Vol. LVIII. No. 2597. NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 4, 1899. 
$1 PER YEAR. ■ 
NEW JERSEY ORANGES. 
THE TRIFOLIATE VARIETY AND ITS HYBRIDS. 
Recent Experiments with an Ironclad Citrus. 
It will doubtless be a considerable time before the 
market reports include the quotation, “Oranges, Stare 
and Jersey, prime, per box,” as a regular feature, but 
we take pleasure in presenting, in Fig. 281, a natural¬ 
sized portrait of oranges grown and ripened in Mon¬ 
mouth County, N. J., 30 miles south of New York 
City. They are the fruits of Citrus trifoliata, a true 
orange, with deeply-lobed deciduous foliage, and, as 
proved by 10 years’ trials, fully as hardy as most 
peaches. The tree from which these little oranges 
were taken has stood, without the slightest protec¬ 
tion, for six years in an open field, and is now seven 
or eight feet high. In an adjoining nursery, thou¬ 
sands of trees are growing in the ordinary rows, many 
of which are also bearing fruit. No care is 
given them beyond that bestowed on the hardi¬ 
est trees and shrubs. 
The character of the foliage is also shown in 
Fig. 285, page 767, already yellow and curled by 
early frost at this date (October 6). The past 
Winter was a test Winter in this locality, as in 
every other. Though within five miles of the 
ocean, the temperature dropped to 12 degrees 
below zero in February. A few late shoots were 
nipped back, and the usual dark green of the 
old wood somewhat bleached, but in early 
May all the trees of sufficient age put forth their 
large, sweet-scented blossoms, and set a fair 
percentage of oranges, covered, when young, 
with a dense white down. They began to ripen 
during the last half of September, and the 
foliage took on bright Autumn tints in advance 
of any native shrub, and will drop at the first 
freeze. The oranges are of little practical value. 
They are seedy, and as sour as a lemon. They 
can be used for acid drinks, and can be made 
into tolerable preserves. They doubtless could 
be grown by the car-load through the Middle 
States if desired. There is no longer room for 
doubt as to the utility of the Trifoliata orange 
for hedging and ornamental planting. It makes 
a strong, deep root system, and is not likely to 
winterkill more than is good for the preserva¬ 
tion of a neat outline, after it is established. It 
starts off slowly, and seems to prefer rather 
moist soil. Moderate protection for the first 
Winter or two, will, of course, tend to prevent 
chance losses of the weaker plants. An estab¬ 
lished hedge is at all times handsome, if kept in 
shape, as the wood is as green and glossy in 
Winter as the foliage in Summer. The stout 
thorns are sufficiently numerous to turn any 
stock. Trifoliata stocks are used largely by 
Japan nurserymen for dwarfing Kumquats and other 
desirable Citrus trees, and to some extent by Florida 
orange-tree propagators. 
The Department of Agriculture has had a number of 
hybrids between this hardy species and a number of 
the best commercial oranges, bred by assistants of the 
Division of Vegetable Physiology. They are now 
growing in Florida nurseries and soon will be brought 
into bearing by budding on old trees. The idea is to 
breed fair-quality oranges that will succeed nearly as 
far North as the Trifoliata. It is not likely that these 
direct hybrids will prove useful, except as a founda¬ 
tion for further work. H/ wever, it is an absolutely 
untilled field, and no one can predict the result, but 
it is entirely within the bounds of possibility that 
good oranges may yet be grown nearly to the borders 
of Canada. 
During one of the evening sessions of the recent 
meeting of the American Pomological Society at Phil¬ 
adelphia, a number of lantern views of these most in¬ 
teresting hybrids were exhibited, showing an inter¬ 
mediate character of foliage between the lobed out¬ 
line of the Trifoliata and the broad leaves of the 
sweet-orange type. A curious feature was the appear¬ 
ance of other plants growing from the same seed, and 
showing no trace of hybridization in leaf or manner 
of growth. The explanation is that these additional 
plants are produced from adventitious germ cells 
lying near the main germ, which is fertilized by the 
foreign pollen grain. These cells are roused into 
growth by sympathy, and become independent plants. 
It is possible they may yet show some characters of 
hybridity before reaching maturity. 
