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and separate it along the membranes into its various segments, you will have before you these seed pods in something like their original form. Doubtless as it first grew, the pulp was much less than we find in our abnormally developed fruit;there may have been little of the pod except the seeds and the leathery skin which enclosed them. But finally this bunch of seed pods adhered at their bases, and the union extended to the apex, uniting all the segments into a single fruit of spherical form. With this union, the portions of the thick rind which came within the sphere degenerated into the thin membranes which we now find. The development of the pulp into the full, juicy tissues of the perfect fruit is largely the work of man, in carefully selecting the best species, improving them by cultivation, and transmitting the good qualities by the process of budding. Note the fact that the development of these juicy tissues has been at the expense of the seeds and cuticle. The highest type of budded orange is nearly seedless and has a thin rind.

When you find an orange "sport" which shows a tendency to split at the bloom end into a number of pod-like segments, or to show decided creases in the rind along the lines of the segments, as though it had half a notion to divide itself up, remember that the tree which bore this fruit was thinking of its great, great, great grandmother, that passed away a couple of thousand years ago. This "sport," as well as all others, illustrates the natural tendency of all organisms, plant or animal, to revert to an earlier condition. The primitive form of the orange was what scientists term "apocarpous."

The orange tree, compared with many other trees that are adapted to a sub-tropical climate, is of slow growth. It requires about sixteen years for the seedling to attain what might be called its full normal proportions. It then stands about twentyfive feet high,* with a spread of branches

*The size of budded trees varies so much from the standard seedling that I do not attempt to canvass the matter in this article. There are dwarf, semi-dwarf and standard buds, all of which follow

their respective habits when set upon a seedling stock, and make trees from five to twenty-five feet in height.

of about the same distance, and a circumference of trunk, near the ground, of nearly three feet. The seventy-year old orange tree of the Mission orchard, San Gabriel, which I measured, showed a girth of forty-two inches. The inference is fair that, between the ages of sixteen and seventy, it had increased its circumference of trunk only six inches. As the orange tree attains its maturity, its cylindrical trunk changes to one of eccentric longitudinal corrugations, although, if healthy, the bark still remains smooth.

The wood of the orange tree is closegrained, hard and susceptible to a fine polish. It is of a clear, yellow color, embodying a suggestion of the fruit itself. The top of the tree contains another suggestion of the fruit, for, if allowed to take its natural bent, with little pruning, its contour is almost spherical, like the orange.

The leaves are ovate in form, slightly serrated, and of thick leathery texture. When newly forming they are of a bright yellow hue, but as they mature they change to a dark green, with the upper surface presenting a decided gloss. The tree is an evergreen, and it has numerous seasons of growth during the year, with slight dormant intermissions. I once took careful note of a tree at my place, with the following result: On the first of January there was a little new growth already formed. This made some progress during the month, and hardened up about the middle of February. In April another growth began, and matured in May. About the middle of July the third growing period commenced, and this time the tree made more wood than in both previous growths combined. By the last of August the yellow leaves had all turned to their normal shade, and the stems were hardened. In October there was a slight growth. In December the shoots started again, but this was the same growth I had noted at the beginning of the year. Thus I found four distinct growing periods. It is not unusual for trees to make even five growths in a year under favorable circumstances, while with retarding causes they may make only one or two. The times of starting and maturing may also vary almost a month, according to circumstances

of irrigation, cultivation, temperature, etc. The dormant periods of the orange tree may be generally defined as follows: The middle of March to the middle of April.

The month of June.

The month of September.

The middle of November to the middle of December.

The orange tree blossoms early in February, and continues in flower until the last of March. The blossom is a pure white, of the most exquisite texture, and its fragrance is so great as to be almost surfeiting. As a typical flower, twined into a wreath to surmount the head of a bride, nothing could be more delicately suggestive of beauty, purity and sweetness. But those who haye observed the orange flower only in the conventional bridal wreath have seen but a poor counterfeit presentment of the real blossom.

The fruit sets in February or March and attains its maturity one year thereafter, when the tree blossoms again. At the time of blooming one may see it loaded with its golden fruitage and dazzling with bloom. The contrast of these colors with the dark green of the foliage forms a most enchanting picture. The tree is itself a bride, elothed in satin emerald, crowned with a snowy wreath and decked with precious jewels.

