The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-25
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orange is king today throughout uli Central and Southern Florida. The reign commenced during the the first week in November, since which time he has re- ceived the homage of the entire popula- ton. Ten years ago his sway extended even to Jacksonville and the Georgia border; but they have dethroned him there, because he froze one night in large section of the country.
 There are no idlers today in those re- gions of Florida where he Is supreme. From the time of the gathering of the half-ripened. early crop three months ago until the late fruits, left hanging from the trees are garnered in May. everybody Is occupied. The fruitgrower and his banker greet one another with enhanced interest; the packer, desperate for more hands goes into the highways and gath CTS them in; the tradesman, sharing the general prosperity, displays new stocks and takes on another helper. Large re- gions are dependent on the condition of the orange crop.
 There Is another side to this picture. When the thermometer, anxiously serutin- ized from hour to hour, drops into the thirties and a bitter northwest wind sweeps QOWn tFkT tue ohAA' hN NAhbUA warning Is required to mahe the fruit grower hasten to take measures for the protection of hts orchards For the citrus the generic term embracing all the va rleties of the orange and lemon species sturdy, strong evergreen as 1t appears, withers under n freeze In irredeemable ruin Then the whole country is cast into gloom; packing houses are closed down, the hands stand Idle in the streets. banks fall and the mortgage is abroad through Florida.
 The beginning of the orange Industry dates back to the middle of last century. but the majority of the oldest seeding groves were planted between 1866 and 1876, and these old seedlings, now from 20 to 30 feet in height and In some in stances bearing from 10 to 16 boxes of oranges apiece, have arrived at the ma turity of their usefulness to man, but are, for orange trees, still young. During the sos new impetus wac giving to grove planting; but by that time nearly all the trees planted had been budded, mainly to Jaffas, Navels, Tanger1nes, Grapefruits and other standard varieties.
 The great freeze" as It Is called. to distinguish 1t from lesser and less dam gerous freezes" occurred in 1S04-95, and proved an epoch-making event in the his tory of the Florida orange groves. The orange belt was then supposed to extend to the extreme northern limit of the pen insuiaI for the frosts distinguished from ''fheexes'-which are liable to occur every where in the peninsula some three or four nights during mldwlnter, had hifher- to, at the worst, done nothing more than slightly lessen the market value of the fruits. At that date. in fact, 1t was rec ognlsed that the best oranges Wene those grown around Jacksonville and in the ex- treme northern limits of the belt. The number of the groves had been increasing steadily year after year, in spite of a preliminary warning during the severe winter of 1sS6 At that time oranges were so abundant that they were dis posed of at from 50c. to 75c. box. In spite of thls the industry thrived and prospered and the fruitgrowers became rich.
 The first freeze came in December. 1894. Little more than 0 severe frost, 1t strip ped the trees of their leaves, killed a few twiRs and branches. and weakened the development of the plantations This was followed by warm, fine weather. The trees recuperated, grew quickly, and put forth from to 10 Inches of new growth in wood and leaves. Then came the dis aster On February D, without anticipat- ory warning, northwesterly wind sprang up and the thegmemeDer dropped to It de- grees. Consternation became general. The owners harnessed their teams, drew cord af.er cosd of lumber to | planta- tons and kindled huge fires between the trees. Some stripped their houses of quilts, overcoats, carpets and coverlets and wrapped them around the roots to af- ford protection. In spite of every precau- tion when morning came only few soil tary trees in one or two protected dis tricts of the orange belt survived.