Omaha daily bee., 1899-02-19
SHELTERED ORANGE GROVES
Unique Devices Of Growers to Prevent Dam
age by Frost.
FORTY ACRES OF ORCHARD UNDER ROOF
Some of the Methods Pursued to Bnil<
the Raids of jack Frost in Flor
idn-Hundreds of stoves
in Readiness.

DBLAND, Fla, Feb. 16.-Since the frosts
of 80 and '9S Florida orange growers have
begun to realize that if they would make
orange growing an assured success, they
must in some way guard against the UNI
certain visits of Jack Frost. To have a
crop of fruit worth thousands of dollars
completely at the mercy of the temperature,
with the knowledge that a fall of a few
degrees during a cold snap may, in an hour,
convert delicious oranges into solid balls
OF ice, or even kill his trees to the ground,
making them useless for several years to
come, is a situation which causes the grove
owner many s~leepless nights during the
winter months. But such are the profits
in the business under favorable conditions,
that the growers, instead of becoming dis
couraged by the recent setbacks, are now
casting about for some cheap and sure
means Of protecting their trees.
Many are the schemes devised and the
experiments being tried this winter, with
the result that the winter visitor finds many
Of the old groves robbed of their picturesque
beauty, some OF them with piles Of light
wood knots stacked between the rows of
| trees, ready to be lighted whenever the
mercury gets dangerously close to the
freezing point, while many younger groves
are almost hidden from view with sand;
the trees being banked up" with perhaps
a branch or two sticking out here and
there to remind one that there is vegeta-
BILE life below.
Stoves in an
These, however, are only the more sim
pie means of protection, for, as one drives
through the country, he will see many more
elaborate methods in use. In some groves
are row after row of sheetiron stoves, all
| filled with wood and ready for the match.
One planter has more than 500 stoves in
his orchards. But these, while they would
raise the temperature enough on a still
night, might not be effective III there was
a high wind, so the more cautious growers
are covering their trees UP entirely, either
with cloth or waterproof paper, tackled on
to wooden frames and to be warmed within
by oil lamps or heaters made especially
for this purpose. These groves, with their
long rows of white tents, look more like
military camps than anything horticultural
and on a cold night, when the tents are all
lighted up within, and the grove tenders
| walking around like solitary sentrymen, the
resemblance would be still more striking.
But probably the most effective device,
and certainly the most costly one, is that
adopted by John B. Stetson, the millionaire
halter, who owns about 900 acres in groves
in the vicinity of DeLand, Fla. He has
| recently purchased a sawmill and employed
a large crew of carpenters, and is proceed
ing to build a house over each one of his
orange groves. He has already inclosed a
| tfteen-acre piece in this way, and where
once there was a beautiful eXpanse of
| shapely trees, with glossy leaves and golden
| fruit, one is now confronted with a large,
low, flat shed of the %plainest possible archi-
lecture, and absolutely without the least
claim to grace or beauty. Inside are the
trees, deprived Of sunshine, their branches
intermingled with beam and %rafters, while
| at intervals on the ground are piles of wood
in readiness to furnish heat for this great
conservatory. After the danger Of frosts
has passed, the sides and roof of the
structure will be removed, and the groves
| allowed to enjoy the open air again until
the next season of uncertainty.
biggest Shed in the World.
Work has already begun on another shed
Of this kind, which is to enclose a grove
forty acres in extent. This is an enormous
undertaking. 1t will require over 1900, 900
feet of lumber in it's construction, and it
will take a large crew of men many months
to complete it. But, Notwithstanding the
| very great cost Of building and maintaining
| these sheds, added to the regular expense
of working the groves, 1t is thought that
they will pay a fair interest on the invest
| ment, and should another freeze come and
destroy the unprotected groves, it will en-
nance the value of the protected groves and
oranges very much.
The great majority of the orange grow
ers, however, think that the probabilities
of a freeze are not sufficient to justify the
expense of covering the trees, and are still
taking their chances with the elements.
They figure that as Florida has heretofore
been free from freezes for a good many
years, that it Is likely to be free from
them for a good many years to come.
Time will tell who are right, but this
much is certain, that the unprotected groves
are much more desirable from an artistic
point of view than those covered over with
tents or sheds.