REESE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. Received . . <-^£? &4 FLORIDA FRUITS HOW TO RAISE THEM HELEN HARCOURT REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION, WITH ELABORATE INDEX OF SUBJECTS. LOUISVILLE, KY. JOHN P. MORTON AND COMPANY. 1886 COPYRIGHTED BY At* 0 send to a nursery or else- where for ready-rooted plants. Get as large sized plants as you can to start with, but any roots that they may have before coming into your possession you may count as nil. Pine-apple rootlets are of so tender and perishable a na- ture that even if they survive transplanting, they will be longer in reviving and going to work again than new roots will be in forming and taking hold ; consequently, rooted plants are no desideratum. It is a very easy matter to root suckers, crowns, crown- lets, and slips after you have them on the ground ready for planting, and it is better to start them on their root- ward journey before setting them out in their permanent places. As a preliminary, carefully pull off the overlapping leaves at the base for an inch or half inch, according to the size of the offsets ; this will facilitate the rooting pro- cess ; then make a bed of damp moss, keep it damp, and place them, base downward, in it, just as you would place 15 170 FLORIDA FRUITS — PINE-APPLES. them in the ground when planting ; cover them with more moss, not damp, and place them in a shady spot. After they have lain thus a week or two examine them, and plant those that have sent forth slender white rootlets a half inch or more in length; some will take several weeks longer than others to do this, but it is best to wait their time before setting them out, and they will grow off more surely and thrifty by this method than by any other. Some planters recommend leaving the offsets exposed to the sun for weeks or even months to facilitate rooting ; but while the plants will really root under this heroic treat- ment, it is at the expense of their ultimate thrift, and the rooting in the damp moss and in the shade is by far a better plan, and one that makes a certainty of the after well-being of every offset; not one will be lost by this method. But no matter how the plants are rooted, it is necessary to see that after being set out they do not lack moisture until thoroughly established — a period that will be known by a wider opening of the offset in the center, and new leaves appearing there ; after that they may be mulched when the soil is moist, and left to take care of themselves, so far as moisture is concerned. In preparing ground for a pine-apple plantation, parallel lines three feet apart should be laid off, and a compost of well-rotted stable manure and muck, or leaves, or muck and bone-meal spread in along these lines for a width of about eighteen inches and a depth of one foot. The trenches thus prepared should be settled by one or more heavy rains before setting out the plants. The latter should be placed two feet apart, not closer, to insure each plant plenty of room ; too close planting will, of a surety, stunt both plant and fruit. PINE-APPLE CULTURE. 171 In the West Indies and Bahamas, the growers plant close to keep down the weeds, and they succeed admirably in keeping down the fruit also. They plant from twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand on an acre ; this is why we see so much small and inferior fruit thrown on the American markets. Planted as the experience of our leading Florida grow- ers recommend, as given above, an acre will contain, say six thousand five hundred plants; these, at twenty-five cents for each fruit, will bring their owners the respectable sum of one thousand six hundred and twenty-five dollars — no mean showing as the earnings of one acre of ground ; and in addition to this amount of hard cash must be added its representative in the shape of the suckers, crownlets, and slips that remain after the fruit is ready for market, enough to set out two or three acres of land. Sometimes fruit is obtained in twenty months, oftener in two years, and sometimes not for three or more from the setting out of the offsets ; it all depends on the care they receive, and, above all, on their proper protection from frost. Pine-apples once started need little care, almost none if the ground about them is heavily mulched ; they should be mulched to keep down weeds, this latter being the ex- tent of their requirements after being properly prepared at the outset. Some growers prefer frequent cultivation with hoe or harrow instead of mulching ; it is as yet an open question as to which mode is preferable. Soil and location must decide this matter in individual cases. The question of frost protection is a most important one to the Florida grower, for the plant is essentially tropical, and the least frost injures it more or less; a light frost only kills the leaves, and if the plant is not near fruiting this injury will only diminish its size and retard the fruiting season. 172 FLORIDA FRUITS — PINE- APPLES. But let the plant be large and well on toward the fruit- ing time, and then if the leaves are killed the fruit will be small and unmarketable, while if water should be stand- ing in the little cup formed by the center leaves, wrhen a sharp frost sufficient to freeze the water chances that way, woe to the plant itself; 'its tender life currents will be so chilled and shocked as never more to grow, and the plant will droop and die, to be replaced by feeble suckers. But there is no need that such mishaps should occur with a careful planter ; a slight protection will insure the safety of the pine-apple in sections where frost sometimes occurs. While the plants are small a couple of sticks — shingles are convenient for making them — stuck down so that their tops meet above the plant, with a handful of the long gray moss so abundant in the hammocks — which, by the way, is no moss at all, but belongs to the pine-apple family, and is an air-plant — dropped over them, is all-sufficient. When they become too large for this, two ten- or twelve- inch boards, nailed together at a right angle, and then placed over the plant like an inverted trough, afford an excellent shelter. If the boards are not over ten feet long, one man can easily lift them into position on the approach of a threatening night, for it is at night that the Florida frosts nearly always occur. Another method of protection is to drive down low stakes among the pine-apples, to lay small scantling or rails from stake to stake, and on these pile brush, corn- stalks, any thing that will serve as a shelter ; cloths or bagging are also often stretched over the protecting frame- work, and these, though" a little expensive at the outset, are really economical in the end, since the one expense serves for season after season, while brush must be collected and removed each year. PINE- APPLE CULTURE. 173 Yet another way of protecting pine-apples, and, in fact, any plant from frost, is to make ready here and there, espe- cially to the north and west of the plantation, small piles of heavy timber, with light-wood knots ready for kindling on the approach of frost. Plenty of leaves and dampened brush should also be at hand to cast on the blaze when once fairly started, so as to make a "smudge fire" — that is, one that will give out a sufficient heat while not burn- ing away freely or clearly, the more smoke, the better. The cold winds that sweep Florida once or twice in ordi- nary winters invariably come from the northwest, and in arranging these protecting "smudge fires," this should be held in mind, and the cold winds made useful by wafting the warmest air just where it is wanted. Although, as we have seen, new varieties can only be obtained from those very rare jewels, pine-apple seeds, and not more than one in a hundred of these is of any value, yet by long years of patience and perseverance a number of varieties have been secured. Of these the following have been introduced and successfully cultivated in Flor- ida ; doubtless others will follow : SPANISH. This pine-apple has a bewildering number of aliases, as follows : "The Red Spanish," " Red Pine," because of the reddish tint of its leaves and bloom ; " Black Spanish" and " Black Jamaica," because in certain stages of its growth the fruit is very dark, almost black; and last, "Commer- cial Pine," because of its fine shipping qualities, which cause it to rank high in a commercial point of view. This plant fruits sooner than the Sugar-loaf, and bears a greater degree of cold without injury, and also grows more thrifty on poor land, but the quality of its fruit is not so good. The latter drawback, however, is not con- 174 FLORIDA FRUITS — PINE- APPLES. sidered of much importance in its commercial value, and the Spanish to-day is the favorite pine-apple with the "large" Florida planter. SUGAR-LOAF. This is a superior fruit, fragrant and delicious in flavor, but inferior in size to the Spanish, and for this reason not so generally cultivated for market. The Egyptian Queen or Trinidad, and the smooth-leaved Cayenne are fine va- rieties, the fruit of the former being considered superior to the Sugar-loaf, while the large fruit and the smooth leaves of the Cayenne makes it a very desirable sort to cultivate ; one of the drawbacks to pine-apple culture be- ing the torn clothes and flesh that are apt to follow quick or careless movements among its prickly leaves. In the Azores where, as in Florida, freezing winds some- times sweep over the islands, pine-apple culture is one of the great staples, and vast conservatories are built on pur- pose to preserve the fruiting plants from the uncertainties of the climate. Fruiting plants, we repeat — for there is a distinction made between plants too small and those large enough to bear fruit — the former are left in the open ground to take their chances as best they may, until they are nearly ready to fruit, then they are carefully taken up and placed in the conservatory, where the whole energies of the gar- dener are devoted to the task of coaxing out of them the largest and finest pine-apples possible. This plant, as we have seen, does not fruit at any given time of year, but according to its size : and it is a point with Azorians to place their best fruit in the London mar- ket during the Christmas festivities and the height of the " season." They have found a method of making their plants fruit at the proper time by constant attention, to PLNE-APPLE CULTURE. 175 hurry their growth, or none at all, to retard it. Sometimes they even resort to the heroic treatment of sacrificing the bloom, so as to induce the immediate starting of the suck- ers that always appear at the blooming season, ready to grow off rapidly and bear fruit on their own account at a more suitable season than that essayed by their parents, whose career was, as we have seen, "nipped in the bud." Great care is taken in handling and packing the fruit, so that it may reach its market in full perfection. Choice specimens, frequently weighing twelve to fifteen pounds, are cut with the stem several inches below the fruit ; then an ordinary flower-pot, or even a tin can is filled with mold, and the stalk inserted in the latter in such a manner that it looks as though it were grown there; each pine thus prepared is placed in a wooden skeleton case, just large enough to hold it, the pine being first wrapped in paper ; in this way it can be transported without risk of injury. Extra choice fruit, such as we have described, is frequently sold in London for from twelve to fifteen dol- lars each, but usually the best prices obtained are from four to five dollars each. The Florida grower has not the incentive of such extra- ordinary prices for his pines, but still there is profit enough even in the American markets, to induce careful culture and packing ; and, therefore, he would do well to follow the example of the Azorian grower. Pine-apples, growing as they do on a tall stem, must naturally, as they grow large and heavy, incline to one side or other, and finally, if not prevented, will lie pros- trate among the leaves or on the ground, exposed on the one side to rot from undue moisture, on the other to sun- scorch from the direct rays of the sun falling on it while moist with dew or rain. The pine-apple stalk should, therefore, be secured to a stake to keep the fruit upright. 176 FLORIDA FRUITS — PINF.-APPLES. In its wild state, when the ripe fruit falls over in this manner, the several crownlets and slips at the base of crown and fruit send down tendrils and take root ; and then, thu,s established in life on their own account, they become de- tached from the parent fruit. It is by this method that large tracts of country become run over with pine-apples in a very short time; in the wild state, moreover, they ripen but once a year. When pine-apples are nearly ripe, and unusually wet weather sets in, it is well, if possible, to shelter the fruit from excess of moisture, as the latter, at this stage of growth, is likely to cause blackness and acidity at the center. It has also been noticed that when the long leaves of the plant are drawn up around the pine, it colors better and ripens more evenly. GUAVA CULTURE. 177 CHAPTEK XIX. • GUAVAS AND BANANAS. The guava is one of those fruits which, introduced and acclimated in Florida some years back, is not yet fully ap- preciated at its proper commercial value. Year by year, however, the guava is winning its way to the front rank of Florida fruits, and it only needs the establishment of guava-jelly factories to give an immense impetus to the planting of this valuable fruit, the chief drawback to its extended culture thus far having been its perishable na- ture, its skin and general texture being much like that of a pear, only that it is more juicy, and in transit this juice is apt to be pressed out. But no energetic person, as we shall presently see, need wait for the establishment of neighboring factories for making jelly of the fruit he raises, for it can be made at home, and the large profit therefrom accruing be placed directly in his own pocket. Or, if he is so circumstanced as not to be able to do this, there has lately been opened a way to ship his fruit without danger of loss in transit, and that is simply by drying it, just as any other fruit is dried. There are small family fruit evaporators now in the market that can be procured at a cost of only a few dollars, but as% it is not every one who can afford even these few dol- lars, or who can conveniently procure the evaporators, even when the money to do so is forthcoming, we give below the plan of a home-made evaporator, which can be made by any one of ordinary intelligence. This will be found useful, not only for guavas but for all other fruits that one may wish to preserve by this method. Three things are requisite — a hogshead ; a long, narrow 178 FLORIDA FRUITS — tYUAVAS AND BANANAS. box, twenty inches deep and wide, and about six feet in length, such as is used for shipping tall nursery trees, and a small stove. The hogshead is placed on end and a door sawed out of the side to admit the stove ; a hole eighteen inches square is then made in the top of the hogshead to allow the heat from the stove to pass up into the box, which is stood upright over the hole, the lower end being knocked out, and is carefully fitted down on the hogshead, so that none of the ascending heat shall escape. A hole, sur- rounded by tin, is made in the side of the hogshead, oppo- site the stove, through which to pass the stove-pipe, so that none of the smoke can ascend into the box. That which would be the lid of the box if it were on the ground, is fitted on hinges so as to open like a door, thus giving easy access to the interior, which is fitted with open sliding shelves, resting on cleats about three inches apart, one above the other. These shelves should be of wood, with numerous small holes perforated in them, or better still, of stout galvanized wire netting. Place the fruit to be dried, cut in strips, on these shelves, close the door, which must fit as tightly as possible, keep up a gentle fire in the stove, and in ten or twelve hours you will have as sweet a dried fruit as you ever tasted, and the cheapest, too, by far, but perhaps not the handsomest looking. Guavas dried in this way can be preserved for home use all through the non-bearing season, or shipped to jelly or marmalade factories without risk, and at a much less ex- pense as regards freight than if the ripe fruit were shipped in its natural state. Guavas, if well cultivated and moderately fertilized, bear fruit in eighteen months from the seed ; they are also easily raised from layers or slips. GUAVA CULTURE. 179 The guava is usually less a tree than a broad, straggling bush, although sometimes trimmed up into tree-shape, and in the more southern parts of Florida it grows so large that it becomes a veritable tree, with branches stout enough to support a person climbing among them, like an apple tree. Over considerably more than half the State, however, the ' ' common guava " attains the height and shape of a large bush only, from twelve to fifteen feet high, because, unless carefully protected, it is apt to be killed back by frosts ; but even when this mishap does occur the roots are not injured. Very often the main branches are also unhurt and the plant at once puts forth an amazing amount of energetic growth, and in a few months replaces all it has lost, losing but one season's crop. It is a common saying among growers that ' ' if only one crop in three years is secured it pays well to raise guavas ;" but there is no reason why a crop should not be secured every year, the guava being naturally a constant and heavy bearer. In setting out guavas where liable to frost, it is best to place them in rows twelve feet apart each way ; this gives them plenty of room, and yet is close enough to render it easy to protect them from frost by driving down stakes here and there along the rows, as close as possible to the main body of the plants on each side, and then nailing to these, long, slender slats, in such a manner that the outlying branches will be pressed inward in a compact mass. The stakes should be high enough to permit a covering of moss or pine boughs to be laid across the top, from side to side, supported by cross-slats here and there. This top cover is very important, as it is the heavy dew that falls on frosty nights, succeeded by the hot rays of the morning sun, that makes all the trouble. To prevent this cold dew and hot sun from touching his tender plants is the one object of the Florida grower's winter protection. 180 FLORIDA FRUITS — GUAVAS AND BANANAS. Another method of cheating "Jack Frost "of his prey is to have ready piles of wood, the bulk of it trash, that will make plenty of smoke to the north and west, since the hurtful winds always come from these directions. Then, when a frosty night is expected, the fires should be kindled and kept " smudged," so that they will burn slowly, yet sufficiently, until dawn. If neither of these precautions can be taken, the next best way is to throw earth around their trunks, as high as possible, and let it remain thus until the end of January, and in unusually severe winters even later; then, if the upper branches are " nipped," enough is saved for another vigorous starting point. But the guava is well worth a great deal more trouble and expense in affording it winter protection than is required by any of the methods we have named. There are more guavas being set out this year than ever before. Those who do not care to make their fruit into jelly can either dry it for shipping, as we have seen, or else sell it in neighboring towns, where there is always a demand for it at from one dollar to two dollars a bushel ; and even at the latter rate it is very easy to see how prof- itable a fruit the guava is when an acre contains over two hundred plants, yielding each, at three years old (if not killed by frosts), nearly a bushel of fruit. Popularly there are supposed to be three distinct varie- ties of the common guava cultivated in Florida, all of them large, averaging five to six ounces, but some speci- mens reaching eight and nine, or more rarely even ten ounces. One of these varieties has a bright pink flesh, another yellow, and the third and favorite, white. The skin of all is green when unripe, yellow when matured, and all resemble pears in shape. GUAVA CULTURE. 181 But these three apparent varieties are in reality the same ; take the seeds of one sort, plant them and the fruit will not come true only to the kind planted; some will have yellow flesh, some white, some pink, thus proving that the varieties are identical. The guava scorns the longest drought, and responds generously to good culture and plenty of food. It needs no pruning except an occasional pinching off of the end of a limb that has grown inordinately long without branch- ing, and a cutting off or layering (for another plant) of such limbs as lie on the ground. The guava is a thrifty grower, not stopping to rest even during the cooler months, and this is why its young growth is so liable to be killed by frost. Recently there have been introduced into Florida two varieties of guavas that are frost-proof, and hence are des- tined to be extensively planted as soon as known. The fruit is similar in shape to the common guava, though much smaller, but the bush bears no resemblance at all to its commoner brethren. The leaf of the latter is rather large, pea-green, lanceo- late, and ribbed; the new growth being slightly tinged with pink. The frost-proof guavas are more compact and slower in growth : their leaves are small, thick, shiny, and dark green, more like those of a camellia or daphne than those of a guava. One of these is the "Cattley guava," so named after Mr. Cattley, who was the first to introduce it into English hot-houses, from its native land, Brazil. The fruit, claret- colored, is not as large as an English walnut, but its lack of size is made up in quality and quantity, its flavor being far superior to that of the ordinary guava, and making a more delicate jelly, while the bush is extremely prolific, an eighteen months' old plant sometimes bearing nearly five hundred guavas. 182 FLORIDA FRUITS — GUAVAS AND BANANAS. The other frost-proof guava resembles the Cattley, ex- cept that the fruit is about twice as large, and is yellow. Both of these guavas have a decided strawberry flavor. The last mentioned is sometimes called the " yellow guava," but the true name is " Chinese guava." These two varieties are scarce as yet, but this is a fault that will mend as time goes on. The grower who plants these need have no fear of frosts, and his yearly profits will be assured without the necessity of winter protection, except in rare cases, as they will survive a temperature of 26°. In selecting seed for planting guavas, and, indeed, any other fruit, sow only those from the best specimens to be obtained. This simple precaution will assure vigorous plants and superior fruit. The guava, as a home fruit, is extremely valuable, tak- ing the place of the peach in the North, to a great extent, and continuing to ripen from the middle or end of July until the beginning or middle of November, according to the season. The frost-proof guavas are not unfrequently found in bloom all the year around, and this is also the case with the common guava, in localities removed from the influence of cool weather. None of the guavas bear all their blooms at one time and then are done for the year, as is the case with the peach, apple, and kindred fruits. The early spring bloom is, of course, that of the main crop, but ripe fruit and new scattering buds may be seen all through the season on the bush and stem. The various modes of preparing this and other fruits for the table and commercial purposes will be fully treated of in our con- cluding chapter. THE BANANA. This favorite fruit is susceptible of cultivation only in a much more limited area than any of the other Florida BANANA CULTURE. 183 fruits, for the reason that it, like the pine-apple, is a true child of the tropics, and can not endure the least touch of frost uninjured; but, unlike the pine-apple, it is not so readily sheltered, owing to its tall nature. In the more southern portions of Florida, especially along the coasts, the raising of bananas for market has become quite an im- portant industry, and even much further north in the State, where occasional frosts catch the plants and kill them to the roots, they are raised in no inconsiderable quantities, and when one remembers the amount of fruit they bear, in proportion to the ground they occupy and the care they receive, it is no wonder that they should be planted wherever there is the least chance of their perfect- ing their fruit. Besides their food value (they are very nutritious, and act favorably on the liver), bananas are general favorites simply as fruit, and wre rarely meet with a person who is not fond of them; therefore, wherever they have any chance of reaching maturity, the Floridian sets out his banana plants, many or few, according to circumstances. North of the twenty-ninth degree they are killed to the ground almost every winter ; south of the twenty-seventh they are seldom touched by frost ; while in the intermedi- ate latitude they do well, rarely losing more than their leaves. The banana likes a rich, warm soil — sandy loam is the best ; it does well on moderately moist land, but better on dry, if kept mulched. In setting out a plantation of bananas, the young plants should be placed in rows eight feet apart, and nine feet apart in the rows, so set that each plant will be opposite the cen- ter of the vacant space in the next row. By pursuing this plan they will shelter each other, and yet will not ward off the rays of the sun, of which they can not have too much ; 184 FLORIDA FRUITS — GUAVAS AND BANANAS. and, moreover, a consideration not to be despised, their broad leaves will furnish just the amount of shade required by garden vegetables during midsummer, and the fertiliz- ers and cultivation applied to the latter will also benefit the bananas. In preparing for the plants holes three feet wide and two feet deep should be dug, and a rich compost of rotted leaves, muck, and manure, or commercial fertilizers, placed in the bottom of the hole, and the rest mixed with the soil that is packed around the roots. A mistake our Florida planters usually make is, in not setting the banana deep enough in the ground. The hole, as we have said, should be two feet deep, and if the plant to be set should not be large enough to permit this depth to be filled in around it at once, then the earth should be packed in as far as possible, and the rest filled in gradually as the banana grows upward. In other words, the banana plant, to do its best, must be set at least two feet below the surface of the ground. When fifteen months old the banana, if it has no draw- backs, will put forth, from the center of the stem at the top, a curious shaped bloom, that just appears, pointing upward from amid the broad leaves, and then droops out- ward and downward at the end of a stout stalk. The bloom looks much like a fat ear of corn with red husks. These latter lift slowly up, one after the other, as though hinged at the top, revealing the strange, odd-looking "fingers" of bananas, ranged symmetrically beneath them. Each leaf of the husk drops off after it has done its duty in protect- ing the young fruit from the sun for a day or two, and the next in order of descent raises the lid from its row of fruit. The same red husks, brighter inside than out, are just the shape of the popular, long, shell-shaped pickle dishes, BANANA CULTURE. 185 and retain their stiffness for days ; and, holding a cupful of water, they make really beautiful bouquet-holders, that the eye can not tell from the finest Japanese red lacquer ware. The number of fingers in a cluster of bananas varies greatly, according to the variety of the plant or richness of the soil. The Horse banana, which is most commonly cultivated in Florida, bears from twenty to sixty bananas in fingers or rows of eight to ten. They are usually large, and, when suffered to remain on the plant till nearly ripe, are as fine in flavor as one need wish, but when cut green are apt to be insipid. Another banana, Hart's Choice, is superior to the Horse banana in every respect. Both of these varieties will stand a greater degree of cold than any others of their race, and the fruit of each is yellow when ripe, but these are the only main points of resemblance. Hart's Choice, a native of the Bahamas, is stout of stem and does not break down beneath the weight of its fruit in a gale, as the Horse banana frequently does. It blos- soms early, and in warm weather the fruit may be cut in ninety days thereafter. The other variety is often from one hundred to one hundred and twenty days in ripening. Hart's Choice bears from fifty to one hundred bananas in a cluster. The fruit is four inches long and one and a half in diameter, with a clear, golden-yellow skin, slim as a kid glove; the flesh is firm, yet melting and buttery, sweet and highly aromatic, but not musky like so many of the banana tribe. There is no finer banana than this in the world, and Florida owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. E. H. Hart, of Federal Point, whose twelve years' patient efforts and ex- periments led at last to the discovery of the "Hart's Choice" banana, or, as some of our nurserymen have chosen to call it, "Golden Early." 16 186 FLORIDA FRUITS — GUAVAS AND BANANAS. Sooner or later, for it varies greatly as to time, the ba- nana plant will send up suckers from its roots, which in due time are to take its place; for the banana, like the pine-apple, bears fruit but once, and then, if not cut down when the latter is removed, it will soon fall prone on the ground. The best plan is to chop it up (an easy matter) in small pieces, and bury them near the growing plant, as the decaying leaves and stems of a banana plantation fur- nish it with no small amount of fertilizing material. The banana will often send up from five to ten suckers, and these should not all be allowed to remain ; if they are the result will be small, stunted plants and fruit. Two are enough to leave with the parent plant; the others should be transplanted when about three feet high. It is a fact not generally known or noted, that from transplanted suckers no great results in fruit will be ob- tained. The planter must look for the heaviest fruiting to those stalks that have come up from the parent root and have never been disturbed. Heavy mulching during the summer months will be found of great utility. STRAWBERRIES. 187 CHAPTER XX. THE SMALL FRUITS — STRAWBERRIES. Only a few years ago the idea of raising strawberries in Florida for profit, or indeed, even for home use, with any measure of success, was scouted at as chimerical; though why it should have been so is difficult to tell, since they love a warm sun, a light soil, and abundant moisture, and all these they can find with ease in Florida. That it should have been questioned whether there would be profit in the crop for export purposes is not to be wondered at. There is no fruit that requires more careful handling nor more rapid transportation to market than this delicious berry, of which it has been quaintly said: "Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but he never did." And until very recently these essen- tial points were lacking in our midst. In the face of many discouragements, no little ridicule, and utter ignorance of the proper berries to select for the best results in a climate and soil new to them, a few enter- prising settlers, here and there over the State, set out small plats of strawberry plants for domestic use. The first trials were sufficient to dispel the illusion that Florida soil would not raise strawberries to perfection, and further experiments, intelligently and perseveringly con- ducted, have demonstrated the fact that Florida's soil and climate are particularly adapted to their culture, and that this is destined to become one of the largest sources of income. For several years past those sections accessible by rail, and therefore having the advantage of rapid transit, have shipped large quantities of strawberries to Northern and 188 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS. Western markets, at an immense profit to the growers. And now, month by month, these facilities for shipping are increasing and extending ; the railroads and their water connections are reaching out their stalwart arms and em- bracing the whole State, while several of these roads are already running refrigerator cars for the benefit of those who raise the more perishable fruits, among which the strawberry stands foremost. Of course ajl varieties are not suited to light, sandy soils, nor will all pass successfully through our long summer season. Locality influences this fruit more than any other one cause ; therefore, a plant that will bear large, luscious berries in a cool climate and clay soil, will naturally be- come stunted and bear smaller, less delicate-tasted berries under the opposite conditions. It was probably some such mistake as this that at first created the impression that it was ' ' no use to try to raise strawberries in Florida." But our people are wiser now about this, as well as many other things of kindred nature. Here, there, every where, at all points where rapid trans- port is at hand, acres upon acres of this delicious berry have been planted, bringing golden return to their owners, and constantly the acreage devoted to this crop is on the increase ; it is larger now (in the spring of 1886) than it was last year, and next year it will be larger still. The man who properly plants and Cares for one acre will set out five, ten, twenty acres the following season. And no wonder; for the returns from this fruit, put upon the market at a time of year impossible to any but a Floridian, are something enormous. From one thousand to two thousand dollars per acre are not infrequently made, and sometimes more, with a favorable season and the plants in full bearing ; even the first crop often yields from five hundred to eight hundred dollars. STRAWBERRIES. 189 Before proceeding to tell "how to do it," let us quote a few well-authenticated data of profits, carefully collected from the fortunate, or more properly speaking, enterpris- ing recipients, for the special purpose of proving the com- mercial standing of the strawberry in Florida. One lady reports from one eighth of an acre pine land, set out and tended by herself, fertilized with a compost of cow manure, ashes, and forest leaves, scattered broadcast, the plants not mulched or their roots disturbed during the blooming season, a yield of four hundred quarts, which were sold on the spot at prices varying from seventy-five to fifteen cents a quart, making a return at the rate of six hundred and forty dollars an acre. Another cultivator, from the same space, on pine land, no fertilizer, picked three hundred and twenty quarts, and sold them at home for twenty cents a quart. A shipment of one thousand and fifty quarts of straw- berries from Jacksonville to New York, in a refrigerator car, gave a return of two thousand six hundred and thirty dollars, being sold at two dollars and a half a quart. The expense of picking and shipping was two hundred and eighty-three dollars, leaving a clear profit of two thousand three hundred and forty-six dollars. From Gadsden and Clay counties comes the report of from six to eight thousand quarts raised on one acre ; not once or twice, but many times ; and others can do as well. We have now given enough examples to establish our claim that the strawberry is destined to become one of Florida's most valuable crops, particularly in the more central countries, from Sumter northward. We would not, however, have our readers infer that the above figures or their close approximate are invariable ; it is, however, safe to count on a profit, year in and year out, of from at least two hundred to three hundred dollars per acre. This is a very low estimate. 190 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS. The variety of berry planted, the mode of culture, amount of fertilization, supply of moisture, and time of ripening all influence the result. And now let us pass on to the modus operandi. Strawberries love moisture, not too much but enough, and continuously supplied ; hence, in selecting ground for their cultivation, choose always a low spot, but not by any means a wet spot, or one not susceptible of drainage ; dry soil on top with moisture near enough to the surface to feed the down-reaching rootlets that are ever crying out for "water, water, more water," is what this berry wants and must have to thrive. A level piece of land, with clay from eighteen inches to two feet below the surface, would be a good selection. When shelter from the north and west winds can be pro- cured, it will be found an advantage, as these are the winds that whip out foliage and dry off moisture. If no such spot offers, a full measure of success can not be had, unless artificial irrigation can be supplied, and as a matter of fact, in all cases where a large acreage is planted this should be given, either by means of a wind- mill or ram ; this latter is comparatively inexpensive, and in many locations entirely practicable ; and in other cases, again, where a lake or pond is at hand, standing on more elevated land than the strawberry field, a simple aqueduct or pipe line would furnish all the water needed. The proper location selected, the next step is to clear the ground thoroughly of all roots and trash, and plow, har- row, and rake until it is smooth and level. Next lay off the beds for the plants ; if in the field, for culture by horse power, mark them three feet apart; if a small garden patch only, for hand culture, eighteen inches between the rows will be ample. Many consider the "hill" system superior to any other; STRAWBERRIES. 