Florida fruits and how raise them

REESE LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

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FLORIDA FRUITS

HOW TO RAISE THEM

HELEN HARCOURT

REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION, WITH ELABORATE INDEX
OF SUBJECTS.

LOUISVILLE, KY.
JOHN P. MORTON AND COMPANY.

1886

COPYRIGHTED BY

At* 0 <? <r

JOUN P. MORTON 'AND COMIANY

1886

ROBERT ROWELL,

Electrotype and Stereotype Foundry,

tOUISVILLE, KY.

PREFACE.

In laying 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 was, " What can be grown
in Florida?"

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.

(5)

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. PAGE.

KISE AND PROGRESS OF ORANGE CULTURE 9-17

CHAPTER II.
THE VALUE OF ORANGE GROVES 18-26

CHAPTER III.
FROM SEED TO GROVE 27-36

CHAPTER IV.
How TO BUD AND GRAFT 37-51

CHAPTER V.
WHERE TO PLANT 62-61

CHAPTER VI.
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

(7)

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTEK XVI.
LEMON CULTURE 152-160

CHAPTEK XVII.
OTHER CITRUS FRUITS 161-166

CHAPTEK XVIII.
PINE-APPLES 1 67-1 76

CHAPTEK XIX.
GUAVAS AND BANANAS 177-186

CHAPTER XX.
THE SMALL FRUITS 187-200

CHAPTEK XXI.
OLIVES AND PECANS 201-214

CHAPTER XXII.
COCOA-NUTS 215-237

CHAPTER XXIII.
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 294-31 1

CHAPTER XXXI.
How TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS 312-332

THf

UNIVERSITY }

FLORIDA FRUITS

CHAPTER I.

RISE AND PROGRESS OF ORANGE CULTURE.

Throughout the length and breadth of the horticultural 1
world there is at this moment, and will be for years to
come, no one tree or fruit 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.

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 hollow, 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-
^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 his
"Traite du Citrus," 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 fruit in the exceedingly
minute and circumstantial account given by the father
of modern 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 Mediter-
ranean islands, and the West Indies.

In each and all of these various places has the difference

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 Sicily, 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 Kio 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," \vere
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 back 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 PROGRESS OF ORANGE 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
corner 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 River 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 aneien 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 determiner! 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 Region," 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 oif, 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 still 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 the 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, stern 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, and 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 PROGRESS OF\QR&^Gpr .€UtOrt*K£/ 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 !

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 FRUITS — ORANGES.

CHAPTER II.

THE VALUE OF ORANGE GROVES.

Having pointed out the rock on which so many fair
barks 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 settlers ;
do not take all you hear for facts 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
will 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 FLORIDA 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 JM^' 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,
]but 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 Flor-
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 farm, 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 best
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 was fashioned 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 acre's 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 VALUE 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 family, there is no
better investment for his surplus 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 FLOEIDA 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 faces southward, and in less
than " seven years," amid Florida fruits, they will have
won independence and their Rachel.

FKOM SEED TO GROVE. 27

CHAPTER III.

FROM 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
corner-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!" 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 will 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 piece 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 your
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

TJNIVEESITY

FKOM SEED OT M 31

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 will make such a thrifty growth as will astonish
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

32 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

height of twelve or eighteen inches they are ready to be
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, will 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 GROVE. 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. Garey,
termed, "Orange 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 roller 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 roller 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. If 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 roller 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 GROVE. 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 cross-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 well 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, sell 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. 37

CHAPTER IV.

HOW TO BUD AND GRAFT.*

In transferring 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 off, usually close to the ground; in budding
only the tips of the growing branches are pinched off—
and 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 inj ured
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 is, just as we know that our hearts beat, our lungs
innate ; we can see the outward result, and watch its prog-

••'• By permission of the Florida Agriculturist, in which this chapter was
originally published.

38 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

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 will 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.

Still 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
Is 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 illustrate the difference 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 with 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 strips dipped
in the latter only are fully as effective and far more agree-
able to handle; neither do they, as some claim, become
rancid without the rosin.

Lastly, a very sharp-pointed, thin-bladed knife is neces-
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 corners 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 BUD AND GRAFT. 43

wood remaining separates at the end from the delicate
bark, then thrust your thumb 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 with 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. If 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, whereas
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 cross-cut; 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 " interview " 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 GRAFT. 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, all 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 FRUITS ORANGES.

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 par excellence, and affords scope
for curious experiments, such as we have just indicated ;
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 hot-houses (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 yellow 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 cleft as deep as the wedge you have
cut — one and a half inches — this done, with the thicker or
bark edge placed very carefully 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 scions 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 differs 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 will 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 rays 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 from 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 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

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 " wTho declared the
trees would die as soon as their tap-roots reached the hard-
pan, Mr. Hart's grove is to-day 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 offer 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 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

put out a few Eucalyptus globulus trees here and 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

WHERE TO PLANT. 55

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

We have never yet met an orange grower whose trees
were located on good pine, with clay a few feet below the
surface, 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 cultiva-
tion must also be taken into account. The hammock land
is full 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 hammock 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
all, 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."

56 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 far-famed 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 land 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 FLORIDA 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 trees.

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 burn 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 PLANT. 59

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 feet,
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, burn 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 — ORANGES.

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, as it is no easy or quick work
even in our light Florida soil.

Kails for fencing are split from 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 PLANT. 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 degrees, 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 still predominates
throughout the State ; nowhere do we find immense con-
tiguous tracts of land all 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 Gardener's Monthly and
Horticulturist, 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 against 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 years 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 wre 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 will bear, and thus we not only secure beyond

BUDDED TREES OR SEEDLINGS. 65

doubt a fine variety of fruit, but the identical variety we
have 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 favorite
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 FLORIDA 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 favorite 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 SEEDLINGS. 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 from 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.

Trees such as these, of the best varieties grown, are to

BUDDED TREES OR SEEDLINGS. 69

be had at fifty dollars per hundred; trees of two years'
bud, with stock of four or five years' growth, at seventy-
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, from 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 PLANT. 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 is 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 will 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 FRUITS — ORANGES.

the trees, and unless this is done with regularity and the
alternate trees taken out the effect will not be satisfactory,
and the whole symmetry of the grove destroyed, to say
nothing of the loss of half the fruit for many years.

