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FLORIDA FRUITS 



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HOW TO RAISE THEM 



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BY V 



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HELEN HAROOUETj(^ c ^ . i , 



RSYISED AND ENLARGED EDITION, WITH ELABORATE INDEX 

07 SUBJECTS. 



' ■ ■ . / / . >^. 






LOUISVILLE, KY. 
JOHN P. MORTON AND COMPANY. 

1886 



v.T-A 









COPYRIGHTED BY 
JOHN P. MORTON ^Lia> COMPANY 

1886 



ROBERT ROWELL, 

Electrotype and Stereotype Foundry , 

LOUISVILLE, KT. 



-X 



PREFACE. 



In lapng the present revised and enlarged edition of 
** Florida Fruits and How to Raise Them" before the 
public, the writer gives tangible expression to the growing 
belief that not in the citrus fruits alone will Florida find 
the Alpha and Omega of her horticultural wealth. 

While oranges are now, and will probably continue to 
be, the chief staple in such sections of our great State as 
are best suited to their culture, there are numerous other 
fruits making, year by year, rapid strides to the front. 

A few years ago the question waa, ** What can be grown 
in Florida r 

To-day the question is, "What can not be grown in 
Florida?" 

For instance, it was said that strawberries could not be 
raised in quantity ; already, in the last three years, they 
have won recognition as one of the most profitable "quick 
crops'* that can be raised any where. 

"Peaches could not be grown in Florida" was the 
assertion only four or five years ago, and now it has been 
proven that peaches can not only be grown over nearly the 
whole State, but grown in abundance and in perfection. 
The peach crop is already a very important item in the 
western and central sections, and yearly becoming more 
extended both in quantity and area. 

(6) 



6 PREFACE. 

And so we might go over a long list of fruits already 
proven to be adapted to Florida's soil and climate, but 
these examples will suffice to show that in the horticultural 
possibilities of our beautiful sunny State we stand yet 
upon the threshold. 

And as it is with the list of fruits, so it is, in a great 
degree, with the manner of their culture ; to a certain ex- 
tent we yet grope in the twilight, and must be content to 
observe, to inquire, to compare, to study, to experiment, 
seeking to avoid the errors of some and to imitate the 
successes of others. 

To place at the service of the Florida fruit grower the 
result of years of patient observation and experience, both 
personal and collected from trustworthy sources, in a plain, 
concise, and practical form, so that the veriest novice may 
make a success of his new pursuit in his Florida home, has 
been the earnest purpose of the author. How far and in 
what degree this purpose may have been attained, it is 
left to the reader to decide. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. PAOE. 

Bisi AND Pboobxsb OF Obakob Gulturv 9-17 

CHAPTER II. 
The Value of Orange Groves 18-26 

CHAPTER III. 
From Seed to Grove 27-86 

CHAPTER IV. 
How TO Bud and Graft 87-61 

CHAPTER V. 
Where to Plaht.. 62-61 

CHAPTER VL 
Budded Trees or Seedlings? 62-69 

CHAPTER VII. 
How to Plant 70-75 

CHAPTER VIII. 
How TO Cultivate 76-80 

CHAPTER IX 
Mulching and Pruning 81-87 

CHAPTER X. 
How TO Fertilize 88-97 

CHAPTER XI. 
Enemies and How to Fight Them 98-109 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Rust Mite 110-127 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Gathering and Packing 128-134 

CHAPTER XIV. 
About Varieties 135-141 

CHAPTER XV. 
Miscellaneous , 142-151 



8 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Lemok Cttltube 152-160 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Other Citrus Pruits 161-166 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Pine-apples 167-176 

CHAPTER XIX. 
GuAVAS AND Bananas 177-186 

CHAPTER XX. 
The Small Fruits 187-200 

CHAPTER XXL 
Olives and Pecans 201-214 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Cocoa-nuts 216-237 

CHAPTER XXIIL 
Other Tropical Fruits 238-240 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Grapes 241-249 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Chinese Sand Pears ' 250-257 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Figs 258-265 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Peaches and Plums 266-283 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Japanese Persimmon, or Date Plum 284-287 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Evaporating Fruits 288-293 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Odds and Ends 294-311 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
How TO Use Florida Fruits 312-332 



CNIVEESJ'J Y 



FLORIDA FRUITS. 



»♦« 



CHAPTER I. 

RIBE AND FROOBES6 OF ORANGE CULTURE. 

Throughout the length and breadth of the horticultural I 
world there is at this moment, and will be for years to 
come, no one tree or &uit possessing so all-absorbing an 
interest as the far-famed, luscious orange. And good rea- 
son there is for this pre-eminence of the *' golden apple," 
as we shall presently see — its fame is not built upon a 
sandy foundation, but upon a gold-bearing rock, and as 
such it shall stand forevermore. 

An orange grove is at all times intrinsically beautiful, 
whether laden down with its yellow fruit glistening amid 
the dark green foliage, or standing clothed in the glossy 
glory of the latter alone, or dotted all over with its starry 
white blossoms, and filling the balmy air with their sweet 
breath. 

Most truly "a thing of beauty and a joy forever" is an 
orange grove to its happy possessor, and in using the word 
** forever," we do so advisably, for no one who owns a grove 
at the present day will live to see its decay, or the failure 
of one jot or tittle of its usefulness, rather the contrary, j 

We remember reading a rather sarcastic story of some 
young girls, who, to settle a disputed point, applied to a 
maiden lady of eighty years with the question : 

(9) 



10 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

'' How old must a woman be before she gives up all hope 
of getting married?" 

The old lady (so the story runs) shook her head, and 
made reply : 

'* Girls, you must ask some one older than I am." So 
with the orange tree. 

At Cordova, that far-famed seat of ancient Moorish 
splendor and luxury, there are still remaining a number 
of monster orange trees, known to be seven hundred years 
old; their trunks are partly h(^ow, their bark cracked 
and rugged, and yet each year these doughty old giants 
yield up their seven and ten thousands of large, luscious 
golden balls, as though yet in the hey-day of their youth ; 
and who knows? perhaps they are! Certainly, as yet, 
they show no intention of dying of old age, nor of retiring 
on half pay, nor of shirking the active business of their 
lives, and doubtless if one versed in their native tongue 
were to say to them : 

''How old must an orange tree be before it ceases to 
bear?" they would shake their great, bushy heads and 
reply : 

" You must ask older trees than we are." 

Even in England, at Hampton Court, where the tree is 
raised only as a curiosity, and is carefully sheltered under 
glass, there are several, the register of whose birth bears 
date of over three hundred years ago. 
^ '^ So you see it is no rash assertion, this of ours, that no 
orange grove owner will live to see his trees cease to yield 
him an income, and a good one too, if he but treats them 
with moderate kindness, unless, indeed, some extraordinary 
extraneous cause supervenes to destroy them, such as fire 
or flood, which may be reckoned as among the impossibil- 
l_ities. 

Before referring in detail to the mode of culture pur- 



RISE AND PROGRESS OF ORANGE CULTURE: 11 

sued in Florida, in raising this justly celebrated fruit, a 
brief glance at its origin may not be amiss. 

An earnest naturalist, Galessio, was the first to trace its 
history with any degree of authenticity, and the result of 
his careful researches he published to the world in hia 
*^ Traits du OUruSy" issued in Paris in the year 1811. 

According to this author the Arabs, penetrating further 
into the interior of India than any foreign nation had done 
before, discovered the orange family flourishing there, and 
held in high esteem by the natives. 

From this point the Arabs conveyed the sweet, now 
called China oranges, into Persia and Syria; and the bitter 
orange, now called the Seville, found its way into Arabia, 
Egypt, the North of Africa, and Spain. From these points 
the orange traveled into other countries, notably China, 
and in this latter empire it so flourished and spread far 
and wide, that by and by it came to be a fiction believed 
in by Europeans that the orange was indigenous to China. 

Galessio shows, however, that the so-called "China 
orange" is by no means a spontaneous production of that 
country, and his statement is further corroborated by the 
absence of all mention of this &uit in the exceedingly 
minute and circumstantial account given by the father 
of modem travelers, Marco Polo, of the productions of 
China. 

The orange was not known to the ancients, either in 
Europe or Syria, and the palm of its introduction to the 
world must be accorded to the Arabians, whose anxiety for 
the extension of medical and agricultural knowledge was 
almost equal to their zeal for the propagation of the Koran. 

The sweet orange which they carried to Spain spread 
thence into Portugal, Sicily, St. Michael, and the Meditei> 
ranean islands, and the West Indies. 

In each and all of these various places has the diflerence 



12 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

in climate and soil produced varieties and changes in the 
characteristics of the original common stock, so that in these 
days the Bicily, St. Michael, Maltese, Havana, and a great 
number of others are well-known and established varieties 
of this noble fruit. To suppose, as many do, that the 
orange is a spontaneous production of the soil of the New 
World is to make a great mistake ; only where the early 
Spanish or Portuguese landed and penetrated into the 
country is the wild orange of America to be found. 

On the banks of the Rio Cedeno, in the midst of a great 
forest, Humboldt, to his amazement, came upon a broad belt 
of wild orange trees, laden with large, sweet, and most de- 
licious fruit. " Surely these must then be indigenous to the 
soil," he thought ; but subsequent inquiry led to the discov- 
ery that those grand old trees had once formed a portion of 
extensive groves planted by the Indians from seeds obtained 
from their early Spanish visitors and conquerors. And to 
this same source does Florida owe her beautiful wild groves ; 
only here, whether by the accident of soil or seed, the wild 
fruit is sour not sweet. 

Ponce de Leon and his successors, but most of all the 
unfortunate French colony, barbarously massacred by cruel 
Menendez, "not as Frenchmen but as Lutherans,** were 
directly instrumental in introducing into the *'Land of 
Flowers" the noble fruit that is rapidly becoming the 
chief source of wealth and happiness to its adopted home. 
Briefly, the orange is not a native but a naturalized citizen 
of the United States. 

Looking ba<5k only a few years from our present point 
of enlightenment as to the inestimable value of this once 
neglected tree, it is very hard to understand how it is that 
the native Floridian did not long ago wake up to the real- 
ization of the wealth within his grasp, of the golden apple 
lying neglected at his feet. And yet there were, it is true, 



RISE AND PBOGRESS OF ORANOE CULTURE. 13 

several causes conducing to perpetuate this strange blind- 
ness. For one thing, Florida, though it contains within its 
borders the oldest city by forty years in the United States, 
has ever been, owing to a conjunction of circumstances, 
one of the least known and most sparsely settled of them 
all ; owned first by one European power, then by another, 
before finally passing into the Federal States; torn and 
distracted by Indian wars and raids, and lying in a remote 
comer of the Union, completely out of the general line of 
travel, it is not to be wondered at that Florida was, except 
to a very few, a sealed book. It is true that there were a 
a few intelligent, wide-awake Southerners who held the 
orange at an approximate to its true value, but these men 
were content to set out and cultivate their trees on a com- 
paratively small scale, and they never penetrated further 
into the country than the' St John's Biver and St. Augus- 
tine, where, too often, a severe frost would injure the ten- 
der trees and discourage their owners. 

Beyond the points just mentioned few settlers were to be 
found, and those few were, almost to a man, of a low and 
ignorant class; men who were satisfied to saunter lazily 
through their days, existing on "pork and hominy," or 
whatever else was "easy to grow, and could take care of 
itself,'* in which category were included vast herds of cat- 
tle, which ever and anon they drove to the nearest sea-port 
for shipment to the West Indies. To such as these the 
luscious sweet orange of Europe, so well known in the 
Northern States, was a boon unknown and undreamed of; 
they knew, it is true, that, scattered over the central and 
southern portions of Florida, were wild groves of beau- 
tiful trees, bearing a large, yellow fruit, but that fruit 
was exceedingly bitter and sour, and held by them in no 
esteem. 

It was not until our unhappy civil war had come to a 



14 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

close, and the anden regime was broken up, that a new 
people began to press beyond the borders of Florida, bring- 
ing in their midst the commencement of a new era in its 
hitherto stagnant civilization. 

Even then it was some time before the attention of these 
new-comers was drawn to the capabilities of the wild sour 
orange groves scattered all around them in the rich ham- 
mock lands, and the first bold pioneer who ventured to ex- 
periment upon their true value, met, as is usual in such 
cases, with no encouragement from his neighbors, but 
rather determined opposition and ridicule. 

A case, in illustration, was related to the writer recently 
by a neighbor, a lady who is now the proud owner of sev- 
eral fine bearing groves : Fourteen years ago she removed 
with her family from the northern part of the State down 
into the "Great Lake Kegion," and "Orange Center," 
building a home in the piny woods for the sake of health. 
The want of shade was at once apparent ; to supply this 
desideratum several large sour orange trees were trans- 
planted from a wild grove near by. They flourished ex- 
ceedingly well, but their fruit was allowed to rot upon the 
ground uncared for. One day there came a stranger, who 
argued so eloquently upon the great gain to be obtained by 
cutting their tops off*, and inserting buds from a sweet 
orange in their trunks, that, sorely against the will of our 
informant, her husband proceeded to follow the stranger's 
advice. "I scolded and cried, and cried and scolded," she 
said, "but it was of no use; the tops of those splendid 
trees were sawed off, and the little green sticks the stranger 
gave us were put into the bark of the poor bare trunk. 
In a few months, seeing how fast the buds were growing, 
I began to think perhaps there was some truth in the 
stranger's words, and in three years, when I saw a fine 
crop of splendid oranges, the sweetest I had ever tasted, I 



RISE AND PROGRESS OF ORANGE CULTURE. 15 

blessed the stranger, and thanked my husband for cutting 
off the tops. We succeeded, some time after, in getting a 
few sweet oranges from New Orleans, and planted the seed, 
and some of our neighbors did the same ; we also budded 
a few more sour stumps. But even then none of us' ever 
dreamed of making a business of raising oranges to sell. 
We knew so little of the North, and were so shut out from 
the busy world, that it has only been within the last eight 
or ten years that our people have really waked up and 
begun to plant out groves in earnest." 

Having thus endeavored to show why this great industry 
of the future has lain so long in abeyance in a land where 
all the essentials of its pursuit, even to the wild fruit itself, 
have existed ever since its earliest settlement, we will pass 
at once to the practical details of orange culture. 

At the very outset the Florida orange grower labors 
under a disadvantage ; his business is a new one, and con- 
sequently he is, to a considerable extent, dependent on a 
series of experiments. The new-comer finds but a limited 
store-house from which to draw his practical information ; 
his neighbors have bought and are stiQ buying their own 
experience, and he must do the same in a great measure, 
for the points in orange culture on which all growers agree 
are very few. How can it be otherwise with an industry 
which is only in its infancy ? 

The oldest orange trees in Florida are but babies, as 
it were, and comparatively few, out of the thousands of 
groves set out, have even as yet reached the age of matu- 
rity ; it will be many years still before orange culture will 
have reached the perfection of a science, as has the culture 
of the older orchard fruits of th# North. 

We are apt, at a distance, to associate poetry and ro- 
mance with the very name of an orange grove, but when 
one sets to work in earnest to " make" one for himself, the 



16 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

cold, stem facts that ever beset the business life of man 
come to the surface, and he learns that some money, more 
time and labor, muscle, patience, and perseverance are 
necessary before his embryo grove becomes self-sustaining. 

It is not play to plant and conduct an orange grove from 
infancy to bearing and paying maturity, and it is because 
the- idea that it is all play, all " fun," to ''make a grove" 
has been so prevalent, that there have been so many disap- 
pointments, so many discontents returning to the North 
with the report that ** orange groves are humbugs." 

The more thoroughly the incoming settler realizes that 
orange and other fruit growing is a regular business, re- 
quiring, like other business pursuits, the investment' of 
more or less capital, ^nd a good deal of care, time, judg- 
ment, and perseverance — the more thoroughly he realizes 
this, we say, the better prepared he will be to meet and 
conquer the various vicissitudes and drawbacks that are 
sure to occur during the long years of work and waiting 
that must be encountered before he can sit down at last 
for the rest of his life in the enjoyment of a good and 
steadily increasing income. 

Far be it from our wish to discourage the would-be 
orange grower, rather would we urge him who seeks health 
and competence, aye, more, wealth, to come to Florida 
and make unto himself a "Fortunatus* purse" of the 
golden orange, but we would have him come realizing that 
here, as elsewhere, the great law of nature, which decrees 
that nothing that is worth the having can be obtained with- 
out toil and patience, is in full operation. 

So many have come to Florida full of enthusiasm, full 
of the idea that it was only necessary to stick the trees in 
the ground, any where and anyhow, and then sit with 
their hands in their pockets, as it were, for a year or two, 
in order to reap a full grown fortune, that we feel it our 




RISE AND PROOREBfi HP miC^tJll jlJHUHll^< 17 

bounden duty to give full warning that though an orange 
grove is a glorious thing to own, and will give its possessor 
competence and wealth, it is not to be obtained without 
time, labor, and patience, or their equivalent in money. 
The latter, when the settler is fortunate enough to be able 
to purchase a grove ready made. 

And right here is another point to which we would call 
attention : 

We often hear complaints of the "high prices" asked 
for bearing groves; now, these so-called high prices are, 
as a rule, very low prices in reality, when one stops to 
consider the years of toil and care and perseverance that 
have gone to " make" each grove, through all the time of 
their slow growth; not only so, but what of the actual 
money value of said grove? 

Why does the would-be purchaser want to buy? 

Because he expects a good income, from his grove ? Ex- 
actly so. And now we will ask one more question : 

If he went to an office where annuities were sold, would 
he expect to purchase an annuity, annually increasing in 
amount, for a mere nothing ? Scarcely I 

Yet that is just what these men who are not willing to 
pay a fair price for an orange grove are seeking to do. 



18 • FLORIDA FRUrre — ORANGES. 



CHAPTER n. 

THE VALUE OF ORANGE GROVES. 

Having pointed out the rock on which so many fair 
harks have foundered, let us now look at the other side of 
the picture and see what has been done and may be done 
again by those who start aright, and regard orange growing 
not as a pleasant pastime, but as a serious, earnest busi- 
ness, to be carried out faithfully, carefully, and intelli- 
gently, like any other business in which success is desired, 
and to be learned and studied as such. 

What reasonable man would expect to be successful in 
a pursuit entirely new to him, without seeking such 
sources of practical knowledge thereof as might lay open 
before him? 

And yet there are men who would bristle all over with 
indignation were it to be hinted that they do not possess 
common sense, who yet embark in a new life as orange 
growers, and think they will succeed, while they scorn ad- 
vice, refuse to seek counsel of those whose experience is of 
many years' standing, and turn their backs scornfully upon 
the books and periodicals written by practical men familiar 
to the business so new to them. 

Such self-sufficient egotists as these will fail as orange 
growers, and either leave Florida, pronouncing her noble 
groves humbugs, or else turn back to the beginning and 
wisely seek the course they before despised. 

The man who meets with as few drawbacks as possible, 
and pushes forward his grove to its utmost capacity, is the 
man who is not too proud to confess that he does not know 
more about astronomy than the astronomer, more about 
geology than the geologist, more about farming than* the 



THE VALUE OF ORANGE GROVES. 19 

farmer, more about orange culture than the life-long 
orange grower. 

Therefore, ask opinions and advice from older settlere ; 
do not take all you hear for fiicts nor all for fiction ; take 
notes and compare them ; weigh conflicting opinions and 
strike a balance ; look about you with a view to learning 
something useful for you to know ; do not trust entirely to 
hearsay ; find out all you can by actual trial and experi- 
ment ; study reliable books relating to your new business ; 
take one or more weekly papers devoted to the same cause ; 
be energetic, persevering, careful to do your best and 
make the most of the advantages you possess ; never use 
nor practice those three most reprehensible words in the 
English language, "too much trouble." 

Do these things, and in eight or ten years from the day 
you set foot in Florida a penniless man, perchance, you 
wiU be in comfortable independence ; aye ! more than in- 
dependent for all your life to come, and your children and 
grandchildren after you. 

Every man who has succeeded in raising a grove has 
done so by pursuing just such a course as we have sug- 
gested ; and no man will fail who is content to follow in 
his footsteps. 

One of our earliest pioneers in orange growing was an 
Englishman, John Eaton by name. He served in our 
army during the Seminole war, and when discharged at its 
close, in 1837, accepted the offer of the Government to 
give one hundred and sixty (160) acres of land to any sol- 
dier who would settle on and cultivate a portion of it^ 

We, in these enlightened days, know how to envy this 
man the grand opportunity for selecting choice lands that 
lay before him, but he had not our knowledge. The won- 
drous value of the wild orange tree was a sealed book to 
him ; he was a plain working man, and at that time an 



20 FLORTOA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

invalid ; all he sought was a quiet place in a mild climate, 
that " his days might be prolonged in the land;" so he se- 
lected his homestead on the St. John's River, in Orange 
County. He built him a little hut on a small shell-mound, 
where about fifty wild orange trees were growing, and 
there, with fish and game at his door, and a small garden 
patch by his side, he dwelt alone for twenty years. 

Some one came along after he had been there a short 
time, and initiated him into the mysteries of budding ; and 
then, more from curiosity than with any thought of profit, 
he budded his fifty wild trees. 

He " builded better than he knew ;" in a few years these 
hitherto despised trees brought him all, and more than all 
the cash he needed. 

When the lonely recluse died no heir came forward to 
claim his property, so after due time the State stepped in 
and sold it to the highest bidder. And thus John Eaton's 
grove became the property of the Hon. W. W. Woodruff*, 
for the sum of three thousand dollars. 

The property would have brought much more if it had 
not been that the soldier had made so very poor a selection 
of land that only a few of the hundred and sixty acres 
are good for any thing, and these are only a few feet above 
the river, so that in unusually high tides the grove suffers ; 
besides this, the only building site is so near the river that 
it is not healthy to live there, and so much overflowed 
land extends all around it that whoever dwells there must 
be content without neighbors. 

Yet in spite of these serious drawbacks the little place 
sold, at Mr? Woodruff*'s death, for nine thousand dollars, 
triple the price, you see, that he paid for it. 

There -are, we have said, only fifty trees in this grove, 
jbut from those fifty trees crops often net from fifteen hun- 
dred to eighteen hundred dollars in a season. 



THE VALUE OF ORANGE GROVES. 21 

Who has not heard of the famous ** Big Tree" of Floi^ 
ida, which oftentimes has ten thousand oranges at once ; 
oranges so fine that they have sold for two dollars and 
forty cents per hundred, thus netting from this one tree 
two hundred and forty dollars in one season? It seems 
incredible, does it not? Yet it is strictly true; and 
not only so, but this tree is only one fiftieth part of a 
grove, where each individual tree seems to take a pride in 
bringing to its fortunate owner an annual offering of from 
two to five thousand oranges. This famous "Big Tree" 
stands apart from the rest in solitary grandeur, and is a 
glorious sight, whether clad in its every-day uniform of 
green, or dotted all over with its fragrant white blossoms, 
or laden with golden fruit. Note the fact that it is of the 
same age as the rest of the grove, was budded with them, 
and has received the same treatment, but it stands alone. 
We shall have more to say in this connection by and by. 

So now we have seen what one poor ignorant soldier did, 
in a careless, hap-hazard way ; he might have done much 
more had he known all that we know nowadays. 

John Eaton died, but his trees lived on and prospered, 
and their fame at last reached the ears of a relative of his, 
then living in Canada, and he came to Florida to try to 
claim the estate, but we believe he failed. The story he 
told of the events that led him here may well seem to 
*' point a moral and adorn a tale" in the wonderful con- 
trast between the work of the pioneer of the North and 
him of Florida. 

Ten years before Eaton settled in Florida the father of 
the gentleman alluded to settled in the wilds of Canada. 
For thirty years he toiled and endured hardships and priva- 
tions, and by that time he had cleared and brought under 
cultivation one hundred acres of land. But all the time 
he was working, the climate was working too; it killed 



22 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

three of his children with consumption, killed his wife by 
a combination of diseases brought on by working in the 
snow and mud, and finally killed him also with inflamma- 
tory rheumatism. 

The one son who was left rented the £a,rm, won by thirty 
years of toil, for the paltry sum of one hundred and fifty 
dollars a year, and fled to our genial State to save his life 
and reflect at leisure over the vast contrast between the 
results of the thirty years of toil on his father's part and 
the twenty years of ease of his cousin, John Eaton. It was 
all in the difference of location ; one settled in a cold, in- 
clement country, the other in a mild, genial clime, one of 
Nature's garden spots. 

Of course it is easy to go north, to any of our old set- 
tled States, and point out fine fertile farms worth many 
thousand dollars, places that have been carved out of the 
wilderness by the work of one generation. But then, 
what if the same amount of time, money, and intelligence 
had been spent in Florida? Why, the difference would 
have been as startling as that between the work of John 
Eaton and of his cousin in Canada. 

And now let us come down to later times, and to men 
who were not pioneer hermits but pioneer settlers. 

We know of an island in Lake Griffin, containing three 
hundred acres of rich land, studded over with orange trees, 
once wild, but now budded, and yielding luxuriant crops. 
Fourteen years ago the first small improvements were made 
here, the land and work together costing fourteen hundred 
dollars ; ten years later the proprietors received six thou- 
sand dollars for their crop, and refused an offer of forty 
thousand dollars ($40,000) for the property. 

Thirteen years ago a father and two sons, ruined by the 
war, purchased eighty acres with a wild grove on it for 
five hundred and fifty dollars. The trees they budded 



THE VALUE OF ORANGE GROVES. 23 

with the sweet orange, and they took care of them as bc8t 
they could ; they were so poor that they were compelled 
to use their own strong arms to cut down trees, with which 
they built a rude house to shelter them, and the little fur- 
niture needed waa ftriiioned with their own hands. They 
managed to live somehow — it is easier to rub on over a 
hard road in a mild climate than in an inclement one — and 
took good care of their trees; though they themselves 
might suffer for food, they were determined their trees 
should have " full and plenty," for they knew them to be 
the "geese that would lay golden eggs." And they were 
right. Last year that hard-won grove brought them in 
nine thousand dollars, and it has really just begun to bear. 

The hard working days of this trio are over, they may 
take their ease, while a skillful man, at a good salary, looks 
after their "golden geese," and they have merely to sort 
and pack the "eggs;" and this, by preference, as wise 
men who would make sure that the fruit is properly cured, 
graded, and packed, for, on these important points, de- 
pends the good or bad fortune of the crop ; what matters 
it if a grove yields its thousands of luscious fruits if those 
fruits are rotted and valueless by the time they reach the 
market ? As we have said, thirteen years ago these three 
men were penniless, now seventy-five thousand dollars 
would not tempt them to sell their grove. 

In 1870 a gentleman whom we know purchased a wild 
grove on Lake Harris for five hundred dollars; now he 
has twenty acres of bearing trees, and refused to sell for 
fifty thousand dollars. 

Two years later, another settler bought forty acres of 
land for less than four hundred dollars, budded the few 
trees growing wild, set out more, and now has sold land 
to the amount of two thousand dollars, and holds the bal- 
ance at twenty-five thousand. 



24 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

Now, look at these figures for a moment, and ask your- 
self what safe, reliable, legitimate business could you en- 
gage in at the North with a capital of five hundred dol- 
lars, and in ten or eleven years have augmented that 
capital to such an extent. Yet one more example, and we 
are done. 

In 1874 a gentleman bought, for six thousand dollars, a 
rich hammock tract of five hundred and sixty acres. On 
this tract were four acref^ in a wild grove, six hundred 
large, bearing trees besides many young seedlings. The 
bearing trees he budded, leaving some as they stood, but 
moving others where they were too crowded. The trees 
thus moved were of course set back several years in growth, 
but from the four hundred that were left in their original 
position, when three years only from the bud, the neat 
little sum of twelve hundred dollars was obtained ; at four 
years from the bud these same four hundred presented 
their fortunate owner with sixteen hundred dollars ; and 
at five years, one hundred of the transplanted trees having 
advanced into the ranks of the bearing ones, the crop 
netted seventeen hundred dollars, and would have brought 
one thousand more but for a severe gale that blew off* a 
large proportion of the fruit. 

Now this is the showing of just four acres out of five 
hundred and sixty purchased for six thousand dollars. 
How about the rest ? Two hundred and sixty acres have 
been sold for twenty-one thousand dollars. Three hundred 
acres and the grove referred to remain in the purchaser's 
hands ; and on these three hundred acres, laid out in young 
groves for sale, are six thousand flourishing trees, budded 
on sour stocks, raised on the place, besides two thousand 
more in the nursery. Sixty thousand dollars would not 
purchase these three hundred acres with the bearing trees 
and young groves they contain. Think for a moment! 



THE VALtJE OF ORANGE GROVES. 25 

Eight years ago the investment of six thousand dollars was 
made, and to-day eighty thousand dollars is a low esti- 
mate of its value. 

We could go on multiplying instances indefinitely, but 
these will suffice to show that the culture of the orange, 
when properly conducted, is a good money-making invest- 
ment. Even for the man who does not need the income 
from his grove for the support of his fisunily, there is no 
better investment for his surpkis money, and it would be 
difficult to find a safer one. 

When an orange tree is in full bearing it is valued at 
one hundred dollars, all over the State ; and this is no fic- 
titious value either, for certainly a tree is worth the money 
which it represents. Now, a tree bearing one thousand 
oranges, at one cent each, represents an income of ten dol- 
lars, the principal of which, in Florida at eight per cent, 
is one hundred and twenty-five dollars. As the trees be- 
come older the orange-bearing also increases. 

There is no probability of the supply of oranges from 
Florida ever exceeding the demand, as the orange belt is 
confined within narrow limits, while the population of the 
country is rapidly increasing and is capable of almost in- 
definite expansion. 

But while an orange grove is a splendid investment for 
a rich man, it has also its bright side for the poor man. 
Nine tenths of the prosperous orange growers in Florida 
came here less than a dozen years ago, some with a few 
hundred dollars in their pockets, but more with only a few 
hundred cents. One gentleman arrived here with less 
than a cart-load of household goods and ten dollars of 
borrowed money. He patiently bore privation, and worked 
for his neighbors, using his surplus money in improving 
his homestead little by little ; now he is in the enjoyment 
of many thousands of dollars. 

3 



26 FLOBTOA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

There are thousands of young men in the inclement 
North toiling wearily along through the years in the hope 
of ultimately winning a home for some dear one who is 
patiently waiting for the happy day to come. Let these, 
and such as these, turn their &ces southward, and in less 
than ''seven years,** amid Florida fruits, they will have 
won independence and their BacheL 



FROM SEED TO OBOYB. 27 



CHAPTER m. 

FBOM SEED TO GROVE. 

Few amateur orange growers realize the importance of 
good, thrifty stock at the very outset, but it is a point 
that can not be too strongly insisted on, for herein lies the 
comer-stone of a successful grove. Given poor, diseased, 
stunted stock, and you may lavish time, money, care upon 
it, and be worse off in five years' time than when you began ; 
given good, thrifty stock, and half the time, money, and 
care will find you, in the same space, the owner of as fine 
a young grove as one would need to possess. 

How to secure such reliable stock? 

Well, there are three ways: one, to go to a neighbor 
who has preceded you by several years and has seedlings 
for sale, purchase them and bud them yourself; another, 
to purchase trees ready budded from a reliable nursery- 
man; and still another, which will best suit a shallow 
pocket, is to plant the seed, and when the trees are a suit- 
able size bud them yourself. 

There is a right and wrong way of doing every thing in 
this world, and it is sometimes curious to see how fre- 
quently the wrong way is chosen when the right way 
seems just as easy, and is certainly productive of more 
satisfactory results. Now, in this apparently simple matter 
of planting seeds, most persons will take the seeds hap- 
hazard from any orange they may happen upon, and 
going out, will punch a hole in the ground with a finger, 
drop in a seed, give it a pat downward, and go away ex- 
ultant, and return in a week or two expecting to dig up a 
fine, healthy plant. Others will push the seed down into 
boxes and water them carefully every day and rot them ; 



28 FLORIDA FRUITS— ORANGES. 

while others will not water them at all, but leave the sun 
to shine upon their covering of soil and dry it to a powder. 
And then they wonder and scold — these three types of 
amusing people — because " these seeds won't come up, bad 
luck to them I" And so it was truly "bad luck" for the 
seeds when they fell into such hands. 

But there is a right way of doing this simple thing, and 
let us now see what it is : 

In the first place there are seeds, and seeds, and by no 
means are all fit to plant because they are called " seeds." 
A seed should never be planted except from large, ripe, 
well-shaped and fine -flavored fruit, no matter whether 
your ultimate object be a seedling grove or only stock to 
bud on. And not every seed from these should be planted 
either, but only the plump, sleek, and well-to-do looking 
seeds; these alone will make thrifty growers, either for 
seedling or budded stock. Never allow your seeds to dry 
off before planting, if you do, throw them away, as they 
will either never germinate, or else make sickly plants. 