191 by this method the beds are made four feet wide, and the plants set out in three rows, one in the center, the others fifteen inches from it on either side, and the plants fifteen inches apart in the rows. The finest obtainable fruit is said to be secured by this mode of planting, but it requires hand culture in the beds themselves, though between them the cultivator can be used. Strong, thrifty plants in the "hill" protect each other, as the close foliage shades roots and berries. For field culture in Florida, however, we believe the narrow row, which is also called the ''hill" system, and more correctly so than the above, to be the most satisfac- tory in all respects. Mark off the rows as before, three feet apart, or two and a half if preferred; now, throw down upon them a liberal supply of well-rotted compost, muck, stable or cow manure (do not allow sticks or stub- ble), and either spade or plow it in at least a foot deep; do not make the mistake of treating the strawberry as a surface feeder ; its roots, if they can find food, will go down two feet or more, as they love to do in their search for water, and spread very little on the surface. If none of the home manures named can be had (they are to be preferred for turning under because reteotive of moisture), use some good commercial fertilizer instead, and do n't be afraid of it either. The plants in the narrow row should be set in singe line, ten or twelve inches apart ; if in good soil, one year's growth will make a continous line of green. The cultivator will keep the soil clean and mellow, and leave very little to be done by hand ; what there is can be readily done by a simple little iron instrument, readily made by the local blacksmith, in shape thus, T; fasten this to a wooden rake or hoe-handle, and it will be found a most excellent implement for the purpose, as it can be used flat 192 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS. to scrape the surface, or, turned perpendicularly, can be thrust deeply between and close to the plants with scarcely any disturbance, yet, by a side twist, drag out the most obstinate weeds when deep among their roots. By this system of planting, the ground is as fully occu- pied as it should be ; each plant receives the proper share of attention, the berries are open to light and air on all sides, and the mulching, which is now considered indispen- sable to good culture, is easily applied. There is no doubt that a thick mulch around the plants does exercise a very great influence on their thriftiness ; it keeps the land evenly moist, not wet one day and dry the next to the detriment of the surface roots ; it protects the fruit from injury by heavy rains, keeps it out of the dirt, and, to a great extent, prevents the growth of weeds. So important is this mulching considered by the straw- berry growers around Charleston, S. C. , that they willingly pay one dollar a bale for pine straw, the collection of which, for this purpose, has become a regular business, and use thirty bales to the acre, covering almost the entire ground. They claim that the expense is amply reimbursed, not only in the increased yield of the plants, but in the saving of expense in keeping down the weeds. The Florida grower has plenty of pine straw at hand, free of cost, save that of gathering; wire-grass or leaves would answer the same purpose, though more liable to be disturbed by the winds. And now a few words as to the proper mode of setting out the plants ; this is a very important point, apparently very simple, yet it is very seldom done as it should be. The well-known horticulturist, E. P. Koe, speaks feelingly on this subject as follows : " We may secure good plants of the best varieties, but if we do not set them out properly the chances are against our success, unless the weather is very favorable. So much STRAWBERRIES. 193 depends on a right start in life, even in a strawberry bed. There are no abtruse difficulties in properly imbedding a plant. One would think, if a workman gave five minutes' thought and observation to the subject, he would know ex- actly how to do it; if one used his head as well as his hands it would be perfectly obvious that a plant set with its roots spread out, so that the fresh, moist earth could come in contact with each fiber, would stand a far better chance than one set out any other way. And }et, in spite of all I can say or do, I have never been able to prevent very many of my plants from being set too deeply, so that the crown and tender leaves were covered and smothered with earth, or not deep enough, thus leaving some of the roots exposed. Many others bury the roots in a long, tangled bunch ; others hastily scoop out a shallow hole, in which the roots are placed in the form of a half circle, with the roots which should be down in the cool, moist depths of the soil turned up toward or to the very surface." And yet, as Mr. Roe further remarks, "It is almost as easy to set out a plant properly as otherwise," and the re- sults are certainly very different. Here is the right way to plant a strawberry. Make a hole deep enough to put the roots, spread out in a fan-like circle, down for their full length into the soil, holding the plant in the left hand ; fill in with the right hand, pressing firmly around the roots ; when the soil is even with the surface, press with both hands as close to the plant as pos- sible, putting on your full weight until the crown is just even with the surface ; if you can pull the plant up again by taking hold of the leaves, you have not made it as firm as it should be. This method may seem hard and slow, but once it is learned it can be done very quickly. The negro women around Norfolk, Va., frequently set between two and 17 194 FLORIDA FRUITS SMALL FRUITS. three thousand plants a day, and do it properly, too. Al- ways plant in moist, freshly-stirred ground, free from lumps or trash. If the roots, on receipt of your plants, are found to be sour, black, or moldy, and this often happens if they have journeyed far, wash them in clean, lukewarm water, and carefully trim off the shriveled ends ; let them lie in water for a few hours. After they are set out, sprinkle a hand- ful of fine bone-meal, if you have it, close around the plants, water them liberally, soaking the ground, and mulch heavily. Unless the weather be cloudy for several days, at and after the time of setting out, shade must be supplied — palmetto leaves are excellent for this purpose — placed al- most horizontally so as to shelter thoroughly from the sun ; in lieu of palmetto, even a handful of grass dropped on the crown of the plant is better than nothing. Do not allow the runners to grow until after the fruit- ing season is over ; if you do, the plants will be less thrifty, the berries smaller, and less in quantity. But after the fruit is all gathered, then let the runners run; if there are any vacant spaces in the rows put down some, so the gaps will be filled, and this is all that needs to be done, so say some of our Florida cultivators, until the time for transplanting or setting out comes round again. " Let the weeds grow as they will during the summer season, they will shelter the strawberry plants from the sun, and they will be found all right when you come to cut down and weed out the trash in October." And that there is some truth in this statement we have proved in our own garden ; plants utterly hidden from May to September were found to be thrifty and green when summoned from their retirement. Another plan, highly recommended by those who have STRAWBERRIES. 195 tried it, is to dispense with the mulch after the crop is in, and instead to sow a row of cow-peas, some short, bushy variety, between the rows, and chop them down when the peas are nearly ripe, leaving the roots undisturbed ; the foliage thus cut is to be left on the ground to shade and enrich it, while the cow-pea roots will at once go to work to make good their loss, and by the time setting and culti- vation come around again, a second lot of foliage is ready to be cut and used as a mulch for the fruiting plants ; by this simple, inexpensive method the ground is greatly en- riched, the rows and straggling runners shaded during the summer, and a large supply of mulching grown on the spot without the labor or expense of hauling it. It is not necessary, as once supposed, to make a new bed each year; a strawberry field, if well fertilized and cultivated, may, with profit, occupy the same ground for three or four years, and sometimes more. The best time to set out the plants in our State is from the middle of September to the middle of November, but October is preferred as the month par excellence. Good, strong plants will begin to bear in January, and keep on, more or less, until May or June ; the main Florida crop is gathered during February, March, and April; the ship- ping season frequently lasting over seventy days. Remember that the strawberry is a gross feeder, it is a great drinker, a confirmed toper, but it is just as great an epicure. A celebrated grower of small fruits thus tells how to fertilize this plant : ' ' Use all you think you can afford, then shut your eyes and put on as much more, and it will pay every time." As to the best fertilizers to use : this depends so much upon the character of the soil in different localities that the wisest plan is to make local inquiries, and find out who 196 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS. has succeeded and who has failed, and what fertilizers were used. Stable manure, if free from stubble, is considered one of the very best foods for the strawberry ; also cow- chips and muck, the latter applied with more active mate- rial. Bone dust, cotton-seed meal, and wood ashes are also of great value ; and here is something vouched for by good authority as being splendidly effective : " Fill a half hogshead with water, and put into it one quarter of a pound of ammonia, and the same amount of niter. When the plants are blossoming sprinkle them with this solution at evening, twice a week, until the fruit is nearly full size. The result will be double the amount of fruit." Never use lime or land plaster, as they are poisonous to the strawberry. Do not forget this. And now as to the varieties best suited to our soil and climate. Upon this point there is a wide diversity of opinion, owing, doubtless, to the difference in culture and soil in the several localities, which, as we have seen, exercise a powerful influence on the strawberry, both in quality and quantity of fruit. We would advise every one intending to embark in strawberry culture to set aside a small piece of ground for experiment, and to plant therein a dozen plants or more of every variety that seems desirable or likely to prove profitable ; a couple of years' culture will show which to retain and which to reject. At present the leading market variety is undoubtedly the celebrated Charleston berry, Neunan's Prolific ; this is a medium sized, aromatic berry, firm and sub-acid, and a great bearer. At the same time we believe that there are others which will eventually be recognized as superior. The Federal Point or Little Giant is a very fine, large STRAWBERRIES. berry, and either is or has become " a native 01 the coun- try ;" it bears well, ships well, and in flavor is superior to the Neunan berry. With many growers -the Crescent seedling is growing rapidly in favor, and deservedly so. This is a very dis- tinct and remarkable variety; its average size does not much exceed that of the famous old market berry, the Wilson, and its flavor is about the same. Its blossoms are, however, imperfect, and a perfect flowered variety should be set in every eighth row. It is extremely pro- ductive, and has a really wonderful capacity for thriving on poor, thin land, and under almost all circumstances and in any soil ; it cares nothing whether its home be in the cold clay of Canada or the warm sand of Florida. Prac- tically it is the cosmopolitan berry. A yield of over five thousand quarts to the acre is not uncommon, even with slight fertilizing, and the bright scarlet berries are very handsome, attracting quick sales. The chief fault of the Crescent seedling is that the ber- ries are apt to be too soft for a long journey by rail, unless carried in refrigerator cars, as, in fact, all strawberries ought to be. We might go on indefinitely suggesting varieties as worthy of at least a trial, but the truth is that every berry which has been proven to do well on light, sandy soil, and to resist summer heat and drought — and these are many — should be tested carefully by the Florida grower who de- sires to attain the best possible results, and consequently the largest profits. Remember always that it is only the best fruit that brings the best prices, and that there is a right way and a wrong way in picking and packing, as in every thing else ; and this latter part of the business is of so much impor- tance that though all the rest may be done properly, and 198 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS. the finest berries obtained, yet if this, the closing opera- tion, is carelessly performed, all the previous work is thrown away, and a report of "arrived in bad condition, not salable," will be the ultimate result. Never pick the berries when they are wet ; always gather them when they are half or two thirds colored, and, if possible, leave an inch, or better still, two inches of the stem attached to the fruit, they will keep fresh and firm much longer. Inspect every berry yourself, don't trust this important work to others or you will deservedly suffer for it ; there will most certainly be some fruit too ripe to pack, and if not thrown out great injury will result to the rest. Pack in neat strawberry boxes, not loosely, but so as to prevent shaking about ; and you will find it pays to place the top layer stems downward, so as to show the bright red color of the berry to best advantage. Ship always by the quickest route, and, wherever possi- ble, in refrigerator cars or boxes. In order to find how many plants are required to set an acre at any given distance apart, multiply the width by the breadth in feet, and see how many times this num- ber is contained in 43,560, which is the number of square feet in an acre. For example, plants set 1 x 3 feet, each plant would occupy three square feet ; therefore, by divid- ing 3 into 43,560 the number required would be given. BLACKBERRIES. Why this luscious berry has not already come more "to the fore" in Florida we are unable to see, except on the well-known principle, that "we always overlook our nearest blessings." The blackberry grows wild in abundance here, as it does in almost if not quite every State in the Union ; and just BLACKBERRIES. 199 because it is so wide-spread a blessing it meets with less con- sideration than it deserves. Only a few years ago it was regarded in this country, as it still is abroad, merely as a bramble. Of late, however, attempts have been made to originate "prize berries" by planting the seed, but so far Dame Nature has the best of it, as all the finest varieties now in cultivation are from chance seedlings found grow- ing wild. For instance, the well-known Kittatinny blackberry was found in the mountains in Warren County, N. J.; its fruit is large, very large under good culture, sweet, rich, and melting, but, like all its race, hard and sour when eaten prematurely. For home use they should not be picked until fully ripe, but if they are to be shipped then gather them when half ripe, and pack with the same care bestowed upon straw- berries. There are two species of blackberries, out of the hun- dred and fifty scattered over the world, that have furnished all our best varieties for cultivation ; these are the Rvbus villosus or High Blackberry, and RvJbus canadensis or Dewberry. Both of these are found in Florida, and both are worthy of close attention, and wherever fine bushes are found they should be carefully transplanted and culti- vated ; they should, however, be in a dormant state when moved, and if this precaution be taken there will be very little danger of the plants dying, as they will stand a great deal of hard treatment. The soil should be light, mellow, moist, and not over rich ; the same manures recommended for the strawberry are suitable for the blackberry, but the quantity should be less ; too rich soil will produce a rank growth of canes, but lessen the quantity of fruit. The rows should be seven or eight feet apart for field 200 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS. culture, six feet for garden, and the plants three feet apart in the rows. If the ground is not very fertile the young plants will need a start, which can best be given by scattering a com- post containing muck dbwn the furrows in which they are planted. They should have support, to do their best, and an inexpensive method of giving it is by the use of posts and wire ; by this system they can be grown in one bushy row, shading and supporting each other. The canes often shoot up five or six feet high, and this should be prevented by pinching off the ends of the shoots ; this checks the upward tendency and forces side branches, which are the fruit bearers. RASPBERRIES. This is a fruit as yet new to Florida, but we believe that some varieties can be profitably raised, and we urge upon our readers careful and persevering experiments in this direction. Like the strawberries, raspberries require moisture and cool manures; muck, sweetened by lime, is one of the best fertilizers for this splendid berry, but, unlike the strawberry, it does well in partial shade, although it does not require it. As a rule, the black-cap varieties do better in light soils than the red, but there are some of the latter that appear to flourish equally well in sandy loam as in heavier lands ; foremost among these stands the Cuthbert, a very fine, red berry, and one especially adapted for trial here. Let every fruit grower try a few raspberries of differ- ent varieties, requesting some prominent nurseryman to select for him such as are worth the experiment in our soil and climate. Be assured he will not regret it. OLIVES. 201 CHAPTER XXI. OLIVES AND PECANS — OLIVES. The olive is a low-branching evergreen tree, reaching a height of from twenty to thirty feet ; its leaves are stiff and narrow, of a light or bluish green ; its blossoms appear on the wood grown the previous year, in June, July, or August ; the fruit is a berried drupe, oblong, rather small, of a yellowish green color, but when fully ripe turning black. A native of Greece, it became naturalized centuries ago in Spain, Italy, the South of France, Morocco, and kin- dred climates ; in fact, the whole basin of the Mediterra- nean, from the thirty-fifth to the forty-third degree of lati- tude, is one great belt of olive trees. This, like the orange tree, attains literally to a "green old age." In the valley of the cascade of Marmora, there is a plantation over two miles in extent of very old trees, supposed to be the identical ones mentioned by Pliny as growing there in the first century of the Christian era. In Palestine, here and there, are olive trees estimated to be two thousand years old, and some of these, although their trunks are hollow and like an empty shell, bear boun- tiful crops ; one, a few years ago, yielded two hundred and forty quarts of oil. It is a common saying in Italy, " If you want to leave a lasting inheritance to your children's children, plant an olive." The olive has been successfully cultivated in California for a number of years ; and if in California, why not then in Florida? As a matter of fact, it has been raised and has fruited in Orange, Hillsboro, Dade, Nassau, St. Johns, 202 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS. and other counties. The climate is suitable, the soil equally so, for, while this famous tree will grow luxuriantly in a clay soil, if well fertilized, it delights in a dry, sandy loam, and planted in such is thoroughly at home. It bears fruit at two or three years old, increasing up to its fiftieth year, and in its sixth year, if it has been well cared for, begins to repay the expense of cultivation, even if the ground between the trees is not otherwise employed, and there is no reason why it should not be cultivated to annual crops, just as a young orange grove may be. The olive, as we have mentioned, likes a dry soil; its roots run down deeply, and find all the water they need far below the surface. In California the olive growers claim that it is the only tree that needs no irrigation, es- pecially in the foot-hills of Santa Barbara County, and around San Jose; here the frequent fogs are found to yield sufficient surface moisture for the olive, and for the olive alone. Certain it is that it never suffers from drought. The first olive trees in California, and presumably in the United States, were planted years ago by the old Jesuit Fathers at the " Spanish Mission," north of Monterey, and the first regular orchard was set out at San Jose, thirty years ago. From these trees came the now celebrated Mission olives so popular in the State of their adoption. Oil sweet, rich, and agreeable to the taste, has been made in California and has met a ready sale, but all the olive oil at present produced, and there is a large acreage now in bearing, is not sufficient to supply the demand from the druggists alone ; and if all the land in California and in Florida suited to the culture of this valuable tree, were now planted and yielding olives, the supply would still be in- sufficient ; or at the best, not more than equal to the de- mand, for good, honest olive oil is needed every where; OLIVES. 203 for daily use in the household, for medicinal purposes, in the various arts. There is no other oil that is as highly esteemed for the same uses, and when we consider that it retails in this country at one dollar a quart flask, and that an acre of olive trees in full bearing will average seven hundred and fifty quarts, a certain profit is self- evident. In 1884 the United States paid for imported olives, one hundred arid twenty-seven thousand one hundred dollars ; why should we not keep this money in our own pockets? And in addition to the yield of oil there is the pickled olive ; the same fruit picked when half ripe, steeped in an alkaline solution to extract a part of its bitterness, then washed in fresh water, and finally bottled with salt and water, to which fennel or some other aromatic herb is added. The taste for the pickled olive is an acquired but still an extensive one, and the demand is large ; it might just as well be supplied by home product as to be imported. The olive does not require rich land, too much fertiliz- ing improves neither the tree nor the fruit, hence it is one of the cheapest of all fruits to raise; and not alone for this reason, but also because the cultivation of the ground set in olives, does not at all injure or retard it. Peach or pear trees, grape-vines, corn, vegetables, all can be grown continuously in the olive orchard, rather to its advantage than otherwise. Another point in its favor is the ease with which it is propagated ; suckers rise in abundance from the roots of the older trees, and these, transplanted, become trees in their turn. The seed is frequently planted, and some claim that this is the best mode of propagation ; cuttings from the olive, however, take root so readily that this is the usual method followed to obtain young trees. A rather odd circumstance is related which strikingly 204 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS. illustrates this point. Mr. Jackson, in his "Account of the Empire of Morocco," mentions a large plantation of olive trees near Messa, which struck him as being, to say the least, very whimsical in the arrangement of the trees, for they were planted here, there, every where, sometimes in large groups, sometimes in small, sometimes singly, and again in short rows or angles ; order nowhere, eccentricity reigning supreme. Inquiry brought to light the history of this unique plan- tation, it was as follows : " I learned from the viceroy's aide-de-camp, who attended me, that one of the kings of the dynasty of Saddia, being on his journey to Soudan, encamped here with his army ; that the pegs with which the cavalry picketed their horses were cut from the olive trees in the neighborhood, and that these pegs being left in the ground on account of some sudden cause of the departure of the army, the olive trees in question sprang from them. And the disposition of the trees did exactly resemble the arrangement of cavalry in an encampment." From twenty-five to thirty feet is the proper distance for setting the olives in the orchard. The proper time for gathering olives for the press is just as they mature ; if they are left too long on the tree the next crop will be a failure, and it is to this fact that the olive tree owes the unjust reputation it has gained in some countries, in Languedoc, Spain, and Italy, for instance, of bearing only on alternate years ; in these countries the crop is gathered in December and January, while in France it is gathered in November, and there the trees bear regu- lar annual crops, while the oil, because the fruit is gath- ered during the first stage of maturity, as soon as it turns purple, is of a better quality and commands the highest prices. OLIVES. 205 In Europe the method in general use for gathering the olives is to knock them off with long poles, and then the women, children, cripples, and old men pick them up from the ground. This is a very poor plan, as it not only bruises the fruit and renders it liable to rot, but the contact with the earth is apt to give an unpleasant taste to the oil. It is much better in all respects, even as regards economy, to pick them by hand. Elwood Cooper, the well known California (Santa Bar- bara) horticulturist, tells us of a method of collecting the olives of his own contrivance, "by which an active man can pick four hundred pounds a day." "I have," says he, "arranged, on a ranch wagon, plat- forms with ladders securely fastened, so that the fruit from the different heights of even large trees can be gathered from the wagon, which is driven along the rows, and one half of the tree picked from each side. This plan obvi- ates the necessity of moving ladders, climbing, etc., and relieves the pickers from the labor of carrying the fruit, as the sacks containing the same are always at hand on the platform. The leaves and imperfect berries are separated by passing the whole through a winnowing mill; this process leaves the fruit in the best possible condition preparatory to manufacturing the oil." This latter process is exceedingly simple. To allow the water to evaporate and to concoct the mucilage, the olives are spread out in beds about three inches thick and left for several days. Then the fruit is reduced to a pulp, placed in sacks of coarse linen, and subjected to a light pressure. The oil first expressed is the purest and highest priced ; the cake left is moistened in water and again pressed, a second-rate oil being the result, as now the oil of the kernels, under the heavier pressure, mingles with the oil 206 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS. of the fruit and deteriorates from its quality both in taste and in its keeping properties. This, the common oil, can not be kept sweet in casks for more than eighteen months or two years. Kaising olives for commercial purposes will yet become one of Florida's great industries, and not only so, but there is no reason why other of the "far south" States should not help in the good work, for while this noble tree, as we have seen, does not desire a rich soil and will flourish in sand or clay, or on rocky ground, it will also resist frost to a great degree, having been frequently known to stand un- injured through a temperature as low as 14°. A few words as to varieties, of which there are many scattered over the world. The Mission olive, already referred to, is late in matur- ing its fruit ; but this, in Florida, where the mild climate would admit of every olive attaining its full maturity, is no objection, although, in a colder climate, it would be a serious drawback. The Manzanillo olive is one of the early ripening kinds ; is excellent for pickling, and yields good oil. The Reudonvillo. Fruit small but excellent. The Nevarillo Blanco. A copious bearer of large olives, yielding abundantly of the best oil. The Empeltre. An excellent bearer ; oil first quality ; resists frost well; a valuable kind for cooler as well as warm sections. The Gordal. Hardy also ; fruit of the best for pickling or oil. The Verdeso. Also frost-resisting ; quality same as the Gordal. These are all early maturing trees ; in the late, equally good for Florida, we have the Marvileno, bearing very large olives. PECANS. 207 Picudo, which yields enormous sized fruit, both first quality for oil and pickles. Madrilenzo. Fruit large, excellent for pickling, walnut- shaped ; yields but little oil. Prune tree cautiously. THE PECAN TREE. This is another of Florida's coming crops. Our people are just beginning to realize, not that there is profit in this popular nut, but that it can be raised here, on their own grounds, to perfection. And why not ? It is native to Texas and Louisiana ; it flourishes in every State as far north as Virginia, and even (near the coast line) in Maryland, Delaware, and Southern New Jersey, for it is the fact that in these States there are pecan trees, large, beautiful, and bearing heavy annual crops. There are several fallacies that have contributed to re- tard the spread of pecan orchards. First and foremost is the idea held by so many, that to plant a pecan tree is to plant only for the profit of one's grandchildren ; probably this idea came from the knowl- edge that, as a rule, nut-bearing trees are long in coming into profit ; the hickory, and some others are fifty years or more before they bear any crops worth speaking of, but it is not so with the pecans. Planted on land of ordi- nary fertility they usually begin bearing at six or seven years old from the seed ; on rich land they are often a year or two later in bearing, because they grow faster and make such luxuriant foliage that they have no time to stop for nut-making ; in either case the nuts are of the same qual- ity, first class and thin-shelled. So much for the first fallacy ; now for the second, and that is, that the nut must absolutely be planted where the tree is to grow, because "if grown elsewhere and trans- 208 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS. planted, the tap-root will be cut or broken, and if it is curtailed at all the tree may grow, but will never bear nuts." Now, there is just as much truth in this idea as there is in the statement that the moon is made of green cheese. The transplanted pecan will grow and bear fruit just as any other tree will, even though its long tap-root is broken in moving ; it is not the tap-root that bears the nuts, it is merely the anchor that keeps the tree upright and helps convey its water-supply. If it can be done conveniently, it is better to plant the nuts three inches deep, good, fresh nuts and no others, laid on their side, where the tree is to stand, because then there is no check to the growth by transplanting, and nearly a year is thus gained. But it is not necessary, and the great majority of pecan orchards are set from nursery trees ; the nuts are started in boxes of moist earth, and as soon as they sprout are placed in the nursery rows. When high enough out of the ground they should be heavily mulched. By the end of the first season they will be ten or twelve inches high, and if the soil is loose and deep the tap-root will be still longer than the top. And now they should be set out where they are to remain, either in the or- chard, thirty-five feet apart, about forty trees to the acre, or here and there, wherever a handsome, highly ornamen- tal shade tree is wanted, in avenues or in nooks around the house. The pecan tree seems to be at home in all kinds of soil, so that it be not desperately poor, and has a clay sub- soil— rocky, clay, or sand, dry or moist. And as to its culture : for the first two or three years it should be well mulched, and occasionally, if the soil is thin, be moderately fertilized ; this is all the care it needs, for its deep-seated rootlets render it independent of surface cultivation. PECANS. 209 It is a fact not generally known that the cutting of a tap-root, of nut-bearing or other trees, is really beneficial to the lateral growth of the tree; another little known truth is that the tap-roots of all trees, nut or others, are short-lived ; they die and decay as the lateral roots grow large and strong. In setting out the young tree or in planting the seed in the open ground, we would strongly recommend surround- ing it with a circle of the woven wire netting, now so much in use for fences, arched across the top; this would not only mark the spot but protect it from injury by the plow, in raising crops in the orchard, and also from horses or cattle. Since the pecan needs no surface working we would ad- vise that the orchard be converted into a permanent past- ure, and the ground thus made to serve a double purpose, as well as the trees, the latter furnishing a most grateful shade for the cattle grazing there, while the wire netting, raised higher as the trees grow, would prevent any injury being done to the trees. If the seed are planted in the orchard, put two or three in the hill, they will sprout in from four to ten weeks ; sur- plus ones can be removed ; they should be partially shaded during their first summer. December, January, and February are the best months for planting pecans, either seeds or trees. As we have noted, the first season's growth should leave the young tree ten or twelve inches high ; the second year they will grow three or four feet ; and the third they will be well branched, and from seven to ten feet high. And now, having seen how easy it is to raise a pecan orchard — there are a number of trees now fruiting heavily in Florida — let us see why we should do it as a source of income easy and sure. 18 210 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS. The oldest pecan orchard of which we have any record is in Alabama, and is over fifty years old ; the trees in this orchard now frequently yield three barrels of nuts each in the same season, producing an income, without trouble or expense, save that of gathering the nuts, of one thou- sand dollars annually per acre. A barrel contains one hundred and forty-five pounds of nuts, and last year, from Florida trees, they averaged to the producer twenty-three cents per pound by the barrel. But even at only ten cents a pound, one hundred pounds to the tree, and forty trees to the acre, we have a clear profit of four hundred dollars, while the ground that sup- ports these bountiful trees may also yield other crops or feed a herd of cattle. There is no other tree that, with so little care, expense, or attention, will yield so much profit. Let Florida have her pecan orchards as well as her orange groves. It has already been proved that the one is as valuable as the other, and when the Florida pecan is placed upon the market, as it is certain to be ere long, it will rank with the Florida orange and pine-apple, for no other State can equal her soft-shelled pecans. The largest and oldest bearing pecan orchard now in Florida consists of fifty trees, the property of Arthur Brown, of Blackwater, Santa Kosa County ; they are from twenty-five to forty years old, and are the pride of their owner, and, as we can certify, justly so. Not only are the trees beautiful in themselves, but their products of several distinct varieties of thin-shelled pecans are all that any one could desire; never has the writer tasted pecans as thin-shelled, tender, and delicious in flavor as those raised in this Blackwater orchard, the pioneer of Florida's future pecan industry. .The nuts from these beautiful trees were on exhibition at the New Orleans Ex- PECANS. 211 position as coming from "Santa Rosa County, Fla.," and justly attracted general attention because of their large size, smooth shell, thin enough to be crushed in the hand, and delicate, sweet flavor. This practical proof of what Florida had done, and could do again, at once gave the needed impetus to pecan culture, and already hundreds of young trees from this pioneer orchard are working their way "upward and on- ward " in almost every county in the State. The pecan tree appears to have but one enemy, and that one obtains foothold only through carelessness. Watch the trees and keep them free from caterpillars' nests, other- wise a large worm makes its appearance and girdles the limbs, killing them in a short time. The presence of the caterpillar is easily detected, hence can be easily got rid of; so says Mr. Brown, who knows more about pecan cul- ture than any one else in Florida. The worm betrays its presence by the exudation of gum on the tree, which, being scraped off, reveals beneath a round hole entering the tree for an inch or two and then turning upward ; a piece of wire thrust into this hole will kill the worm. If, however, the worm is not found there, but has deserted the scene of its first labors, dig around the roots of the tree close to the trunk, and it will be found to a certainty. Mr. Brown reports that he searches for these worms, which are striped and long-nosed, every spring, but has only killed seven ; hence, they are certainly not very for- midable from numbers, if hunted down in this manner. The several varieties in this pioneer orchard, than which no better can be found for planting throughout the State, or outside of it either, are named as follows, all of them being remarkably soft-shelled : 212 FLORIDA FRUITS OLIVES AND PECANS. TURKEY EGG. Very large, long; mottled marks and black stripes, very distinct when first gathered ; sweet, tender, and deli- cious in flavor. GEORGIA MELON. Very large ; rather round at one end, flat at the other ; dark stripes over the entire nut like the famous Georgia watermelon, hence the name given it ; meat of first quality in every respect. From one tree of this variety Mr. Brown gathered at one gathering (December) one hundred and thirty pounds of nuts. REPTON. Large; shell rather whitish, one end round, the other decidedly pointed ; black points ; meat sweet and tender ; tree remarkably beautiful. From one Repton tree, said to be forty years old, over five hundred pounds of nuts were gathered this past season. TEXAS. Quite large, some very long ; white hull ; black points. RIBERA. Large ; few black marks, and pointed at both ends ; meat very fine. PETITE. Small and plump ; white hull ; very desirable. In addition to these the Blackwater pecan orchard con- tains several varieties, large and excellent, but not yet named. When we consider that this orchard was abandoned for twenty years, left to take care of itself, and at the mercy of hundreds of negroes and irresponsible whites, who PECANS. 