March 13, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



131 



Persimmon, is a comparatively recent introduction. Some of 

 its varieties are so rich in color that they may be fairly termed 

 gorgeous, and in flavor it bears as high a rank as it does in 

 appearance. No doubt its introduction marks an era in the 

 history of fruit-growing in the State, for its culture is no longer 

 an experiment. Still, comparatively little is known as yet of 

 its distinct varieties or their special uses. One of their most 

 interesting fields of experiment now offered to horticulture is 

 the hybridizing of the Kaki and the American Persimmon. In 

 the Orange-belt the hardier varieties of the Guava, the Olive, 

 the Date, the Carob, the Downy Myrtle, the Chinese Litchi and 

 other fruits have been successfully grown, while south of this 

 region the Custard-Apple, the Tamarind, the Tropical Almond 

 {Terminalia Catappa), the Pineapple, the Hog Plum {Spondia), 

 the Barbadoes Gooseberry {Peireskea aculeatd), tlie Star Ap- 

 ple [Chrysopkyllum Cainito), the Mango, together with the 

 Banana and Cocoanut, are all in cultivation, and described with 

 some detail in the report. 



VARIETIES OF THE SWEET ORANGE. 



Mr. E. H. Hart, whose Orange grove at Federal Point is 

 famous for its extent as well as for the number of the tested 

 varieties it contains, read a paper on the above subject. Mr. 

 Hart, with much humor, explained how the original belief 

 that there was but one kind of sweet Orange, all variations be- 

 ing accidental and temporary, had been swept away by the 

 advent of new varieties and of the hundred seedlings, which 

 were quite distinct to the educated eye and palate. The late 

 P. W. Reasoner compiled a list of more than 150 varieties. All 

 the worthy ones were not included in this catalogue, but it 

 could have been reduced if some admitted as distinct varie- 

 ties had been placed where they really belonged among the 

 synonyms. It is not difficult to judge the quality of a variety, 

 but it requires time to sift from the list those that prove shy 

 bearers, those with fruit too delicate for transportation or 

 those with other faults which detract from their profitable- 

 ness. Again, fashion is fickle, and the variety which sells 

 well this year may not be in demand the next. Who would 

 have thought a few years ago, when Mandarins and Tange- 

 rines were eagerly sought at fifteen dollars a box, that the 

 time was not far away when they would melt down on the 

 hands of the commission merchant for want of purchasers, or 

 be left to hang on the trees to rot like sour oranges? The 

 speaker went on to say that out of the infinite variety of apples 

 known to pomologists, the standard market sorts could be 

 counted on the ten fingers. Even on the amateur's list, no 

 orange should be admitted without a rigorous examination. 

 And the market varieties should be selected still more closely. 

