Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1921-09-02
Touring Polk County. Florida,
BY JAMES FAUX.


we saw the smudge wood or open
air stoves in the California orange
groves. The most Of this wood
shows much age, as they have not
had a threatening of frost tor num-
Der of winters. At some places we
had pointed out to us old stumps
which were killed in the last great
freeze there in the early COS believe
it was. 10 other places we were
shown old Seeding trees that was
before the day of the budded fruit
prevailing which are thriving today
and that went through the frosts
safely. 1t depended somewhat on
the lay of the land, just as in Miss
issippi. you know sometimes light
frosts will not touch ridges or hill
sides but will nip down in the flats.
Some of these groves which went
through the frost have delicious fruit
but most of them we were told were
spoiled for flavor by the frost How
ever, frost fear does not haye the
dread Oh the inhabitants that it
once did. They reason on IL like we
do great floods or hurricanes in
South Mississippi. They come so
seldom that fortunes can be made in
the twixt times and then they are
better equipped now to fight off or
binary weather hazard than IN for
mer days. Men who were rich woke
up during those great freezes bank
rupt. and many are the tales told Of
the hardshlps which it wrought and
now many made unnecessary Sacrl-
fices getting such scare on as to
pull up and sell out for song or
give out almost 10 some instances TO
| find later on that there was a larger
per cent of recovery to their groves
than they thought and to bring enor-
meous returns to those who STAYED
by the stuff till the trees began bear
| ing once more. They thought ruin
had come to orange-growlng in Flor
ida when it was but baptism of
trial to teach greater things for an
other day of prosperity and expan
sion of the industry which mas swept
far beyond what then prevailed or
the most sanguine ever dreamed as
lit is now, not much is thought or
said about frost fright except an
swering questions to newcomers.
| Returning from the Winter Hav-
en- packing plant. we rode through
that city again, being pointed out
the way at the important turns, by
Boy Scouts, who waved MS the route
OF travel with the chilvarv OF Don
lQuizots. Then for a spin out across
country to the packing house at
| LUCERNE
which place we reached a while be-
fore dark and where we were to sup.
This is big project. having 10,
600 fruit grove under one manage
ment, and the growth of their bust
ness has required the building of
this 1920, 900 packing house, and a
track of railroad having been run in
here from the main line to haul a.
way the great crop. 1t was a large
plant and they had Shut down for
the day but started up and ran lit
tie just to show US exactly how the
fruit is handled from the door on one
side where it comes in from the
trucks, to the other side where it
goes out in crates all selected, wash
ed, tissue paper wrapped and Grated
Ifor the iced cars sitting in siding
under their own sheds. Thew pride
themselves that no human hand
touches the fruit at any juncture
from the tree to the consumer. as
these who gather the fruit use prun-
ling hooks to drop them into bags
and they are dumped into the truck
boxes and IN the packing plant they
are first RIM through water and
then on belts where the sorting is
done, something like the plan n the
great department. stores where mail
order shipments are assembled.
They have slides on each side OF the
belts and the fruit spill out accord
ing to its classification as to size.
Then the packers catch 1t up with
lgloves and twist the tissue paper
| &. 4<>oc <,,.e <x.c