Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-12-10
ON FRUIT
Breeding of Hardy Orange De-
 scribed by William E. Curtis.
SWEET AND Wr2HsTANDs FRosTs


 Secretary Wilson Says New Variety,
 Produced by Agricultural Depart
 men4 After six Tears of Labor,
 Can Be Grown In Any Back Yard
 South of the Potomac.
 Secretary James Wilson of the agri- cultural department had q new kind of orange for bis Thanksgiving dinner and ate it with great satisfact' be- cause 1t represented six year of la bor, care and cultivation, says William K. Curtis, the special correspondent of the Chicago Record Herald at Wash ington. The great freeze" of 1s96 de- stroyed more than half of the orange groves of Florida and wiped out nearly half the wealth of that state. 1t taught great lesson and convinced those that were in the fruit business that the future prosperity depended upon the. discovery of an orange that could endure cold weather.
 One of the first official acts of Sec retary Wilson when he came into the agricultural department in 1897 was to confer with Dr. Galloway, chief of the bureau of plant industry, and in- struct him to undertake the duty of finding q frost resistant. Experiments began at once, and their hopes were based upon the possibilities of a little, hardy plant aGndtive of Japan, which bears worthless fruit, but has lots of vitality and endurance and is used extensively throughout the north for hedges. 1t grows rapidly in any kind of soil and will survive any amount of cold and Is familiar as the Japanese orange, the mock orange, the Trifoliata orange and by several names.
 The plant breeders of the agricultur- al department took that as the mother and the sweet navel orange of the In- dian river as the father and sprinkled the pollen of one upon the blossoms of the other. The result was a series of hybridg of many variations and pe- culiarities. Some were evergreen, like the orange trees of Florida; others shed their foliage in the fail like the Japanese hedges. Some had short thorns, some long thorns and some no thorns at yall. Some had tripoliate leaves, while the leaves of the others were round, oblong and oval.
 Between 25,oO0 and 30,O00 seedlings were transplanted from the Washing ton prop; ting houses to the warm soil Of Florida, and in 1900, as soon as they were large enough, the small trees were distributed throughout the gulf states and the Carolinas to test their endurance of cold as low as zero. In older to hasten their fruiting growing, trees were budded and grafted, and all the tricks known to botaniSts and were resorted to. Last year they began to bear fruit and pro- duced great variety in size, shape, color, fibre and flavor. Nearly all those SO far produced are palatable, but most are tart and have twang the Japanese pomelo more closely than the American orange. The pomel6 resembles the grape fruit and is a great favorite on the breakfast tables of Japan. Almost all of the fruit produced last year proved suit able for marrnalades and preserves, and among them two specimens were selected as the most valuable and use full breakfast fruits. Secretary Wilson and Dr. Galloway are convinced that they will rapidly become popular and pay large profits to the growers.
 These two new fruits have been chris. tened as 'Fthe Rusk" and "the Willett," in honor of the late Secretary Rusk and the late Assistant Secretary Will lett of the department of agriculture. Several thousand young trees will be distributed free among the experiment stations, reliable nurserymen and com potent fruit growers in the southern states, and 1t is expected that the RuSk and the Willett will find their way into tue northern markets in few years.
 They're a go,' said Secretary Will son. "They can be grown in every back yard south of the Ohio and Poto- mac rivers and will make an excellent home fruit as we'll as an orchard fruit and a popular foliage plant as we'll as a money getter."
 This fall more of the seedlings are fruiting and increasing still further the variety. Among the several freaks the officers Of the agricultural department were delighted to hnd several large, luscious, sweet oranges, full of juice and of a flavor equal to any that were ever grown in Florida or the western states.
 While the returns are not yet sufi- eient Co Justify predictions, he IS con vtncod that the plant breeders of the S1.nss sasa~s.A N@va~ azsaSSdH a easa7,tsass