If it is not convenient to plant a few at a time, as you 
collect them, either allow your choice oranges desired for 
seed to rot, the seeds remaining inside, or better still, get 
a small box, half fill it with sand, saturate the latter with 
water, put it in a shady place, and mix in your seeds with 
your sand, being sure they are well covered ; if you have 
no shade convenient, it will do to mulch with moss heavily 
or with trash. But mark this, do not water your box 
again or the seeds will rot. Thus treated, seeds may be 
kept in good condition for planting for several weeks. 
Examine them every two or three days, and if they show 
signs of sprouting, hurry them into their permanent bury- 
ing ground. 

We would advise every settler to have a nursery of 
young trees, even if he is able to purchase all the trees he 



FROM SEED TO GROVE. 29 

needs for his grove; the trees wiU never come amiss, and 
they require but little care once fairly started on their 
life's journey. 

For raising a limited number of seedlings, say two or 
three hundred, cast off boxes, such as may be had at any 
country store, are to be preferred to the open ground. 
Even better than several small boxes is one large one, such 
as can be made at home in a short time. Make a box ten 
inches deep, two feet wide, and as long as your boards 
will allow, twelve, sixteen, or twenty feet — a bottom is 
unnecessary; nail on braces to keep the boards from 
spreading ; fill the box with sand mixed with well-rotted 
stable manure, or with a small portion of commercial fertil- 
izer mixed through it ; pack it down firmly ; pour on water 
until the ground is thoroughly saturated; then with a 
pointed stick make a number of parallel grooves about one 
inch deep and about six inches apart; drop your seeds 
three inches apart in the little trenches thus made, draw- 
ing the soil on top, and with a small piec6 of board press 
it down as firmly as possible. Now mulch your box with 
grass or moss (and when we speak of moss, now and here- 
after, we mean the gray ** Florida Moss"); the moss is the 
best, as it does not pack, and while it retains moisture 
allows a ray of sunshine to penetrate now and then to 
the soil to coax into being the little embryo which is 
buried that it may live ; let the sun reach the seed-box 
during a greater part of the day — all day, even, would do 
no harm — if the mulch is heavy ; do not water the seeds 
more than once a week, and not then unless the soil is 
dry. More seeds are lost by being rotted by a superabun- 
dance of water than from any other cause ; the soil in 
which they lie perdu should be moist but not wet. This is 
true not only of seeds of the citrus family, but of all 
seeds. 



30 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

This mulching of seeds is not, we believe, the usual 
practice, but our own experience has proved again and 
again that seeds thus kept uniformly moist will germinate 
in one half the time required by the same seeds when sub- 
jected to the usual alternations of dry and^wet, which is 
the inevitable fate of those that are not thus protected. 
But if young plants are desired by the thousands and tens 
of thousands, then the seeds must be sown in the open 
ground. 

Here, too, there is a right and a wrong way, a careless 
or a systematic method of doing the work, and the latter 
always comes out ahead. 

In laying out the seed-beds it must be borne in mind 
that you will hereafter want to hoe and weed your young 
plants; therefore leave a space two feet wide between 
them, the beds themselves being three feet in width. This 
will allow you to reach the center from each side. 'See 
that the seed-beds are well cleared of trash, grass, sticks, 
etc., and make them level and smooth; then make yoiir 
trenches six inches apart, and drop your seed as in the 
boxes, or sow broadcast if you prefer it, being careful not 
to sow too thickly ; press the soil down firmly, then cover 
your beds with a mulch of pine straw, grass, well-rotted 
sawdust, or moss ; it matters little what is used so that it 
keeps in the moisture and shields from the hot sun. 

A barrel of oranges will furnish from four to eight 
thousand plants. To separate the seed from the pulp, when 
such large quantities are to be sorted, one needs a sieve 
with a quarter-inch mesh, a good, stiff brush, and an 
abundance of water. The ground should be moist when 
the seeds are planted, either by rain or profuse artificial 
watering, and should be kept so until the seed are up, 
which will be in from ten days to two weeks; without 
mulching they are often four or five weeks in making an 



r 

UNIVER.SITY 

FEOM SEED l^^^^Y^, .^^.A / ^^ 

appearance. As soon as the first plants ^are fairly up, re- 
move a part of the mulch so that they will meet with no 
resistance in pushing their way upward, and after a few 
days remove it entirely. Keep the seed-bed watered until 
the plants are about three or four inches high, and then, 
after a drenching rain, replace the mulch around the slender 
stems. It is an excellent plan to soak the mulching mate- 
rial in liquid stable manure (twenty pounds to a barrel of 
water) for a few hours before applying it to the nursery 
bed. Orange, or any other plants, in fact, thus raised and 
cared for wiU make such a thrifty growth as wiU astonuh 
their owner and amply repay all the time and trouble lav- 
ished upon them. 

There is another way of protecting the young trees from 
the direct rays of the sun, a method that is extensively 
practiced in many large nurseries ; it is more troublesome 
and expensive than the process just described, but as it 
has the indorsement of practical horticulturists, we give it 
for the benefit of those who may prefer it to mulching. 

Drive stakes four feet long into the ground to the depth 
of one foot, along the borders of the bed, six feet apart ; 
nail narrow strips to the top of the stakes, or rope or 
wire may be used if more convenient ; then stretch over 
the frame-work thus prepared some thin, gauze-like mate- 
rial, coarse bagging or the sleazy muslin called cheese- 
cloth, for instance. If the beds are more than three feet 
wide, it will be well to place stakes four and a half feet 
long at each end of the bed in the center, with a strip 
running from one to the other ; this will raise the awning 
in the center like a double pitched roof. Sheltered from 
the fierce heat of the sun, yet receiving plenty of light, 
air, and moisture, the young plants will grow very rapidly, 
but more weeding will be required than when the mulch- 
ing is used. By the time the plants have attained the 



82 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

height of twelve or eighteen inches they are ready to he 
removed from the seed-bed to the nursery, and further 
shelter may be dispensed with. The same canopy protec- 
tion may be used over the seed-beds as well as over the 
plants already up. 

In raising plants of the citrus family, especially in the 
open ground, there is an active little enemy to combat 
against, an enemy whose name is legion, and who, if al- 
lowed to follow out its own plans, will nip off the embryo 
leaves of the plants the moment they appear above the 
ground. We refer to those very industrious creatures 
whom the primers hold up to us as an example to emulate, 
but it could be wished that their proverbial industry was 
more tempered with judgment in consideration for strug- 
gling humanity. We mean ants of course ; they evidently 
regard young citrus leaves as especial dainties, and must 
be taught to keep their distance. An application of air- 
slacked lime or hard-wood ashes will dampen their ardor. 

And now, having got our trees ready for the nursery, 
let us see what is the proper location for the latter, and 
how best to remove the embryo "gold mine" to its nour- 
ishing care. 

It is an important thing to make a good selection for a 
nursery; because the plants are small is no reason why 
they should not have the best possible care, unless you 
want them to remain small indefinitely. Hammock land, 
dry, with the roots thoroughly cleared out, and mellowed 
by frequent workings, is good, but pine land is better ; trees 
reared from their earliest infancy in rich hammock soil, 
and then transplanted at three or more years of age to 
pine land, wiU be apt to droop and pine, and either die 
outright or else linger along for years only half alive, just 
as a child, tenderly reared and cared for, will droop if 
suddenly transplanted to a life of exposure, with coarse 



FROM SEED TO OBOYE. 33 

and insufficient food; for every nursery tree that is set 
out in a hammock grove, one hundred at least are set out 
on pine land ; therefore, let them start out in life on the 
kind of food they are to have in after years, then, when 
they set forth on their life work in our great groves, there 
is no violent change in their nurture, and thrift and vigor 
are assured. 

The site for a nursery should be on a slight rise to insure 
proper drainage without ditching ; hard pan or clay should 
be not nearer the surface than three feet; the exposure 
should be southerly, and the site protected as far as pos- 
sible from high winds. If water can not be easily pro- 
cured from a neighboring lake or pond, dig a well in the 
center of the nursery ; it will repay its cost by the number 
of young trees it will save, for water they must have, and 
plenty of it, during their first summer in the nursery; 
after that they are old enough to take care of their own 
water-supply. 

Here again mulching is of great advantage in preserv- 
ing the requisite moisture, and although it may, as some 
demur, bring the roots to the surface, that is just what you 
want in a nursery, as it facilitates the final digging up of 
the trees, and fewer roots are broken in the process than 
would be the case if they were more deeply rooted. 

Lay out the ground for the nursery carefully ; a little 
extra care now will save a great deal of work and annoy- 
ance in the future. Run the rows north and south four 
feet apart, so that the sun may reach the whole surface of 
the ground ; let the latter be as level as possible and free 
from trash ; and if you work in a light dressing of well- 
rotted manure, or muck, or commercial fertilizer, so much 
the better. The length of the nursery rows should never 
exceed three hundred feet, as at this distance apart, run- 
ning at right angles with the rows, there should be road- 



34 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

ways for horse and cart not less than eighteen feet ; this 
allows for turning without trampling on the beds. 

With regard to laying out the nursery in the manner 
described, we can not do better than to transcribe here a 
method taken from a valuable work by Thomas M. Grarey, 
termed, " Onuige Culture in California": 

" Provide a strong rope, cord, or wire, a few feet longer 
than you wish the rows to be, a four-foot measure at each 
end of the section with which to mark off the distances 
between the rows, two good hard-wood stakes, or iron pins, 
which are better, and tools with which to drive them 
firmly into the ground. Fasten one end of the rope, 
cord, or wire to a stake driven at one end of the proposed 
row ; straighten it if necessary. For marking the spaces 
in the row use a tool made similar to a hand roUer with 
triangular pieces a few inches long fastened lengthwise to 
the roller a foot apart. Four feet in circumference, or a 
small fraction more than fifteen and one fourth inches in 
diameter, is a convenient size for the roller. To use this 
tool, take hold of the handle, place the roUer on the tightly 
stretched line, and push it forward or draw it after you 
along the line ; the pieces on the roller will mark crosswise 
of the line at regular distances of a foot. K any other 
distance be desired, it can be regulated by the diameter of 
the roller and the distance between the strips. Remove 
the line to the next proposed row. This leaves a mark 
lengthwise crossed at regular distances ready to receive the 
plants. A roUer of greater diameter would require less 
power to use it." 

Now these directions may seem uselessly complicated 
and troublesome, but try it once and you will try it again. 
It saves a great deal of time and trouble, and lays out the 
rows more accurately than is possible in any other way, 
and the after-ease with which the trees can be cultivated 



FROM SEED TO OBOVE. 35 

will amply repay for the extra care at the start ; it is much 
easier to plow a straight row than a crooked one. 

The four feet space between the rows permits the culti- 
vator, harrow, or plow to be used, and the one foot space 
between the young trees allows of thorough hoeing. The 
ground should be thoroughly moist, both in the seed-bed 
and in the nursery, when the plants are to be moved; 
never under any circumstances attempt to transplant when 
the soil is dry, either wait for a soaking rain or water the 
ground artificially. Loosen the plants carefully, thrusting 
the spade down perpendicularly, and work it back and 
forth until the soil is detached from the roots. The mo- 
ment the plants are out of the ground put them in the 
shade, and in a tub of water; if they are left in the 
latter for ten or twelve hours, so much the better — this 
is true of all trees, large or small. Be careful to exclude 
the sunshine : more harm is done to trees, old and young, 
by allowing the sun to touch their tender roots even for a 
few minutes than many people realize. Never take up more 
than a thousand at a time unless there be a large working 
force, for it is of the utmost importance to keep them out 
of the ground as short a time as possible. Sort the plants 
and throw away all the stunted, inferior ones, for they 
will make only stunted trees ; the Spartan plan of putting 
to death all the weakly, sickly infants is a good one to 
practice here. Prune back the tops and make them as 
uniform in size in each row as possible. It is a good plan 
to place the trees in small boxes and throw wet soil on the 
roots, withdrawing them one by one as they are set in the 
rows, or else keep the roots in pails of water while planting. 

In planting press down and back and forth a nursery- 
man's dibble at the intersection of the rows and crosfr-lines ; 
spread out the roots in the hole thus made, pack the soil 
down firmly around them, being sure to leave no vacant 



36 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

spaces any where. Then mulch the plants, keep down the 
weeds, give them a sprinkling now and then of some kind 
of fertilizer ; not too much, however, for it is not wise to 
accustom them to too *'rich living." For the first year 
after setting out let them grow as bushy as they please ; 
the foliage will shade the tender bark of the stem, and 
encourage the formation of a mass of fibrous rootlets ; but 
after the first year it is weU to prune surplus branches, 
leaving one leader to form the stock of the future tree ; 
do not let the little shoots that put out along the stem do 
any more than show themselves before you pinch them off*; 
keep a foot or two of the stem clear of branches. 

From the first year on, you can bud your young seedlings 
with some choice varieties, and then in from one year from 
the bud each little tree will be worth thirty cents, and in 
another year forty or fifty cents, according to variety and 
growth ; or, as seedling two-year-old trees, seU at twenty 
cents, three years at thirty, four years forty, each year 
adding ten dollars per hundred to their value. 

There is now, and will be for years to come, a brisk de- 
mand for young trees, both budded and seedlings, and the 
thrifty far-seeing settler may readily clear several hundred 
dollars annually with the investment of no capital save 
that of a little care in planting seeds and raising a nurs- 
ery. 



HOW TO BUD AND GRAFT. 87 



CHAPTER IV. 

HOW TO BUD AND GRAFT.* 

In traDBferring a scion of some choice variety to a new 
and independent life on a strange stock there are two 
modes of procedure — either to bud or graft the one upon 
the other. Grafting and budding are almost identical, 
save in the mode of approach of scion to stock; in the 
former whole twigs, or even large branches, are used as 
scions ; in the latter, only the little dormant buds that lie 
perdu in the axil of every leaf. In grafting the top of the 
tree is cut ofT, usually close to the ground; in budding 
only the tips of the growing branches are pinched off- 
said right there lies the secret of the universal preference 
for budding over grafting — ^for if the bud refuses, as we 
may say, to suckle its foster mother, the tree is not injured 
in the least, and, if the season permits, another trial may 
be made at once ; while if the graft fails, the stock has at 
best been put back a year or two in its growth and indeed 
may never recover from the shock at all. 

The operation of propagating varieties by budding is 
full of mystery and wonder. We take a tiny bud, not 
even developed so as to be visible to the eye, but given a 
growing leaf we know that it conceals this embryo bud at 
its base. We cut a slit in the bark of a tree, and cutting 
off this tiny bud slip it into the aperture, and from this 
invisible germ a great tree in time springs forth, bearing 
fruit like unto its parent. How is it done? We know 
that it iSy just as we know that our hearts beat, our lungs 
inflate ; we can see the outward result, and watch its prog- 

'^By permission of the Florida AgricuUurist, in which this chapter was 
originally published. 



38 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANOfS. 

ress, but as to what mysterious inner force is at work to 
accomplish the marvelous result, who can say ? 

We know that it is the cambium or proper juice of veg- 
etables that serves as the means of junction between the 
scion and the stock — this is why they must be of similar 
nature. Just exactly as in ourselves the two lips of a 
wound are drawn together by the coagulable lymph which 
the blood deposits between them, but we do not know how 
nor by what inner force this result is attained. 

Examine carefully the wound of a bud when it has 
"taken," about two weeks after the operation, and you 
will observe a thin layer of small, green granulations in 
the midst of a viscid fluid, and joining the two parts that 
have thus been successfully brought together. These gran- 
ulations are the rudiments of vegetable organization, and 
are deposited by the cambium, soon becoming fully solidi- 
fied and complete ; and wherever there is a wound on a 
tree you will find this knitting going on, just like the 
mending of a bone in a human being, provided that the 
air has been carefully excluded from the wound. 

Before entering upon the practical details of the usual 
methods of budding let us fully understand the several 
requirements necessary for its successful operation. 

First of all, both scion and stock should be in active 
growth, both should be strong and healthy, as otherwise 
the value of the future tree would be seriously impaired ; 
the scion should be taken from fully matured shoots of the 
current year's growth of a bearing tree, and always from 
the lateral branches, as they, for some unexplained reason, 
will produce fruit much sooner than a scion from the 
uppermost branches ; also, where it is practicable to place 
a bud with fruit already growing on it in the stock, fruit 
will be obtained much sooner than by the simple bud 
alone. We have just shield-budded a Sicily lemon, with 



HOW TO BUD AND GRAFT. 39 

fruit as large as a walnut on its upper end, and we expect 
to see that lemon come to perfection in the bosom of its 
foster mother, and to have brothers and sisters two years 
hence. 

In two weeks after the operation of budding its success 
or failure will usually be apparent. During this interval, 
and longer, if the bud ** takes," the scion should be partially 
shaded from the too fierce rays of the sun by a light wrap- 
ping of moss, or better still, as it avoids the risk of too 
much moisture from heavy rains, by a board inclined 
against the trunk in front of the scion. 

Another point, and one not generally known (we have 
only learned it ourself by personal experience), is this: 
Always insert your bud on the north or northeast side of 
the stock ; glance at the shadows cast by our hot summer 
sun during three fourths of the day, and you wiQ see the 
reason why — the southern and western portions of the 
stock being all that time exposed to its scorching rays, and 
insuring the broiling or frying to a brown cinder of your 
tender scion. 

StiQ another thing to be attended to before beginning 
the actual operation of budding is the mode of wrapping 
after the insertion of the scion. Some people give no 
protection to the bud at all, and these slovenly folks lose 
three fourths of their work, as they deserve to do ; others 
put a little daub of grafting wax over the edges of the 
cut, and these scarcely less lazy people lose at least one 
half of their time and labor, and those scions that do 
** take" do not grow with half the vigor that they would 
if properly treated at the outset. 

But there are still other persons, wise in their genera- 
tion, who put faith in those grand old sayings that 

" Whatever 's worth the doing 
Ib worth the doing well;" 



40 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

and ''a little trouble in the present saves much trouble in 
the future;" and these sensible individuals, before pro- 
ceeding to bud their trees, prepare a quantity of strips of 
strong muslin or calico, about a quarter of an inch wide, 
dip them into melted grafting wax, take them out with 
little sticks and hang them up to dry. They will keep 
good for years if need be. They are then ready to wrap 
tightly around the scion after its insertion in the stock, the 
end and edges are rubbed down firmly with the finger, and 
kept in position by tying a piece of string around it. By 
this simple method the scion and stock are held securely 
in close contact, and air and water are excluded while the 
process of junction is going on, a necessity, as we have 
already seen, to its success. 

To iUustrate the difierence between smearing with wax 
and binding with waxed strips, we quote from a writer in 
a New York rural publication. He bound a part of his 
scions with strips and on others used only wax : 

"Those wrapped with strips all grew; of the others, 
about one half grew ; also many of the former grew eight 
feet in one season, the waxed ones, without the strips, not 
making over half that growth. I claim that there are 
absolutely many chances in favor of the strips over the 
other way." 

Even in the old method of regular grafting, where the 
whole top of the tree is cut off, these waxed strips are just 
as much to be preferred over the wax daubs as in budding. 
Try it and see, and our word for it you will never again 
set about this kind of work without plenty of waxed strips 
at your side. 

There is a regular recipe for making the grafting wax 
most commonly used ; it is this : ** One part beeswax, one 
part tallow, two parts rosin ; melt together till thoroughly 
incorporated." 



HOW TO BUD AND GRAFT. 41 

Now, it may be presumptuous in us to meddle ¥rith this 
time-honored recipe, but still we will venture to insinuate, 
with all due respect, that in our own experience the rosin 
may, with advantage, either be omitted entirely, or else 
only half as much be added to the beeswax and tallow 
instead of double as much. We find that the stripe dipped 
in the latter only are fully as efiective and fiu* more agree- 
able to handle; neither do they, as some claim, become 
rancid without the rosin. 

Lastly, a very Bharp-pointed, thin-bladed knife is nec«H 
sary — and now we are ready to select our scions, which, as 
we have elsewhere stated, must be taken from, as well as 
inserted in, a growing plant, or one at least with '* loose 
bark." Considerable judgment must be exercised in this 
selection, as a "stick" of buds may be either too old or 
too young. It is too old if the shoot taken be of more 
than a year's growth ; too young if it be not fully ma- 
tured — the woody parts hardened and the embryo bud 
developed beneath the axilla of the leaf. It is always 
best to use the growth of the current season just as soon 
as this stage of maturity has been reached, and a short ex- 
perience will enable you to judge accurately when this 
point has been attained. These remarks apply to all scions, 
whether orange, lemon, peach, plum, apple, or any other 
of the great vegetable tribe. 

And now, at last, we come to the practical details of 
the actual art, for it is an art, of budding. There are 
several modes of introducing the scion to the stock ; of 
these there is one largely practiced, we are sorry to say, 
that can not be reprehended too severely. A man cuts 
off a short stick containing two or three buds, shapes one 
end to a flat point like a pen, then makes a little cut cross- 
wise in the stock, thrusts the "pen bud" down into the 
slit, and passes on to scar another tree and waste another 

4 



42 FLORIDA FRUITS— ORANGES. 

bud, boasting of how many he can do in an hour. True, 
it is a quick way of playing at budding, in one sense ; but 
when, by and by, he comes back again and again to re- 
place dead buds and search for fresh spots on the poor, 
devoted stock, where its once smooth bark is not all rough- 
ened and scarred by old wounds; if then, we repeat, he 
will only keep count of the time thus occupied after the 
work should have been completed, and the time lost in the 
growth of the buds while the season is passing relentlessly 
on, he will come to the conclusion that a little more time 
and care in the first place would have been time and 
trouble saved, and loss of buds and of the growing season 
saved also. And therefore we would banish the **pen 
buds" as the resource of lazy, ne'er-do-wells, who will reap 
as they sow. 

The one kind of budding that is pre-eminent over all 
others for its invariable success, if properly done, is called 
"shield budding." See that your stock is cleared of all 
twigs that may interfere with the wrappings; then make 
a vertical slit about an inch and a half long, any where 
from four inches to two feet above the ground, then make 
another cut across at the base, the two cuts presenting the 
appearance of the letter T reversed thus, i ; the cross-cut 
is often made at the top, but it is not the best way. Now 
pass the point of your knife, or the flat handle, if it is a 
regular budding-knife, carefully along the upright cut, 
slightly raising the edges, giving the knife a certain little 
twist, easily learned, at the base so as to leave the comers a 
little turned back like the * * dog-ears " of a book. Now take 
your knife and carefully cut off a bud from your " stick," 
take as little of the wood as possible, and let the bark ex- 
tend about half an inch below and above the bud ; now 
take this little strip in your hand and, with the woody 
side upward, bend the end slightly till the thin layer of 



HOW TO BUB AND GRAFT. 43 

wood remaining separates at the end from the delicate 
hark, then thrust your thumh nail between the two, and 
now, holding the bud uppermost so as to keep it straight 
and unbroken^ gently pass your nail along, bending the 
woody layer downward until it is entirely detached, leav- 
ing in your hand a nice, clean strip of bark ¥rith the bud 
intact ; if, however, the wood has not parted readily, but 
has torn the bud or left a little hole in it, be sure that it 
was not in a fit condition for budding and throw it away. 

This may seem a difficult and delicate operation at the 
first glance; but difficult? no, not after a little practice; 
delicate? yes; but one can not expect to treat a tender 
bud roughly and have it live. K you prefer you can 
omit to remove the woody layer, provided you cut it as 
thin as possible, but it does not make either so sure a junc- 
tion or so sightly in the years to come, for, as the alburnum 
or wood will never unite with the stock, neither be ab- 
sorbed, there will always be an ugly knot or ridge mark- 
ing the point of junction between stock and scion, whereafi 
the strip of bark only, unites completely in every part, 
leaving in after years a smooth, straight trunk, with no 
unsightly prominence. 

And now you are ready to insert the bud, which is to be 
done upside down, for the same reason that you made the 
cross-cut at the base of the perpendicular instead of the 
top, namely, because in this position, as you will see, it 
sheds rain, and allows no water to lodge and soak in be- 
tween the bandage and the bud — ^it is always better to 
leave the leaf attached to the bud — as this avoids leaving 
open any channel for air or moisture to penetrate, and, 
moreover, the sap in the leaf nourishes the bud ; but, with 
or without the leaves, insert your bud upside down ; push 
it gently up from below till the upper end of the cut is 
reached, be sure that the bud-bark lies smoothly, and that 



44 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

the lower end does not project below the crossK5ut; this 
accomplished, start the wrapping just below the lower end 
of the cut, holding the end firmly while you wrap, pulling 
tightly all the while. 

Some employ two wrappings, one above and one below 
the bud, as it is all important to leave the bud itself — and 
only the bud — exposed to light and air; but a skillful 
worker will use only one strip, giving a certain downward 
slant to the last turn above that will carry it below the 
bud in front, and then continuing the wrapping until the 
cut is well covered, tying the strips, as we have already 
said. In two weeks you will know whether your work has 
been "for better or for worse;" the former, certainly, if 
all has been done ** decently and in order." The junction 
always takes place at the top first ; therefore, as the edges 
swell and unite, the top wrapping should be first loosened, 
say in ten days after the sprout has started, and the lower 
wraps a week later ; it is better to loosen at first than to 
remove them entirely, as the newly-formed bark needs 
some protection for a month or two. 

Having thus investigated the mysteries of the more pop- 
ular art of budding, let us next *' inter view "that which 
may well be termed its ** elder brother." 

Far, far back in the olden times, the theory and practice 
of grafting or multiplying and perpetuating remarkable 
varieties or monstrosities, by the union of a young shoot 
from one kind of plant with the stem of another, was al- 
most as well understood as at the present day. It is not 
an art which admits of much progress or alteration. There 
is but one means of securing success, and therefore as we 
graft nowadays so did the ancient Greeks and Jews and 
Chinese before us. The New Testament refers to the art 
as practiced by the Jews ; Pliny and Virgil tell us that it 
was familiar to the Greeks ; but nowhere can we trace the 



HOW TO BUD AND QRAFT. 45 

first discovery of what, though so common, is one of the 
most wonderful phenomena of nature. As to the Chinese, 
the first Roman Catholic missionaries who ventured to pen- 
etrate the then mysterious fastnesses of heathenism taught 
them the art, and so readily did they take up the new idea 
thus presented to them that very soon they excelled their 
teachers, just as, at the present day, they surpass all other 
nations in the practice of curious and unique modes of 
grafting shoot upon shoot, stem upon stem, until ofttimes 
six or eight, ten or twelve kinds of fruit (of the same nat- 
ural family, of course) may be seen borne upon the same 
tree, aU flourishing, all. strong and healthful. 

There is no one function of the horticulturist more im- 
portant than this ; it accomplishes the propagation of par- 
ticular varieties more surely and more speedily than is pos- 
sible by seeds or cuttings or layers, and besides this, is 
invaluable in hastening and increasing the fruitfulness of 
fruit trees. Another thing, too, when a root is still vigor- 
ous and healthy, but its stems and branches old and weak, 
a graft or bud near or upon the thrifty root will, in a very 
short time, replace the worn-out branches with a new, 
strong healthy growth, into which all the strength of the 
large root is thrown at once. The stock should always 
have strong roots; about the graft or scion it does not 
matter so much, though, of course, it is desirable that 
it also should be of vigorous habit; but if it is not, a 
healthy stock will impart to a weak but not diseased scion 
a large portion of its own thrift and vigor. Grafting 
should always be performed early in the spring, when the 
sap is just beginning to circulate ; the grafts may be either 
shoots of the current year's growth, or those of several 
years back ; and herein is one of the most marked differ- 
ences between grafting and budding, for with the latter the 
scion must invariably be of the current season's growth, 



46 FLORIDA FRUrrS — ORANG£S. 

containing an embryo bud. The stock does not change 
the species of the scion, but it does very much affect the 
quality of the fruit. A weakly stock will make small and 
insipid, a vigorous one large and fine-flavored fruit. 

The great art in grafting, and it requires no small de- 
gree of skill and care and patience, is to unite exactly the 
inner bark of the scion with the inner bark of the stock, 
and thus to keep them in close contact until the union is 
complete; it is a more troublesome and more uncertain 
operation than that of budding, besides being more injuri- 
ous to the stock in case of failure, but it has the one ad- 
vantage of giving a quicker and larger start to the new 
tree in the event of success, for, while the budded tree has 
but one tiny bud to start from, the grafted tree may have 
one or a dozen whole branches, sometimes even the entire 
top of a tree. 

There are several methods of grafting, and to the de- 
tails of these we will now proceed : 

The most simple, and therefore most commonly success- 
ful, is that called ** grafting by approach" or ** inarching." 
For large plants it is impracticable, but for smaller plants, 
one of which at least is in a box or pot, it is invaluable. 
The two plants, stock and scion, being brought close to- 
gether, wounds are made upon each part to be grafted ex- 
actly corresponding to each other ; in other words, plates 
of bark of equal size are removed, and the new parts thus 
laid bare are bound together in close contact, with a pre- 
pared wrapping which keeps out the air. In one month 
(not in two weeks as in budding) if the work has been 
properly done, union between the two will have taken 
place, and then all that is necessary is to cut loose the 
scion from its original parent, and bring down its foster 
mother to the level of the ** child of its adoption," when 
a new plant of the desired kind will be the result, without 



HOW TO BUD AND GRAFT. 47 

injury to that from which it was taken. By this method 
stems, roots, and branches may be united, and fruit, or 
even flowers, be grafted upon leaves; in short, ** grafting 
by approach" is grafting jpar excellence, and aflbrds scope 
for curious experiments, such as we have just ii^dicated ; 
experiments that any skillful and ingenious gardener may 
vary and multiply indefinitely. 

In some cases, while the junction between scion and stock 
is in progress by this method, the plants are placed in 
moist hotrhouses (not beds), or under bell-glasses, and if 
an accumulation of too much moisture is carefully guarded 
against this plan is a good one, as the union takes place 
more surely and expeditiously. This is the favorite method 
of grafting in cases where the plants in question, either 
stock or scion, are too rare and valuable to risk their de- 
struction by ordinary methods in the event of failure to 
knit. 

And next we come to "whip" or " tongue " grafting, 
usually practiced on small nursery trees. To perform this 
operation in the most perfect manner, the top of the stock 
and end of the scion should be of equal diameter, and 
therefore this kind of grafting, unlike the others, may be 
done on smaller stocks. Both scion and stock must be cut 
obliquely as nearly at corresponding angles as it is possi- 
ble to get them. The best way to secure accuracy in this 
respect is, first to cut off the stock and then place the 
extremity of the scion alongside and a little below the 
oblique cut, to scratch the line of the latter on the scion, 
and then make a clean, smooth cut along the slope indi- 
cated. 

Next, the tip of the stock must be cut off horizontally, 
and a narrow slit made nearly in the center of the sloped 
face of the stock downward, and another corresponding 
one in the slope of the scion upward. The tongue or 



48 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

wedge-like strip, which now passes the upper part of the 
sloped face of the scion, is next to be slipped downward in 
the cleft of the stock, the inner bark of both being brought 
closely together on one side, so as to prevent all chance of 
slipping out of place in tying, and this tying must be done 
at once tightly and neatly. 

The last-named operation in grafting as in budding is a 
most important item in the work, and while strips of bast- 
matting are most commonly used, we can not too highly 
recommend the employment of strong muslin dipped in 
equal parts of melted tallow and beeswax. Where these wax 
strips are not used, however (and sometimes in large stocks 
even where they are), grafting clay must be employed. 
There are several ways of preparing it : one is to beat up 
well together three parts of stiff yeUow or blue clay, or 
clayey loam, with one part of horse dung, and a little 
chopped hay ; another, that chiefly used by the French and 
Dutch, is to mix one half fresh cow dung with one half 
loam. But whether waxed strips, bast-matting, or graft- 
ing clay are used, every part of the wounds of stock and 
scion must be well and thoroughly covered, as the whole 
end and purpose of both clay and strips is to prevent air, 
rain, and light from penetrating to the wounded parts. 

The French method of grafting differs from ours, which 
is copied from the English, inasmuch as, no matter how 
large the stock may be, they never cut off more than the 
width of the scion ; and as their nation excels the English 
as gardeners, it would, we think, be well to take the hint 
thus thrown out. A true-born Johnny Bull scorns to ac- 
cept a lesson from the despised and hated Johnny Crapaud, 
but not so his old-time friend and ally. Uncle Sam ; so let 
us. Uncle Sam's children, take heed and profit. 

And, in point of fact, it would seem useless as well as 
hurtful to inflict a larger wound than necessary upon the 



HOW TO BUD AND GRAFT. 49 

stock, thus giving it more work to do to heal over its cuts 
just at the time when its full energies are needed in the 
proper sustenance of its foster child; and therefore we 
would advise the adoption of the French method, and the 
cutting away of the major part of the stock after the graft 
has taken firm hold, not before. 