213 "gathered" the nuts by throwing sticks and stones at the trees instead of shaking them, their present production is simply wonderful and very significant. We acknowledge our indebtedness to their present owner for many points of value given here regarding pecan cul- ture. It is yet too early in the history of Florida horticulture to speak very positively as to the destined value of other nut-trees in her future development. But we believe, rea- soning from analogy, and from instances here and there that have come to our knowledge of experiments success- fully made in different sections of the State, that the pro- duction of nuts of all kinds will eventually become one of bountiful Florida's leading industries. Walnut and hickory and oak trees are indigenous to the State : surely this is hint enough to the wise man to press forward and use this fact to his profit. The white walnut, the butternut, and the chestnut, es- pecially the Japan chestnut, are all quickly maturing trees, and their nuts of superior quality. The white walnut and the butternut bear in five or six years from the seed. They like a light, sandy soil or loam, either naturally or artificially fertilized ; a clay subsoil is no objection, but it must be dry, whatever be its nature. Set the trees forty feet apart and cultivate between, either to annual crops or the smaller fruit trees, peaches, figs, plums, or grapes, or berries. The English walnut also succeeds well, having been thoroughly tested. The smaller soft-shell varieties of the walnut are most profitable to cultivate ; when the common hard-shell vari- ety sells for nine cents a pound, the former readily bring fourteen to fifteen; they also bear earlier than the hard- shell black walnut. 214 FLORIDA FRUITS OLIVES AND PECANS. Chestnuts are very profitable, and one of the most nu- tritious of fruits, and the Japan chestnut has been proved to be the best of its kind. It is a small tree, and bears at three years old; of moderate size, very handsome for lawns, as well as of great money value ; like the other nut- bearers, it flourishes on sandy soils with dry subsoil. The nuts are large and of the finest quality. COCOA-NUTS. 215 CHAPTER XXII. COCOA-NUTS. The cocoa-nut palm is one of^the most valuable trees given to the world by a most beneficent Creator, and its history and wide-spread capabilities are so full of interest, especially to those who can proudly point to this great tree rising heavenward upon their own domains, that it is well worth while to pause and look upon it in its broader view before proceeding to examine the narrower one of its prac- tical culture. Throughout all the broad extent of the vegetable king- dom, there is no one family of plants so full of beauty, usefulness, and majesty as the family of the palms. Their prevailing form is familiar to every one, for no trees are so often pictured as these, with their leafless, cylindrical stems or stipes, as they are termed, surmounted by a crown of graceful, tapering leaves. It may not be generally known that this distinguished family (like many human ones) receives its name from one of its most diminutive members, the dwarf fan-palm, the only one indigenous to Europe. With this graceful little tree the Romans were well ac- quainted, and from them it received the name of palma, from the resemblance of its fan-shaped leaves to the human hand. Afterward, when its numerous relatives became more widely known, the great similitude of their leaves caused the name of palma or palm to be bestowed upon them all, as the common surname of the whole family. That many of these are as yet totally "unknown to fame " is not to be doubted ; each year come the tidings of the discovery of some "new palm," and while nearly 216 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. six hundred members have been introduced into the botan- ical world, and a Christian name bestowed upon each, it is the opinion of our savants that the entire family numbers at least one thousand individuals, each generous palm holding forth some "good and perfect gift" for man's ac- ceptance. Of this royal race there are two which are pre-eminently familiar to the world at large, owing to the commercial value of their products ; these are the date and cocoa-nut trees. Of these two palms it is difficult to determine to which belongs the higher rank ; in genealogy, the date-palm un- doubtedly has the advantage; it is the "palm tree" of Scripture, and from time immemorial has been an honored dweller in its native lands, Asia and Africa. But on the contrary, over the birth-place of the cocoa-nut there hangs a strange mystery ; the only palm indigenous to both hem- ispheres, and having a wider geographical range than any other member of its family, yet neither in the East or West has its place of nativity been clearly proven. In the earliest reference to the cocoa-nut palm — one hun- dred and sixty-one years B. c. — we find it mentioned as growing in Ceylon, upon whose shores its nuts had been cast by the friendly ocean waves. But whence came they, from the main land of India or the far-off continent of America? This is a question that must forever remain unanswered ; but fortunately for man- kind the mystery of its birth detracts in nothing from the usefulness of this tree, which may well be called the "Ocean Palm." Down upon the wave-washed coast, with the salt spray dashing over its stem and leaves and lashing its roots, the cocoa-nut loves to dwell ; remove it inland, where the sea- breeze can not play among its leaves, and it will droop and languish. COCOA-NUTS. 217 Who has not read of those wondrous coral islands where the cocoa-palm is ever the first, and oftentimes the only, tree to spring up amidst the reeds? Many a noble ship, many a precious life has been saved by this ocean-loving palm, which, nestling down upon some wave-hidden reef, sends its tall stem heavenward, flourish- ing even while the sea washes over its base, and waving its feathery leaves aloft in warning to the mariner, that he may avoid the danger which else must have proved fatal to him and his barque. Familiar to many of our readers, doubtless, is an in- stance of this high use of the cocoa-nut palm, which lies " near unto our home." In the harbor of Baracoa, at the eastern end of the island of Cuba, rises a mountain known as the ''Anvil Mountain," because of its resemblance to an anvil, as seen against the horizon by an incoming vessel. Upon the very summit of this mountain towers aloft a solitary cocoa-nut tree ; the first object seen by the sailor as he nears the east- ern end of the island, and as anxiously wratched for as ever is beacon or light-ship. No one knows how old it is, nor who planted it there, but there it has been since the earli- est records, and great will be the dismay among the way- farers of the sea when the familiar "Anvil cocoa-nut" is seen no more looming up grandly against the horizon. Yet, dweller by the sea as it is, and basking in the warm sunshine, the cocoa-nut loves not all tropical shores alike ; with one exception, that of St. Jago, of the Cape de Verd islands, it is never found upon volcanic shores, and in the Sandwich Islands it grows, but does not flourish with its pristine vigor ; like an exile in a foreign land, it languishes as though weary of life. The tree is smaller and less hardy, and the fruit diminutive in comparison with its brethren of Ceylon, an island which it dearly loves. 19 218 FLORIDA FRUITS COCOA-NUTS. Yet even thus, so highly was it prized by the natives, that for centuries a law was in force, whereby women were forbidden to taste its fruit under penalty of the dire dis- pleasure of their gods. But the time came when this un- just and superstitious law was to be rendered null and void. Oppressed as the native women were, they yet possessed the right, in rare cases, of inheriting the chieftainship of their fathers, and by one of these favored few was the right to partake of the cocoa-nut won for all her sex. Disregarding the threatened vengeance of the gods, as launched upon her by their priests, she broke and ate one of these hitherto sacred nuts, and, no evil consequences fol- lowing, from that day the prohibitory law was abolished throughout the Sandwich Islands. We have already remarked that this beautiful palm has a wider geographical range than any of its kindred ; this is most emphatically true. In India we find it growing low upon the wave-washed shores, and again, less vigorously, at an elevation of six hundred feet above the sea. In Venezuela it clings to life at a distance of a hundred leagues from its beloved ocean friend ; and yet more, even in the heart of Africa it finds wherewithal to exist, although it there bears no fruit. In striking contrast to these drooping exiles we need but to look upon the little islands off the coast of Sumatra, washed over by every storm, to find the cocoa-palm lifting its crowned head in the joyousness of full health and vigor. Nearer home we find the Brazilian coast, for a distance of nearly three hundred miles, heavily fringed with these noble trees, while one small island near by (that of Ita- marca) yields annually three hundred and sixty thousand nuts. COCOA-NUTS. 219 Take away the cocoa-palm from the numerous islands of the Pacific Ocean, and the majority of them would at once become uninhabitable, for these useful trees, often alone and unassisted, furnish the native population with food and shelter and clothing ; without their loving gifts these tropical isles would be dreary and desolate wastes. Dwelling in the East and in the West this one palm alone is said to furnish food for no less than a hundred millions of human beings besides a countless host of animals. How say you, is not this a noble tree ? Is not its life a precious one ? Ceylon, however, that land of tropical profusion, is pre- eminently the home of the cocoa-nut tree, although, as we have intimated, it can lay no claim to being the place of its birth. In the most ancient voyages on record mention is made of the " beautiful cocoa-nut groves" of this great island, which, in days gone by, was called "Taprohane," and again, " Serendih," while still further back it is supposed to be identical with the far-famed "Tarshish" of the Scriptures. Those very groves described by the Arabian voyagers are still flourishing at the present day, only greatly en- larged and improved, for so valuable have their products become that the prosperity of the entire island is now in- timately connected with their cultivation. And yet for many years, for long centuries, in fact, the Cingalese lived in total ignorance of the precious treasure which girdled their shores. True, as we read in the ancient chronicle of Ceylon, the " Mahawaiiso," the small red cocoa-nut, grew in the inte- rior of the island, and its milk was employed in manufac- turing cement for building temples ; but further than this 220 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. one variety the Cingalese knew nothing, and never dreamed of its value as an article of food. Regarding the tardy discovery of the vast importance of the cocoa-palm, there is handed down among them a curi- ous tradition ; the exact date of the events related is, how- ever, not given. It seems that a great and good rajah chanced, most un- consciously, to offend the god Buddhoo by neglecting to offer sacrifices under a certain tree, which the deity had set apart as sacred to himself; not being blessed with om- niscience, the rajah was ignorant of this fact, and was (most unreasonably we think) punished for comporting himself accordingly. His whole person became covered by a white, scaly substance, so that he well-nigh lost all semblance to humanity ; his people, by whom he was justly beloved, offered prayers and sacrifices in his favor, while he himself patiently awaited the result. One night he fell into a deep trance, which lasted for several days, and during this sleep he beheld a vast ex- panse of water rolling up against the land upon which he stood. He tasted it and found it nauseous and salt ; turn- ing his back upon the blue waters, his delighted eyes rested upon a great number of tall, slender trees, having no branches, but only a tuft of leaves at the top, and dark- colored balls nestling under this feathery crown. The Rottah rajah awoke, and thought upon this won- drous vision ; his home had ever been in the heart of the interior, where, even to this day, the cocoa-palm is un- known ; he had never seen the great ocean ; he had never beheld such trees as he had looked upon in his sleep. The more he thought upon it the more he became convinced that his dream had been sent by the great god Buddhoo ; but what did it portend ? The Rottah rajah prayed, and offered sacrifices of sweet- COCOA-NUTS. 221 smelling flowers, and then he once more lay down and fell asleep. But now the scene changed : he saw himself lying as he actually was, beneath a tree, and from the neighboring jungle an immense cobra di capello issued forth. The rajah regarded it without fear ; it was the sacred snake of the Buddhists, and had protected their god while he walked the earth. The snake approached the dreamer, and thrice dipped its forked tongue in the leaf of water which the rajah's attendants had placed at his side ; then it bowed its head over him and slowly retired to the jungle. The good prince awoke, and slept again ; this time he revisited the scene of his first vision, and there beheld an old man "whose face shone with the splendor of the moon." This was Maha Sudona, the father of the god Buddhoo. In majestic accents he addressed the rajah, bidding him arise and journey for one hundred hours to the southward, where he should behold in reality the tree of his vision ; its fruit he could obtain by fire, since it could not be other- wise reached, and by making it his sole diet for the space of three moons, his health would be restored, and a long life await him. And now, having looked at this most royal palm from what we may well term the romantic point of view, let us examine more closely into that portion of its life history which is eminently practical ami useful to man. Rearing their feathery crowns to a height of from sixty to one hun- dred feet, these noble trees, even before the period of their fruit-bearing arrives, begin their career of usefulness in shielding the palaces and huts which are built in their midst, from the danger of the terrific thunder-storms wrhich are of such frequent occurrence in their native land. Their tall stems arrest the fiery destroyer, and di- verting it from its perilous course conduct it harmlessly 222 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. to the ground; and thus it is that accidents from light- ning are of extremely rare occurrence in the vicinity of these beautiful palms. Commencing our investigations, as is most appropriate, at the lowermost point, let us first make acquaintance with the roots of the cocoa-nut tree. These are not sturdy and far-reaching, like those of our forest monarchs, but are slight, slender, and flexible, springing singly from the bot- tom of the stem, and deeply fringed with those wondrous little caterers, the thread-like fibers which collect the food and pass it on into the body of the tree. And here, in the slender roots of the cocoa-nut palm, we observe a phenomenon which finds numerous counter- parts in human life : they are weak and easily bruised, yet their hold is not readily shaken, and the more rocky the soil upon. which their lot is cast, the greater the obstacle which they encounter, the stronger do they become, the closer do they cling to their anchorage ground. Do not these humble roots afford a noble example for our guidance ? And now let us see to what practical uses this, the least valuable portion of the tree, is applied. Boiled with ginger the roots become an efficacious rem- edy in cases of fever, and, with the addition of the oil of the nut, the same decoction is used as a gargle. In Brazil baskets are woven from the smaller roots, and of late the larger ones, highly polished, have come into use as canes and umbrella handles. In the East, where the habit of chewing the areca-nut prevails, the more tender roots of the cocoa are chewed instead, whenever a full supply of the favorite nut can not be obtained. Next in order comes the stem or stipe. It stands erect, without branches, often reaching to the height of over COCOA-NUTS. 223 a hundred feet, and measuring from one to two feet in diameter, while along its whole length, at regular inter- vals, are well-marked parallel rings, the cicatrices of fallen leaves ; by these rings the age of the tree is readily ascertained. Should its growth be retarded for one or two years, as sometimes chances in unskillful transplanting, the stem ex- presses its disapprobation by a permanent contraction in diameter, so that the trunk has often a larger dimension at the base and summit than at the middle. In the interior arrangements of their stems the palms bear no resemblance to other trees ; this one difference suf- ficing to distinguish them at once as belonging to an en- tirely distinct family, forming in fact the ultra-aristocracy of the tropics. Examine the stem of a white lily and you will find that it is really a series of leaves, rising one above another, and united at their bases so as to form an apparent stem. Greatly resembling this growth is that of the palm ; it possesses no bark, the surface appearing to be formed of the cicatrices which succeed the fall of the leaves and become gradually hardened by the action of the sun and the air. The wood of the cocoa-nut improves with the age of the tree ; soft when young, it yearly increases in density until finally it acquires an extreme hardness, and is consequently highly valued. In the Maldive and Laccadive Islands, boats are made from the hollowed stem, and planked with wood from the same tree. The Polynesians it furnishes with their most valued spears, and the Puris Indians, of Brazil, manufac- ture from it their best bows. Many of our readers are doubtless familiar with the wood of the cocoa-nut palm, although ignorant of its iden- 224 FLORIDA FRUITS— COCOA-NUTS. tity with the "porcupine wood" of commerce, a change of name more striking than euphonious, and for which it wrould be difficult to assign a reason other than the caprice of the manufacturers of elegant work-boxes and costly ar- ticles of furniture, by whom it is chiefly imported. Hard as ivory, of a rich chocolate color, spotted with black, and finely veined, it admits of an exquisite polish, the choice pieces frequently resembling dark agate. Before the cocoa-nut palm becomes aged (it bears fruit for seventy years and lives much longer), the interior of the stem affords a floury substance, which is sweet and pleasant to the taste, and may be called the bread of the tree; in addition to this flour the stem also yields a species of gum, highly prized by the Tahitian women, who use it to plaster and stiffen their hair, according to their ideas of beauty and grace. In Barbary guests are entertained on festive occasions with the honey or the dipse of the cocoa-nut palm, which is really the sap of the tree. The crown is cut from off a vigorous palm, and the top of the stem thus left bare is scooped out into the form of a deep basin. The sap ascends on its accustomed course, unconscious of the evil fate that awaits it, and finding its return cut off flows gently, and, as we may imagine, sadly into the receptacle prepared for it. Here it collects at the rate of three or four quarts a day, during the first fortnight ; after this the quantity diminishes, and at the end of two months, the sap, exhausted, ceases to flow, the tree becomes dry and dead, and is cut down for timber or fire-wood. The dipse thus obtained is sweeter than honey, and of less consistency, but if not used immediately it becomes thick and ropy, and after distillation affords an agreeable spirit, which is called arikyby the natives, and is the "palm wine " of the ancients. COCOA-NUTS. 225 Let us now pass on to the bud which contains the incip- ient terminal leaf; this is sometimes used as an article of food by both Europeans and natives; boiled it becomes an excellent cabbage; steeped in vinegar it forms an agreeable pickle; but, useful as the terminal bud cer- tainly is in these capacities, it is to be regretted that it is ever so employed, as its removal necessitates the death of the tree. Every one has heard of "toddy;" this is a sweet juice obtained by wounding the unexpanded flower, and beating it daily with a stick, which operation facilitates the flow of the sap ; a healthy blossom will yield from one to two quarts of juice daily for more than a month. By boiling this suri, as it is called, a coarse, brown sugar is obtained, which is termed pageny, one gallon of the suri yielding a pound of sugar; while still warm, the thick syrup is poured into cocoa-nut shells, where it soon be- comes solid. By a subsequent operation the pageny itself furnishes a most excellent molasses. The surif in its half fermented state, furnishes the yeast used by the bakers of Ceylon, and reaching the stage of acetous fermentation it becomes as fine a vinegar as one need wish for. Not yet have we measured the capacity of this wondrous juice elaborated by the wounded flower, nor yet have we seen the fullness of the return of "good for evil," of which it furnishes so illustrious an example. There is a form in which the suri is still more valuable than as sugar, molasses, yeast, or vinegar ; this is the " toddy," to which we have already alluded. In its middle state of fermentation suri is transformed into this cele- brated liquor, which, intoxicating in itself, is rendered still more so by the addition of the leaves of a species of datura. 226 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. In appearance awack — another name for toddy — is clear and transparent, and of a light straw color. Ceylon alone exports annually from five thousand to six thousand leag- uers, each containing one hundred and fifty gallons. Nor are these the only gifts bestowed by the wounded flower, which, be it observed, is of large size and purely white, as befitting so beneficent a spirit. By adding a small quantity of pageny to the sweet suri, a strong cement is obtained, which is capable of receiving a beautiful polish ; walls are prepared for the reception of this cement by wetting them with a strong infusion of the husk of unripe cocoa-nuts, a fluid which is also used in mixing the ma- terials. In Madras roofs are covered, and columns and floors are overlaid with this pageny cement, the latter being fre- quently stained so as to resemble the finest marble. In Holland, too, this strange cement has been satisfactorily employed for various purposes. We come now to the leaves, which, always beautiful, are also infinitely useful. At the base of each young leaf, inclosing and protecting it from harm, we find a net-work of fiber, which presents the exact appearance of coarse cloth, the threads crossing each other with great regularity. The Papuans and Tahitians convert this strange cloth into a garment, simply by joining its edges with a fiber obtained from the same tree, and leaving a hole in the center through which to pass the head. This garment is usually worn by the native fishermen ; its strength, dura- bility, and freedom from injury by sea-water rendering it especially desirable for such pursuits. When fresh from the tree it is beautifully white and as transparent as lace, its pure delicacy suggesting the use to which it is fre- quently applied — the construction of cradles for infants. COCOA-NUTS. 227 But soon the white cloth turns green, and is then made into aprons and other garments. Age, so far from deteri- orating, greatly increases its strength, and in this stage of its existence it proves an invaluable friend to the native, providing him with an excellent water-proof cloak " with- out money and without price." This cloth, so strangely woven in nature's loom, is also employed as a filter for toddy, as a bag through which to strain cocoa-nut oil, and as a sieve for sifting arrowroot and other flour. The leaves of the cocoa -palm are, probably, of all leaves the most valuable. We have seen how, in their incipient state, they are used as a vegetable ; in their next stage, still unexpanded, though perfectly formed and of a beautiful silver texture, white and semi-transparent, they are wrought into exquisite crowns, wreaths, lanterns, and valentines. Beautiful in their youth, they are still more useful in their old age— a prototype of human life. Old and with- ered, their loveliness all gone, they yet furnish no despic- able torches, when bound together in bundles six feet in length and several inches in diameter. The torches are called "chulls" in Ceylon, and if skillfully carried will burn brightly for half an hour. The young leaves likewise furnish boys and girls with a beautiful material upon which to interchange verses upon certain holidays. The older leaves, after undergoing a cer- tain preparation, are termed ollahs, and as such are used for graven purposes — letters, documents, books, and the like. Neatly rolled up and sealed with gum lace, these ollahs frequently pass through the post-office, sometimes traveling even as far as England without injury. The young leaves are stronger than the old, and strips of them are used for all kinds of ligatures, while the full- 228 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. grown leaves, from fifteen to twenty feet long, are every where employed for thatching in Ceylon ; when used for this purpose they are plaited into huge roofing-mats, with which the bungalows of Europeans are thatched as well as those of the native population. The Malays plait the leaflets into sails for their phras, and wonderfully durable do they prove to be. The uses of the cocoa-nut leaf, like that of all palm trees, are manifold. Mats for roofing buildings, for shel- tering young plants, for covering cattle-sheds, for fences, for walls, for ceilings, and for human coverings ; all these necessities they supply in the one article of plaited mats. Moreover, they furnish baskets, large and small, delicate and rough, coarse, or so fine and close that fluid may be carried in them as in buckets, baskets to catch fish and to carry them. The midribs of the leaves are used for propelling boats instead of manufactured oars or paddles, and when bruised at one end this same useful midrib is converted into a brush for scrubbing and whitewashing. The smaller ribs of the leaves become formidable rivals to the pin manufactories, being universally employed by the poorer population of the ' ' palm lands " in place of those indispensable articles of the toilet. As toothpicks, also, they perform good serv- ice ; and by simply tying a bundle of them firmly together with a midrib in their center, a most excellent broom is obtained, so excellent, indeed, that no other is employed by either rich or poor. By the South Sea Islanders, too, these small ribs of the cocoa leaf are extensively used as teeth for the combs of which they are skillful manufacturers. The chief food of domesticated elephants is the cocoa- nut leaf, and it is a wonderful thing to observe how dex- trously this intelligent animal separates the woody fiber from the thinner margin of the leaf. COCOA-NUTS. 229 In the Maldive Islands a species of fish (the bonneta) is preserved by means of the cocoa-nut leaf; the backbone is removed from the fish, and, after being placed for some hours in the sun, with frequent sprinklings of salt water, it is wrapped carefully in cocoa leaves and buried in the sand, where it soon acquires a horny hardness, and is then sold in the markets. By skillful manipulations hats, bonnets, capes, and tip- pets are formed of the entire leaf, and in the Marquesas Islands the full dress of the priests is formed of these won- drous leaves, without the addition of any other material. Soap is seldom needed or employed in the regions of the cocoa-palm, because these same leaves, when burned, yield a large proportion of potash, which admirably answers the purpose of a cleansing agent. So numerous, in fact, are the uses of the cocoa-nut leaf that our limited space compels us to leave their value "half untold." Let us, therefore, pass on to the fruit of this noble tree, the cocoa-nut itself. In its earliest state, small, green, and immature, it yet commences its career of service to man, for, when grated fine, it becomes a valuable medicine, and, when mixed with the oil of the ripe nut, it becomes a healing oint- ment. A little further a'dvanced, the semi-transparent jelly which lines the shell furnishes a delicate and nutri- tious food, while the aqueous fluid or " milk" in its center becomes, when iced, a most delicious luxury, which is also frequently used in tea as a substitute for cow's milk. In their unripe state cocoa-nuts are used as a regular article of food. The natives of Ceylon and Malacca, living upon no other food than this, will yet labor vigorously day after day, while in the Maldive Islands labor performed is more frequently than otherwise paid for in cocoa-nuts alone. 230 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. In every land where this palm flourishes its fruit forms a principal article of food, and in the East, as we have seen, the milk of the small red cocoa-nut is used as a cement in building. In the preparation of the world-renowned East India condiment — "curry" — grated cocoa-nuts perform a most important part. The chief product in the kernel of the cocoa-nut is an oil, which is extracted either by decoction or compression, the latter being the method generally adopted when the operation is performed upon a large scale. On an average, twelve nuts yield one quart of pure oil. The process is commenced by cleaning the nut of the outer husk ; the shell is then broken and the nut exposed to the sun for several days, at the expiration of which time its watery parts are all evaporated. In this state the kernel is called copra. To extract the oil the copra is ground in a clumsy mill, worked by bullocks, and the substance or refuse which re- mains after this operation is fed to pigs and poultry. In its native lands this oil is used for lamps ; the lower ranks burn it in cocoa-nut shells, the wicks being a bunch of fiber from the husk; the wealthier classes, however, pour the oil into brass lamps, four or five feet high, having several flat basins with ornamental beaks to hold the wicks. Cocoa-oil is also used to anoint the body, and is exten- sively employed as a substitute for olive oil in pharmaceu- tical preparations. Mixed with a species of resin, and the compound melted, a substance is obtained which is used in India instead of pitch for calking the seams of boats and ships. Cocoa-nut oil has, of late years, found two new and important uses; the one as a chief substitute for wax in the manufacture of fine candles; the other as an COCOA-NUTS. 231 excellent material for a fine quality of soap. It is also often employed as a lamp-oil in European countries, as well as in its native land ; and the cloth manufacturer and glass- blower frequently prefer its use to that of olive oil. In closing our account of the uses of the kernel of the cocoa-nut, we must not forget to mention a custom which, to us of more refined taste, is simply revolting, but which to the Marquesans who practice it is highly enjoyable and natural : When the elder natives decide upon a grand " drinking bout," they collect together all the boys in the neighbor- hood and compel them to seat themselves around an im- mense bowl ; they are then well supplied with the kernels of cocoa-nuts, and set to work to masticate them. Each mouthful, when well chewed up, is spit out into the bowl until a sufficient quantity is accumulated. Then the boys are dismissed, water is poured upon the masticated nut, the mass thoroughly stirred up, and, after being allowed to settle again, the elders assemble, and for the next few hours enjoy themselves to the full of their bent. Now for the shells of the cocoa-nut ; these are converted into beads, drinking vessels, ladles, sugar basins, and measures. They also afford fuel, and, when burned to charcoal and mixed with lime, form a coloring matter for the walls of houses. The husk or fibrous pericarp of the nut, called coir (from the Latin word cormm, the skin), is employed in various ways as cordage ; it is, perhaps, most useful, and certainly the best material yet known for cables, because of its great elasticity and strength. Until chain cables were intro- duced coir cables were universally used by all ships sailing in Indian waters. Coir is prepared by soaking the fiber in water for several months, and then beating it upon a stone with a very 232 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. heavy weight ; the fibers are then twisted into yarn, from which cordage of all sizes is manufactured. The natives sew together with coir yarns the planks which compose their boats. The ropes which anchor them and the sails which give them the power of motion are made of the same material ; nor does this, like hemp cordage, need to be tarred, as the sea-water, ever friendly to the cocoa-palm, improves rather than injures the coir fiber. In Europe, as in Asia and America, this valuable fiber is preferred to horse hair for stuffing beds, cushions, chairs, and saddles, as it is indestructible, has no unpleasant smell, and never harbors vermin. Brooms, mats, rugs, and brushes are also manufactured from coir, and in Ceylon the husk in its natural state with the fiber attached forms a first-class scrubbing-brush all ready for use. Who will not "yield the palm" to the cocoa-nut tree as the most royal, the most useful of its race, not excepting, perhaps, even the honored date tree ? For forty years or more this noble tree has thriven and borne fruit among the Florida Keys, and here and there on the mainlands of the southernmost portions of the State. It is rather singular, therefore, that only within the last three or four years has its culture come to be regarded as among the commercial, not possibilities, but assurances of our fair land; it is indeed "passing strange," and yet it was the same with the orange and the pine-apple, and will be with other resources now lying at our feet neglected or unheeded in this wonderful country so full of unknown possibilities. As we have seen, the cocoa-nut palm requires the vicin- ity of the sea to reach its highest perfection, and this requisite is every where present in those portions of Flor- ida whose climate is suitable to its growth. COCOA-NUTS. 233 From the Caloosahatchee River on the Gulf of Mexico, and Lake Worth on the Atlantic, the cocoa-nut belt ex- tends southward, embracing all the numerous coast islands or "Keys." It is not, as many suppose, necessary that the salt spray should literally lave the roots or trunk of the cocoa-nut, but it is a fact that it needs salt air, and plenty of it, and while it will grow one hundred miles or more from the sea, it will not bear fruit ; the nearer its beloved friend, the ocean, the more nearly perfection is attained. The Florida nuts are fully equal in quality to any grown elsewhere, and they possess a vast advantage over all others in being so near the great United States market. There is no doubt but that within the next few years all the land in the State and on the Keys, suitable for cocoa- nut culture, will be set in trees, and yet, when this is done, so limited is the area convertible into cocoa-nut walks that the whole number of trees is not likely greatly to exceed one million, and consequently, the demand will always exceed the home product. The nuts are buried until they sprout, then transferred to the field, and carefully planted where they are to remain ; it is usual to make a hole two feet or more in depth, and cover in the nut at the bottom, filling up level gradually, as the young sprout pushes its way upward. The Florida growers generally set the trees twenty feet apart ; this is too close, and the time will come when the roots will intermingle and rob each other of nutriment and moisture, and then, to preserve the vigor of the rest, some trees will have to be cut down as a sacrifice. The tree generally begins to yield in six or seven years, but not abundantly until it reaches its eighth or ninth year, and then it continues to bear for seventy or eighty years. In good