did not took SO bad
after it, because they had not been so
warmed up before it.
Had the weather bureau done its duty
probably million boxes of oranges could
have been picked and stored until the cold
snap was over. A neighbor across the
lake. with loo boxes on his trees, went
to Eustis twice on Friday expressly to
learn if any warning had been sent out,
The weather was alarming on that day,
but by no means hopeless till after night
had set in. 4 few, with less confidence in
governmental watchtulness, pitched III
and picked oranges all day Friday
brought them into their houses and fired
up their stoves when the mercury dropped
too low. Peculiarly sad was the luck oil
another neighbor who stored his fruit NJ
his barn, where 1t froze as isremediably a,
! If he had left IL on the trees. over oil
Grand Island, northwest of Eustis, u few
:.
ing them mp carrying them indoors ant
keeping up fire til the cold was over
, Perhaps there may be Il hint in this fol
, some of our Delaware market gardeners.
But few frozen oranges were shipped
from this neighborhood and they had, o.
course, to be picked and marketed on thu
jump before they began 70 soften anC
, drop. because OF the doubt whether suci
, shipments would pay nine-tenths of tn
! growers hereabOut preferred to leave thei
j fruit to rot where IL fell and thus contrib
ute its mite to the fertilization of the soil
q ! The leaves, recently SO vigorously green
4 soon turned 10 the ocnreous yellow o
shocked corn aud this sere yellow, witt
: notifications of sunshine and shade, still
: remains the dominant color in the sadl
4 changed landscape For the leaves hay
/. heen slow to fail and the growers hay
= been much concerned over this slowness bt
Il sausc 1t seemed TO argue a very low degra
of vitality. But new buds are now begin
l. ming 10 put out on most of the bearin
n trees and the OutlooE tor crop this yea
4 is beginning to be regarded Us brighl
after all. Nursery stock and probabl
l. most of the TWO or three'year-old tree
II appear to be killed to the ground, but tn
a roots are generally alive and will send Il
4 new shoots TO be rebudded Bearing tire,
4 will lose some wood but not 50 much us
j first feared. On the other hand the col
Il is believed TO have killed out the white 4
v and some other insect pests that have bee
Il growing increasingly troublesome
10 orange growers.
a The visitation proves that the orange
y more hardy than would naturally be SUI
: posed. 1t was q case where no water pr
lection or forest protection was TO
10 thought of rs factor OF safety. NuthiI
y less than a range of mountains five mil
9, high would have sheltered Florida again
rs anorthwester like this, which came swee
II ing down u Thousand miles wide and wv,
that in length, laden with the frost
< Manitoba.
"a speaking Of visitors, besides Scott W,
l., nnd his wife. who spent several days
~ Etistis and have gone oil to Lake Wort
Us We had the pleasure one day last we
OF entertaining eX-Representatiyc Char
!. Walton of the Legislature OF $50, who
81 visiting his brother John ut i.ecsburg.
- What do you think OF Il cattish Neig
et ing - pounds. with mouth big euuu
n to swallow baby? such u fish was tax
d. In Lake l.ustis day or two ago, and | /
mt told that even larger ones are occasional
lie caught. Last month saw another weIg
1l- ing q pounds.
~ Possible as premium on longevity
man is exempt from poll-taX here when
reaches The age vi ~.
ng The pineapple crop has suffered with I
lie, orange. The temperature fell to 2do ~
lat Lake Worth region and most Of the p!a
sci we're killed or injured beyond early
n cuyery, as a consequence the Florida q
,ov Of pines will DC very slim this year.
Century plants and date palms stood
'P' freeze surprisingly we'll while eucalyp
me trees and Australian oaks were genera
killed to the roots,
ic, In view as write is fine large Of
biz tree, not leaf OF which seems to h
ION even felt the cold
an The highest temperature at Bluomlg
"a during January has been S31 and
GU lowest, emitting New Years morning,
ace The prevailing range has been from 81
~ Bj' at sunrise, 7J' to sOo at noon and
to So at sunset.
Near Orlando a plantation Of lj1 az
of castor oil beans went down in
"a freeze; the first time on record that
4. f.s ~. Et.