''Cleft" grafting is next in order. Here the head of 
the branch or stock is cut off obliquely, and then the 
sloped part cut horizontally to its middle; then, with a 
sharp knife or chisel, which latter is best, a cleft two inches 
deep is made in the crown downward, at right angles to 
the sloped part. Be very careful here not to injure the 
pith, or yours is "love's labor lost." Leave the knife or 
chisel placed horizontally in the base of the cleft to keep 
it open, and take up your scion ; now with a sharp knife 
cut its extremity for an inch and a half in the shape of a 
wedge, leaving it about an eighth of an inch thicker on 
the outer or bark side, and bringing it to a finer edge on 
the inner side; and now you are all ready to slip your 
scion down into the deft as deep as the wedge you have 
cut — one and a half inches — this done, with the thicker or 
bark edge placed very carefttlly even with the inner bark 
of the stock, draw out your knife from the cleft below it, 
and you will be surprised to see how closely and firmly the 
scion is held. Two or three scions may be inserted in this 
way into the same stock in separate clefts, the whole being 
tightly wrapped and closed up. 

"Crown" grafting is employed chiefly on thick stocks, 
long branches shortened, or headed-down trees, and as 
many as a dozen scions may be used if desired. First you 
saw off the head of stock or branch as level as may be and 
pare off the surface smooth; then cut one side of your 
scions flat and sloping, one and a half inches long, making 
a little horizontal cut or shoulder at the top to rest on the 

5 



50 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

crown of the stock. Your scioDs ready, slip a thin blade 
or the ivory handle of a budding-knife about two inches 
downward, between the bark and wood at the top of the 
stock, pass it gently around the latter, withdraw it and 
thrust in its place your scions, one after the other, their 
number being limited, if you like, only by the size of the 
stock, till they stand up like a crown around the top of 
the stake, their little shoulders resting on the level surface 
for support. And now the inevitable wrapping and the 
operation is completed, **for better or for worse," as a 
month will tell. 

Yet another method of grafting is there, termed ** side 
grafting." This is often also called "tongue grafting," 
and diifers only from ** whip" or ** tongue grafting" proper 
in being performed on the side of a tree instead of on the 
top of a cut down stock. Where a valuable tree has lost 
a branch from any cause, as often happens, and an ugly 
lopsided appearance is the result, "side grafting" is re- 
sorted to to supply the deficiency. Having selected the 
spot where you wish a new branch, you pare off the bark 
and a little of the wood, cut the scions to fit as nearly as 
possible, and wrap them closely together. 

In all these various modes of grafting, while their suc- 
cess or failure wiU be evident within a month by the aspect 
of the buds on the scion, yet it is not safe, if good fortune 
has attended your efforts, to remove the wrapping or clay 
for at least three months, until the graft be completely 
healed over, and even then the^removal should be gradual. 
In some cases, to be determined by the judgment of the 
operator, a ligature around the graft, or a stake to which 
the young shoots of the scion should be tied, may be ad- 
visable for a year or more, and often a bandage of moss 
wrapped lightly around the point of junction will be of 
great advantage in retaining moisture and warding off the 



HOW TO BUD AND GRAFT. 51 

hot rayB of the sun until the wounds are completely 
healed over. 

There is still one more mode of grafting which may aptly 
be termed a ''cross" between it and budding. This is 
called ''flute or ring grafting," and consists in taking a 
ring of bark, with several buds on it, cutting away a cor- 
responding ring ftom its stock and putting in its place the 
scion ring, so that the edges of the bark equally join. This 
must be done in the spring, when the bark parts most read* 
ily, and is the surest of all modes of grafting because it so 
nearly approaches budding pure and simple. Care must 
be taken, however, not to encircle the tree completely in 
cutting the scion or stock, as this would girdle it and 
check its growth, or perhaps even result in its death. 

In grafting it is always better to take the scion from the 
lateral branches, because more fruitful, and also to remove 
them from the tree an hour or two before using, that the 
sap may partly dry out, leaving place for the sap from 
the stock to enter more freely. 



52 FLOBIDA FRUITS— K^RANGES. 



CHAPTER V. 

WHERE TO PLANT. 

And now, having brought up our young trees to a point 
where they are ready for setting out, let us consider the 
best location for their permanent home, where their life 
work may be most perfectly accomplished. 

At the very outset it becomes a mooted question whether 
to locate the grove in pine land or hammock. Some grow- 
ers advocate the one, some the other ; but the fact is, that 
as time rolls on and brings further experience in this new 
calling of orange culture, the friends of the pine land 
groves are becoming more and more numerous. 

Until very recently there was one point on which both 
cliques were in accord, and this was that the orange tree 
would not flourish on low lands, but that a high, dry loca- 
tion was imperative. But now several well-known reliable 
growers have come to the front to prove that orange trees 
will do, have done, and are doing well on low hammock 
and on low flat woods ; that they grow as thrifty, bear as 
profusely, and their fruit stands shipping as well as though 
the trees were set on the high lands. 

One of these growers, Mr. E. H. Hart, of Federal 
Point, Florida, gives it as his opinion, based on the expe- 
rience of many years, that ** the crusade against low lands 
for the orange is an arrant humbug that ought to have been 
exploded long ago. It has been kept up chiefly by those 
having high lands to sell, and by persons who, living upon 
land of a different character, knew no better." The gen- 
tleman referred to has for fourteen years successfully raised 
and cultivated a large grove on just such land as has been 
condemned heretofore as absolutely worthless for orange 



WHERE TO PLANT. 53 

culture, flat pine woods, with clay and hard-pan only 
eighteen inches from the surface. 

In very rainy weather the soil becomes so saturated with 
water that it fills up and runs over into the furrows and 
ditches prepared to carry off the surplus moisture ; yet in 
defiance of this and of the "croakers" who declared the 
trees would die as soon as their tap-roots reached the hard- 
pan, Mr. Hart's grove is tckiay one of the finest in the 
State, although, as he says, " on several occasions the river 
(St. John's) rose to an unusual height, and stood for sev- 
eral weeks a foot or more deep in the lower parts of my 
grove, the higher ground being also completely soaked by 
reason of no drainage. So far from suffering injury, the 
trees appeared rather benefited by the irrigation." Also 
this same orange grower, having ditched his grove after- 
ward, decided that a simple, shallow furrow was all that 
was needful. 

In Sardinia there is a famous grove, a square mile in 
extent, where a stream of water running through the cen- 
ter is employed to lay the whole grove under water every 
two weeks, all through the summer. 

Now, here are well-authenticated instances going to prove 
that the orange is more "given to drink" than used to be 
believed, and that it will grow on low lands if properly 
looked after; and by "properly" we mean that, in plant- 
ing, the trees should be set a little higher than the sur- 
rounding land, and that shallow ditches or furrows, a hun- 
dred feet apart, should be run through the grove. There- 
fore, while we would not advise the settler to select "flat 
woods" for a grove, other things being equal, yet if such 
lands ofler decided advantages as to price, location as to 
transit lines, society and health, over other lands offered in 
the desired vicinity, we would say, "take them, set your 
trees high, furrow your grove to lead off superfluous water, 



54 FLORTOA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

put out a few EufCalyptus globvlvs trees here aud there, 
and have no fears of the result." 

The orange tree is a good deal of a cosmopolitan, and 
will flourish in a variety of soils ; in clay, sand, shell, or 
loam ; in low or high hammocks ; in pine land or black- 
jack lands. Very much depends on the treatment it re- 
ceives, but when it is as easy to obtain pine land or high 
hammock, they are to be preferred, as giving equal or even 
better results than the others with less labor. 

Given two tracts of land, one hammock, the other good 
pine, at equal cost, and equal advantages in all other re- 
spects, many would doubtless select the former. But we, 
with the experience gained by eight years' residence in 
Florida, would select the pine land for a permanently satis- 
factory grove. 

Undoubtedly the hammocks are the richest lands at the 
start, but their fertility is deceptive, that is, it is not last- 
ing ; trees and vegetables grow finely for several years, but 
the fertility given to the soil by the once falling leaves of 
the deciduous undergrowth (cut away to make room for 
cultivation) is soon exhausted, and after that every year 
increases the need of fertilizers in the hammock groves. 
But with pine lands it is just the reverse, they are poorer 
at the outset, but improve steadily with each year's culti- 
vation. 

Pine land, with clay subsoil, is rapidly coming more and 
more into favor as the best possible basis to work upon ; it 
has "bottom" on which one can depend to retain all sur- 
plus fertilizers until the trees can utilize them. When 
you can find clay subsoil any where from two to six feet 
from the surface, there be not afraid to locate your grove. 

It is not always safe to depend on surface indications, 
or the reports of others ; the most trustworthy plan is to 
take a spade yourself and dig here and there on the land 



WH£RE TO PLANT. 56 

you propose to use for your grove, and thus avoid the 
possible application of the fable of **The Liark and Her 
Young Ones." 

We have never yet met an onuige grower whotie Itwa 
were located on good pine, with clay a few feet below the 
sur&ce, who was not thoroughly satisfied with the progress 
of his grove. Then the hammock land is much more ex- 
pensive than the pine ; when the latter can be had of the 
best quality from ten to twenty dollars an acre, the former 
is held from fifty to seventy-five, or even a hundred dollars. 

The expense of clearing the land preparatory to cultivar 
tion must also be taken into account. The hammock land 
is frdl of underbrush, young trees, roots, vines, and pal- 
metto ; all these must not only be cut down, and either be 
burned or piled up to decay, and furnish by and by nour- 
ishing food for the future grove, but the numberless roots 
must also be grubbed up at no light expenditure of time 
and money ; time, if the settler is a strong man, able and 
willing to work; money, if he has to hire the clearing 
done for him. 

It does not cost less than forty or fifty dollars to clear 
an acre of hanmiock land as it should be cleared, and for 
a year or two afterward the fight against the upspringing 
roots must be waged unceasingly, or the clearing will go 
back to its original state, and all the time and money 
already expended be thrown away. 

In clearing a piece of hammock for a grove it is only 
the undergrowth that should be got rid of entirely ; nearly 
aU, if not quite all, of the grand old live-oak trees should 
be left standing to flourish as of old, before civilization 
had dreamed of intruding upon their time-honored do- 
mains. This is a very important point in the well-being 
of the grove, especially in one formed by budding a former 
"wild grove." 



66 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

It should be remembered that these trees have grown up 
from earliest infancy to maturity beneath the protecting 
shelter of these giant oaks, whose wide-stretching arms, 
heavily draped with moss, ward off the high winds, frosts, 
and the fierce heat of the mid-day sun ; alter these condi- 
tions .by cutting down all the protecting oaks, the "Orange 
Guard" they may well be called, and you at once give the 
trees it is your interest to care for, such a shock as they 
will never recover from, and expose them to hardships 
such as they never encountered before. The thriftiest 
young groves in the State have been grown under just 
such shelter as the great oaks delight to bestow upon 
them. 

The value of these "Orange Guards" was thoroughly 
demonstrated two years ago, when groves supposed to be 
too far south or too well shielded by water protection to 
be imperilled by frost were severely damaged, and some of 
the trees killed to the ground by a sudden nocturnal visit 
from erratic "Jack Frost." 

These groves were not sheltered by overhanging trees ; 
but further north by many miles was a faivfamed grove on 
Orange Lake that was thus guarded, and adjoining it an- 
other wherein all the trees had been cut down. When 
that disastrous frost came, the latter grove looked as if a 
fire had swept through it, the trees being stripped of their 
leaves, and thousands of dollars' worth of fruit lying under 
them ; while the former was totally uninjured, its leaves 
as green as in midsummer, its fruit untouched. The owner 
of the unsheltered grove now declares that he would gladly 
give twenty thousand dollars for a few of the stately forest 
trees that once sheltered his domesticated wild grove. 

We have said enough to demonstrate the importance of 
this point, so will pass on to the consideration of pine land 
suitable for orange culture. 



WHERE TO PLANT. 57 

The growth of timber on these lands is, as its name de- 
notes, chiefly pine, with here and there small oaks, shrubs, 
wild persimmons, hickory, and a few other trees, some- 
times solitary, but more frequently in groups; and where 
the latter occurs it is called ** scrub hammock." The rule 
is, that where tall, straight pine trees are found, large in 
size, and about seventy to the acre, and no undergrowth, 
except the wire-grass may be so termed, the laud is first- 
class ; where the small oak trees are scattered thinly about, 
it is second class, and where these oaks surpass the pines in 
number it is less desirable, being inferior to the others. 
There is something to be said, however, even for this; it 
is very poor at first, it is true, but it responds quickly to 
fertilizers, and even the poorest of it can be brought to a 
high degree of cultivation, and thereafter continually im- 
proves year by year. 

There is only one way of clearing hammock land, and 
that we have mentioned ; there are, however, several ways 
of preparing pine land for a grove. One way is to girdle 
the trees, which deadens them and puts an immediate stop 
to the great drain of their wide-spreading roots upon the 
plant-food lying latent in the ground. The trees thus 
girdled are left standing, and then the land is ready for 
fencing and plowing : but in a few months the dead limbs 
begin to fall, and so continue for several years, and the 
branches must either be carried away from time to time, 
or else allowed to remain where they fall to be an eye-sore 
and a constant annoyance in cultivation. 

The first cost of this method of clearing is very little, 
only about two dollars per acre or less, but it is a very un- 
satisfactory way, and likely to cost more in the end than 
it saved in the beginning. 

After a few years* time, when the orange grove is fully 
under way, the deadened trees will begin to fall during 



58 FLORTOA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

a heavy rain or a high wind, or frequently without these 
provocations ; down they crash, now here, now there, and 
as they are not remarkable for good judgment, they are 
just as likely as not to come down on an orange tree and 
put it beyond the pale of recognition. And then the 
fallen giant must be chopped up and either hauled away 
or burned, the expense and trouble of doing which are 
now just as great as they would have been at first, plus 
the loss of some of your best orange treeis. 

The claim made that the dropping branches, bark, and 
sap of the pine trees left to decay on the ground furnish a 
valuable fertilizer is a specious one ; and even if one is 
willing to have his grove strewn over with branches that 
trip up his horse and interfere with the plow, the amount 
of gain to the soil is so small that a few cart loads of rot- 
ten sap and grass hauled from outside and spread around 
the orange trees would far surpass it. Altogether we can 
not recommend this method, for we do not think the gain, 
even considering the small first cost, at all commensurate 
with the "after-claps" of the falling pines, crushed and 
ruined orange trees, the inevitable final clearing up of 
trash, and last, not least, the certain introduction of the 
destructive wood-lice among the orange trees. 

Another and better way is to hew down the trees, have 
rails split from all that are suitable for the purpose, then 
pile and bum the remnants; this method costs for the 
clearing from twelve to eighteen dollars an acre, according 
to the number of trees to be disposed of, and the amount 
of "small deer" in the shape of small bushes and young 
oaks to be grubbed up by the roots. 

But then the stumps of the pine trees remain in the 
ground, and it is a sad mistake to leave them there, as so 
many do ; they are not only a constant eye-sore (that is 
the least of the objections), but no matter how often and 



WHERE TO PLAirr. 69 

how carefully the land is cultivated, these stumps scattered 
all over it will harbor ants and weeds, especially that curse 
of a cultivated field in the South called '* maiden cane" 
grass, which it is almost impossible to eradicate ; once it is 
established, its roots run down to a depth of several foot, 
and every joint makes a new plant. For this enemy the 
pine stumps afford first-class rallying points ; it is simply 
impossible to destroy it in a field where they are. And 
even if the maiden cane can be kept at bay, as the orange 
trees grow larger the pine stumps encroach upon the space 
they require, and by this time, when it is at last deemed 
advisable to get rid of them, fully one half will have to 
be chopped out laboriously, because the orange trees near 
them would be injured if they were burned out. Better, 
by far, bum them out in the first place, and have your 
land smooth and clean, and no broken or crooked lines 
among your orange rows because of stumps interfering 
with setting them out in their proper places. It will cost 
you fifteen or twenty cents apiece to do this, but it is 
cheaper in the end. 

A still better method, because cheaper and just as effect- 
ive, is one that is more rarely practiced than the other 
two, only because it is newer and not generally known as 
yet in Florida. This is to dig a hole quite deep against 
one side of the pine tree, cutting off* the large roots there 
and laying bare the tap-root, and then build a fire in the 
hole beneath and against the tree; by keeping the fire 
constantly smoldering, and in contact with the tap-root, 
the latter is burned off, and the tree, having thus lost its 
balance, topples over and comes crashing to the ground all 
at one time, and it only remains to burn the tree, fill up 
the hole, and the land is clear and smooth, ready for the 
plow for all time to come ; no falling branches or trees, no 
weed-gathering stumps. This method of clearing costs 



60 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANQES. 

from twenty to thirty dollars an acre, not so much indeed 
as first cutting and burning the trees, and then having the 
stumps burned out. 

The land cleared, plowing is next in order ; this can be 
done at an expense of three dollars an acre, not a high 
charge for breaking new land, ajs it is no easy or quick work 
even in our light Florida soil. 

Bails for fencing are split &om the pine trees at a cost 
of a dollar a hundred, and it is well to have them split be- 
fore the trees are burned, as among those cut down, would 
be many suitable for the purpose. Hauling the rails and 
building the fence (Virginia worm-fence is the rule) will 
cost fifty cents a hundred ; the total cost of inclosing one 
acre, eleven hundred rails, will amount to sixteen dollars 
and fifty cents ; five acres, between forty and fifty dollars. 

But however much or little the land may be cleared for 
a grove, or whether pine or hammock be selected, it should 
invariably be located near some assured and permanent 
transportation facilities, either in the present or the near 
future, when the grove will have "come into profit." 

When groves are twenty or more miles from an outlet 
(and some very fine groves are thus situated), the hauling 
by wagon is expensive and tedious, and the cause of great 
loss, by bruising the fruit so as to render it unfit for mar- 
ket. Also do not go too far north in the State, thinking 
that all places are equally favored for orange culture ; it is 
best not to venture beyond the thirtieth degree. 

A good deal has been said and written about water pro* 
tection, and there is no doubt that a location near to and 
south or west of one of our large lakes, or a cluster of 
small ones, is desirable. But the vicinity of the water 
does not always ward off frost ; it all depends upon how 
the frost approaches. A warm vapor always hangs over 
a large body of water, and if a cold north or northwest 



WHERE TO PLAjrr. 61 

wind comes rushing across the placid bosom of the lake, it 
has force sufficient to carry this warm vapor on with it, and 
by the time the south shore is reached the captive air has 
raised the temperature of its captor by several d^;ree8, so 
that its frosty quality is lost. But if the cold wave comes 
quietly and by stealth, as it were, and creeps slowly over 
the water it chills the warm vapor, and so reaches the 
south as cold as when it left the north shore. 

Besides this it has been clearly proved that frost, like 
wind storms, travels in streaks, often with clearly defined 
margins, so that a grove that may escape one frost may be 
touched by another less severe, apparently '* without rhyme 
or reason." 

And so, after all, the best protection a grove can have is 
from a belt of timber land, either inclosing it entirely, or 
else guarding it on the north or west, since these are the 
quarters whence come the highest and coldest winds. This 
is a shield that can happily be obtained in almost any lo- 
cality in Florida, for nearly every settler takes his land at 
first or second hand, and forest land sdll predominates 
throughout the State ; nowhere do we find immense con- 
tiguous tracts of land aU cleared and under tillage as in 
the older settled States. 



62 FLORIDA FRUITS— ORANGES. 



CHAPTER VI. 

BUDDED TREES OR SEEDLINGS? 

The former most emphatically. 

Time was, and that only a few years ago too, when the 
majority of growers favored the seedling tree, because it 
was said to grow larger, fruit more prolifically, and bear 
longer than the budded tree. But the tide of opinion has 
decidedly veered around nowadays, as a greater degree of 
experience is gained and fuller scientific investigation 
brought to bear on the mooted question. 

Thomas Meechan, editor of the GardeneT^a MorMy and 
Horticvlturisty of Philadelphia, who is one of the recog- 
nized authorities on horticultural matters in the United 
States, tells us most decidedly that budding orange trees 
does not dwarf them in the least, unless a dwarf scion is 
used ; and this opinion, coming from such a source, should 
carry conviction with it, even if there were no other avail- 
able testimony, of which, however, there is plenty. It is 
impossible to understand the foundation upon which the 
theory has been based, that by budding we sacrifice size 
of tree and quality of fruit, for certainly experience does 
not demonstrate either of these charges. In the first place 
budding orange trees is comparatively a new thing with us 
all, while seedling trees date back for many years. Where 
a fair comparison between the trees is attainable it is proved 
that the budded trees are fully as large as the seedlings of . 
the same age. 

There is one thing that has probably misled many 
superficial observers in this connection, and that is 
that trees that bear early and continuously, as budded 



BUDDED TREES OR SEEDLINGS. 63 

trees do bear, do not increase so rapidly in wood, year 
by year, as where the tree's whole energy is devoted to 
making wood, but where the budded tree has become as 
large as a seedling bearing tree, it will be seen that the 
after-growth of the budded tree surpasses that of the 
seedling. 

Captain Burnham, of Indian River, tells us that his 
trees are nearly all budded except a few seedlings scattered 
here and there in his grove, and these latter are decidedly 
smaller and less thrifty trees, though of the same age. In 
fact, the further one goes into the subject the more majes- 
tically does the once maligned budded tree loom up and 
the seedling retire into the background, to be brought for- 
ward again simply as stock, in which character we have no 
word to say agaiust it. 

Seedlings versus budded trees? Why, the seedling has 
no case at all. It has been proven that it does not grow 
larger or bear more fruit than the budded tree, and, when 
we look at the question financially, its case is more hope- 
less than ever. 

Why is it that we dig and delve and toil to make an 
orange grove ? Truly, that it may return our labor in good 
solid coin, and that, as soon as may be. 

Did any one ever hear of a tree budded from a bearing 
one that did not fruit until it was eight, ten, twenty years 
from the bud ? Yet the two first dates named are those 
the seedlings usually attain before they bear at all, while 
it is not uncommon for them to reach the age of fifteen and 
twenty years before bearing a single orange, and sometimes 
they are forever barren. Very few settlers there are, even 
with very limited means, who could not struggle along 
somehow if their trees could be made to yield a small re- 
turn in four or five years, but who, if compelled to wait a 
return for ten or twelve yeai's would fall down worsted in 



64 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

the fight and suffer a financial shipwreck. In short, as a 
well-known orange grower emphatically asserts : 

'* It is universally recognized that budding shortens the 
period before fruiting. Is not this, then, a strong reason 
financially why we should adopt the budded system ? My 
own experience teaches me the necessity of budding. I 
can see no dwarfing tendency or results ; on the contrary, 
my budded trees are larger than seedlings of the same age, 
and the fruit is certainly as good. I have not been able to 
see that the production is fewer in numbers. I therefore 
give my unqualified opinion that it will not only pay to 
bud the orange tree, but that as intelligent men we can not 
afford to do otherwise." 

There is also another strong argument in favor of budded 
trees that we have not yet touched on. Years of experi- 
ence have taught every horticulturist that the attempt to 
produce certain varieties of fruit from seed almost invari- 
ably results in failure. The seed either produces an infe- 
rior fruit or an entirely new variety, which is likely to 
be poorer rather than better than that which produced 
the seed, and before any result can be attained years of 
care and waiting must elapse. Every grower who has 
carefully observed the fruit produced by the various trees 
in a seedling grove can not have failed to notice a great 
difference therein. Let the seeds that produced these trees 
be ever so carefully selected, some of the trees will pro- 
duce better oranges than others with the same care and 
treatment. 

Now this is not the case with budded trees. From the 
moment the first tiny little leaf starts out, the germ of the 
future tree, its destined work is marked out and known. 
If a bud from a bearing Mediterranean Sweet, Navel, 
Homosassa, or Mandarin is used, then we know what the 
budded tree wiU bear, and thus we not only secure beyond 



BUDDED TREBB OR 8EEDUKOS. 65 

doubt a &ie variety of fruit, but the identical variety we 
liave selected as preferable. Surely this one advantage 
alone should be sufficient to tip the scale in favor of the 
budded tree. It is no slight thing to know for a certainty 
that, after several years' expenditure of care, money, and 
patience, we have secured the most desirable varieties of 
fruit. 

Not many years since the sour orange was the fiivorite 
for budding stock; of late, however, the scarcity of this 
tree has led to experiments which tend to prove that there 
are several kinds of stock to be preferred to the sour 
orange. 

There are several strong objections to this wild stock 
from the hammocks. First — and this is a very impor- 
tant matter — it is almost impossible to secure a sufficient 
quantity of roots in comparison to the size of the trunk ; 
again, they have grown up from seed to maturity in rich 
land, protected from sun and wind by the dense foliage 
around them, and when they are transplanted to a grove 
they suffer from change of habit. If they live at all their 
growth is feeble and sickly. They will put out, perhaps, 
a few sprouts, and then stand still for months or even 
years, the vitality of the trunk being exhausted, and the 
roots not having sufficient life to supply further nutri- 
ment. 

As an example we give an instance of our own personal 
experience : Five years ago we set out a grove of sour 
stocks, taken from the hammock — to be budded in due 
time — on pine land, at an expense of one dollar each. A 
few of the transplanted stumps died almost immediately. 
The others lingered on, just alive, most of them too feeble 
to take a bud. After two years of lost time and patience, 
the majority were pulled up and thrown away, to be re- 
placed by thrifty budded trees from the nursery. This 

6 



66 FLORTOA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

year still more have been dug out in disgrace, while the 
few stumps that nourished their foster children, the sweet 
buds, are only now, after four years, beginning to make a 
respectable growth. Had these sour stumps been stock of 
the proper kind they would have grown right along and 
accepted the bud in due time. The grove then set out 
would now have been a bearing one, beginning to pay 
back the money, care, and time expended on it. As it is, 
four years are totally lost. So much for setting out the 
wrong kind of stock. 

The stocks that are now coming into competition with 
the once universal sour orange are lemon, lime, grape fruit, 
and the sweet seedling. The three former are stronger 
growing trees than the latter, but this also is as thrifty as 
need be, and is becoming a great &vorite with many 
growers. 

One of Florida's foremost nurserymen, Mr. A. J. Beach, 
of Palatka, takes a decided stand in favor of the sweet 
seedling for stock, especially because, in the event of a 
frost severe enough to kill orange trees to the ground, 
the sweet seedling sprouting from the ground would still 
bear a sweet orange without requiring to be again bud- 
ded; supposing, of course, that its roots had attained a 
bearing age. 

But what then ? The fruit would still be only a seed- 
ling orange of no special variety, and more likely poor 
than good; so that budding would be just as desirable 
for the same reasons as it was at first. Consequently, 
while we acknowledge the sweet seedling to be good 
stock, we can not admit that it would not require re-bud- 
ding, the same as any other, in the event of its being killed 
to the ground. 

In consequence, the sweet seedling is preferred to any 
other stock, it having been shown by various experiments 



BUDDED TREES OR 8EEDLINQ8. 67 

that it is the safest for the orange and lemon buds. Its 
roots are large, strong, and healthy, and intended by na- 
ture to minister to the needs of a large, majestic tree. It 
is rarely affected by the gum or any other root disease, and 
both orange and lemon buds have a close and strong affin- 
ity for this stock. 

The lemon also does well as stock for the orange, al- 
though some claim that here, as well as with the lime and 
citron, the stock exercises an influence upon the fruit, 
and it is apt to be coarse flavored, with a pungent, acid 
flavor. These same growers admit, however, that the 
sweet orange raised on lime, grape fruit, and lemon stock, 
is of larger size and in greater quantity than that raised 
from the orange stock. 

Of all the citrus stocks named the citron enjoys the least 
favor, and we think deservedly so. 

The lemon seedling is a good thrifty grower, but will 
not thrive in so great a diversity of soil and situation as 
the others. 

The lime makes a strong, rapid stock, and will flour- 
ish with less care and in poorer soil than any of the 
others. Owing to its rather dwarfish habit it would be 
better to bud it with one of the half-dwarf varieties of 
the orange — such as the St. Michael or the Mandarin — thus 
avoiding the danger of the top outgrowing the trunk. 

The size and quantity of fruit borne on lime and 
lemon stock is largely increased over the original, but it 
is claimed by some that the quality is rather deteriorated. 
As, however, it has been proven by our most eminent 
botanists that the stock does not in any way influence the 
character of the fruit borne by the scion, except in so far 
as a thrifty stock makes a thrifty tree, and vice versa^ we 
can not but believe the asserted effect of the lime and 
lemon on the orange to be fanciful, not sustained by fact. 



68 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

It must, however, be borne in mind that these two, the 
lemon and lime, are more easily affected by cold than 
orange or grape fruit, and hence are not safe stock in lo- 
calities exposed to frequent frosts. 

The grape fruit germinates as readily frt)m the seed as 
the sour orange, and grows off as vigorously from the very 
first. It is as hardy as the sweet orange, is less subject to 
disease, and makes an excellent stock for the latter. Per- 
sonally, we prefer it to any other. 

In budding one's own nursery-raised seedlings, no matter 
what the stock may be, it is best to bud them in the nurs- 
ery when the stock is one year old ; then, as soon as the 
bud shows it has taken, take up the trees carefully and set 
them out in the grove, where they are to remain, for when 
you have your trees at hand it is better to set them out as 
young as possible while the roots are so small that it is 
easy to take them up without losing any, and thereby giv- 
ing the tree a set-back. 

Do not cut back entirely until the transplanted tree has 
had time to grow. If all the trees in the nursery are not 
needed for budding at the same time, it is a good plan to 
bud alternate trees. Those that remain will have a space 
of two feet in which to grow another year, or the space 
thus left vacant may be filled in again with fresh stock 
from the seed-bed. 

In buying from the nurseries, and this we would 
advise all to do who have not their own nursery, it is 
best to purchase stock three years old and one year 
bud. These trees are of a size that renders them easy 
to handle and set out, and they grow off finely, being 
neither old enough to lose many rootlets in the process 
of transfer, nor too young to bear a temporary cessation 
of growth. 

T^ees such as these, of the best varieties grown, are to 



BUDDED TREES OB SEEDLINGS. 69 

be had at fifty dollars per hundred; trees of two years' 
bud, with stock of four or five years' growth, at eeventy- 
five dollars; and a still larger size at one dollar each. 
When the sweet seedling is purchased for setting out in a 
grove, it should be not under three nor over five years for 
the best result to be obtained. 

Setting them out from your home nursery, it is better to 
put them out just as soon as they are a year old, putting 
stakes to protect them from the plow and cultivator until 
they are large enough to take care of themselves. This 
precaution is, of course, necessary with the young budded 
trees as well ; and it is especially needful to tie the bud to 
a stake, lest a high wind should wrench loose its as yet 
tender hold upon its foster mother ; many are the promis- 
ing young trees thus lost, &om sheer carelessness. 



70 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 



CHAPTER VII. 

HOW TO PLANT. 

The last thing, before you are ready to set out your 
grove, is to have the ground thoroughly plowed. This 
should not be the first time, however, for it is not well to 
plant trees in freshly plowed land, as the soil is always 
more or less sour, and needs sun and air to sweeten it. 
If it is practicable to break up the land for the future 
grove several months before setting out the trees, and to 
plant and turn under a crop of cow-peas with or even 
without a light sprinkling of lime, so much the better, 
although this is not absolutely necessary. The ground 
thus prepared, the next thing in order is to lay it out in 
grove form. 

Supposing that your fences lie at right angles with each 
other, as they should do, this will not be a very difficult 
matter ; measuring the distance you wish the first row to 
be from a parallel fence, first at one end and then at the 
other of the proposed line, stretch a rope (or wire pre- 
ferred) from a stake driven down at the point of measure- 
ment at one end and to its corresponding stake at the 
other. Before this is done, however, tags at the desired 
distance apart should have been tied to rope or wire in 
such manner as to preclude their slipping out of place. 
Now, keeping your measuring cord tight, drive down a 
stake at each of these tags ; these mark the position of the 
tap-root of the tree. Now, whatever space you have 
chosen for your trees to set apart, as just staked out, 
whether twenty, twenty-five, or thirty feet, measure this 
distance at a right angle for your first row at each end, 
remove your measuring line to these new points of depart- 



HOW TO PIAMT. 71 

ure, and drive down your stakes to mark the tags as 
before ; this gives the second row of trees. By adopting 
this simple and easy mode of measurement, crooked and 
irregular rows are avoided, and the grove thus laid out 
will present a regular and pleasing effect to the eye, and 
be much more easily cultivated than one whose trees are 
set here and there, irregular in distance and in line. The 
plow or cultivator can run much closer to trees that are 
set in a straight line, and very little work Lb left to be done 
by the hoe. 

There is great diversity of opinion as to the proper dis- 
tance to set apart orange trees, and yet it is a question of 
vital importance. We do not set out our groves for our- 
selves alone, but for our posterity also, for generations to 
come. We should, therefore, bring our best judgment to 
bear upon a permanent arrangement for the position of 
the trees. He who successfully brings to maturity a grove 
of orange or lemon trees is preparing a noble heritage for 
his heirs, and his work should be well and carefully done. 