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 fifteen 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 from and through the branches that closely 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 oat 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 loss 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. Such 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-
minder 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.
Roots 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 FLORIDA FRUITS — 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 such a depth as will
bring the top lateral roots of the tree about an inch above the
ground after the soil is all filled 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 off 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 corner-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.

25 x 25 " . . 70 " 35 x 35 " . . 36 "

76 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

CHAPTEE VIII.

HOW TO CULTIVATE.

Under this heading we come to the most vexed question
among the many that perplex the orange grower. Doubt-
less twenty years ago, before orange culture became an es-
tablished industry, the few men who counted a small num-
ber of these trees among their possessions deemed that
they knew all about their culture. But nowadays the
orange grower is feign to confess that there is much yet to
learn in his business, that time and experience are still
required before the best results can be certainly obtained.

One lesson at least has been brought home to every
orange grower, and it is one that all new-comers should
heed, since second-hand experience is cheaper than that
paid for out of one's own pocket, and this is, that when an
orange 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-
iness, stocking one's store, for instance, and then going off
here and there, leaving the business to take care of itself,
and the stock at the mercy of thieves ? Yet such a course
would be quite as sensible as that pursued by those who
set out an orange grove and then leave it uncared for,
save, perhaps, by a semi-occasional plowing, which is given
more in the interest of corn, cow-peas, or some such crop
planted among the trees, than in that of the latter them-
selves.

Those 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.

But, 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 bearing
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

Of r

VEESITY

see Dame Nature employing this method to brace and
strengthen their growth.

As a general rule clean culture from February to June,
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

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.

MULCHING AND PRUNING. 81

CHAPTER IX.

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 from 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 FLORIDA 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 find 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 impor-
tant. Never allow the mulch to touch the trunk, it will
soften 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 something, 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.

MULCHING AND PRUNING. 85

There is a mode of mulching that we have not referred
to that is well worth general adoption, combining, as it
does, the double benefit of mulching and green manuring.
This is, to remove carefully the loose earth from 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

MULCHING 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.

CHAPTEE 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 corner-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 all 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 all 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
profusion, 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

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 orange 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 liberated; 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 ammonia 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 ma-

HOW TO FERTILIZE. 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 bushels.

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
wash, 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 every
few days; second, the muck, sawdust, and other absorb-
ents are a protection. Water absorbs 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. So 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 ordinary
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 iw plus ultra of compost

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 increasing 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
wfoo 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 system of high
manuring is continued after they have arrived at the bear-
ing age, 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 is 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.

98 FLORIDA FRUITS — 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.

ENEMIES, AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM. 99

For one thing, there are several small beetles, and some
large ones, found in all our groves, that feed on the scale
or coccids, 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 mussel-shell 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

ENEMIES, AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM. 101

hardly think that such a tiny thing could do so much dam-
age to a noble tree ; but the trouble is 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, crawls
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. Ashinead, 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.

If 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 — ORANGES.

Chief among these staunch friends of the orange tree
are the orange scale apelinus, the twice-stabbed lady-bug,
minute scymnus, red mite, and orange chrysopa.

The first-named, the orange scale apelinus, 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-shape.

The next of our good friends, 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 fall lay their
eggs where the scale insect is most abundant ; then, when
their eggs hatch, the dark, spine-like larvae 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 larvae will be
found there in greater numbers than elsewhere.

The minute scymnus, large scymnus, 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 FIGHT THEM. 103

The two former are beetles, whose larvae, 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 fall broods are
hatched.

The orange chrysopa is another most helpful friend ; 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 the 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 from 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 appearance 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 all 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.

104 FLORIDA 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 after-
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 fight 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 FIGHT 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
inite 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 Kiley, of the Agricultural Department, calls him
Euthoctha galeator. 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 effect-
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 from 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 from 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
off* 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.

No 1.

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 FIGHT THEM. 107

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

No. 2.

Tobacco stems, 5 pounds,

Copperas, 5 "

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. 3.

Whale-oil soap, 10 pounds,

Kerosene oil, 5 gallons,

Water, 5 "

Common soap will do if the other is not to be had.
Dissolve the whale-oil soap in hot water, then add the
kerosene; churn 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 with
water, then throw up the ash into the tree.

108 FLORIDA FRUITS ORANGES.

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

FOR THE MEALY BUG.

The formula given 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

ENEMIES, AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM. 109

feels the loss 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 Euihoctha 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 MITE.

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 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

CHAPTER XII.

THE RUST MITE.*

Discoloration of the Fruit. The brownish discoloration
of the rind of oranges, familiarly 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 in-
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. Karely is
there any real increase after the rind begins to ripen, al-
though the discoloration usually attracts attention just at
this time, and frequently 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 little trace of rust.

"•Report of H. G. Hubbard, Special Agent, to the United States Ento-
mologist.

THE RUST MITE. Ill

Is Rust a Fungus or an Exudation of Gum f The term
"rust" is very indefinitely applied to a great variety of
plant diseases, 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.

Reasons for Considering it the Work of a Mite. If we ex-
amine critically with a hand lens of considerable magnify-
ing power the surface 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 applying 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 FLORIDA 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 far
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 the Leaves. Having tracked the mite by
means of its tell-tale exuviae, 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 themselves 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 MITE. 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 Mite always 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 tJie 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 FRUITS — ORANGES.

oil-cells have been emptied of their contents, or the tissues
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,
or 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 enable
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. 115

from the under surface 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 fully developed ova. The embryo
is curved within the egg, its head slightly overlapping the
tail.

Life 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 frost, and the duration of the egg period seldom ex-
ceeds two weeks.

The young mites are bright, translucent, yellow in
color. Within «, 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 on which it
rests, but is in time removed by the action p,f the weather,

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. If 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 MITE. 117

to twelve feet per hour. It is therefore not surprising to
find them changing their position frequently; disappear-
ing suddenly from 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

*The 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-

118 FLORIDA FRUITS ORANGES.

or less 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.

Rings of Rust on Fruit. On the fruit, this preference of
the mites fbr 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 RUST 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 Assist in the Distribution of the 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 arid 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 RUST MITE. 121

Spiders of the web-making kinds are necessarily 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 Mite known only upon Plants of the Citrus 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 Attacks 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 pesta
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 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

Rusted Fruit. 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 offsets to the producer its
superior keeping and shipping qualities.

Geographical Distribution. Rust 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 Cultivation. The effect
upon the prevalence of rust of various systems of cul-
tivation and of 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 from the whipping action of southeasterly 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 they are dis-
seminated.

