March 6, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



119 



is usually gone to-morrow, owing to the sun's position at this 

 time of the year and to the influence of the sea air in this vi- 

 cinity. The safeguard is simple enough : to cover valuable 

 plants with any material likely to arrest frost — manure, straw, 

 earth, evergreen cuttings, etc. ^ t^ ^ » 



New York. Jno. Y. Culyer. 



The American Pomological Society. — -I. 



Orange-Growing in Florida. 



THE twenty-second biennial meeting of this Society, 

 held a fortnight ago at Ocala, in the heart of the 

 orange-producing section of Florida, and during the height 

 of the orange season was naturally devoted largely to 

 semi-tropical and tropical fruits. We present herewith ex- 

 tracts from a paper by Hon. G. E. Fairbanks, on the 

 " Orange industry from a commercial standpoint," and in 

 future numbers we hope to give the substance of several 

 other papers read at the meeting and prepared, like this 

 one, by members of the Florida Horticultural Society. Some 

 of the more important features of the meeting will also be 

 described. 



It is hardly fifteen years since orange-growing gained 

 any prominence in Florida, but this industry has already 

 become the leading and by far the most important commer- 

 cial industry of the state. Where but a few hundred small 

 groves existed twenty years since there are now over ten 

 thousand. Cotton, corn, sugar, rice, grazing, all require large 

 areas. Orange-growing is the most compact and productive 

 of all agricultural industries. An acre of land devoted to the 

 culture of cotton will produce perhaps fifty dollars worth of 

 cotton or twenty dollars worth of wheat, corn, or other grains. 

 A well-established, mature orange grove can be relied upon 

 to produce an orange crop worth $300 to the acre, even at the 

 low price of one dollar per box. One railway car will carry the 

 product of twenty-five acres of cotton, l?ut can only carry the 

 product of a single acre of Oranges. A grove whose product 

 is io,ooo boxes of Oranges will furnish freight for a train of 

 thirty-three loaded cars, while a large cotton plantation pro- 

 ducing 250 bales will furnish freight for only three or four cars. 

 This illustrates the commercial advantage of orange-growing 

 in building and sustaining railways. If we estimate the crop 

 of Florida at present at 3,000,000 boxes, it requires 10,000 car- 

 loads of 300 boxes to the car to move the crop, and calculating 

 the average freight to all parts of the country at sixty- six cents 

 per box the crop pays the railways $2,000,000 on freight alone. 

 The value of the box stuff used would be $390,000 ; the nails 

 $30,000; the paper for wraps $12,000, labor in gathering and 

 packing $600,000. Thus making an output of $1,140,000 for 

 simply preparing the fruit for market. If to this large sum we 

 add the cost of cultivation, of fertilizers, of packing houses, 

 teams, tram roads, and the tools and implements of labor, we 

 can begin to realize the commercial value of this industry, even 

 at this comparatively early stage of growth. When we realize 

 tliat not more than one fiftieth of the Orange trees in Florida 

 are bearing we are amazed at the possible and probable future 

 development of an industry limited to this single state, and 

 small areas in Louisiana and California. 



In view of the vast area of groves still to come into bear- 

 ing, and the natural increase of those now productive, the 

 quesfion naturally arises, What will be the future of the 

 orange industry of Florida ? Some, in a general way, say that 

 we cannot overstock the market ; but within ten years we may 

 anticipate that the increased production of Florida and Cali- 

 fornia will be very large, and if all the trees now planted in 

 the United States were to come into bearing, there is no ques- 

 fion but that the supply would exceed the demand. In facing 

 this fact, our advantages and disadvantages for the culture of 

 Citrus fruits may be briefly stated. 



Our climate is adapted to the production of oranges in 

 their greatest perfecfion, being neither too cold nor too warm, 

 too dry nor too wet. Again, our orange-growing section lies 

 within a thousand miles of the principal markets of the 

 United States, and consequently transportafion should be 

 both rapid and cheap. On the other hand, our fruit matures 

 or comes into market in the months of November and Decem- 

 ber, January and February, a period when naturally the de- 

 mand is not so great as in the summer months, and when 

 the transportation is at moi'e risk on account of freezing 

 weather. Again, we have the disadvantage of competitioii 

 with inferior West India and Mediterranean fruit ; and, in the 

 third place, we have an inferior service by rail and steamers, 

 with higher rates of transportation than for for<-''gn fruit. And 

 even for this brief period of our shipping season there is 



always the risk of injury to the fruit by cold in December and 

 January if it is allowed to remain on the trees. Labor, box 

 stuff and commissions, are comparatively high, so that even 

 at present prices of fruit more than half the money received 

 in market is absorbed in expenses of placing and selling it. 