The trees look small and puny when first set out, but do 
not forget that they are put there to stay, and that for 
years to come they wlU continue to increase constantly in 
size, until by and by the day will come when each of those 
trees will be forty or fifty feet high, with a trunk which 
two men with outstretched arms can not entirely encircle, 
and with a fruitage of from five to ten thousand oranges. 
It seems incredible, does it not, that these little trees, 
many of them no thicker than your finger, should ever 
attain such a size ? Yet others have done it, and these will 
do it in time ; not in ours, perhaps, but in that of our 
children and children's children. 

If the trees are planted too close the grove will be 
dwarfed and almost wrecked, as the years roll on, until 
some day it will become imperative to remove a part of 



72 FLORIDA PRurra — oranges. 

the trees, and unless this is done with regoiarity and the 
alternate trees taken out the efiect will not be aadfi&ctory, 
and the whole symmetry of the grove destroyed^ to ay 
nothing of the loss of half the fruit for many yeam. 

There are two budded groves, not a mile from the writer 
at this present moment, where ten or twelve years ago 
little trees were set out fi^^en feet apart. To-day, many 
large bearing trees have had to be removed from one of 
these, and their profit lost for years to come, while in the 
other the sun never reaches the ground, and rain, only as 
it drops fr^m and throu^ the branches that dosdLy inter- 
lock and dwarf each other. Until the alternate trees in 
this grove are removed it will never do half as well as if 
the trees had at first been placed at a proper distance apart. 
It will not be long before the owner will be compelled to 
thin out his trees. 

Another grove, too, we know of, where the wild trees, 
budded where they stood twelve years ago, are now crowd- 
ing each other to such an extent that the owners are 
about to remove a large number, although doing so will 
entail a lose of several hundred boxes for several years to 
come. 

Now, these are things that '* try men's souls,'' yet they 
have to be done sooner or later when the grove is origi- 
nally set too close; hence the importance of judicious 
spacing when first planting. There are still a few growers 
who recommend planting in squares of fifteen or eighteen 
feet, but many have gone to the other extreme, and advo- 
cate squares of thirty-five or even forty feet. The great 
majority, however, have paused half way, and consider 
from twenty-five to thirty feet the best spacing for the 
orange or lemon grove, and undoubtedly they are in the 
right Buch a distance apart gives the trees ample room 
to spread, and yet wastes neither land nor labor. Where 



HOW TO PLANT. 73 

there is or is likely to be superabundant moisture, plant 
the trees thirty feet apart, to give the sun a better chance 
to reach the ground. On high lands set your trees at 
twenty-five feet, 

And now, the ground prepared and spaced off, you are 
ready to dig your holes. The depth and diameter of these 
will depend on the size of your trees. Give plenty of 
room, and do not crowd the roots or curl them up. Throw 
the top soil to one side, the subsoil to the other ; if you 
have well-rotted stable manure, compost, muck, or com- 
mercial fertilizer ready, mix it sparingly, half with the 
subsoil half with the top ; but this is not necessary. 

The removal of the tree from the nursery to the grove 
is not the simple thing many conceive it to be — that is, if 
it be properly done. Let your trees be improperly handled 
while being dug and set out, and if they grow at all it will 
be a sickly, stunted growth, that will be a perpetual re- 
mioder to their owners of the old and truthful adage, 
** Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well." 

The work of taking up and transplanting trees whose 
roots are chiefly fibrous, like those of the citrus family, is 
one requiring time, care, and patience. Don't try to do 
too much at one time or you will repent it. 

In digging trees preserve every root and rootlet that is 
possible. If they are to be carried to any distance or kept 
for several days out of the ground, it will pay well to puddle 
the roots — ^in other words, dip them in a paste made of 
clay and sand, made just thin enough to let the finest 
rootlets be plunged in it without breaking, and yet thick 
enough to cling to them like a close-fitting garment. 
Boots thus protected, put away in a shady place, and 
watered so that they do not get dry, will keep in good 
order for two or three days. Under no circumstances 
must the tender rootlets of the citrus family be permitted 

7 



74 FLORTOA FRUITB — ORANGES. 

to dry off during the interval between digging and plant- 
ing, for, being evergreens, they dry off very quickly, and 
will never revive again. Never let the sun touch them. 

In packing for shipment the roots should be thoroughly 
enveloped in moss, straw, or grass, very slightly dampened ; 
more trees are lost in transportation, through rotting and 
over-heating, than by being too dry ; in conveying them in 
wagons, even a short distance, damp Florida moss should 
be thrown over them. Take them from under this shelter, 
one by one, as you are ready to plant them, never drop 
them ahead of the workmen. 

The soil should be damp, both when the trees are taken 
from the nursery and when they are set out. Place the roots 
in water, for twelve hours before planting, and use water 
freely when setting them out. In planting, the bottom of 
the hole should be slightly raised in the center, sloping 
downward toward the sides ; then, with a small spade or a 
pointed stick, make a hole in the middle of the mound for 
the tap-root; and just here is an important item. The tap- 
root — ^it does no harm if it is cut partially away — should 
rest in the hole thus prepared for it, to suck a depth as vM 
bring the top lateral roots of the tree about an inch above the 
ground after the soil is aUfUled in around the tree. 

Too much caution can not be exercised about this, for if 
the tree is set too deep it will be a long while, perhaps 
years, before it will flourish, for it will be compelled to 
send out fresh surface roots to take the place of those 
smothered from the air and warmth by too deep planting. 

Remember that freshly plowed land is always raised sev- 
eral inches above its general level, and also that trees al- 
ways settle after being planted from one to two inches, 
according to their weight. Therefore, let the upper roots, 
where they stand out from the stem, be in full view after 
your work is done, th'-.n you are assured it is well done. 



HOW TO PLANT. 75 

Before the tree is placed in the hole trim off with a 
sharp knife all the bruised or broken roots, and cut back 
the tree severely, allowing a few, but only a few, leaves 
to remain; then push the tap-root down into the hole 
prepared for it, pack the top earth you have thrown out 
around it, spread out the lower layer of the lateral and 
fibrous roots, holding out of the way the upper roots, pack 
down the soil firmly on them with your hands, spread out 
the upper layers and pack the earth firmly on them with 
your feet, then pour on a half pail of water, when that 
has had time to settle spread the sub-soil around the tree 
and level ofi* the ground, and that completes the operation. 

A day or two after the trees are set out examine them 
and see if any of them need straightening, also if any of 
the holes need more filling. Trees, if possible, should be 
pruned a week or two before removal from the nursery to 
enable them to recover from the shock that is always at- 
tendant upon severe pruning. For at least several months 
after planting the trees should be mulched, in order to pre- 
vent the possibility of the upper rootlets becoming dry 
before they have had time to establish themselves in their 
new quarters. 

We may have seemed tedious and unnecessarily minute 
in treating of this matter of **how to plant," but the ex- 
perience of all orange growers teaches that the most critical 
period in the life of the tree is that in which it is moved 
from the nursery to the grove, and in the manner in which 
that is done depends its after career for better or worse ; it 
is the comer-stone of the future grove. 

The following table will be found convenient for refer- 
ence in laying out a grove and in ordering trees : 

NUMBER OF TREES IN SQUARES PER ACRE. 

20 X 20 feet 108 trees. 30 x 30 feet 48 trees. 

26 X 26 " 70 " 36 X 36 " 86 " 



76 FLOBIDA FRCTTB— ORA^GEB. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HOW TO CULTIVATE. 

Under this heading we come to the most vexed question 
among the many that perplex the orange grower. Donht- 
IcflH twenty years ago, before orange cultnre became an €&- 
tabliffhcd induHtry, the few men who counted a small nom- 
Imr of these trees among their possessions deemed that 
they knew all about their culture. But nowada3rs the 
orange grower b feign to confess that there is much yet to 
learn in his business, that time and experience are still 
rc<|uire(l before the best results can be certainly obtained. 

One IcHHon at least has been brought home to every 
orange grower, and it is one that all new-comers should 
h(!(!(i, since second-hand experience is cheaper than that 
paid for out of one's own pocket, and this is, that when an 
orang(5 grove is the Alpha and Omega, the sinew and back- 
bone of a Florida home, it must be treated as such. 

Who would think of embarking in any commercial bus- 
\uv-tmf Hto(!king one's store, for instance, and then going off 
tw^ro and there, leaving the business to take care of itself, 
and the hUh'M at the mercy of thieves? Yet such a course 
would be quite as sensible as that pursued by those who 
m*i out an orange grove and then leave it uncared for, 
Wivo, ))erhaps, by a semi-occasional plowing, which is given 
inoro in the interest of com, cow-peas, or some such crop 
planted among the trees, than in that of the latter them- 
wIveH. 

ThoHC who have bought their experience personally have 
waked up by and by to the fact that all the time spent in 
waiting for the trees to take a start, while being treated in 
this shabby manner, is just so much time lost. 



HOW TO CULTIVATE. 77 

The orange will bear a great deal of harsh treatment and 
neglect without actually dying, but it will not thrive nor 
come quickly into profit, unless it is carefully tended and 
nurtured, just as one would look after any other business 
that he expected to be profitable, or to become his future 
support. 

BvLty as we have just said, how best to accomplish this 
desirable result is a much vexed question, for the calling, 
being a comparatively new one, there are almost as many 
systems put forward as there are orange growers, and be- 
tween them all the new-comer can not but become bewil- 
dered and confused. A great deal may be learned by com- 
paring methods and results in one's own neighborhood, 
finding out who has failed and who has succeeded, and the 
cause which led to each result, and then guiding one's own 
course accordingly. 

The advocates of plowing, once a numerous body, are 
becoming fewer and fewer as time proves that there is no 
tree or plant that will respond more generously than the 
orange to proper cultivation, which is not with the plow. 

**Let the weeds and grass grow in the grove and plow 
them under two or three times in the course of the season," 
used to be the text preached to the novice, and practiced 
by the old-system growers. This is the plan still followed 
by some, but the majority have come to the belief that the 
plow should not be allowed at all in a grove that is bearing 
or nearly approaching it, for by this time the ground will 
be closely matted with roots thrown out by the trees, and 
as the majority of these are surface roots, the plow will 
tear and loosen them, and thus, by the old method, ** two 
or three times in a season " the trees were rudely deprived 
of a portion of their food caterers, and their growth 
checked while Dame Nature paused to replace the fibrous 
roots thus torn away. 



78 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

So the turn-plow should be banished from the bearmg 
grove, and in fact from every grove after the trees are 
half grown, and a single thirty-two-inch sweep used in its 
place. Many use the cultivator and harrow, but the sweep 
is better than either ; it is more uniform in its depth of 
cutting than either the plow, cultivator, or harrow. It 
cuts off weeds under ground better than the two latter, 
and, taken altogether, does better and cheaper work in a 
grove free from stumps, and is superior to any other im- 
plement we know of. 

The ground throughout the grove should be kept level 
and the surface stirred with sweep or cultivator to a depth 
of no more than three inches, as far out as the roots have 
extended. Each time the cultivator or harrow passes 
through the grove it should be followed by the hoe, not 
only to cut down all grass and weeds, but to draw any soil 
that may have been thrown against the trunks of the 
trees, or piled up on top of the crown of the lateral sur- 
face roots. 

We have in a previous chapter referred to the impor- 
tance of allowing the crown of these roots to be level with 
or slightly above the surface of the ground, and now refer 
to it again because it is a point the why and wherefore of 
which is but little understood or heeded, even by those 
growers who are esteemed most intelligent and wide awake 
to the best methods of culture. 

If the crown of these laterals is left a little above the 
soil when the young tree is set out, as nature intended it 
to be, they will develop very rapidly, and as these are the 
main channels for conveying food and drink to the inner 
parts of the tree, the importance of this point is readily 
seen. It is exactly on the same principle that we draw 
away the earth from around an onion to hasten the growth 
of the bulb, and every where among the forest trees we 




HOW TO CULTlVtoEOj^ipoRN^'^ 





see Dame Nature em^doying this method to brace and 
strengthen their growth. 

As a general rule clean culture from Fcbruarj to Juuc, 
suspending culture from the latter period, gives the best 
results, where the ground is dry and rolling. Where it is 
low and damp, allowing the grass to grow, cutting it once 
or twice in the season and leaving it to decay on the sur- 
face is the better plan. The former is the best for pine 
lands, the latter for wild hammock groves, although cir- 
cumstances may, in individual cases, modify these rules, 
but generally they hold good. 

We know of a pine land grove, where for several years 
grass was allowed to grow, and three or four times in a 
season plowed under ; the trees did not grow well or bear 
well; they became sickly and insected, and the oranges 
rusted. Then clean culture was tried, and a cultivator 
passed through the grove every two weeks from January 
to October. It was curious to see how those trees bright- 
ened up under what was evidently congenial treatment, for 
that time, at least. Before the season was over they started 
to grow vigorously, throwing out thrifty shoots from top 
to bottom, the insects disappeared, the trees lost their sickly 
yellow look and joyously donned their wonted dark green 
livery, and the fruit was large and fine and bright. 

Another instance we know: A wild hammock grove, 
where clean culture was practiced for several seasons, the 
trees, hitherto healthy and in vigorous growth, drooped, 
turned yellow, became the prey of insects, dropped their 
oranges, and seemed likely to die. Then the owner stopped 
plowing and cultivating, allowed the luxuriant grass to 
grow at will, and when it became too rampant had it 
cut and left it where it fell. Almost immediately the 
drooping trees lifted up their heads, the insects fled, and 
to-day, when the ground has not been stirred for more 



i 



80 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

than two years, this erewhile sickly grove is one of the 
finest and most beautiful sights to be seen in Florida. 

And just here we see why it is so difficult to lay down a 
given rule as a safe guide in all circumstances for the 
would-be orange grower to follow. It is emphatically true 
in orange culture, as in many other things, that '* circum- 
stances alter cases." While the trees are young, and their 
roots extend over but a small portion of the ground, it is 
a good plan to cultivate the grove as a vegetable garden. 

The fertilizers used for the latter do double duty, as any 
surplus left by the vegetables goes toward enriching the 
land that by and by will be invaded by the hungry army 
of orange rootlets ; the green stuff also that remains after 
the crops are gathered supplies a very necessary element 
to the successful grove, namely, vegetable humus. During 
the first two seasons, when the trees are only four or five 
years old, the vegetable rows may approach the trees 
within four feet, but every year afterward the distance 
should be increased one foot, until the cultivation of vege- 
tables finally ceases, and the orange rootlets run riot over 
the whole grove, reveling in the rich soil that has thus 
been prepared for their coming. 

It behooves every orange grower to keep his eyes open, 
to read, to watch, to observe, not only his neighbors' meth- 
ods and experiences, but also to note the results of his own 
work, and alter his course if it seems likely to wreck his 
particular barque. 



MULCHINa AND PRUNIKO. 81 



CHAPTER rX. 

MULCHING AND PRUNING. 

In the question of '' Mulch or not to Mulch," we come 
to another disputed point. Some advocate mulching 
orange trees both old and young, advocate it most emphat- 
ically ; others oppose mulching at all, just as vehemently, 
while others again say, ''mulch young trees and those just 
set out for a year or two, but never mulch otherwise." 

Who is right and who is wrong ? No doubt in this, as 
in other questions where opinions differ, there is some right 
and some wrong on all sides. 

Taking it altogether, however, there is much more to be 
said in favor of mulching than against it. Its opponents 
are in the minority now, and likely to become still more so 
as time rolls on and brings greater experience in orange 
culture. 

In one of our most reliable agricultural works we find 
the following concise declaration as to what mulching does : 
''Mulching holds moisture in the soil and retains the at- 
mospheric ammonia, breaks the force of the rains, and 
thus prevents the ground firom being baked ; prevents also 
the soil from freezing so easily as when exposed ; prevents 
rapid thawing during the heated season, and cools the 
earth. These are the principal advantages to be derived 
from mulching, and yet they are sufficient to make any 
farmer think favorably of it." 

And we will add, not only farmers, but especially orange 
growers. Mulching their trees has been practiced by our 
oldest growers, and the fact that they still continue the 
practice speaks volumes as to the result of their years of 
experience. 



82 FLORTOA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

The objections made to its use by some are, that it tends 
to increase the surface roots and increase their liability to 
injury from frosts. 

The first of these statements is true — ^mulching does pro- 
duce more roots at the surface — ^but what then ? 

It is to these very surface roots that the citrus family is 
indebted for its chief supply of food ; these are the main 
purveyors of the tree, the large roots serve as anchors and 
canals through which nourishment is conveyed, but the 
tiny, fibrous roots that creep here, there, and every where, 
are ever on the lookout for food supplies, and where they 
find it most abundantly there they go. They seek moist- 
ure and warmth ; beneath the shelter of the mulch they 
always fi&d it ready for them. The warmth they might 
have had without the mulch, but not the moisture. The 
more of these surface roots there are the better, as the 
orange is a surface-feeding tree, and, as the mulch rots 
away, a rich vegetable mold accumulates around the tree 
which is of immense benefit. 

A grove where the trees are well mulched does not need 
half so frequent cultivation as one where the ground is left 
entirely bare. Whatever portion is covered by the mulch 
is kept free from weeds and grass, the ground is rendered 
porous and friable, and the roots which would be near the 
surface, even without the mulch, are protected from their 
greatest enemy, drought, very effectually. 

Some advocates of mulching go so far as to recommend 
shading the entire surface of the grove. Now this is prof- 
itable under some circumstances, where the trees are large 
and shade a good portion of the ground by their foliage, so 
that the mulch need only cover the intermediate spaces; 
but when the trees are young it would require so great an 
expenditure of time, labor, and money, as to be almost 
impracticable. It is all-sufficient that the ground be cov- 



MULCHING AND PRUNING. 83 

ered to a depth of several inches, leaving a bare space of 
about a foot around the trunk. The mulch should extend 
about two feet beyond the outer roots ; this is very ini{)or- 
tant. Never allow the mulch to touch the trunk, it will 
Bofben and rot the bark and encourage insects to settle 
around it. 

We have not yet touched on the second objection of the 
anti-mulchers — that **of increased liability to frost." 

In reply to this we give an extract from the report of 
one of our well-known Florida growers, and another from 
a prominent planter engaged in orange culture at Pass 
Christian, Mississippi. The Florida man says : 

*'It has been urged that mulching makes the orange 
tree tender and more liable to freeze. Believing a state- 
ment of this kind, I was kept from mulching for three 
years, and then I only began by the trial of a few trees at 
first. I am satisfied, by careful experiments and observa- 
tion, that no harm can come to trees on that account if 
properly applied. Old trees and young trees, trees just 
set out, and trees bearing five hundred oranges each, have 
been alike benefited. Trees that were mulched during 
the freeze of last winter came out of it much better than 
those that were without mulching ; and now, during the 
present dry weather, while other trees are becoming yellow 
and curling* the leaf at mid-day, the mulched trees retain 
a dark green, healthy color, and are growing right along." 

So much for our Florida witness ; now for the voice from 
Pass Christian : 

**My grove of five thousand trees escaped very serious 
damage during the severe cold of two seasons ago. I at- 
tribute this exemption to a thorough mulching of the soil, 
which protects them from the intense heat of summer as 
well as the cold of winter." 

Surely the experience of these two men should count 



84 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

for Bomething, especially when in almost every paper we 
glance at we see notes here and there, showing that others 
have made the same discovery. 

Altogether, mulching bids fair to play no unimportant 
part in the future of orange culture. 

The least expensive way of mulching is to spread dried 
or partly decayed vegetation (no woody fibers) around the 
trees in the way we have already mentioned, several inches 
deep, a foot from the trunk, and two feet beyond the outer 
roots — ^grass, weeds, leaves, straw, pine needles, well-rotted 
sawdust, bagasse — all these are good, and always to be had 
in quantity merely for the labor of gathering them. When 
the mulching becomes thin, as it will in time, when the 
lower portions decay and work down to feed the little 
rootlets, replace it, and at the same time enlarge its area, 
remembering that the trees are growing all the time, and 
their roots reaching out farther and farther. A top dress- 
ing of lime, ashes, or potash will hasten the decay of the 
mulch ; it is, at the same time, of great benefit. 

It is wonderful how a tree thus treated will flourish, 
even when it has been in poor condition up to the time of 
applying the mulch. An instance in point is that of a 
bearing grove where the oranges were dropping off, the 
leaves yellow, and the trees sickly. At this juncture the 
owner caused two cart loads of mulch to a tree to be spread 
on the ground so that the entire space between the trees 
was covered, at a cost of twenty-five cents per load. In 
two weeks the oranges ceased to drop, the leaves went 
back to their healthy green color, and the trees bristled 
with new growth. It was two years before the mulch had 
to be renewed, and in all that time neither the expense of 
hoeing nor cultivating the grove had to be met, the mulch 
keeping the ground moist and friable, and choking out all 
weeds. 



MULCHINO AUTD PRUNING. 85 

There is a mode of mulching that we have not referred 
to that 18 well worth general adoption, combining, as it 
does, the double benefit of mulching and green manuring. 
This ifl, to remove carefully the loose earth ^m the roots 
of the trees to as great a depth as is practicable without 
injuring them ; then to fill in level with the ground the 
mulching material, which in this case should be grass, 
weeds, cow-peas, or other green stuff; sprinkle with lime 
or ashes if handy — ^it will do without, however — then 
tramp it down and throw on top the soil taken out. This 
retains the moisture, hastens decay, and absorbs gases that 
would otherwise escape. It is mulch and manure at the 
same time. 

The question of pruning is one about which there is 
little controversy, less so, perhaps, than any other one 
point in orange culture, though even here there are some 
who differ from the great majority. 

Of all domesticated fruit trees the citrus family requires 
the least pruning; some say none at all, but experience 
teaches otherwise. 

Pruning is one of nature's great laws in the vegetable 
kingdom. Look at our forest trees ; in their youth their 
branches are low on the trunk, they are needed then to 
shelter the tender stem from sun and rain. As the tree 
grows older these first branches drop off, leaving the stem 
clean and graceful. Dame Nature has pruned them. When 
a branch dies, by and by, it decays and falls to the ground ; 
it is useless, so that too is pruned away. Look at the 
young pine trees ; their branches are low and sweep the 
ground, but the matured trunk rises eighty feet in the air 
without a single branch. 

Never use a dull knife, saw, or shears in pruning a tree ; 
the sharper the tool the better. It. is always best to use 
shears on the smaller branches rather than the knife, the 



86 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

latter being apt to slip and tear the bark. When the knife 
must be used, however, let the cut be upward rather than 
downward, as this lessens the danger of damage to the 
limb. Bear in mind that a rough, haggled cut does not 
readily heal, and very often never heals, thus injuring the 
tree permanently; and for this reason, when limbs have 
been sawed off, the cut should be pared smooth with a 
knife, and then covered with thick shellac varnish or graft- 
ing wax to exclude sun and rain until healed, otherwise 
disease may be communicated to the whole tree. 

All water sprouts — that is, sprouts starting near the 
ground — should be pinched off as soon as they appear; 
they are robbers of the legitimate branches above them. 
Watch carefully for dead limbs, and cut them away as 
quickly as possible, taking a portion of the live wood with 
them to be sure that none of it remains. " Once upon a 
time" it was thought though a dead limb was unsightly 
and useless it did no actual harm, but it has recently been 
proven otherwise. A dead limb not only evaporates the 
sap that should go to the nutriment of the tree, drawing 
it up by capillary attraction like a sponge, but the ele- 
ments of decay it contains flow back into the tree and so 
promote disease ; therefore, never let a dead limb remain 
to counteract all your good works. Some branches there 
will be, not dead but diseased, so that they either develop 
no leaves, or else sickly ones. Let these be pruned away 
also for the same reason. 

Do not trim the branches up high on the trunk ; encour- 
age low growth, especially while the trees are young. This 
is Nature's plan for protecting the tender bark from the 
sun, and should not be interfered with. As the tree grows 
taller cut away the branches gradually, until, when the 
tree is in bearing, you can just get under it by slightly 
stooping, but can stand upright against the trunk. The 



MULCHIKQ AND PRUNING. 87 

most successful groves and the healthiest trees are those 
where the lower branches, when laden with fruit, barely 
escape or even touch the ground. Keep an open head to 
the tree so that the sun and air can reach freely to all 
parts, leaving the most vigorous lateral branches and cut- 
ting away the weaker ones. Never allow your young trees 
to become matted with branches inside so that the trunk 
can not be seen. Sooner or later they will crowd each 
other so much that you will be compelled to cut them out, 
and then all their vigor of growth will be just so much 
vitality thrown away. Better keep the head open from 
the start and allow no such wastage of time and thrift. 

By pursuing this course systematically, by the time the 
tree is ready to bear it will be in fine shape — " a thing of 
beauty and a joy forever." It will then need very little 
after-pruning, except to clear out dead branches. 

If you have set your trees twenty-five or thirty feet 
apart, keep the tops low to facilitate gathering the fruit ; 
if, however, they are set only twenty feet apart, higher 
tops will be desirable, since the ground must not be too 
densely shaded by the foliage. The orange is emphatically 
a child of the sun, and will not thrive unless sun and air 
can circulate freely about and above its roots. 

Prune in the spring, in January, February, or March. 
Fall or winter pruning is apt to be injurious as promoting 
new growth at a season when growth should be checked. 

Whenever possible cut away the large thorns that not 
only make gathering the fruit a slow and delicate opera- 
tion, attended with torn flesh and clothes, but puncture the 
oranges when swaying in the breeze, and thus render them 
unsalable. 



88 FLORIDA FRUITS— ORANGES. 



CHAPTER X. 

HOW TO FERTILIZE. 

This is a subject of great importance, and one that it 
behooves every farmer and fruit grower to study closely. 
It is the comer-stone of his prosperity, the back-bone of 
his wealth. 

There are many commercial fertilizers in the market of 
approved value, and it is well to use them in conjunction 
with home-made manures when one has the means to do 
so ; but scarcely one in ten of the embryo Florida orange 
growers is able to procure these, and so his chief depend- 
ence is on the home-made compost heap. This is by no 
means a despicable resource, as we shall presently see ; in 
fact there is no excuse for any man in Florida who owns a 
horse and cart for not having an abundance of valuable 
fertilizer for his trees, at merely the expenditure of time, 
the light labor of collecting trash, and hauling it home. 

The man who has not the means to purchase the needed 
food for his trees, and yet has no great heaps constantly 
preparing for such, is simply a lazy man, and not such as 
will ever work his way to better times, even in Florida. 

We do not need to discuss the question of applying 
commercial fertilizers, as each manufacturer publishes his 
particular directions, and these should be followed in each 
case* 

In forming a compost heap the farmer should bear in 
mind the particular purpose to which it is to be applied, 
since neither all trees nor aU crops take kindly to the same 
kind of food. There is as much difference, comparatively, 
in the food of the different members of the vegetable king- 
dom as there is in that of the animal. A horse will not 



HOW TO FERTILIZE. 89 

eat flesh, nor a dog hay ; neither will aU trees flourish on 
the same nutriment. 

Every intelligent horticulturist is aware of this fact, and 
acts accordingly, being guided in the application of ma- 
nures by the analysis of the ash of such plants and trees 
as he cultivates. It is on this principle and on this basis 
that the '* special manures ** are manufactured, each con- 
taining the particular ingredients needed by the particular 
plants to which it is intended to be applied ; one may need 
a larger amount of ammonia than the soil naturally fur- 
nishes, another more phosphates, another more nitrogen. 
When these special fertilizers are made by honest manu- 
facturers, they are very valuable aids to the farmers and 
fruit growers, either used alone or mixed with the compost 
heap. 

Analysis shows that the ash of the orange tree and fruit 
contains a large percentage of potash, lime, and phosphoric 
acid, besides smaller quantities of other mineral ingredi- 
ents ; hence, these are substances, conjoined with sufficient 
vegetable matter to retain moisture, that the orange grower 
must feed to his trees. 

And now, how are these to be obtained? Easily, and 
by every man who chooses, for they are all about him in 
provision, needing only to be utilized by a provident and 
thrifty hand. 

Pine land, on which the bulk of the orange crop is 
raised, is deficient in vegetable humus, which is as necessary 
to the proper growth and nourishment of the tree as any 
other ingredient; perhaps more so, since this humus has 
proven to be the most important vehicle of assimilation of 
the other foods; for instance, the analysis of a soil may 
show lime to be needed, and lime is forthwith applied, 
and without effect; but, powerless to work alone, com- 
bine it with humus, which, as every one knows, is simply 

8 



90 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

decayed vegetable matter, and then its effect will be 
quickly visible. 

Here is one of the many proofs that there are two dis- 
tinct classes of manures — one serving as the actual food of 
plants, the other assisting in preparing that food by com- 
bining with the substance in the soil, and bringing it into 
a form that the plants can assimilate, or by changing such 
as would be inimical to vegetable life. Thus, for instance, 
when we apply lime to a newly-broken piece of land which 
is mucky, we say that the lime has ** sweetened it," because 
its action on the carbonic acid contained in the muck is 
such as to change by combination that which would other- 
wise be hurtful to vegetation, and to transform it to a val- 
uable manure. 

Every orange grower should prepare a compost heap as 
one of the very first steps to successful cultivation. 

Make a pen of any desired size with posts for the cor- 
ners, boarded sides, and a tight board floor; for conven- 
ience in filling it is well to have one side made so that the 
boards can be added or taken away at will ; two perpen- 
dicular strips at each end, with space between to allow the 
boards to move up and down, will be found very handy. 
The tight board bottom is very important, as it saves all 
the liquid manure that would otherwise wash down in the 
ground and be lost ; but even more so is a roof to cover 
the compost from the destroying effect of the sun, and also 
to shed heavy rains, at least partially. 

No thrifty or intelligent man will allow his compost or 
stable manure to be exposed to the sun and rain, knowing, 
as he does, if he have any ordinary knowledge of his busi- 
ness, that fully two thirds of its value is thus wasted. A 
pile of stable manure or compost leached by sun and rain 
is a pitiable spectacle of slovenly farming, and the man 
who pursues this method may be sure he will never pros- 



HOW TO FERTILIZE. 91 

per, no more than the man who leaves his store open for 
thieves to enter and carry off his most valued stock in 
trade. 

The compost pit prepared, the first thing to do is to put 
in a layer of muck about six inches thick, or if muck is 
not to be had, grass, weeds, sawdust, pine needles, pine 
burrs, rotten sap-wood, and dead leaves will answer almost 
if not quite as well. This supplies the humus element of 
plant growth ; next a layer of cotton seed. This is a val- 
uable fertilizer, especially so when thus composted, and 
contains four per cent of nitrogen, three per cent of pot- 
ash, and three per cent of phosphoric acid — a ton of the 
seed being worth seventy-two dollars as manure — another 
layer of muck, then one of stable manure; another of 
green trash with muck again. These thoroughly wetted at 
the time of piling, and worked over once or twice, will, in 
three months' time, furnish the thrifty oi*ange grower with 
as fine a fertilizer for his trees as any money could pur- 
chase, especially if, some days before applying to the trees, 
his means permit him to whiten the ground with lime or 
land plaster. 

The capabilities of a compost heap are, in fact, almost 
unlimited ; it is a take all and hold all receptacle, of which 
one may truly say " all is fish that comes to its net." 

Nothing that is subject to decay comes amiss — rags, old 
clothes, old shoes, old newspapers, trash of all sorts, kept 
moist with liquid manure or house slops, etc. , will in a few 
months become useful and available plant-food. 

Every animal that dies on the farm should be dismem- 
bered and buried deep in the compost to become a valuable 
element thereof. Lime, land plaster, ashes, poultry guano, 
all these add vastly to the supply of plant-food furnished 
by the compost. But be it known and heeded that ashes 
and poultry guano should never be mixed, as the ammonia 



92 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

of the former will thereby be liberate; neither should 
lime and stable manure be composted together for the 
same reason. Land plaster may, however, be freely used 
with great benefit, especially when applied directly above 
a layer of either guano or stable manure, as it prevents 
their anmionia from escaping. 

Where one can afford to purchase bone-meal, making 
sure that it is genuine, it will pay liberally to apply light 
layers of it to the compost heap. 

A few years ago the relative value of bone-meal and 
stable manure was tested with the following results : 

1. One bushel of crushed bone is more than equal to 
twenty-five bushels of good farm-yard manure. 

2. That bone-meal is more permanent in its effects than 
any putrescent manure usually produced on a farm. 

3. That its effects on good land are more manifest than 
on inferior. 

4. That when combined with putrescent manure or com- 
posted, the effect, both instant and remote, far exceeds that 
of any manure known. 

About twenty years ago a Mr. Bonner, of the State of 
New York, patented a process of quickly rotting manure 
which was tested with great success, the manure being 
ready for use in fifteen days. The patent expired long 
ago, but the process has only lately been made public, and 
is now open to all and should be generally adopted, as the 
expense is very trifling and the labor of handling no 
greater than that of any other compost. 

