Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-02-12
aLand FLOWERS Gets a Chill
With The Lou Temperature of
the Past Few Days Ooer Here
BY FRANK T. LONG.

BY FRANK T. LONG.
SUTHERLAND, Fla Fe-;. 12-F1or-
ida is known today as one of the most
ideal winter resorts for the people of
the nation-a region where winter Is
almost as mild as traditional summer.
But winter invades even this favored
region, and Florida Is now suffering
the losses occasioned by one Of the Sc
Verest cold waves in many years. The
damage done to citrus fruits and veg
etables is very heavy, and winter tour
lists and residents have been shivering
for week.
Until the beginning of the recent
blizzard, the winter had been unusual
ly mild even for Florida. Days of mid
summer weather, with warm winds
from the southwest had caused one to
enjoy the lightest summer clothing
and even to go about with ones coat
off. Yellow jasmine was In full bloom,
pertaining the air with its many BIOS
SONS. The rose plots were gay with
red, pink and white roses. Bigonia
lavished its treasure of flaming scarlet
blooms over trellises and fences, as
did the purple Bougainvillea, or Jap
anese paper flower, with its large,
crepe-like blossoms. The mulberry
trees were almost fully in fresh green
leaves, and the orange trees and other
citrus fruits had tender green sprouts,
sometimes a foot in length, and In
many cases blossoms.
Suddenly, however, a Northwestern
came swooping down from across the
Gulf, and flashes came over the wires
that the mercury would drop below
freezing during the night. 1t had fall
en- to twenty-six degrees before next
morning. That was busy night win
owners of citrus fruit groves. They
at once set about firing" the groves,
that is, kindling fires of pinewood, or
using coal oil "smudges" to encircle
the groves and placing these fires also
at every check" or interval, among
the trees. The high winds made this
impossible in some cases where the
trees were very close together, except
around the sides of the groves. But
this process of firing saved thousands
of dollars worth of fruit. for the
mercury again fell as low, and even
lower in some places than on the first
night. Now one has but to look around
tc see how all tender vegetation has
been killed and blackened by the
frost.
Students Did String"
With the great need of laborers at
moments notice to fire" the groves
the college students at Sutherland
reaped a rich reward. The owners OF
groves offered students five dollars
Ger night for their services in this
work, and many responded to the ap-
peal for aid. The main duty to be
done was to start the lines of fires or
to tend them after they had been
started, the work lasting until the sun
rise of the following day. The skies
were lurid with the glare Of fires and
gmudges burning in all directions as
the fruit growers endeavored to ward
of the blasting hand of Jack Frost.
It Is remarkable that the loss to Cit
rus fruit growers in the Pinellas PEN
insular was very small. Almost sur
rounded by water as it Is, by the Gulf
OF Mexico on one side and by the wa
ters of Tampa Bay on the other the
Peninsular enjoys remarkable I'M
uunity from the ravages of frost The
moist air from these waters acts as
blanket that spreads over the land De-
tween these two bodies of water and
keeps the cold winds from doing very
g,eat damage. So it is very probable
that fruit growers here are suffering
less than almost any of the gorwers IN
this part of the state. In many cases.
especially along teh coast orange
trees with many blooms on them are
comparatively unhurt. The Blooms
have been blackened In some cases.
but they soon recover from this ana
anparently receive no permanent IN
i.ry. This is true, notwithstanding
the fact that the Thermometer fell TO
,wenty-elght degrees at Miami the
southernmost city on the mainland Oh
Florida, killing vast fields of tender
tomato plants that were well fruiteo
and would soon yielded their full
harvests.
so9e time is often required red AFTER ter
these cold waves before definite es-
innate can be made of the losses sus-