soils, and especially in wet seasons, it will blos- 20 234 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. som every four or five weeks, so that there are usually ripe nuts and blossoms in all stages on the tree at the same time. From five to fifteen nuts form a bunch, and a thrifty tree will produce from eighty to one hundred annually, sometimes more, but this is the average. The cocoa-nut palm likes good feeding and salt air to drink, but further than this requires but little culture. Like all who occupy elevated positions in this world the cocoa-nut has its enemies, and formidable ones they are, too. One comes direct from the skies, and its name is light- ning ; it frequently strikes these lofty trees, kills the ter- minal bud, and hence the tree, for death to the one means death to the other. The others are " of the earth, earthy." One is a veritable bete noir, or "black beetle;" it exca- vates a hole of about an inch in diameter, in the terminal- leaf bud, and when the leaves expand they appear full of holes, as though riddled with bullets, and the tree often dies from the injury it has received. The larva or grub of this bete noir is about three inches long, plump, and round in proportion, and its head is black ; it is called tu- cuma, in British Guiana, and is esteemed a great delicacy by the epicures of that country. Usually it is served up by frying in a pan, but many prefer it raw ; they seize it by its black head, dip it in lime juice, and forthwith swal- low it with great gusto. Ugh ! Here is a nice, new dish for some of our Florida growers ! Try it, somebody. Another depredator among the cocoa-nut walks is the rat, especially the black rat, which nests in trees, and is a splendid climber ; so serious has this source of trouble be- come in some parts of Jamaica, the rats destroying the tender young nuts by thousands, that the Director of the Public Gardens and Plantations has given the subject spe- COCOA-NUTS. 235 cial attention, urged thereto by appeals from planters all over the island, and below is what he has to say regarding his investigations and search for a remedy : ' ' I have had reason to look upon the depredation by rats in cocoa-nut trees as one of the most serious troubles of the cocoa-nut planters. Numerous letters have been addressed to me on the subject, and in addition to this I estimated that at the Palisadoes plantation, under my charge, the loss caused by rats among the cocoa-nuts amounts to nearly £100 per annum. "Dr. Ferguson, of Port Maria, reports the destruction caused by rats on his extensive cocoa-nut walks as ' im- mense,' and the subject has necessarily occupied his atten- tion for some time, while numerous other correspondents speak in similar terms. "The question of protecting cocoa-nut trees from the attacks of rats is therefore a matter of considerable impor- tance, and with the view of contributing something toward this end I have lately been in communication with cocoa- nut planters in different parts of the island, and from the replies received I select one or two which, as the result of actual experience, will no doubt commend themselves to careful consideration. This first of these replies is from Mr. Joseph Shearer, Vale Royal, Duncan's P. O., and is as follows: " ' I got out, in 1882, 1,000 sheets galvanized iron 36x12 (they stood me, with cost and charges, £35 14s.), and 1,000 tin sheets 36x12, the cost of which was £28 7s. IQd. Although dearer at first the zinc are preferable, as near the sea the tin sheets soon become rusted. The rats were so bad in the cocoa-nut walks where I used these sheets that I reckoned they paid their cost fully the first year. In putting them on I nailed them flat to the trees with two or three sheathing nails in each. If the cocoa-nut trees 236 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. are very close together a rat can go from one to the other across the limbs, and great care should be observed that there are no lacTders near by, such as a dry limb hanging on the ground, or a mangrove twig, etc. close by, because if there be any such the rat will get up the tree independ- ently of using the trunk, and the zinc or tin sheets would be of no use. It is a safeguard, if you can not isolate all the trees, to at least isolate clumps, as now and again the rats will find an opportunity of climbing. Care must be taken, too, to dislodge the rats from the top before putting on the tin sheets. The best thing I have found for this is sand- wiches of bread and phosphoric paste deposited among the roots and fronds/ "Mr. John Clark, Haughton Court, Lucca, writes: '"The zinc sheets to protect cocoa-nut trees from rats have been tried here with good results ; the rats that live in the trees must first of all be driven out of the trees or be poisoned ; the sheets must then be nailed round the tree, simply flat against the stem, low enough in the case of short trees so that the rats can not spring from the trunk below the sheet on to a limb that may be hanging down near the trunk, which they have been known to do. Rats have been seen attempting to pass over the sheets and failing. " ' The sheets are zinc, forty-two inches by twelve inches, and apparently one thirty-second inch thick, and cost about eight pence each in London. Tin sheets last no time, and are not to be thought of. The nails for putting them on are ordered as fivepenny galvanized shingling nails.' "Father Woollett, Reading, writes as follows: " 'I have, here at Reading, used tin bands to prevent rats from climbing cocoa-nut trees, and with very good effect ; but I regret to say that, owing to the neglect of repairing damaged bands, the rats have recovered posses- COCOA-NUTS. 237 si on of the trees. The bands were so fixed that the lower part opened out trumpet-shaped, the advantage of which must be apparent. The cost of each tin, including the fixing it on the tree, was 9d. Each tree was well cleared of rats previously to fixing the tin on it, and a supply of poison left for the benefit of any skulkers. Probably zinc would be better than tin, stronger, and not so easily dam- aged by weather.' "Dr. Ferguson, Port Maria, recommends the use of * strips of galvanized iron in the form of an inverted fun- nel, or even horizontal and kept in a position by wedges of wood/ and as another idea suggests the use of ' two semi-circles of earthen-ware tiles fastened by wire in holes at the ends of the tiles. Such tiles, one half inch thick and four or five inches broad, could be made by stamping them out of clay in a press.' "It is very probable that Mr. Shearer and Mr. Clark's plans, which require only galvanized iron (not tin) sheets thirty-six inches by twelve inches, and fastened perpendic- ularly on the trees by means of a couple of sheathing nails will commend itself for general adoption. These sheets cost, it will be noticed, delivered on the estate, at the rate of £35 14s. per thousand. This is a large sum to expend at once on cocoa-nut trees, but the bands are required only for bearing trees, and I quite agree with Mr. Shearer that where the depredations by rats are really bad, the sheets will pay for themselves during the first year." As to the profits of a cocoa-nut walk, they are great enough to satisfy the most exacting, once the trees are fairly in bearing. At this present time, and for several years back, the nuts have brought, by the cargo, delivered in New York, seventy-five dollars a thousand for the first quality, rang- ing down to twenty dollars for poorer grades. 238 FLORIDA FRUITS — OTHER TROPICAL FRUITS. CHAPTER XXIII. OTHER TROPICAL FRUITS. Among the many other fruits of South Florida fast rising into prominence, first and foremost stands the • • MANGO. This is a large, spreading tree like the walnut, with lan- ceolate leaves, green and shiny, seven or eight inches long, and having a sweet, resinous smell; the flowers are white and grow in bunches at the ends of the branches. The fruit bears considerable resemblance to a short, thick cucumber, and taking the average of all the varieties, " whose name is legion," is about the size of a goose egg. Some, when ripe, are of a beautiful green, others are orange color. When thoroughly mature, ripe, but not overripe, the mango is as delicious a fruit as one need wish to taste, but let it become in the least degree de- cayed, and oh ! what a transformation. The writer has a very vivid recollection of one such eaten — nay, tasted — on the Isthmus of Panama ; a mixt- ure of tow and turpentine would be the nearest approach to the delicious flavor and stringy texture of that mango. It had probably not only "seen better days," but was also one of those inferior seedlings which appear now and then as "sports," although, as a rule, the seed of the mango yields fine fruit. This seed is a rather large stone, something like that of the peach, to which the pulp adheres firmly ; the fruit is very perishable, and so is the vegetative power of the seed, and when they are to be sent to any distance they should be carefully wrapped in wax. THE AVACADO. 239 The mango is a native of Asia and its islands, and also of Brazil, but the former are considered as superior both in size and flavor. So highly esteemed are some of the finer trees in India, that guards are placed over them during the fruiting sea- son ; especially is this the case with the Mazagong mangoes, the most superior of all. The mango dodol is the largest of all the many varie- ties, the fruit being the size of a large shaddock, and weighing over two pounds. This tree loves high, dry, sandy soil, and moderate fertilizing ; it grows rapidly and bears at three years old ; the fruit, where a market can be quickly reached, finds ready and profitable sale, but will not bear shipping on long or rough journeys unless picked very green. The Florida mango of the Gulf coast is at present mar- keted chiefly in Key West and New Orleans. It is not as yet extensively planted, but its area is yearly extending, so far as the limited area possible for its growth will al- low; it will not bear frost, and by " frost" we mean here, as elsewhere in this work, a degree of temperature which will produce even a thin film of ice. THE AVACADO (Pronounced ah-guah-cahta), Often, but erroneously, called the alligator pear; it is not a pear at all, and has nothing in common with that fruit except, perhaps, in shape and size; another name frequently given it is " Vegetable Marrow." The tree, which is a handsome one, attains to the size of an apple tree ; the leaves are oblong, the flowers of a yel- lowish-green color, and the fruit, which sometimes weighs two pounds or more, is regarded as one of the most deli- cious in the world. 240 FLORIDA FRUITS — OTHER TROPICAL FRUITS. It co ii tains one large seed or kernel ; the flavor of the fruit surpasses that of the finest muskmelon, and on ac- count of its rich, marrow-like, vegetable texture, is usually eaten with pepper and salt, or lime juice mixed with sugar. There are three varieties of the avacado, the red, pur- ple, and green, the latter being most highly esteemed. This tree is counted among the purely tropical fruits ; but this is, in some degree, a mistake. It has been suc- cessfully raised, without injury from even severe frosts, as far north as Palatka, and this fact should be more widely known. As simply a shade tree the avacado is beautiful, but when to this is added the fact of a bountiful yield of fruit, which sells readily at from six to eight cents a pound, or, at the lowest, by the dozen at seventy-five cents, that the tree will easily yield one thousand pounds annually, and that it begins to bear when five years from the seed, it will be seen that this is destined to become one of Florida's favorites, so soon as its high qualities are better known. The fruit ripens from August to October. Other fruits there are in abundance which will yet become known as "Florida fruits," but at this present writing are not sufficiently established or cultivated to be of any commercial importance, although of no little value to those whose location allows their culture. The field for experiment is wide, and we hope to see it thoroughly tilled, not only by private enterprise but under the more effectual direction of both our State authorities and the General Government. GRAPES. 241 CHAPTER XXIV. GRAPES. Many varieties of grapes have been tested, and tested satisfactorily, in Florida, but foremost among them all ranks the Bullace or Vitis vulpina family, native grapes of Southern origin, which, owing to their late blooming and late ripening, will not succeed north of the more southern portions of Virginia. It is a curious fact that while the several members of this family vary greatly in the quality of their fruit, even in the wild state, this is the only difference that can be de- tected in them : All the cultivated and all the wild varie- ties are alike in leaf, bloom, and general habits, the only perceptible difference, apart from the fruit, being that the white sorts have pale green tendrils, and the purple kinds purple tendrils. The whole habit and manner of growth of the Vitis vul- pina family is so entirely unlike that of any other grape in cultivation, that the rules generally applied to grape culture are here at fault. Most grapes root with ease from cuttings, but the Bui- lace varieties do not, their wood being so dense and com- pact that it is almost impossible to get cuttings to strike ; consequently the vines are propagated by layers, and where a large number are desired, certain vines are set apart for this purpose alone. These are kept cut back almost to the stump, only short shoots, with four or five eyes or buds are left ; this is done in the fall or in the spring. The shoots, which are very numerous, are allowed to grow until June, by which time they have attained a length of five or six feet ; then the leaves are all stripped off from 21 242 FLORIDA FRUITS — GRAPES. the lower part, and the shoots gathered up in bunches of six or eight ; a hole is made near their junction with the stump ; a handful or two of rich compost or thoroughly rotted stable manure, incorporated in the soil to be filled in, then the vines are bent down into the hole, the earth firmly packed in on them, the ends left out turned slightly upward, and the work is done. During the summer the weeds must be kept down, and the ground kept slightly moist, not wet. By November the layers are ready to be lifted and set out, either in their nursery or in their per- manent places; they will be found fully supplied with strong, thrifty roots. One good, large stump thus de- voted to propagation, will in one season furnish from fifty to a hundred layers. These layers may be set out at any time while dormant, and this, of course, is during the win- ter and early spring months. They should not be set closer than twenty-five feet to each other in any direction, and if the land is very rich not closer than thirty feet. This may seem very far apart while the vines are young, but wait awhile and see, and if the holes where they are planted are well manured before setting out you will " see" all the sooner. Cut back the vines as they are planted, so that no more than three or four eyes or buds are left, and drive down a stout stake alongside of each, so that it stands fully six feet out of the ground. Watch the young vines carefully and pinch off all of the lateral shoots, a few at a time, so as not to check the growth of the main stem, which is the object of your care. This must be tied to the stake as it grows until, at the end of its first season, it should have reached the top, a single, stout, clean stem. Before spring comes again a canopy should be prepared ; four perpendicular posts, six feet high (out of the ground) GRAPES. 243 and ten or twelve feet apart with slatted top, will suffice for the second season's growth, and each season, as the vine spreads, the canopy must be spread also to meet its increas- ing requirements. It is a fact to be noted and heeded, especially by the Northern settler* who thinks he * ' knows all about grapes," that the Bullace family will not do well at all spread out on the perpendicular arbors usual at the North, and indeed every where, for most other varieties of grapes. They must emphatically be kept spread out uniformly on this horizon- tal canopy, and not permitted to overlap and crowd ; if they are, the fruit production is lessened and deteriorated ; also the trunk for six feet up must be relentlessly shorn of all lateral branches. It has often been said that the Bullace grapes do not need pruning ; and this is quite true in the sense in which other grapes need it. This difference is owing to the fact that in the Bullace or Vitis vulpina family all the eyes or buds, that in other vines lie dormant, unless forced into activity by pruning, start out of themselves, thus causing a more even, uniform growth over the whole vine ; some- times, when the vine is very vigorous, the branches over- lap and crowd, and in these cases the Bullace vines need pruning to the extent of cutting out the feebler stems. We have often heard and known of persons "bleeding to death," but it is not often that this happens to a denizen of the vegetable world. Until very recently all nurserymen and growers held that there was no remedy for preventing Bullace grape- vines from literally bleeding to death if any considerable limbs were cut or broken during those months when the sap is flowing freely in the spring and summer. Such is the tremendous force of the circulation of the sap, that the wound thus made has no time to heal over like that of 244 FLORIDA FRUITS — GRAPES. an ordinary plant, but the sap flows out, drop by drop, until the vine dies for want of nutriment. Recently, how- ever, one of those happy accidents, by which so many dis- coveries are made, revealed a remedy, certain, and easy of application. A strong, thrifty vine having been burned by its frame catching fire, the owner cut it back to about eighteen inches from the ground. The vine at once began to bleed, and its death must have speedily followed had he not bethought him of charring the cut end ; a lighted torch was applied, but for a day afterward the sap con- tinued to drip, though slowly; by another charring the cure was completed and the vine saved. The vine, if it has grown with its usual vigor and thrift, should bear the second year from the layer — that is, the first season on the canopy; of course it does not bear very heavily, it has as yet neither root nor branch enough to make much of a crop, but with each year's growth the yield increases rapidly. Old vines frequently bear thirty bushels of grapes, and in vineyards of fifteen to twenty years' standing, single vines often yield from fifty to seventy-five bushels. A bushel of grapes, weighing about sixty pounds, yields three to four gallons of wine, and from the pomace that remains after expressing the juice no inconsiderable amount of vinegar can be made. The following are the several varieties of the Bullace or Vitis vulpina grapes. SCUPPERNONG. Bunches seldom composed of more than eight or ten grapes ; grapes large, round, bronze color when fully ripe ; skin thick, flesh pulpy ; very vinous, sweet, and of a pe- culiar musky aroma ; exceedingly pleasant and refreshing. Matures from middle to end of August. Fruit has never been known to decay before maturity. Vine is free GRAPES. 245 from attacks of insects or disease ; gives a certain crop an- nually ; is very prolific, and rapidly becoming popular as a wine grape. Makes an excellent sweet wine, resembling Muscat, and when properly manipulated produces a fine, sparkling wine. THOMAS. Bunches of six to eight grapes; grapes oblong, large, light violet color, quite transparent; pulp tender, sweet, of a peculiar vinous flavor ; quality superior to any of its type ; has but little musky aroma, and makes a superior red wine. Matures middle to end of August. FLOWERS. Bunches of from fifteen to twenty-five grapes, which are almost black, and sweet, vinous flavor. Matures end of September to middle of October. TENDER PULP. An improved seedling of the Flowers. Grapes large, very sweet ; pulp tender. Matures end of September. PEEDEE. Resembling the above, except that the grapes are light colored, like the Scuppernong. These are all of the Bullace family. Other grapes that have so far been successful in Florida are : CONCORD. Bunches large, berries very large; blue-black, with bloom ; skin thin ; pulp juicy ; a beautiful market variety ; rampant grower and good bearer. Ripens middle of July. 246 FLORIDA FRUITS — GRAPES. DELAWARE. Bunches medium, red or pink; skin very thin; pulp very slight ; juicy, vinous, and most delicate table grape ; very prolific bearer. Ripens about middle of July. CLINTON. Bunches medium, berries large, black, vinous, and very refreshing ; makes a delicious claret wine. Ripens middle of July. DIANA. Bunches large, compact, berries large; reddish lilac; little pulp, sweet ; very productive. HARTFORD PROLIFIC. Bunches large, berries large, blue ; flesh pulpy, musky, sweet; prolific bearer and fine grower. Ripens early in June. GOETHE (ROGER'S NO. 1). Large ; greenish yellow, turning pink at full maturity ; very sweet, vinous, and of well-defined aroma; excellent, and is a reliable bearer. Ripens in August. WILDER (ROGER'S NO. 4). Very large; blue-black; very fine, and a thoroughly reliable bearer. Ripens in August. MRS. M'CLURE. A cross between Peter Wylie and Clinton, foliage and growth resembling the Clinton ; very vigorous ; bunch and berry medium size ; white, and of excellent quality. PETER WYLIE. Vine vigorous, short pointed ; holds its foliage till fall ; bunches alone medium, shouldered, loose ; berries medium, GRAPES. 247 round, white, transparent; golden yellow at maturity; flesh melting, vinous, delicate, Muscat flavor; quality best ; best flavored white grape ever grown in the South. Ripens in July. BERCKMAN'S Holds foliage till frost ; bunches large, berries above me- dium ; reddish pink ; first quality. Ripens in July. These are all native grapes of the foreign varieties. Black Hamburg, Black Prince, and Chasselas Blanc or White Sweet Water have been tried and "not found wanting," especially the former. In fact, there is no doubt that Florida is destined to be a great grape country, both for raisin-making and for the production of wine. The grape loves a warm, dry, sunny soil, more especially a sandy loam, and this Florida can give almost over her whole surface. Here, as well as elsewhere, one of the greatest difficul- ties the grape grower has to contend with is the pilfering of the numerous birds. Covering the several bunches with paper or cheese-cloth bags is a method often resorted to for protection, but this is a very tedious process. An- other is to pass strings across the tops of the vines, birds will not alight under them. Still another, and a very effectual way to save the grapes from the feathered robbers, is so to train the vines on hori- zontal canopies that the dense mass of foliage on top will shield the fruit below ; the birds then can not reach it, for they will never fly up from beneath the canopy. Yet another and very effective method for protecting, not only grapes, but all fruit, is one invented by a poor East India native, who little expected its fame would ever travel beyond the limits of his humble field. An empty bottle, a string, a cork, and a nail — these are 248 FLORIDA FRUITS — GRAPES. all the materials required. The bottom of the bottle is cut off by a heated wire being drawn along a file mark ; then the string is passed through the cork in the mouth of the bottle, its lower end, with a nail (or small stone) tied to it, hanging about two thirds of the way down to the lower part of the bottle ; this, you will see at once converts the latter into a bell, the nail being the clapper; the bottle must now be hung up on a twig of the plant to be pro- tected, either by a continuation of the clapper string, or, which is much better, by a wire passed around the neck of a bottle. The least breeze causes this novel bell to tinkle, and a number of them, placed here and there in an orchard or vineyard, will effectually frighten away the birds, and preserve the fruit from their ravages. Another enemy we have to contend against is the leaf- roller, which devours the young leaves, and thus prevents the fruit from maturing. The following is claimed to be about the only effectual method of destroying them : To ten pounds of flour mix enough petroleum to reduce it to a thin liquid, no lumps ; then add one pound of bo- rax and a half pound of sulphate of iron. Apply with a spray fountain pump ; a light application will answer the purpose, the lighter the better. A fine, frost-like coating will be left on the leaves, protecting them from other in- sects as well as the leaf-roller. This emulsion is excellent for the trunks of trees, and, diluted with whale-oil suds, for spraying young trees. In picking grapes to send to market great care must be taken not to handle the bunch itself, as this will rub off the bloom, which lends so attractive an appearance to the grapes ; the stem only should be held in the hand. Five-pound boxes, not larger than these, are the proper size for packing them in; they are very cheap, and are made either of very thin pieces of wood or of stiff paste- GRAPES. 249 board. The grapes must be laid in carefully, shaken lightly to make them pack firmly, and filled even with the top. The boxes thus prepared are placed in larger boxes, and are then ready for shipment. When grapes are properly handled in picking, so that they are not broken or bruised, they may be kept for months by the following simple process : Nail cleats on the inside of nice, clean boxes, about an inch from the top, and between them, on the inside of the top of the box, nail bars, made of two strips of wood placed one on the other, the lower one the widest, so that there will be a ledge on each side of the narrower center strip. Let the grapes hang on the vines as late as possible, and then cut the bearing shoot so that the bunch of grapes will lie in the center ; cut the shoot to fit so that it will slide in by a tight fit on the bars, one end resting on a ledge of each ; this will hang the bunches in their natural position, allowing the air to circulate freely all around them. Put the cover on the box (loose), and place the latter in as cool a place as you can find ; remove the cover now and then and examine the bunches, taking off any dried or decaying berries. 250 FLORIDA FRUITS — CHINESE SAND PEARS. CHAPTER XXV. CHINESE SAND PEARS. All over the North, wherever pears are grown, there has of late years prevailed a dire disease, mysterious in its cause, mysterious as to its remedies, and plain and certain only in one respect, that of the destruction of pear grow- ing as a profitable market fruit. Whole orchards of thou- sands and tens of thousands of trees have gone down be- fore the dread disease, and their owners have abandoned the pear-growing business in despair. For years it seemed as if this delicious fruit must be numbered among the things of the past, but for the ad- vent of that for which our horticulturists had been largely hoping, an entire new race of pears, with all the health and vigor of the wonderful pears of China, and free from the dreaded "blight" and all other diseases so destructive to those which may now be termed our native varieties. In China the pear trees reckon their lives by as many centuries as ours by decades, and are never attacked by disease. This sturdy race of pears has been acclimated in the United States by half a century of trial, and in all that time not a single Chinese pear has been touched by blight or any other disease. Happily, it has also been shown that these pears, unlike the majority of the more familiar sorts, are especially adapted to the Southern States, particularly to Georgia and Florida. As yet there are not many varieties of these pears, all of the sand pears now on the market having sprung from the original Le Conte, but this is a fault that will soon be mended, for all over the land enterprising horticulturists CHINESE SAND PEARS. 251 are experimenting in hybridizing the China sand pears with our old valued varieties; that is, taking the pollen from the blossoms of our best dessert pears, and impregnat- ing with it the blossoms of the healthy, hardy Eastern sorts. Trees grown from the seeds of pears thus impregnated have retained the same degree of health and vigor and freedom from disease that belonged to the mother tree, while the fruit they bear is as large, handsome, and deli- cious as that of the home variety which was selected to be the male parent, which is usually the Bartlett. And of such excellent keeping qualities are these newly-created pears that they may be, and have been, shipped to Europe as freely and successfully as apples. This race of blight-proof pears is one of remarkably rapid growth and intense thrift and vigor. The trees grow readily from cuttings, and, if well cared for, will bear in three years from the date of rooting. Their value is greatly enhanced by their power of adap- tation to circumstances, for they will thrive on sandy soil or in clay, in dry lands or in moister situations, although they should never be planted in places more than moist — wet. They like a rich soil, and respond generously to lib- eral feeding. As all pear trees need a good supply of water when fruiting, they should be heavily mulched dur- ing this period, if set out on lands subject to drought. One point must, however, be borne in mind; these pears, on quince stock, will not do well in Florida. All the sand pears are naturally symmetrical in shape, and very ornamental, needing little pruning, save the re- moval of dead branches from time to time. That the Chinese race of pears is destined to become one of the staple productions of Florida, as it is already of Georgia, we have no doubt. It has only been three or 252 FLORIDA FRUITS — CHINESE SAND PEARS. four years since this fruit first began to attract the atten- tion of Florida fruit growers, and already orchards of five to twenty acres of Le Conte pears are being planted here and there over the State by far-seeing men, whose energy (and means) are equal to their faith. From all parts of Florida reports are beginning to come in of the successful fruiting of the few trial trees set out, and before long pear orchards will be no uncommon sight. In some localities they will rival the orange in number and importance. At present the Le Conte is the one Chinese sand pear most generally known, because it was the first to be intro- duced, and from it the other varieties have originated — some just from the seed, some just as the Le Conte itself originated, from an accidental hybridizing with the Bart- lett pear — and of course some years necessarily elapsed be- fore these new sorts could be fruited, or be sufficiently proven to be placed upon the market as distinct varieties. Meantime the Le Conte was winning its way to the front rank and becoming widely known. There are now other pears, however, originating from it, as the mother tree, that are destined to surpass it in public favor as soon as their great merits are generally known. Among these the Kieffer Hybrid, as we shall presently see, stands pre-emi- nent. The history of these several varieties of the Chi- nese sand pears is as follows : THE LE CONTE. Over forty years ago Major John Le Conte purchased a lot of fruit trees from a New York nurseryman, and among them was one labeled "Chinese Sand Pear." He was told that this tree was of no value, as the fruit would not mature in this country. The Major, however, carried it to Liberty County, Ga., where it "waxed exceeding CHINESE SAND strong," grew into a tall, beautiful tree, and soon began to bear a large, fine fruit, excellent for cooking, for preserv- ing, and for dessert. Major Le Conte had presented this tree to Mrs. Harden, and after its true nature had been thus revealed, a friend of the latter, Major Varnadoe, secured a cutting and started the second Le Conte pear tree in Georgia, but just then came our terrible civil war and the tree was neglected. Peace restored, the Major turned back to his old project again of propagating this grand tree on a large scale, and when he moved to Thomas County, Ga., in 1869, he car- ried with him a great quantity of these cuttings, and from the young trees that resulted from these was inaugurated what has already proved to be in Georgia, and will soon prove to be in Florida, a veritable " bonanza." The oldest growers of the Chinese sand pear race have yet to meet with a single case of blight, or other disease, or defective fruit. The Le Conte pear roots with extreme ease, if kept slightly moist while rooting, and grows off afterward with great rapidity, frequently attaining a height of thirty feet in seven years, with limbs twenty feet long bending to the ground under their weight of delicious fruit, until such a tree, fully fruited, resembles a weeping willow, so far as its branches are concerned. The general shape of the tree is that of a cone, and is very handsome. It is of unexampled prolificacy, it being no uncommon thing for a tree to bear from four to six bushels of fruit at its first bearing, and at its fourth year to yield twenty bushels of fine, marketable pears. They ripen about the first to the middle of July, more than a month before the earliest of all other pears, and hence always "skim the cream" of the markets. Major Varnadoe, a year or two ago, received ten dollars a bushel 254 FLORIDA FRUITS — CHINESE SAND PEARS. for his first shipment; the usual net price, however, is from five dollars to six dollars a bushel. It is a peculiar feature of this pear that it perfects not only one crop in one season, but sometimes partially ma- tures a second before the first is all marketed. The pears are picked before they are fully ripe, and then spread out on one blanket and covered by another. This ripens them evenly and gives a rich, golden color, which makes them as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate, for the Le Conte, be it known, is a fine-flavored, juicy, aromatic fruit. The tree has no "off years," but gives continual crops year after year. The original tree, in Liberty County, Ga. , is the greatest bearing pear tree known ; has never missed a crop, and has yielded at one picking thirty-nine bushels of large, smooth, marketable pears. Another thing that extremely enhances the value of this remarkable fruit, in a commercial sense, is its unusual keeping qualities. The Le Conte is one of the best, if not the very best, shipping pear that the world has ever produced, excepting only its own offspring, as we are about to note. KIEFFER'S HYBRID. In the year 1868 Peter Kieffer, of Philadelphia, planted a quantity of seeds of a Chinese sand pear in his garden. One of the seedlings thus raised proved to be the bearer of a new variety of pear, and one of exceeding merit in every respect. This seedling commenced bearing in the year 1873, five years from germination of the seed, and has borne full crops every year since, the quantity steadily increasing with the bearing surface of the tree. In the fall of 1877 it yielded four bushels, the next eight, and so up to the present season the yield has gone 041 steadily in- creasing. CHINESE SAND PEARS. 255 Wherever the Kieifer Hybrid has been exhibited it has taken the first prize as the best blight-proof hybrid seed- ling, and in the markets it always commands a higher price than any others. The fruit is large, measuring from ten to twelve inches around ; is double turbinate in shape, pointed at both ends; flesh white, and remarkably firm until it ripens, then it is juicy, rich, with a pleasant vinous flavor, .and of best quality. It is a splendid keeper, and can be shipped to markets a month or so distant, arriving in better order than when it started, ripening on the way. It does not rot until very ripe, and remains sound at the core to the very last. The fruit is a rich yellow, tinged with red, and very attractive. The tree is very ornamental, an early bearer, commencing to fruit at two or three years, and is enormously productive as it grows older. It is also a very strong grower ; young trees planted in the spring often making a growth during the summer of four to five feet. It grows well in any ordi- nary soil, whether heavy clay or light sand, but does its best on the latter, hence is peculiarly adapted to Florida. The fruit commences to ripen in July, and continues through November. At the International Exhibition in Philadelphia, in 1876, the Centennial Commission gave to P. Kieffer a prize medal and certificate of award, for "originating a hybrid pear of remarkable excellence, between the pear of culture and a Chinese sand pear, giving promise of a new race of pears of great excellence." GARBER'S HYBRID. This is the best of many seedlings of the Chinese sand pear, raised by Mr. J. B. Garber, of Pennsylvania. The tree is fine, healthy, and vigorous, like all that spring from this hardy source. The fruit is of good size, measuring 256 FLORIDA FRUITS — CHINESE SAND PEARS. nine inches around, and is much flatter and rounder than the Le Conte or Kieffer. Its color is greenish-yellow when ripe, with a red blush on one side ; stem is slender, of me- dium length ; flesh firm, coarse-grained, juicy, with a pe- culiar, pleasant flavor. It ripens well and evenly, and is of excellent quality and a good shipper. Ripens in Sep- tember. COCKLIN'S SHA-LEA. This pear is the best of two thousand Chinese sand pear seedlings, raised by E. H. Cocklin, of Pennsylvania, and is not a "sport," but undoubtedly an accidental hybrid between the above pear and a Bartlett tree, which grew near that from which the seeds were obtained. The seedling commenced to fruit in 1873, when five years old, and has borne full crops every year since, bear- ing in 1877 eight bushels of fine, marketable pears. The fruit is remarkably handsome, smooth, high-colored, and beautiful. The skin is yellow with a bright-red blush on one side ; medium size, measuring ten inches around and twelve inches lengthwise ; stem long, calyx small ; shape, double turbinate; flesh white, crisp, firm, and of good quality. This pear, from its handsome shape, fine color, and other good qualities, has already become a prime favorite in the market, selling readily at six dollars per bushel when pears of the older varieties are selling at one third that price. The fruit begins to ripen in October and continues through November, just when pears are scarce and high. These three new-comers in the family of Chinese sand pears, Kieffer's Hybrid, Garber's Hybrid, and Cocklin's Sha-Lea, are destined to secure as firm a foothold in our Southern pear orchards as their mother tree, the original China sand Or Le Conte pear has already done. Very few CHINESE SAND PEARS. 