The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1913-10-24
ERIENCED JAPANESE NURS.
/ERYMAN WRITES SPECIAL
ARTICLE FOR THIS
PAPER.
GROW OLDER IN JAPAN.
The Hardy Tree Does Not Come
TO Maturity As Soon As In
This Country.

n,y s. Imura, Of Alvin japanese Nursery CO..
A statement regarding the life 0
Satsuma orange trees made by mi
at the annual meeting of the Fruit.
and Nuts Growers Association o
Baldwin county held at Robertsdale
Alabama, September 13, has evi
IDENTIFY proved Of interest 10 frui
growers in general, for have since
!. received over a dozen letters, be.
sides several personal calls, wanting
me to confirm my statement.
Ny announcement of the oldest
Satsuma orange tree known to us ir
Japan Of $40 years, is. it seems tc
me, credited by the general public
as an exaggeration, to say nothing
of the 16OO-year-old orange trees
(several trees growing IN one spot
in the county Of Yatsushiro, pre-
f t,lre Of Kumamoto, country Of
Japan. The records Of these latter
trees were found only few years
ago, but they did not contain the
v rety of this orange. Even the
age of another tree mentioned at
meeting Of 16O years old, nearly
two centuries younger than the
other, the fruits of which ate my
self and found the best | ever
tasted. is suspicioned by bargain
hunting orchardists who are looking
for reduction even in the age of the
tree. In fact, one of the visitors |
bad the other day frankly stated
that was not old enough to know
the trees age. 1t is life matter
wit, me and | speak in dead earnest.
admit that am not quite 100 years
old, but did not say | planted the
tree myself.
There is science to teach us many
things; history tells US of early hap
penings, and records prove the rast.
Indians had no history, and Mexi-
cans kept no records, yet scientists
tell us the ages of the California
Redwood trees. When Eve ate the
Forbidden Fruit at the Garden of
Eden no-one but a serpent, whose
descendants never speak a word of
any language to prove the happen
ing, saw her, still we know she did.
The age Of Satsuma orange trees
has been proved by records; Japan
has her unbroken history of 5000
years, while most of the well known
families have kept their private rec
ords for many centuries.
have already written my people
ir Japan to furnish me with pictures
OF the trees with all records concern
ed, and in about two months will
be in position to explain more about
the particulars.
For human being the life of a
century could not be verv well ex--
pected, yet there are many cente-
narians IN this world, and while
trees over a hundred years old are
rather common; the orange is one
of the trees favored by God for long
life.
Why are orange blossoms selected
for bride to wear on her wedding
eve! 1t may be with hope of the
union to be fruitful, but more likely
it is token or an omen of longevity.
Satsumas of 16O to $40 years of
age are, Of course, not common, but
we will find many centennial Sat-
sumas here and there in the Empire
Of Japan, and 20 to 80 year old
trees could be found almost every
where.
One question we now have to
study is that of the stock on which
satsuma is grated. satsuma on
fuzu stock generally lives longer
than one grated on Citrus trifoIiata,
and the $40 year old tree mention
ed above more than likely were on