The orange clings to its stem with great tenacity, and it is not unusual to find fruit of a former year's growth still on the tree when a second crop is attaining maturity. The quality deteriorates however if it is allowed to remain long after maturity. In time the juice is absorbed entirely, leaving the pulp a dry, spongy mass.

Concerning the capacity of production, there is great variance. Mr. H. M. Beers has the largest tree in Riverside. It is seventeen years old, and the trunk measures three feet in circumference, or nearly twelve inches in diameter. At the age of nine years it bore about half a dozen oranges; at eleven years it bore two thousand; at thirteen years it bore two thousand two hundred and fifty; at fifteen years it bore four thousand; at seventeen

years, which brings it to the present season, it contains, according to estimate, four thousand. Not every orange tree presents such a record as this, however.

The orange tree revels in a high temperature. In fact, very warm weather is essential to the raising of good fruit. It is not sufficient that the warm weather occur in summer, but a high average must be maintained in winter as well, and the extreme should never fall below a certain point. This point may be placed at 23 degrees above zero F.-9 degrees below the freezing temperature. A cold spell that reaches this extreme will destroy young orange trees in nursery and nip the tender growth of older trees. In the latter part of January, 1883, the thermometer reached 17 degrees above zero in many places in Southern California. That was an unprecedentedly cold wave. Oranges were frozen on the trees, and their juices utterly destroyed. The trees themselves were frosted at the extremities of their branches, but suffered no serious check. Younger trees were considerably injured, and nursery stock was frozen to the ground. The lemon trees suffered more than the orange, and many lime orchards were utterly destroyed.

While the full-grown orange tree will survive a good deal of cold weather, and is not destroyed by the extreme above named, it may still be set down as a safe proposition that the less frequently the thermometer goes below the freezing point (32 degrees above zero) the better it is for both tree and fruit.

An instance

The orange is long-lived. is on record of a tree in Italy living to the age of four hundred years. But that was with the most careful treatment, through successive generations, with repeated renewals of the soil. As we grow the orange tree in the open air, with a minimum of attention, a century would probably be its full span. But a hundred years is a long time to exist on this earth, and after such a life of usefulness, if there is any better vegetable kingdom elsewhere, the orange tree ought to be allowed to go there.

CHAPTER XII.

BUDDED VARIETIES.

Although there are a hundred or more named oranges, one might count on his fingers all the varieties that are in request for budding. The leading varieties are the Riverside Navel, Mediterranean Sweet, Paper Rind St. Michael and Maltese Blood, all foreign fruits. Some attention was paid a few years ago to the Konah, Wilson's Best, Wolfskill's Best, Baldwin's Favorite, Du Roi, Australian Navel, Acapulco, Nicaraguan and some other varieties, but these no longer hold their own in the struggle for the survival of the fittest. In fact every other orange is giving way to the Riverside Navel, which has come to be universally acknowledged the best. For variety, a small proportion of Mediterranean Sweet, St. Michael and Maltese Blood are planted, and it is likely that other kinds will find their way to a share of popular favor. But it must be a fine orange that wrests the palm from the Riverside Navel. As public opinion was a number of years in coming to this conclusion however, and meanwhile the honors were more or less divided, a large number of other varieties were planted and are coming into bearing. The budded fruit product of the State will be diversified enough to suit all requirements.

For convenience of reference, I append a list of varieties grown in California, and also give a list of varieties grown in Florida, which have not been introduced in this State.

One of these was sent to Mrs. L. C. Tibbits, of Riverside, San Bernardino county, this state, who distributed a few buds among some friends. But little attention was paid to the original tree or to its offspring until 1879, when some of the fruits were exhibited. Their beautiful color, peculiar form, and excellent quality attracted immediate attention, and stimulated its propagation. It was named Riverside Navel to distinguish it from the Australian Navel, introduced about the same time. The latter is distinctly ribbed lengthwise, of light color and inferior quality, while the Riverside is smooth, of a golden bronze tint and a fine texture; satin-like skin; its flavor is delicious— something like a combination of the best qualities of the Messina and Florida oranges—and the fruit has the additional advantage of few or no seeds. Since the Riverside Navel made its appearance it has eclipsed all competitors, and has taken first premiums wherever exhibited. Soon after it was brought to 'public notice, Mr. T. W. Cover, of Riverside, became proprietor of the original stock, and he disseminated buds throughout the orangegrowing portion of the State.

