The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1917-02-09
STATE WIDE FREEZE CAUSES SERIOUS
LOSS, ESPECIALLY IN SOUTH FLORIDA
TRUCKERS ALL OVER STATE WILL BE OBLIGED
TO REPLANT
Citrus Fruit Remaining on Trees Generally Frosted
Damage to Trees Not Thought Serious Except
in South Florida.

Freezing weather hit Florida last
Friday night, coming in from the
northwest astride a wind which
amounted to go mile an hour gale.
Before sunup the following morn
ing the mercury in every part of
Florida had dropped from six to II
points below freezing.
On Saturday night, while there was
an absence of wind, there was little
if any rise in the temperature. The
before dawn temperature throughout
Florida averaged about the same as
on the previous night.
The damage wrought in this State
| by these two nights Of extreme cold
can scarce be computed, but it will
run into the hundreds Of thousands of
dollars, perhaps millions.
Of course semi-tropical South Flori-
da suffered the greater damages. The
great east coast tomato and truck
fields were total loss. One tomato
planter in Dade county with 500 acres
of tomatoes will have to reset the en-
tire acreage. He is only one of hun
dreds.
In the East Palatka- Federal Point
Hastings potato section just east OF
this city, there are, as has been con-
servatively estimated, fully 10000
acres planted in potatoes. Of course
all this acreage has been cut to the
ground. But the great part of it had
only began to show above ground;
the tubers had not formed. There
will have to be no replanting, except
on few acres at Federal Point, where
the tubers are as large as English
walnuts. Federal Point is usually
from ten days to two weeks in ad-
vance of the other potato sections.
This year it will be coming in about
the same time, and in some instances
little later. The opinion is gen.
eral among the big potato growers
that very little of the acreage will
have to be replanted.
Citrus fruit groves in East Palatka
have been slightly injured or set back.
In some instances a few trees have
been put out of business. w. &.
Tilghman's Satsuma trees appear to
be uninjured.
Perhaps Mr.. Warner of the Esper-
enza grove is the heaviest grower OF
citrus fruits in this end of the coun-
ty; he had fires going all through the
nights and it is reported that in so
doing he saved about so per cent of
the fruit left on his trees. He had
shipped fully one-half of his crop.
San Mateo groves have been dam
aged, but to what extent can not be
determined under a week. The con-
sensus of opinion is that the damage
is not serious. Much OF the lrulO
had been shipped. w .,
There is comparatively little fruit
grown in this part of Putnam county:
The fruit section is mostly confined
to the peninsular end of the county.
Crescent City in the extreme south
of the peninsular, and only three or
four miles from the Volusia county
line, is q citrus growing section ex-,
clusivcly. This place has the record
for being the most extensive shipper
of citrus fruits in all Florida. Here
probably four-ffths of the crop had
been marketed. A large part of the
fruit remaining on the trees has
been regarded as still marketable.
The growers there while admitting
that the trees have been injured, are
united in the opinion that the damage
is only slight. and confined to q cur
tailment of the coming years CROP.
There was approximately 10000
boxes of grapefruit and oranges left
on the trees.
In West Putnam the damage to
trees has been greater, but except for
Interlachen and one or two other
points, little attention has been given
TO the cultivation of citrus crops for
the past twenty years.
Considerable trucking is done in
this section of the county, and the
losses to such growers has been great
Cabbage at Putnam Hall showed dam
ace, while a few miles away. at Gran
din, a big cabbage acreage showed up
in fine condition on Wednesday morn
ing.
Florahome is quite used to set
backs, but its people have again been
hit and hit hard. The trucking losses
here have been great.
Over at Bannerville number of
farmers had banded for a big acre
age in Strawberries. The cold was
so severe that in some instances even
the plants have been destroyed. Some
13 acres in berries here were showing
berries just about ready for ship
ment.
Putnam county with all its losses.
is not in it however to the extent of
some of the counties south of us, even
to the extreme southern limits of the
State. Our citrus trees were more
dormant and therefore better prepared
to stand the extreme cold.
Reports from The South.
The Palatka News is not going to
give much hearsay evidence concern
ing the cold in the southern parts of
the State. 1t is going to make up
its report principally from clippings
from newspapers in the different sec