New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-05-09
ORANGE CULTURE IN US.
Its Foundation Laid by Spanidrds
in Florida.

Those gay conquistadores who came in the train
of De Soto. De Leon and Cortez seem TO have had
other ideas beyond those of conquest and adven-
ture for they brought with them the foundations
of many of the present day American industries
Among those adventures evidently thoughtful
and provident souls who the possibilities OF
the garden lands through which they passed Seeds
and plants became parts OF the impedimenta OF
travel. and the dropping Of these here and there
whether through carelessness good intent, has
brought much good to the people OF to-day. All
along the route OF the Spanish In Florida there
sprang up orange trees with their golden spheres
and when Nature herself did not the fruit from
hummock to hummock the Indians did and IN the
shelter OF live and pine the orange forests
throve and spread, until many acres In Florida and
the delta country OF New Orleans were ready FOR
the first permanent settlers that came that way
ready with contributions from Cordova and other
Old World centres TO the upbuilding of the new
nation
Between 1856 and 1870 enterprising horticut
urist bought up large part OF wild grove OF
oranges in the st. John River country OF
Florida. near Orange Lake, and budded tho tops
the trees to a sweet variety. He invested 81 900
in this enterprise and phenomenal the
growth Of his industry that at the time Of the cele
brated freeze OF 1s94-'95 his crop estimated
at 1921 600 Others followed his lead. taking up
the wild groves. improving the stock and studying
transportation methods until the industry became
the leading one Of the state. Up until 1880 the
orange section frostless. The groves spread
through the northern part OF the state and when
trees were twelve years old the profits from
10 to $50 per of the value of the BY the
time tree is twelve years old IT is usually valued
at 800. In 1886 there blizzard that put
back all the Florida and only those in the
protected stations and in the far South escaped.
After that the annual kept back the younger
trees and few developed north OF Tampa. Then
came the great freeze of the winter OF 1895 a
tI,at n, Jg-
try, from which the state has not recovered First
in December there a great freeze and in the
following February a still greater There
would have been about six million boxes that year
and the total loss has been estimated more than
500. COO.
This disaster to Florida turned the attention OF
buyers and consumers toward California where
preparations immedia tely made to meet the
demands. There. too. the Spaniards In their work
of civilizing the possessions of their crown
had brought the orange, the vine the olive and the
fig. From Mexico the fearless Jesuits had carried
the fruits OF Spain over the mountains and the
Gulf into their Lower Calfo mia missions and in
the fall of 1897 Salvatiera planted an orchard and
brought cattle and horses the mission grounds
at Loreto Under the management. OF good Father
Ugarte. THE founder OF agriculture in Lower Cali
forna." the vineyards and groves prospered and
by 1907 the peninsula had good export trade into
Mexico
into upper CalfOrnld Father Junipero Sierra car
ried the principles Of agriculture as we'll as the
gospel OF peace in 1862 and under his direction
the valleys about the missions blossomed with the
fruit and flowers Of old Spain. and balm to
the homesck eyes OF the padres. well as a COM
fort to the weary traveller who sought refuge at
this or that hospce 1t Don Joseph de Galvez
godfather of Galveston Tex, who ordered the TAX
ing of the seeds of fruit grain vegetables into
the California country. Under the tutelage of the
fathers and of the early Spanish settlers the fruit
and grain industries throve rapidly Vancouver
when exploring that country, commented on the
gardens and early 1880 General Vallejo had
planted groves in Sonoma Valley In 1884 the mis-
sion gardens began to decline. the ''Gringo" had
come, the land went from ecclesiastical to secular
control, and when Fremont passed through in 1886
he wrote that little remained OF the orchards that
had been kept and cultivated at the missions. Wild
mustard swept the valleys, conquerlng the
garden and orchard lands. and for a while neglect
and encouragement hung the fertile valleys
The gold fever of 49, bringing death to the power
and glory of the helpful missions. revived the or
ange culture to degree, the first fruit shipped
being taken from the lower part Of the state by
steamer to San Francisco and from there by pack
train to the miners camps, where It brought
fabulous sum. There especial impetus to
shipping until 1886. BY then the treasured AGA
pulco orange OF the old padres had been taken from
the Los Angeles orchards at San Gabriel Mission,
and planted in Sacramento. and In Butte County
in the far northern part OF the state, more than
five hundred miles from the first mission garden.
BY 1899 the acreage Of oranges In California was
thrty-ive thousand. the groves had climbed the
foothills Of the Sierras. had taken possession of
Kern, Tuare and Fresno counties and In the
northern part of the state were competing for
recognition with the mineral resources. To-day the
acreage is a hundred thousand and orange culture
is the leading industry of the Thermal Belt which
from Butte and Tehama counties on the
north to San Diego County. the SOUTH fol-
lowing the line the foothills for seven hundred
miles, i'll a path from three 20 thirty miles wide
and at an altitude Of from three hundred to egh-
teen hundred feet above the sea.