The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-02-27
GEO. DAVIS DESCRIBES METHODS
OF GROWING fruit N FLORIDA
Citrus Fruit Growing is to Florida What Wheat Raising
is to North Dakota-Small Grower Working a Revo-
luton inthe state-Something About the Prices.
To the Editor of. the Times:

To the Editor OF. the Times:
A previous story OF the actual con.
ditions In Florida. as they appear to
me seemed to stimulate inquiry rather
than assure It, and since that story
appeared I have received many re-
quests for further information about
this state. The vast majority of those
who have written me call attention to
the fact that !, only discussed vegeta-
Die growing in my former story and
something the majority Of the writer's
say they want to know about. I am,
therefore, presuming on your indul-
gence to say a few words about this
industry.
OF course, citrus fruit growing Is
to Florida what wheat growing is to
North Dakota. yet it is far from being
SO Well established. There are mil
lions of boxes of fruit grown and
shipped from this state every year,
but the industry: is seemingly just in
its infancy. The old groves-those
thirty and forty years old-are pro-
ducing large quantities Of fruit, but
IL is Of IN inferior character-not i'm
are planted with trees of the most
improved varieties and the varieties
of oranges are as numerous as those
of apples-and-the quality of the fruit
is correspondingly better. Once. this
improved fruit predominates l can not
see why Florida citrus fruit should
men who know tell me the fruit is
superior to that of California in
quality.
Small Groves Coming.
The small grower with five or ten
~ I~ VNy0NrlySnn T.
Florida fruit growing. with a few
exceptions notably the bonanza
ranches-the large orchards are old
trees of inferior varieties. The own
ers are either too lazy or too indiffer-
ent to give them proper attention and
the result is a crop of o grade fruit
that takes a place in the market much
like mo grade" wheat. But the man
who has five Or ten acres. especially
If he is from the north, takes a pride
in his grove and fertilizes and culti-
Yates it much as DR.. Thomas Shaw
would an experimental plot of wheat
in III dry farming region; These
produced. and when a few laws regu-
lating the shipping Of green fruit are
enacted. there will be a decided i'm
provement.
Florida is destined to become one
great citrus fruit grove-that is, the
peninsula of Florida. 1t will never be
uniform like the wheat fields Of North
land will produce fruit, the land agents
to the contrary. But in a few years
all the fruit growing portions will be
planted, and if the number who came
here this winter is any criterion. 1t
will not be many years before all the
land available to railroads will be
planted. Their are millions Of acres
yet in the raw state, but they are far
from the present railroads. and either
fruit or vegetables not readily accessi-
bic to market are valueless except for
family consumption.
Grape Fruit Growing.
1t looks to me a Though the grow.
ing Of grape fruit Would be the big
thing in this sectioh in time. / be-
lteve it is less than ten years ago since
northern people showed the southern
1t is a luxury on nearly every break
fast table. 1t grows in no other por-
tion of this country except Florida.
and h area in this state is limited,
roughly speaking, to a cross-section OF
the peninsula ESQ or 300 miles wide
from north to south. l do not intend
to fix the a boundaries, ever il
that were possible, because some o:
the North Dakotans who own land in
this state would charge me-and prob
ably the Times-with knocking If l
put. them outside the belt. Nor does
all the land in this belt produce the
fruit. And certain kinds-or rather
tho market will never be overstocked.
if I am m judge. and as the market
expands, as it will. the price nus 60
up for there is only a limited produce
ton possible. A man who tells me he
came here six years 6 with a wife.
4 <Svy~ 49, QEn -I-, -
check for his grape fruit crop from
five. acres this year, sold on the tree.
of $1,471. He cleared the land and
planted his grove since coming here.
1t was the second crop. but he had
nursed it more than he had his chill
dren, If the unkept sample who ac-
companied him when he talked with
me was any criterion.
Fighting the Frost.
The danger of frost makes the life
of the fruit grower here as anxious
and uncertain as the lack of June
rains do the North Dakota wheat
grower. A frost that would not injurc
a tomato plant i'll North Dakota will
kill the fruit and young shoots which
carry the embryo blossom. thus de-
stroying a years crop. These frosts
call them cold here-when the mer.
curry gets down to fifty above-the
newspaper offices are besieged with
inquiries both by telegraph and tele.
phone for the weather forecast. But
with all these. fruit growing is an
IDEAL occupation and n in which the
rewards are amply commensurate.
Some of the larger growers have
artificial mean Of prevent freezing.
Near Sarasota IL large grove Is piped
with oil. A large tank elevated as u
water tower Is the reservoir and from,
this pipes are laid throughout the
entire grove, a jet p%rotruding from the
ground under each tree. When there
is danger Of frost-the system has
never been used but onc I UNDER
stand-these small jets are lighted and
this protects the tree from frost or
freezing. The more primitive way il
to have smudge heaps-piles Of rub
bish partially covered with dirt
throughout the orchard and in case
of threatened frost these are set on
fire. the smoke serving to ward off the
danger. These precautions are COM
mon throughout the northern portion
Of the state, but farther south the
danger of frost is less and these pre-.
cautions are not taken by the small
grower.
Fruit and Politics.
The incoming congress threatens to
put citrus fruit or the free list and
this has stirred up a whirlwind OF
protest in this state, the growers de.