Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-05-31
THE SEEDLESS ORANGE
A FORTUNATE SERIES OF ACCIDENTS
GAVE 1T TO CALIFORNIA.

An Industry Revoiutionized Within
Twenty-nv Years by Shoots Brought
from Brazil-Cities Built and MILL
ions of Wealth Created.
Twenty five years ago there were no
seedless or navel oranges grown. A
few oranges were raised in Florida,
but the bulk of the supply in America
came from the Mediterranean ports
and the fruit was expensive. The to-
tai annual yield of California oranges
was less than five carloads. Now the
annual orange yield in California is
upward Of 1000 carloads, and next
year it may exceed 10000 carloads,
writes correspondent of the New York
Sun from Pomona. The total amount
invested in orange properties in Cali
fornia twenty-five years ago was
about $23, 900. Now something like
$43, 900, 900 is invested in the orange
industry in this State, and the amount
is increasing by about $4,000, 900
every year. The introduction of the
seedless navel orange has caused
these changes. 1t has revolutionized
the orange industry of the United
States. 1t has drawn IS, 900 men out
of other pursuits. 1t has transformed
vast areas of sunbaked land in Cali
fornia into the most beautiful orange
groves that ever grew. 1t has been
tho prime factor in the growth from
nothing of dozen towns of 5000,
5000 and 10000 people in southern
al hoo 1nI Ixy
more than $43, 100000 and indirectly
$50, 900, 900 more TO the taxable wealth
of this State.
The first seedless orange trees were
apparently freaks OF nature. Their
counterparts have never been found.
In the summer of 1872 William T.
Judson, United States Consul at
Bahia, Brazil, heard an account from
natives of few trees in the swamps
on the north bank of the Amazon
some sixty miles inland that bore
oranges without seeds. He was of
scientific bent and Consul that knew
his business. He had heard Of the
starting of orange groves in Florida
and he believed that seedless orange
trees were we'll worth experimenting
with there. So he sent q native up
the river to cut some shoots of the
trees and get some of the fruit. When
the native returned the Consul was
delighted with the specimens. Forth
with he sent six of the orange tree
shoots, carefully packed in wet moss
and clay, to the Agricultural Depart
ment at Washington for propagation.
The trees did not excite as much at
tention in the Department as the
enthusiastic Consul had expected.
Two of the shoots, which were no
bigger than horsewhips, died from
lack of care in the Department
grounds, and the others were almost
forgotten in a few months. In the
winter of 1878 Mrs. Horatio Tibbetts,
a native of Maine, was visiting the
family of her cousin, General Ben
iamin Z. Butler, then Congressman
from Massachusetts. Her husband
had recently removed from Boston to
Los Angeles, CAL, and was about TO
pre-empt tract of Government land
in the San Bernardino Valley. The
scheme was an uncertain one, but
anyhow he intended to grow semi
tropical fruits there. He asked Mrs.
Tibbetts to get from General Butler
an introduction at the Agricultural
Department. She was then to ask for
specimens of fruits and shrubs suit
able for experimental propagation in
southern California. Among other
things Mrs. Tibbetts got from the De-
partment grounds the four surviving
orange tree shoots from Brazil. The
trees reached Mr.. Tibbetts safely at
Riverside, CAL, week later and were
Immediately planted. That was in
December, 1873. One of the shoots
died from neglect and another was
broken and chewed up by COW.
Five years passed and the two sur
viving trees came into bearing. In
the winter Of 187S-79 they bore six
teen oranges, the first seedless oranges
ever grown in North America. The
specimens were carried about south
ern California and shown to all ranch
men and fruit growers. There were
many who doubted whether the trees
would annually bear such royal speci-
mems of orange culture. Nearly every
one believed that the fruit would be-
come coarse and tough in few years
more. So the second crop was awaited
with curiosity among the neighbors.
There were about box of oranges in
the second yield, and they were even
better than those of the first crop.
The fame of the Tibbetts seedless
oranges went far and wide in south
ern California. People who were grow
ing the ld-fashioned oranges travelled
hundreds of miles in wagons to see
the trees. Still there were less than
half dozen people who believed that
such freak as seedless fruit could
ever be propagated into an estab-
lished industry.
''I remember the time I saw some
of the second crop of Tibbetts's seed
less naval oranges" said ex-senator
j. e. McComas. "Several of us seed
ling orange growers went over to
Riverside purposely to see what truth
there was in the statement that Horatio