144 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
opinion as to what you think is the thing 
to be done. We will rely on that to a very 
large extent, and I know, being so well 
acquainted with the membership of this 
society, that we will get opinions from 
you which will not in any way be preju¬ 
diced or biased. 
Mr. Hume: On our program appears 
the name of one of our members, Mr. 
Warner of Palatka. He had a very grace¬ 
ful way of getting out of this discussion 
this morning, but he is going to say just 
a word to us before we adjourn. 
Mr. Warner: Mr. Chairman, Ladies 
and Gentlemen: We should congratulate 
ourselves very heartily in having the mem¬ 
bers of the Farm Loan Board who are 
here this morning, and officials of the 
Bank in Columbia, and it seems to me we 
have presented our case to them most 
happily and well. I do not think much 
can be added to it, except that these gen¬ 
tlemen see for themselves the condition of 
the orange groves in Florida, just at this 
time. It is a good time to form a very 
correct idea of the possible effect of cold 
on our groves. In some localities, the 
groves are still in good condition, while 
in others they are severely injured. 
Of course, The amount of protection 
from cold will form a very decided basis 
for the value of those properties. We 
have done a little firing. Years ago we 
were much interested in the different 
methods of protection of grove property, 
but for the last few years we seem to 
have been quite willing to take chances, 
and if a freeze happened along to take the 
freeze. 
But a few of us have persistently pre¬ 
pared for a freeze in the belief it was sure 
to come, sooner or later. 
I fired a part of my grove this year. We 
have a grove of about fifty acres on the 
St. Johns River facing the northwest and 
when the freezes come, the wind is about 
as strong as it can be anywhere. We have 
high board fences facing the northwest 
and these break the wind and cause an 
eddy behind them. 
We use light wood for firing. We have 
fired about sixty hours in the last eight 
years at different times, two times par¬ 
ticularly, and during this last freeze, 
Friday night and Saturday morning, we 
fired twenty-four hours. Our results 
were not exactly what we could have 
wished, but I am sure with the experience 
we had this time, another time they would 
be much more satisfactory and make the 
firing much more effective. 
However, it is my conclusion we saved 
enough of the fruit and prospective crop 
for another year and in the better con¬ 
dition of the trees, to pay for the ex¬ 
pense of building those fences, for all 
the upkeep and the interest on the invest¬ 
ment, and yet have several thousand dol¬ 
lars to spare. 
Mr. Skinner had a very interesting ex¬ 
perience this year in firing, and I think it 
will be of decided interest to these gentle¬ 
men to know what the results of his firing 
have been. It will surely preserve the 
fruit and trees, if properly done. 
Mr. Skinner, may we not hear from 
you about this ? 
Mr. Skinner: Well, you would not 
think there had been any freeze at all in 
my home grove, as I call it. The trees 
