FRUITS FROM THE TROPICS 293 



though this will be too expensive except by Gov- 

 ernment or other combined aid. 



The orange crop is occasionally blasted even 

 in Florida by unusual frosts. In 1895, for ex- 

 ample, the loss of the trees themselves was so 

 great as to put a serious handicap on the indus- 

 try for a term of years. So it is imperative that 

 a race of oranges should be developed that will 

 be capable of at least enduring occasional periods 

 of cold. But, aside from the tentative experi- 

 ments just noted, very little has hitherto been 

 accomplished in this direction. 



The field is open for any experimenter who 

 has a large capital to work with and is located 

 in a region that lies well within the present 

 orange belt (preferably near its northern limits) 

 and the reward that awaits the successful devel- 

 oper of a really good hardy orange is sure and 

 significant. 



SEEDLESS CITRUS FRUITS 



Everyone is familiar nowadays with the so- 

 called Xavel Orange, which combines the very 

 notable quality of seedlessness with large size 

 and general excellence of quality. 



The seedless condition of this orange is not the 

 result of skillful selection, but appeared as a 

 "sport" in certain wild oranges of Brazil. There 