At the foot of the pen should be a vat or hogshead, 
partly sunk in the ground for convenience' sake, of a ca- 
pacity of six or seven barrels. Into this vat all the soap- 
suds, house slop, drainage from the barn-yard, etc., are to 
be poured. If it takes too long to half fill the vat in this 
manner, fill in with water ; or, better still, with liquid mar 



HOW TO FEBTILEZE. 93 

nure, two pailfuls of stable manure to one barrel of water ; 
let it stand twenty-four hours before using. When the vat 
is from one half to two thirds full add following mixture : 

Unslacked lime, two bushels. 

Soot, two biuhelB. 

Salt, four pounds. 

Saltpeter, two pounds. 

Unleached ashes, two bushels. 

Land plaster, five bushels. 

Condensed manure, such as hen guano, privy 

manure, or bought fertilizers, three barrels. 

These amounts are sufficient to decompose a ton of dry 
wafih, or ten tons of green stuff, and of course can be eas- 
ily reduced in quantity when desired. Mix these ingredi- 
ents with the water, adding the lime, ashes, and land plas- 
ter last of all. 

Place in the pen a layer of muck, dirt, or sawdust, 
about three inches thick, then add the materials to be 
rotted, straw, grass, leaves, sawdust, etc.; wet them thor- 
oughly with the liquor from the vat, well stirred before 
using, then add another layer of muck and wet that, and 
so keep on, alternating muck and trash until the pan is 
full, wetting each layer as you proceed. 

Your pen should have a roof, as stated elsewhere ; and 
this is a very important matter, and one especially insisted 
on by Mr. Bonner, in his patented formula given above. 

Repeat this wetting every four or five days, first making 
holes with a crow-bar worked back and forth, and then 
pouring the liquid from the vat freely over the whole pile. 
In fifteen days the manure will be in perfect condition, 
well-rotted and fine ; heat will be generated in one week, 
and, should it seem too great, may be moderated by the use 
of water. Do not be sparing of the liquor at the time of 
first piling the heap. 



94 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

In this formula it may be noted that substances known 
to be antagonistic are brought together — ashes and hen 
guano, lime and stable manure — ^yet here their mutual de- 
stroying propensities are conquered, and in achieving this 
desirable result lay Mr. Bonner's patent. Let us look into 
the chemical action that takes place among these various 
materiaLs and see how he explains it. 

The fermented liquor starts the heat, assisted by the 
lime. The lime being a hydrate is caustic, and a re^ar- 
rangement of the particles takes place, owing to the eager- 
ness of the lime for carbonic acid, which is generated 
immediately the heat begins. Ammonia is formed from 
the ingredients of the heap, but first from the liquor in 
the vat. The formation is also hastened by the lime and 
potash ; the saltpeter also liberates nitric acid. Ammonia, 
though gaseous, exerts a mysterious effect of its own in 
the heap, and greatly assists decomposition. 

But it may be asked why the lime and potash do not set 
free the ammonia from the heap. Such would be the case 
in an ordinary barn-yard heap, but here the process of de- 
cay progresses under different conditions. First, the heap 
is kept wet with the liquor, as the wetting occurs evfery 
few days; second, the muck, sawdust, and other absorb- 
ents are a protection. Water absorl)s and retains ammo- 
nia, and the rotting of the heap is so rapid, and the chem- 
ical changes are so numerous, that it is finished before an 
escape can be made. 

At the end of fifteen days, as we have said, fermentation 
ceases, and then the mass should be overhauled, well mixed 
with dry earth, muck, or sand, and put away under shelter, 
which will prevent its heating again, and preserve the vol- 
atile matters until ready for use. §o thorough is the fer- 
mentation that it would be a difficult matter to create heat 
again, even if desired. 



HOW TO FERTILIZE. 95 

The utility and economy of this process consists in the 
converting of leaves, corn-stalks, cotton-seed, rotten sap, 
etc., into ready-made manure. All seeds are destroyed by 
the process, so that any noxious weed may be fearlessly 
cast into the heap ; bones broken into small pieces will be 
dissolved at once, and become valuable plant-food. A 
compost made by this formula is not only ready for use in 
so short a time, but its value is double that of ordinar}' 
stable manure, and contains all the elements of plant-food. 

And all this valuable fertilizer can thus be made at 
home by Bonner's process at a mere nominal cost of 
five dollars per ton. This is the ne plvs vltra of compost 
heaps. 

If the soot called for in the formula can not be obtained, 
use more saltpeter ; if ashes turn up missing, substitute 
ten pounds of caustic potash; and remember, never to 
leave the pile uncovered — nor, we may add once more 
(for this can not be too strongly impressed on the fruit 
grower), any other manure heap, if its full value is de- 
sired to be preserved. 

A word or two about the best manner of preserving 
stable manure while collecting: nine out of ten of the 
Southern farmers stable their horses in stalls with the 
ground as the only flooring. This is a great mistake, and 
occasions a waste of the most valuable portions of the ma- 
nure, the liquid or urine. 

In a valuable little book called, "Talks on Manure," by 
Joseph Harris, he tells us that one ton of stable manure 
contains only twelve pounds of nitrogen, six pounds of 
phosphoric acid, and thirteen pounds of potash, and these 
are its only elements of practical value. Think of it, out 
of two thousand pounds of matter, only thirty-one pounds 
of manure, all the rest waste ; and here is the plan Mr. 
Harris proposes (and has proven for years to be all that 



96 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

he claims) for increaaing the properties of the proportions 
of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, and reducing the 
amount of waste to be handled : 

" Instead of throwing the manure out of the stables and 
putting it in piles to be leached and sun-dried, keep it 
where it drops ; keep the stable well littered with straw, 
grass, pine-needles, and sawdust, which answer the double 
purpose of making good beds for the animals to lie on, and 
of absorbing the liquid manures and the gases of the other 
fermenting excrements. The urine of domestic animals is 
worth much more than the dung, and this I have found 
the best and cheapest way of preserving it. Keep a good 
supply of * trash ' on hand, and every two or three days, 
as the stalls become foul, cover them with a fresh layer. 

** Let it stand during the whole season, and in the spring 
haul it out and distribute it. The whole mass will be de- 
composed and comparatively dry. One load of such ma- 
nure is worth half a dozen that has been made in the usual 
way, and all the labor of repeated handling will have been 
avoided." 

We have now said quite enough to prove our assertion 
a while ago, that there is no excuse for any man in Florida 
w4io can procure the services of a horse and cart, for not 
having a sufficiency of fertilizer for his grove. If he has 
no horse of his own, it would be an easy matter to go out 
in the piney woods or hammock, rake up a number of piles 
of trash, and then hire a horse and cart for a day to haul 
them to his compost pen. 

In applying fertilizers to trees, the latter should be 
treated rationally. A surfeit of rich food will derange 
the animal system, and so it will the vegetable. Too large 
quantities of manures — ^rich in nitrogen, for instance — ^will 
cause die-back and fungoid diseases. 

While the trees are young and in rapid growth they will 



HOW TO FERTILIZE. 97 

bear heavy manuring, just as a growing child will eat more 
in proportion than an adult ; but if the gjBtem of high 
manuring is continued after they have arrived at the bear- 
^g ^^j eight or ten years, it will almost invariably retard 
their fruiting, as too rich a soil has a tendency to make 
wood rather than fruit. Therefore, after the seventh year, 
the quantity of manures should be gradually lessened, and 
only enough used to keep the tree in a healthy slow growth 
condition. 

In manures for young trees nitrogen should be present 
in larger quantities than for bearing trees, the latter re- 
quiring more potash, phosphoric acid, lime, and other kin- 
dred manures. 

Yellowish leaves indicate a deficiency of nitrogen in the 
soil ; dark green leaves show that there is plenty of it. 

When the clay is five or six feet or more below the sur- 
face, so that manures are liable to be washed down below 
the roots, three or four light manurings, one in January, 
another in March, another in June, and the last in August, 
are better than one or two heavy manurings. The first 
should be heavier than the rest, however, as tending di- 
rectly to help the latest buds and young fruit. Liberal 
manuring as early in the spring as possible — and by this 
we mean the Florida spring, which begins in January — 
conduces to a larger and finer fruit crop than can be at- 
tained when this k neglected. Frequent experience has 
proven this as an invariable rule, other things being equal. 
When clay is within three or four feet of the surface, two 
heavy applications of manure, one in January and the 
other in July, are all that is necessary, the clay serving 
as a base to retain it until the roots can assimilate it. 



9 



{ 



98 FLOBIDA PBUrrS — ORANGES. 



CHAPTER XI. 

ENEMIES, AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM. 

So much has been said and written about the enemies of 
the orange tree that one might think it one of the most 
delicate and cruelly afflicted trees in the vegetable king- 
dom, while the contrary is really the truth, and it escapes 
very lightly. For instance, there are no less than sixty 
insects that prey on the apple tree, twelve on the pear, 
sixteen on the peach, seventeen on the plum, thirty-five 
on the cherry, and thirty-one on the grape. 

And yet we have heard orange growers grumbling over 
the constant fight against the insects that attack their trees. 
To such we commend a glance at the above host of enemies 
upon which the northern fruit growers are waging constant 
and not always successful war. Many of these are borers, 
and their work is done in secret, and in an almost impreg- 
nable fortress ; whereas, an orange tree has no borers, all 
its foes being open and aboveboard, and hence easily de- 
tected and conquered. 

The renowned scale insects are the most injurious, and, 
before the best means of fighting them was discovered, did 
much damage to the trees, and threatened a wide-spread 
destruction to the orange interest in Florida, when it first 
appeared in the State, which was at Mandarin, about 
twenty years ago, being carried there on orange trees 
brought direct from China. 

It may seem surprising that from a few trees, and from 
one grove, this minute enemy of the orange tree should 
have spread all over the State, and that, too, in a very 
short time ; but when one comes to consider the matter it 
is not. so wonderful after all. 



SNEMtBS, AUB HOW TO FIOHT THEM. 99 

For one thing, there are 9evenl small beetles, and some 
large ones, found in all our groves, that feed on the scale 
or cocdds, and as the latter are very minute and are often 
seen to mount on the backs of their unconscious enemies, 
they are thus carried by the beetles from tree to tree, and 
also from grove to grove. 

Again, the shrike or butcher-bird dearly loves to select 
the long, sharp thorns of the orange tree, on which to im- 
pale his victims, insect, lizard, or small snake, as the case 
may be. He prefers trees that have low branches, and 
these are the very ones, as a rule, that are most thickly in- 
fested by the scale insects, especially the long scale. 

In impaling his prey on the thorns the bird moves his 
little claws freely over the branch, and some of the insects 
clinging to it are sure to adhere to them ; then he flies off 
to another tree or grove, and the scale is rubbed off and 
finds a new field for its work. The butcher-bird also fre- 
quently transfers his impaled victims from one tree to an- 
other, and if the first has been infested with the scale and 
the second has not, the latter can not much longer boast 
of its freedom ; and even when the bird eats his prey from 
the thorn on which it was first impaled, some of the scale 
insects that are certain to adhere to it will cling to his 
beak and probably be rubbed off on some other tree. 

We have a friendly feeling for the butcher-bird ; he is 
such a neat, Quakerish-looking, fat, chubby little fellow, 
and so familiarly saucy withal ; and we are sorry we can 
not acquit him of helping to spread the enemies of our 
groves, albeit he does it without malice prepense. 

High winds and spiders are also important and wide-spread 
factors in the distribution of scale insects, all of which are 
small and light; nursery stock and matured fruit itself 
are also active agents in the matter. What is this much 
talked of, much fought against scale insect, you ask? 



100 FLORIDA FRUITS— ORANGES. 

For full and detailed information on this point, as on 
that of all the insect enemies and friends of the orange, 
we would refer our readers to the valuable work on 
** Orange Insects," written and published by William H. 
Ashmead, of Jacksonville, Florida; and also to those of 
Prof. Comstock, Dr. C. J. Kenworthy, and the recent 
pamphlet issued by the Agricultural Department, contain- 
ing the result of the investigations of its special agent as 
to the " rust mite." These books, being devoted exclusively 
to the one subject, deal more extensively with the enemies 
of the orange than the limit and object of our present work 
permit us to do. 

Briefly, therefore, we will note the most injurious of 
them only, that they may be recognized when seen, and 
the proper weapons used in the battle against the invaders. 

The long or musselnshell scale insect is a very tiny fel- 
low, rarely to be seen, unless revealed by a powerful mi- 
croscope ; then it appears like a very lively louse, quick 
and active in its movements, and when alarmed instantly 
seeking concealment under the scale it has created as its 
dwelling, which has first served as a home for its eggs, 
which are purple and laid in two parallel rows, and then 
as a shelter for its young. 

The latter, the moment they emerge from the eggs, be- 
gin to suck the sap from the bark or leaf to which they 
may be attached. They will then scurry around and be- 
come visible through their movements for three or four 
days, then insert their beaks in a suitable spot and come 
to an anchor forever. In a few days the waxy substance 
of which their scale house is composed begins to arch over 
their backs ; their legs, useless now, drop off, and the fly, 
reversing completely the order of things, returns to a lar- 
val shape, lays its eggs and dies ; soon the eggs hatch and 
the round of reproduction begins again. One would 



BNEBOES, AND HOW TO FTOHT THEM. 101 

hardly think that such a tiny thing could do 00 much dam- 
age to a noble tree ; but the trouble ib in their number, 
which is legion. 

There are several kinds of scale, but all are to be plainly 
seen on the leaves, twigs, and even on the fruit. All are 
enemies to the tree, and all may be killed by the applica- 
tion of the remedies given at the conclusion of the present 
chapter. 

The white scale is the most noticeable, its color and the 
large size of its scale house, in comparison with that of the 
mussel-shell scale just described, making it very conspicu- 
ous. This scale is highly arched, and of a pinkish-white 
at maturity, with seven well-defined dots, three on each 
side and one at the posterior. Just before the eggs hatch 
the scale becomes more globular in form and the top takes 
on a brown tint. The insect, which is pale yellow, and 
looks, under the microscope, like a wood-louse, crawk 
about for a few days, then strikes its beak into the bark 
and the waxy scale begins to form. This completed, the 
eggs are laid, over one hundred in number. 

Mr. Ashmead, in his work already referred to, makes a 
calculation of the progeny of one of these scale insects, 
for one season, and it amounts to the frightful total of one 
million. 

K it were not for that Providence which is ever watch- 
ing and planning for man's welfare, his fight against the 
spread of these destructive insects would be an almost hope- 
less one ; but he is not left to battle single-handed. Even 
the most minute insects have their relentless ''war of 
races," and thus the scale insects have enemies, who, had 
they happily been imported into our country at the same 
time, would never have allowed them to spread far and 
wide, and create the panic they did among the orange' 
growers. 



102 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANOES. 

Chief among these etaunch friends of the orange tree 
are the orange scale apdinvs, the twice-stabbed lady-bug, 
minute m/mnm, red mite, and orange chrysopa. 

The first-named, the orange scale apdinus, is a four^ 
winged fly, about 0.2 of an inch long; it lays one egg 
under each scale among the eggs of its foe, and as soon as 
the larva, which is a white footless grub, is hatched, it be- 
gins to feed on the latter, changing into its pupa state only 
when the last egg is gone ; a few days later it punctures 
the top of the scale, and emerges in its perfect fly-^hape. 

The next of our good Mends, being more noticeable, is 
often, alas, ruthlessly slaughtered for an enemy by those 
who, if they knew its true character, would carefully pro- 
tect it. From February to November, in this State, one 
often sees a little round, dark bug with two red spots on 
its wings, and also a dark, slate-colored larva crawling 
among the orange trees. They are one and the same in- 
sect, the twice-stabbed lady-bug, and so valuable a friend 
to the orange grower as to be worthy of importation to any 
grove where it has not voluntarily settled. 

They breed throughout the year and in the £all lay their 
eggs where the scale insect is most abundant ; then, when 
their eggs hatch, the dark, spine-like larvse at once com- 
mence feeding on the scales around them ; soon they crawl 
off to a retired spot, affix themselves to a leaf or branch, 
and become pupse, which, in a few days, again change to a 
soft, pale-colored beetle, without a sign of the spots and 
dark wings shortly to appear. 

If there is any Spanish moss on the tree the larva wiU be 
found there in greater numbers than elsewhere. 

The minute SGymniiSf large scymnvSy and red orange mite, 
are so small as to be rarely observed by the naked eye, and 
hence they are exposed to the same danger of destruction 
by those they serve, as are those heretofore mentioned. 



ENEMIES, AND HOW TO FIQHT THEM. 103 

The two former are beetles, whose larvs, hatching in the 
spring at the same time with the scale insects, wage re- 
lentless war upon them. They come in April and disap- 
pear in June, to reappear when the great &11 broods are 
hatched. 

The orange chrysopa is another most helpful firiend ; it 
is a small, lace-winged, yellowish green fly, much resem- 
bling a tiny dragon-fly ; its eggs are suspended on a deli- 
cate thread to the orange leaf, the larva covers itself with 
minute pieces of dried leaves or bark, feeding on the scale 
inside until thg time comes for it to form an oval moss-like 
cocoon on the under part of the leaf, whence in a few days 
the perfect fly emerges. 

The blood-red lady-bug is also an exceedingly active 
helper to the orange grower, devouring the scale insects by 
the million ; the pupa emerges &om a gummy substance 
attached to a leaf, and becomes a perfect beetle (red) with- 
out spots or markings. We have been thus particular in 
describing the appiearance of these little friends of ours 
that they may be recognized as such, and their lives 
spared. Other friends the orange tree has besides, but 
we have not space to enumerate them. 

The mealy bug is one of the most serious enemies, not 
only of the orange but of the pine-apple, and if not relent- 
lessly fought, threatens to become a worse enemy than the 
scale. It makes no scale shelter, is ever moving about, 
and places its eggs beneath a cotton-like substance. In 
twelve days they hatch, and the young begin their career 
of destruction, sucking the juices from the tender leaves 
and twigs, the odd, mealy substance from which they take 
their name forming meanwhile aU over them. They in- 
crease very rapidly, breeding all the year, and seem to 
defy any wash that does not contain kerosene ; this, how- 
ever, is fatal to them. 



i 



104 FLORTOA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

The leaf-footed plant bug is another destructive foe to 
the orange, and also to the plum, rice, and many other 
vegetable productions. The young are a bright yellowish 
red, without the leaf-like extension to their legs that aftei> 
ward appears. The adult is a curiously-shaped reddish 
brown bug, having a long sharp beak, and a transverse, 
yellowish white band across its wings ; when the latter are 
raised, its back is seen to be flat and hollow, red in color, 
with black spots ; its hind legs are oddly shaped like nar- 
row leaves. It sucks the sap from tender shoots and ter- 
minal branches, thus killing them outright. Mr. Ashmead 
gives the only remedy known, of catching them in a but- 
terfly net and scalding them. 

Grasshoppers and katydids are also destructive foes to 
orange trees, devouring leaf after leaf in an incredibly 
short time; their quick, active movements make them 
hard to deal with, and the best known weapons with which 
to flght them are the birds and a flock of chickens and 
guinea fowls in the grove. 

There is a large, beautiful butterfly that may be seen 
every where in Florida from early spring to winter ; it is 
black, with two yellow bands across its wings, formed by 
a series of yellow spots. 

Under the rule of "Handsome is as handsome does," 
the orange grower has reason to regard this beautiful in- 
sect as hideous, since it and the orange dog or puppy are 
identical. 

Whenever you see a little round egg sticking to an 
orange leaf, crush it at once; the orange butterfly has 
laid it there, and directly it will become a peculiarly 
marked worm, with a large, head, from which it projects 
red filaments, and opens its large mouth like a snarling 
dog when disturbed, emitting a pungent odor. 

Until within the last year or two there were various 



ENEMIES, AND HOW TO FIOHT THEM. 105 

opinions about the cause of the rusty appearance of so 
many Florida oranges; now, however, no doubt remains 
on the subject. It is caused by a minute insect called the 
rust mite, that would never have been discovered but for 
the microscope being applied to the orange while still on 
the trees, for within half an hour after the fruit is taken 
from its parent stem every insect has disappeared. The 
mite punctures the oil cells, the oil exudes and becomes 
oxidized, and hence the dark appearance, and hard, rusty 
skin of the fruit. 

This appearance damages the sale of the orange, but 
does not impair its quality ; in fact, it appears rather to 
develop its saccharine qualities. Place before a Florida 
child two oranges, one bright, one rusty, and it will seize 
the rusty one first. The rusty orange, protected from the 
air by its hard, dry skin, ships much better than the bright ; 
and so, if it were not for the damage done to the looks, 
and hence to the sale of the fruit, there would be little 
fault found with the mite. 

This one consideration, however, is enough to cause war 
to be declared against it ; but fortunately, remedies have 
been found, to which we shall presently refer. 

One other insect we shall mention, because it is very eas- 
ily seen, and its destructive operations openly conducted 
right under one's eyes — he is a bold, fearless marauder. 
Professor Riley, of the Agricultural Department, calls him 
EuOwctha galeaioT. He resembles greatly the well-known 
squash bug, and delights to insert his strong proboscis in 
the tenderest shoots to be found, causing them to wilt and 
droop to their death, even while he robs them of the food 
on which they live. The insect is one of the chief causes, 
if not the chief, of the so-called disease of die-back. 

We have now described, so far as the limits of our pres- 
ent work will permit, the chief enemies and friends of the 



106 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

orange tree, and will now proceed to give the most effects 
ive weapons with which the former may be conquered. 

It is not enough to know the formulas of washes to be 
applied to the tree, but also at what time the application 
should be made to be effective. 

Let us take the long or mussel-scale insect first : the first 
brood hatches &om the middle of April to the first week in 
May ; the second from the last of July to the middle of 
August ; and the third and last &om the last of Septem- 
ber to the middle of October. 

The white scale has also three broods ; the first in April 
and May ; the second from the middle of July to the first 
of August ; and the third from the last of August to the 
second week in September. 

He who waits until their protecting shield has been 
reached may as well spare his labor, for his most powerful 
washes will fail to penetrate it, or to disturb the insect. 
Applied at the right time, however, as given above, just 
after the eggs are hatched and the fly has left the scale 
house, it is easily exterminated. 

When trees are very badly infested it is well to cut 
ott and immediately burn the smaller limbs ; then, with a 
fountain spray pump, drench the tree thoroughly with one 
of the preparations given below. 

FOR SCALE INSECTS. 

Nol. 

Sal soda, 10 pounds. 

Hard soap, 5 ** 

Water, 40 gallons. 

Dissolve the soap in a little boiling water, place in a 
tight barrel, break up the soda in small pieces, add it ; fill 
up the barrel with soft water, and stir the mixture till well 
mixed. Keeps good indefinitely. Apply to the trunk 



ENEMIES, AND HOW TO FIOHT THEM. 107 

with, a brufih, rubbing in well ; drench top and leaves with 
a rose syringe. Apply twice a year, spring and fall; 
ofbener if the grove is seriously infested. 

No. 2. 

Tobacco stems, 6 pounds, 

Copperas, 6 « 

Water, ; 40 gallons. 

Boil tobacco in sufficient water to extract the full 
strength ; strain and measure liquid ; put in a barrel and 
add enough water to make up the forty gallons; then add 
the copperas and stir till dissolved Apply as before 

stated. 

No. 8. 

Whale-oil soap, 10 pounds, 

Kerosene oil, 6 gallons. 

Water, 6 ♦• 

Common soap will do if the other is not to be had. 
Dissolve the whale-oil soap in hot water, then add the 
kerosene; chum them together until well mixed. For 
use: add one quart of the emulsion to two gallons of 
water. Apply as before. 

This preparation is destined to supersede the lately dis- 
covered " kerosene butter," made by combining the con- 
densed milk and kerosene, as being much cheaper, quite 
as effectual, and much less labor to prepare. It does not 
injure the most tender shoots, and kills the scale at once ; 
is also a valuable fertilizer, and as it falls back from the 
leaves and sinks into the ground, drives away other insects 
that may be hiding around the tree. 

No. 4. 

Cotton -seed hull meal or ash; syringe the tree mth 
water, then throw up the ash into the tree. 



108 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

This is efiectual for small trees but not so good on large, 
because the upper limbs are apt to escape. 

^ FOR THE MEALY BUG. 

The formula ^ven as No. 3 is the safest to apply to the 
bug, as the other washes seem to injure it very little if 
any ; kerosene will destroy it. 

LICHENS, SMUT, HONEY-DEW. 

For ridding tree trunks of lichens and old half loose 
bark, for removing smut and that sticky substance, the 
excrement of insects called honey-dew, formula No. 1 is 
very effectual, used with a scrubbing-brush on the tree 
trunk for lichens and old bark, and with the hand-pump 
for smut and honey-dew. 

ORANGE PUPPY. 

As a rule this worm, to which we have already alluded 
as identical with the the large butterfly, is not seriously 
aggressive, and can be kept down by hand picking, be- 
cause its numbers are not great in any one grove, except 
in some few cases; the mocking-birds, woodpeckers, and 
butcher-birds proving excellent remedies against its alarm- 
ing increase. Where, however, it becomes so troublesome 
as to really injure the trees by robbing them of their foli- 
age ; drenching the tree with lime-water will prevent the 
mother butterfly from depositing her eggs among them, 
as no butterfly will settle on a plant syringed with lime- 
water. 

DIE-BACK 

Is, as we have noticed elsewhere, caused by the attack of 
insects that kill the terminal branches and young shoots as 
fast as they appear. Now, with every new shoot its corre- 
sponding roots die also ; and so, ere long, the whole tree 



ENEMTER, AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM. 109 

feels the Ices of its needful nutrition, and twig after twig, 
branch after branch dies back, often puzzling the owner to 
determine the trouble. 

Chief among the insects that have been proved at last 
to be the cause of the trouble, are the leaf-footed plant bug 
and the Euthodha galeator, which, not being stationary, are 
hard to rout, but may be driven away by several drench* 
ings of No. 3 ; but the tree must be carefully pruned of 
every dead or sickly limb, or even, if necessary, its whole 

„ top cut away to give the few roots left alive a chance to 

! recover their vigor. 

THE RUST MTTE. 

T The recent report of the special agent of the govern- 
ment entomologist on this insect is so full of interest and 
instruction, that we embody it in the next chapter. 



110 FLORTOA FRUITS — ORANGES. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE RUST MITE.* 

DUecloraiion of the FruU. The brownish discoloration 
of the rind of oranges, ^miliarly known as **rust," has, 
since the production of this fruit became an important in- 
dustry in Florida, given great concern to the producers, 
and occasions annually serious loss by affecting injuriously 
the salableness of the fruit. In appearance the rust varies 
from a light- or dark-brown stain beneath the cuticle to a 
rough incrustation resembling an exudation of resinous 
gum upon the surface. In the former case the golden 
color of the ripe orange is more or less obscured, and in 
the latter entirely destroyed by the discoloration. When 
entirely coated with rust the surface becomes finely chapped 
and roughened, giving to the unripe fruit a likeness to rus- 
set apples. 

The season during which rust makes its appearance ifi- 
cludes nearly the entire period of growth of the fruit, be- 
ginning in early summer, when the fruit has attained less 
than one third its full size, and continuing late into autumn. 
Its most rapid increase is, however, in August and Sep- 
tember, as the orange approaches maturity. Barely is 
there any real increase after the rind begins to ripen, al- 
though the discoloration usually attracts attention just at 
this time, and frequentiy occasions unnecessary alarm. 
On the contrary, there is always a perceptible brightening 
as the fruit attains its full color, and oranges slightly af- 
fected, or affected early in the season, when fully ripe show 
but littie trace of rust. 

■^'Report of H. G. Hubbard, Special Agent, to the United States Ento- 
mologist. 



THE RU8T MITE. Ill 

Is Rust a Ftmgua or an Exudation <^ Onmt The term 
"rust" 18 very indefinitely applied to a great variety of 
plant diseaseSy some of which are clearly due to the pres- 
ence of fungi, and others are considered pathological con- 
ditions of the plant, attributable to, for the most part, un- 
known or conjectural conditions of soil or climate. 

A good example of the first class is found in the com- 
mon and very destructive rust of the fig. Any one who 
will take the trouble to examine with a good glass the 
brown discoloration upon the surface of the leaves, may 
easily detect the sacs or asci of the fungus, filled to burst- 
ing with the spores, or pouring them out upon the surface. 

Nothing of this kind is seen upon the leaves or rusted 
fruit of the orange. A microscopic examination of the 
fruit rind reveals no forms of fungus, but shows the oil 
cells to be more or less completely emptied of their con* 
tents, and the outer layers, the epithelial cells, clogged 
with brownish resin, or entirely broken up and divided by 
fissures, which permit evaporation of the fluids from the 
underlying cells. The rind of rusted fruit, therefore, 
shrinks and toughens, and loses by evaporation or oxida- 
tion the greater part of its essential oil. 

Eeasonsfor Considering it the Work of a Mite. If we ex- 
amine critically with a hand lens of considerable magnify- 
ing power the sur&ce of a rusted orange, we will find here 
and there in the depressions, groups of minute white fila- 
ments adhering closely to the rind. Carefully transferring 
one of these filaments to the stage of a compound micro- 
scope, and appljdng a power of several hundred diameters, 
the character of the object is clearly shown. It is the cast 
skin of an insect. 

If the examination chance to be made in winter, when 
the fruit is ripe, the number of these exuviae will not be 
strikingly great ; but if made in autumn or late summer. 



112 FLORTOA FRUITS— -ORANGES. 

the surface of every orange showing rust will be found 
thickly sprinkled with them, and we shall be forced to 
conclude that we have before us the relics of a numerous 
colony, which at some former period infested the fruit. 

Extending the examination to fruit that as yet shows 
no indication of rust, we will, if the season is not too £ar 
advanced, obtain abundant confirmation of this conclusion, 
and find these colonies in the full tide of their existence. 
The former occupants of the cast skins prove to be elon- 
gate mites, of honey-yellow color, too minute to be seen as 
individuals with the unassisted eye, but visible in the 
aggregate as a fine golden dust upon the surface of the 
fruit 

The Mite on {he Leaves. Having tracked the mite by 
means of its tell-tale exuvise, and detected it at work upon 
the fruit, if we turn our attention to the leaves it needs 
no prolonged search to discover it here also, and in even 
greater abundance. In fact it is evidently upon the leaves 
that the mites exist and propagate throughout the year ; 
for not only are they found upon fruiting trees, but upon 
plants of all ages, in the nursery as well as in the grove. 

Nothing resembling the rust of the fruit follows their 
attacks upon the leaves. Each puncture of the mites 
gives rise to a minute pimple or elevation, until the sur- 
face of the leaf becomes finely corrugated, loses its gloss, 
and assumes a dusty and corroded appearance. 

This tarnished appearance of the foliage is very charac- 
teristic, and remains a permanent indication of their dep- 
redations after the mites themselyes have disappeared. 

First Appearance of Mites on the Fruit. From the time 
when the cellular structure of the rind has completely de- 
veloped, and the oil-cells have begun to fill, until the fruit 
is far advanced into the process of ripening; in other 
words, from early spring until late in autumn, it is liable 



THE RUST BUTE. 113 

to attacks of the mites, but it is in the intermediate period 
of its growth that the fruit offers conditions most favorable 
to their increase. 

Attacks of the MUe ahoays followed by Rust. The evidence 
that rust follows as a sequence upon the depredations of 
this mite is circumstantial rather than direct, but is also 
cumulative. Oranges marked and kept under observation, 
but allowed to remain upon the tree, have in all cases 
rusted after being overrun by the mites. Those upon 
which no mites made their appearance remained bright to 
maturity. 

A very large number of observations show a close con- 
nection between the occurrence of mites upon the foliage 
and rust on the fruit, so that it may be stated as a rule, 
when the foliage of a tree retains its gloss, the fruit also 
will be bright, and, conversely, when the condition of the 
leaves indicates the presence of mites in great numbers, 
the fruit will be discolored. 

This is found to be true, not only of the entire tree but 
of restricted portions. Thus the upper, the lower branches, 
or one side of an orange tree may produce rusty fruit while 
that on the other parts of the tree remains bright. In 
such cases there will always be a marked difference in the 
condition of the foliage upon the two portions, and the 
leaves surrounding the affected fruit will indicate more or 
less clearly the work of mites. 

Other and perhaps more exclusive reasons for consider- 
ing the mite responsible for rust will be better understood 
when the habits of the mite itself have been considered. 

Interval between the Disappearance of the Mites and the 
Appearance of Rust. As has been indicated, the mites do 
not permanently infest either the surface of the leaf or the 
rind of the fruit, but wander off to fresh feeding ground 
when, through their combined attacks, all the accessible 

10 



114 FLORIDA FRUTTB — ORANGES. 

oil-oells have been emptied of their contents, or the tiasues 
have been too much hardened by advancing maturity to 
be easily penetrated by their beaks. 