Application of Insecticides. 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, while 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 fresh 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 solutions even

THE RUST 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 :

Whale-oil Soap. The action of this substance upon the
mites is peculiar ; a trace 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 surface. 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 whale-oil 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

*This 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 cents 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 RUST MITE. 127

Flowers of sulphur must, therefore, be regarded as one
of the cheapest and most effective 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 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

CHAPTER XIII.

GATHERING 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 night is 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

GATHERING 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 "lying
around loose " on the farm. 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

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 large 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
after 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.

GATHERING AND PACKING. 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 slats placed on edge at the front to prevent the fruit
from rolling off. When different 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 has 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 packing.

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 — ORANGES.

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 drying 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

GATHERING AND PACKING. 133

wrapping the various grades of oranges. This paper can
usually be obtained from the nearest store, but always at
Jacksonville, 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 all necessary information on this point.

134 FLORIDA 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 false 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 other ; 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 wrave 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 VARIETIES. 135

CHAPTER XIV.

ABOUT VARIETIES.

In selecting 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.

136 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

BEACH'S NO. 2

Is aboye medium size, rather pear-shaped; eating quali-
ties same as above ; is a fine shipper. Ripens November 1st.

CHARLEY BROWN

Is of excellent quality; a strong, rapid grower; nearly
thornless ; greatly flattened at stem and blossom ends ; cir-
cumference very large. Ripens 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. 3

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 Pomological 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, sweet, vinous flavor.

ABOUT VARIETIES. 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.

NONPARIEL.

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 from Bahia by the
Department of Agriculture at Washington.

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

The Navel, Bahia, etc., of Florida, is identical with the
Riverside 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. Ripens in January.

TANGIERINE.

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

12

138 FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

anists regard it as 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 saffron
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.

BIJOU,

Or, as it is often called, Dancy'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 VARIETIES. 139

SATSUMA.*

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 thornless, 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 suffer 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.

SPICE.

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

*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 ; is 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 full 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 Harfs late, 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 per-
fect order on the tree till July or August. A good fruit
for market.

ABOUT VARIETIES. 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 thornless ; 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 thornless.

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 FRUITS — ORANGES.

CHAPTEE XV.

MISCELLANEOUS.

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
\_jto. 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,

MISCELLANEOUS. 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 probibitory 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 will 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 FRUITS — 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 juices
without destroying its aromatic flavor.

These advantages, joined with a proximity to the great
markets, which allows the fruit 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 far 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."

MISCELLANEOUS. 145

Nor would these profits accrue 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 Va-
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 fall 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 for-
eign market for our oranges.

To further show how preposterous the cry of overpro-
duction is we will 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! 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 fruit 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

((UNIVERSITY JJ

\^UFORN}^^

MISCELLANEOUS. * 147

return to the farmer? except, perhaps, a specialty like
cranberry raising, for which but little land, comparatively,
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 b c's 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
fruitfulness 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.

Girdling 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 — ORAXOES.

case we cut deep through outer and inner bark ; in the
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 girdling,
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

MISCELLANEOUS. 149

had never borne fruit. These trees he named as his ob-
noxious neighbors, and taking up a club, soothed his feel-
ings 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 from June to September, when fruit is wanted for
the next year ; and to make large and early fruit, 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 FRUITS — ORANGES.

especially true as 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 effusion of
Eucalyptus leaves or bark, would be a very effectual
weapon wherewith to fight our insect enemies.

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

TABLES OF MEASURES.

Plants and Trees to an Acre.

DISTANCE APART.

6 inches by 6 inches, . .
9 " "9 "
1 foot by 1 foot

NUMBER.

174,240
77,440
43,560
19,360
10,890
4,840
2,722
1,742
1,210
889
680
538
435
360
302

DISTANCE APAB

13 feet by 13 fe
14 « 14
15 ' 15
16 ' 16
17 ' 17
18 ' 18
19 ' 19
20 « 20
25 ' 25
30 ' 30
35 " 35
40 " 40
50 " 50
60 " 60
66 " 66

T. NUMBER.

et . . 258

223

193

li feet bv lir feet ,

171

2 « 2 "

151

3 « 3 "

135

4 « 4 «

120

5 " 5 "

108

6 " 6 " . .

69

7 « 7 «

48

8 « 8 "

35

9 « 9 « .

27

10 " 10 "

17

11 « 11 «

12

12 " 12 « .

10

Boxes for Measures.

A box 19 x 19 inches, 18 inches deep, holds 1 barrel or 3 bushels.
A box 16 x 16 inches, 8f inches deep, holds 1 bushel.
A box 8£ x 8f 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, 32 inches deep, holds a ton of coal.

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 396 feet.
A piece of ground 120 feet by 363 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 each Twelve Inches in Depth.
25 ft. in diameter holds 3,672 gal. 9 ft. in diameter holds 476 gal.
20 " « 2,350 " 8 " " 376 "

15 " " 1,322 " 7 " " 288 "

12 " " 846 " 6 " « 211 "

10 " " 587 " 5 « « 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 sixty-six 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 FLORIDA 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 from 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. 153

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 I '11 do nothing more
with it. I '11 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 fearful 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, while 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 — LEMONS.

There are exceptions 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 affairs 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 fourth, in a totally
mistaken idea on the part of the growers as to the kind of
lemon most popular in the markets.

But latterly, our people have waked up to the impor-
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 CULTURE. 155

The first rock — that of the lemons reaching market in
bad condition — has been removed. They used to be picked
when quite ripe, packed at once, and sent off, to be found
almost 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 will 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 yellow, 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 California 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 FLORIDA FRUITS LEMONS.

ease, and scale insects more rarely attack it. Where an
orange tree will bear one thousand oranges, a lemon of
the same age will bear from three to five thousand.

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 after-crops. 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-class 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 faith 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 the " 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 CULTURE. 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 will not sell in the markets, but is valuable
to the growers for family purposes, because it fruits ear4y
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, Sicily, 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 examina-

158 FLORIDA FRUITS — LEMONS.

tion: that a lemon weighing, when cured, about three
ounces, with a soft, smooth, golden-colored rind, is the fa-
vorite in all the great markets, and will sell readily at the
highest prices where larger and rougher skinned fruit will
scarcely sell afc 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 fair 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, Gary'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

EUREKA.

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

LEMON CULTURE. 159

VILLA FRANCA.

