146 



which have come to my own knowledge I am not aware, however, 

 that the eed of the bitter Orange has ever grown up into the sweet-fruited 

 variety." Duchassaing says that in Guadeloupe the sweet Oranges often 

 yield bitter fruit, while according to Dr. Ernst, at Caracas they some- 

 times yield sour but not bitter fruit. Brandis, who is considered one of 

 the highest authorities on this subject, relates that at Khasia, in India, so 

 far as he can verify the fact, the extensive plantations of sweet Oranges 

 are from the seed. 



It is difficult to harmonise these conflicting statements. The very 

 extensive experience of Orange growers in Florida, California, and 

 Louisiana entirely corroborates Grallesio's statement. In Florida for 

 many years the policy has been extensively followed of growing trees 

 from seeds of sweet Oranges, and in all cases known to the writer, sweet 

 Oranges, usually of a very fair quality, have been produced. Indeed, 

 the fruit of the sweet seedling Orange trees in Florida is of superior 

 quality to the fruit commonly imported into the United States, and is 

 well known in the markets of New York, Philadelphia, &c. Probably 

 one-fourth of the Florida Orange groves, which in the season of 1894-95 

 yielded over one billion Oranges, are sweet seedling trees, It is so tho- 

 roughly understood that seeds from sweet fruit produce sweet Oranges 

 of a fair quality, that no grower has any hesitation to rear extensive 

 groves from sweet seed trees. Since the severe freezes of the winter of 

 1894-95, which killed to the ground almost all of the trees in the State, 

 many groves which were originally budded on sweet stock are being re- 

 grown by allowing sprouts, which have been thrown up by the sweet 

 seedling stock, to grow into trees without budding. This illus- 

 trates how well it is known by Florida growers that sweet seedling 

 Orange trees produce good sweet fruit. In Louisiana and California 

 sweet seedling trees have also been grown to considerable extent, and 

 always, so far as 1 can learn, with the same results that from seeds of 

 sweet Oranges sweet fruit is produced. 



Mr. William Fawcett, Director of the Jamaica Public Gardens, states 

 that, " The evidence goes to show that Macfadyen's experience was ex- 

 ceptional in finding that the seeds of the sweet Orange sometimes pro- 

 duced trees with bitter fruit .... The danger in planting seedlings 

 of the sweet Orange appears to be small."* Mr. Syme also says,t " The 

 popular opinion in Jamaica that the majority of the seeds of a sweet 

 Orange will produce sour Orange plants is not quite well founded, though 

 there need be little surprise felt if a goodly proportion of the trees are 

 productive of sour fruits. It may be safely asserted that there are a few 

 good sweet Orange trees in this island (Jamaica) so isolated from in- 

 ferior varieties, sour-fruited Shaddock, Grape-fruit, Citron, Lemon, or 

 Lime trees as to be beyond the influence of the fecundating pollen of 

 the latter. It is inferentially chiefly to this influence, rather than to an 

 inherent tendency in the tissue, that many seedlings, raised from sweet 

 Orange seed, exhibit what may be termed degenerate or unmarketable 

 fruits." 



In the reports from the Consuls of the United States on fruit culture 

 in their several districts, in answer to a circular from the Department of 



* Bull. Bot. Department of Jamaica, No. 4, Nov., 1887. 

 f Bull. Bot. Department of Jamaica, No. 42, April, 1893. 