The effects of their puncture upon the cellular structure 
of the plant, however, continue after their departure, and 
upon the fruit rust develops with a varying interval, de- 
pending possibly upon the relative humidity of the air. 
Usually the discoloration is very apparent after the lapse 
of a week, and the rind continues to harden indefinitely, 
9r as long as it is exposed to the air. 

Description. The so-called rust insect is a four-legged 
mite, honey-yellow in color, and about three times as long 
as broad. The body is cylindrical, widest near the ante- 
rior extremity, and tapers behind, terminating in two 
small lobes, which assist the animal in crawling and enaUe 
it to cling firmly to the surface upon which it rests. The 
front is prolonged in a conical protuberance, which ap- 
pears to be composed of two closely applied lobes. The 
upper surface at its widest part is marked on each side 
with shallow depressions, which are faintly prolonged on 
the sides and reach nearly to the terminal lobes. The ab- 
domen consists of about thirty segments ; the beak, a short, 
curved tube, is usually retracted between the organs of 
the mouth. The latter form a truncated cone, concealed 
from above by the projection of the front, and difficult to 
resolve into its component parts. Under high powers it 
can be seen to consist of at least two thick lobes, which in 
the living mite have a reciprocal forward and back move- 
ment. 

The two pairs of legs are placed close -together, at or 
very near the anterior extremity and project forward. 
They are four-jointed, and terminate in a curved spine, 
with opposing bristles. The intermediate joints bear one 
or two very long bristles. Several fine bristle hairs arising 



THE RUST MITE. 116 

from the under sur&ce of the body, curved upward at the 
sides, and two very long bristles at the caudal extremity, 
curving downward, are trailed after the mite as it crawls. 

The length of the adult mite is 0.14 millimeter (.005 
inch). The young do not differ essentially in structure 
from the adult mites, but are thick and short, almost cordi- 
form, and the legs are very short. 

The eggs, which are deposited singly or in little clusters 
upon the surface of the leaves, are spherical, transparent, 
with a yellow tinge. Their diameter is more than half 
that of the mite at its widest part, and they probably in- 
crease in size by the absorption of the moisture after they 
are laid, otherwise the body of the mite could not contain 
more than three or four fiilly developed ova. The embryo 
is curved within the egg, its head slightly overlapping the 
tail. 

lAfe History, In hot weather the eggs hatch in four or 
five days, but in winter their development is more or less 
retarded by cold, although it is not entirely arrested, even 
by frrost, and the duration of the egg period seldom ex- 
ceeds two weeks. 

The young mites are bright, translucent, yellow in 
color. Within e week or ten days they undergo a meta- 
morphosis or molt, during which the animal remains dor- 
mant for about forty-eight hours. With its legs, which 
are placed close together and stretched out in line with 
the body, and with its two-lobed anal proleg, it clings 
closely to the surface of the leaf. The form becomes 
more elongate and spindle-shaped. The body of the trans- 
forming mite separates from the old skin, which becomes 
pellucid and empty at the extremities, and finally splits 
longitudinally, releasing the renovated mite. The rejected 
pellicle is left firmly adhering to the surface pii ^hich it 
rests, but is in time removed by the ^tiqii qf the ii^eather, 



116 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

and much sooner from the leaves than from the rind of 
the fruit. 

The adult mite is slightly darker than the young in 
color, and becomes more opaque as it grows older. No 
sexual differences have been distinguished, nor has the act 
of coupling been observed. 

Owing to the difficulty of confining the mites without 
interfering with the conditions necessary to their existence, 
it has not been possible to determine the duration of their 
lives. It is, however, safe to conclude that they live sev- 
eral weeks after reaching the adult stage. The number 
of eggs deposited is also uncertain, but it is probably not 
abnormal, and the enormous populousness of their colonies 
must be attributed to rapid development and comparative 
immunity from enemies and parasites, rather than to ex- 
cessive fecundity. 

Food. This evidently consists of the essential oil which 
abounds in all succulent parts of the orange and its con- 
geners, and which the mites obtain by penetrating with 
their sucking beaks the cells that lie immediately beneath 
the epidermis. That they do not feed upon the chloro- 
phyl is shown by the color of their intestinal contents, 
which has no tinge of green but a clear yellow, unmistak- 
ably indicating the source from which it came. 

Wandering Habits. While engaged in feeding, the mites 
remain quiescent for a length of time varying from a few 
minutes to half an hour. They then move on a short dis- 
tance and again become motionless. K disturbed they 
have a habit of erecting themselves upon the leaf, cling- 
ing to its surface only by the anal proleg. 

When dissatisfied with their surroundings, or when food 
becomes scarce, they wander restlessly about, and undoubt- 
edly travel to considerable distances. Their rate of prog- 
ress on a smooth surface is quite rapid, and amounts to ten 



THE BUST BUTE. 117 

to twelve feet per hour. It is therefore not surprising to 
find them changing their position frequently; disappear- 
ing suddenly fi-om one portion of the tree, and appearing 
as suddenly in great numbers upon another and distant 
part of the same tree. 

It is not to be understood that the mites show any con- 
cert of action in moving their colonies, or that they are in 
any other sense gregarious than that they are usually found 
very thickly scattered over those parts of an infested plant 
which offer favorable conditions for their support. Thus 
the new growth of many orange trees becomes occupied or 
infested by them as rapidly as the leaves fully mature, and 
the number upon a single leaf may be estimated by many 
thousands. 

Numerical Abundance. The following examinations, made 
in January, will give an idea of the extent of the brood 
during the coldest parts of the Florida winter : 

From a large number of leaves in late autumn growth 
one was selected which showed an even distribution of 
mites upon its surface. An area of one square inch was 
accurately marked out with a needle, and subdivided into 
sixteen equal squares. The number of mites and their 
eggs upon four of the small squares taken at random was 
counted, and found to aggregate 1,142.* This gives for 
the square inch under observation 4,568 mites. The leaf 
was then cut into squares and triangles, and was found to 
cover fifteen square inches upon a sheet of paper. 

On the supposition that the experimental square inch 
gives a fair average, the number of mites upon the upper 
surface of this leaf was 68,520. Certain portions, not 
exceeding one quarter of the whole, were, however, more 

''^he number of eggs exceeded that of the mites, a phenomenon not 
often observed, and which may be attributed to the unusually cold and un- 
favorable weather at the time of the examination and for several weeks pre- 
vious. 



118 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

or lees thinly populated. Deducting, therefore, twenty- 
seven per cent from the above, we have 50,020 mites, the 
approximate population of the upper surface. The under 
side of the leaf was less thickly infested, but the number 
of mites may be estimated at one half that of the upper 
face or 25,000. Thus the number of mites and their eggs 
upon a single leaf is found to reach, even in mid-winter, 
the enormous sum of 75,000. 

In early summer, when the breeding is active, .these esti- 
mates will be greatly exceeded. At times an orange tree 
may be so completely infested with the mites that, of its 
thousands of leaves, very few can be found free from their 
presence. If, then, we attempt to calculate the number 
that may exist contemporaneously upon a bearing tree, we 
find it represented, not by millions but by billions, and 
the figures obtained convey no definite inpressions to the 
mind. 

Preference shown for Half Shade. An examination made 
on a bright, sunny day shows that, while the mites can not 
long endure the direct light and heat of the sun, they also 
avoid dark shade. At midday they are more abundant 
upon the under side of exposed leaves, and although they 
at all times show a marked preference for light, they de- 
sert those parts of the leaf or fruit upon which it falls 
brightest. On a leaf partially exposed to the sun the 
mites congregate near one edge in the morning, and in the 
afternoon cross to the opposite side of the same surface, 
following the shifting shade which, by reason of its curva- 
ture, the edges of the leaf throw upon one side or the 
other. 

Bings of Bust on Fruit. On the finiit, this preference of 
the mites for half shade causes a phenomenon which will 
be recognized as very common on rusty oranges. This is 
the occurrence of rust in a well-defined ring obliquely en- 



THE Ruerr mite. 119 

circling the orange, as the ecliptic does the earth. The 
rust ring is seen most plainly on the fruit from the upper 
portion and south side of a tree when it stands with others 
in a grove, and will be found to mark the band of half 
shade between the portion of the orange most directly ex- 
posed to the sun's rays and that in densest shadow. The 
surface covered by this penumbra band is precisely that 
upon which the mites gather most thickly in the middle 
of the day. Here their attacks upon the rind will be 
most severe, and its after effects most noticeable. 

There is also observable in rusted fruit a marked differ- 
ence in the amount of discoloration upon the opposite 
sides. Even where no plainly marked ring is visible the 
side of the fruit which upon the tree was turned opposite 
the sun frequently presents a bright spot, and the opposite 
side an area of lighter bronze, with less sharply defined 
boundaries. 

These facts, taken in connection with the observed habits 
of the mites, may be regarded as the strongest evidence 
showing a connection between rust and their attacks upon 
the fruit. 

Influence of Weather, It has been already observed that 
the hatching of the eggs, although retarded, does not cease 
in cold weather, and that the breeding continues throughout 
the year. Frost, which is sometimes severe enough to kill 
the adult mites, does no injury to the eggs, and the sever- 
ity of a winter has little if any effect upon the prevalence 
of the mites during the following summer. In droughts, 
however, there is some evidence that many of the eggs 
dry up and are exterminated. The extremely dry seasons 
of 1881 and 1882 have been followed in the winter of 
1882 and 1883 by the brightest crop of fruit that has 
been known for several years. 

Agencies which Amd in the Distribtition of ihe Mites. The 



120 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

activity of the mites and their readiness to climb upon any 
thing they meet in their path, renders it evident that any 
living creature which passes from one tree to another is 
competent to transport the mites with it The tail feath- 
ers of birds must sweep thousands from the surfaces of the 
leaves, and spread them from tree to tree or from grove to 
grove. 

So readily do they relinquish their hold when brought 
into contact with a moving body that the point of a needle 
swept across the surface of an infested leaf will usually be 
found to have several mites adhering to it. 

The same agencies which assist in the spread of scale 
insects undoubtedly serve to scatter the mites. Not only 
do they climb readily along the web of spiders, but they 
may frequently be seen upon the bodies of the spiders 
themselves, which do not seem to be at all disturbed by the 
restless movements of their little attendants. 

The wandering habit of spiders is well known; their 
method of bridging great distances by casting out hun- 
dreds of feet of silken line to be wafted by the winds and 
caught in distant trees has often been noted. There is 
little doubt that of all other modes of dissemination both 
of the scale insect and rust mite, that of transportation by 
spiders is the most important, the most constant and regu- 
lar. The spiders bear with them upon their hairy bodies 
the young bark lice and the adult mites, conveying them 
in their own migrations to distant points, and colonizing 
them under their protecting web whenever they chance to 
select the leaves of the citrus plant as their resting place. 

And here is found the solution of that puzzling influence 
of the wind so often remarked in the case of scale insects, 
and which has led many to believe that they are dissemi- 
nated directly by this agency, and therefore spread most 
rapidly in the direction of the prevailing currents. 



THE BUBT KITE. 121 

SpideiB of ihe web-making kindfl are neoeflBarily depend- 
ent upon the wind in making long voyages. The warm 
southeasterly winds of spring excite in them the migra- 
torial instinct, and at a time when the orange trees are 
swarming with the quickened life of scale and mite, from 
a thousand projecting points of branch or leaf the spiders 
are sending out their lines of rapid transit, and are bear- 
ing with them, "on the wings of the wind," the seeds of 
mischief to the orange grower. 

The MUe known only upon PkmU of Uie CitruB Family. 
The rust mite attacks indiscriminately the various species 
of citrus in common cultivation, but has not been observed 
to feed upon plants of any other genus. It is found upon 
the lime, citron, shaddock, bigarde, and tangerine, and 
none of the varieties of the orange are known to be in any 
degree exempt. 

Upon the leaves and fruit of all these species of 
citrus, the effects of its attacks are essentially the same, 
although the rust is more noticeable on the sweet and 
bitter orange. 

Effect of AUa4sks upon the Foliage. Like certain internal 
animal parasites, which feed only upon the fat of their 
host and do not touch its vital organs, the mite does not 
destroy the vital functions of the leaf. The chlorophyl is 
untouched, and the plant is robbed of a portion only of 
its essential oil. The leaves never drop, no matter how 
severely attacked, but there is a loss of vitality, and the 
growth of the plant is checked. This is especially noticed 
in young trees, which are frequently overrun by the pests 
in early summer, and during the remainder of the year 
make little progress. 

The foliage of affected trees wears a dry, dusty appear- 
ance, and* loses color. The leaves are without gloss, and 
become slightly warped as in droughts. 

11 



122 tjjobida fruits — oranges. 

Btuted FruU, If severely attacked by rust before it 
has completed its growth, the orange does not attain its 
full size. Very rusty fruit is always small ; its quality is, 
however, improved rather than deteriorated. The tough- 
ened rind preserves it from injury and decay, prevents 
evaporation from within, and carries the ripening process 
to a higher point. 

Rusty oranges can be shipped without loss to great dis- 
tances; they keep longer both on and off the tree, and 
when they reach the Northern markets are superior to the 
bright fruit in flavor. Consumers, not being aware of this 
fact, however, prefer the latter, and the reduced price of 
the bronzed fruit more than offiets to the producer its 
superior keeping and shipping qualities. 

Oeographiccd Distribution, Bust appears to be known 
upon the orange only in Florida. Within the limits 
of the State, however, its presence is universaL No 
section, whatever claims may be made to the contrary, 
is exempt. 

Influence of Soil and Methods of OuUivaiion. The effect 
upon the prevalence of rust of various systems of cul- 
tivation and 6]f applications to the soil, for the pur- 
pose of changing its nature or supplying assumed de- 
ficiencies in its composition, has been the subject of end- 
less discussion, and of experiments affording negative or 
conflicting results, which can not profitably be reviewed 
here. 

Suffice it to say, no method of combating rust by spe- 
cial treatment of the soil, or other indirect action through 
the plant, has been proven effective. By forcing with fer- 
tilizers and high cultivation, no improvement is affected 
in the color of the fruit. This depends not upon the 
condition of the tree, but rather upon the number of 
the mites, which is, in fact, increased by an abundant 



THE RUST MITE. 123 

supply of new growth and a constant succession of fresh 
and vigorous leaves. 

It seems, however, to be an established fact that the 
fruit is less liable to rust upon low than upon high lands. 
Groves planted upon moist, rich hammock produce, as a 
rule, brighter fruit than those upon high, sandy pine lands. 
This result is commonly attributed to the abundance of 
moisture in low ground ; but it may be more directly due 
to the denser shade afforded by a more vigorous foliage 
and reduced radiation from a darker soil. In the native 
wild groves, which are always densely shaded by forest, 
neither rust nor mites are found, and the same immunity 
is enjoyed by cultivated trees planted in similar situations. 

Preventive Measures, It is not at present possible to 
suggest any preventive measures that can be universally 
adopted, nor are precautions likely to avail much against 
an enemy which already exists, even if it does not always 
make its presence known, in almost every grove and nurs- 
ery in the State. 

Those who advocate forest culture for the orange may 
justly claim for it the advantage of comparative immunity 
from rust, but a decision on the merits and demerits of this 
and other systems of cultivation must be left to the horti- 
culturist. 

It may, however, be proper to suggest that where isola- 
tion is practicable, much can be accomplished toward the 
exclusion of such pests as the rust mite and the scale in- 
sects by properly arranged natural screens. Narrow belts 
of original forest, with its undergrowth, may be left at 
least on the southeast side of the grove, or, on high land, 
the tall pines may be supplemented by hedge-rows of the 
native holly, the jujube, or other evergreen shrubs which 
thrive upon uplands in the South. 

Such wind-breaks not only protect the bearing trees and 



124 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

fruit &om the whipping action of soatheasterly gales, but 
afford the best and only hindrance to the spread of mites 
and bark lice, prohibiting their direct importation upon 
spiders and other insects through whose aid th^ are dis- 
seminated. 

Applicatum of InBeeticidee. As the rust mite lives ex- 
posed upon the surface of the plant, neither inhabiting a 
gall nor making any protective covering for itself or 
young, it is not a difficult matter to reach it with insecti- 
cides thoroughly applied. The adult mites are very deli- 
cate, and readily succumb to applications of moderate 
strength ; but the eggs possess much greater vitality, and 
require for their destruction solutions of great penetrating 
power. The immature mites, whUe undergoing their trans- 
formation, are also difficult to kill, and appear to be spe- 
cially protected by the old skin, within which their changes 
take place. 

These three stages, the adult, the molting young, and 
the egg, exist simultaneously at all seasons of the year. 
The development of the mite has been shown to be very 
rapid ; the eggs hatch in four or five days, the time ex- 
tending rarely, in winter, to two weeks. Molting takes 
place in seven to ten days, and lasts two days. Eggs are 
probably laid in a few days after the molt. 

In applying remedies it follows from these data that if 
the mites alone are killed and their eggs left alive, young 
mites reappear immediately; adults are found in ten or 
twelve days, and fresh eggs are deposited within two weeks. 
If the molting mites are also left alive very little good can 
be accomplished, as a ^esh crop of adult mites and eggs 
will be produced in two or three days. 

In combating the rust mites the difficulty in killing the 
eggs compels us to adopt one of two alternatives. We 
must either use powerful insecticides, in aoluticuis «^en 



THE BUST MITE. 125 

Stronger than are required for scale insects, or else make 
several applications of washes competent to kill the mites 
only. In this way the trees may be freed of mites, by 
killing the young as they hatch, and not allowing any to 
reach the adult stage and produce a fresh crop of eggs. 

The following substances have been tried and their ef- 
fects noticed upon the mites and their eggs : 

Whal&M Soap. The action of this substance upon the 
mites is peculiar; a traoe of it in solution causes them to 
relinquish their hold upon the leaf. All other liquids that 
have been tried, even if they kill the mites, increase the 
tenacity with which they cling to its sur&ce. All the 
free* mites are at once removed from leaves dipped in a 
solution of one pound to one hundred gallons of water. 
Stronger solutions are, however, required to kill them or 
their eggs and the dormant (molting) young. 

The following experiments made in the laboratory upon 
infested leaves show the action of solutions of various 
strength. In order to retain the mites upon the leaves 
the liquids were beaten into foam, which was spread evenly 
upon both surfaces, care being taken to wet every part of 
the leaf: 

Solution : One pound to five gallons. Adult mites all 
killed ; molting mites apparently all dead. Eggs evidently 
affected, not all killed, but many collapsed by the second 
day. 

Solution : One pound to one gallon. (This solution is 
nearly solid when cold.) Mites all killed. On the second 
day all the eggs appeared collapsed and dead. 

The whaleoil soap usually supplied by dealers is inferior 
to that used in the above experiments. As an effective 
remedy for rust mite a solution of one pound to five 

*^hi8 term includes adults and young not dormant or undergoing trans- 
formation. 



126 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

gallons of water may be recommended. It should be ap- 
plied in early spring before the new growth begins. Two 
or three applications will be required, which should be 
made at intervals of one week. The cost of the wash, at 
the ordinary retail price for the soap (ten cents per pound), 
is two cente per gallon. 

Very weak solutions may be made effective if used at 
frequent short intervals, but the labor and expense of 
making the numerous applications required will be very 
great. 

A solution of one pound, to a gallon will not injure the 
trees but may cause the blossoms to drop. No directions 
can be given as to the greatest strength of solutions that 
can be used upon blooming trees without loss of fruit, as 
this depends largely upon the condition of the tree. So- 
lutions of one pound to ten gallons can probably be safely 
used in most cases, and will be effective if several appli- 
cations are made at intervals of a few days. 

Sulphur . The mites, both adult and young, are very 
sensitive to sulphur, and are killed by it in any form in 
which it can be made to act upon them. The eggs, how- ' 
ever, are not readily affected, and even survive an expos- 
ure to the fumes, which will kill the plant. Fumigation 
can not be resorted to without extreme danger to the life 
and health of the tree. The finely powdered (sublimed) 
flowers of sulphur does not affect the plant; it adheres 
more readily than might be supposed to the smooth surfaces 
of the leaves, and especially when they are roughened by 
the mites ; it is not entirely washed away by heavy rains. 
Although it does not kill the eggs, it effectually extermi- 
nates the free mites, which are sure to come in contact 
with it in their wanderings, and if it can be made to re- 
main upon the plant, the young, as they are hatched out, 
are also destroyed. 



THE RUBT MITE. 127 

Flowers of sulphur must, therefore, he r^aided bb one 
of the cheapest and most effectiYe remedies for rust mite, 
and it may be used to great advantage in connection with 
whale-oil soap and other insecticides. It may be sus- 
pended in water and applied in spray. With proper ap- 
pliance the dry powder may be sifted or blown upon the 
foliage when wet with dew or rain. A little wheat flour 
added to the powder would increase its adhesiveness. 



128 FLOBIDA FRUITS — OBANGES. 



CHAPTER Xm. 

OATHERING AND PACKING. 

It is a proud and happy day to the orange grower when 
he gathers in the first golden herald of the good time com- 
ing, and thus receives the glad assurance that the reward 
of his years of toil and patience are close at hand — ^that 
the nigL iB past, and the'dawn of prosperity is near. 

It is not every one who knows how to gather and pack 
his crop so that it will reach its distant market in good 
order, and yet this point is so important that, if not prop- 
erly understood, it matters not how full a crop the tree 
may yield, since the fruit will yield no profit but rather 
loss, for freight must be paid whether the fruit will sell 
for enough to cover it or not. 

This matter of proper shipping is a rock on which many 
a goodly barque, sailing out into the world with fair hopes 
and prospects, becomes an utter wreck. And the worst 
of it is that such shipwreck as this, at the last moment, 
is caused almost invariably by culpable carelessness on the 
part of the owner of the fruit, whether he does the work 
of picking and packing with his own hands, or trusts it to 
hired help who have no interest in the well-being of the 
crop or its ultimate fate. 

As soon as the oranges begin to show by their yellow 
tinge here and there that ripening has commenced, the 
trees should be examined every two or three days, and all 
specked or defective fruit taken off, the ripest first. This 
serves two purposes : first, such fruit is always the earliest 
to ripen, and if carefully handled and shipped it will pay 
well to send it forward while the market is comparatively 
empty ; second, the removal of such defective fruit, which 



OATHERINO AND PACKING. 129 

will only get worse if left on the tree, will benefit the fruit 
remaining. 

Step-ladders are usually employed in gathering such 
oranges as can not be reached from the ground, as it is 
almost impossible to find a secure resting place for an ordi- 
nary ladder, and besides it is constantly catching on side 
limbs. Better, however, as well as cheaper than either, is 
another sort of ladder, which may easily be made by any 
one out of materials nearly always to be found ^Mying 
around loose" on the &rm. The steps are made of strips 
three inches wide, about fourteen long, nailed at proper 
distances apart, on a plank two inches thick and from six 
to eight inches wide, the last strip resting on the ground as 
abase. 

This simple ladder is easily handled and rests securely 
on a limb where the ordinary ladders would shake back 
and forth, while the projecting side pieces or steps serve a 
useful purpose when it is desired to hang the bag or sack 
of the picker on them. 

This bag, its mouth held open by an oval piece of wire, 
should not be too deep nor too large ; if the former, the 
first oranges picked are apt to be bruised in dropping ; if 
the latter, the bag will interfere with the picker^s move- 
ments, and will become too heavily weighted to be carried 
with ease, no matter how broad the band that secures it 
around his shoulders. 

The orange should never be pulled from the stem, as this 
rude severing almost invariably tears the skin and '^ plugs" 
the fruit, which is then unfit to be shipped, since it will 
surely rot on the way and damage the whole box. 

A sharp knife or small shears are the proper things to 
use, and the stem should be so clipped that from one 
eighth to one quarter of an inch remains on the orange 
until cured, when it will drop off. 



130 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

If the oranges are of different varieties each kind should 
be carefully kept by itself. 

As soon as a cart load has been picked they should be 
hauled away to the packing-house ; and if this is any dis- 
tance from the grove, or if the road, though short, is 
rough, moss should be placed at the top and sides of the 
cart to avoid bruising the fruit, for the orange, when just 
'* under ripe," as it usually is and should be when picked, 
is plump and solid ; the skin is composed largely of water, 
and if its tiny cells are bruised and broken, decay at once 
sets in. 

Every shipper should, have a house or room set apart 
for curing and packing the fruit. There are two methods 
of preparing it for shipment, of which the old method, 
which is termed " sweating," would seem the very worst 
treatment to which it could be subjected, and we believe 
it to be so, and to have caused the loss of thousands of 
dollars to Florida orange growers. 

As we have said, the skin of the newly plucked orange 
contains a great deal of water, and before packing it for 
shipment we want to get rid of this surplus element of de- 
cay. In order to accomplish this desirable result it used 
to be the universal custom, and one that is still too much 
in vogue, to put the oranges in a laige heap and cover 
them with blankets, leaving them thus for several days, 
until they had undergone a sweat, a number being rotted 
and crushed by the process, and the inevitable germs of 
decay generated in many others. Those that appear sound 
af^r this ordeal are spread out for a day to dry, and then 
shipped, almost invariably to be reported, "arrived in bad 
condition." 

Who can wonder? They have been coaxed and encour- 
aged to decay before their journey was commenced, by 
having their tender skins heated, steeped in moisture, and 
their cells crushed by pressure. 



GATHEBINO AND PACKIKO. 131 

A far more sensible plan of curing oranges and lemons 
is that adopted by the more progressive growers. Around 
the walls of a well-ventilated room or house shelves should 
be made, as deep as one's arm can conveniently reach 
across, the first shelf about two feet from the floor, and 
the others about one foot apart. These shelves should be 
composed of narrow slats two inches apart, their edges 
carefully rounded off to avoid bruising the fruit, and one 
of the gdats placed on edge at the front to prevent the fruit 
from rolling off. When diflerent varieties are to be gath- 
ered, separate shelves should be set apart for each kind, 
the name being placed in a conspicuous position, that there 
may be no mistakes made. 

The oranges should be gathered on a clear, dry day, after 
the dew had dried off of them, and arranged carefully on 
the shelves, one tier deep only, and not pressing against 
each other. Here they remain from four to six days, or 
longer if desired ; when the skin feels dry and firm they 
are ready for sorting and pa^jking. 

No one who has ever tried the drying process as above, 
will any longer feel a doubt as to its infinite superiority 
over the old method of "sweating." 

The last method toughens the skin by evaporating, in a 
quiet, natural way, the watery fluid. 

The sweating causes a heating, fermenting action, to- 
tally opposed to nature, that expands the cells of the 
skin and at once starts a decay, which very often does 
not appear outwardly until the orange is many miles on 
its way to market, and thus the fruit arrives in bad con- 
dition, very likely does not even pay expenses, and then 
the grower tears his hair, and more than half the time 
blames the transportation companies (who have sins 
enough of their own to carry) for what is entirely due 
to his own ill-advised treatment of his luscious fruit. 



132 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORAKGE8. 

A plump orange, in good order, as when picked from 
the tree, may be laid away in a dry, well-ventilated place, 
and will keep good for months, in perfect condition, its skin 
finally shriveling and hardening, yet the fruit remaining 
juicy and sweet; but place alongside of it one that has 
passed through the sweating process, and very soon it will 
soften and become a decomposed mass of pulp. We have 
tried both processes and '' know whereof we speak,** as do 
hundreds of others. In the light of this new process of 
curing oranges the old method of *^ sweating" will quickly 
become obsolete, and when all our growers awake to this 
truth, and also to the fact that our golden fruit can be 
kept for months in perfect order for shipment, if only 
proper care is taken in gathering and handling, so that no 
bruise shall start decay before the the aqueous fluids have 
evaporated, when they awake to these things then will 
thousands of dollars be saved to them annually. 

Impress on all who are employed in gathering the fruit 
that now, when it is plump and full of moisture, the least 
fall or blow will be the signal of decay. An orange will 
bear five times as hard usage after drpng as when fresh 
from the tree. 

The operations of sorting and packing are, as we have 
intimated elsewhere, of so vital an importance to the 
grower, as affecting his profit or loss on his entire crop, that 
if he is unable to perform them with his own hands, he 
should at least attend to them personally, and keep his 
eyes wide open. 

Oranges of one kind and one size should go in one box ; 
not all sizes mixed together, as we have often seen. 

After being assorted, not only with regard to size, but 
also as to bright or rusty or half rusty, each orange should 
be wrapped in a square of the manilla paper that comes 
prepared for the purpose, already cut, in graded sizes for 



GATHERXNG AKD PACKIKQ. 188 

wrapping the various grades of oranges. This paper can 
usually be obtained from the nearest store, but always at 
JackBonyille, as can also the boxes for packing. These 
last contain two cubic feet, inside measurement, with a 
middle division. They are delivered to the purchaser un- 
made, the various pieces being put up in bundles, ready 
for nailing together. 

In making these up, one side, rather than the top, should 
be left off for greater convenience in packing the fruit, 
which should be in layers close together, so they will 
not shake about. The top layer should project from 
a half inch to an inch above the box, so that when 
the side is nailed on, it will press down firmly, tighten the 
whole box, and prevent jarring, even after the fruit has 
shrunk, as it will inevitably before reaching a distant 
market. 

Be extremely careful to throw aside every specked or 
defective orange; two or three in a box may ruin the 
whole lot. 

Let the oranges in every box be, as nearly as possible, 
of uniform size, color, and texture. 

The number of oranges should always be plainly 
marked on the box, and each shipper should have his 
own stencil brand, by which his fruit may be known at 
a glance. 

When he has made a reputation for good packing and a 
uniform quality of fruit, as marked on the boxes, he will 
then find no difficulty in obtaining the best prices for his 
crop, as his brand will be sought for and picked out by 
those who are willing to pay for honest fruit. 

It would be useless to attempt to give here the proper 
marks for the various grades of oranges, as these are often 
changed, and personal inquiry at the time of shipping will 
elicit aU necessary information on this point. 



134 FLOBIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

We earnestly recommend the newly created "Florida 
Fruit Exchange" to every shipper, as, if properly sup- 
ported, by them, it must result in a vast increase in the net 
results of shipments to those who have heretofore been 
wholly at the mercy of irresponsible commission men, 
and without redress for the £Edse returns too frequently 
made. 

Several methods of packing oranges away, so that they 
will keep in perfect condition for months, have recently 
proved successful, thereby enabling the grower to hold 
his fruit, if he chooses, for the highest prices late in the 
season, or even in midsummer. 

One of these is to pack the fruit in thoroughly dry sand, 
making sure that they do not touch each otiier ; another, 
to pack in dry sawdust ; and another, in cotton seed. 

Still others have buried the fruit in the sand, under a 
rain-proof shelter, and found them perfect after six months 
or more. 

These are facts to be well heeded when the market is 
glutted, or prices for any reason not satisfactory, and 
above all, when (if ever again) comes the warning from 
the Signal Service office of ** severe cold" approaching. 

In the recent almost unprecedented cold wave that 
swept over our fair State, while this work was in press, 
hundreds of thousands of oranges were lost upon the 
trees that might have been saved had their owners real- 
ized the danger, and been marketed months later. 



ABOUT VARIETIEB. 135 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ABOUT YABIETIES. 

In selectmg the best varieties of orange trees for a grove 
there is need for the exercise of sound judgment. Some 
oranges ripen early, others late in the season. The fruit 
of some trees is large, of others, small ; of some, rough- 
skinned, of others, smooth. 

The point is to select such as will come into market at 
the best time, and such as will present the most attractive 
appearance. 

The first object may be attained by planting a number 
of the earliest and latest ripening varieties, that may be 
placed on the market just at the time other oranges are 
scarce, and therefore bringing the highest prices. The 
second point is met by having the fruit of medium size, or 
rather over medium size, and the skin smooth. 

A grove of trees, one third earliest, one third medium, 
and one third of the latest maturing sorts, will bring in 
to its owner much larger profits than one where the trees 
have been selected hap-hazard, without any regard to the 
two important points just mentioned. 

The first among early oranges is 

beach's no. 1. 

This is a very sweet fruit, of a rich, high flavor; it 
is nearly round, and has a very dark orange-color skin ; 
it stands shipping finely, and has no equal as an early 
orange. Time of ripening, from September 15th to Oc^ 
tober 1st. 



186 florida fruits — oranges. 

beach's no. 2 

Is aboye mediiim size, rather pearnshaped; eating quali- 
ties same as above ; is a fine shipper. Bipens November 1st. 

CHABI£Y BBOWN 

Is of excellent quality; a strong, rapid grower; nearly 
thomless ; greatly flattened at stem and blossom ends ; cir- 
cumference very large. Ripena in October and November. 

ST. MICHAEL. 

A fine, delicate-flavored fruit, pear-shaped, of a pale 
yellow color ; thin skin and medium size ; one of the ear- 
liest to fruit from budding ; is very prolific, so much so as 
in many cases to dwarf the tree. Ripens in October and 
November. 

beach's no. 8 

Has a peculiar, tender pulp ; pleasant acid when ripe ; a 
favorite sort; size, medium; color, light orange; shape, 
flat from stem to blossom end ; a fine shipper. Ripens in 
December. 

