The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1913-01-17
CALIFORNIA HARD
HIT BY Freezing.
Oranges and Lemons Frozen
SOlid--Trees in Critical
Condition.

Packer is probably the most authen-
tic account of last weeks disastrous
freeze in California yet published.
Since the report was published how
ever, ray of hope has come to Cali
fornia fruit growers in the facet that
the freeze was followed by cold and
rainy weather.
Los Angeles, Jan. 10.-(SpeciaD-
The truth must be told although not
half can be made known at this time,
because it will be several weeks be-
fore the entire amount of damages can
be estimated. However, it is a fact
that the California vegetable and fruit
industries have been visited by a great
calamity. All night Sunday night,
January 5, the temperature over the
entire southern portion of California
dropped slowly to from ten to twelve
degrees below freezing. The govern
ment weather bureau, taking temper
atures from the tops of buildings in
| Los Angeles, San Diego and other
places, recorded as low as nineteen
and twenty above zero. Private re-
ports taken on the ground and in the
groves recorded as low as eight in the
lemon districts of San Diego county
and ten, twelve and fourteen in the
principal orange districts of the state.
All day Monday, the 9th, the tenn
perature over the southern part of the
state remained from twenty-six to
thirty degrees. Irrigation water in the
groves froze at midday. Monday
night the temperatures gradually
dropped to points equal to and lower
than thoSa of Sunday niuht
On Tuesday morning citrus fruits
hung on the trees frozen solid. Be-
yond question not an orange, lemon
or vegetable in the state escaped. The
entire crop has been damaged and
probably rs to 80 per cent of the fruit
and vegetable crop will be unfit for
any kind of use. Nursery stock and
trees as old as three and four years
probably will not survive.
The total loss to crops and trees is
stimated at from $30,000,000 to
$50,O00,000. The battle of the grow
ers to save their crops is one long to
be remembered. All through the cit
rus districts every man, woman and
child able to handle a smudge pot,
fought desperately for two nights but
each hour in passing took with it
81 100000 worth of fruits and vege-
tables. At midnight Monday night
many growers abandoned all hope.
More than million 5mudge pots were
kept going but proved of little avail
in heating all out-of-doors. The wind
was too strong, the cold too intense.
Groves today look as if they have
been ravaged by fire. The story from
one district is very little different from
that of another. Orchards in foothill
sections, which during the freeze last
year were only slightly touched and
other especially we'll located groves
never frosted before, this time beyond
any question were frozen.
Older trees as well as younger, are
badly damaged. Many no doubt, will
not survive, others will take several
years to grow new fruit wood and to
arrive at their former condition.
Authentic reports from central and
northern citrus belts are just as ap-
palling as those of the south. The
only hope of the growers now is favor
able weather conditions. Tuesday |
remained cold. Wednesday the wealth
or moderated, Wednesday night a gen
eral heavy cold rain was falling fol-
lowed by cloudy and rainy weather
Thursday. These conditions may save
portion of the crop. Government
experts say the greatest injury follow
ing freezing is the result of rapid |
thawing of the ice crystals in the fruit.
Tonight many growers are hopeful
of saving a small per centage. How
ever, the calamity is so great that in
other countries the same conditions
would be regarded as an occasion for
general subscription to relieve suffer
ers, but Californians are not easily
defeated and just as slowly and surely
as San Francisco rose to a beautiful
and modern city from its bed of ashes,
California fruit and vegetable grow
ers will Phoenix-like rise to greater
scientific protection and production, as
well as greater success. One hundred
and fifty thousand people are more or
less directly affected. While the loss
has been very severe, yet Californians
still remain, as always, optimists and
boosters.