196 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



mild climate of Italy, Spain, and the south of 

 France. Then came the spread of orange culture 

 in the West Indies, Florida, and Mexico. And 

 last, but greatest, the establishment of the orange 

 as a commercial crop in California, an industry 

 which has made a profound impression on the 

 orange market of Europe and America. 



The remarkable thing about the orange of 

 southern California is that the fruit is picked ripe 

 from the tree, packed with the utmost care, 

 shipped in special refrigerator cars, or compart- 

 ments in vessels, and delivered to the consumer 

 in distant countries without change or deteriora- 

 tion in quality. It may be picked through a long 

 season, so as to supply the market at almost any 

 season of the year. The growers in this great 

 new orange region of the world are people of high 

 intelligence, who have founded their industry on 

 the best knowledge obtainable. The experience 

 of Old World growers has helped methods in use; 

 but their prejudices and traditions have not ham- 

 pered the progress of the new horticulture. 



Just as good horticultural intelligence developed 

 the orange industry in Florida. The advantage 

 of nearness to the great seaboard cities of the East, 

 and cheaper transportation by sea, gave a great 

 stimulus to the planting of orchards, and in 1894 