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

LEMON OF GENOA.

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

SICILY.

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

FRENCH'S SEEDLING.

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

BIJOU.

This is a superior fruit that has suffered 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 under 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. Kipens 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 FRUITS — LIMES. 161

CHAPTER XVII.

OTHER CITRUS FRUITS — LIMES.

Next after the orange and lemon the lime ranks as the
most important member of the celebrated citrus family,
and the day is not far distant whe'n 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 compar-
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 FRUITS — 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 area 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 any 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

LIMES. 163

have not sent to market only first-class 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 ' nil.' 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 was, ' Good, well-
selected limes looking up.'"

This tells the whole story. Prepare and pack limes
properly, that they may be fairly introduced into the
great fruit marts, and the convenience of using them, as
compared with the large 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. Tall, up-
right trees, with smooth, bare trunks, have been shaped

164 FLORIDA 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 from 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 thornless; 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 DuLds. 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
being 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 fruit 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 FLORIDA 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.

Grape 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.

PINE-APPLE CULTURE. 167

CHAPTER XVHI.

PINE-APPLES.

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 tells 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.

Rarely, 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 — PINE- APPLES.

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 fruit 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 CULTURE. 169

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

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 fact 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 will 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 t*> send to a nursery or else-
where for ready-rooted plants. Get as large sized plants
as you can to start with, but any roots that they may
have before coming into your possession you may count
as nil.

Pine-apple rootlets are of so tender and perishable a na-
ture that even if they survive transplanting, they will be
longer in reviving and going to work again than new roots
will be in forming and taking hold ; consequently, rooted
plants are no desideratum.

It is a very easy matter to root suckers, crowns, crown-
lets, and slips after you have them on the ground ready
for planting, and it is better to start them on their root-
ward journey before setting them out in their permanent
places.

As a preliminary, carefully pull off the overlapping
leaves at the base for an inch or half inch, according to
the size of the offsets ; this will facilitate the rooting pro-
cess ; then make a bed of damp moss, keep it damp, and
place them, base downward, in it, just as you would place

15

170 FLORIDA FRUITS — PINE-APPLES.

them in the ground when planting ; cover them with more
moss, not damp, and place them in a shady spot.

After they have lain thus a week or two examine them,
and plant those that have sent forth slender white rootlets
a half inch or more in length; some will take several
weeks longer than others to do this, but it is best to wait
their time before setting them out, and they will grow
off more surely and thrifty by this method than by any
other.

Some planters recommend leaving the offsets exposed to
the sun for weeks or even months to facilitate rooting ; but
while the plants will really root under this heroic treat-
ment, it is at the expense of their ultimate thrift, and the
rooting in the damp moss and in the shade is by far a
better plan, and one that makes a certainty of the after
well-being of every offset; not one will be lost by this
method.

But no matter how the plants are rooted, it is necessary
to see that after being set out they do not lack moisture
until thoroughly established — a period that will be known
by a wider opening of the offset in the center, and new
leaves appearing there ; after that they may be mulched
when the soil is moist, and left to take care of themselves,
so far as moisture is concerned.

In preparing ground for a pine-apple plantation, parallel
lines three feet apart should be laid off, and a compost of
well-rotted stable manure and muck, or leaves, or muck
and bone-meal spread in along these lines for a width of
about eighteen inches and a depth of one foot.

The trenches thus prepared should be settled by one or
more heavy rains before setting out the plants. The latter
should be placed two feet apart, not closer, to insure each
plant plenty of room ; too close planting will, of a surety,
stunt both plant and fruit.

PINE-APPLE CULTURE. 171

In the West Indies and Bahamas, the growers plant
close to keep down the weeds, and they succeed admirably
in keeping down the fruit also. They plant from twenty
thousand to twenty-five thousand on an acre ; this is why
we see so much small and inferior fruit thrown on the
American markets.

Planted as the experience of our leading Florida grow-
ers recommend, as given above, an acre will contain, say
six thousand five hundred plants; these, at twenty-five
cents for each fruit, will bring their owners the respectable
sum of one thousand six hundred and twenty-five dollars —
no mean showing as the earnings of one acre of ground ;
and in addition to this amount of hard cash must be added
its representative in the shape of the suckers, crownlets,
and slips that remain after the fruit is ready for market,
enough to set out two or three acres of land.

Sometimes fruit is obtained in twenty months, oftener
in two years, and sometimes not for three or more from
the setting out of the offsets ; it all depends on the care
they receive, and, above all, on their proper protection
from frost.

Pine-apples once started need little care, almost none if
the ground about them is heavily mulched ; they should
be mulched to keep down weeds, this latter being the ex-
tent of their requirements after being properly prepared
at the outset. Some growers prefer frequent cultivation
with hoe or harrow instead of mulching ; it is as yet an
open question as to which mode is preferable. Soil and
location must decide this matter in individual cases. The
question of frost protection is a most important one to the
Florida grower, for the plant is essentially tropical, and the
least frost injures it more or less; a light frost only kills
the leaves, and if the plant is not near fruiting this injury
will only diminish its size and retard the fruiting season.

172 FLORIDA FRUITS — PINE- APPLES.

But let the plant be large and well on toward the fruit-
ing time, and then if the leaves are killed the fruit will
be small and unmarketable, while if water should be stand-
ing in the little cup formed by the center leaves, wrhen a
sharp frost sufficient to freeze the water chances that way,
woe to the plant itself; 'its tender life currents will be so
chilled and shocked as never more to grow, and the plant
will droop and die, to be replaced by feeble suckers.

But there is no need that such mishaps should occur
with a careful planter ; a slight protection will insure the
safety of the pine-apple in sections where frost sometimes
occurs.

While the plants are small a couple of sticks — shingles
are convenient for making them — stuck down so that their
tops meet above the plant, with a handful of the long gray
moss so abundant in the hammocks — which, by the way,
is no moss at all, but belongs to the pine-apple family, and
is an air-plant — dropped over them, is all-sufficient.

When they become too large for this, two ten- or twelve-
inch boards, nailed together at a right angle, and then
placed over the plant like an inverted trough, afford an
excellent shelter. If the boards are not over ten feet long,
one man can easily lift them into position on the approach
of a threatening night, for it is at night that the Florida
frosts nearly always occur.