257 pears grown on any of these trees prove to be unfit for market, but any that should be so could be readily utilized by drying them, just as we have recommended the surplus guavas to be treated. In handling pears for market it must be borne in mind that they are a delicate fruit, and require tender treatment, a bruise being ruin. They should be picked when fully matured, but before they are ripe, to insure safe carriage. To hasten the ripening process they should be spread on paper or blankets, and covered with the same, in a moist air. To retard the ripening, keep the fruit uncovered in a dry air, and as near 40° temperature as possible. In pack- ing remember that pears absorb odors with great readiness, and therefore always pack them in clean barrels or boxes. Never use "fruit baskets," they are not firm enough; either pack in slat boxes or in barrels with plenty of holes bored in them for ventilation. Pears are not elastic like apples, therefore must not be packed down so tightly. When the point of destination is very distant, the sides, top, and bottom of box or barrel should be lined with paper, straw, or some other soft, dry material. Separate the different sizes and qualities, just as with oranges or lemons, and place them always on their blossom ends. Pack just tight enough to keep the fruit from mov- ing about. The French gardeners are justly celebrated for their success in packing pears for distant markets, and this is how they do it : They pack their pears, carefully picked and handled, in small boxes, covering the sides and bottom with dry moss, or soft, dry paper, as we do oranges, and pack in layers, the largest and primest specimens at the bottom, and fill in the interstices with dry moss or paper. In this way every pear is held firm in its place, and no one pear can press another. 22 258 FLORIDA FRUITS — FIGS. CHAPTEE XXVI. FIGS. This fruit is destined to become one of the staples of Florida. It is of quick and easy growth, and particularly adapted to both soil and climate ; but up to the present time its culture has been carelessly conducted, and but little pains have been taken by the nurserymen of the State to introduce those varieties especially suited for com- mercial purposes, namely, those that are light-colored, and therefore the best when dried for market, and those that that are superior as table fruit. Gustav Eisen, of Fresno, California, tells us that the following conditions are highly favorable to fig culture : " 1. Abundance of moisture in the soil before the figs begin to ripen. 1 1 2. Good and perfect drainage at any and all times. ' * 3. The gradual drying of the soil when the fruit is ripening. " 4. Sufficient heat to insure sweetness in the figs. "5. Absence of any frost lower than 18° Fahr., though figs can stand 12° if they are tolerably dormant. " 6. Absence of heavy rains during the maturing of the fruit. "Again, the following conditions are more or less injuri- ous to fig trees, if the object is to procure good fruit for drying or the table : " 1. A wet soil, sour from stagnant water, during the fruiting season. " 2. Cess-pools, sewers, and ditches in so close proximity that the trees can send their roots to them. "3. Heavy and repeated showers of rain during the FIGS. 259 maturing of the fruit. Some figs are not much affected by this ; some, however, will spoil, crack, and sour. ' ' If, with these conditions favorable, a proper site for the orchard is selected, no great difficulty will be encountered in setting out and caring for the trees. In planting, how- ever, great care should be exercised in shading the roots from the sun and wind. Figs are more apt to get hurt from exposure to sun and wind than almost any other fruit tree, and if the roots once have become perfectly dried, it is generally difficult to get the trees started. " The proper distance apart to set the trees is dependent upon circumstances. Heavy growing varieties should be planted twenty-five to fifty feet apart ; if the former, every other tree may be cut out when the trees grow too large. In the meantime a profitable crop has been for years se- cured from each. If set twenty-five feet away we believe ten years will elapse before any necessary cutting has to be done. " The head of the fig tree should be started not over two feet from the ground, and at that height the tree should be allowed to branch out freely, thus to form a low, spread- ing crown. On such low trees the fruit is easy to pick, the stem is kept cool, while the crown of the tree receives the maximum of sun. High-stemmed fruit trees are an abomination and not profitable, if fruit is the object. We do not refer now to fruit trees for shade or for avenues, as such trees may be given any shape desired. " The priming of a fig orchard is a very light job, simply because no regular pruning, as practiced and necessary for other fruit trees, is here needed. Here and there a branch may be cut out or a dead limb taken away, but no stopping of branches is required, though it would not prove absq- lutely detrimental to the tree. ''The sweet but deceptive expectation, that, when an 260 FLORIDA FRUITS — FIGS. orchard or vineyard once is planted, the owner may lay in his easy chair and wait for the fruit to ripen without any further trouble or labor, can alone be referred to the fig. We know of no other fruit tree that needs so little care, or, in fact, demands to be left alone as does the fig ; even the constant plowing of the soil, so much needed in other fruit plantations, is here even a disadvantage. Figs should be left alone; keep the weeds away and nothing more. One plowing is enough, provided the trees are in the proper soil; two would injure the trees. The fig has any quantity of surface roots, and if these are disturbed the trees will suffer. Figs which are never plowed produce as fine fruit as those cultivated with care. While other trees cry for constant care, the fig trees beg to be left alone ; they are fully able to care for themselves." It is with the fig in its natural state much as it is with guavas, the taste for each must be acquired, but when once attained is very strong. In Europe the people are trained from childhood to like the fresh fig ; it is seen on the hotel tables as a dessert fruit whenever it is in season, and fresh or stewed, even more than dried, it forms an important part of the food of the masses. It is a mild laxative, and hence particularly wholesome for a warm climate, and to this fact the inhabitants of Southern Europe are fully alive. It should be the same in America, and would be if more care were taken to place the best sorts on the markets. Wherever fresh figs are offered for sale in the United States, the largest and coarsest kinds only are sought for, and it is very amusing to those who know better, to see a customer pass scornfully by a lot of fine, delicate-flavored, but small fruit, and purchase a larger, more showy kind, not one half so palatable or rich. The people are not yet educated to a proper appreciation FIGS. 261 of figs, and it is the fault of the producers that this is the case. The public are always ready to seize upon a good article, when it is made known to them as such. So long as the fruit growers exercise so little care and wisdom as to plant inferior sorts of figs, because they are larger than the more delicate kinds, just so long will the people care little for them in their fresh state, not knowing how excellent a fruit they might have. Let the fruit growers of Florida and California set out the small, finely flavored varieties of figs, and there will soon be a demand throughout the country for all that they can raise. It is true, as urged by the former, that the coarser kinds, such as the Brown Turkey, Mission, and Brunswick, are hardier and easier to raise than the others ; but there are many localities in both the great fig-growing States, Flor- ida and California — in fact, through all the length and breadth of the former — where the finer and more delicate sorts could be raised without the least danger of loss by frost. Let our growers try it, and they will soon find that the fig is one of the most profitable fruits that can be placed on the general markets, either fresh, preserved, or dried. Already here and there in Florida a few wide-awake, en- terprising men are establishing factories, where limes, figs, m oranges, citrons, guavas, and any other fruits that can be obtained, are being prepared for market in the shape of pickles, preserves, dried fruits, jellies, marmalades, and wines. The only trouble is that they can not procure enough material to keep them busy, except in the one item of oranges, the others not yet being raised in suffi- ciently large quantities. For instance, this past year, at St. Augustine, Mr. S. B. Vails, during the height of the fig season, preserved about 262 FLORIDA FRUITS — FIGS. sixty bushels of that fruit daily ; but the supply was soon exhausted, and in the quaint old city the people complained because there were no fresh figs left for them to purchase for home use ; thousands of bushels more could have been sold in this one place alone, with great profit to the grow- ers. It was the same with limes and guavas ; the factories were compelled to close for want of material to operate on, and yet there are thousands of acres of land suitable for the culture of these valuable fruits still unoccupied. The fig-tree grows very readily from cuttings, and this is the most satisfactory way to start a fig orchard : plant the cuttings deep just where they are to stay, for the fig is much like the pine-apple with regard to its roots; the latter object so strongly to transplanting, unless very care- fully done and kept moist, that they are very likely to die, or at least lie dormant for months or even years, while new roots are forming alongside of them and outstripping them in the race. We heard not long since of a gentleman who set out several fine young fig trees procured from a nursery ; the trees did not die, they lived, but that was all they did do for more than three years, and so disgusted was their owner that he was on the point of digging them up and throwing them away, when, happening to relate his experience to a neighbor, the latter bade him let them be as they were. "I have often remarked," said he, ''that almost invari- ably a fig tree transplanted will lie comparatively dormant for four years and then start out, grow rapidly, and bear prolifically for years upon years. Wait a few mouths longer ; your four years are nearly up, and then you will see." So the fig owner waited and he did see. The condemned trees suddenly awoke to life, and put on a vigorous growth. In one season they gained as much bearing surface as could FIGS. 263 reasonably have been expected in three seasons, and the following year, and every year thereafter, these awakened trees bore heavy crops of fruit. A cutting placed in permanent position, with the ground properly prepared and suitable after-treatment given, will outstrip a transplanted fig tree, as a general rule. Wherever the future tree is to stand — and if there is clay near the surface so much the better — a hole three feet in diameter and two feet deep should be excavated, the top soil thrown to one side, the subsoil to another ; then a compost of muck, forest leaves, and stable or hen manure, or some commercial fertilizer, should be thoroughly incor- porated with the top soil and the hole filled in and tightly packed with this mixture. If the compost is moist, as it should be, the fig cutting may be thrust down, sloping, in the center of the spot thus prepared, the earth packed firmly around it (in this last lies the secret of successful rooting), a mulch of leaves or grass placed around it, a tall stick or two driven down alongside as a guard, and the work is done. Should there be a long dry spell after planting, then, but not otherwise, the cuttings should be watered. Before long, buds will develop and the young tree will grow right along, beginning to bear in its second or third year, and continuing to do so for a life-time or more. The time is not far distant when our people will awake to the true value of the fig, whether sliced with sugar and cream as a table fruit, as a preserve, as a sweet pickle, or as a dried or shipping fruit. Wherever fresh figs are placed on sale in the Florida cities and towns, they sell readily at from ten to twenty cents a quart, and even if the local price should fall to five cents a quart, there would be still a handsome profit for the grower. 264 FLORIDA FRUITS — FIGS. The experiment of shipping fresh figs from Florida to the Northern markets has already been made with eminent success. They were sent in refrigerator cars, carefully packed in quart boxes, and, having been picked just before maturity, they ripened in transit, and arrived in perfect order, bringing the splendid price of forty cents a quart, when even at one half of that amount they would have given a very large profit. There is no doubt whatever that if good, sweet, ripe figs are thus sent to the Northern cities in quantities, they will soon be sought after as a dessert fruit ; they only need to be known to become exceedingly popular, just as they are in Europe. The true Smyrna fig, the dried fig of commerce, has not yet been introduced into Florida, although several impor- tations of alleged cuttings have been made in California ; upon fruiting, however, they were found not to bear the true Smyrna fig. Recently it has been proven that the agents of the importers were deceived in the cuttings ; the true Smyrna fig tree or cuttings not being allowed to be sent out of the country. Seeds from the imported figs themselves will, however, germinate, and thence our sup- ply must come. The principal varieties of the fig now cultivated in Florida are as follows: ANGELIQUE, OR EARLY LEMON. Small ; greenish yellow ; fine flavored ; early. BRUNSWICK, OR MADONNA. Very large ; violet ; good, and very productive. BLACK ISCHIA. Medium size ; bluish-black ; very good quality. FIGS. 265 BLUE GENOA. Medium size ; bluish black ; very fair quality. CELESTIAL. Very reliable for orchard culture ; class fruit very early, and gives large crops ; fruit medium size ; pale violet, and very sweet. BROWN TURKEY. This variety is also excellent for orchards ; fruit medium size ; brown ; very sweet and delicious. GREEN ISCHIA. Fruit medium size; green, with crimson juice; very good and prolific. LEMON. Very large ; yellow ; sweet and prolific. WHITE GENOA. Leaves smooth, not deeply lobed ; growth medium size. Fig medium size, larger than Ischia ; skin very thin ; meat finely grained and highly flavored. A fine and very valu- able fig for drying. WHITE SAN PEDRO, OR APPLE FIG. Leaves not deeply cut, woolly. Tree a strong grower. Fig very large, as large as a medium apple, the largest of all figs ; skin rather thin ; highly flavored and sweet when grown on drained soil. Very fine for table, but too large to dry well. WHITE ADRIATIC. From Sicily, Italy. Enormous grower and bearer. Skin very thin ; meat very sweet and highly flavored, and very valuable for drying. As a table fig it is equally fine, but is not as large as San Pedro. Should only be planted on well-drained soil. 23 266 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS. CHAPTER XXVH. PEACHES* AND PLUMS. Who does not love it, the luscious, juicy, fragrant peach ? Why, the very mention of it, when it is not within our reach, is enough to " make the mouth water" and the nos- trils expand in the futile hope of recalling the taste and smell of past pleasures connected with that "fruit of the gods." We have yet to meet with the first person who avows a distaste for a fine, aromatic peach, and, strange to say, we have met with but few more who could tell * ' whence its name or what's its name." The botanical designation of the peach, Amygdalus Per- sica, at once reveals its origin and the land of its nativity, for to Persia do we owe this most popular fruit, and yet, strange to say, in this, its native home, it was considered unwholesome, and so was far from being the favorite it now is with the civilized world. In point of fact, it really was unwholesome in those^days, just as it is now, where its due care and cultivation are neglected or not understood, for the peach is one of those aristocratic trees that object to "roughing it" through the world, and will not flourish as it might if not intelligently waited upon by its owner. Hence, in Media, that province of Persia to which we owe our improved peach of to-day, the fruit seldom ripened, the flesh was tough and indigestible, and the flavor bitter, and all because its true character and requirements were unknown. Just exactly as many a human heart has be- come toughened and embittered from not being understood and rightly treated by those about it. *Peaches — Originally published in the Florida Agriculturist. PEACHES. 267 Columeila tells us that when the peach was first intro- duced into the Roman Empire from Media, during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, it was possessed of ex- tremely injurious qualities. Somehow the Chinese, in the "good olden times," even more than in the present, seemed to take hold of every new plant or discovery with a zest that soon carried them beyond the nations of Christendom, so it was with the peach ; although a native of Persia, its first visit to foreign lauds and the first true appreciation it met with was on Chinese soil, and there we find it flourishing and at home almost as early as it was noted in its native land. Thence it spread to Asiatic Turkey, where the natives regarded it with deep veneration, and even connected various super- stitions with the tree and its fruit, at least so Pliny and other classical writers tell us. That the peach was one of the ' ' trees in the Garden of Eden " there can be no doubt, and surely God could have placed there, for the comfort of our first parents, no more delicious fruit than this ; and perhaps it was for this rea- son that after their fall it was withdrawn from the knowl- edge of their descendants; for, curiously enough, we find no mention of the peach in the Bible, although its con- gener, the almond, is mentioned even as far back as in the time of Jacob, for we read that when preparing his gift for the Governor of Egypt, he commanded his sons to take "myrrh, nuts, and almonds," thus showing the high esteem in which these three articles were held. And yet again in the minute directions for making the golden can- dlestick we find mentioned, among the chief ornaments, the myrtle and almonds ; again and again the almond you sec, yet never once the peach ; hence it is quite safe to infer that to the Israelites the peach was an unknown fruit, although the almond is so nearly identical with it. 268 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS. We have seen how the peach when first brought to Rome bore unwholesome fruit, yet in a few years thereafter we find it so vastly improved, by proper care and cultivation, as to be highly valued by the Roman patricians, and re- garded by them as one of their choicest luxuries, and as such Italians still consider it. From Italy the peach was carried to England about the middle of the sixteenth century, and it is still cultivated there as an exotic, as it must ever be, for the cool, moist climate prohibits its general culture, and its fruit can only be perfected when trained against sheltering walls or under glass. Hence, in England, the peach is rarely seen except on the tables of the wealthy. Even in France, whose cli- mate is milder than that of England, it can only be occa- sionally perfected in the extreme South without protec- tion, and hence its cultivation is confined to gardens, and the fruit, as in England, " tickles the palate" only of the rich. To the honor of the United States, be it said, that it is the only country in the world where, either in ancient or modern times, the peach has been cultivated in such quan- tities as to be placed in the open market, and brought within the reach of all. Here it is not only the wealthy, as on the continent, but the poor, as well, who may feast, at slight expense, on the most wholesome and delicious of all fruits, and every year its cultivation is becoming more and more extended, and its profusion in the markets greater and greater. Next to the United States, China raises more peaches than any other one nation, but even there it is only the rich who profit by them. The Chinese as a nation are great gardeners, and originate much that is curious as well as useful in this as well as in other arts. Years ago, while still the Chinese were shutting them- PEACHES. 269 selves out from intercourse with other nations, we used to read accounts by venturesome travelers of the wonderful peaches raised in China; peaches of enormous size and strange shapes, notably one that has latterly become familiar to some of us, the flat or Pien-tau peach, and another that is yet a stranger, the crooked peach. We hope that some of our enterprising nurserymen may soon get hold of the latter and introduce it to the residents of Florida, for if it flourishes here as vigorously as its sister, the Pien-tau, we could not in reason ask for any thing better. Heretofore, Florida, partly because it is a newly-settled country, has not done much in the way of peach raising, but the few who have had enterprise enough to plant and cultivate a few trees have been amply repaid, and the re- sult of such intelligent efforts is sufficient to justify the as- sertion that when Floridians wake up to the fact that " there's millions in it," then their State will easily step forward into the first ranks as a peach grower ; for the peach is a native of a mild climate ; severe winters chill its life-blood, and late springs kill its delicate blossoms or young fruit. Florida's mild winters are congenial to it, and if we exercise proper care in the selection of varieties we need have little if any fear of our crops being ' ' nipped in the bud " by Jack Frost. The peach, to do well, requires care and cultivation ; but given these it will accommodate itself to almost any soil, and, while preferring a clayey loam, will flourish in the sand if the clay be three, four, or even five feet below it. Of course with peaches, as with other fruits, not all va- rieties are suited to all localities ; for each section of coun- try there are certain kinds that do well while others will not grow at all. Hence, it is a point of great importance to ascertain just what kinds are best suited to our own 270 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS. special localities, and this point, for Florida, has been pretty well worked out in the last few years. Pre-eminent among those suited for the fruit growers of Florida are the Pien-tau peach, or China flat peach. The Honey peach, maturing fruit early in May, some- times even in April. Early Louise and China Cling are also early peaches, and do well in Middle and South Florida, as also in North and West Florida. These are all vigorous growers, prolific bearers, and their fruit is of exquisite flavor and fragrance. Briggs' May and Wilder have succeeded excellently in North and West Florida. These are all "foreign varieties," but there are a few native peaches, obtained from pits planted from Florida- grown fruit, that are worthy of our best attention and care. Among these are Beach's Periodical, a strong, healthy growing tree, bear- ing large, fine-flavored fruit from July to September — the very months when other fruits are scarce, and our parched throats crave their refreshing juices. Goodbread peach, so named after its originator. It is me- dium in size, and begins to ripen from May 15th to June 1st. A cling of the most exquisite flavor, bearing trans- portation admirably, it is peculiarly suited to Florida fruit growers. Another is the May peach, ripening the last of May or first of June ; and yet another, called the November, fur- nishes ripe fruit of best quality in October and November. These kinds are offered by one of our well-known nursery- men, and another introduces to our notice the following, all natives of Florida or Southern Texas : Pennies' Free, a large, fine-flavored peach, ripening in July. PEACHES. 271 Bankman's Free, also large and good, perfecting the mid- dle of August. Onderdonk's Favorite, a large, yellow, juicy, July peach. Cablets Indian, a cling-stone of large size, ripening also in July, and with the peculiarity of purple or reddish flesh, whence, we presume, its name of "Indian." Thus we see that any fruit grower of Florida may, by a judicious selection of varieties, secure a full supply of this delicious fruit during at least seven months in the year, these months, too, covering a period when this fruit brings almost fabulous prices in the cities north of us. In short, we need here in Florida but to set out peach orchards as we set out orange groves, and give them as much attention, to obtain another source of income just as generous and reliable as the much-vaunted golden fruit, yielding, too, a larger sum per acre ; for while one hundred and eight is the largest number of orange trees permissible to an acre, peach growers, placing their trees fifteen by fif- teen feet, have space for one hundred and ninety-three trees. And now let us pass on to that most important consider- ation, the proper care of the peach tree. First of all, in setting out the trees let the hole be well spaded, raised in the center, with a hole for the tap-root, and large enough to admit of the roots being spread out as nature intended them to be ; do n't crowd them in a bunch on one side or against the stem, that is a slovenly method, and unworthy of an intelligent being ; they need to cover all the ground they can to procure food enough for their foster parent ; then spread out the roots carefully, and to do this you must " stoop to conquer." Throw the earth carefully upon them until the hole is half filled, then raise a bucket of water as high as you conveniently can, and pour half of it down around the stem ; this will pack the 272 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS. earth around the tender rootlets much better than the hand could do it — you will see this by the way the soil washes down — put on more earth and then pour on the rest of the water, shaking the tree gently as it settles ; this done, scat- ter a handful of salt around the base of the stem to keep the borers away. Throw on more soil, tread it down firmly, then a little more dry soil on top, loosely, and your work is done. Even in dry weather the tree thus planted will need no more care for three weeks at least. It takes time, to be sure, but often time lost is time saved, and so it is here, not only time saved but trees saved. It is the nature of young peach trees to keep on growing till late in the fall, and it is best, even in Florida, to check this injudicious vigor by pinching off the young shoots and ceasing to stir the soil. Bearing trees, in this respect, should be treated differently; let them grow as late as they will, it will do them no harm in this latitude, for the latent fruit buds will consume all the extra sap caused by cultivation. In the last word, cultivation (conjointly with pruning), lies the grand secret of success in peach raising ; from the moment the buds begin to swell in the spring till the leaves fall in the autumn, keep the soil around the tree so mellow and free from weeds that you can at any time run your hand right down into it and bring it up filled with loose soil. Cultivate at the beginning, cultivate at the middle, cul- tivate at the end ; this, with due pruning, will secure a fine crop of fine peaches, where, without these two things conjoined, the same trees would produce tough, leathery, unripened fruit. This latter is the usual condition of our native Florida peaches, not because they are inherently poor, but because their owners, like the ancient Medians, do not understand their proper treatment. PEACHES. 273 Cultivation and pruning — pruning and cultivation ; these are imperative elements of success in the peach orchard. A very rich soil is not needed, in fact, it is apt to promote branch growth at the expense of fruit, for every horticultu- rist knows that great growth and fruit can not be expected the same season. The best fertilizer for the peach tree is made in the fol- lowing proportions: Four bushels of leaf mold, or ham- mock top soil ; one bushel of well rotted cow chips ; one peck of unleached hard-wood ashes ; and a quarter of a peck of salt; these will give splendid results in growth and fruit. The tree requires yearly pruning, as the fruit is only grown on wood of last season's growth, and a superfluous branch, therefore, only takes so much wood away from the working portions of the tree. When set out it should be cut back to within two and a half feet of the ground ; below this cut young shoots will be produced, from which three should be selected to form the main branches of the tree, all other shoots being pinched off; the second year these three branches are cut back one half their length, one shoot being allowed to grow to continue the branch, and another to form a sec- ondary branch, while a few bearing shoots are left to grow from the older wood; the third season the six leading branches are shortened one half, to obtain more bearing shoots, and so the formation of the "head" goes on for five years, and then, thereafter all that is necessary is an- nually to shorten in the older branches and trim out where too thick. As we have demonstrated, it is the want of this self- same pruning and cultivation that has given the opportu- nity for so many to declare that * ' good peaches can not be raised in Florida." Let those who have old peach trees 274 FLORIDA FRUITS PEACHES AND PLUMS. take our advice and saw and cut and clip now at once, till little is left but the trunk and three short branches at the top ; then hoe away the weeds, and next spring give a dress- ing of the fertilizer we have specified, and our word for it, one or two years hence those old "worn-out" trees will bear profusely, fine, ripe peaches, not leathery ones. Summer pruning is best for bearing trees ; it forces out new shoots for next season's bearing, while spring pruning is better for young trees. Peach trees, in fact all fruit trees, are a great deal like children; they need care and constant attention to con- duct them safely " in the way they should go." A good many persons, new to the business, appear to think that all one has to do, to have a fine orchard and large yearly crops of fruit, is to plant the trees and then let them alone to struggle along as they best may. But this is an erroneous and fatal idea ; fruit trees have their enemies in scores, and as their attacks produce disease, and ultimately death, if not checked in time, it behooves the fruit growers to be ever on the war-path. The most deadly of the insect enemies of the peach tree is the white worm, familiarly known as the "borer," which, entering the trunk, usually below but sometimes above the collar where the bark is soft, burrows into the very center of the wood, if allowed, and destroys the tree by literally " eating its heart out." There are several .ways of waging war on these burro w- ers, and here are some of them : When you observe a tree losing its usual thrifty appear- ance, its leaves dropping or turning brown, you may be pretty sure that a borer is "at the bottom of it," and if you look closely on the ground, at the root of the tree, you will notice a little pile of reddish sawdust. Seeing this you may know at once that you are on the right trail, and PEACHES. 275 a look at the stem will disclose the tiny round hole through which the would-be destroyer has entered. Now, how to get at it is the question. If you have been watching your trees as closely as you should have done, it will not have had time to do more as yet than burrow between the bark and the wood, and then its course is easily traced under the bark by the eye, like the rise in the ground made by a mole. Press with your finger-nail along this furrow until the bark peels from beneath it; this will tell you that the end of the burrow is reached, then cut a slit that will lay open the bark, and the borer will be at your mercy. When it has entered too deeply into the wood for the knife to reach it, a bit of slender wire thrust into the hole and pushed along the burrow until it will go no further, in other words, has reached the end, will effectually dispose of the intruder. Sometimes, however, the burrow has gone so far into the tree that the winding tunnel can not be followed by the wire, and then an ingenious device, the invention of a cel- ebrated horticulturist, comes into service and rescues the tree from death. This is nothing more than a little funnel- shaped reservoir with a rubber tube, having a tiny nozzle depending from it. The reservoir is filled with a solution of tobacco or carbolic acid, then hung on a branch and the nozzle inserted in the borer's hole ; the fluid flows slowly down, and, following the windings of the tunnel, no mat- ter how long or tortuous, ultimately meets the enemy and destroys it. This result may be known by the fluid ceas- ing to flow from the reservoir, showing that the tunnel is completely occupied by the rescuing liquid. The fluid does no harm to the tree, and a budding slip wrapped over the hole will enable nature to repair damages very quickly. And right here we will speak a word in favor of the 276 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS. much maligned woodpeckers. If the fruit grower only knew how much solid, substantial aid these poor birds gave him in his war on the insects that attack his trees, he would never allow one to be shot on his premises. In the matter of this self-same borer, for instance, they always seem to know just where to find it, and, if above ground, rarely fail to rout it out and end its career of mischief forever. For one fruit he destroys the woodpecker saves fifty. The borer deposits its eggs on the base of the trunk where the bark is soft ; here it is hatched, and from this point usually bores its way into the tree ; consequently, wherever traces of borers are found, after routing out such as have already effected a lodgment, it is a good plan to remove the earth from around the collar, hunt for any cocoons that may be hidden there, then fill in with fresh earth, a shov- elful of ashes, and a little salt or lime. Another way to exterminate this pest is, after dislodg- ing those inside the tree, to swab the trunk from the lower limbs to the upper roots with a wash of lime and sulphur, then re-cover the roots with fresh earth and pour over them a bucketful of water with a teaspoonful of carbolic acid dissolved in it. So much for remedies ; now for what is of much more value, preventives — one ounce of which, as the proverb truly tells us, is worth a pound of the former. It has been observed that the peach trees in iron regions are very seldom attacked by borers, they do n't like iron, evidently not being in need of a tonic, and so when there is iron pres- ent in the soil, there the peach trees flourish in the highest perfection. All stone fruits, let us mention here, are improved by iron, either by a few nails driven in near the root, or by blacksmith's cinders ; and as for the borers, if cinders can PEACHES. 277 not be had, all one has to do to keep these pests at a dis- tance is to dissolve one pound of copperas in eight gallons of water, and let the earth be well soaked with it close around the stem of the tree : it is life to the tree and death to the borer. Another preventive is ashes and salt; another, and a very effective one is to scrape away the earth and wrap stiff brown paper around and below the collar, then re- place the soil, and the wandering borer, searching for a place whereon to lay its eggs, will pass on in disgust. Another preventive, and an excellent one, too, is twice each year, in the spring and late summer, to dash a bucket- ful of scalding water on the base of the trunk, so that the collar will get a liberal bath ; it won't hurt the tree in the least, but it will kill the borer and its eggs ; the tree do n't mind " getting into hot water," but the worm does. Trees treated in this way grow with amazing thrift, and it will pay the peach grower to procure a large iron kettle for the express purpose of heating water in the orchard so that every tree may be scalded thoroughly, especially so if the hot water is made the medium for applying the cop- peras solution as above ; this would be " killing two birds with one stone." In cases where the borer can not well be routed, or where ants are injuring the tree, a piece of tow, or similar mate- rial, dipped in a mixture of hog's lard and chloride of lime, and tied low on the trees, will cause a speedy surren- der of the invading forces ; they will evacuate the prem- ises without stopping to demand the honors of war. The "yellows" is another and much-dreaded enemy of the peach, and in many sections of the North it has spread like an epidemic over whole tracts of country, sweeping out of existence thousands of trees in a single season ; for- tunately, we see but little of this fatal disease in the South, still it is well to be fore-anneal. 