LUTHER BURBANK 



same kind of cross as the Willits,4s a large, jmcy, 

 almost seedless fruit, only slightly more bitter than 

 the sweet orange. 



"Young trees of these three varieties have en- 

 dured a temperature of eight degrees above zero, 

 and it is thought that by the use of these, and of 

 similarly obtained varieties, citrlis fruit cultm-e 

 can be extended fully 400 miles north of the 

 present region." 



Doubtless the orange will always remain a rela- 

 tively tender fruit, for it is an evergreen that has 

 never wandered far from the Tropics. But it is 

 equally little to be doubted that il could be made 

 much hardier than any existing race of citrus 

 fruits, and the incentive for the production of such 

 a hardy race is so great that there should be no 

 dearth of experimenters in the field. 



The orange crop is occasionally blasted even in 

 Florida by an unusual frost. In 1895, for example, 

 the loss of the trees themselves was so great as to 

 put a serious handicap on the industry for a term 

 of years. So it is imperative that a race of oranges 

 should be developed that will be capable of endur- 

 ing occasional periods of cold. But, aside from 

 the tentative experiments just notdd, very little has 

 hitherto been accomplished in this direction. 



The field is open for any experimenter who is 

 located in a region that lies well within the present 



[278] 



