The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-08-16

fruit and the scientific success attain
ed i'll the development of the Rusk and
Willis hybrid citranges led to further
work with other hybrids. This has re-
suited in the production of the Morton
citrange. so named in recognition of
the valuable services to agriculture of
the late Hon. j. Sterling Morton of
Nebraska. secretary of agriculture I'M
=. s!ei ;..
The l.pelilleits in this instance
We're made at EuStis. Fla. the original
fruit from which this hybrid developed
having been Il cross of the trifoliaSe
orange with pollen of the sweet orange.
This cross fruit produced forty seed
lingS, of which eleven developed UNI
mistakable signs of the true hybrid in
exhibiting clearly intermediate char
acter of foliage. AS Il dessert fruit or
for eating at any time it has been
found to be much superior to the two
citlanges developed prior to last Win
ter, while it is as desirable for max
ing Il beverage similar to lemonade or
limeade. Its rather firm membranes,
separating the segments of the fruit,
permit easy extraction of the pulp
with spoon, thereby putting it at
once into the class With grape fruit. 1t
has a very slight bitter taste and when
served with sugar can be made to
meet every demand of individual taste.
| For ordinary eating 1t is a little more
| sour than the ordinary sweet orange.
but not any more so than some of the
| so called sweet oranges which find
their way to the markets of the big
cities. 1t is practically a seedless fruit.
| \ feature of interest to consumers of
| this new fruit is the probability that it
| will be less expensive than oranges,
for instance. because greater hardness
of the hybrid makes possible it's Guilt
walton in sections where trees of SINH
lar species are killed by frost. While
the cold resistant quality of the Nor
| ton has not been tested to its limit the
record of experiments shows that it
| went through al the winters at Glen
| st. Mary. Fla. since 1899 without los
| ing its leaves. Several severe freezes
| which We're disastrous to other species
and seriously affected the orange in
dustry even .much farther south oc-
Cured during this time. Euds eight
l..oaths old experienced without no
ticcable effect a temperature going
down to 10 degrees. Experiments in
Georgia returned similarly successful
results in temperature falling to s de
| grees. showing that it can. he grown
not only wherever the orange is sue
ceSsful. hut in additional localities
where the orange could not survive the
low temperature. This is al important
feature as respects the availability of
the fruit as a market commodity, a
fact Which is of general interest at
such times as Il great freeze in the
south, when an orange crop may he
| killed off in a single night.
Pineapples, which enter so largely in
to table use. either as a fresh fruit. a
preserve or in the preparation of
beverage. have also been the subject
of experiments by the fruit specialists
| of the department. When the experts
began this work some years back there
was no technical literature Oh the sub
tect available for their guidance. EN-
perimentS at West Palm Beach did not
result as we'll as anticipated when first
started. so finally the hybrid seed OBJ
tanned in the course of crossing expert
ments was planted in government
greenhouse in Washington. When the
young hybrid plants had reached n
height of from six to eight inches they
were shipped south and transplanted
at the subtropicnl garden at Miami,
Fla. Heretofore it has been asserted
by growers that eight years was the
time required for pineapple to bear
fruit, but these experiments have dem
onstrated that it can be done in four
years if the plants are properly ham
died and nurtured.
10 test the progress made from wear
to Year pineapples grown from these
experimental plants have been brought
to Washington and compared with the
best fruits obtainable in the Washing
ton markets. In every case the ex-
perts found the flavor of the hybrids
TO he superior. and from this they have
deduced the idea that the commercial
line has been grown so many years
without seed propagation that the old
varieties have deterorated. TO main.
tain the highest quality return to
seed propagation is recommended by
some of the experts, SO that recent ex.
perimcnts may turn out not only to
have produced new hybrids. but ia
have started a regeneration of the odd
species which had received minimum
OF scientific care in the rash of com.
mercial development.
Conquering the Colorado.
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