 We have only space to add condensed descriptions of a few 

 varieties of special merit. The Maltese Blood is a favorite 

 variety of the Blood Orange. Its thin, tough, juice-pre- 

 serving skin gives it a high rank as a shipping fruit, and its 

 tendency to bear only on alternate seasons may be corrected 

 by liberal cultivation and fertilizing. Several strains of this 

 variety show slight differences, and one of the best for flavor, 

 heavy-bearing and long- keeping is possibly a case of bud 

 variation from the Jaffa, in which the red color has become 

 fixed. The Jaffa, as well as the Long of Thomas River, gives 

 evidence by peculiarities in the young foliage of remote con- 

 nection with the Maltese Blood, and this explains, perhaj^s, the 

 crimson pulp in the case above cited. Another type of Blood 

 Oranges has the shape and characteristics of the ordinary 

 round orange, with the addition of the tinted pulp. Some are 

 sharply acid and others have an exquisite sprighUiness, and 

 many of the trees show a vigor and fruitfulness which, when 

 elaborated by selection and judicious crossing, promise a race 

 of which Florida may be proud. The Centennial, though ripe 

 enough for use in October and November, possesses tlie ex- 

 ceptional advantage of preserving its juices unimpaired on 

 the tree until May or June. Of very late varieties Hart's 

 Tardiff takes the lead for quality and long-keeping, being in 

 season from March till August, and growing sweeter all the 

 while. To judge from market quotations the Navel family 

 stands high in popular estimation, but a non-productive habit 

 has caused growers to look upon it with suspicion. The un- 

 fruitfulness has been attributed to deficient pollen, but per- 

 haps too profuse blooming, as in the Maltese Oval, may 

 cause a shedding of the young fruit from temporary exhaus- 

 tion. But when the vigor of a mature Navel tree has i)een 

 sustained by liberal feeding or by budding on tlie stronger- 

 growing Rough Lemon, there has been less cause for com- 

 plaint. The Washington Navel now stantls without a peer 

 even in this royal family. It often surpasses the Pomelo in 

 size, is finer-grained, solid to the very centre, and sweet and 

 succulent as a Strawberry Pine. Of the Double Imperial Navel 



lately procured from Mayor Rountree, of New Orleans, it is 

 too early to speak. From the few specimens grown in Florida 

 it seems of moderate size, very solid, fine grained and heavy, 

 entirely seedless and of an exquisite vinous flavor. A thorny 

 tree of vigorous growth and a somewhat different style of 

 blooming from its relative, it seems like a new departure in 

 the family, which may by its productiveness fulfill the promise 

 of its abundant bloom. The apical mark is less prominent 

 than in some other members of the family and often blind, but 

 dissection always shows the orange within the orange. It is 

 a true Navel, and only lacks the guarantee of fruitfulness to 

 insure it a front rank among the choice oranges of Florida. 



THE LEMON IN FLORIDA. 



From an elaborate paper on this subject by H. S. Kedney, 

 of Winter Park, we make space for a brief abstract only. Less 

 is known of the Lemon and its cultivation than of the Orange, 

 but although it demands more care and closer attention, the 

 prevailing belief is that south of the region of danger from 

 frost it will prove at last the more profitable fruit of the two. 

 Fifteen years ago the finer varieties of lemon were introduced 

 into Florida by General H. S. Sanford, to whom, and to 

 Reverend Lyman Phelps, Lemon-growers owe a debt of grat- 

 itude for directing attention to the choicer kinds, and for 

 setting the first example of a successful handling of this 

 fruit. The Lemon should be budded on Orange stock, and 

 as it needs more water than the Orange, high and dry locations 

 should be shunned, and yet no water must be left standing 

 about the roots. The trees should be planted much more 

 closely than Oranges, since the dense shade preserves moisture 

 and seems distasteful to the rust fungus. For obvious reasons 

 heavy timber on the north and west of a grove will be found 

 useful. Each Lemon-tree, if well cared for, should yield half 

 a box of fruit the fifth year after setting, and in the tenth or 

 twelfth year from six to eight boxes, which may be set down 

 as a fair average yield. There are usually two crops a year, 

 the first ripening in July and August, and the other in October 

 and November. The Lemon-tree is much freerfrom diseases 

 and insect pests than the Orange ; it is rarely troubled with 

 blight, " die-back," or scale. The rust-mite is its greatest 

 enemy, and although a russet Lemon is quite as good as any 

 other, it is unsalable — while a russet Orano-e is marketable. 



Exhibitions. 



The Recent Orchid Exhibition in this City. 



nPHE Orchid Show recently organized at the Eden Musee 

 J- by Messrs. Siebrecht & Wadley surpassed in interest 

 either of its predecessors. As we remember them, neither 

 was so rich in beautiful or curious plants, or so attractively 

 arranged. The public appreciated its opjiortiuiity. Although 

 the exhibition was open for a full week it was constantly 

 crowtled, and the number of catalogues sold proved that a 

 genuine desire was felt to learn something about its contents. 

 Of course at a show of this kind Orchids do not appear to the 

 highest advantage. There are only two conditions under 

 which they are seen at their best — either as isolated specimens 

 or harmoniously massed, many individuals of similar kinds 

 together. The very qualities which make Orchids attractive — 

 their peculiar manners of growth and the vivid colors and 

 eccentric forms of their flowers — give a confused, heterogen- 

 ous look to a general collection. The contrasts arc so strong 

 in such a collection that no one plant shows its true beauty, 

 while the total effect is often unpleasing. Yet, anyone who 

 made the effort to isolate one plant from another and study its 

 peculiarities, had much to enjoy in this exhibition. 



Messrs. Siebrecht & Wadley themselves contributed 176 

 Orchids, as well as numerous other rare or beautiful plants ; 

 Messrs. Pitcher & Manda sent seventy-nine varieties of Cypripe- 

 diums and various other specimens ; Mr. William S. Kimball, 

 of Rochester — one of the chief amateur cultivators in the 

 United States — contributed seventy-four specimens, and Mr. 

 John Eyerman, of Easton, Pennsylvania, fifty-six, while from 

 Mr. Man, of Weehawken, New Jersey, came fifty varieties of 

 Cattleya Triana alone. In this last collection was a white 

 specimen that was labelled as "the largest in existence " — a 

 splendid plant indeed, with seven flower-stalks and thirteen 

 blossoms. 



A large shelf filled with plants of Primula obconica may well 

 have convinced all visitors that no "Ciiinese Primrose" is so 

 beautiful as this. The fine specimens of Strelitsia Rcgi/ia — the 

 " Bird of Paradise Hower " — seemed, as is always the case when 

 they are exhil)ited, to attract more attention than any of the Or- 

 chids. This is one of the showiest flowers in tlie world ; and, 

 whatever may be the case under other conditions, showiness 



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