278 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS. The question ' * What is the yellows ? " can not yet be answered without a shadow of doubt, but the prevalent be- lief is that it is a disease caused by a minute fungus growth, and is analogous to the fatal " blight" in pear trees, which is without question caused by a fungus so minute as to re- quire a high-power microscope to detect its presence. Sulphur and lime are deadly foes of all fungoid growth, and a wash of these two combined will help the tree at- tacked by yellows. A most excellent remedy also is to wash the trees with a solution of quassia. One pound of chips, costing about twelve cents, is boiled and reboiled until eight gallons of the solution are obtained ; this, poured around the trunk and sprayed with a hand -pump over the foliage will effect a wonderful change in the most forlorn-looking trees. This quassia solution will also banish the green fly and other troublesome insects. Nearly eighty years ago Dr. Darwin suggested that very solution of copperas or sulphate of iron, which we have already mentioned, as a remedy for the yellows, and for the gummy secretions so common in fruit trees, and in the year 1840 a scientific farmer in France was so highly suc- cessful in using this remedy that the Academy awarded him a medal as a public benefactor. But here, as with the borers, preventives are better than remedies. The yellows is hereditary among peach trees just as surely as insanity and consumption are among men ; therefore, be careful that your peach trees come from healthy stock and are budded with healthy buds. One tree affected with the yellows will, if not cut down and burned as soon as the trouble is detected, communicate the disease to the whole orchard ; so it behooves the peach grower to be watchful. A horticulturist who has had many years' experience PEACHES. 279 with curl-leaf in the peach orchard, asserts that there is but one cause for this malformation of the leaves (a fun- goid growth), and that is, that the bark of the tree is too close, and fits so tightly that the sap can not circulate freely, and hence the leaves are not properly nourished. He recommends an up-and-down cut through the bark of the trunk and main branches with a sharp knife, and de- clares that in a few days after this is done all signs of curl- leaf will disappear from all the younger leaves, and appear no more. If the tree is watched carefully, and the bark split when needed, curl-leaf will be prevented. Another remedy is to wash the trunk and branches with lime. Standing still, very slow, or very rapid growth are as- signed as the cause of tight bark, and consequent curl- leaf. By observing these simple directions for the care and fertilizing of peach trees, the most veritable novice may have a fine, thrifty, and paying orchard, and we trust that a few years hence Florida will be as celebrated for her early peaches as she is now for her delicious oranges. Here is a sample of what has been, and can be done again, in this line of industry. In Chambers County, Ala., near the Georgia line, is the largest peach orchard in the world, embracing two hundred and fifty acres of this luscious fruit, of which over eighty thousand dollars worth have already been sold. It is owned and cultivated by Mr. John Parnell, brother of the leader of the Irish Land League. Some twelve years ago he bought an old worn-out cotton plantation, and con- verted it into one immense peach orchard ; his fruit is al- ways the first in the market, bringing almost fabulous prices. Mr. Parnell is coining an immense fortune out of his peach orchard, and there is no reason why Florida can not do as well as Alabama in the cultivation of this fruit. 280 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS. As to the budding of the peach tree, which is the only certain way of obtaining sure results, it should be done in the same manner as has already been described in Chapter IV, pages 42 and 43 ; therefore it is not necessary to repeat them here. Suffice it to say, that when peach buds are in- serted in peach stocks, the latter should be yearlings only, although those two years old will often do well ; our na- tive varieties of wild, rapid-growing plum trees, however, are by many preferred for stock for peach budding. In Bryan County, Ga., is an orchard containing two hun- dred trees thus budded as an experiment, and the results have been extremely gratifying, fine crops of superior fruit being gathered yearly from the trees. In conclusion we would add a word of caution to all in- tending to set out peach trees, in particular, not to delay beyond the early part of February at the latest, as the trees take but a short period of rest, growing late and starting early, so that there is but brief time during which it is quite safe to transplant them ; we have, however, seen trees set out in March do well, but it is a greater risk. PLUMS. The plum tree likes plenty of water, hence moist (but not wet) lands are best adapted to its growth. It does well in sandy soil, but better if there be clay near the surface. For years back the plum, like the pear, has been subject to the attacks of a special enemy that has well-nigh ruined the business of their culture as market fruits; with the pear it was the "blight," with the plum an insect, the curculio. But just as a new race of pears has been found to resist the "blight," so has there been found, for the South, es- pecially, a new race of plums proof against curculio; these PLUMS. 281 are the several varieties of the improved Chickasaw type, as follows: CUMBERLAND. Large, yellow, juicy, sweet, and very good. Matures in September. DE CARADUEC. Medium, round, yellow, with brown red cheek; juicy, sweet, and of fine flavor; a remarkably fine plum. Ripens early in June. WILD GOOSE. Large, somewhat oblong; bright vermilion red; juicy, sweet, good quality ; a cling-stone ; a very showy and fine market fruit, and a prolific bearer ; the most profitable of all the Chickasaw type. HATTIE. Medium, round, bright red; very sweet and of good quality. Follows the Wild Goose in maturity. NEWMAN'S. Medium, bright red, round ; a cling-stone ; quality good. Ripens early in July. All of these plums named above should be picked as soon as they commence to color, and ripened in the house, where, in three days' time, they will acquire a brilliant color. If left on the tree too long the fruit drops, and never attains the quality of that which is house-ripened. This gradual ripening allows these varieties to carry per- fectly to distant markets. PEACH-LEAVED, OR KANAWHA. Medium, oblong, bright vermilion ; juicy, fine-flavored ; quality very good. Ripens in September. Although it begins to color in July it is not fit to use until it ripens upon the tree, two months later. 24 282 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS. JAPAN MEDLAR, OR JAPAN PLUM. This valuable fruit is generally known in Florida under the latter title, which is an entire misnomer. There is a true Japan plum, but it is not an evergreen as is the Japan medlar. This tree is not only a very ornamental one, with large, evergreen leaves, but it is destined to become one of the leading fruits of Florida. It has been introduced into Cal- ifornia, but rarely fruits there, as the early blossoms are almost invariably nipped by severe frosts. In Florida the fruit matures without danger of loss, and wherever the orange tree flourishes there the so-called Japan plum flourishes also. It grows slowly at first, but after the first three years increases in size more rapidly, and by its eighth year frequently attains a height of twelve or fourteen feet, and is covered with fruit and bloom ; the ultimate height of the Loquat is about twenty feet. The fruit ripens from January to March, and is of good quality, sub-acid, and a general favorite; excellent pre- serves are made of it, and as for its jelly, it has no supe- rior among the many jellies offered for sale in the markets. The fruit, resembling an ordinary plum in size and shape, carries as well, and in fact better than the peach. It has been shipped to the Northern markets in perfect order, selling there from twenty-five to forty cents a quart basket. In the Florida local markets it sells readily at twenty-five to fifty cents a quart. The tree, if well cared for, commences to bear in its fifth year, and when covered with bloom fills the air with a delicious fragrance. Another fruit destined to be of great value is KELSEY'S JAPAN PLUM. This remarkable plum was imported from Japan in 1871 PLUMS. 283 by the late John Kelsey, of Berkeley, CaL, whose name has been given to the fruit as a just tribute to the memory of one of California's pioneer leaders in horticulture. The following points of excellence are claimed for it : 1. Its wonderful productiveness is unsurpassed by any other plum, either native or foreign. 2. It comes into bearing at the age of two to three years, blossoms appearing frequently on yearling trees. 3. The fruit is of very large size, being from seven to nine inches in circumference, and specimens weighing six and a half ounces each ; it has a remarkably small pit. 4. It is very attractive in appearance, being of a rich yellow, nearly overspread with bright red, with a lovely bloom. It is heart-shaped ; it ripens from first to last of September. 5. It is of excellent quality, melting, rich, and juicy ; its large size renders the paring of the fruit as practicable as the peach, which is quite a novelty, and it excels all other plums for canning. As a dried fruit it is destined to take the lead, equal to, if not surpassing, the best dried prunes. Experiments re- sulted in yielding nineteen and a half pounds of dried fruit to the one hundred pounds of fresh fruit. In text- ure it is firm and meaty, and it possesses superior qualities for shipping to long distances ; it remains solid longer than any other variety. 284 FLORIDA FRUITS — JAPANESE PERSIMMON. CHAPTER XXVIII. JAPANESE PERSIMMON, OR DATE PLUM. Among the fruits quite recently introduced into Florida, and indeed into the United States, is the Diospyros kaki, or Japanese persimmon. Wherever it has been tried — and many are now scattered all over the State — it has done well; even the imported trees have given a satisfactory account of themselves, and now that our nurserymen have succeeded in propagating it on seedlings of the' wild per- simmon stock that grows luxuriantly on pine land and hammock alike, we may look for still better results. Its successful culture and great profit to the grower is fully established, and henceforth the Japanese persimmon will rank as one of Florida's favorite fruits. In Japan it is considered the choicest and most popular of all the many fruits of that favored country. There are several varieties, some conical in shape, some round, and they do not at all resemble in any respect the typical "persimmon" of our own land. The fruit of the finer varieties is of a beautiful yellow or red color, and measures from three to four inches in height, and from eight to nine inches in circumference; of seeds, it has from five to seven, of a small size. The fruit ripens from September to March, and its flavor is so delicious that it is readily understood why it is so great a favorite in Japan, where its different varieties have been so carefully crossed and recrossed that it has become to that country what the apple is to the United States. The dried fruit is as palatable as the fresh, is fully the equal of the fig, and can be kept a long time ; moreover, JAPANESE PERSIMMON. 285 the Japanese persimmon, or date plum, as it is often more properly called, is a fine shipping fruit, and will bear trans- portation safely to great distances. The tree is highly ornamental; leaves dark, glossy green ; shape symmetrical ; it is a very prolific bearer, is as hardy as a pear tree, and fruits sooner. The seedling tree bears in about ten years, but is apt to "sport," or not bear fruit at all, and hence is not desirable because not reliable. Budded trees fruit in from one to three years ; they prefer a light, sandy soil, are not affected by curculio, grow to a large size, and attain the age of a hundred years while losing none of their vigor. A number of varieties have been introduced into the United States, and of these there are two principal divis- ions, one of which is large, round, and shaped like a Green- ing apple. The flesh of this variety resembles that of the pear or apple, and is eaten in the same way ; it is unsur- passed for the table, and considered equal to the peach and pear. Its color is a rich, golden hue, and the flesh "juicy, vinous, and firm." This variety should be inclosed in a tight cask for a few days after picking to render it perfect. The other variety is oblong, like a " Minie ball" in shape ; "it is soft, sweet, and custard-like, is eaten with a spoon, and with cream and sugar is one of the most delicious fruits that is known." The fruit of this variety attains a very large size, and, owing to the large amount of saccharine matter it con- tains, is the sort usually dried and prepared like figs for market ; in this form it is sold as sweetmeats in Japan. Professor W. E. Griffis, the author of " The Mikado's Empire," tells us : ' 'As regards the value of the Japanese persimmon there can be but one opinion ; the tree itself is one of the hand- somest of fruit trees, and in the fall, with its golden-hued 286 FLORIDA FRUITS JAPANESE PERSIMMON. fruit hanging to the branches after the leaves have fallen, forms a beautiful and striking picture in a landscape. As to the fruit itself, it is nutritious, palatable, and to a high degree charged with those chemical ingredients which give most fruits their value in preserving the health and puri- fying the blood. This fact is insisted on by the Japanese doctors, some of whom I have known to cure their patients by a -' persimmon cure,' like that of the 'grape cure' of Southern Europe." The following are the best varieties so far introduced into the United States, and for sale by our principal Flor- ida nurserymen : TANEASHI, OR SEEDLESS. Very fine, large, oblong ; flesh soft ; color dark red, with black spots. IMPERIAL. Shaped like an acorn or "Minie ball;" very large, with dark stripes on the surface; flesh soft when ripe, sweet and fine. ROYAL. Nearly round ; pale yellow ; large size ; early. Ripens on tree ; good for drying. AMONG. Large, round, a little flattened ; orange color. MINOKAKI. Very large, oblong, pointed ; highly colored ; often with- out seeds. HYAKAME. Largest known, and of the very best quality. MIKADO. Flat like a tomato ; medium sized ; bright yellow ; flesh solid. JAPANESE PERSIMMON. 287 TAIKOU. Round ; pale or greenish yellow ; fair size. NIHON. Slightly oblong ; yellowish red ; black spots on the sur- face and in the flesh ; flesh solid. Very early. DIAMIO. Slightly oblong ; reddish, with dark point ; medium size ; flesh soft. DIE-DIE MA WELL. Large and round, with slight point at apex. HAYCHUYA. Large, oblong ; rich color ; one of the best. 288 FLORIDA FRUITS — EVAPORATING FRUITS. CHAPTER XXIX. EVAPORATING FRUITS. Our work on "Florida Fruits" would not be complete without a reference to a comparatively new industry, which is destined to be a revelation of wealth to the fruit and vegetable growers, not alone of Florida and the United States, but of all countries ; a revelation of wealth on the principle that a " penny saved is a penny earned." Wherever fruit or truck is raised for market there is sure to be a waste of unsalable produce, which could be utilized for home use if there was not "too much of a good thing," which, however, there is, and so a great deal spoils and is lost. Another thing, in many places, espe- cially in newly-settled States like Florida, it is very diffi- cult, if not impossible, to get perishable produce to market in good condition, hence, people living in these localities are cautious about raising such products. But modern invention has swept away this heretofore serious drawback. The farmer or fruit grower may now plant what he will, gather as he will, and then quietly place the result of his labor in such shape as shall assure him a large and sure profit, without the possibility of loss, no matter how far he may be from the great markets, nor how slow his means of transportation. Nay, more ; he may prepare his pro- duce and pack it away to await the highest market prices, instead of being obliged to place it on sale when the field is already overoccupied. Neither is the produce thus res- cued from waste and low prices in poor demand ; on the contrary, the supply will scarce be able to keep pace with it. If the article supplied be the best of its sort, a good price and ready sale is always sure. The recent invention EVAPORATING FRUITS. 289 which has brought so great a boon, not only to the pro- ducer but to the consumer, is that of the evaporation of fruits and vegetables. To be sure, they were evaporated years ago and placed on the market with a great furore, but the principle then employed was totally incorrect, and the result correspondingly disappointing to all concerned. The fruit offered was really cooked and then dried, and not genuinely evaporated at all. The trays were placed one above the other in a box or chamber ; the hot vapor or steam from below was augmented by the moisture from the contents of the lower trays, and the result was that the fruit swelled just as though it had been cooked, the delicate membranous cells burst asunder, and the starch they contained, instead of being converted into grape- sugar or glucose, acidified, and thus both the sweetness and the flavor of the fruit, which is an essential oil held prisoner by these same little cells, dissipated, and conse- quently the whole character of the fruit was changed. The salt had lost its savor, hence, evaporated fruits took no hold on public favor, and those who had invested in expensive driers soon abandoned their use, the universal verdict being that " it did not pay." And yet all felt that there existed a satisfactory solution of the vexed question of perfect evaporation, and within the last few years it has been solved completely by the invention of the "Amer- ican Fruit Drier," by Dr. Ryder. He set aside, from the beginning, the erroneous idea upon which the vertical evaporators were constructed, that "evaporated produce should be retained and finished in a humid atmosphere, entering at the point of greatest hu- midity and finishing at the point of greatest heat." Water in dried fruit means decay, acetous fermentation, and con- sequent loss of sweetness and flavor. This theory had failed lamentably in practice, so Dr. Ryder adopted the 25 290 FLORIDA FRUITS — EVAPORATING FRUITS. opposite as the true method, and the result of his patient investigation is what the writer, after careful study and observation, fears not to pronounce the ne plus ultra of an evaporator. No one, even though blindfolded, can taste or smell a slice of fruit or vegetable evaporated by the "American" without at once distinguishing the name of the crude ar- ticle. So perfectly is the flavor preserved, no mistake can be made about it; and here is just the difference of prod- uct between the old vertical method and vapor bath and the "American's" inclined flue and "hot-air cure," a dif- ference that is just as noticeable to the eye in color and handsome appearance as it is to the palate in quality. So, you see, that there is a right and a wrong way of evaporating fruits and vegetables, and it was the misfor- tune of the wrong method coming first under notice that for a time threw the whole business of evaporating the products of the soil into the shade. In the past, as a rule, dried fruits have been literally "flat, stale, and unprofitable ;" but now, under Dr. Ryder's common-sense method, evaporated fruits are rapidly com- ing into public favor, and there they will stay. In many cases the producer who uses the best evaporator (and we can truly say, having the welfare of our fellow fruit grower at heart, that this is the "American Drier or Pneumatic Evaporator"), will find that it will pay better to convert all his produce into the evaporated article for market than to ship it in its original state. The saving in crates, in hauling, in handling, in freight, and in loss by decay in transit — very important items to the Floridian — would greatly augment the profits of the crop, besides being perfectly safe. The demand for evaporated fruits and vegetables will, for years to come, fall far short of the supply, where the EVAPORATING FRUITS. 291 supply is of the best quality. People are finding out of late that they are not only very wholesome but that they are cheaper than canned fruits. To prove this one need only buy a can of any sort and its equivalent in cost in the best evaporated fruits, place the latter in water for eight or ten hours (which should always be done previous to stewing slowly), and then try to put it in the empty can ; the result will be a revelation most damaging to the canned article. The truth is that every agricultural family ought to own one of these evaporators ; one of the smaller sizes will suf-* fice to save many and many a dollar's worth of good, wholesome food that must otherwise be wasted ; and this is particularly so in Florida, where, during the heat of the summer months, fruits and vegetables are apt to be scarce. The farmer who owns one of these improved evaporators — and the number is daily increasing, for there is no farm implement that will pay its cost so quickly or so often in a season — the farmer, we say, who owns one of these can, during the season of plenty, dry all his surplus peas, beans, sweet-corn, tomatoes, potatoes, both sweet and Irish, tur- nips, beets, cabbages, egg-plant, or onions; it needs only then to tie them up in paper or close muslin bags to "bar out" insects, and when needed for use to soak them for a few hours and cook slowly. It is no light thing, as every householder knows, to have fresh vegetables on hand at all seasons. In this one respect alone, apart from all com- mercial considerations, we can not over-estimate the value of these money and labor savers. And the same is true of fruits ; in the season of plenty, blackberries, strawberries, mulberries, huckleberries, plums, peaches, pears, pine-apples, guavas, may be preserved for future use with the greatest ease, and without the expense of glass jars, cans, or sugar. 292 FLORIDA FRUITS — EVAPORATING FRUITS. In one season the ordinary farmer, curing for home con- sumption only, can save double the cost of this busy little worker, which has yet another popular qualification : it is cheap, far cheaper than the vertical machines, which really destroy the fruit rather than preserve it. There is a No. 6 size that will dry three bushels a day, weighs two hundred pounds, and costs twenty -five dollars ; then there is a No. 1 which evaporates six to eight bushels a day, weighs three hundred and fifty pounds, and costs fifty dollars. Three larger sizes are made, designed for more extensive work : No. 2, costing seventy-five dollars, cures from twelve to fifteen bushels a day ; No. 3 costs one hundred and seventy-five dollars, and evaporates forty-five bushels; No. 4, which weighs a ton, and swallows one hundred and ten bushels, costs three hundred and fifty dollars ; and No. 5, made only to order, costing four hun- dred and fifty dollars, and eating up one hundred and fifty bushels at a day's meal. And still further to facilitate matters, these same manu- facturers, called, by the way, "The American Manufac- turing Company of Waynesborough, Penn.," place on the market a "Parer, Corer, and Slicer," which performs its triple work at one time, and costs only a dollar and a half; and an "Improved Rotary Knife Peach Parer," same price; also a "Peach Peeling Spoon" for twenty cents. Thus is evaporating made easy. Any one who chooses to send to this company for the catalogue of their fruit drier, will learn a great deal to arouse his attention and interest in a subject that grows in importance as one looks into it ; and we will further add, that with every drier full and money-making instructions are sent. We have elsewhere referred to the great profit of raising the guava, our Florida apple, as it may well be called. EVAPORATING FRUITS. 293 The subject of jelly-making is, as we have seen, one of im- mense moment ; but not every one is able to command the needful labor to place his fruit in this salable form, and so there is a great deal of waste as things are at present, but need be no more, for, with even one of the small evapo- rators, all the loss may be made gain ; besides that, the out- lay of work, time and capital are much less than in jelly- making. We believe that the drying of guavas for home use and the Northern markets will, within a few years, become one of Florida's great industries. Pare and slice the larger specimens, halve the smaller ones and then lay them in the warm embrace of the "American;" then pack them in neat, two-pound paper boxes, such as are made for such uses, and ship them off, forty boxes to the crate. That there will be a large and increasing demand, once guavas in this shape are put upon the Northern markets, there is no doubt whatever, although, like all new things, its introduction may be slow. Guava jelly is popular, but its expense puts it beyond the reach of the masses. Let them see guavas evaporated ready at their hand to stew for the table, or to convert it into jelly if they like, and we of Florida will have our hands full to keep up with the demand, for you know Flor- ida alone can supply this fruit, so herein there can be no competition. The Florida grower, even though far removed from "rapid transit," has a bonanza in this one industry alone, which is light, clean, pleasant, easily learned, can be car- ried on, nay must be, under shelter, and requires very lit- tle capital. All this applies also to pine-apples, Le Conte and Kieffer pears, peaches, figs, etc. 294 FLORIDA FKUITS — ODDS AND ENDS. CHAPTER XXX. ODDS AND ENDS. This present chapter may truthfully claim to be, in point of time, the ' ' latest edition of Florida Fruits," being, as the reader will observe, made up of the tangled odds and ends of information, experience, and observation, that have been gathered together from out-of-the-way corners, here and there, during the few months that have elapsed since the main part of the work was sent to press. After a battle has been fought, a great undertaking ac- complished, it is an easy matter to look calmly out over the field and point out how this or that might have been better or more easily done. It is very much the same with such a work as now lies before us. In gazing backward over what has been accom- plished, when the stress and anxiety of the actual labor is over, and the pen almost ready to lie down and rest after its miles of patient travel, we can see here and there points of possible improvement, not so much sins of omission as the opportunity to seize, before it is too late, upon the odds and ends that have come into view since the previous pages were written. First of all, let us see what lessons have been taught us by THE FREEZE OF JANUARY, 1886. The days and nights, inclusive, of the 9th to the 13th of January, 1886, will never be forgotten by any dweller in bonnie Florida at that disastrous time. Little did any one realize what was in store for him when, on the 9th, Fri- day, the United States Signal Officer at Jacksonville tel- egraphed all over the State that a ' ' cold wave " was on its ODDS AND way southward, and that Florida would feel its first breath that night. The warning was significant enough to set some men to work hauling wood and piling it among their trees, and making ready for cordons of fire around their groves to the north and west, whence came our ordinary cold winds. All Friday morning it rained a heavy down-pour ; ' this, too, had been predicted by the weather prophets; and early in the night the first cold breath of the coming en- emy reached us — and such a breath as it was ! All night the bitter northwest wind blew and howled and whistled in every nook and corner, and our people, growing hourly more fully alive to what might possibly be the outcome, were too anxious to rest or to sleep, and yet it was too cold to do aught but to lie still under what, for Florida, was a mountain of coverings, until daylight should come, and with it, perchance, relief. But not so; it came indeed, but brought with it no hope of better things, rather the certainty of worse to come ; as yet we had felt but a light touch of the Ice King's hand. The leaden heavens gave no sign of cheer, and the cold, fierce wind continued to howl and shriek as if in derision of the puny efforts of mortals to snatch their property from its icy grasp. The huge fires kept burning day and night were useless to arrest or change the fiat that had gone forth. This was no "ordinary frost," whose cold hand could be held in check by human devices, but one of those rare, all-powerful strokes of the elements that teach us now and again our own insignificance. During the afternoon of Saturday, the 10th, the sky par- tially cleared, and the sun tried to struggle through the clouds and send down his rays to warm his shivering friends ; but it was of no use. The clouds gathered again, the gale 296 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS. howled as fiercely as ever, sifting into every corner of dwellings ill-prepared for visitors from the arctic zones, and, strange to record, now and henceforth to the end, the worst of its work was done with the wind sweeping up from the southwest ; and it was such a gale, this that came from our usually warm quarter, so pitiless, so bitter cold, as no Floridian had ever faced before, nor is likely to ever again on his native soil. Long before sunset ice began to form. In ordinary storms the wind lulls as the sun sinks, but this was no or- dinary storm, neither "rule, rhyme, nor reason" dictated its course or actions. Another night, and what a fearful one it was, in-doors and out! neither hope nor comfort, physical or mental. Out in the groves, here and there, men flitted about large fires, desperately fighting to the last, hopeless now of sav- ing the orange crop remaining on the trees, and feeling that they would be thankful if they could save the trees themselves. In-doors water was freezing, not a thin skim of ice, but strong ice that had to be broken with a hammer. Not for fifty years had Florida seen the equal of this bitter storm ; it was the longest, the saddest night, that of the 10th of January, 1886, that her present population had ever met. Morning dawned : ice, an inch or more in thickness, cov- ered all shallow, standing water ; every thing that could freeze was frozen, in-doors and out of doors — the hearts of Florida's people also! Ah! those were times that tried men's souls, times when they could only stand aside and look on in desperate silence at the wholesale destruction of the property they had toiled for years to accumulate. For, note this fact, when the morning of the llth dawned, with the thermometer nowhere in the State higher than 20°, and in most sections still lower, all the way down to 15°, ODDS AND ENDS. 297 with the oranges on the trees frozen solid, the leaves curled and frozen so stiff that they crumpled in the hand like sheets of ice, the despairing fear, in many cases, be- lief, went out among the people that the trees also were killed. The one, the crop, was a loss of one year, but the other, the tree, one that many years could not replace. Add to this depressing fear of total loss and ruin, the fact that the biting wind was pitilessly sifting into the houses, and that all through the day, on that bitter Sun- day, water froze solid even within a foot or two of the stoves ; that grown persons were blue and shivering, and children crying with the cold, and the pandemonium that had so suddenly swept down upon sunny Florida may be faintly pictured. Every one knew that all the injury had been already done that was possible, and in dull, despairing apathy set- tled down to a knowledge of heavy loss ; only the older and most experienced growers held fast to the belief that the bearing trees were not injured, the majority were too dazed to be capable of reason or of hope. Sunday night, Monday, Monday night, came and went, and still the bitter wind howled, and the temperature con- tinued lower than ever before known since 1835, when every bearing tree in the State (not so many by thousands then as now) was killed to the ground. By noon of Tues- day, the 13th, the wind veered around to the eastward, and then every one drew a long breath, for east winds in the winter time, in Florida, always mean milder weather. Before night it was evident that the terrible " dark days of January, 1886," were over, and that now it only remained for people and trees to thaw out and reveal the full extent of the damage done. This could not be done all at once ; some of the destruction was self-evident on the instant; that the oranges, lemons, limes, were frozen on the trees, 298 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS ANT) ENDS. and that their leaves were stiff, that the lemon and lime trees were, in nearly all cases, killed to the ground, that bananas, pine-apples, guavas were also generally destroyed ; all these things showed at once. Then, as the days and weeks rolled on, and the beautiful Florida climate resumed the even tenor of its way, little by little it began to be realized that the worst that had been feared, the loss of the great staple, the orange trees themselves, was mercifully spared her heavily stricken people. In many cases even the large bearing trees were seriously injured, a few killed to the ground, but these were excep- tional, and due either to unduly exposed locations or to the fact of the trees being in active or very recent growth, a condition which every one knows is always detrimental to a tree at the approach of cold weather. The freeze extended over the whole State, even the most southern sections feeling its influence. There was ice in Monroe County and beyond it ; Key West saw it ; even Cuba awoke to the possibility, nay, reality, of a gen- uine freeze, the first in her history. The wonder is that the orange tree throughout the State was not universally killed, since the temperature was as severe and the cold more protracted than during the famous " freeze of 1835," which did kill them all. There was a reason for their wonderful escape, however. It is a matter of record that the coldest temperature of the Florida winters occurs between December 20th and January 15th, and the weather for several weeks prior to the Ice King's harvest was emphatically of this description, thus checking the flow of the sap in the trees and putting them to sleep as it were, and in excellent condition to meet the advancing though unsuspected enemy. Another reason why more damage was not done lay in ODDS' AND ENDS. 299 the fact that the weather, both during the freeze and for some days after, was cloudy, and the moderation of tem- perature very gradual instead of sudden. In many cases not only were the older orange trees un- injured, except to the extent of shedding their leaves, but young trees in grove and nursery escaped damage. The writer even had tender, dormant buds, that were exposed to the full extent of cold and wind, buds set in young nursery (grape fruit) stock, yet they passed through it unharmed, and are now in strong, vigorous growth ; but other buds, side by side with these, on lemon and lime stock, were killed, together with their foster parents. Right here is one of the lessons of the freeze. Another is, to cease cultivating the trees early in the season and check the flow of the sap, so that the leaves may rest, and the sap already in the body of the tree may fulfill its mis- sion and form into the tissues that build it up. Not, understand, that we at all anticipate another such frosty visitation; that is not likely for fifty or more years to come, but that every tree needs rest, and during every winter there may come "cold snaps" that would injure young, tender growth, while it would not in the least affect a dormant tree. That the freeze of the past winter will eventually prove to have been a ' ' blessing in disguise " we are well assured. For one thing it has proved, that the orange tree will stand uninjured a much lower temperature than even its best and most familiar friends supposed possible, and the result is that Florida to-day, with her groves full of vigorous growth, and oranges Half grown, with her young trees making a thrifty growth also, with energy and hope once more triumphant, Florida is to-day, we repeat, as profit- able a field as ever for orange culture, with the added as- surance that she did not have before, that the tree is very 300 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS. hardy, and will withstand a temperature of 15° or even lower, while the fruit continues uninjured unless the tem- perature falls below 26°, which is an exceedingly rare oc- currence. And even if the fruit was frozen once in eight or ten years, we could stand it ; but it need not be frozen at all, even with the temperature at 20°, for all we have to do, on the first suspicion of danger, is to gather and bury the fruit in dry sand, and then market