Prof. Van Deman, on page 298, referring to these 
hybrids, says: “There are great variations in the dif¬ 
ferent types of peaches, and why may there not be 
equally great ones among oranges? We know that 
there are types of peaches in China that flourish in 
Florida, but will not survive the Winters of Georgia, 
and that peaches which would endure a Winter of 
Iowa, will not bear fruit in Florida; yet they are all 
good peaches. The variations and gradations of the 
Citrus fruits are so numerous, that it is impossible 
to tell whether certain trees bear oranges or lemons, 
and the same is true of others that resemble both 
lemons and limes, oranges and pomelos; yet they are 
neither. There is no class of fruits with which I am 
acquainted that is so capable of variation, within 
certain limits, as the Citrus genus, but it is not wise 
to make extravagant and speculative statements that 
may mislead the public in planting expensive novel¬ 
ties in this line. This has been done in the case of 
the Oonshiu orange of Japan, which is called Satsuma 
in Florida. It is one of the hardiest of all edible 
oranges, especially when budded upon Trifoliata 
stock. Some interested dealers have boomed it, and 
induced people to plant it in North Carolina and cen¬ 
tral Texas. The result has been a complete failure 
north of Florida. Even there it has been badly hurt 
by frost.” 
A FRUIT AND VEGETABLE FARM. 
GROWN FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS. 
A Good List of Varieties. 
About two miles below Port Jervis, N. Y., on the 
bank of the Delaware River, and in Sussex County, 
N. J., is a large farm devoted to fruit growing and 
vegetables, the history of which makes an interesting 
story. In the year 1860 William Reinhardt came to 
the United States, shrewdly enough, to escape the 
onerous enforced military service on all citizens of 
Germany. His German home was at Nassau. On ar¬ 
riving in New York City, he was given employment 
by a wealthy man, and remained there until in 1876, 
when he bought a little farm, containing 39 acres, and 
started in the garden business in a small way. His 
thrifty and zealous wife, who had a taste for gar¬ 
dening and fruit growing, took an active part, with 
the practical common sense which prevails 
among German women generally. At first they 
averaged an income of $30 per month, and they 
managed to live on that, and give the children a 
good home, and it is not out of place here to 
say that the present high character and good 
morals which prevail among the family of five 
sons and three daughters is practically due to 
the careful training they received at the hands 
of their thoroughly good mother. A good prac¬ 
tical education has made the boys very intelli¬ 
gent, and their farm life has made of them very 
successful farmers. 
The farm has grown from the original 39 
acres to 519, and this increase is due entirely to 
gardening and fruit growing. To-day the farm 
is paying a net revenue of from $2,500 to $3,000 
per year. 
“Tell me what crops you mainly grow,” said 
I to the managing son. They drive to Port 
Jervis with their produce almost every day in 
the year, except Sunday, and in many cases the 
load requires two horses. Port Jervis, with 
about 10,000 inhabitants, furnishes an excellent 
market. 
“Well,” said the manager, “I have no careful 
record of the past, but I can tell quickly about 
what we are producing at the present. The de¬ 
mand for sweet corn among our patrons calls 
for about six acres annually. For early we use 
Cory, and the succeeding crop is Stowell’s Ever¬ 
green.” 
“Do you grow much cabbage?” I asked. 
“Oh, yes. Our annual crop is from 12,000 to 
15,000 heads. The variety known as All Seasons 
is most profitable; Henderson’s Early Spring 
we use for our earliest cabbage, and Lupton for 
our latest. The keeping qualities of the latter 
make it fill admirably the place to which it is 
assigned in the list of seasons. The Harvey is a sure 
header, and we grow some of that.” 
“How about tomatoes?” 
“We set out annually 3,000 plants. Our first plant¬ 
ing is mainly Trophy and Perfection—one is crimson 
or flesh-colored, the other is scarlet. We grow our 
own seed, selecting carefully the most vigorous plants 
and the largest and smoothest specimens. Of course, 
we grow our own plants in hotbeds.” 
“What are the leading crops you grow?” 
“Well, we grow very many beets. Lettuce we grow 
largely and, on the whole, find the Hanson best all 
around. It never rots, stands heat well, and will re¬ 
main good, not going to seed as early as do many 
varieties. We grow quite largely of onions, and find 
Yellow Danvers and Red Wethersfield most profit¬ 
able. We also grow large quantities of radishes, car¬ 
rots, beets, mangel-wurzel, kohl-rabi—in fact, all 
vegetables that civilized people use, and which are 
possible. We sell largely of spinach, and grow about 
ORANGES FROM NEW JERSEY. Fig. 281. 
