The Mango in Florid A-1887 to 1962
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WOLFE: MANGO IN FLORIDA 387 be grafted into the top of a selected mother tree. but with monoembryonic seeds although second Bloom panicles, inserted into bottles of nutritive generation hybrids of Philippine influence. The solution, could be fastened to the mother tree, second impression—that the factor for poly and replaced frequently. It should be remem embryony may be stronger, and more trans bered, however, to use only a monoembryonic missible, in the wild No. 11 mango than in the variety as pistil or mother tree; the pollinator Philippine Pico or Carabao—comes from the fact may be either mono- or polyembryonic. In re that the Haden variety—a Mulgoba x No. 11 gard to desired qualities in the mother variety, all natural hybrid—has a tendency to carry dwarf present day monoembryonic varieties are so mixed seedless fruits to maturity while true mono in inheritance it is impossible to find pure strains embryonic varieties shed seedless, or improperly for breeding, and therein lies the gamble—mostly pollinated, fruits at an early stage of develop a matter of luck. ment. Further, the Simmonds variety—a Haden To date all the numbers fruiting have been x Carabao hybrid—is polyembryonic. It is also monoembryonic, yet the nineteen Edward x Pico a second generation hybrid of theoretically, 95% hybrids are—theoretically—of 75% polyembryon polyembryonic inheritance. This may be merely a ic inheritance. It is not reasonable to draw con point of academic interest at present, I do not see clusions from such a small number, yet certain how the No. 11 can be of use in a breeding pro impressions are gathered. The first impression— gram. Should the Haden variety be considered of that polyembryony may tend to be recessive— merit for future hybridization it may be worth comes from the fact that three of these Edward while to also consider the Simmonds variety as, x Pico hybrids which seemed, from their cluster pollinator in an effort to improve fruit setting of fruiting, and from shape, flavor and texture of the Haden through increased polyembryonic influ flesh, to be completely Philippine in character— ence. THE MANGO IN FLORID A-1887 TO 1962 H. S. Wolfe small No. 11 seedling from Cuba to Bradenton, where Mrs. Warren planted it in her yard. And University of Florida in 1877, W. P. Neeld planted seeds of No. 11 Gainesville at Point Pinellas (the extreme tip of the Pi- nellas peninsula), followed two years later by The beginnings of mango growing in Florida planting seeds of the Apple mango. All of these are shrouded in uncertainty. We know that seeds, both East Coast and West Coast, came Henry Perrine's plan for starting mango cul from Cuba. ture, along with that of other tropical fruits, We are fortunate in having Pliny Reasoner's was frustrated by his death in an Indian raid survey of the status of tropical fruit culture in in 1840; the mango seedlings in his little nurs Florida in 1887, the year before our Society was ery on Indian Key never lived to bear fruit. founded, as a base for comparisons. Yet it is There is also a statement made in 1889 by Rev. J. evident that he was not familiar with what was R. White that he planted mango seeds brought going on across the state on the other coast. He from Cuba on Merritt's Island in. 1855, but nei knew of many plantings on the lower West Coast ther he nor anyone else records whether these and wrote of there being 1000 young mango trees seeds became bearing trees. at Point Pinellas, with almost as many at Braden The first successful planting of mango seeds ton and Ft. Myers. Incidentally, he stated that of which we know was in 1861, when Dr. Fletcher prior to the freeze of 1886, there were 15 large planted seeds of the No. 11 on the old Gilbert bearing trees "between the Manatee River and place along the river in what is now Miami. Kettle Harbor," and these must have antedated Barnes and Faulkner in 1868 planted seeds of even Capt. McKay's introduction. Together with Peach mango in Snapper Creek hammock, near almost all other mango trees north of Ft. Myers, Miami, resulting in large bearing trees also. We these were killed by the cold of January 1886. have no further record of planting on the East But evidently there were mangos still thriving Coast for 20 years, but over on the West Coast along the shores of Lake Worth, for when U.S.