Another method of protection is to drive down low
stakes among the pine-apples, to lay small scantling or
rails from stake to stake, and on these pile brush, corn-
stalks, any thing that will serve as a shelter ; cloths or
bagging are also often stretched over the protecting frame-
work, and these, though" a little expensive at the outset,
are really economical in the end, since the one expense
serves for season after season, while brush must be collected
and removed each year.

PINE- APPLE CULTURE. 173

Yet another way of protecting pine-apples, and, in fact,
any plant from frost, is to make ready here and there, espe-
cially to the north and west of the plantation, small piles of
heavy timber, with light-wood knots ready for kindling on
the approach of frost. Plenty of leaves and dampened
brush should also be at hand to cast on the blaze when
once fairly started, so as to make a "smudge fire" — that
is, one that will give out a sufficient heat while not burn-
ing away freely or clearly, the more smoke, the better.

The cold winds that sweep Florida once or twice in ordi-
nary winters invariably come from the northwest, and in
arranging these protecting "smudge fires," this should be
held in mind, and the cold winds made useful by wafting
the warmest air just where it is wanted.

Although, as we have seen, new varieties can only be
obtained from those very rare jewels, pine-apple seeds, and
not more than one in a hundred of these is of any value,
yet by long years of patience and perseverance a number
of varieties have been secured. Of these the following
have been introduced and successfully cultivated in Flor-
ida ; doubtless others will follow :

SPANISH.

This pine-apple has a bewildering number of aliases, as
follows : "The Red Spanish," " Red Pine," because of the
reddish tint of its leaves and bloom ; " Black Spanish" and
" Black Jamaica," because in certain stages of its growth
the fruit is very dark, almost black; and last, "Commer-
cial Pine," because of its fine shipping qualities, which
cause it to rank high in a commercial point of view.

This plant fruits sooner than the Sugar-loaf, and bears
a greater degree of cold without injury, and also grows
more thrifty on poor land, but the quality of its fruit is
not so good. The latter drawback, however, is not con-

174 FLORIDA FRUITS — PINE- APPLES.

sidered of much importance in its commercial value, and
the Spanish to-day is the favorite pine-apple with the
"large" Florida planter.

SUGAR-LOAF.

This is a superior fruit, fragrant and delicious in flavor,
but inferior in size to the Spanish, and for this reason not
so generally cultivated for market. The Egyptian Queen
or Trinidad, and the smooth-leaved Cayenne are fine va-
rieties, the fruit of the former being considered superior
to the Sugar-loaf, while the large fruit and the smooth
leaves of the Cayenne makes it a very desirable sort to
cultivate ; one of the drawbacks to pine-apple culture be-
ing the torn clothes and flesh that are apt to follow quick
or careless movements among its prickly leaves.

In the Azores where, as in Florida, freezing winds some-
times sweep over the islands, pine-apple culture is one of
the great staples, and vast conservatories are built on pur-
pose to preserve the fruiting plants from the uncertainties
of the climate.

Fruiting plants, we repeat — for there is a distinction
made between plants too small and those large enough to
bear fruit — the former are left in the open ground to take
their chances as best they may, until they are nearly ready
to fruit, then they are carefully taken up and placed in
the conservatory, where the whole energies of the gar-
dener are devoted to the task of coaxing out of them the
largest and finest pine-apples possible.

This plant, as we have seen, does not fruit at any given
time of year, but according to its size : and it is a point
with Azorians to place their best fruit in the London mar-
ket during the Christmas festivities and the height of the
" season." They have found a method of making their
plants fruit at the proper time by constant attention, to

PLNE-APPLE CULTURE. 175

hurry their growth, or none at all, to retard it. Sometimes
they even resort to the heroic treatment of sacrificing the
bloom, so as to induce the immediate starting of the suck-
ers that always appear at the blooming season, ready to
grow off rapidly and bear fruit on their own account at a
more suitable season than that essayed by their parents,
whose career was, as we have seen, "nipped in the bud."

Great care is taken in handling and packing the fruit,
so that it may reach its market in full perfection. Choice
specimens, frequently weighing twelve to fifteen pounds,
are cut with the stem several inches below the fruit ; then
an ordinary flower-pot, or even a tin can is filled with
mold, and the stalk inserted in the latter in such a manner
that it looks as though it were grown there; each pine
thus prepared is placed in a wooden skeleton case, just
large enough to hold it, the pine being first wrapped in
paper ; in this way it can be transported without risk of
injury. Extra choice fruit, such as we have described, is
frequently sold in London for from twelve to fifteen dol-
lars each, but usually the best prices obtained are from four
to five dollars each.

The Florida grower has not the incentive of such extra-
ordinary prices for his pines, but still there is profit enough
even in the American markets, to induce careful culture
and packing ; and, therefore, he would do well to follow
the example of the Azorian grower.

Pine-apples, growing as they do on a tall stem, must
naturally, as they grow large and heavy, incline to one
side or other, and finally, if not prevented, will lie pros-
trate among the leaves or on the ground, exposed on the
one side to rot from undue moisture, on the other to sun-
scorch from the direct rays of the sun falling on it while
moist with dew or rain. The pine-apple stalk should,
therefore, be secured to a stake to keep the fruit upright.

176 FLORIDA FRUITS — PINF.-APPLES.

In its wild state, when the ripe fruit falls over in this
manner, the several crownlets and slips at the base of crown
and fruit send down tendrils and take root ; and then, thu,s
established in life on their own account, they become de-
tached from the parent fruit. It is by this method that
large tracts of country become run over with pine-apples
in a very short time; in the wild state, moreover, they
ripen but once a year.

When pine-apples are nearly ripe, and unusually wet
weather sets in, it is well, if possible, to shelter the fruit
from excess of moisture, as the latter, at this stage of
growth, is likely to cause blackness and acidity at the
center.

It has also been noticed that when the long leaves of
the plant are drawn up around the pine, it colors better
and ripens more evenly.

GUAVA CULTURE. 177

CHAPTEK XIX.

•

GUAVAS AND BANANAS.

The guava is one of those fruits which, introduced and
acclimated in Florida some years back, is not yet fully ap-
preciated at its proper commercial value. Year by year,
however, the guava is winning its way to the front rank
of Florida fruits, and it only needs the establishment of
guava-jelly factories to give an immense impetus to the
planting of this valuable fruit, the chief drawback to its
extended culture thus far having been its perishable na-
ture, its skin and general texture being much like that of
a pear, only that it is more juicy, and in transit this juice
is apt to be pressed out.

