The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1913-01-17
CALIFORNIA; CALAMITY
Lowest Temperature Ever Recorded
Continued for Three Nights and
Two Days-BIasts the Hopes OF


Two Days-BIasts the Hopes of
Thousands.
The Redlands (Cal) correspondent
of the New York Fruit and Produce
Journal writes as follows:
With the lowest temperature ever
recorded in California, the citrus sec
tions were swept by a freeze Sunday,
Monday and Tuesday nights, bringing
i a loss estimated between $25,OOO,OO0
and s50,O0O,0OO, and practically wip-
ling out the crop at Redlands, River
side, Highlands, Glendora, Covina,
San Diego and other points. The
thermometer at this place registered
as low as IS, while at Riverside 10 de-
grees was reported. The most con-
Iservative estimates show that at least
so per cent of the crop is practically
worthless, a condition which has new
er existed before, and blow greater
than that of the San Francisco earth
quake. Growers are very respondent,
and hundreds have given up hope OF
saving any of their crop. Reports
show that not single section escap-
ed. Present indications are that it
will take long time for the citrus in
dustry to recover anything like its
normal proportions. Lemons were
damaged as much, if not more, than
oranges, most reports showing that
there were no lemons saved. While it
is too early yet to make definite re-
port on the total amount of damage,
even the most optimistic do not ex-
pect that over so per cent. of the
crop will be fit to ship, and of that
lamount a large percentage is liable to
show touches of frost damage. POmo-
ma reports fully so per cent. of the
icrop killed. while Redlands, Riverside
and other points in San BernardinO
county report 80 per cent. of the crop
in that country ruined First reports
were that the cold had killed the
young trees, but later accounts show
that the heaviest damage was to nur-
sery stock, while the old trees were
not SO seriously hurt. The California
Fruit Growers Exchange says that it
I is too early yet to make an accurate
estimate of the damage. Reports to
ranging from total destruction of the
crop to injury in unprotected groves.
The freeze continued through two
days and three nights, and while ear
ly reports are greatly exaggerated,
later ones are anything but encourag-
ing. Practically no section escaped,
and many small growers will be prac-
tically wiped out.
Following the severe freeze last
winter, which worked a heavy loss on
growers, everything possible had been
done in the way of organization to
fight the frost. Hundreds of thou
sands of smudge pots had been pur-
chased by the growers, and, as told
last week in the News, an elaborate
system of frost protection had been
worked out, which gave growers much
confidence. Scores of inspectors and
watchmen had been employed to light
the smudge pots on the first warning
of frost and everyone felt confident
up to last Sunday that a killing freeze
could be met successfully by the
lsmudge pot army Thousands of bar
rels of oil had been distributed over
the citrus sections, and every precau-
ton had been taken against delay in
lighting the pots. Except for this the
Temperature Monday and Tuesday
nights would have probably wiped out
the young trees and seriously injured
if not destroyed the old ones.
Usually the first reports of a freeze
are greatly exaggerated, and those
coming later more reassuring. In the
present case this rule is reversed.
Each day reports from all over the
state grow more pessimistic. Every
grove as far south as San Diego has
ISuHeIeu. Inc loss appears TO be as
heavy in the protected districts as in
the unprotected sections At every
point the cold was so severe that the
fire pots proved ineffective from the
start, so steady was the oncoming of
the freeze, which spread like a fog,
developing everything within it's
reach with death grasp.
Just what proportion of the fruit
may be saved for shipment will be
hard to determine for another week.
few optimistic growers see a ray of
hope in the fact that the sun did not
come out Immediately following the
cold. Wednesday morning it became
warmer and rained, this condition