- we know that in 1872 Capt. McKay brought a D.A. Pomologist H. E. Van Deman visited there 388 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1962 in the spring of 1889, he found several large from seed as to make vegetative propagation un trees which had borne a crop the previous year, profitable. and at least one bearing tree in Palm Beach. Pomologist Van Deman had come to Florida early in 1889 largely to see how mangos were You may wonder why anyone would want a thriving. He had received many letters asking thousand seedling mango trees in 1888. The an that the U. S. Department of Agriculture under swer is that seedling mangos from Cuba and take the rather expensive importation of superior Jamaica were coming into the markets of the mango varieties from India, and he wanted to be large Atlantic seaboard cities and were fetching sure of what would happen to them if imported. prices then considered good. Growers in Pinellas His old friend, Elbridge Gale, had given up his County were finding it possible to ship fruit north position as Professor of Horticulture at Kansas and sell it at even better prices. One man re State Agricultural College in 1884' because of ill ported sale of the crop from 11 trees bearing in health, and had settled in the salubrious climate their fourth year for over $200. That was a of the region along Lake Worth, below Palm lot more money 75 years ago than it is today. Beach. Here he had become the leader of an en All bearing trees in Florida in 1888 were thusiastic group of horticultural amateurs, and seedlings of Cuban origin, either No. 11, Peach it was they who had urged the introduction of or Apple types, but already efforts had been made better mangos. Impressed by the way mango to introduce superior types from the ancestral trees had survived the '86 freeze, and by the home of the mango, India. In 1885 Rev. D. G. gardening ability of the growers, he returned to Watt of Pinellas had imported at great expense Washington and ordered from the government eight grafted plants of two superior varieties, nursery in Bombay grafted trees of six varieties. but five were dead on arrival and another was Received in Washington on November 1, 1889, so weakened by the rigors of the long trip that the shipment was forwarded to the Rev. Mr. it died in a few weeks. Two survivors were still Gale at Mangonia for distribution to his group vigorous and were planted with high hopes, only of growers. We have no record of how many trees to be killed the next winter by the freeze. Rea- there were of each variety, and there may have soner Brothers offered grafted plants of three been only one. We have no account, either, of imported Indian varieties in 1888, but these were their condition on arrival at Lake Worth. From propagated from seedlings of seed received in the fact that none had borne fruit by the end of 1887. It is, perhaps, just as well, in retrospect, five growing seasons, we may suspect that they that none of these trees ever lived to bear fruit, arrived in very weak condition. At any rate, only for the quality would undoubtedly have been very a single tree survived the freeze of 1894-95, a disappointing. The varieties of which seeds were tree cared for by Prof. Gale himself, and it must sent were not of the best quality, and seedlings have been frozen back severely, since it took from them would probably have been very poor. three more years to bear the first fruit. The But the freeze of 1894-95 carried them all off writer has previously discussed the mystery sur before they bore. Herbert Beck of St. Petersburg rounding this variety and the possibility (though also imported grafted mango trees from India not probability) that the tree was killed below in 1888, but while we are told that the trees the bud and that the tree which finally fruited arrived in good health, there is no record of their was a stock sprout. At any rate, in June of 1898 ever having borne fruit. We must assume that this tree matured fruit for the first time, and they, too, died in 1895 before fruiting. the fruit was so high in quality as to justify ful We start the initial year of our Society, there ly the tales told by travellers of the deliciousness fore, with several thousand small seedling mangos of the Indian mangos. From this point on, im and a few small grafted trees on the West Coast, portation by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, while on the East Coast there were bearing seed by nursery companies, and by individuals pro ling trees in the Miami and Palm Beach areas, ceeded apace. though not in great numbers. There had been a The mango grower of 1888 seemed untroubled few bearing seedlings in Hillsborough, Orange, by problems of either pest control or fertilization, and Polk counties, but presumably all of them or of fruit setting for that matter.