228 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
ine; this was about 1883, and the three 
friends at once commenced the construc¬ 
tion of a cottage, for their winter home 
in the Sunny South. The genial and 
equable climate of Florida soon brought 
about a decided improvement in the 
health of Mr. Earle; and he thereupon 
determined to make Tangerine his future 
home. His friend, Mr. Rice, and' him¬ 
self immediately embarked in die orange 
culture, then in its infancy in their local¬ 
ity. 
They established a large nursery, and 
set out many of the orange groves in 
and about the village of Tangerine, the 
subject of this sketch at once entering 
heart and soul in the enterprise. 
Their groves grew, flourished and com¬ 
menced to bear fine crops of golden fruit; 
then came that never to be forgotten 
freeze of 1895. Almost every tree was 
destroyed; and absolute ruin stared every 
owner of a grove in the face. The result 
was that most of the capitalists from the 
north withdrew from the field', and aban¬ 
doning everything returned to their 
northern homes in disgust. 
Not so with Mr. Earle, and it is just 
here that his indomitable will, energy and 
perseverance most shows itself. He did 
not give up, but patiently, persistently 
and industriously went to work to repair 
so far as lay in his power the damage 
done to his groves, and by his acts and 
advice inspired' a few of his neighbors to 
follow his example. The result is that 
we have the Tangerine of today, sur¬ 
rounded by its tens of thousands of beau¬ 
tiful orange and grapefruit trees; while 
many another settlement has for the lack 
of a man of Mr. Earle’s sterling worth 
and character, been absolutely deserted, 
and literally wiped from the map of 
Florida. 
During all of these years Mr. Earle 
was also 'an active member of the Horti¬ 
cultural Society of Florida, and through 
his association with that society and its 
officers, he was enabled to secure many 
choice varieties of fruits, plants and 1 flow¬ 
ering shrubs from other countries, many 
of which remain as a monument to his 
good taste and practical forethought. 
There is still another enterprise in which 
Mr. Earle was interested. He became 
the owner of the only hotel in Tangerine, 
about 1885, naming it The Wachuset 
House and personally conducted the 
house for many years. 
Here he hospitably entertained many 
of his friends from the north, during 
their winter sojourn in this land of sun¬ 
shine, of fruit and of flowers. Mr. Earle 
was twice married, his first wife was 
Sarah R. Greenwood. Two children 
were born to them; one a son, William, 
who died at the age of 17 years; the 
daughter now Mrs. W. S. Morehouse, 
and her daughter, Reba Earle Morehouse, 
reside at Seneca Falls, in the State of 
New York. Mr. Earle’s second wife, 
Addie Greenwood Earle, survives him. 
