The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-02
TIorido,s FaII OutIooIk.

The Florida orange crop, says the Cali
fornia Fruit Grower, Is estimated all the
way from 10000 to 400 0c0iboxes 600 to 200
carloads) The whole lot is scattered over so
many districts that minute estimates are
out of The question. The following letter,
dated Sept 9. from an Eastern fruit deal
er, who has Just canvassed the state, may
prove interesting:
The orange trees in Florida. north of
Barlow, were injured very much more last
winter than during the freeze or 1895. It
would seem that those buds that escaped
destruction in 1895, were honeycopbed by
the "borers" and were simply shells. with
living bark around them, these thrived and
produced oranges, until they were filed
with water from the furious storm that
Immediately preceded the blizzard of Feb.
-, 1899, when the water froze and upon
thawing out, Il split the thin veneering of
bark and the tree went to the ground
Around Citra and Orange Lake. the
growers have practically abandoned their
groves and they have grown up in sand
spurs and weeds.
The same state of things is true of the
Leesburg section fully 70 per cent OF the
groves not having had anything done to
them since the blizzard. The other %
per cent having been working their places
in a sort of half-hearted manner. as
though they expected next winter would
wipe up the growth of this summer, which
In al probability it may.
1 DO not think at the present time there
IS tree in Lake county that is over ten
feet high, and of those that have done the
best, eight feet high viii be an average
Inc weather in Florida in the last two
months has been all that any one could
wish. Plenty of rain everywhere. not very
warm: did not see anything warmer
than 80 degrees south of Jacksonville dur
ing my stay, and, considering that the trees
were killed to within six inches of the
ground, they have made a most surprising
growth since February
Around Ocala, the crackers and negroes
nave again taken to painting cotton and
nave quite crop, this staple is now bring
ing cents pound in the seed The
phosphate business is booming at Dunnel-
don ana elsewhere, and the people of Mar
ion have about made up their minds thar
there are other ways of making a living
besides trying 10 make orange trees and
oranges in climate, that occasionally gets
nearly as cold as Alaska. and business at
Ocala will soon he as healthy as in the
boom days of the past.
'At Leesburg. the people are sin1n1v mar
alyzed; have raised enough to eat. but ap-
parently have no hopes for the future II
looks to me as though Lake county will
have TO become a vast cattle ranch, an
half of its population will have to go else
where.
around Ocala, the crackers and negroes
have again planted orange trees.
and, while badly injured last win
ter, are now looking first rate, and are
large enough if no damaging freeze this
next winter, to have quite a sprinklng Of
oranges on them. picked up about twen-
ty-five cars in De Soto county, where not
the slightest damage was sustained by
the cold of last winter
FLORIDA viii pack about 100000 hove,
this fall about as follows: De Soto
county $4,000; Manatee county, $50, 600: Lee
county, 50,0C0; Dade. Brevard. Pasco, II Is
borough, Osceola and Monroe, in all say
5000 boxes.
Il do not think there viii be 1000 boxes
in the state north of Tampa, all told A
few Jamaicas are now coming i'm here, very
green and sour. Mexico win begin coming
about Oct. l. and when Northern California
is ready, you may look for good demand
and fair prices for while at least"