But no energetic person, as we shall presently see, need
wait for the establishment of neighboring factories for
making jelly of the fruit he raises, for it can be made at
home, and the large profit therefrom accruing be placed
directly in his own pocket. Or, if he is so circumstanced
as not to be able to do this, there has lately been opened a
way to ship his fruit without danger of loss in transit, and
that is simply by drying it, just as any other fruit is dried.
There are small family fruit evaporators now in the market
that can be procured at a cost of only a few dollars, but
as% it is not every one who can afford even these few dol-
lars, or who can conveniently procure the evaporators, even
when the money to do so is forthcoming, we give below
the plan of a home-made evaporator, which can be made
by any one of ordinary intelligence. This will be found
useful, not only for guavas but for all other fruits that one
may wish to preserve by this method.

Three things are requisite — a hogshead ; a long, narrow

178 FLORIDA FRUITS — tYUAVAS AND BANANAS.

box, twenty inches deep and wide, and about six feet in
length, such as is used for shipping tall nursery trees, and
a small stove.

The hogshead is placed on end and a door sawed out of
the side to admit the stove ; a hole eighteen inches square
is then made in the top of the hogshead to allow the
heat from the stove to pass up into the box, which is
stood upright over the hole, the lower end being knocked
out, and is carefully fitted down on the hogshead, so that
none of the ascending heat shall escape. A hole, sur-
rounded by tin, is made in the side of the hogshead, oppo-
site the stove, through which to pass the stove-pipe, so that
none of the smoke can ascend into the box.

That which would be the lid of the box if it were on
the ground, is fitted on hinges so as to open like a door,
thus giving easy access to the interior, which is fitted with
open sliding shelves, resting on cleats about three inches
apart, one above the other. These shelves should be of
wood, with numerous small holes perforated in them, or
better still, of stout galvanized wire netting.

Place the fruit to be dried, cut in strips, on these shelves,
close the door, which must fit as tightly as possible, keep
up a gentle fire in the stove, and in ten or twelve hours
you will have as sweet a dried fruit as you ever tasted, and
the cheapest, too, by far, but perhaps not the handsomest
looking.

Guavas dried in this way can be preserved for home use
all through the non-bearing season, or shipped to jelly or
marmalade factories without risk, and at a much less ex-
pense as regards freight than if the ripe fruit were shipped
in its natural state.

Guavas, if well cultivated and moderately fertilized,
bear fruit in eighteen months from the seed ; they are also
easily raised from layers or slips.

GUAVA CULTURE. 179

The guava is usually less a tree than a broad, straggling
bush, although sometimes trimmed up into tree-shape, and
in the more southern parts of Florida it grows so large that
it becomes a veritable tree, with branches stout enough to
support a person climbing among them, like an apple tree.

Over considerably more than half the State, however,
the ' ' common guava " attains the height and shape of a
large bush only, from twelve to fifteen feet high, because,
unless carefully protected, it is apt to be killed back by
frosts ; but even when this mishap does occur the roots are
not injured. Very often the main branches are also unhurt
and the plant at once puts forth an amazing amount of
energetic growth, and in a few months replaces all it has
lost, losing but one season's crop.

It is a common saying among growers that ' ' if only one
crop in three years is secured it pays well to raise guavas ;"
but there is no reason why a crop should not be secured
every year, the guava being naturally a constant and heavy
bearer.

In setting out guavas where liable to frost, it is best to
place them in rows twelve feet apart each way ; this gives
them plenty of room, and yet is close enough to render it
easy to protect them from frost by driving down stakes here
and there along the rows, as close as possible to the main
body of the plants on each side, and then nailing to these,
long, slender slats, in such a manner that the outlying
branches will be pressed inward in a compact mass. The
stakes should be high enough to permit a covering of moss
or pine boughs to be laid across the top, from side to side,
supported by cross-slats here and there. This top cover
is very important, as it is the heavy dew that falls on frosty
nights, succeeded by the hot rays of the morning sun, that
makes all the trouble. To prevent this cold dew and hot
sun from touching his tender plants is the one object of
the Florida grower's winter protection.

180 FLORIDA FRUITS — GUAVAS AND BANANAS.

Another method of cheating "Jack Frost "of his prey
is to have ready piles of wood, the bulk of it trash, that
will make plenty of smoke to the north and west, since
the hurtful winds always come from these directions.
Then, when a frosty night is expected, the fires should be
kindled and kept " smudged," so that they will burn slowly,
yet sufficiently, until dawn.

If neither of these precautions can be taken, the next
best way is to throw earth around their trunks, as high as
possible, and let it remain thus until the end of January,
and in unusually severe winters even later; then, if the
upper branches are " nipped," enough is saved for another
vigorous starting point. But the guava is well worth a
great deal more trouble and expense in affording it winter
protection than is required by any of the methods we have
named.

There are more guavas being set out this year than ever
before. Those who do not care to make their fruit into
jelly can either dry it for shipping, as we have seen, or
else sell it in neighboring towns, where there is always a
demand for it at from one dollar to two dollars a bushel ;
and even at the latter rate it is very easy to see how prof-
itable a fruit the guava is when an acre contains over two
hundred plants, yielding each, at three years old (if not
killed by frosts), nearly a bushel of fruit.

Popularly there are supposed to be three distinct varie-
ties of the common guava cultivated in Florida, all of
them large, averaging five to six ounces, but some speci-
mens reaching eight and nine, or more rarely even ten
ounces.

One of these varieties has a bright pink flesh, another
yellow, and the third and favorite, white. The skin of
all is green when unripe, yellow when matured, and all
resemble pears in shape.

GUAVA CULTURE. 181

But these three apparent varieties are in reality the
same ; take the seeds of one sort, plant them and the fruit
will not come true only to the kind planted; some will
have yellow flesh, some white, some pink, thus proving
that the varieties are identical.

The guava scorns the longest drought, and responds
generously to good culture and plenty of food. It needs
no pruning except an occasional pinching off of the end
of a limb that has grown inordinately long without branch-
ing, and a cutting off or layering (for another plant) of
such limbs as lie on the ground. The guava is a thrifty
grower, not stopping to rest even during the cooler months,
and this is why its young growth is so liable to be killed
by frost.

Recently there have been introduced into Florida two
varieties of guavas that are frost-proof, and hence are des-
tined to be extensively planted as soon as known. The
fruit is similar in shape to the common guava, though
much smaller, but the bush bears no resemblance at all to
its commoner brethren.

