Aug. 2, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



9' 



as it was landed from the vessel, and I found ready 

 sale for the same at S15 per barrel. 



The shipper of this celebrated brand (Mr. S. 

 Kennedy of Jamaica), not content with the extrav- 

 agant price his oranges brought, allowed himself to 

 be inveigled into a contiact with a certain New 

 York firm that proved disastrous to shipper and con- 

 tractor alike, for instead of keeping up the standard 

 quality, as of previous shipuieuts, he allowed the 

 mark to deteriorate, thus losing its prestige, and 

 from that day to this I have never bought a single 

 barrel of the once celebrated ^ brand, now no better 



than any other brand. 



I simply cite the above to show how even a brand 

 of oranges can reach the pinnacle of popularitj-, 

 and like frail humanity, by some misdeed, sink 

 into utter oblivion. Other shippers have taken lessons 

 from this and maintain their standard of excellence 

 in quality and packing, so that such marks as the 



S M ^^^ others have gained a most enviable reput- 

 ation, not only for the shipper in Jamaica but for 

 the receivers in New York, JMessrs. Goodwin & 

 Hturridge, whose reputation as reliable trustworthy 

 dealers is certainly worthy of emulation. 



The fruit just spoken of, cominy! 3,s I said, from 

 the Mandeville district, on the south side of the 

 island, rivals all other oranges grown in Jamaica, 

 although some very good fruit comes from the north 

 side. It has not the keeping or eating qualities of 

 the oranges grown on the soth side, for this part 

 seems to be expecially adapted to orange culture, 

 both in soil and climate, the fruit actually growing 

 wild in many places, without the slightest cultivation, 

 and where the mere keeping down of the brush 

 would convert the trees into beautiful orange groves. 



Like Havana, Jamaica ships most of the oranges 

 in barrels, but, unlike Havana, Jamaica, is more 

 careful in the selection of the package, using as far 

 as possible a new sixteen inch head barrel, with the 

 staves broad and full ot holes for ventilation. A\'hlle 

 Havana sends the fruit to New York unwrapped 

 and unsized, Jamaica pays great attention to the 

 grading of the oranges, carefullj' wrapping them in 

 brown straw paper. Great care is bestowed in packing 

 choice brands in regular layers from the top to 

 bottom of the barrel, the average count being about 350 

 to the barrel. 



Jamaica has made svich rapid strides in orange 

 culture during the last quarter of a century that 

 had not Florida come to our relief the Jamaica 

 orange would now be enjoying almost a monopoly 

 in New York markets as the only genuine sweet 

 orange to be relied upon for late winter and spring 

 trade. The orange tree is so pliable under conditions 

 imposed by art, that in Jamaica it can be made 

 to produce a crop at any desired time of the year. 

 Its blossoming may be hastened by cultivation and 

 irrigation, and it may also be retarded by suppress- 

 ing the blossoms. This retarding process, I am in- 

 formed, is extensively resorted to by the Spanish 

 colonists in Nicaragua and Honduras. 



HOME PRODUCTION. 



Having thus carried you through the orange fields 

 of nearly every foreign laud that sends its fruit to 

 the United States, let us now take a look at the 

 orange belt of our own favored country lying princi- 

 pally in Florida, Louisiana and Southern California. 

 To the Spanish Catholic missionaries it is generally 

 supposed that Florida is indebted for the introduc- 

 tion of the orange, they having brought the seed of 

 the sour or Seville orange from Spain, and as the 

 fruit multiplied the seeds were scattered by the 

 Indians throughout the State, which probably accounts 

 for the numerous wild orange groves found near 

 the banks of the rivers and lakes, formerly the 

 favorite camping grounds of the Seminole Indians. 

 Later the sweet orange was introduced from Europe 

 and planted in St. Augustine (the oldest city in the 

 United States). 



At the close of the civil war small plantations 

 of sweet oranges were found throughout the State, 



consisting usually of a few trees growing around 

 dwellings. At the close of the war many of the old 

 trees were bearing liberal crops of such luscious fruit 

 as travellers from all parts of the world had never 

 before eaten. The excellence of the American orange 

 set enterprising Northerners to thinking there was 

 money in orange culture, and the general climate of 

 the State made the enterprise doubly attractive, 

 Capitalist.« seeking health in that warm climate soon 

 invested in lands and started groves from seeds ; as 

 shipments of fruit were made North and large prices 

 realized. Others purchased wild groves of the sour 

 orange and grafted or budded the sour stock with 

 the sweet, the last process securing a more vigorous 

 tree and one that will last for centuries. The orange 

 fever spread among the natives, who began to real- 

 ize that within their very door-yards lay a fortune 

 they had never dreamed of. So they went to work 

 with commendable energy, until Florida is becoming 

 a vast forest of orange groves, having at present 

 hundreds of thousands of trees, producing last season 

 about eighty millions of oranges, and giving rise to 

 the question. "Will not the business be overdone ? 

 To which we readily answer, No. With the small 

 area within the L^nited States capable of producing 

 oranges this will be impossible. 



AVith its present liberal supply Florida furnishes 

 but about one-tenth of the oranges consumed in the 

 United States. New York City alone is said to con- 

 sume more fruit than any other city in the world, 

 not excepting London or Paris, The area of the 

 States with climate suitable for orange growing in- 

 cludes portions of California, a very small part of 

 Louisiana and the whole of Florida. A trifling area 

 as compared to the vast sections of the United 

 States which will be well filled with inhabitants long 

 before the orange-growing section can be brought 

 into bearing. The present yield of fruit grown in 

 the ITnited States furnishes hardly an orange a year to 

 f ach inhabitant. Taking our population at 60,000,000, 

 judging from the past, it will probably in the next 

 thirty years double ; to furnish such a popul- 

 ation with one orange a day will require no less than 

 4;},800,0OO,0()O, so there is but little danger of 

 the production ever meeting the demand of our 

 country. 



Of the average age of the orange tree nothing defin- 

 ite can be said, but it is generally supposed that 

 with all conditions favorable, such as soil, climate and 

 proper attention, the orange trees are good for a 

 century or over. In fact, at Cordova, that far-famed 

 seat of INIoorish splendour, there are still remaining a 

 number of monster orange trees known to be .seven 

 hundred years old. Their trunks are partly hollow, 

 their bark cracked and rough, yet each year, those 

 dingy old giants yield their seven and ten thousand 

 of luscious oranges as if yet in the hey-day of their 

 youth. Even in England, at Hampton Court where 

 the tree is raised only as a curiosity and is carefully 

 sheltered by glass, there are several trees that are known 

 to be over three hundred years old. There is also 

 an orange tree in the Convent of St Sabine, at Rome, 

 which is known to be over 680 years old. So it is 

 no rash assertion to make that no orange grower in 

 this country will live to see his trees cease to yield 

 him an income. 



OTHER FOREIGN SORTS. 



While we recognize but two varieties of oranges, 

 the sweet and the sour, there are as many distinct 

 varieties as there are of apples. I will speak of a 

 few varieties that are never, and others that are hardly 

 ever seen in this country. The Chinese have by 

 careful study and long cultivation succeeded in dwarf- 

 ing the orange-trees until they have them growing 

 in flower-pots, bearing fruit regularly, but in size no 

 larger than a cherry or plum. Another variety grown 

 in China and never seen in this country is the 

 "coolie orange." It resembles in size and appearance our 

 tomato; this variety has a thick rind, is quite juicy, 

 and the tree a great bearer. There is also the 

 " sucking orange,'' .so called because the skin is so 

 thin and adheres so closely to the flesh that it 



