MoNi'iiiA' i{ii.i.i:-i'ix. 827 



imu'k ;iiid fresh watei- nuii'sli hinds of Florida are extoiisivc. af^'^roj^ating 

 not less than 5,()()() s(|uare miles. The everglades of southern Florida 

 (Fisr. 118) inchide the most ext(Misive single area of iiinck lands, 

 altlK)ii,L;li many smaller areas oeeur throughout the state."" Tin' inuek 

 lands when drained make perhaps the most fertile soils in the state. 

 Citrus trees will grow well in them, hut the fruit is usually coarse, 

 thiek-skinned and inferior in (|uality in comparison to fruit ui'own in 

 other soils. 



The California citrus soils var}' fr-om the alluvial sandy loam of 

 the lower valleys through a heavy clay and adobe to decomposed 

 granite of higher altitudes; this la.st varying in amount of decomposi- 

 tion from tine soil to a point where boulders of considerable size have 

 to be removed from the surface before trees are planted. 



Citrus Localities. 



With the exception of some groves of Satsuma oranges in northern 

 Florida and a few groves in ])rotected regions along the St. Johns 

 River and in the proximity of lakes, the great majority of all com- 

 mercial citrus growing in Florida is now carried on in the southern 

 half of the state (the southern half by area and the southern two- 

 thirds by latitude). Before the freeze of 1894-95, however, the center 

 of citrus growing in Florida was 75 to 100 miles farther north than 

 it now is. In the vicinity of some towns in northern Florida which 

 before this date were the largest shipping points for citrus fruit in 

 the state, there can now be found only a few orange trees which have 

 come up from the old roots. This is about the only outward evidence 

 of some of the earliest important citrus growing communities. These 

 same lands, however, are now being profitably employed in the raising 

 of vegetables, sugar cane, corn, sweet potatoes and other crops. 



In southern Florida the various citrus sections or regions are not 

 so widely separated in actual distances as those represented by the 

 citrus regions of Butte County, Tulare County and the southern Cali- 

 fornia counties in this state, yet even in Florida, citrus growing, though 

 generally scattered, is apt to become centered and often concentrated 

 somewhat about certain important cities or towns. This is best indi- 

 cated by mentioning some of the main regions and representative cities. 

 There is first the Lake and Orange county region, an old section with 

 many old seedling orange groves as well as budded varieties, and con- 

 siderable grapefruit. Representative cities are Eustis and Orlando. 

 Then there is the Polk and nilll)orougli county section a little farther 

 south, ditfering little from the last, except i)erhaps in the larger per- 

 centage of grapefruit groves. In this section representative cities are 

 Lakeland, F"lorence Villa and Tampa. The Pinellas Peninsula and the 

 Manatee River regions near the west coast are two similar regions 

 both well ])rote(;ted from frost by large bodies of water and they now 

 grow large amounts of both grapefruit and oranges. In these sections 

 lemons at one time were successfully grown. Representative cities are 

 Clearwater and Bradentown. Desoto and Lee county sections, repre- 

 sented by Arcadia and Fort ^Nlyers, are still farthei- south, the last named 

 being the most southern section on the west coast. These grow large 

 amounts of both oranges and grapefruit. Then there is the famous 

 Indian River or East Coast section, reaching from above Daytona at 

 the north through AVest Palm Beach to below ^liami on the south. 