The leaf of the latter is rather large, pea-green, lanceo-
late, and ribbed; the new growth being slightly tinged
with pink. The frost-proof guavas are more compact and
slower in growth : their leaves are small, thick, shiny, and
dark green, more like those of a camellia or daphne than
those of a guava.

One of these is the "Cattley guava," so named after
Mr. Cattley, who was the first to introduce it into English
hot-houses, from its native land, Brazil. The fruit, claret-
colored, is not as large as an English walnut, but its lack of
size is made up in quality and quantity, its flavor being far
superior to that of the ordinary guava, and making a more
delicate jelly, while the bush is extremely prolific, an
eighteen months' old plant sometimes bearing nearly five
hundred guavas.

182 FLORIDA FRUITS — GUAVAS AND BANANAS.

The other frost-proof guava resembles the Cattley, ex-
cept that the fruit is about twice as large, and is yellow.
Both of these guavas have a decided strawberry flavor.
The last mentioned is sometimes called the " yellow guava,"
but the true name is " Chinese guava."

These two varieties are scarce as yet, but this is a fault
that will mend as time goes on. The grower who plants
these need have no fear of frosts, and his yearly profits
will be assured without the necessity of winter protection,
except in rare cases, as they will survive a temperature
of 26°.

In selecting seed for planting guavas, and, indeed, any
other fruit, sow only those from the best specimens to be
obtained. This simple precaution will assure vigorous
plants and superior fruit.

The guava, as a home fruit, is extremely valuable, tak-
ing the place of the peach in the North, to a great extent,
and continuing to ripen from the middle or end of July
until the beginning or middle of November, according to
the season. The frost-proof guavas are not unfrequently
found in bloom all the year around, and this is also the
case with the common guava, in localities removed from
the influence of cool weather. None of the guavas bear
all their blooms at one time and then are done for the year,
as is the case with the peach, apple, and kindred fruits.
The early spring bloom is, of course, that of the main
crop, but ripe fruit and new scattering buds may be seen
all through the season on the bush and stem. The various
modes of preparing this and other fruits for the table and
commercial purposes will be fully treated of in our con-
cluding chapter.

THE BANANA.

This favorite fruit is susceptible of cultivation only in
a much more limited area than any of the other Florida

BANANA CULTURE. 183

fruits, for the reason that it, like the pine-apple, is a true
child of the tropics, and can not endure the least touch of
frost uninjured; but, unlike the pine-apple, it is not so
readily sheltered, owing to its tall nature. In the more
southern portions of Florida, especially along the coasts,
the raising of bananas for market has become quite an im-
portant industry, and even much further north in the
State, where occasional frosts catch the plants and kill
them to the roots, they are raised in no inconsiderable
quantities, and when one remembers the amount of fruit
they bear, in proportion to the ground they occupy and
the care they receive, it is no wonder that they should be
planted wherever there is the least chance of their perfect-
ing their fruit.

Besides their food value (they are very nutritious, and
act favorably on the liver), bananas are general favorites
simply as fruit, and wre rarely meet with a person who is not
fond of them; therefore, wherever they have any chance
of reaching maturity, the Floridian sets out his banana
plants, many or few, according to circumstances.

North of the twenty-ninth degree they are killed to the
ground almost every winter ; south of the twenty-seventh
they are seldom touched by frost ; while in the intermedi-
ate latitude they do well, rarely losing more than their
leaves.

The banana likes a rich, warm soil — sandy loam is the
best ; it does well on moderately moist land, but better on
dry, if kept mulched.

In setting out a plantation of bananas, the young plants
should be placed in rows eight feet apart, and nine feet apart
in the rows, so set that each plant will be opposite the cen-
ter of the vacant space in the next row. By pursuing this
plan they will shelter each other, and yet will not ward off
the rays of the sun, of which they can not have too much ;

184 FLORIDA FRUITS — GUAVAS AND BANANAS.

and, moreover, a consideration not to be despised, their
broad leaves will furnish just the amount of shade required
by garden vegetables during midsummer, and the fertiliz-
ers and cultivation applied to the latter will also benefit
the bananas.

In preparing for the plants holes three feet wide and
two feet deep should be dug, and a rich compost of rotted
leaves, muck, and manure, or commercial fertilizers, placed
in the bottom of the hole, and the rest mixed with the soil
that is packed around the roots.

A mistake our Florida planters usually make is, in not
setting the banana deep enough in the ground. The hole,
as we have said, should be two feet deep, and if the plant
to be set should not be large enough to permit this depth
to be filled in around it at once, then the earth should be
packed in as far as possible, and the rest filled in gradually
as the banana grows upward. In other words, the banana
plant, to do its best, must be set at least two feet below
the surface of the ground.

When fifteen months old the banana, if it has no draw-
backs, will put forth, from the center of the stem at the
top, a curious shaped bloom, that just appears, pointing
upward from amid the broad leaves, and then droops out-
ward and downward at the end of a stout stalk. The bloom
looks much like a fat ear of corn with red husks. These
latter lift slowly up, one after the other, as though hinged
at the top, revealing the strange, odd-looking "fingers" of
bananas, ranged symmetrically beneath them. Each leaf
of the husk drops off after it has done its duty in protect-
ing the young fruit from the sun for a day or two, and
the next in order of descent raises the lid from its row of
fruit.

The same red husks, brighter inside than out, are just
the shape of the popular, long, shell-shaped pickle dishes,

BANANA CULTURE. 185

and retain their stiffness for days ; and, holding a cupful of
water, they make really beautiful bouquet-holders, that the
eye can not tell from the finest Japanese red lacquer ware.

The number of fingers in a cluster of bananas varies
greatly, according to the variety of the plant or richness
of the soil. The Horse banana, which is most commonly
cultivated in Florida, bears from twenty to sixty bananas
in fingers or rows of eight to ten. They are usually large,
and, when suffered to remain on the plant till nearly ripe,
are as fine in flavor as one need wish, but when cut green
are apt to be insipid.

Another banana, Hart's Choice, is superior to the Horse
banana in every respect. Both of these varieties will
stand a greater degree of cold than any others of their
race, and the fruit of each is yellow when ripe, but these
are the only main points of resemblance.

