CHAPTER  XV.

ORAXGE-culture.

The orange is by far the most important of the semi-
tropical fruits grown in Florida, and its culture is rapidly
becoming the leading industry of the State. In nearly all
sections it is found growing either in fields or house-gar¬
dens, as common and as natural to the climate and locality
as the apple in the colder States. Whether or not it is in¬
digenous is as yet an unsettled question, but the weight of
evidence seems to be in favor of the idea that it was first
introduced by the Spaniards, and that the many wild groves
of " sour" oranges that are now found in various localities
are simply the result of that deterioration which all the cul¬
tivated fruits undergo when left for long periods to run
riot in a state of nature. It is well known that the apple,
left to itself for a sufficient period, will ultimately revert to
the " crab " ; and the difference between the " crab " and
the choice varieties of the eating apple is about the same as
the difference between the wild "sour" orange and the cul¬
tivated "sweet."

Since the earliest settlement, apparently, oranges have
been grown in Florida, but in a very careless and desultory
way. It is only since the war that any special attention
has been given to their production, or any effort made to
cultivate them for profit ; and what is sometimes called the
" orange craze " has developed within the past six or eight
years. The financial panic of 1873 caused many people
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