It may be admitted at the outset, therefore, that lower prices 

 are to be looked for. Nevertheless, orange-growing will never 

 fail to yield a fair profit in Florida. 



The increase of productive groves will not equal more than 

 twenty-five per cent, of those set out, because a large percen- 

 tage of groves have been planted in unsuitable localities, and 

 will have to be abandoned. As the groves grow older there 

 will be alternation of bearing and fruitless years, which will 

 reduce the output one-half. The expense of caring for and 

 working groves will be greatlv reduced. The cost of prepar- 

 ing fruit for market will be lessened. Transportation will be 

 made better and less expensive. System and co-operation 

 will be introduced in the methods of marketing, so that a fairer 

 average market price will be obtained. As the cost decreases 

 the consumption of our fruit will increase. Even if eventually 

 the net return to the shipper should be only fifty cents per box, 

 allowing for a production of 250 boxes to the acre, the return 

 would give a handsome per cent, upon the outlay. 



To bring orarnge-growing to the best conditions of success 

 fruit of the best varieties and of the greatest excellence as to 

 quality must be produced. We cannot aftbrd to send to mar- 

 ket inferior fruit. All inferior groves, either in location or 

 quality of soil, had best be abandoned, and only first-class 

 groves maintained. The problem how to preserve our fruit 

 and extend the period of supply safely over a longer period is 

 yet to be solved. And meanwhile the highest success in 

 orange-growing must be sought in the reduction of expenses 

 and in improving the quality of our fruit. 



Notes. 



The United States government brought suit last year against 

 the Sierra Lumber Company to recover damages of $2,217,- 

 254.20 for cutting timber on public land in Tehama County, 

 California. The trial has at last been decided, and the jury 

 returned a verdict in favor of the government. The damages, 

 however, were assessed at $41,000 only. 



The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company 

 is to biuld at once four country stations from plans by Ship- 

 ley, Rostan & Coolidge, the pupils and successors of H. H. 

 Richardson. The stations will be of stone and of the general 

 character and design of the rural stafions built by Richardson 

 and his pupils during the last ten years along the line of the 

 Boston and Albany Railroad. 



The Ruellia macra7itha is getting quite common in Philadel- 

 phia as a window-plant. Certainly one more worthy it would 

 be hard to find. Its large, trumpet-shaped, rosy flowers are 

 produced for a month or two in succession. Another favorite 

 window-plant is the old Linuin irigyniim, a member of the 

 Flax family. Its yellow flowers, one to two inches in diameter, 

 are well supported by its deep green leaves. 



" Lime," states the Garden (London), " is said to be a good 

 preserver of timber. Ships and barges used for the transport 

 of lime last longer than others. . . . A platform of pine planks 

 was used to mix lime on during three generations ; then, 

 being no longer required, was neglected, and at length hidden 

 by grass that grew over it. Sixty years afterwards, on clearing 

 the ground, it was discovered sound and well-preserved." 



A farmer in Lockport, New York, was recently indicted by 

 the grand jury for "neglecting to remove and destroy diseased 

 Peach trees." The case will be an interesting one to horticul- 

 turists, as it will be the first one of the kind tried in this state, 

 and will therefore test the validity of the law with regard to 

 diseased fruit-trees. The trees in question were examined bv 

 a Commissioner appointed by the law and found to be affected 

 with the yellows. 



"There is no such thing," says the Garden (London), "as a 

 blue Primula, although one might, from the descriptions in 

 catalogues, suppose that the hybridist's highest hopes had 

 been realized. What the florist, or whoever he may be, calls 

 blue, and what is strictly that color, are two different things. 

 The flowers that are called blue arc invariably of a mauve 

 shade, sometimes pale lilac, never self blue. That we arc 

 approaching closely to the long-wished-for shade we cannot 

 doubt, and the hybridist, if he persex'eres, will doubtless attain 

 his object ; but to call those Primulas blue that go under that 

 name is misleading. When we do have a blue Primula we 

 shall have a prize indeed, such as will justify high praise and 

 commendation." 



