Evening star., 1899-02-03
THE NEW ORANGE
Remarkable Experiment by the Ag-
rioultural Department.
PROCESSES OF CROSS FERTILIZATION
Efforts to Make the Fruit Hardy
and loose-Skinned.
SUCCESS SEEMS CERTAIN

Man is seeking to improve natures work
upon the orange and il is likely that he
Will be able to do IT, II success crowns
experiments now in progress the orange
Will become hardy fruit, able to grow and
bear even as far north as Canada, with
skin that will peel of as easily as a tan
gerine's, and, perhaps, devoid Of the seeds
that now threaten the pertls Of appendicitis
Such a recreation of this luscious fruit
for that is what II would amount to
would deserve to rank with the greatest
marvels of the end of the century II
would revolutionize and expand the orange
growing Industry almost beyond the limit
of the imagination and remove all danger
from the frosis 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 1893 destroyed every orange tree caus-
ing loss upon the crop expected Of nearly
S"oVo,Hn. sand damage TO the industry I'm
general that has been computed at the ex-
traordinary figure OF s15.OO0 600 II VIII be
five years yet before orange growing is on
a paying basis and ten to fifteen years be-
fore the orange crop is as large as It Was
at the time of the disastrous weather.
The Experiments.
Since that time the Agricultural Depart
nent has been experimenting in the cross
fertilization of oranges In the hope Of pro-
ducing one or more varieties that will resist
the attacks of frost and that will POSSESS
the other qualities not found in the fruit
OF today.
The practical part of the work is being
conducted in "A green house back of the de-
partment building. in the mall. under the
constant direction ana supervision OF II. J.
Nebber and W. T. Swingle. special agents
Of the division Of vegetable physiology and
pathology.
Up to the present the experimental prc-
cesses have been productive Of the rcsiiSs
expected. but the most interesting and deli
cate stages are yet 10 some. In the green
house there are at least lUpu 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 10 bear the
fruit that Is to be hardy. sweet. loose
skinned, and perhaps seedless
The history Of the experiments Is Of rare
interest. In 1882 Messrs. Webber and Swim
gle We're in the south studying the diseases
that affect oranges. and there the need 81
a harder orange than the usual varieties
was brought 10 their attention. This was
emphasized by the disastrous frost OF 1894
and 1895. The growers had sought to over
come their foe by selecting for planting and
development seeds from only the hardest
of the trees growing in their fields but
even these succumbed to the severe attacks
of the invading cold
The Work Here.
In the meantime experiments conducted
by Mr.. Weber in this city turned out un-
favorably. through fault of his own.
Therefore, it was not until 1897 that he
Ia hN-hr ri ha
way 10 insure the favorable result Of plant
ing or grating. He had found. prior to
the hybridzing. that the japanese tri-
foliate orange, although its fruit is small
and of little value except for preserves ia
deciduous, and so hardy that il can be
grown without protection so far north as
Philadelphia. number Of these trees had
been planted I'm the department grounds,
and, in spite of cold. had borne fruit which
however. was so small and bitter as Ia he
good only for preserving. II occurred TO
him 10 cross the japanese variety with the
different kinds that flourish i'm the south
to set the hardy quality. The practical
work of hybridizing then commenced. and
the mature buds of the tri-fuliatc and Of
the other kinds We're selected when they
We're nearly ready TO open. The tips Of the
Curolla were carefully pricd apart until the
stamens We're exposed. In these flowers
the anthers or male element are attached
to the hlaments by very slender threads.
which are easily broken, and the simplest
method of removing the stamens was TO
pull them OFF with Gne-pointed forceps.
This process is termed emasculation and
during IL great care had TO be exercised not
to open the stamens and accidentally poll
Innate the flower.
The PollinatiOn.
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 all insects
and foreign pollen. In a few days. when
the pistils had time to mature, the sacks
Were removed and the pistils pollinated
by rubbing the stamens over them. Then
the sacks were replaced and allowed to re-
main until fecundation 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 were 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-
aminng the leaves. The tri-foiiate has
leaf that is small and pear-shaped. while
the ordinary orange leaf is longer and
larger. The hybrid that wholly unites the
two has a leaf that is larger than the tri-
foliate, but has the latter's chief Character
istic.
If the seedlings that are grated on the
southern trees develop fruit that cannot
be killed in blossom or maturity by the
winters in that section the scientists will
feel that they have been sufficiently re-
paid for all their efforts. Orange growing
then would not be attended by the great
risks that now encompass il. In addition,
if. a hardy orange can be produced that
will live in the north and yet have the
sweetness and tuicness of the southern
fruit. then the work of nature will have
been wholly improved by the hand and IN
telligence of man.
-Se ~---
FOR PRESIDENT OF TRANsVAAL.