Extract from the report of the Pomol<^cal Committee 
of the Florida Fruit Growers' Association for 1878 : After 
comparing and testing, in the most thorough and impartial 
manner, a large number of varieties, your committee feel 
warranted in recommending for general cultivation the 
following: Homosassa, Magnum Bonum, and Nonpariel. 

homosassa. 

Size, medium ; somewhat flattened ; very heavy ; color, 
bright ; skin remarkably tough and dense, but one of the 
thinnest; pulp fine,^8weet, vinous flavor. 



ABQUT VABIETIEB. 137 

MAGNUM BONUM. 

Size, large to very large ; flattened ; color, light orange ; 
skin, smooth and glossy ; pulp, tender and melting, sweet 
and vinous ; fruit, very juicy and heavy. 

KONPABIEL. 

Size, above medium; rather flattened; color, true or- 
ange ; pulp, tender and juicy ; flavor, sub-acid and vinous. 

NAVEL. 

This peculiar orange is also known in Florida as the 
Umbilical, Bahia, Embiguo, and Seedless orange. 

It is well to know that there are two distinct varieties 
of the Navel orange; one was imported into California 
from Australia, the other was brought &om Bahia by the 
Department of Agriculture at Washington. 

The latter is in every respect the superior, and in Cali- 
fornia is known as the Biverside or Washington Navel ; 
the former is called the Australian Navel. 

The Navel, Bahia, etc., of Florida, is identical with the 
Biverside Navel. 

The tree is not very thorny, and is a good grower and 
early bearer, frequently bearing fruit the second year after 
budding, even on small stocks. Size, large to very large ; 
color, dark orange; has a protuberance on the blossom 
end, hence its name and trade-mark; stem inserted in a 
shallow-ribbed cavity with deep lines; skin, smooth and 
glossy; pulp, melting and tender; juice, sweet, sprightly 
and aromatic ; first quality. Bipens in January. 

TANGIERINE. 

* 

This is the general name of a peculiar tjrpe of orange, 
which is well known as the kid-^love species. Some bot- 

12 



138 FLORIDA FBUTTS — ORANOES. 

anists regard it aa a distinct species, while others contend 
that it is merely a marked variety of the sweet orange. 

MANDARIN. 

This is a very beautiful tree, distinguished by its small 
lanciolate leaves and slender flexible branches, which cause 
it to resemble the weeping willow in appearance ; is rather 
dwarfish, and of a formal habit of growth ; the flowers are 
volute, and smaller than those of the sweet orange. 

The first fruit is small, flattened ; skin of a deep saflron 
color, and so loosely attached to the rind that it may be 
pulled away, and the pulp, which is very aromatic and 
pleasant, may be eaten without soiling one's gloves ; hence 
the popular name of this type of orange. 

CHINA, 

Or, as it is sometimes called, the Willow-leafed orange, or 
St. Michael's Tangierine. Tree dwarf, with willow-like 
foliage ; remarkably hardy. A very ornamental and de- 
sirable species ; the fruit is small, flattened ; skin thin and 
of a deep yellow; loosely adhered; pulp, dark orange 
color, spicy and aromatic. 

moragne's tangierine. 

Tree largest of its family ; size and foliage more nearly 
resembling the sweet orange ; fruit large, flattened, of a 
deep crimson color ; skin adhering lightly to pulp ; juice 
sweet and aromatic. 

BUOU, 

Or, as it is often called, Danc/s Tangierine. This is a 
seedling of the Moragne Tangierine, and resembles it 
closely, except that the fruit is of superior quality. The 
tree is a strong, upright grower. 



ABOUT VABIEnES. 139 

aATSUMA.* 

This is another of the kid-glove oranges only recently 
introduced, and is destined to take high rank as a table 
and dessert fruit It was brought to Florida from the 
island of Kimbin, Japan, in 1874 and in 1878, and takes 
its name from one of the chief cities of that island. The 
tree is thomless, the leaves peculiarly thick, lanciolate, 
medium size, petiole linear. 

The fruit is medium size, flattened ; skin, deep orange 
color, smooth and thin, easily detached ; pulp, dark orange ; 
segments part freely, fine grain, tender, sweet, and deli- 
cious ; best in quality of the kid-glove family. 

This tree has one quality which will render it a valuable 
acquisition to our list of oranges — ^it is remarkably hardy. 
During the cold winter of 1880 the cold wave of Decem- 
ber 25th, which injured so many trees in the northern and 
^ central portions of Florida, the Satsuma stood unharmed. 
On Fort George Island, near the mouth of the St. John's 
River, where the Satsuma was first planted on Florida soil, 
lemons, limes, and shaddocks suffered in fruit and limb; 
sweet oranges lost their leaves and young tender growth, 
while the Satsumas, close by their side, did not sufier in the 
least, either in fruit, leaf, or branch, the leaf not even turn- 
ing yellow or dropping; and in January, 1881, the same 
experience was repeated. 

BPICE. 

Another of the kid-glove oranges, introduced into the 
State by Col. Codrington, editor of the Florida AgricvUfUr 
rigt, from seed planted nine years ago ; hence is yet rare. 

'i'For some unexplained reason the Satsuma does not thrive when budded 
on sour orange stock, hence it should never be used, a slow, stunted growth 
resulting. Always bud the Satsuma on the sweet orange, grape fruit, lime, 
or lemon stock, the former two only, however, in the more northern sec- 
tions of the State. 



140 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

It has a small, thick leaf, rather larger than the Tangi- 
erine, and in smell strongly aromatic ; fruit grows in clus- 
ters ; 18 small ; of a rich, red color. ** The prettiest orange 
we have," says Col. Codrington, "and if cut in bunches 
and shipped North before Christmas, would command high 
prices for decorating trees and churches. 

During the severe cold that has so recently (January, 
1886) visited this State, the Tangierine family have proven 
themselves almost frost-proof in the following order : Spice, 
Satsuma, Bijou, Mandarin. The fruit of the Satsuma not 
being injured. 

This closes the list of kid-glove or Tangierine varieties, 
which are all favorite market varieties, and figure largely 
at balls and public banquets. 

And now we come to the latest ripening varieties. 

beach's no. 5 

Is the largest orange grown in the State; pear-shaped; 
skin smooth ; dark orange color ; pulp, tender and sweet ; 
fine shipper; tree very prolific; is the only orange that 
makes a fiill crop every year. Ripens in February, when 
it blooms again for next crop. 

ACIS. 

One of the finest late varieties ; of large size and very 
fine quality ; tree a very strong grower. 

hart's tardiff, 

Or IIar€s hJte, as it is sometimes called ; skin smooth, with 
deep pits ; color, pale yellow ; sometimes seedless, at others 
has from one to five seeds; pulp, sweet, juicy, with a brisk 
racy flavor. Ripens late in January, and will keep in peiv 
feet order on the tree till July or August. A good fruit 
for market. 



ABOUT VARIETIEB. 141 

PHILLIPS' BITTER SWEET. 

Fruit large; skin thin; pulp tender, juicy, and sub- 
acid; slightly bitter and aromatic; an excellent summer 
fruit ; the tree is thomless ; is a hybrid between the sweet 
and sour orange. Every grove should have a few trees. 

MALTESE BLOOD. 

Fruit large, sweet, juicy and seedless; takes its name 
from the peculiar color of the pulp, which is blood-red 
in flakes when half ripe, but entirely so when ripe. A 
favorite fruit ; the tree is thomless. 

There are many other varieties of the orange cultivated 
in Florida, but these are widely known and highly es^ 
teemed, and a wise selection from those we have named 
will be all-sufficient to secure an ample reward of the 
golden fruit, although it would doubtless be well to set 
out a few of each new variety introduced, and thus grad- 
ually determine the most valuable. 



142 FLORIDA FBUITS — ORANOEB. 



CHAPTER XV. 

MISCELLANEOnB. 

In closing our remarks upon the culture of that golden 
fruit, the orange, we should leave it incomplete did we not 
gather in a few '' odds and ends" of ideas and experiments 
that are floating about, here and there, in connection with 
this interesting subject. /One of these is the question of 
" overproduction," which seems to be disturbing the minds 
of many superficial observers. We say superficial observ- 
ers advisedly, for those who take a second glance into the 
matter know such a thing to be impossible. 

Orange culture can never be overdone in this country ; 
the markets can never be so glutted as to make the prices 
obtained unremunerative, if concerted action be used. 

And why? Because the extent of country where or- 
anges (and lemons) can be successfully grown is very 
small compared to the extent of country ready and willing 
\_Ja purchase them. 

In the Mediterranean countries you see all the people 
eating this Queen of Fruits ; they have been educated to 
consider it as a necessity, as a part of their daily food, to 
be bought in preference to other food if there is not money 
enough to purchase every thing desired. A beggar will 
buy oranges and go without meat. 

The people of the United States do not yet appreciate 
the full value and health-giving properties of the orange 
as an article of food ; it is eaten now rather as a luxury 
than a necessity ; but they are just coming to a truer ap- 
preciation of its real value, and before long the voice of 
one of our most eminent physicians, who has said that ** if 
each of his patients would eat an orange before breakfast, 



MIBCELLAKEOU8. 143 

his practice would soon be gone," will be re-echoed all over 
the land. 

There are thousands of persons in the United States 
who have never seen an orange, and other thousands who 
never obtain one, except at almost prohibitory prices. 
Some day, as the number of oranges placed on the market 
increases, these people will be reached, and oranges placed 
in their hands at the prices for which the more fortunate 
citizens of our Eastern cities obtain them at present. 

It is quite true, as often stated, that thousands upon 
thousands of orange trees are being planted all over Flor- 
ida; but it is safe to add that fully one third of those 
planted will never come to bearing maturity ; many will 
fail from wrong treatment ; many wiU be abandoned by 
non-persevering owners ; and many more will die because 
they have been planted too far north, and their strength 
will be exhausted by too frequent frosts. 

But even supposing that every tree planted came to ma- 
turity and bore its load of golden fruit, and that every 
foot of ground on that one twentieth part of Florida, 
which is all that can ever be utilized for orange culture, 
should bear its dozen oranges, what would all that amount 
to when divided among the nearly fifty-eight millions of 
inhabitants of the United States, such being the population 
of the present year, 1886 — a population immense now, and 
doubling every thirty years? The population will increase 
almost indefinitely ; the year 1940 will witness a popula- ^ 
tion in the United States of more than two hundred mill- ' 
ions. But nature has fixed the limit of the orange-bearing 
belt in the United States, and nature's laws are irrevocable. 

The vast markets of the West and the Northwest have 
never yet received an adequate supply of oranges, the ma- 
jority of them none at all, and it will be many years be- 
fore the supply will meet the demand. 



144 FLORIDA FRUrre-— ORANGES. 

Florida oranges are admitted to be superior to any other 
in the world, and for this reason, although their numbers 
are yet comparatively few, they occupy the foremost place, 
and are eagerly sought for at the highest prices. The ge- 
nial climate of Florida, and a soil peculiarly adapted to 
the growth of the orange, coupled with the long period of 
warmth and sunshine, perfect and concentrate its juic^ 
without destrojdng its aromatic flavor. 

These advantages, joined with a proximity to the great 
markets, which allows the £ruit to remain on the tree until 
ripe, gives, and always will give, the first rank to Florida 
oranges in the United States. 

If the orange growers of Europe find it to their advan- 
tage to ship their inferior fruit to America, the expenses 
of freight, commissions, and a tariff (secured by General 
Sanford, of this State, for the protection of home grow- 
ers), if, we say, the European growers still reap a good 
profit, in spite of their drawbacks, what should not the 
home grower reap, with better fruit, lighter freight, and 
no tariff? 

Those who only see the tempting-looking Mediterranean 
fruit, as set forth for the inspection of the retail consumer, 
have a very feeble conception of the real extent of the 
business, or the frequent losses to the shippers. To those 
who do know, the wonder is that the foreign growers still 
persevere in sending their fruit so &r to meet with such 
frequent losses. 

Quite often the loss from decay on cargoes from the 
Mediterranean and the West Indies amounts to fifty, sev- 
enty-five, or ninety per cent. In many cases not enough 
is realized from the cargo to pay the freight. When, how- 
ever, the cargo arrives in good order, its sale often gives 
the owners a large profit, and so they keep on, after each 
reverse hoping for ** better luck next time." 



MIBCELLANEOUa 145 

Nor would these profits accrae to the foreign orange as 
often as they do, were it not for a trick of the trade 
adopted by some dishonest dealers. Knowing the eager- 
ness with which Florida oranges are sought, they select 
the best looking foreign oranges, usually those from Var 
lencia, in Spain, mark them " Florida," and sell them as 
such to unsuspecting or ignorant customers. 

In New York alone, during the Christmas holidays, 
over fifty millions of oranges are sold, and nearly all of 
them are labeled "Florida oranges." A dealer in New 
York, who largely supplies the Washington and Fulton 
markets, tells us frankly that all of the best imported 
fruit is labeled "Florida" to meet the popular demand. 

The day is coming, however, when the superior orange 
of Florida will drive the inferior imported fruits out of 
the markets, and there will no longer be any temptation 
to deceive the consumer. 

It is quite likely that the prices of Florida oranges, as 
ruling at present, will fall somewhat in years to come, but 
they will never &11 so low as not to be remunerative. 
Even supposing that the impossible should become pos- 
sible, and the United States should find more oranges 
raised on her soil than she could consume with profit to 
the grower, there is England ready, as has been proven 
by actual experiment, to buy our oranges at a higher 
price than she gives for the sour Mediterranean fruit— a 
price that yields a handsome profit to the producer ; but 
we shall never, in all probability, have need to seek a foiv 
eign market for our oranges. 

To ftirther show how preposterous the cry of overpro- 
duction is we wiU ask how it is that, with the immense 
area of country devoted all the time in the United States, 
to raising apples, peaches, plums, cherries, there has not 
long since been overproduction? 

13 



146 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES. 

So far is this from being the case, and so profitable have 
these orchards been to their owners, that instead of any 
overproduction, the people, like Oliver Twist, call for 
''more, more," and the demand for nursery stock to set 
out new orchards is considerably on the increase, although 
in these fruits nearly all the States are competing with 
each other, and are able to raise their own temperate cli- 
mate fruits on their own soil. 

Overproduction of oranges I when there are just as 
many people waiting to consume the Queen of Fruits as 
there are to consume all the apples, pears, and peaches 
raised on ten thousand times the area. 

The question that faces the orange grower is, how to 
supply the future increasing demand. 

Superior varieties of fruit will, always bring superior 
prices; a fi*uit with a known name and reputation will 
rank higher than one unnamed. 

An experienced orange grower said: "Seedling trees 
are generally eight to ten years coming into bearing, and 
no two trees in a grove are sure to produce alike, or of as 
good a quality. While we only get twenty dollars a thou- 
sand for seedling and unnamed varieties, we get from 
forty to fifty dollars per thousand for our select varieties. 
The sooner orange growers understand this the better it 
will be for them." 

Even supposing that the price of oranges should drop 
to ten dollars per thousand, which it is not likely to do for 
the best qualities, the grower would still realize as follows : 
Given seventy trees to the acre, and each tree bearing only 
five hundred oranges, that would be five dollars a tree, or 
three hundred and fifty dollars per acre ; so that a ten-acre 
grove at these moderate estimates would give an annual 
income of thirty-five hundred dollars. 

Can you find ten acres North that will give so good a 






i TNlVEliSlTY jj 

MIBCELLAKBOU0. ^"^ -^——^47 

return to the farmer? except, perhaps, a Bpecialtj like 
cranberry raising, for which but little land, comparatiyely, 
is available. 

Italy has 4,800,000 lemon trees, which now produce 
1,200,000,000 lemons per annum, while Florida has not 
reached the a h afs of orange culture, and virtually has 
not touched lemon growing; yet we hear no complaint 
that Italy has even reached the *' alarming" point of over* 
production. 

Having, as we trust, laid the ghost of overproduction 
to rest, the next point for consideration is a method of in- 
ducing barren trees to bear, that has only lately come 
into vogue among our more progressive orange growers, 
and is still undreamed of by those who prefer the old time- 
worn grooves. It is not a new method, having been prac^ 
ticed for years past in many places, and upon many kinds 
of fruit trees, with uniform success. 

In all groves or orchards, of whatsoever kind, will be 
found here and there trees that flourish and grow thriftily, 
yet bear little or no fruit. These are termed barren trees ; 
and the method we have referred to is designed to produce 
fruitfdlnesB in these lazy, ne'er-do-wells of the vegetable 
kingdom. 

There are a good many orange trees at the present time, 
scattered about, which are old enough and thrifty enough, 
but never bear a crop. 

GirdUng a non-productive tree in order to retard the 
flow of sap, and encourage the formation of fruit buds 
rather than wood, is the method we have mentioned, and 
though only now coming into extensive use, has been 
known and practiced by pomologists for the last hundred 
years. 

It is rather curious that we girdle a tree to kill it and 
girdle it to make it live and be useful But in the one 



148 FLORIDA FRUITS— ORAKOE8. 

case we cut deep through outer and inner bark ; in tlie 
other we carefully remove a ring of the outer bark only, 
from one to three eighths of an inch wide, cutting entirely 
around the tree or branch, if we only desire to try the ex- 
periment on the latter. A knife or small saw, with the 
teeth set wide, will do the work effectually. 

There is an apple orchard out West where alternate rows 
of young, unbearing trees were girdled, and two years 
after they were loaded -to the ground with the finest fruit, 
while the rows between them, of the same age, not girdled, 
had not a single apple on them. 

This practice of girdling is both rational and effective, 
and is destined to give the intelligent fruit grower consid- 
erable command over his trees. 

When early bearing is desired the ring of bark should 
be removed while the tree is growing, during the previous 
year. For early ripening and increased size of fruit, gir- 
dle just after the fruit has set. Another way of girdliug, 
which we prefer, consists in winding wire two or three 
times tightly around the tree, so that the return flow of 
sap will be retarded. 

Still another way of inducing barren trees to bear, is to 
drive into the trunk a circle of nails close together ; this 
has the double effect of girdling the bark sufficiently to 
retard the sap (which always leads to the formation of 
fruit), and of introducing into the body of the tree an 
element which is as needful to vegetable health as it is to 
human — namely, iron. 

Yet another method of producing fruit was discovered 
in rather an amusing way some years ago. A high tem- 
pered man became angered at two of his neighbors, and 
as they would, in all probability, have objected to his re- 
lieving his feelings by beating them, he went into his gar- 
den, where stood two thrifty old plum or pear trees that 



MISCELLANEOU8. 149 

had never borne fruit. These trees he named as his ob- 
noxious neighbors, and taking up a club, soothed his feel- 
ii^gs by giving their tree-namesakes a tremendous drub- 
bing. This was in the summer ; the trees did not grow 
quite as fast as usual, and the next season, for the first 
time, they bore large crops of fine fruit. Investigation 
proved that the whipping they had received had bruised 
the bark so as to retard the flow of sap, just as if they 
had been girdled. 

Girdling orange trees by any of these methods should 
be done firom June to September, when fruit is wanted for 
the next year; and to make large and early fi*uit, late in 
March or early in April. 

The China berry tree is said to be a great fertilizer, 
when planted in the ''diamonds'* between the orange 
trees. It profusely drops its foliage, adding a rich humus 
to the soil. It will abundantly fertilize the soil for a space 
of thirty or forty feet around it. 

From Australia comes a voice that is echoed from many 
parts of Florida, saying : " We have found, not the rem- 
edy, but better still, the preventive for the scale insect. ** 
What is it? A tree that has been making considerable 
stir in the world of late, because of its anti-malarial and 
draining properties, the Eucalyptus. 

It is a well-known fact that insects dislike the smell and 
taste of this remarkable tree, and it has never been known 
to be attacked by any of their mischievous race. 

Who does not know the peculiar aromatic odor of the 
Eucalyptus, as from afar the winds waft its perfume? 
Place some of these trees among your orange trees — the 
more the better — ^if your land is inclined to be too moist, 
and whatever orange trees are near enough to get the 
benefit of their odor, will be free from insects, even though 
others around them may be infested with them. This is 



150 



FLORIDA FBUIT0— ORANGES. 



especially true sa regards the scale insect, which appears 
to have a very great dislike to the Eucalyptus tree. 

It is also claimed that strips of the bark of this tree, 
tied around the trunks of other trees, will keep insects at 
bay, just as a few of its leaves scattered about the floor 
will drive fleas away. These assertions being true, we 
should judge that a wash made of a strong eflusion of 
£ucal3rptus leaves or bark, would be a very efiectual 
weapon wherewith to fight our insect enemies. 



The following tables will be found very valuable for ref- 
erence in measurements : 



TABLES OF MEASURES. 
PlanU and Trees to an Acre, 



DIBTAKCB APABT. 


6 inches 


by 6 inches, . . 


9 « 


"9 " 


1 foot by 1 foot, 


1 J feet by 1 J feet, 


2 


2 « 


8 


8 « 


4 


4 « 


5 


6 " 


6 


6 « 


7 


7 " 


8 


8 « 


9 


9 « 


10 " 


10 « 


11 


11 " 


12 


12 « 



NUMBEB. 


DISTANCE APi 


LBl 


174,240 


18 feet by 181 


fee 


77,440 


14 


<• 


14 


<( 


48,660 


15 


(( 


16 


H 


19,860 


16 


u 


16 


K 


10,890 


17 


u 


17 


U 


4,840 


18 


«4 


18 


U 


2,722 


19 


i< 


19 


U 


1,742 


20 


(( 


20 


U 


1,210 


25 


<{ 


25 


M 


889 


80 


« 


80 


(( 


680 


85 


(( 


85 


«( 


588 


40 


u 


40 


M 


485 


50 


il 


60 


(( 


860 


60 


(( 


60 


U 


802 


66 


i( 


66 


ti 



KUMBKB. 



223 

193 

171 

151 

185 

120 

108 

69 

48 

85 

27 

17 

12 

10 



Boxes for Measures, 
A box 19 X 19 inches, 18 inches deep, holds 1 barrel or 8 bushels. 
A box 16 X 16 inches, 8f inches deep, holds 1 bushel. 
A box 8^ X 8J inches, 8 inches deep, holds 1 peck. 
A box 8x4 inches, 4^ inches deep, holds 1 gallon. 
A box 4x4 inches, 4^ inches deep, holds 1 quart. 
A box 48 X 41 inches, 82 inches deep, holds a ton of ooal. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 151 

Dimensions of One Acre of Land, 

A piece of ground 5 yards by 968 yards. 
A piece of ground 10 yards by 484 yards. 
A piece of ground 20 yards by 242 yards. 
A piece of ground 40 yards by 121 yards. 
A piece of ground 70 yards by 69^ yards. 
A piece of ground 80 yards by 60} yards. 
A piece of ground 60 feet by 726 feet. 
A piece of ground 110 feet by 896 feet 
A piece of ground 120 feet by 863 feet. 
A piece of ground 220 feet by 197^ feet. 
A piece of ground 240 feet by 181} feet. 
A piece of ground 440 feet by 99 feet. 

Capacity of Cisterns for ea^h Tioelve Inches in Depth, 

25 ft. in diameter holds 3,672 gal. 9 ft. in diameter holds 476 gsL 

20 " " 2,360 "8 " •* 376 " 

15 " " 1,322 "7 " " 288 « 

12 ** *♦ 846 "6 •« «* 211 " 

10 " " 587 "6 *« « 147 " 

A measuring cord should be part of the furniture on 
every farm. To make one, procure sixty-seven feet of 
strong rope, one inch round ; make a loop or fasten a ring 
or bar at each end, and make these precisely sixtynsix feet 
apart ; this is four rods. Then tie a piece of red rag in 
the center. One acre of ground will be a piece four of 
the cords (chains) long and two and a half wide, equal to 
sixteen by ten rods, making one hundred and sixty square 
rods to one acre. The advantage of the ring or loop is 
that one person can measure alone by driving a stake in 
the ground to hold the rope while he stretches it out. 
The rope should be soaked in tar and dried, which will 
prevent it from shrinking when wet. 



152 FLOBIDA FRUITS — ^LEMONS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

LEMON CULTURE. 

All that has been said in these pages regarding orange 
culture will apply equally well to lemons, with a few slight 
modifications. 

One of these differences relates to pruning ; as we have 
seen, the orange tree will admit of considerable lopping 
off of its branches, and with benefit. The lemon, on the 
contrary, resents any such meddling with its branches, un- 
less they are dead ; then, of course, they must be removed. 
One single cutting away, especially of the lower branches, 
that nature intended to shield its trunk from the sun and 
wind, will put back the tree firom one to two years in 
growth, and seriously affect its vigor and health. 

We remember a case in point: A gentleman had one 
especial lemon tree near his house, and wishing to make it 
an ornament to his grounds, determined to curb its strag- 
gling propensities, and " train it in the way it should go." 
With knife, saw, and shears, he pruned and lopped until 
the tree had assumed the desired symmetrical proportions — 
tall and rounded, its trunk smooth and bare instead of be- 
ing well nigh hidden by sheltering foliage. 

The tree was expected to bear fruit the next season, but 
it did not ; it devoted its energies to replacing its lower- 
most branches. Carefully they were' pinched and pruned 
away; not a very arduous task was this either, for the 
growth was weak and slow ; then the leaves turned yellow, 
new shoots were scarce, and the whole tree assumed a sickly 
appearance. 

Still the true cause of the trouble was not even sur- 
mised, and once more the limbs were cut back; another 



LEMON CULTURE. 163 

year, two years, and though the tree still lived, that was 
all it did do ; a few weakly blossoms came straggling out, 
gave a weary, hopeless sigh, and sank to the ground. 

Then the owner of the tree resolved to cut it down, root 
and branch, but the gentle housewife pleaded for its ex- 
istence ; it was near the dwelling, and sickly as it was it 
gave some needed shelter. 

*' Very well, then, let it stay ; but 111 do nothing more 
with it. Ill let it alone entirely." 

So it was '^ let alone," and that was the greatest boon 
that could have been granted that unhappy tree. Slowly 
and cautiously, as though fearAil of attracting attention, 
and hearing more sharp, cutting remarks on its behavior, 
it put forth new branches low down on its trunk. They 
grew on until their drooping leaves shaded it once more ; 
then the top took a start, and all through the season it 
grew, becoming more and more vigorous. In the spring 
it set a hundred or more fine lemons, and the next year 
bore a heavy crop, just because it was " let alone." 

Again, whUe orange groves may be planted with profit 
on hammock lands, a lemon grove can not. The trees will 
not flourish at all in the hammocks ; we do not know why. 
No explanation of the cause has ever been given, but the 
fact remains, even with regard to high hammocks. 

The lemon requires a dryer soil than the orange ; hence 
some locations that suit the latter will not answer at all for 
the former. The quality of the soil, however, is not of so 
much importance for the lemon tree as it is for the orange, 
the latter being a grosser feeder. The lemon will grow 
well and thriftily where its more epicurean sister would 
languish for want of food. 

As a rule, the lemon tree is less hardy than the orange ; 
a degree of cold that does no harm to the latter wilts the 
young growth of the lemon and causes its leaves to drop. 



154 FLORIDA FRUITS — ^L£MONS. 

There are exceptioii8 to this rule, however, as we shall 
see presently, when we come to note the different varieties. 

The culture of the lemon in those of the United States 
adapted for its growth — Florida, Louisiana, and Southern 
California — ^has not yet received the attention due to its 
national importance ; on the contrary, it has been greatly 
neglected. 

This state of afiairs is largely due to a prevailing opin- 
ion that it is useless to try to compete with the foreign or 
Mediterranean lemon ; and certainly the latter is far supe- 
rior in quality to the orange from the same localities, a fact 
abundantly proved by recent statistics, which show an 
enormous increase in the importations during the last few 
years, and a corresponding decrease in the amount of 
oranges brought into this country. 

Now, there is no reason whatever why the hundreds of 
thousands of dollars annually sent out by the United 
States in exchange for this popular and necessary fruit 
should not be kept at home, and go to enrich our own cit- 
izens rather than foreigners. 

The whole trouble has originated, first, in the inexperi- 
ence of the growers in properly gathering and curing the 
lemon for market; second, in the general and erroneous 
impression that the lemon tree is more liable to become 
diseased than the orange; third, the fact that nearly all 
seedling lemon trees bear fruit with a rind so bitter and 
coarse as to be unfit for market ; and fi)urth, in a totally 
mistaken idea on the pait of the growers as to the kind of 
lemon most popular in the markets. 

But latterly, our people have waked up to the impoi^ 
tance of the subject, and these old-time rocks in the sea 
of lemon culture are being at last blown to atoms before 
the "Hercules powder" of investigation and common- 
sense. 



LEMON CULTUBE. 155 

The first rock — that of the lemons reaching market in 
had condition — ^has heen removed. They used to he picked 
when quite ripe, packed at once, and sent off, to be found 
ahnost invariably heated and rotten at their journey's end. 
But now they may be kept perfectly good for six months 
or more by proper treatment, and they wiU improve rather 
than deteriorate by being so kept. 

It is a very simple matter, this preparation of lemons 
for market, being exactly the same process we have already 
described as applied to oranges, namely, an avoidance of 
moisture while curing, by spreading the fruit on well-ven* 
tilated shelves, and afterward sorting in grades and wrap- 
ping in manilla paper. 

But at the outset there is one point of difference, and 
this it is which is of paramount importance, involving suc- 
cess or failure. The orange will keep well, even if picked 
when quite ripe ; the lemon will not. It must be picked 
when just commencing to turn yeUow, and at least one 
half of the rind is still green ; picked in this condition it 
should be kept on the drying shelves for at least six or 
eight weeks. 

This is the secret of curing lemons successfully, as recom- 
mended by a special committee of Califomia citrus-fruit 
growers, appointed expressly for the purpose of investigat- 
ing this important subject. 

The second rock that has stood in the way of lemon cul- 
ture in the United States — the idea that the tree is more 
subject to disease than the orange — doubtless arose from 
the pioneer trees having been planted on soil too moist for 
them, under the belief that wherever the orange would 
flourish, the lemon should do likewise. 

As a matter of fact the latter, in suitable locations, 
outstrips the orange in the rapidity of its growth, even 
though on much poorer soil ; it is even less liable to dis- 



156 FIX>RIDA FBUIT9 — LEMOK& 

eafle, and scale inaecte more rardj attack it. Where an 
orange tree will bear one thoosand oranges, a lemon of 
the flame age will bear from three to ^e thonamd. 

It is rather a notable oddity that the first two or three 
crops, even of the finest varieties, are apt to be coarse and 
spongy, and totally unlike the afier<;rops. One might al- 
most imagine the tree to be following the example of the 
^' lords of creation," and "sowing its wild oats" in its 
youth, before settling down as a staid, demure ''dealer 
in first-chifls fruits only." 

The third rock on which the lemon barque of the United 
States was erewhile threatened with shipwreck, was the 
''sporting" tendency of the seedling lemon. But our 
growers have learned at last not to put their fiuth in trees 
of this class, for, after patiently waiting for years, the 
fruit, in nine cases out of ten, is worthless. The moral 
of this is, raise no seedling lemons for their fruit; they 
make good, thrifty stocks, and that is all they are good 
for. 

Bud approved varieties of lemon on lemon, lime, or 
sweet orange stock ; the last is best of all for the colder 
sections, as it renders the tree more hardy. Never waste 
time waiting for a seedling lemon to bear, unless you wish 
to taste of die " Dead Sea Apple." 

The mistaken idea as to the popular lemon called for by 
the public is well set forth (in all good faith, however) by 
the following extract from a work quite recently published 
about Florida : 

"The tree grows more rapidly, produces fruit sooner, 
and has larger and better flavored lemons than are found 
any where else. I have seen and picked lemons of one and 
a half to two pounds in weight, and at the State fair saw 
lemons weighing two and a half pounds." 

Now, here is the very rock on which many a lemon- 



LEMON CULTUBE. 157 

laden barque has gone down. Who wants lemons that weigh 
from one and a half to two and a half pounds? Not the 
saloon-keepers, they will not, when sliced, go into their 
tumblers; not the confectioners, their rind is too coarse 
and bitter, and the juice too scarce; not the private 
family, they are too much for one and not enough for 
two ; in fact, no one wants these monsters, and ere while 
our growers were striving to see who could produce the 
largest lemons that would sell the least Very large lem- 
ons are not only rough-skinned, but their centers are hol- 
low and the pulp contains comparatively little juice. 

This is why the common Florida lemon is good only for 
home use ; it wOl not sell in the markets, but is valuable 
to the growers for family purposes, because it fruits eariy 
from the seed, is very prolific, bears constantly, blossoms, 
ripe and half-grown fruit, and buttons just set, all hang- 
ing on the tree together. 