MEDITERRANEAN SWEET.-Medium to large; oval; pulp and skin of fine texture; flavor delicate, less acid than any other variety of orange grown here; nearly seedless; ripens late. The tree is a semi-dwarf, almost thornless, matures early, and has a tendency to overbear. Fruit should be thinned vigorously to insure a fair growth of wood and development of fruit remaining. Mr. Thos. A. Garey, who introduced this orange, says of it: "About the year 1870 I imported several varieties of orange trees from Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry's nursery at Rochester, New York. I think the im

RIVERSIDE NAVEL-also known as Washington Navel, Umbilical, Bahia, Embigou).-Medium size, round, skin smooth and of fine texture; nearly seedless; juicy; high flavored; pulp melting; quality the best. The peculiarity which gives this fruit its name and marks it beyond any question is a protuberance in the blossom end which closely resembles the human navel. This is in reality a lit-portation included all the varieties offered tle kernel, enveloped in the skin, which when examined proves to be an aborted orange. The tree is semi-dwarf, and has a few small thorns. In 1873 the Agricultural Department at Washington imported several orange trees from Bahia, Brazil.

for sale by this firm. One of the trees was labeled Shaddock. When the Shaddock fruited, the fruit proved to be a first-class orange, instead of the coarse, worthless fruit its name led me to expect. I called it 'Garey's Favorite,' but subsequently

christened it 'Garey's Mediterranean Sweet.' Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry were appealed to, but could not identify the fruit with any known variety." Next to the Washington Navel, the Mediterranean Sweet has attained the greatest popularity of any of the budded kinds.

THIN-SKINNED OR PAPER RIND ST. MICHAEL.—Fruit small, round, thinskinned, high-flavored and a delicious sub-acid; one of the best budded varieties and destined to increase in popularity; keeps well and therefore a good shipper. A vender once told me they sold on the streets of Los Angeles better than any other variety he could obtain. Trees dwarfish in habit, thorny.

MALTESE BLOOD.-This variety derives its name from the peculiar marking of the 'pulp, which seems to be streaked and clotted with blood. This queer characteristic varies with fruit from different trees, different ages of trees, and in different stages of ripeness, in some instances being barely traceable and in others the blood-red stain suffusing the entire pulp. The older the tree grows the more marked the fruit. The Maltese Blood is a little under medium size, smooth, round and fine textured; juicy; high-flavored, and the pulp tender and melting. The tree is a semi-dwarf; thornless or only slightly thorny. KONAH. A California seedling from seed grown on Konah Island; most of the characteristics of a first-class seedling, the chief advantage being in the uniformity of fruit; thick rind, juicy, large. The tree grows to the full size of a seedling and is thorny.

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HOMOSASSA.*-Of Florida origin; size of fruit medium, somewhat flattened, very heavy; color bright; skin very smooth, thin, tough and dense; pulp fine, sweet and juicy; flavor full and vinous; membrane covering segments of pulp very thin and small; ripens very early and keeps and carries well; quality best. Tree prolific, vigorous, very thorny.

TANGERINE, MANDARIN, OR KID-GLOVE ORANGE.--This is a dwarf both in tree and fruit, and has been grown for ornament and curiosity more than for any other purpose. I see, however, that its cultivation is extending in Florida to supply a certain dilettante custom, which likes to eat its orange without soiling its gloves. The fruit is very small, saffron-colored, flattened at the ends, and the skin parts readily from the pulp, while the pulp divides readily into sections without the loss of juice. It has a peculiar fragrance and flavor, but altogether amounts to little more than a bon-bon. Its use is only a passing fancy, I think, and a man would hardly be justified in planting a large grove of Tangerines. The tree, or shrub, as it might be termed, is regarded by some botanists as a distinct species, and by others as a marked variety of the sweet orange. It is very ornamental, being distinguished by its small, lanceolate leaves; slender, flexible branches; somewhat formal habit of growth, and the flowers, which are white and smaller than those of the ordinary orange.

PUMALO.-A dwarf tree with peculiar glossy foliage, leaves drawn as if by a puckering string, and a fruit as large as the baby's head. Not good to eat. Grown for ornament only.