it at leisure, as we have already mentioned on page 134. A few wise men thus saved their crop this present season, and at this present writing are reaping the result in per- fectly ripe, sound oranges, that sell readily at from three to five dollars a hundred. No, there is no ground whatever for discouragement of orange culture; on the contrary, well - located, healthy groves are actually more valuable now than before the great freeze, because their value and hardiness are placed on a surer basis ; we know what we before only believed, because we could not know. But the most important lesson of all those that our re- cent unexpected experience has taught us is this : Diversify production ! To employ a homely but signifi- cant phrase, " Do n't put all your eggs in one basket;" then if your basket gets upset before it reaches market there is something else left to fall back upon for support. Floridians needed a shaking up, and a pushing out of the one groove which was filled up with oranges, nothing but oranges. Our soil and climate are as well adapted to many, very many other fruits as they are to oranges and the citrus family. Then why give our whole attention to the one only? If our people had paid as much attention in the past as they will do in the future to figs, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, apricots, pecans, walnuts, strawberries, and black- ODDS AND ENDS. 301 berries, they would have felt the loss of the orange crop but lightly. Already this great lesson has gone home, and other Florida fruits than the citrus are being largely set out all over the State. Right ! diversify production and prosper. THE REFUSE OF THE ORANGE CROP. In every grove, whether large or small, there must nec- essarily be hundreds or thousands of oranges not fit to ship or to sell in their original shape ; some of these are blown from the trees by high winds ; others are thorn -pricked or punctured by birds; others drop from drought or over- loaded trees. We have frequently seen the ground actually yellow with fallen fruit, left to lie under the tree, an utter wicked waste of one of the most valuable fruits we have. And what we have seen, others have seen every where over the State, a deliberate throwing away of thousands of dollars, for every one of those dropped oranges could be utilized, and a great industry developed for the good of the people at home and abroad. We refer to the manufacture of orange wine ; we would not advocate the making of any intoxicating beverage — far from it; but certainly pure orange wine does not come under this heading. It is true that such drinks are some- times disguised with so-called "orange wine," and sold un- lawfully as such, but this is not an argument against the manufacture of pure, honest orange wine. The manner of making it is simple ; any one can do it and do it well by following the recipes given in this work, and the result will be just so much profit added to the crop ; there need not be an orange lost. And this is not all ; the use of surplus oranges for wine would serve to steady the price and value of the fruit. If 302 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS. there came a glut in the market, and prices fell, they could be kept at home, and the wine made from them would ultimately bring more profit than the oranges would have done if shipped. As to the value and superiority of sweet (or sour) or- ange wine, here is what a prominent dealer has to say about it, and he speaks "as one having authority": "It is the best tonic, medical or otherwise, that can be taken into the human system. It is nourishing, of agree- able flavor,' and, what is more, a perfectly pure native wine. Every body knows what recuperative power there is in luscious, ripe oranges, and as no part of the fruit is used in the manufacture of the wine but the pulp of per- fectly ripe oranges, and none of the wine bottled from the casks until it is at least three years old, it is easy to see that the wine made from Florida oranges will, at no dis- tant day, outrival any of the imported still wines. In taste it is marvelously palatable, and I am told that it is the cleanest wine in the market to-day, there being but 8.64 per cent of absolute alcohol, and slightly over 5 per cent of sugar. Florida, filled with orange presses, will outrival the famous vineyards of France and Italy in time, for the manufacturers of this splendid wine are pushing ahead with new and improved machinery, are setting out countless orchards of the precious fruit, and investing thousands of dollars in the enterprise which they are satisfied will soon become one of the greatest industries of the country. The supply is now in no wise equal to the demand." THE ORANGE PEEL. This is another point that has not yet received the con- sideration it deserves. In Europe the orange rinds are carefully gathered up and sold to the marmalade manufacturers, and New York ODDS AND ENDS. 303 is now entering upon a steadily increasing import business in orange peels, because the home supply does not even begin to fill the demand. It is not used here as in Eu- rope, for making marmalade, but as a basis for medicinal preparations, tonics, orange bitters, syrups, and confections. The imported peel brings from ten to twelve cents a pound, and has no import duty to pay. This may seem a small item, but it is such items that make up the sum total of domestic economy ; save all the clean orange peels, dry and sell them, and there will be more money in our pockets and less sent out of the country. Note how the importation is increasing : In 1877, five thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven dollars was sent to Europe to pay for orange peels ; in 1881, the latest date we have been able to obtain, the same small item of ' ' waste peel" cost us over twelve thousand dollars. It has doubt- less more than doubled now, and Florida might just as well keep this money at home, since it would be all clear gain, requiring no outlay. SUMMER ORANGES. There are a few varieties of late oranges (Hart's Tardiff is one) that will hold their fruit well into the summer sea- son, and such fruit is always at a premium, because it comes in when the market is empty of oranges. But there is a method practiced in Mexico by which any ordinary tree may be made to bear summer oranges. When the trees bloom at the usual season, a brush made of stiff leaves or twigs is used to whip off the blossoms, one and all ; none must be left to set fruit. The trees, be- ing strong, healthy, and in vigorous growth, resent this unmerited whipping, and at once set out to repair damages and make good their loss. 304 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS. The result is, that in June or July the trees are again in full bloom, and this time the fruit is allowed to set ; as it ripens in about a year or a little less, a fine crop of sum- mer oranges is produced, worth double or treble the ordi- nary crop. Perseverance for three or four years will give the trees thus treated a confirmed habit of blooming at the desired time, and thus summer oranges are secured without fur- ther trouble. PEARS ON QUINCE STOCK. Beware of these ; they are not suited for Florida's soil or climate, for, as a rule, the quince itself is a failure over fully three fourths of the State. Not only so, but the Chinese sand pears, whose hybrids, the Le Conte, Kieifer, and others we have mentioned in our foregoing pages, are a failure upon quince stock. Mr. William Parry, of the Pomona Nurseries, Parry, N. J., whose experience with these pears is probably greater than that of any other person, is very emphatic in his statement that the quince is poisonous to all and every admixture of the Chinese pears ; the American Agri- culturist also confirms this statement, which is undoubtedly correct, and should be more widely known than it is. It should also be noted as a fact, that if buds be taken from a pear (Chinese) on quince stock and worked on a pear stock, the trees raised therefrom will be stunted and sickly. Mr. Parry mentions an orchard of five thousand trees, three thousand on pear stock the remainder on quince ; at the end of the first year only one in a thousand of those on pear stock needed replanting, while out of the two thousand trees on quince two hundred had to be replaced ; the next year as many more, and all that were left were stunted and sickly. The same pears on pear stock, or on their own roots, are strong and thrifty. ODDS AND ENDS. 305 The writer's own experience confirms the point in ques- tion; four trees of the Le Conte variety on quince stock have almost stood still on our own grounds, while cuttings from other trees on pear stock, although three years younger, have far outstripped the former in size and vigor. Of all the ills that trees are heir to there is none more universal than those which are directly due to a cause that need never exist at all. This is the exposure of the trunks of fruit trees to the scorching effects of the afternoon sun on the south and southwest. If the bark is not actually killed and the sap soured on that side of the tree, it is almost certain to become hide-bound, and to act as a liga- ture on the delicate sap-cells beneath it. In cutting across the trunk of an orange tree, for in- stance, the difference of the rings showing the annual growth of the wood is very perceptible, those that were on the south and southwest sides of the tree being much thinner than the same rings on the opposite side. We have seen fruit growers set out trees from the nurs- eries where they have been well shaded all their short lives by low limbs and close planting, trim them bare, and thus leave them out in the open ground, exposed to the full strength of the sun, which beats down all day long on the young, tender bark. Now, is this good treatment or good judgment? Those who pursue this course are answered, bye and bye, in trees stunted, diseased, or dead, and then they wonder what is the matter, and, if the trees were purchased, blame the seller for the fault that lies at their own door, in full sight, if they would but open their eyes and look. Never set out a tree of any kind and leave it standing with a bare trunk. 26 306 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS. Go over young groves or orchards or single trees that are dead or stunted, and in every case almost you will find the bark scalded and peeling off on the south and south- west sides. And where the tree has vitality enough to drag on its weary existence, the presence of this "sun- scald " will be found a standing invitation to borers and wood-lice to enter and put in their death-dealing work. So you see it will pay to protect the delicate stems of your trees. How ? It is very easily done, and quickly. The long, gray moss of the hammocks is excellent for wrapping around the trunks ; just as good and more con- venient for many are newspapers lightly tied. Either of these will last for months, and should be kept in place all the year around, until the trunks are well shaded by over- hanging limbs. SPECIALTIES IN BUDDING. While Chapter IV of this volume deals in thorough de- tail with the several methods of budding and grafting, yet there are some few trees and plants which require especial care as to the mode and time of propagating by these methods. One of these, which is now attracting great and deserved attention, is the JAPANESE PERSIMMON. Since the introduction of this valuable fruit into our country the idea has generally prevailed that its propaga- tion upon our native stock is very difficult and uncertain. Now, the truth is exactly contrary, if one only knows how to set about it. The trouble was at first, that orange growers especially, being more accustomed to budding than to grafting, nat- urally tried to apply the same process to the Japan persim- mon, forgetting, or being ignorant of an old rule in horti- culture, that trees having thick bark should be propagated ODDS AND ENDS. 307 by grafting, and that any tree that is prolific in throwing up suckers may be root grafted, and also grown from cut- tings. Consequently, "eye buds" failed, a fact that was ren- dered extremely aggravating by the abundance of native wild stock, and the value of the Japan persimmon. But now that experience has taught us the needed lesson it is all easy enough. First of all about the native stocks. Small trees are best, with the stock not more than a quarter to half an inch in diameter at the point of union, and to get good stocks of this size they should be grown from the seed in nursery rows. The persimmon in its wild state is naturally almost des- titute of fine, fibrous roots, and it is a difficult matter to transplant the proper size satisfactorily. The best and quickest way, therefore, to get good strong Japan persim- mons is to drop the seed of the native sort in January in shallow drills about three inches apart, the rows being three feet apart. Do not have the soil very rich or cultivate the young seedlings very freely ; the native persimmon is a strong, vigorous grower, and your object now is to regulate it, so that by the time it is one year old, and sufficiently matured to graft, the stock will not be larger than that named above, for, if it exceeds half an inch in diameter before being grafted, it is almost worthless, a proper union being well-nigh hopeless. Grafts on one-year-old stock that have not been transplanted will make a growth of from three to six feet the first year. It is, however, as advantageous to transplant the per- simmon twice, that is, once from the seed-bed to another bed, and thence to the orchard, as it is to the orange, and for the same reason, to promote the formation of fibrous roots. Root pruning, by thrusting down a sharp spade 308 FLORIDA FRUITS ODDS AND ENDS. pretty close to the stem, will serve the same purpose, a very important one, for trees that are to be moved. And now as to the grafting process. First, take notice that the buds of the Japan persimmon begin to swell in February, a week or two sooner than those of the native, and therefore the scions must be cut that much earlier, at the first sign given by the moving sap, and laid away in a cool place, covered with moss or earth, to await the move- ments of the native stock. The best method of grafting this fruit is the "whip" graft, as it is the most convenient. (For details of process see page 47.) The earth should be removed from the crown of the stock deep enough to allow the point of union to be entirely covered when it is replaced. The scion should be about three inches long, and only one bud left above the ground ; after it is in place wrap strips of waxed cloth tightly around the union of stock and scion, overlapping the folds so as to insure it against the entrance of water. There is another method of propagating the Japan per- simmon, much easier and more simple, though the trees thus obtained are rather longer in bearing fruit than those grafted. This is by cuttings, taken as other cuttings should be, when the tree is in a dormant state, although they can, by extra care, be made to strike root at any time ; the cuttings root readily, and it is a curious thing that this simple fact is not generally known. GRAFTING THE GRAPE. The grape is one of the easiest plants to graft, and the best time to insert the graft is in the latter part of the winter season, when both stock and scion are dormant. By the following simple process, the common wild Florida grape vine may be employed as stock for any of the finer ODDS AND ENDS. 309 varieties, a use for which their vigorous growth especially adapts them : Cut off the stock just below the surface, then split it with a chisel or knife-blade, and insert a wedge-shaped scion, pushing it down into the cleft as far as possible, not less than one or two inches; be careful that the bark touches on the outside. Another method is to cut off the stock as before, square and smooth; then with an auger bore a hole about two inches deep, and perpendicular ; get a scion that will j-ust fit this hole, and push it down firmly to the bottom ; make sure that it goes down all the way, and in order to do this the safest plan is to measure the exact depth on a slender stick, then lay this against the scion, and mark its height. Then proceed as in other grafting ; wrap the point of union with prepared strips, and mound up the earth over it. TO HAVE EARLY ORANGE BUDS. It is of great advantage to be able to put in orange buds early in the season, but, as a rule, this is impossible until June, because only the current season's growth is available for scions, and none of it is sufficiently matured earlier in the season. By experiments, however, it has been found that buds of the citrus family may be successfully ' ' win- tered," just as other buds frequently are. Select, as late in the season as possible, exactly the same kind of buds as you would if going to use them immedi- ately. Make a trench in a shed, or under some shelter where the ground will not become wet, and line the bot- tom with leaves — palmetto answers the purpose better than any other — lay the bud sticks on these, not piled thick or on top of each other ; then another layer of leaves, more buds, and more leaves; the top layer should be leaves, and earth cover the whole. 310 FLORIDA FRUITS ODDS AND ENDS. In the spring, when the sap begins to move in the stock, all you have to do is to bring out your buds and go to work; they will "take" as readily as if just taken from the tree in May or June, and a clear gain of at least three months is the result. Another point in propagating oranges not generally known is, that they will root from cuttings and make good trees. It is claimed that they root more readily if the cutting is set with the small end down ; and this also of lemons, but we will not vouch for the truth of this claim, although we know that it is true of some others than the citrus family. SHELLAC COATING. The coating of shellac, recommended on page 86, for application to cuts or wounds made in trimming trees, is prepared as follows: Dissolve in one quart of alcohol as much gum shellac as will make a liquid of the consistency of paint ; apply with a common painter's brush. Keep it in a wide-mouthed bottle or jar, well corked, and have it always ready for use. REMEDIES FOR MILDEW, APHIS, AND RED SPIDER. One quarter of an ounce of sulphide of potassium to one gallon water ; apply with a syringe or fountain pump. This substance is cheap and easily applied, and the effect upon the above enemies of the fruit and vegetable grower is almost magical. Grape vines, cucumbers, melons, plum, and peach trees, in short every plant attacked, requires only one to three sprinklings to be completely cleared of its enemies. ANOTHER REMEDY FOR MILDEW AND GRAPE ROT. Four pounds of bluestone (copperas) to fifty gallons of water, or, on a smaller scale, one ounce of bluestone to ODDS AND ENDS. 311 six gallons of water. Sprinkle the foliage copiously once a week as long as the rainy season continues (these dis- eases being caused by an excess of moisture on the foli- age). If mildew and rot have already developed before this treatment is begun, and threaten loss of leaves or fruit, a ten-per-cent solution of common whitewash applied in the same way will arrest their progress. DURABLE LABELS FOR FRUIT TREES. The need of some better and more lasting label than the usual wooden one, with the name penciled or printed, for marking trees in nursery and grove has long been sorely felt by the horticulturist; such labels are far from satis- factory, the name being almost invariably faded or washed out in a few months. A tree label, cheap, easily obtained, and indelible, has been eagerly sought for, and here it is : Get pieces of sheet zinc, the older and more corroded the better, cut them in strips about an inch wide at one end, tapering to a slender point at the other, and six to eight inches long; then, with a soft, ordinary lead-pencil, write on the wider end the name or number of your tree or bud, with date or any other data desired; wind the slender end of the strip around the stem or trunk. It will unwind of itself as the tree grows, hence never cuts into the bark. The older the label is the more distinct the marks will be, the lead acting chemically on the zinc ; the lettering, plain enough even at first, soon becomes outlined with a fine flour-like substance, and then turns purple. This label will last as long as the tree, only needing occasional transfer to a new place, as the stem it clasped at first grows too large for it. The comfort and profit of such a label will be acknowledged by every fruit grower. New tin, scratched upon with a sharp awl, answers nearly as well as the zinc, but will not last as long. 312 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. CHAPTER XXXI. HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. Orange Wine, No. 1. Take perfectly ripe, sweet oranges, the riper the better, as then the saccharine matter is en- tirely developed ; peel and cut into halves across the cells ; cut over a tub so as not to lose any juice, and squeeze both halves hard before dropping in the tub. When the tub is full put the whole mass through a wine-press, which must be so close that none of the seeds can escape into the mash, as they would give the wine a bitter taste. To each gal- lon of juice add one pound of granulated or loaf-sugar, and to each gallon of this mixed juice add one quart of pure water. Put the whole in a barrel, leaving a space of about five gallons for expansion of the wine during fermentation. Orange wine has to undergo the lower fermentation, as by the upper fermentation all the volatile matter and the aroma would escape. The barrel must be closed air-tight, and a fermenting tube adjusted ; the fermentation is very vigorous for the first few days, and the barrel must be closely watched to prevent its bursting. The fermentation subsides gradually after a few days, then the wine has to be racked off and the lees can be filtered ; the fermenting tube must be adjusted again to the new barrel, to remain until the fermentation shall have ceased entirely. Rack the wine off again in about six weeks after the latter pe- riod, and in a month after this second racking it will be fit for market, as there is no second or "spring" fermenta- tion, as with grape wines. Orange Wine, No. 2. Ninety sweet oranges, thirty-two pounds of lump sugar ; break sugar in small pieces and HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 313 put it in a dry, sweet, nine-gallon cask, place the latter where it is to remain. Have ready close to the cask two large pans or small tubs, put the orange peels, pared thin, into one, and into the other the pulp, after the juice has been squeezed from it ; strain the juice carefully and put it in the cask, then pour one and .a half gallons of water on both peels and pulp ; let it stand for twenty-four hours, then strain into the cask ; add more water to peels and pulp, next day strain into cask. Repeat this process until the cask is filled, which should take just seven days to ac- complish, the water being properly proportioned to this end, and the contents of the cask being stirred each day. On the third day, after the cask is full, it may be securely bunged down. This is a very simple and easy method, and if directions are followed the wine can not fail to be excellent. It should be bottled in eight months, and will be fit for use twelve months after making. Orange Wine, No. 3. Juice of sweet oranges and water, equal parts; to every gallon add three pounds of raw Florida sugar; place in tight barrel, filled, with a bent tube from the closed bung-hole to a pail of water. When the gas bubbles cease to show in the water, close the bar- rel ; leave it undisturbed for four months, then bottle and cork tight. This makes a very fine wine that will keep well in wood or glass. Orange wine is of an amber color, tastes like dry Hock, but always retains a decided aroma of the orange. Twelve hundred sour, or fifteen hundred sweet oranges, will make forty-five gallons of wine at from three to six dollars per gallon, and ten gallons of vinegar at twenty- five cents per gallon, wholesale. Orange Vinegar. To the cakes which are left in the presses, after making wine, add molasses and water, ac- 27 §14 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. cording to judgment ; let it stand until vinegar is formed, then strain and bottle or place in casks. Orange Marmalade, No. 1. Forty sour oranges; peel and set pulp aside till next day ; soak peels in water (rain water preferred) for twenty-four hours, changing the water four times ; then boil peels in a porcelain-lined kettle till tender, changing water three times, using boiling water each time, and keeping the last used water for use as fol- lows : Take out the peels, drain and spread out on a flat dish or waiter ; put into the kettle the orange pulp, squeez- ing each piece in the hand ; add three pints of the water saved from the peels, and boil for one hour. While this is boiling scrape off all the white from the peels, then shred or chop the yellow portion into fine pieces ; next, strain the contents of the kettle several times till it is as clear as amber (there should be about seven and a half pints of juice, if there is not, add enough of the water the peels were boiled in to make up the difference). To this quan- tity of juice add ten pounds of white sugar ; let it come to a boil, then add the shredded peels, about five pints ; let it boil all together for about one hour and a quarter, or until it begins to jelly. Orange Marmalade, No. 2. Of oranges and sugar allow pound for pound. Pare half the oranges and cut the rind into shreds ; boil in three waters until tender, and set aside ; grate the rind of the remaining oranges, take off and throw away every bit of the white inner skin ; quarter all the oranges, and take out the seeds, chop or cut them into small pieces ; drain all the juice that will come away with- out pressing them over the sugar ; heat this, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, adding a very little water if the oranges are not very juicy ; boil and skim five or six min- utes ; put in the boiled shreds and cook ten minutes, then the chopped fruit and grated peel, and boil twenty minutes HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 315 longer. When cold put into small jars, tied up, with blad- der or paper next the fruit, and cloths dipped in wax over all. Preserved Orange Peel. Weigh the oranges whole, and allow pound for pound ; peel the fruit, and cut the rinds into narrow shreds ; boil until tender, changing the water twice, and replenishing with hot each time. Squeeze the orange juice through a strainer over the sugar, let this heat to a boil ; put in the shreds and boil twenty minutes. Orange Jelly. One pint of water, two ounces of gela- tine, half a pound of loaf-sugar, ten oranges, and one lemon. Put water, gelatine, sugar, rind of one orange, and rind of half a lemon into a sauce-pan together, and stir over the fire until the gelatine is dissolved ; remove the scum ; then add juice of lemon and oranges sufficient to make one pint ; stir together until on the point of boil- ing, then strain through a jelly bag or fine sieve, and when nearly cold place in a mold previously wetted. Preserved Oranges. Take small oranges, and rather more than their weight in white sugar; slightly grate the fruit, and score round and round with a knife, but not very deep ; put the oranges in cold water for three days, changing the water two or three times a day ; tie them up in a cloth, boil them till they are soft enough for the head of a pin to penetrate the skin. While 'they are boiling place the sugar on the fire, with rather more than half a pint of sugar to each pound ; let it boil for a min- ute or two, then strain it through muslin ; do not put the oranges into the syrup until it jellies and is of a yellow color ; try the syrup by putting some to cool, it must not be too stiff; the syrup need not cover the oranges, but they must be turned so that each part is thoroughly done. Orange Cream. One and a half ounces of gelatine, one lemon, six large oranges, sugar to taste, half a pint of 316 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. good cream; squeeze juice from oranges and lemon, strain and put in sauce-pan with gelatine, and enough water to make juice up to one and a half pints ; rub the sugar on the orange and lemon rind, add to it the other materials, and boil for about ten minutes ; then strain through jelly bag, and, when cold, beat up with it half a pint of thick cream, then pour into wet mold. Orange Tincture. Peel off the yellow part of the rind very thin, and cover it with alcohol in a tightly-corked bottle ; when the tincture is bright yellow pour off into another bottle for use in flavoring puddings, custards, cakes, etc. How Orange Wine is made in Sicily. Boil the peels of forty oranges in ten quarts of water until the water tastes strongly of the peels ; add twelve quarts of orange juice and thirty-six quarts of sugar. When cold pour into a barrel ; leave the bung out during the fermentation, which lasts forty days, and keep the barrel bung full, then close the barrel and let the wine settle for two months. Two days before bottling add a small handful of orange flowers to give fragrance to the wine. Orange wine improves with age, and acquires the taste of the Malvaria of the Madeira. It bears transportation well ; it competes with curacoa and other alcoholic, aromatic beverages of South- ern France and Italy. Sour Orange Wine. To five gallons of water add one half gallon of juice and fifteen pounds brown sugar ; put the sugar and water together, let it come to a boil, when cool add the juice. Let it stand open till fermentation ceases, then stop tight. It may be bottled after it has remained in barrel about six months. This makes an excellent wine, and if the receipt is followed it will be a success. Sour Oranye Wine, No. 2. To one gallon of juice add HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 317 three gallons of water, and to every gallon of the mixture add three pounds of sugar; put into a barrel and let it stand until fermentation ceases, which will be from six weeks to two months ; keep the bung covered with a thin cloth. After fermentation ceases it is better to draw off the wine into other barrels, then stop up the bung tight and keep it in a cool place. Sweet orange wine is made in the same way, except that you use equal parts of juice and water with three pounds of sugar to every gallon of mixture. Of course the juice must be well strained before the sugar is added. Orange Champagne. The following is the recipe : One gallon sour orange juice, three gallons rain-water, seven pounds white sugar. Put into a keg, and each day add a little fresh juice until effervescence ceases. After standing about eight days, or when it becomes perfectly clear, bottle and cork tightly ; secure the corks with string or wire and set aside for use. Sour Orange Preserves. Either grate or pare off the outside rind of the fruit, cut in half and take out the seed ; sprinkle liberally with salt and let it stand twenty- four hours ; wash off the salt thoroughly and boil in soda- water, allowing a good handful of soda to two gallons of water. Then scald in clear water until the rind can be pierced with a straw. Allow one pound of sugar to every pound of fruit, and a pint of water to every pound of sugar. Boil the syrup until it begins to thicken, then add the fruit and boil until clear. When the fruit is cooked enough, if the syrup is not thick enough, continue to boil after the fruit has been removed. Change the clear water two or three times after boiling in the soda-water, before putting the fruit into the syrup. Sweet Orange Preserves. Grate off the outside rind, cut in half and take out the seed ; after this put the fruit in a 318 FLORIDA FRUITS HOW TO USE THEM. weak brine and let it stay for twelve hours, then rinse it in cold water ; put it into a kettle, cover it with cold water and let it come to a boil ; repeat this several times until the bitter taste is destroyed. Just as soon as the water begins to boil change it for other water. Allow one pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and one pint of water to every pound of sugar. Boil the fruit until it is clear, and after it is taken up, if the syrup is not thick enough, con- tinue to boil. Orange-Flower .Candy as made in $icily. Soak one pound of orange-flower leaves in water twenty-four hours ; pour off this water, and, adding fresh water, boil to a good con- sistency ; sprinkle well with cold water ; spread on cloth, and sift over the mass two pounds of powdered sugar. Spread out on dishes and place in the shade for a week that the sugar may be thoroughly absorbed. Dry the candy in the sun or fruit drier and serve on sheets of white paper. Orange Blossoms Utilized. Place sheets or any suitable article under the trees at night to catch the falling blos- soms ; in the morning before the dew is off gather up all that have fallen and put in a three-cornered bag— flannel that has been washed is best. As soon as possible pour over these boiling syrup, made of the best sugar, but rather thin ; hang up the bag to drain and leave it out all day ; take out the scalded flowers and save them. Repeat the process of fresh flowers for three mornings, using the same syrup; then bottle for use as a delightful beverage, with water added. The flowers that have been scalded can be used by placing them in thin muslin bags between layers of butter; the butter can be used in cakes, sauces, or any way that flavored butter may be wanted. HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 319 LEMONS. Lemon Tincture is made exactly the same as orange tinc- ture, given above. Pickled Lemons. Cut the lemons in quarters, not en- tirely apart, and put a teaspoonful of salt in each one ; put them where they will dry either in the hot sun or by the stove ; when they are dried so that they are black and look good for nothing, prepare the vinegar with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger-root, onion, and a little mustard seed, and pour it boiling hot over the lemons ; keep a year before using. They are quite equal to the West India limes. They require more vinegar than other pickles, as the lemons will swell out to their natural size. Lemon Jelly, for Layer Cake. Two cups of sugar, yolks of three eggs, juice of two lemons. Cook till thickened by setting in boiling water, and then add the well-beaten whites of three eggs ; spread between layers of cake. Lemon Cream. One pint of cream or new milk, yolks of two eggs, four ounces of white sugar, one large or two small lemons, and one ounce of gelatine. Put the cream into a sauce-pan with the sugar, lemon peel, and gelatine, and simmer over a gentle fire for ten minutes, stirring all the time ; then strain into a jug, add the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, and put the jug into a pot of boiling water ; stir the mixture one way until it thickens, but do not al- low it to boil ; take off and stir till nearly cold ; strain the lemon juice and stir in gradually till well mixed, then pour into a well-oiled mold. Preserved Lemon Peel is made according to recipe given for orange peel, or as follows : Make a thick syrup of white sugar, chop thick lemon peels very fine, and boil in the syrup ten minutes ; put in glass tumblers and paste paper over ; a teaspoonful of this conserve gives a delicious flavor to cakes, puddings, etc. 320 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. Lemon Syrup. Squeeze lemons, and strain juice care- fully; then place in a broad, open dish, and add all the granulated sugar it will dissolve ; let it stand for several days, and stir and add sugar occasionally till it will take up no more ; then bottle and seal closely ; keep in a dark place and cool as possible. A tablespoonful to a tumbler of water makes a refreshing summer drink. Nourishing Lemonade. Pint and a half of boiling water, juice of four lemons, rinds of two, and half pint of sherry, four eggs, and six ounces of white sugar. Pare the lemon rinds thinly, put it in a jug with the sugar, and pour on the boiling water ; let it cool, then strain it, add the wine, lemon juice, and well-beaten eggs, also strained, and the beverage will be ready for use. If desired, the sherry and water may be omitted and milk put in their place. Lemon Butter. One and a half cups of white sugar, whites of three eggs, yolk of one, grated rind, and juice of one and a half or two small lemons ; boil gently twenty minutes, stirring all the time. Nice for tarts or to be eaten as preserves. Lemons for Malaria. An Italian physician gives the following directions for preparing a remedy for malaria, which may be worth trying, as it is said to have proved efficacious when quinine has given no relief: Cut up a lemon, peel and pulp, in thin slices, and boil it in a pint and a half of water until it is reduced to half a pint; strain through a linen cloth, squeezing the remains of the boiled lemon, and set it aside until cold. The entire liquid is taken fasting. LIMES. Limes for Pickling, for Shipping to distant Markets. They should be a bright yellow when picked, which should be done carefully. Place in tight barrels or casks the same day they are picked, and cover at once with a HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 321 brine as salt only as sea-water ; then head up tight, and change water two or three times. Limes prepared in this way are ready for use at any time, either as pickles or pre- serves, by first freshening in clear water and then follow- ing other recipes. Pickled Limes are prepared exactly according to recipe given for pickled lemons, and are equally good. Preserved Limes. If the limes have been