The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-12
THE NEW ORANGE.
Efforts TO Make the Fruit Hardy and
LOOse-Skinned.
From the Washington Star.

From the Washington Star.
Man is seeking to improve natures work
upon the orange, and it is likely that he
will be able to do It. If success crowns
experiments now in progress the orange
will become a hardy fruit, able to grow
and bear even as far north as Canada,
with skin that will peel off as easily as a
tangerine's, and. perhaps, devoid Of the
seeds that now threaten the perils of APP
pendcitis.
Such a recreation of this luscious fruit
for that is what it would amount to
would deserve to rank with the greatest
marvels of the end of the century. 1t
would revolutionize and expand the
orange-growing industry almost beyond
the limit of the imagination and remove
all danger from the frosts and freezes
that now from year to year either blight
in large degree or entirely destroy the
trees and their fruit in the states where
they are grown.
The freeze in the Southern states in 1894
and 1895 destroyed every orange tree,
causing a loss upon the crop expected of
nearly 100000 and a damage to the in
dustry in general that has been computed
at the extraordinary figure of $4,000, 900.
1t will be five years yet before orange
growing is on a paying basis, and ten to
fifteen years before the orange crop is
as large as it was at the time of the dis
astrouS weather.
Since that time the agricultural depart
ment has been experimenting in the cross
fertilization of oranges in the hope of
producing one or more varieties that will
resist the attacks of frost, and that will
possess the other qualities not found in
the fruit of to-day
The practical part of the work is being
conducted in a green house back of the
department building, in the mall, under
the constant direction and supervision OF
H. ]. Weber and w. T. Swingle, special
agents of the division of vegetable physi-
ology and pathology.
Up to the present the experimental pro-
cesses have been productive of the results
expected but the most interesting and deli
cate stages are yet to come. In the green
house there are at least 1000 hybrid
growths from the seeds that have been
crossed, and next spring many of these
will be taken to the Southern states and
grated on the orange trees growing there
Then at least three years must elapse be,
fore the grated trees will begin to bear
the fruit that is to be hardy sweet, loose
skinned. and perhaps seedless.
The history of the experiments is of rare
interest. In 1892 Messrs Weber and
Swingle were in the South studying the
diseases that affect oranges, and there
the need of a harder orange than the
usual varieties was brought to their at
tention. This was emphasized by the dis
astrous frost of 1894 and 1895 The grow
ers had sought to overcome their foe by
selecting for planting and development
seeds from only the hardest Of the trees
growing in their fields. but even these sue
cumbed TO the severe attacks of the in
vading cold.
In the meantime experiments conducted
by Mr.. Weber in this city turned out I'M
favorably, through no fault of his own.
Therefore, 1t was not until 1897 that he
succeeded in hybridizing the orange in a
way TO insure the favorable result of
planting or grating. He had found, prior
TO the hybridizing, that the Japanese tri-
foiate orange, although its fruit Is small
and of little value except for preserves, is
deciduous, and so hardy that 1t can be
grown without protection so far North as
Philadelphia. A number of these trees
had been planted in the department
grounds, and, in spite of cold, had borne
fruit, which, however, was so small and
bitter as to be good only for preserving 1t
occurred to him 10 cross the Japanese va
riety with the different kinds that flourish
in the South TO get the hardy quality
The practical work Of hybridizing them
commenced, and the mature buds of the
tEl-lOitdNe anu Oh the OtneF xmas were Sc
lected when they We're nearly ready TO
open. The tips of the corolla were care
fully pried apart until the sIamens were
exposed. In these flowers the anthers, or
male element, are attached to the fla
ments by very slender threads, which are
easily broken, and the simplest method of
removing the stamens was TO pull them of
with fine-pointed foreeps. This process is
termed emasculation, and during 1t great
care had to be exercised not to open the
stamens and accidentally polnate the
flower.
After emasculating the flower a bag of
paper was passed over the twig bearing
the flower and tied around the stem in
such a way as to effectually exclude ali
insects and foreign pollen. In a few DAYS,
when the pistils had time TO mature the
sacks were removed and the pistils pollb-
mated by rubbing the stamens over them.
Then the sacks were replaced and allowed
to remain until formulation took place and
all danger from the action of foreign pollen
was over. The seeds of the fruit resulting
were taken and properly labeled, after
which they we're planted in the green
house, where In less than two years they
have grown and thrived in temperate tenn
perature. In many cases the perfect cross
ing Of the varieties can be observed by ex-