The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-16
A PICTURE OF DESoLATI0N.
GRANGE TREES IN PLACES HAVE
RECOVERED But LITTLE.

RECOVERED But LITTLE.
Between winter Park and Jackson
Vile, on the Florida Central and
PeninsuIar There Is No Evidence
That the Damage Was Ever over
cstimated-The Value of NOn-Resi-
dent Orange Grove Owners-Stravv-
berries and other Paying Fruits.
Jacksonville, Fla. April ia trip over
the Florida Central and Penlnsular Rail
way from Winter Park to this
city the present week confirms my
views of the damage done by the .ate
freeze along that route, as seen on Feb
81. There is little, If any evidence, that
the damage was then over-es umated III
character or extent. Very few trees be-
low Orlando are showing any signs Of a
vigorous recuperation of their tops. The
number Of trees that win have June
blooms is small, indeed so that the out
look remains dark for a few years.
At EIdorado. on Lake Harris, where
Senator Tom Plat of New York and ex-
Lieut.. Gov. Sims Of Mississippi have had
magnificent groves, a sad scene OF desola-
ton prevails. This week the workmen
are topping the trees, in many cases leav-
ing only a limb five or ten or fifteen inches
long and on these very little new growth
has yet appeared. These groves escaped
| serious damage in the great freeze, and
| the trees have no shoots about their base,
| but clean trunks four or five feet up To
| the first branches. But the late freeze
| hit 'em hard, thousands of oranges being
| frozen on the trees. Il will take several
| years and a good deal of money and labor
to get these once splendid groves again
into bearing. Having rich owners, how
ever, their recuperation is aleady assured.
And this leads me to call attention TO
| the great value of nonresident orange
| grove owners, men and women of wealth
or large incomes. In the big freeze, as
now, Florida depended and still depends
upon this class TO help her through a dis
aster. have met here at the ST. James
| Hotel quite a number of wealthy fam
| lilies from the North and West who have
| winter homes in this state and also large
| investments in orange groves. Not more
| than one in ten of this class is discouraged
and to the other nine we may look to see
| Florida carried safely through the pres
ent disaster. Ready money is what is
needed in such a crisis and these rich
men will continue 10 spend it all through
| the dun summer in reCuperating work on
their winter homes and orange groves,
and this will help out thousands of our
poor unfortunate families.
Another hopeful and helpful feature is
worthy of notice. Our train stopped some
| twenty minutes at Starke and al Lawtey,
two great strawberry shipping points, to
| take on refrigerated strawberries for
| Northern markets. The Plant System
| trait al -1,;,
from Lakeland and other points. While
| the freeze cut the vegetable shipments
| short to a large extent, the strawbe
! crop has escaped serious damage, and
| profitable returns have come from most
of the shipments this season. 1t is evil
| dent that in certain favorable sections the
! growing of Strawberries will be largely
| increased, and with prospects, of success.
| The past fan great many persons went
| into the business extensively, but the To-
| cations were unfavorable and the freeze
swept away all their crop intended for
! shipment
| Whatever may be the outlook elsewhere,
| and generally, 1t is not bright, Jackson
| vile certainly shows remarkable vitality
at this late period of her winter season.
Her hotels are stin we'll filled and her
streets lively with homeward- bound tour
lists Locally, her own people are busy
| with enterprises, and vacant stores are
| scarce. One thing is settled, Jacksonville
| is, and must remain the gateway to Flor
| ida winter resorts and business centers.
| The wisdom of the Plant System in not
| letting the Jacksonville Tampa and Key
| West Railway pass into other hands is
now clearly outlined. 1t gives solid route
from Charleston and Savannah to Tampa.
| Tourists are bound to see Jacksonville and
the noble St. Johns river, and this fact
| assures q grand future to Jacksonville
| and whatever helps her ought to contri-
butte also to the general prosperity of the
| stale.
The editorial in the Morning News of
| April IL, In regard to Prof. r. Ogden Do
remus cheap solution for making cloth
ing, curtains, etc, fire proof, attracted my
attention as it called 10 mind an inter-
view had years ago with Rev DIR. I. T.
| Tichenor, now Of Atlanta, but then presi-
| dent of the State College of Agriculture
| at Auburn, Ala. He had, he claimed, dis
| covered a solution that would make cotton
| bagging and other material fire-proof 1t
| seemed to me that the genial doctor had a
fortune in sight in his remarkable discov-
| cry. And yet years have elapsed and he
remains a poor Baptist preacher and his
invention is never heard of at the present
day. l am afraid this is why Prof. Do
remus' discovery is not better known.
Probably the final results of the tests il
was put TO did not pan out as was antici-
pated. Fire proof solutions are not easily