previously kept in brine, freshen by soaking in several waters ; then proceed as follows, same as if just picked : Take out the seeds and place in cold water for twenty-four hours, chang- ing the water several times ; boil until tender, in water to which a little soda has been added ; soak again in water for twenty-four hours, changing water as before ; the limes are now ready to preserve. To each pound of fruit take two pounds of white sugar and three pints of water; make a syrup first, drop the fruit into it, and cook long enough to become thoroughly heated through ; place limes in jars set in hot water, boil the syrup down a little and turn over them. Seal up the same as any other preserves. CITRONS. To Dry for Home or Market. Pick the fruit when green, just as it comes to maturity ; cut into four or six pieces; soak in clear water twenty-four hours, changing it several times, boil half an hour in water containing a little alum, and a few handfuls of green grass (Guinea preferred), or the leaves of the citron tree ; pour this off, and boil half an hour in thin syrup ; then weigh the citron and add an equal weight of white sugar to the syrup ; dip the citron into the latter two or three times, dry in the sun one day, the second day fill the cavities of the citron with the syrup, and continue to expose to the sun until thoroughly dry. This makes an excellent article for commerce, being of 322 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. superior quality to that sold usually in the stores. If you have a fruit drier so much the better. Preserved Citron. Never use ripe citron in any shape, it will not dry nor make a good preserve. Take green citron, full grown but young and tender, cut into four pieces, and take out pulp and seeds ; lay the citron in salt and water for twenty-four hours, take it out and scald it two or three times until the bitter is extracted ; then make a moderately thick syrup, and boil the citron in it gently until clear and translucent ; then flavor syrup with lemon juice, all-spice berries, stick cinnamon, and root ginger. Grape Fruit, or Pomola. This fruit is used only in its original state, eaten as an orange, or prepared for the table by carefully removing all the inner membranous skin and seeds, and then sugaring the fruit an hour or two before sending to table. The inner skins part readily from the pulp, which is very juicy, and great care should be taken not to leave any of the former clinging to the pulp, as it is very bitter ; properly prepared there it no fruit more refreshing than the pomola. The juice also makes a very pleasant drink, prepared the same as lemon- or lime-ade. TO PREPARE CITRONS FOR SHIPMENT. There are two methods of preparing the citrons when it is desired to ship them to a factory for purposes of pre- serving or evaporation. No. 1. Gather the fruit carefully, cutting the stem as you would an orange or lemon ; place it in a basket lined with moss, paper, or some other soft material, as it is im- portant not to bruise the skin. See that all possible blem- ishes, as of insects or dust, are cleaned off with a brush or a sponge dipped in cold water ; spread them out for several days. Sort the citrons into two classes ; those that are large, "i/ry C"' [(UNIVERSITY HOW TO USE FLORIDA plump, and free from blemish are to be marked "first class ;" inferior ones are " second class." Wrap the citrons in paper, and pack carefully in boxes, strongly made but smooth inside, between two and three hundred in a box. No. 2. Cut the fruit into halves or quarters, then pack it in casks with a sprinkling of salt ; then fill the casks with sea-water or its artificial counterpart. In twenty days open the casks, take out the fruit, and remove the pulp with a spoon; repack, and fill up again with sea- water, to which a little salt has been added. Lay the cask on its side with the bung open, that the gas may escape, and keep it thus until ready to ship. Commercial Candied Citron. Cut the fruit into halves or quarters, according to its size, put it in a tub or cask of brine, having first cleaned out the pulp, and leave it for a month ; then renew the salt water, and let the citron lie in it for four or five months, or as much longer as you choose ; this long process is necessary to eliminate the bit- ter principle from the rind, which it is otherwise impossible to remove entirely. Next, boil the fruit in fresh water until a fork will eas- ily pass through it ; it usually takes about an hour and a half to reach this point. Then put it in cold, fresh water, to remain there for at least twenty-four hours, when it will have turned to that light green color which we have learned to associate with candied citron. The next step is to drain the fruit, place it in earthen jars, and pour over it hot syrup of white sugar at twenty degrees sacchrometer ; cover it entirely, and let it stand for three weeks, but the syrup must be poured off twice a week, boiled, skimmed, and more sugar added each time until the syrup is a little thicker than it was at the first boil- ing ; turn it back over the fruit at boiling point. The three weeks elapsed, put the citron in a vessel containing the 324 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. syrup, with all the sugar it can dissolve ; let it boil for ten minutes ; and then for twenty-four hours keep it near the boiling point without letting it reach it, then boil it again until no more sugar can be taken up. The proportion of sugar absorbed in this process is about eighty pounds to one hundred of the citron rinds. The boiling completed, the rinds are spread on wire netting and dried, either in the sun, or, which is a far superior method, in an evaporator. The writer's experience proves the American Fruit Drier to be especially adapted to this process. PINE- APPLES. Pine-apple and Tapioca Pudding. Soak a teacupful of tapioca in a pint of water for two or three hours ; then add one quart of milk, two beaten eggs, two thirds of a cup of sugar, a little salt, and a tablespoonful of butter ; bake in a buttered dish, stirring occasionally at first ; when done it must be quite stiff; turn on to a platter and pour over a pint of canned pine-apple, or uncooked pine-apple, previously cut into little dice; sprinkle with sugar, and cover tightly for an hour or two before using. Serve cold. Pine-apple Champagne, or "Chichi." The latter is the proper title of this delicious and favorite drink of tropical countries; it is a Spanish name, and pronounced as if spelled chee-chee. Over the peelings of two small pine- apples pour one quart of boiling water ; allow it to steep until cold, then sweeten to taste, strain and bottle, corking tight ; tie down the cork and place the bottle on its side ; if placed in a warm place it will be ripe in twenty-four hours. A small piece of ginger placed in each bottle will improve the flavor. The whole pine-apple, chopped, can be used if desired. Pine - appleade. Boil the pine-apple or skins; allow HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 325 liquid to cool, then strain ; add lemon or lime juice, and sweeten to taste. Recipes for making a preserve or for candying pine- apples being found in all cook-books, we will not repeat them here. GUAVAS. Guava Jelly. This is a jelly that has a world-wide repu- tation, although the Havana article, so familiar to the public, is really no jelly at .all, but the fruit stewed down to a smooth mass — a marmalade, in fact. True guava jelly, as made by the following recipe, is as clear and beautiful as crab-apple or quince jelly, and varies in color from a pale amber to a light claret, according to the varie- ties of the fruit : Either the parings or the whole fruit (ripe, but not too ripe) cut up, may be used. It is a good plan, when par- ing guavas for the table (like peaches eaten with sugar and cream), to put the skins into a small kettle, with also the centers of the fruit containing a majority of the seeds, and make jelly of them, a few glasses at a time, as the guava jellies best in small quantities. Put just enough water in the kettle to keep the fruit from burning before the juices are extracted. Let it boil for an hour or more, until well cooked, then strain through a rather coarse bag; do not squeeze it at all, or if you do, strain it again through a fine cloth ; measure the juice, let it boil a few moments, then add granulated sugar, one and a half meas- ures to each one of the juice, also the juice of one or two lemons ; skim carefully, watch closely, and the moment it ropes, or falls in large drops, remove and place in glasses. Guava Paste. Take twelve pounds of guavas, not peeled, to eight pounds of white sugar ; reduce the sugar with water to a syrup clear and ready to sugar. Boil the guavas until they are thoroughly softened, then pass them 326 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. through a sieve and boil again until they are at the right point to harden, when the hot syrup is added. Test the mixture by dropping it in cold water ; if it solidifies it is ready for the boxes or cups. Spiced Guavas — Canned Guavas are prepared according to usual recipes for spiced and canned fruits. BANANAS. Fried Bananas. Peel and slice the fruit, sprinkle with salt, dip them in thin batter and fry in butter. Serve im- mediately. Frozen Banana Pudding. Make an ice-cream of two quarts of cream, one of milk, and one pound of white sugar ; stir this well together and freeze hard enough to put into a mold ; line the top of the mold with slices of banana about an inch apart, then a layer of ice-cream, then an- other layer of bananas and a little pounded sweet almonds, then ice-cream, and so on until the mold is full ; cover it with a cloth, put on the tin cover tightly, and pack it in salt and ice for three or four hours. Bananas sliced across make a pleasant addition to a dish of grape fruit. STRAWBERRIES. Strawberry Syrup and Strawberry Preserves. One gallon of capped strawberries will weigh six pounds when gath- ered fresh, and allowed to lie lightly without being mashed. For this quantity take one pound of best white sugar, either granulated or crushed loaf. In a china bowl put a layer of strawberries and a layer of sugar alternately, until all the sugar has been put in. Let them remain so for three or four hours to extract all the juice ; then with a skimmer dip up all the berries, and lay them on a col- ander to drain, without mashing them. When all the juice is drained from them strain it through a coarse linen HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 327 towel or piece of flannel ; then to every pint of juice put one pound of best white sugar. Put the juice and sugar into a stone jar, set the jar into an iron pot of cold water. Set the pot over the fire ; let it boil, stirring it occasionally to dissolve the sugar ; skim the froth off. When all the sugar is dissolved and the froth ceases to rise, take it off, let it cool, put it into bottles, cork tightly, and set them in a cool place. This syrup makes a delightful flavoring for ice-cream, and with the addition of a little lemon juice or vinegar and water makes an agreeable summer bever- age. After all the juice has been drained from the straw- berries they will weigh two pounds less than they did at first. Take then their reduced weight in crushed loaf sugar, and put a layer of the .berries and a layer of sugar ; put them in a stone jar, set the jar in a pot of cold water, set the pot over a brisk fire, and let the fruit boil until perfectly tender and transparent. Stir gently at first so as to dissolve the sugar without breaking the berries. The preserves require more cooking than the syrup. Strawber- ries preserved by this recipe keep much longer than when prepared in the usual way. If you wish the color of the strawberries to be bright, do not let pewter or tin come near them during the process of preserving, for either turns the color dull directly. OLIVES. Methods of Preparing Olives. In Italy the olives are prepared for the table in three ways. First, pickled green ; second, pickled ripe; and third, dried when ripe. The green olives are picked before they commence to change from the green color, and placed in a strong solution of lime to take out the oily substance, and are then conserved in water saturated with salt. The oil is taken from ripe olives bv the use of salt instead of lime. The olives for 328 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. drying are fully ripe, dried in the sun, or in an evaporator, packed tight in a jar with aromatic herbs to flavor the fruit. Oil is then turned over the fruit to exclude the air, but none is allowed to sink to the bottom of the jar, as it might become rancid. Pickled Olives. In Spain the green fruits for pickles are allowed to reach full size, but yet be green and hard, and are handled by a slow and a quick process. By the slow pro- cess the freshly picked olives are placed in fresh water, which must be changed daily for a fortnight ; the water must be drawn off and promptly replaced, leaving the fruit ex- posed to the air no more than possible. At first the water will be very bitter, but the bitter will decrease daily. The taste must determine the time required. When sufficiently soaked the olive must be placed in a pickle containing one volume of salt to fourteen of water. They may be kept in clean, well-soaked tubs without any repugnant flavor- ing, a layer of olive twigs and leaves being placed at the bottom to prevent injury from pressure, and another on the top, weighted down and covered with the pickle. They will be ready for bottling in four months. By the quick process a solution of two volumes of caus- tic soda and fourteen volumes of water is prepared and turned over the fruit. After remaining in soak an hour the olives must be sampled by cutting a few open to ascer- tain how far the solution has penetrated. The depth may be noticed by the color, and should not exceed one half the thickness of the pulp; when the proper depth is reached, the solution must be immediately drawn off and replaced quickly by fresh water, changing it three or four times, and leaving the last water on twenty-four hours. Brine, as for the slow process, is prepared, and the olives placed in it ; by this process the olives will be ready for use in thirty days. HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 329 Preserved in Oil. Ripe olives are preserved in oil by steeping them in oil, without other preparation, and sea- soned with fennel, coriander, salt, and pepper. GRAPES. Wild Grape Wine. The small wild grape, that grows wild in such luxuriance in the Florida hammocks, makes an excellent wine, as follows : Mash the grapes in a large tub or bowl, and let them stand until there are signs of fermentation setting in, then strain the juice by dripping through a flannel bag. To three quarts of juice add one quart of water and three pounds of light brown sugar. Put it away in a demijohn in a moderately warm place, and tie up the mouth of the demijohn closely with a piece of thin muslin. Do not cork until fermentation is com- plete. Domestic Grape Wine. Put twenty pounds of ripe grapes in a stone jar, and pour on them six quarts of boiling water; as soon as the water is cool enough squeeze the grapes with the hand ; cover the jar with a cloth and let it stand for three days, then press out the juice and add ten pounds of crushed sugar. After it has stood for a week skim, strain, and bottle it, corking loosely; when the fermentation is complete strain it again and bottle it, corking tightly. Lay the bottles on their side in a cool place. How to Keep Grapes. Take full bunches, ripe and per- fect ; cut the stem off smooth and seal by dipping it in hot sealing-wax ; let them lie one day to make sure they are perfectly sealed, if not, they will shrivel. If they are all right, pack them in a box in layers, with dry saw-dust or sand ; make the box as air-tight as possible. By this method they will keep for months in perfect condition. 28 330 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. FIGS. To Dry Figs. Gather the figs when the skins begin to crack (which is a sign of maturity, and that the fruit contains the largest amount of saccharine matter); make a strong lye of oak ashes or common cooking soda dissolved in hot water ; quickly dip the figs (in a wire basket) into the hot liquid, and remove immediately ; expose to the air for a minute or two and repeat the dipping. If the lye is hot and strong enough the color of the fig will immediately change, the dark varieties to a bright green, and the pale colored to a pale green. Place the figs upon trays made of wooden slabs, and expose to the sun, taking care not to allow the dew to fall upon them. After a few days they are ready to be put away in small wooden boxes, first put- ting a layer of spice, laurel, or bay leaves at the bottom, and another at the top ; put the lid on tight to keep insects out. Figs placed in a dry room will keep a long time. An evaporator, either purchased or such a one as is de- scribed in the chapter on guavas, will greatly facilitate the drying process ; but great care must be taken not to give too much heat. So soon as the figs show signs of secreting syrup, too much heat has been applied, and they will make only an inferior article. The fruit should be turned fre- quently in drying, and it is advisable to lightly press the fruit with the hand in order to flatten it. The light col- ored varieties are preferred for drying, although some of the dark-skinned, especially the Brown Turkey, make a very good article. Pickled Figs. Pick the fruit with the stems left on, it must be matured but not very soft; place it in a jar, sprinkle the layers with salt, in the proportion of a half pound to a peck of figs; pour on boiling water to cover, and let it stand twelve hours ; then put the fruit in a col- HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 331 ander, and rinse with clear, cold water. Fill jars with the figs; take strong vinegar, add a quarter of a pound of sugar to each quart ; boil, and pour the hot vinegar over the fruit. In filling the jars with the fruit, cinnamon bark, cloves, and any other spices desired should be scattered through it. Fig Pie. A delicate dessert. For each pie chop half a pound of figs (dried or fresh) very fine, and cook them up with a cup of cold water, or part cider or brandy and part water ; when the figs are soft and smooth, let cool, and add the yolk of an egg, put in crust and bake ; make a me- ringue of the white of the eggs beaten stiff, with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar beaten in it ; flavor with vanilla. As soon as the crust is done draw the pie to the oven door (don't take it out), spread this on top, and let it set for a minute or two, not longer. Fig Pudding. Three quarters pound of grated bread, half pound figs, six ounces suet, six ounces brown sugar, one teacupful of milk, and grate a little nutmeg ; chop figs and suet together, then mix in the bread, sugar, and milk, and lastly, one egg well beaten. Boil in a mold four hours; serve hot with sweet sauce. Fig Candy. One pound sugar, three quarters of a pint of water, and set over a slow fire ; when done, add a few drops of vinegar and a lump of sugar, and pour into jars in which slices of dried figs have been laid. Fig Jam. Peel when entirely ripe, and boil a few mo- ments until quite soft ; strain through a colander or coarse sieve ; add one half their weight in white sugar, and boil to the desired consistency. Flavor with lemon, pine-apple, or any thing preferred. This is a very delicate and deli- cious sweetmeat, and could be made a profitable article of commerce. Fig Jelly. Take fully ripe figs, peel carefully, put into 332 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM. a porcelain or preserving kettle, and add water enough to cover the fruit. Boil about twenty minutes, then strain, add sugar, say half a pound to each pint of fig juice, and boil again, from ten to twenty minutes, until it jellies. Cakes of Figs, similar to those mentioned in the Bible, are made by slowly stewing peeled ripe figs to a smooth pulp in a porcelain kettle, adding a little sugar and fla- voring matter, and stirring the mass constantly while cook- ing. When thoroughly done, and reduced to a smooth, thick pulp, free from lumps, pour into shallow pans or fancifully shaped molds, and dry slowly in stove or evap- orator. When fully dry wrap each cake in paper, and store away in a dry place. These cakes may be broken up and stewed for the dessert, or eaten from the hand like dried figs or dates. The fresh fig, as gathered from the tree, is a favorite dish, cut and sugared, and eaten with cream. It is also much used as an ordinary stewed fruit. INDEX. PAGE. Acre, Number of Trees to 75 Age Attained by Olives 201 Age of Orange Trees 10 America, Orange introduced by Spaniards into 12 " Orange Not a Native of 12 Analysis of the Orange 89 Antiquity of Grafting 44, 45 Ants as Enemies to Seedlings 32 Aphis, Remedy for 310 Ariky, from Sap of Cocoa-nut 224 Avacado, or Alligator Pear 239, 240 " Description of Fruit 240 Description of Tree 239 " Not Tropical, but Semi-tropical 240 " Value of Fruit 240 « Varieties 240 A Vast Field for Experiment 240 Banana Pudding, Frozen 326 Bananas, Best Location for 183, 184 « Fried 326 • " Fruiting Period 184, 185 " Hart's Choice, Horse 185 How to Plant 184 Suckers from 186 " Value of 182, 183 Will Not Endure Cold 183 " with Grape Fruit 326 Barren Trees, How to Treat 147-149 Beauty of an Orange Grove 9 Beginning, Recent, of Orange Culture 12-15 Birds, To Protect Fruit from 247, 248 Blackberries, " a Blessing Overlooked " 198 " Distance ; Cultivation 199, 200 " Indigenous to Florida 1 98 " Proper Soil for 199 (333) 334 INDEX. Bonner's Patent Compost = 92-95 " Borers," How to Destroy 274-276 Bud, Cocoa-nut, Various Uses of 225, 226 Budded Trees or Seedlings? 62-65 Budding Nursery Seedlings 36 Budding, Requirements for 38-41 Budding, Science of. 37-39 Budding, Shield 42-44 Bud " Pen " Not Recommended 41, 42 Buds, How to Select 41 Buds, To Secure Early Orange 309, 310 Buds, "Wrapping the 39, 40 Bug, Blood-red Lady, a Friend 103 Bug, Euthoctha galeator, Enemy 105 Bug, Leaf-footed Plant, Enemy 104 Bug, Mealy, Enemy 103 Bug, Twice-stabbed Lady, a Friend 102 Butterfly, Orange Puppy, Enemy 104 Buying One's Own Experience 15 Chestnut, Japan, Best 214 Profitable to Raise 214 Chickasaw Plum, Type 280, 281 Cisterns, Capacity of 151 Citron, Commercial, Candied 323, 324 " Orange, Lemon 165 Preserved 322 To Prepare for Shipment 322, 323 Value of 164, 165 Citrons, To Dry 321, 322 Cocoa-nut, Coir, for Cordage, stuffing Mats, Brooms, etc. 231, 232 " Drinking Bout of the Marquesans 231 " Jelly arid Milk, when Half-ripe 229 " " Legal Tender " in the Maldive Islands 229 " Medicinal Uses in Earliest Stage 229 « Oil Compressed from 230 Oil, Uses of 230, 231 Uses of the Shell 231 Cocoa-palm, A Lover of Sea Air 217 " Beacon to Mariners 217 Bearing Age. . , 233 INDEX. 335 Cocoa-palm, Birthplace Unknown 216 " Black Beetle, an Enemy 234 " " Bread " from the Stem 224 " Cement Made from Juices 226 " Cloth from the Leaves 226, 227 " Cradles from the Leaves 226 " Description of Stein 223 " Dipse : " Palm Wine " of the Ancients 224 " Distance Apart 233 " Good Soil, Salt Air 234 « Habits and Value of the Boots 222 " Height ; As Lightning Rods 221, 222 " in Ceylon 219 « in Florida ; 232, 233 " Legend of Discovery by Rotteh Rajah, Ceylon . 219-221 " Oars, Sails, Mats, etc 227-229 " Planting the . 233 Profits of a Cocoa-nut Walk 237 " . Rats Destructive to 234, 235 " Sandwich Island Laws Regarding 218 " Sugar, Toddy, Yeast, Vinegar 225 " To Prevent Rats from Ascending the Palm . .235-237 " Usefulness and Beauty 215 " Value to Islands of the Pacific Ocean 219 " Wide Geographical Range 218, 219 Compost, " Bonner's Process " 92-95 " Heaps, Value of 88 « How to Make 90-92 Condition of Stock and Scion 38 Cord for Measuring 151 Cordova, Old Orange Tree at 10 Cost of Clearing Land 55-60 Cost to Fence with Rails 60 Cost to Plow 60 Cultivation in Grove 78-80 Culture of the Lemon 152-158 Curing Oranges and Lemons 130-132 Die-back 108, 109 Diversify Production 300, 301 Drainage 33 336 INDEX. Drought Never Affects Olives 202 Dry Hammock Land 32 Early Bearing, To Command 148 Enemies, Cocoa-palm 234-287 Eucalyptus Tree, Preventive of Scale Insect 149, 150 Evaporating Fruits, etc 288-293 Evaporating Guavas 292, 293 Evaporator, "American," Superiority of 289-292 " Home-made 177, 178 " Value to a Family 291 Fertilizer, China-berry Tree as a 149 Fertilizers 88-97 Fertilize, When to 97 Fertilizing Bearing Trees 97 Fertilizing Young Trees '. 96, 97 Fig Candy 331 " Jam 331 " Jelly .331, 332 " Pie .331 " Pudding 331 Figs .258-265 " Adapted to Florida 258 " Cakes of 332 " Care in Transplanting 259 " Commercial Value of 263, 264 " Conditions Injurious to .258, 259 " Distance Apart, Forming the Head, and Pruning 259 " Fresh 332 " How Esteemed in Europe 260 " How to Plant Cuttings 263 " Kinds to Plant 261 " Little Cultivation Kequired 260 " Pickled 330, 331 " Requisites of Successful Culture 258 " To Dry 330 " Trees Started from Cuttings Fruit Quicker than Rooted Ones 262 " Value of the Fruit 260, 261 " Varieties Tested in Florida 264, 265 Florida a Field for Experiment 240 INDEX. 337 "Florida Fruit Exchange " 134 Florida Moss 29 Foliage Affected by Rust Mites 121 Freeze of January, 1886 294-301 Freeze of January, 1886, Extent of. 298 "Freeze, The," "A Blessing in Disguise " 299-301 Frost, Reasons for Injury from 298, 299 Frost, Mulching with Regard to 83 Fruit Drier, American 289-292 Grafting and Budding almost Identical 37 " by Inarching 46, 47 " Clay, How to Prepare 48 Cleft 49 Crown 49, 50 " Japanese Persimmon 306-309 " Several Methods of 46-51 " " Side " and " Ring " 50, 51 Wax 40,41 Whip , 47, 48 Grafts, To Remove Wraps from 50 Grape Fruit 166 Grape Fruit, How to Eat 322 Grape Grafting 308, 309 Grape Mildew, Remedy 310 Grape Rot, Remedy 310 Grapes, Bullace, Most Reliable 241 " " Bearing Capacity 244 " " Distance Apart 242 " " How to Layer 241, 242 " « To Prevent Bleeding 243, 244 " " Training and Pruning 242, 243 " Concord, Delaware, Clinton, Diana, Hartford Pro- lific, Goethe, Wilder, Mrs. McClure, Peter Wylie, Benckman's 246. 247 « How to keep 329 " Kept for Months 249 Other Varieties for Florida 247 " Picking and Packing 248, 249 " Protection from Birds 247, 248 " Remedies for Leaf-rollers 248 29 338 INDEX. Grapes, Scuppernong 244, 245 " Tender-pulp, Pedee 245 " Thomas, Flowers , 245 Grape Wine, Domestic 329 Wild 329 Grove, How to Lay Out 70, 71 How to Set Trees 74, 75 Guava, Common, Value 179, 180 " Common, Varieties 180, 181 " Hardy, Cattley 181 Hardy, Chinese 182 Jelly 325 Paste (Commercial « Jelly ") 325, 326 Guavas, About Evaporating 177, 178 " Bear in Eighteen Months 1 78 " Evaporating 292, 293 " Time of Blooming 182 Winter Protection for 179, 180 Hammock Lands 54 Hammocks, How to Clear 55, 56 Hard-pan or Clay 33 " High Prices " of Bearing Groves. 17 How to Cultivate ." 76-80 How to Plant Trees 70-75 How to Succeed 18, 19 Humus must be in the Soil 89, 90 Importance of Good Seed 27, 28 Importance of Good Stock 27 Insect Enemies 98-106 Insect Enemies of the Peach 274-277 Insect Friends 102, 103 Insect Leaf-rollers 248 Insect Kemedies 106-109 Italy, Production of Lemons 147 Japan Medlar, or Plum 282 Japanese Persimmon, Propagated by Cuttings 308 " " Seedlings Sport 285 " " Stock for Grafting 307 " " Tree and Fruit 285,286 " " Time to Graft.. ..308 INDEX. 339 Japanese Persimmon, Value 284, 285 " " Varieties 285-287 " " Whip " Graft Preferred 308 Japan Plum, Kelsey's 282, 283 Labels for Fruit Trees 332 Ladder for Gathering Fruit 129 Land, Hammock, How to Clear 55, 56 " Pine, Best for Nursery 32, 33 " Pine, How to Clear 57-60 " Pine or Hammock 54-57 Lands, Low, for a Grove 52, 53 Laying Out a Nursery 33, 34 Leaf-rollers, Remedy against 248 Leaves of the Cocoa-nut 226 " Cloth from Cocoa-nut 226, 227 " Cocoa-nut, Various Uses 227-229 Lemonade for Invalids 320 Lemon Culture 152-158 " Cream 319 " Culture, Why so Recent 154, 155 " Eureka 158 Jelly (for Cake) 319 11 Kinds in Demand 157, 158 " Less Hardy than Orange 153, 154 " Napoleon, August, Belair, Premium 160 Peel, Preserved 319 " Seedlings Not Desirable 154 " Soil for 153 " Syrup 320 " Tincture 319 " Villa Franca, Lemon of, Genoa, Sicily, French's Seedling, Bijou, Variegated 159 Lemons, Curing for Shipment 155 " First Crops Coarse 156 " for Malaria 320 " Large, Not Salable 156, 157 " Not to be Pruned 152, 153 " Pickled 319 " What Stock to Bud on 156 Limes ..161-164 340 INDEX. Limes, for Pickling to Ship to Distant Markets 320, 321 " How to Cure for Shipping 162, 163 Pickled 321 " Preserved 321 Tahiti, Florida, Sweet, Persian 164 " Value of. 161-163 Will Not Bear Cold 161, 162 Locate Near Transportation 60 " Making " an Orange Grove 15-17 Mango, Description, Tree, and Fruit 238 " Dodol, Largest Variety 239 " Florida Markets at present Key West and New Or- leans , 239 " Fruit Will Not Stand Shipping 239 " Highly Esteemed in India 239 " Eising into Prominence for South Florida 238 " Soil, High and Sandy 239 " Usually True from Seed 238 " Will Not Bear Frost 239 Manufactory of Citric Acid 163 Manure, Stable 95, 96 Mealy-bug 103 Measures, Boxes, One Acre, Cistern 150 " Plants and Trees to Acre .150 " Preventive, against Mites 123 Measuring-cord, How to Make 151 Medlar, Japan. 282 Mites, Attack followed by Kust 113, 114 Mites, Influence of Soil on 122, 123 How Spread Abroad 120, 121 " Peculiar to Citrus Fruits 121 Prefer Half-shade 118 Mite Bust, Description of 114-117 " Numerical Abundance 117 Eemedies 125-127 Mulching, Methods of 84, 85 " Orange Trees 81-85 Seeds 29, 30 Nursery, How to Lay Out 33, 34 " To Select Ground for a 32, 33 INDEX. 341 Nursery, Value of a Home 36 Nut Trees, English Walnut 213 " Japan Chestnut 213 " Pecans 207-213 Soil Best for 213 " White Walnut 213 Nuts Will Become One of Florida's Leading Productions 213 Oil, Cocoa-nut, Uses of 230, 231 Olive, Description, History 201 Distance of Trees in Orchard , 204 Ease of Propagation 203, 204 " Great Age Attained by the 201 " Imported into United States 203 " Introduced in California 202 " Method of Gathering 205 Oil Very Profitable 202, 203 Preparing Them for Oil 205, 206 " Qualities of Oil 205, 206 Kich Land Not Needed 203 " Successfully Fruited in Florida 201 Varieties of the 206, 207 When to Gather Fruit 204 Olives, Methods of Preparing 327, 328 Pickled 328 " Preserved in Oil 329 Orange, Beach's No. 1 136 " Beach's No. 2, Charley Brown, St. Michael, Beach's No. 3, Homosassa 136 " Boxes and Paper . . ,. 132, 133 " Buds Preserved for Months 309, 310 " Champagne 317 " Cream 315, 316 " Flower Candy 318 " Groves, Great Value of 17, 18 " Groves, How to Cultivate 76-80 " Growing a Business 16-18 " How to Fertilize 88-97 Jelly 315 " Magnum Bonum, Nonpariel, Navel, Tangierine 137 " Mandarin, China, Moragne's Tangierine, Bijou 138 342 INDEX. Orange Marmalade, No. 1 314 " Marmalade No 2 314 " Not Indigenous to America 12 " Oldest Florida Trees but Babies 15 " Peel 302, 303 " Peel, Preserved 315 " Philip's Bitter-sweet, Maltese Blood 141 " Preserved 315 " Satsuma, Spice, Acis, Beach's No. 6, Hart's Tardiff . . 1 40 " £lour, Preserves 317 " Sweet, Preserves 317, 318 " Temperature it Will Stand 299, 300 " Tincture 316 " Trees, How to Prune 85-87 " Vinegar 313, 314 " Wild 12, 13 " Wine, as Made in Sicily 316 « Wine, Medicinal Value of . . .302 " Wine, No. 1 312 " Wine, No. 2 312 " Wine, No. 3 313 " Wine, Sour, No. 1 316 " Wine, Sour, No. 2 316, 317 Orange Blossoms Utilized 318 Oranges, Best Varieties .135-141 Bright versus Kusty 105, 122 " Curing for Shipment 130-1 32 " Discoloration or "Kust " 110, 111 How to Gather 128-130 " How to Utilize the Eefuse 301-303 " Preserved for Months 134 « Sorting and Packing 132, 133 " Summer, How to Have 303, 304 Original Home of the Orange 11 " Overproduction," Fallacy of, 142-147 Packing Oranges Away in Sand-pit 134 Pageny Sugar from Cocoa-nut Sap 225 Palm Wine from Cocoa-nut Tree 224 Parnell's Great Peach Orchard 279 Peach, History of the 266-269 INDEX. 343 Peaches Adapted to Florida 269-271 Peaches, Best Fertilizer for 273 " Budded on Plum Stock 280 Curl-leaf in 278, 279 " How to Destroy the Borer 274-276 " How to Prune 273,274 Late Growth of Bearing Trees 272 Number to the Acre, and How to Plant 271, 272 Thorough Cultivation Kequired 272 " Seven Months of the Year 271 Value of Peach Orchards 271 When to Set Out 280 " "Worst Enemy, the Borer, 274 " Yellows " in 277, 278 Pears, Blight-proof :rTft 251 " Chinese Sand Pear Race 250-252 « Chinese Sand, Quince Stock Poisonous to 304, 305 " Description of Kieffer's Hybrid 255 " " Cocklin's Sha-Lea 256 « Garber's Hybrid 255, 256 " Grows from Cuttings 253 " Handling and Packing , 257 " History of Kieffer's Hybrid 254, 255 " Le Conte, Origin 252, 253 " Proper Soil for Chinese 251 " Time of Eipening and Picking 253, 254 " Unexampled Prolificacy 253 Pecans Adapted to Florida 207 " Best Months for Planting 209 Better, but Not Necessary, to Plant Nuts in Field. .208 " Fallacies Concerning 207, 208 in Nursery, When to Set Out 208 " Need No Cultivation 209 " Oldest Bearing Orchard in Florida, Blackwater, Santa Eosa County 210 " Oldest Orchard on Kecord in America 210 " One Enemy, the Borer 211 Orchard as Permanent Pasture 209 " Protection on Setting Out 209 " Rich Soil Not Required 208 344 INDEX. Pecans, Varieties in Mr. Brown's Orchard, Santa Kosa County, Florida 212 " This Orchard Abandoned for Twenty Years without Injury 212, 213 " Yield and Value 210 Pen Budding, Against 41, 42 Persimmon, Description of Tree and Fruit 284, 285 " Japanese 284-287 Value to Florida 284 " Varieties of 286-287 Pine-appleade 324, 325 Pine-apple and Tapioca Pudding 324 " Champagne 324 Pine-apples 167-176 " Care in Handling and Packing 175 " How Propagated 168, 169 " How to Cultivate 171 " How to Koot Plants 169, 170 " in its Wild State 176 Proper Soil for 167, 168 " Shelter from Excessive Kains 176 " Spanish, Sugar-loaf, Egyptian Queen, Cayenne. 173, 174 " To Control Fruiting of 175 « To Prepare Ground for 170, 171 " Winter Protection for 172, 173 Planting Trees in Grove .74, 75 " Nursery Seedlings 35, 36 Plants and Trees to an Acre 150 Plant, Where to 52-61 Plowing in Grove Injurious 77, 78 Plums, Chickasaw Kipened Indoors 281 " Varieties of Chickasaw, 281 " Chickasaw Type, Free from Curculio 280, 281 " Japan, Value, Time of Kipening 282 " Kelsey's Japan. 282 " " " Points of Value 283 " Moist Land for 280 Pomola, or Grape Fruit 166 Preparation of Lemons for Market 155 Preparing Land for Grove 70 INDEX. 345 Preventives for Borers 276, 277 Prices of Orange Trees N 68, 69 Protection by Forest Trees 55, 56 Protection of Fruit from Birds 247, 248 Protection, Water 60, 61 Pruned, Lemons Not to be 152, 153 Pruning Orange Trees 85-87 Kaspberries Worthy of Trial 200 Kats in Cocoa-nut Palms 234, 235 Eemedies, Die-back 108, 109 " for Enemies of the Peach 274-279 « for Kats in Cocoa-nut Palms 235-237 " Lichens, Smut, Honey-dew 108 Mealy-bug 108 " Orange-puppy 108 " Scale insect 106, 107 Kemedy for Aphis 310 " Grape-rot 310, 311 " Mildew 310 Kemoval of Trees from Nursery to Grove 73, 74 Roots of Cocoa-nut and Uses. 222 " Tap, Cutting Beneficial 209 Bust Mite 110-127 Bust, Proof of Cause 111-114 '• Bings on Oranges 118 " Busty" Oranges 110, 111 Sand, Packing Oranges in 134 Scale Insect, How Introduced 98, 99 Scale Insects, Enemies of 102, 103 Scale, Mussel-shell 100, 101 " White 101 Scions, How to Choose 41 Seed-beds, to Lay Out 30 Seedlings Eaten by Ants 32 How to Set Out 35, 36 " Less Valuable than Budded Trees 62-65 " Shelter for 31 " When to Bud 36 Seeds, How to Select and Plant 27-31 " Lost by Over-watering 29 346 INDEX. Seeds, To Separate from Pulp 30 Shaddock, Mammoth Blood 165, 166 Shelter for Orange Trees 55, 56 Shellac Coating for Tree-wounds 310 Sheets of Iron for Cocoa-palms 235, 236 Sheets of Zinc and Tin for Cocoa-palms 236, 237 Shield Budding 42-44 Site for a Nursery 32, 33 Skill Kequired in Grafting 46 Soil Suited for Oranges 54 Sour Stock from Hammocks 65, 66 Spider, Ked, Kemedy for 310 Stable Manure, How to Save 95, 96 Stems, Boat Made from Cocoa-nut 223 Stock and Scion 38 Stock, Importance of Good 27 Stocks for Budding 66-68 Strawberries, Best Fertilizer for 195, 196 " "Best Fruit, Best Prices " 197 " Best Season to Plant 195 « Care in Setting Out 192-194 " Cultivation of 191 « Examples of Profits 188, 189 « Laying Off the Ground for 190, 191 « Mulch for .192 " New Beds Not Needed Yearly 195 " Number to Acre 198 « One of Florida's Great Crops 187, 188 « Picking and Packing 198 " Preparing the Ground 191 " Proper Location for 190 « Kapid Transit for 187, 188 " Shelter During Summer 194, 195 " • System of Planting 190,191 Varieties Best Suited 196, 197 Strawberry Syrup and Preserve 326, 327 Successful Orange Growers 19-25 Sun-scald, How to Avoid 305, 306 Suri, Juice of Cocoa-nut Bud 225 Tap-roots, Beneficial to Cut 209 INDEX. 347 " Toddy," Sweet Juice of Cocoa-nut Bud 225 Transplanting from Nursery 68 Transportation Facilities 60 Travels of the Orange 11 Trees, Care in Removing 73, 74 « Distance Apart .71-73 " Size to Purchase 68, 69 Value of a Home Nursery 36 " an Orange Tree 25 -Orange Groves 18-26 " Orange Groves, Rapid Increase in 22-26 « the Art of Grafting 45, 46 Varieties of Oranges 135-141 Vegetable Marrow, or Avacado 239, 240 Walnut, Distance Apart 213 " English : 213 " White or Butternut 213 Washes, Rust Mite 126-127 Scale Insect, No. 1 106 No. 2 107 No. 3 107 « « No.4 107 Water Protection 60 Water-Supply 33 Waxed Strips, Superiority of 40 Weather, Influence on Rust 119 When to Graft 45 Where to Plant Orange Trees 52-61 Who Will Succeed as a Grower 18, 19 Wild Orange Trees 12, 13 Wood of Cocoa-nut called « Porcupine Wood " 224 Woodpecker, a Word for the 276, 276 Worm, Pecan, Good Remedy 211 "Yellows " in Peach Trees 277, 278 '^s iJyww CQ27325fit,0