ORANGE 



ORANGE 



2369 



by Canada, Davis, Fish, Fowler, Gallesio, Garcelon, 

 Lelong, Prange. L. H. B. 



Orange-culture in Florida. 



The Spanish occupation of Florida began with the 

 landing of Ponce de Leon in 1513, and they maintained 

 a more or less precarious hold upon the state, disputing 

 possession with the English colonists to the northward, 

 and with the aborigines, until the year 1821 (excepting 

 the years 1763-1783), when it passed under the control 

 of the United States. It was during the Spanish regime 

 that oranges were first grown in Florida, and there 

 is reason to believe that as early as the year 1600 

 the orange was fairly well established on the Florida 

 peninsula. 



As in the early days of orange-culture in Spain, the 

 sour orange (Citrus Aurantiwri) was the fruit cultivated, 

 so in Florida it is not unlikely that the earliest Spanish 

 importations were of sour orange fruit from which seed 

 was secured. At any rate, when the early English colo- 

 nists made their homes in Florida, they found the sour 

 orange much the more common, although some sweet 

 orange groves were also found. One of the most note- 

 worthy of these sweet orange groves was found in 1823 

 in Turnbull Hammock near Hawk's Park. It was from 

 this grove that the old strains of oranges which made 

 the Indian River famous came. The old sour orange 

 groves were found mainly on the shores of lakes and 

 rivers, where the fruit had been brought and con- 

 sumed by the Indians and where the seeds, thrown aside 

 by them, found a congenial soil for germination and 

 growth. The trees were usually mixed with and pro- 

 tected by magnolia, live oak, and other hardwood forest 

 growth. These natural sour orange groves were the 

 foundation, in many instances, of important sweet 

 orange plantings, particularly in the older orange dis- 

 tricts in the central part of the state. In some cases, 

 the sour orange trees were topworked where they 

 stood; in others they were taken up, planted out in 

 orchard form and then topworked. There is no orchard 

 cultivation of the sour orange in the state at this time. 



The earlier sweet orange groves in Florida were 

 established near lakes and rivers because these afforded 

 the only means of getting the fruit to market. These 

 plantings were made almost entirely with seedling trees, 

 and in spite of the ravages of mal-di-gomma and frost, 

 in many regions they furnish a very large proportion of 

 the crop at the present time. Nor is its quality open 

 to question. In the early sixties there were many 

 famous groves along the St. John's River, but it was not 

 until the railroads opened up the state that the grow- 

 ing of citrous fruits took its place as Florida's most 

 important horticultural industry. 



Previous to the severe frost of 1894-5, much fruit 

 was produced in northern Florida, but while some is 

 still grown, the industry has been gradually moving 

 southward, until now the larger part of the total crop 

 comes from the southern part of the state. 



Climate. 



The Florida climate is usually marked in spring by a 

 pronounced dry period which extends from the latter 

 part of March or early April up to the beginning of the 

 summer rains, which generally commence in June. Dur- 

 ing June, July, and August, the rainfall is uniform and 

 heavy. The autumn months are fairly dry, while 

 showers are intermittent during the winter season, 

 with a very large proportion of days of bright sunshine. 

 The annual average rainfall is 53 inches, most of which 

 comes during the summer months. 



Florida has been visited from time to time by severe 

 cold waves. Among these, the most noteworthy were 

 the ones which came in 1886 and in 1894-5. At the 

 time of these cold waves, the orange industry was 

 established in the more northerly counties of the state 



150 



and consequently the damage was much more serious 

 than would occur at the present time, owing to the 

 opening up of the southern districts. The damage from 

 cold waves in Florida has often been greatly increased 

 because they were preceded by periods of high tem- 

 peratures which caused sap movement in the trees. 

 When entirely dormant, an orange tree is fairly hardy, 

 while, in growth or when stirred from its dormant con- 

 dition, it may be injured at comparatively high tem- 

 peratures. This, however, is more or less true of other 

 plants, though they do not respond so readily to 

 variations in temperature. But in Florida, many fruit- 

 trees and ornamentals entirely hardy much farther 

 north have been injured at times because they were not 

 completely dormant. 



Soils. 



Florida lands are generally grouped according to 

 elevation and the growth of native timber or vegetation 

 by which they are, or were, covered in a virgin state. 

 Those commonly used for the cultivation of citrous 

 fruits are high hammock, and low hammock, high pine 

 and flat woods land. 



High hammock lands are elevated, naturally well 

 drained, and are covered with a native growth of ever- 

 green hardwood and deciduous trees. Among these 



2614. Mandarin, a kid-glove orange. 

 Citrus nobilis var. deliciosa. 



may be mentioned the live oak, hickory, magnolia, 

 dogwood, and holly. They are well supplied with 

 vegetable matter, the soil is comparatively rich, deep 

 and well adapted for citrous fruit-culture. 



Low hammock lands (hammock is an Indian name 

 for a hardwood forest) correspond in a large measure to 

 the high hammock soils. They are not so well drained 

 naturally. The native growth is of much the same 

 character, but the sweet gum, live oak, and cabbage 

 palmetto are more in evidence. Drainage requires 

 careful attention, but the soil is rich in humus. The 

 clearing and preparation of these low hammocks for 

 planting is difficult and expensive, but the rasults in 

 vigorous orange trees and crops of fine fruit leave 

 little to be desired. 



High pine land is well drained, elevated and often 

 rolling. The native growth consists almost entirely of 

 long-leaf or yellow pine with little or no undergrowth, 

 the latter being replaced by wire-grass. Sometimes a 

 few high-land willow oaks are found. These lands are 

 frequently swept by fires, and consequently the humus- 

 content is lower than would otherwise be the case. The 

 subsoil may be sand, clay or loamy sand. They are not 

 rich soils, but respond readily to good treatment and 

 produce excellent oranges. 



Flat woods land is also covered with long-leaf and 

 other pines, but the elevation is much lower and the 

 surface flat and level. Often there is a dense growth of 

 saw palmetto. The subsoil may be clay, sand or hard- 