Growers are finding out their mistake now as to the 
right kind of lemons to put on the markets to compete 
with the foreign fruit. The latter meets the popular want ; 
therefore, in size, aroma, color, texture of the skin, free- 
dom from seeds, and the absence of bitterness in the rind 
after being a long time in water, in all these points we 
have our model ready at hand, and it must be followed if 
we of America would drive out the foreigner. 

This same special committee to which we have referred 
has also pointed out the way to do this; it collected for 
investigation lemons from all quarters of the globe — 
Palermo, Messina, Malaga, SicUy, and Spain, California, 
Mexico, South America, and Florida. The appearance 
of the fruit, its size, quality of rind, percentage of acid- 
ity, bitterness, flavor, and quantity of juice, are the points 
that were made a basis of comparison. 

And this was the result of long and patient ezamina- 



158 FI/>BIDA PRUTTS — LEMONS. 

tion: that a lonon iragliiiig, when cnredy about three 
oonoes, with a soft, smooth, golden-oolored rindy is the fa- 
Yorite in all the great marketB, and will sell readily at the 
highest prices where larger and rougher skinned fruit will 
scaroelj seD at all at any price. 

And the directions given, so that this desired quality of 
fruit may be home-grown, are to discard all trees that after 
a fiur trial continue to show bitterness ; to raise no seedling 
lemons for fruit, and to exercise great care in selecting 
buds from trees of proved excellence, that are free from 
bitterness and rich in citric acid. 

Some of the budded varieties already introduced in Cal- 
ifornia and Florida were pointed out as well worthy of 
cultivation, and as already commanding as high a price in 
the great markets as the best imported lemons. 

Of these, Grar/s Eureka stands foremost Of this lemon 
we are told that it originated from a chance California 
seedling, and that the original tree, when only seven years 
old, produced over two thousand lemons, and that many 
other trees budded from it on orange stock, three years 
from the bud, are fruiting heavily; and that while the or- 
dinary Sicily lemon brings only ten dollars per thousand 
in San Francisco, the Eureka brings thirty dollars per 
thousand. Mr. Gary tells us that he has for years been 
in search of a truly good lemon, and now he has at last 
found it, wherefore he cries, "Eureka!" 

And now let us pass on to our notice of the different 
varieties that have been proven worthy of cultivation, and, 
as we have seen, first and foremost comes the 

EUBEKA. 

The tree is tbomless, a strong grower, and an early and 
prolific bearer; fruit, medium size, rind sweet, no bitter- 
strong, pleasant acid, and seedless. 



LBMON GULTUBE. 159 

VILLA. FRANCA. 

A very fine lemon ; tree an early bearer, and more hardy 
than most lemons. A growing &vorite every where. 

LEMON OF GENOA. 

Introduced firom Genoa, Italy. Tree thomless; an 
early and heavy bearer; fruit medium size; sweet rind; 
strong, pleasant acid. 

SICILT. 

Tree a prolific bearer; firuit medium size; very juicy; 
skin very thin ; a good keeper and shipper. 

French's seedlino. 

Tree a strong grower, almost thomless; fruit small, 
rather flattened ; skin very thin, tough, and dense ; pulp 
fine, juicy, and highly flavored; fully equal to the im- 
ported Sicily. 

BUOU. 

This is a superior fruit that has suflered much injustice 
in this State, owing to the fact that, whether accidentally 
or otherwise, a lemon really worthless, the Bergamot, has 
been placed on the market undfr the name of Bijou, the 
two being very distinct varieties. The true Bijou is the 
hardiest among lemon trees, and will bear as much cold, 
uninjured, as the orange ; leaf broad and small ; smooth 
thin skin; very juicy; fine acid. Commences to ripen 
August 1st. 

variegated. 

Strong grower ; leaves mottled with white ; pale straw 
color, and several shades of green; very ornamental; 
fruit smooth, thin-skinned ; fine acid ; medium size ; very 
superior. 



160 FLORIDA FRUITS — ^LEMONS. 

NAPOLEON. 

Prolific bearer; fruit medium size; thin rind; very 
juicy ; shape, oblong. Excellent for shipping. 

AUGUST. 

Tree a rapid, vigorous grower ; new growth, deep pur- 
ple; fruit medium size; smooth, thin skin; fine acid; 
shape, elongated ; a splendid shipper. Ripens August 1st 

BELAIR PREMIUM. 

A very fine variety ; tree strong and thrifty. Fruit of 
the best; small size; pleasant acid; smooth, thin skin, 
without bitterness. 



OTHER CITRUS FRUITB — ^LIMEB. 161 



CHAPTER XVn. 

OTHER CITRUB FRUITS — UMES. 

Next after the orange and lemon the lime ranks as the 
most important member of the celebrated citrus fiunily, 
and the day is not far distant wh^ the hitherto modest 
lime will step forward and assert itself as the full equal of 
the lemon. 

The production of limes in quantity is one of the latent 
interests that will spring up in the near future of Florida. 
The lime tree is an early and prolific bearer, and will 
bring its owner a revenue more quickly than any other of 
the citrus fruits. 

The lime, which is found scattered over the State, and 
known as the '' Florida lime/' is in reality the Mexican 
lime, and is well worthy of extended culture. It never 
'^ sports" like the lemon, but is a quiet, steady-going tree, 
coming true to its seed always, growing rapidly, and pro- 
ducing abundantly good fruit in poor soil when only three 
years old. 

Wherever the lime is introduced it receives a warm wel- 
come; its acid is more pleasant than that of the lemon; 
its juice far more abundant in proportion to its size, and, 
being smaller than the lemon, is highly esteemed ; and, in 
fact, preferred before the latter for hotel, saloon, and culi- 
nary uses. 

Pickled and preserved limes are justly celebrated, and a 
jelly made of limes is also delicious. 

With all these points in its favor, how is it that compaiv 
atively so few limes are planted ? 

There are two reasons, we are told. First, because the 
lime tree is the most delicate, as regards cold, of the citrus 

14 



162 FLORIDA FBUrrS— OTHER CITRUS FRUITS. 

family, and is often touched by frosts; second, because 
the fruit does not ship well ; and third, because the prices 
it brings in market are not as great as those for oranges or 
lemons. 

Granted — the first reason ; but the injury done by the 
cold in South and East Florida is, after all, infrequent, 
and rarely amounts to more than killing the tender new 
growth which the lime is ever putting on, regardless of 
season, drought, or poor soil, and this does not really hurt 
the tree. It is true that the ai-ea of successful growth of 
the lime is limited; all the better, then, for those who 
dwell within that area ; there is no danger of their enter- 
prise being overdone. Therefore, South and East Florida 
may pass by this first reason for non-cultivation of the 
lime as of minor importance to them at least. 

Now for the second — " the fruit will not ship well ;" we 
move an amendment: ^^It has not shipped well;" and 
then we grant this too. But this is not the fault of the 
fruit any more than that of the sweated orange, which, 
started on its downward journey by heedless or ignorant 
hands, reaches its destination in an unsalable condition. 
This frequently happens, yet we never heard any one say 
that the " orange will not ship well," nor does uny one re- 
fuse to set out groves of the same on this account. 

The truth is that the lime will ship just as well as its 
kindred fruit, the lemon, if picked when only a quarter 
or half ripe, cured on drying shelves, and packed just like 
oranges and lemons. 

But we have never known a single instance where this 
ordinary care has been taken with the lime. It has never 
had a fair chance given it to reach its market in good con- 
dition. Nor is the absence of the curing process the only 
trouble, as a prominent grower plainly puts the case : 

"Our producers have not selected their fruit. They 



163 

have not sent to market only firBt-claas fruit, but have 
sent instead a heterogeneous collection of large, small, 
ripe, green, and in some instances, from sheer carelessness, 
half-rotten fruit. Of course the merchant returned ac- 
count of sales * nilJ I will say, in this connection, that I 
have just received account sales of my last shipment of 
limes, returning me, net, seven dollars and forty-five cents 
per thousand, and written on the margin waa, ' Good, well* 
selected limes looking up.'" 

This tells the whole story. Prepare and pack limes 
properly, that they may be &irly introduced into the 
great fruit marts, and the convenience of using them, as 
compared with the hirge lemons, will soon make them for- 
midable rivals to the latter. 

A citric acid manufactory, to take up the ''culls" of 
our lime trees, would be a great boon to this State, and 
put thousands of dollars in the pockets of the people very 
speedily, for there is no tedious waiting for ten or twelve 
years for limes to come into profit. Commencing to bear 
at the third year from the seed, they rapidly increase in 
bearing capacity, until, when they are twelve years old, 
they bear from three to five thousand limes. 

Now, suppose one hundred seedling orange trees and 
one hundred limes to be set out at the same time ; at twelve 
years of age the one hundred orange trees, carefully culti- 
vated and fertilized, will yield little if any income. The 
one hundred lime trees, much neglected and unfertilized, 
will be each bearing, say three thousand limes. Suppose 
they sell for only three dollars per thousand, net; well, 
here we have an income of nine hundred dollars for the 
hundred lime trees occupying less than one acre of ground. 

The lime tree is of low, bushy habit, and does not so 
deeply resent trimming up as does the lemon. TaJl, up- 
right trees, with smooth, bare trunks, have been shaped 



164 FLORTOA FRUITS — OTHER CITRUS FRUITS. 

from the lime ; but it is better to let nature take her own 
way, and she intended the lime to be a tall, pyramidal 
bush, rather than a tree. All that is desirable is to prevent 
the lower branches from lying on the ground, and to trim 
out the center so that air and sunshine may reach every part. 

In raising seedling limes always select the seed ^m the 
largest and most perfect fruit, and the fruit from this is 
sure to be of the same quality as the parent ; a seedling 
lime destined to bear the best quality shows it at once by 
the dark color of its new growth. There are only two or 
three varieties of the lime, and these are the 

Tahiti' Strong grower, nearly thomless; very early 
and heavy bearer ; fruit large ; strong, rich acid. 

Florida. Introduced from Mexico, and known in Cal- 
ifornia as the Mexican. Fruit medium size ; skin smooth 
and thin ; juice, acid, rich and abundant. 

Sweet or Dvlds. Large, thick-skinned, pulpy; valued 
only as a variety, and for preserving. 

Persian. Lately introduced; a very superior sort. 
Fruit large, and often exceeds the ordinary lemon in 
size; juice a very pleasant acid; pulp tender and seed- 
less ; bears frost well. 

THE CITRON. 

The citron, like the lemon and lime, is more susceptible 
to cold than the orange, and is the least esteemed of the 
citrus family, with the single exception of the shaddock. 
The tree is rather dwarfish, attaining the height of eight 
feet; is erect and irregular in growth, and has many 
drooping branches, with short thorns. 

The fruit is quite large and heavy, and of several varie- 
ties and shapes. In Florida but two kinds are extensively 
known, but in Europe six varieties are cultivated, the 
common, the flat-fruited, the forbidden-fruited, the round- 
fruited, and the thick-leaved. In all these sorts there are 



THE SHADDOCK. 165 

two rinds — the outer one thin, with miliary glands, full of 
a very fragrant oil ; the inner thick, white, and fungous. 
It is for this thick rind only that the citron is valued, it 
heing used extensively in confectionery, both in its can- 
died and '^preserved" forms. The United States has 
always received its supply of candied citron from abroad, 
as it has been supposed that the fruit, as grown here, could 
not be as well cured as the foreign grown. 

This idea has lately, however, been proved to be incor- 
rect, and now, in San Francisco, we find a wide-awake firm 
advertising for all the citrons that can be raised in Cali- 
fornia, and that, too, at good paying rates to the grower. 

In Florida some of our energetic house-keepers have 
been quietly experimenting, and the result has been a 
better and finer article than the imported candied citron, 
bringing the highest price whenever placed on the market. 

The sooner our people realize that there is money in the 
citron, the better it will be for them. The &uit is easily 
prepared for market and is very profitable. The tree is 
readily propagated from cuttings, which bear fruit in two 
or three years ; it also grows readily from seed. The vari- 
eties grown in Florida are the 

Orange. Shape round, like an orange ; size large ; skin 
pale yellow, rough and glossy ; inner skin white, coarse, 
and thick ; a very desirable variety. 

Lemon. Shape oblong, like a lemon ; size very large, 
weighing from two to eight pounds; skin light yellow; 
rough and glossy ; inner skin thick, spongy, and aromatic. 
The best sort for general cultivation. 

THE SHADDOCK. 

The shaddock is a strong, thrifty grower; its general 
appearance closely resembles the orange ; its leaves, how- 
ever, are larger, and have a broad-winged petiole, and its 



166 FIX)RIDA FRUITS — OTHER CITRUS FRUITS. 

habit of growth is more irregular and spreading ; the fruit 
is very large, and not greatly esteemed, although the sub- 
acid juice is very refreshing. It ripens in the early winter, 
and continues on the tree in good condition until May and 
June. Varieties are: 

Mammoth. Fruit very large ; skin smooth, glossy, pale 
yellow ; rind thick, spongy, and bitter ; pulp green, watery, 
and sub-acid. 

Blood. Resembles the mammoth in all respects except 
that the pulp is red, and the flavor of juice more delicate. 

Orape Fruit or Pomolo. This fruit is held by some to 
be a distinct species, but it is no doubt a variety of the 
shaddock, and the most esteemed. Fruit is pale yellow, 
small compared to the other varieties of the shaddock; 
skin smooth, rather thin ; pulp sub-acid and very refresh- 
ing, with a decided grape flavor ; hence its most popular 
name. It is rapidly coming into favor in the Northern 
markets ; many prefer it to the orange. 



FINE-APFLE CULTUBE. 167 



CHAPTER XVm. 

PINE-AFPLES. 

Next in importance to the culture of oranges and lem- 
ons in Florida, and destined to rival even these fruits in 
the future, comes the pine-apple, most fragrant of all 
fruits, and second to none in delicious flavor. 

This industry, like those just mentioned, is still in its 
infancy here, and consequently there are many conflict- 
ing opinions as to the best soils and modes of culture. 

From a mass of opinions on this subject we have endeav- 
ored to sift out facts, and to recommend a mode of culture 
which may be relied on as safe to follow, and reasonably 
certain to lead to success. 

One writer on pine-apple culture teUs us that " the best 
soil for them is new, rich land, closely underlaid with 
clay;" another says, "the soil should be very rich, and is 
better to be all clay," while others recommend rich ham- 
mock land. 

Now, all this may be true in certain places and latitudes, 
but it is not true in Florida, as a rule. Pine land gives 
the best result in every instance upon record, and it needs 
but little fertilizing either. 

It is a mistake to suppose the pine-apple needs a very 
rich soil to do its best ; it is a plant that wants only mod- 
erate food, and is easily surfeited, and its growth actually 
retarded by too much fertilizing : and in this fact lies the 
secret of the failure of nearly all who have not succeeded 
in raising this delicious fruit successfully. 

Barely, indeed, is the man who set out his pine-apple 
plantation on rich hammock land found extending it — at 
least not on the same soil — while, whenever a patch has 



168 FLORIDA FRUITS — PINB-APPLE8. 

been started on pine land, and moderately cared for, you 
will find the owner preparing to plant more and more in 
sheer delight at the ** treasure trove" he has discovered at 
his feet. Even the poorest pine land, moderately fertil- 
ized, with a yellow subsoil close to the surface, has been 
proved to give better plants and larger fruits than rich 
hammock lands adjoining. 

Another mistake, that is not made so frequently as it 
used to be, was setting the plants on moist land. The 
pine-apple is closely allied to air plants, and therefore is 
not only a moderate feeder, but also a moderate drinker ; 
its long, narrow leaves draw no small share of its required 
nutriment and moisture from the air, leaving the roots 
little to do. 

Pine-apples, unlike most other fruits, are not propagated 
from the seed, for it is a singular fact that not more than 
one fruit in a million of the cultivated varieties contains 
a single seed ; hence, if compelled to depend on seeds for 
their increase, we should be badly off indeed. When seeds 
are found they are regarded as great treasures, and care- 
fully planted ; for from this source only can new varieties 
be obtained; sometimes they prove valuable, more times 
not. 

The pine-apple plant, like the banana, bears £ruit but 
once and then dies down ; if the old root is left in the 
ground, suckers rise up from the base of the leaves near 
the ground. As soon as these attain a sufficient size, the 
root should be raised and cut, with one sucker to each 
piece, and these pieces set where they are to stay. 

At the top of the fruit is a crest of leaves called the 
crown, and surrounding this, at its base, are other tufts 
called crownlets ; while at the base of the fruit itself, sur- 
mounting the stem upon which it grows, are still other off- 
sets termed slips. Upon the stalk which bears the pine 



PINE-APPLE CULTUSE. 169 

are "eyes,^ which, treated like grape cuttings, are also 
used to increase rare varietieB. 

From these sources — suckers, crowns, crownlets, slips, 
and eyes — ^pine-apples are easily and abundantly propa- 
gated, and these are usually sought after in the order 
named, from the idea that suckers fruit first, crowns next, 
and so on. 

This too, however, has been shown to be an erroneous 
impression; the &ct is, that the size of the plant alone 
governs its fruiting. Given a large sucker and a small 
slip, and keep them growing equally fast, then, of course, 
the sucker vrill fruit first, the slip last; but reverse these 
conditions, take a large slip and a small sucker, and the 
slip will be the first to yield up its luscious treasure. 

It is of no advantage to 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 vrill be 
longer in reviving and going to work again than new roots 
wUl 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 oflfeets ; 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 ofisets 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. 

lu 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 Bahamais, 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 
op^n 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 — ^PINB-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, when a 
sharp frost sufficient to freeze the water chances that way, 
woe to the plant itself; its tender life currente will be so 
chilled and shocked aa 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. 



PINB-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, smaU 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 ie 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: 

fiPANIBH. 

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 anj 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 



PENE-APPLE CULTURE. 176 

hurry their growth, or none at all, to retard it. Bomctimes 
they even resort to the heroic treatment of sacriiicing the 
bloom, 80 afl 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, firequently weighing twelve to fifteen pounds, 
are cut with the stem several inches below the fruit ; then 
an ordinary floweivpot, 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 PLORTOA FRUITS — PINE-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, thi]^ 
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. 



OUAVA CfUI.TURE. 177 



CHAPTER XIX. 

QUAVAS 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 
s& 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 — trUAVAS AJO) 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 fiEtr, but perhaps not the handsomest 
looking. 

Guavas dried in this way can be preserved for hQme 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 sajdng 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 — OUAVA8 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 bum 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. 



QUAVA 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 jfirst 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 — OUAVA8 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 

fi-uits, for the reason that it, like the pineapple, 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 we 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 FRUn'S — GUAVAS AND BANANAS. 

andy 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. 186 

and retain their stifihess 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 sufiered 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 FU>Rn>A FRurrs — guatas axd bananas. 

Sooner or later, for it Taries greatly as to tune, the ba- 
nana plant will send up suckeis firom its roots, which in 
due time are to take its place; for the Kmana^ Hke the 
pine-apple, bears fruit but once, and then, if not cut down 
when the hitter is remoyed, it will soon &11 prone on the 
ground. The best plan is to chop it up (an easy matter) 
in onall 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 Tnatftrinl, 

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 Grod 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 If orthern and 



188 FLORIDA PRTJITS — SBCALL 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 ^1 varieties are not suited to light, sandy soOs, 
nor will all pass successfully through our long summer 
season. Locality influences this fruit more than any other 
one cause ; therefore, a plant that wiU 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. 



BTRAWBERRIiS. 189 

Before proceeding to tell " how to do it,** let us quote a 
few well-authenticated dcUa 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. 



11)0 FLORIDA FBUrrS — SMAIJ. FRUTTB. 

The variety of beny phmted, the mode of culture, 
amount of fertilization, supply of motsture, and time of 
ripening all influence the result. And now let us pass on 
to the modus operandL 

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 ; dr j 
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 fumish 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 **hiir' 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, wiU 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 retentive 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 al*ound 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, 8. 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. Roe, 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 wotdd 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 yet, 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 FLORroA 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 wiU 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 l^e 
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 eoccellence. 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 : 

**U8e 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 FRXJITS — BBCALL FRUITS. 

hajs 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. \^Ql iFOBt^^' 

berry, and either is or has become ** a native oFthe 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 tins 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, do n't trust this important 
work to others or you will deservedly sufier 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^read a blessing it meets with lesd con- 
sideration than it deserves. Only a few years ago it wtus 
regarded in this country, ajs 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 &r 
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 Aimished 
all our best varieties for cultivation ; these are the Rvbus 
vUlosiis or High Blackberry, and Evbu8 eanaderuis 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 d6wn 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. 



OUVE8. 201 



CHAPTER XXL 

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 fiiUy 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- 
tiftil 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 FLOBIDA 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, b^ins 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 surfiEU^e 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 and 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 stiU 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 PRUIT8— 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, aivi 
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-decamp, 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 fafitened, 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 
bypassing the whole through a winnowing miU; this 
process leaves the frnit 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 firuit 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. 

Raising 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 

PicudOy 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, nutrbearing 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 **i^ 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. 



PBCAK8. 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 recommeqd 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 nettings 
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 FLOKIDA 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, wiU 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 
pl^ed 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 Bosa 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 
ai*e 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 SB 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 — OUVES AND PECANS. 

TURKEY EGG. 

Very large, long; mottled marks and black stripes, 
very distinct when first gathered ; sweet, tender, and deli- 
cious in flavor. 

GE06GIA 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 

'I 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 wiU 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 soflrshell 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 landy soils with dry subsoiL The 
nuts are large and of the finest quality. 



COCOA-NUTS. 215 



CHAPTER XXn. 

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 



..«^ '"uiii 11 r :r ^iv:in:3 ' ^-t^ roe -anrB limiL^ Trrmhwy^ 
.t -tiiic n.e zLu'Liami .iiiiT-viiiaia. -aec jftpronB paim 

r Hi* '•nroL r!ice ocEff hib 'tto ivnieit hup ni g uaiiiMHiIt 

" :ir-s#»- "m aim* i 5 rmpmr :o uassBannB- 3) Toieti 
•*»:»'! ^ le i'_:*"H^ -tnc • 3. jeneaiDiT^. ~7ir tag nunt rm 

i-.v-i.t*r a 3 larivp^ tnn«t v^m urn \ I'l ha Bsr >k die 

..•a*- nt*rFr«. u»ti lavniic k vi'jtir ^^oajsDojcai. raoEsse dan. any 
'rr..ir T.*Hi-...*»r »f .s iumlr. ~-et aeitner in d» Fir or 
'V-«»f liw .!« :)iiu*e >t Truly lLv leen -*iiM«tT oravco. 

In he -ariirrtc .-pfcTKice o :lie^ .•ocoa-finr paint — ane kmi- 
irM Hiii 'isTv-^ne jpshs i J. — we iiii it maaaasaMusai. an 
jvi^ncf in <,H-7it?iu ip<>ii -rnose -ifiDrefr ii& imm bad b«aL 

i^it »:ifr*nf*e ?aiiie iher, -thtti die mxiiL Isad, or finfift or 
toe rar->>rr Tnatineat )f Ajisica * This is a (jjoesdoiL time 
m ' ^at uyr^^r-^T mmain ananaweieti : but xbrtnnao^j mr manr 
kin4 :he iii^^Htk^rv of iiB birdi ienaos in wwfrriig tsom die 
'H^t*j;n«a« r^ diia taree, whick may weK be eaOed tbe 

{^y'rn npr,n 'he wave-wa»iie<i cobbc. witk die alt ^fKsr 
\-A4ur\^ r^vfi>r ItA ^t^m ami leaves auui Iiifihrng ks rootSy tbe 
/.//./,^.ni>t k/V'^ CO dwtill ; remove k inlaiui. wkexe die aea- 
}ryf^AyA <',m(k iKii play loiuxig iti kapneSy sod it wiE diix^ aid 



( 



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 watched 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 ofi* the coast of Sumatra, 
washed over by every storm, to find the cocoa-palm lifting 
its crowned head in the joyousness of fuU 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 
'^Mahawanso," 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 ofiend 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 saxirifices in his fevor, 
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 Eottah 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 and useful to man. Bearing 
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 
which 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. 

C!ommencing 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 :&om 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, a^d, 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- 



i 



224 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-XUT8. 

tit J with the ** porcupine wood" of commerce, a change of 
name more striking than euphonious, and for which it 
would 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 stiflen 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 ariky by 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 «un, 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 suri, 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 FIX)RroA 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- 
vers, 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 spiiit. 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 cocoamut oU, 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, stiU 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 oUaJis, and as such are used 
for graven purposes — ^letters, documents, books, and the 
like. Neatly rolled up and sealed with gum lace, these 
oUahs 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 FLORroA 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 waUs, 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 homy 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 aCdvanced, 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 
bum 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 glasEh 
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 corium, 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 eoir 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 FIORTDA FRUTTB — COCOA-NUTS. 

heavy weight ; the fibers are then twisted into yam, firom 
which cordage of all sizes is manufactured. The natives 
sew together with coir yams 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 stufi&ng 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 firstrclass 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 finit 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 &ct 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 iutermingle 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 iu wet seasons, it will blos- 

20 



234 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS. 

8om 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 tei^ 
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 Mte novr, 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 hete noir is about three inches long, plump, and 
round in proportion, and its head is black ; it is called tvr 
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- 



ooooA-iiroTS. 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, £35 148.), and 1,000 
tin sheets 36x12, the cost of which was £28 Ts. lOd. 
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 ladders 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 aa fivepenny galvanized shingling nails.' 
** Father WooUett, 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 

sion 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-flix 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 £35 148. 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 cocoaruut 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 FKUIT8 — OTHER TROPICAL FRUITS. 



CHAPTER XXm. 

OTHER TROPICAL FRUITS. 

Among the many other fruits of South Florida fisust 
rising into prominence, first and foremost stands the 

•' MANQO. 

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 firuit 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 FSTTTB — OTHEE TROPICAL FRUITS. 

It couuins one burge seed or kernel ; the fbiYor of the 
fruit smpasBes that of the finest moakmelon, and on ac- 
count of its rich, niarrow4ikey vegetable teztore, is usoallj 
eaten with pepper and salt, or lime joke mixed with sugar. 

There are three Tarieties of the aTacado, the red, pur- 
ple, and green, the latter being most hi^j esteemed. 

This tree is counted among the purely tropical fruits; 
but this is, in some d^ree, a mistake;. It has been sue- 
cesirfully raised, without injury from eyen severe frosts, as 
£blt north as Palatka, and this hd should be more widely 
known. 

As simply a shade tree the avacado is beautifrd, but 
when to this is added the fiict of a bountifrd jrieLd of frxiit, 
which sells readOy 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 
£eivorites, so soon as its high qualities are better known. 
The fruit ripens frt>m 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. 



QRAFEB. 241 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

GRAPES. 

Many varieties of grapes have been tested, and tested 
satisfactorily, in Florida, but foremost among them all 
ranks the BvUace or VUis 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 famUy 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 Btd- 
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 — GRAFEB. 

the lower part, and the Bhoots 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 ofi" 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 BuUace 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 BvUcbce 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 BuUace or Vitis vvlpina 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 BvUace 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 BuUace 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— GRAPBB. 

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 qften 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 BuUace or 
Vitis vtUpina grapes. 

SGUPPEKNONG. 

Bunches seldom composed of more than eight, or teu 
grapes; grapes large, round, bronze color when fully ripa; 
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 ha3 
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 FDLP. 

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 Scuppemong. 

These are all of the BuUace 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. Bipens middle of July. 



246 FLORIDA FRUIT8 — ORAPEB. 

DELAWARE. 

Bunches medium, red or pink; skin very ihin; 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 flue grower. Ripens early in 
June. 

GOETHE (ROQER'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 WYLEE. 

Vine vigorous, short pointed ; holds its foliage, till fall ; 
bunches alone medium, shouldered, loose ; berries medium. 



GRAPES. 247 

roundy white, transparent; golden yellow at maturity; 

flesb melting, vinous, delicate, Muscat flavor; quality 

best ; best flavored white grape ever grown in the South. 

Ripens in July. 

bebckman's 

Holds foliage till frost ; bunches large, berries above me- 
dium ; reddish pink ; first quality. Sipens in July. 

' These are all native grajpes 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 sur&ce. 

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 FLOBIDA FBUrrS — 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 ei^er 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, dean 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 
decaymg berries. 



250 FLOBIDA FRtJrrS — CHINESE SAND FEABS. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

CHINESE SAND PEARS. 

All over tl\e 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 de^^Mur. 

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 p^ars 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 spr^from 
the original Le Conte, but this ia a &ult 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 generoufiily 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 FLORTOA FRUITS — CHINESE SAND FEAB8. 

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 Band 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 



({ XJNlVEbBlH 

CHINESE SAND PEAl^|^^C4[^^f:oB^i\^ 

Btrong," 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 firiend 
of the latter. Major Vamadoe, 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 Chinefe 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, fiilly 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 FLORTOA FRUITS — CHINEBE SAND PEASS. 

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 &uit. 

The tree has no "ofi* years," but gives continual crops 
year after year. The original tree, in Liberty County, 
Gra. , 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 ofi&pnng, 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 on steadily in- 
creasing. 



CHINESE SAND PEARS. 255 

Wherever the Kieffer 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 fi*om 
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, rg^ised 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 SAKD FEARS. 

nine inches around, and is much flatter and rounder than 
the Le Conte or Kiefier. 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. 

cockijn's bha-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 PEABS. 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 difi^erent 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 



268 FLORIDA FRUITS — ^FIGB. 



CHAPTER 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. 

** 2. Good and perfect drainage at any and all times. 

**3. The gradual drying of the soil when the fruit is 
ripening. 

** 4. Sufiicient 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. Soiiie 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 treeis. 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 pruning 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 onoe 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 &ct, demands to be left alone as does the ^g ; 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 ^g 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 
frdly 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 



FIQS. 261 

of figs, and it is the fittdt 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 ddicate 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 wiU 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, 
^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 



202 FLORIDA FRUITS — ^FIGS. 

sixty bufihelB of that finiit 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 fiu^tories 
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 months 
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 wUl 
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, haying been picked just before 
maturity, they ripened in transit, and arrived in perfect 
order, bringing the q)lendid 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 frt)m 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: 

ANGEUQUE, OR EARLY LEMON. 

Small ; greenish yellow ; fine flavored ; early. 

BRUNSWICK, OR MADONNA. 

Very large ; violet ; good, and very productive. 

BLACK ISOHIA. 

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. 

OREEN 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 fiavored, 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 XXVn. 

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, Amygdalm 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 AgricuUwrist. 



PEACHES. 267 

Columella 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 
lands 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 
see, 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 PLUMB. 

We have seen how the peach when first brought ito Borne 
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; pea<;hes 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 

Pien4au 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. 

Briggif 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 — t^e 
very Dcionths 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 
Ist. 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. 

Onderdonl^s Favorite, a large, yellow, juicy, July peach. 

Gabler's 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 lot 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 FI30RIDA 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 burrow- 
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, suhstantial 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 selfnsame 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 iii 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-armed. 



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 &uit 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 

Yfith 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 aU signs of curl- 
leaf will disappear from all the younger leaves, and appear 
no more. K 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 q})serving 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 PLUMB. 

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 wiD often do well ; our nsr 
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 & 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 FLOBIDA FRUITS— PEACHES AND PLUMS. 
JAPAN MEDLAB, OR JAPAN PLUM. 

This valuable fruit is generally known in Florida under 
the latter title, which is an entire mierumier. 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 jeUies offered for sale in the markets. 

The fruit, resembling an ordinary plum in size and 
shax)e, 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 
had been given to the fruit as a just tribute to the memory 
of one of Califomia's pioneer leaders in horticulture. The 
following points of excellence are claimed for it : 

1. Ite 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- 
suited 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 FBUITS — ^JAPANESE PERSIMMON. 



CHAPTER XXVm. 

JAPANESE PERSIMMON, OB DATE PLUK. 

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 th^ 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. 286 

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 — ^JAPAl^EBE 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 £a€t 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 &r 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. 

IMPERL^L. 

Shaped like an acorn or " Minie ball;" very large, with 
dark stripes on the sur&ce; 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. 

HTAKAME. 

Largest known, and of the very best quality. 

MIKADO. 

Flat like a tomato ; medium sized ; bright yellow ; flesh 
solid. 



JAPANESE PERSIMMON. 287 

TAIKOU. 

Bound ; 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 MAWELL. 

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 modem 
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 

Tyhich has brought so great a boon, not only to the pro- 
ducer but to die 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 /txrore, 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. Eyder 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-«ense 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 b^ 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 jara, cans, or sugar. 



292 FLORIDA FRUITS — EVAPORATING FRUITS. 

In one season the ordinary fanner, 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 da/s meal. 

And still further to facilitate matters, these same manu- 
&cturers, 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 
impprtance 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 outr 
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 f then pack them in 
neat, two-pound pax)er 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 FRUITS — ODDS AND WSm&. 



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 comers, 
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 do