BERGAMOT.-Fruit large, rough, flattened; quality fair; leaves large and broadly winged; when bruised give forth

*A few trees of this variety are to be found on Mr. A. S. White's place, Riverside. The fruit is of fair quality.

a delicious aroma not unlike that of bergamot, from which peculiarity the tree derives its name. Grown mostly for ornament and curiosity.

Besides the above, Mr. Garey enumerates the following forty varieties which he imported or propagated:

LARGE ST. MICHAEL.-Thick skinned; inferior.

SMALL ST. MICHAEL.-Doubtful whether
it is an established variety, but, if so, en-
tirely distinct from the Paper Rind St.
Michael; small, thick skinned; inferior.
MALTESE OVAL.-Not fruited.
LOS ANGELES.-Common Seedling.
CHUCHUPILLAS.-Mexican, not fruited.
BITTER. Bigarade of Florida.
MYRTLE LEAF.-Ornamental only.

PERNAMBUCo.-Not fruited.

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LORETTO.-Not fruited.

EXCELSIOR.-Fruited; thought to be a fine variety and a possible acquisition to our budded fruits.

FLORIDA SEEDLING.-Same as Los Angeles Seedling.

PORTUGAL.-No value.

The following varieties grown in Florida are held in high esteem there, but have never been cultivated in California, so far as I am informed. For this list I am mainly indebted to Manville's Practical Orange Culture:

EARLY OBLONG.-Synonym, Thornless Bell.-Fruit medium size, oblong, thick skin; lacking the sub-acid of other sorts; quality fair. Though its color does not turn much before the other sorts, its juices attain perfection one or two months earlier, when it should be marketed. Tree bears young; prolific; vigorous; not as large as some; leaves elliptical, acute and scattering; branches slender and thornless.

SANDWICH ISLAND.-Small and very Originally imported, but long grown in sour; no value.

LARGE CHINESE.-Not fruited.

PROLIFIC.-Not fruited.

FORBIDDEN FRUIT.-Not fruited. EMPEROR MANDARIN.-Dwarf fruit; fair; not equal to Mandarin.

COOLIE MANDARIN.-Tall, standard tree; thorny; fruit, dwarf.

DWARF MANDARIN.-Dwarf tree; fruit identical with that of the standard Coolie Mandarin above.

CANTON MANDARIN.-Not fruited.
THORNY MANDARIN.-Not fruited.
EMPEROR OF CHINA.-Not fruited.
ST. JAGO.-Not fruited.

EGG.-Not fruited.

NUTMEG.-Not fruited.

SEVILLE.-Not fruited.

Rio.-Not fruited.

TENERIFFE.-Not fruited.

PARAMATTA.-Not fruited.

HEONG LEONG.-Not fruited.

SABINA.-Not fruited.

CUMQUAT.-Not fruited.

QUEEN.-Quality fair.

POOR MAN'S ORANGE.-Not fruited.
SELETTO.-Not fruited.

Florida.

SATSUMA. For the following description of this tree I am indebted to Mr. A. F. Styles, of Jacksonville.. He writes:

"This new Japanese Orange was introduced into Florida several years since, by Mrs. General Vanvalkenburg, of St. Nicholas, and is destined to take high rank among the new varieties. The tree is of dwarf habit of growth, entirely thornless, and very hardy. In the cold 'snap' of December, 1880, the leaves of this tree did not even curl, while all other varieties, with the same exposure, lost all their leaves. It is sure to bear the second year from budding, and it will bear too heavily unless prevented by thinning. It makes a much more vigorous and thrifty tree, if budded on a sweet stock, in preference to the sour, or bitter-sweet.

"Of the fruit, Dr. Davis, in his book on orange culture, says: "This fruit belongs to the loose-rind species, Citrus Aurantium Japonicum, is medium size, flattened, deep orange color, smooth, thin skin, which is sweet, aromatic and easily detached from the pulp. Color of pulp,

BOUQUET.-Blooms continuously; very dark orange; segments part freely; fine

ornamental.

TAHITI.-Seedling; same as common Los Angeles fruit.

grain, tender, juicy, sweet and delicious. There is none of that rank odor which characterizes most other varieties belong

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