Hart's Choice, a native of the Bahamas, is stout of stem
and does not break down beneath the weight of its fruit
in a gale, as the Horse banana frequently does. It blos-
soms early, and in warm weather the fruit may be cut in
ninety days thereafter. The other variety is often from
one hundred to one hundred and twenty days in ripening.
Hart's Choice bears from fifty to one hundred bananas in
a cluster. The fruit is four inches long and one and a
half in diameter, with a clear, golden-yellow skin, slim as
a kid glove; the flesh is firm, yet melting and buttery,
sweet and highly aromatic, but not musky like so many of
the banana tribe.

There is no finer banana than this in the world, and
Florida owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. E. H. Hart, of
Federal Point, whose twelve years' patient efforts and ex-
periments led at last to the discovery of the "Hart's
Choice" banana, or, as some of our nurserymen have
chosen to call it, "Golden Early."

16

186 FLORIDA FRUITS — GUAVAS AND BANANAS.

Sooner or later, for it varies greatly as to time, the ba-
nana plant will send up suckers from its roots, which in
due time are to take its place; for the banana, like the
pine-apple, bears fruit but once, and then, if not cut down
when the latter is removed, it will soon fall prone on the
ground. The best plan is to chop it up (an easy matter)
in small pieces, and bury them near the growing plant, as
the decaying leaves and stems of a banana plantation fur-
nish it with no small amount of fertilizing material.

The banana will often send up from five to ten suckers,
and these should not all be allowed to remain ; if they are
the result will be small, stunted plants and fruit. Two
are enough to leave with the parent plant; the others
should be transplanted when about three feet high.

It is a fact not generally known or noted, that from
transplanted suckers no great results in fruit will be ob-
tained. The planter must look for the heaviest fruiting to
those stalks that have come up from the parent root and
have never been disturbed. Heavy mulching during the
summer months will be found of great utility.

STRAWBERRIES. 187

CHAPTER XX.

THE SMALL FRUITS — STRAWBERRIES.

Only a few years ago the idea of raising strawberries in
Florida for profit, or indeed, even for home use, with any
measure of success, was scouted at as chimerical; though
why it should have been so is difficult to tell, since they
love a warm sun, a light soil, and abundant moisture, and
all these they can find with ease in Florida.

That it should have been questioned whether there
would be profit in the crop for export purposes is not to
be wondered at. There is no fruit that requires more
careful handling nor more rapid transportation to market
than this delicious berry, of which it has been quaintly
said: "Doubtless God could have made a better berry,
but he never did." And until very recently these essen-
tial points were lacking in our midst.

In the face of many discouragements, no little ridicule,
and utter ignorance of the proper berries to select for the
best results in a climate and soil new to them, a few enter-
prising settlers, here and there over the State, set out
small plats of strawberry plants for domestic use.

The first trials were sufficient to dispel the illusion that
Florida soil would not raise strawberries to perfection, and
further experiments, intelligently and perseveringly con-
ducted, have demonstrated the fact that Florida's soil and
climate are particularly adapted to their culture, and that
this is destined to become one of the largest sources of
income.

For several years past those sections accessible by rail,
and therefore having the advantage of rapid transit, have
shipped large quantities of strawberries to Northern and

188 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS.

Western markets, at an immense profit to the growers.
And now, month by month, these facilities for shipping
are increasing and extending ; the railroads and their water
connections are reaching out their stalwart arms and em-
bracing the whole State, while several of these roads are
already running refrigerator cars for the benefit of those
who raise the more perishable fruits, among which the
strawberry stands foremost.

Of course ajl varieties are not suited to light, sandy soils,
nor will all pass successfully through our long summer
season. Locality influences this fruit more than any other
one cause ; therefore, a plant that will bear large, luscious
berries in a cool climate and clay soil, will naturally be-
come stunted and bear smaller, less delicate-tasted berries
under the opposite conditions.

It was probably some such mistake as this that at first
created the impression that it was ' ' no use to try to raise
strawberries in Florida." But our people are wiser now
about this, as well as many other things of kindred nature.
Here, there, every where, at all points where rapid trans-
port is at hand, acres upon acres of this delicious berry
have been planted, bringing golden return to their owners,
and constantly the acreage devoted to this crop is on the
increase ; it is larger now (in the spring of 1886) than it was
last year, and next year it will be larger still. The man
who properly plants and Cares for one acre will set out
five, ten, twenty acres the following season.

And no wonder; for the returns from this fruit, put
upon the market at a time of year impossible to any but a
Floridian, are something enormous. From one thousand
to two thousand dollars per acre are not infrequently
made, and sometimes more, with a favorable season and
the plants in full bearing ; even the first crop often yields
from five hundred to eight hundred dollars.

STRAWBERRIES. 189

Before proceeding to tell "how to do it," let us quote a
few well-authenticated data of profits, carefully collected
from the fortunate, or more properly speaking, enterpris-
ing recipients, for the special purpose of proving the com-
mercial standing of the strawberry in Florida.

One lady reports from one eighth of an acre pine land,
set out and tended by herself, fertilized with a compost of
cow manure, ashes, and forest leaves, scattered broadcast,
the plants not mulched or their roots disturbed during the
blooming season, a yield of four hundred quarts, which
were sold on the spot at prices varying from seventy-five
to fifteen cents a quart, making a return at the rate of six
hundred and forty dollars an acre.

Another cultivator, from the same space, on pine land,
no fertilizer, picked three hundred and twenty quarts, and
sold them at home for twenty cents a quart.

A shipment of one thousand and fifty quarts of straw-
berries from Jacksonville to New York, in a refrigerator
car, gave a return of two thousand six hundred and thirty
dollars, being sold at two dollars and a half a quart. The
expense of picking and shipping was two hundred and
eighty-three dollars, leaving a clear profit of two thousand
three hundred and forty-six dollars.

From Gadsden and Clay counties comes the report of
from six to eight thousand quarts raised on one acre ; not
once or twice, but many times ; and others can do as well.

We have now given enough examples to establish our
claim that the strawberry is destined to become one of
Florida's most valuable crops, particularly in the more
central countries, from Sumter northward.

We would not, however, have our readers infer that the
above figures or their close approximate are invariable ; it
is, however, safe to count on a profit, year in and year out,
of from at least two hundred to three hundred dollars per
acre. This is a very low estimate.

190 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS.

The variety of berry planted, the mode of culture,
amount of fertilization, supply of moisture, and time of
ripening all influence the result. And now let us pass on
to the modus operandi.

Strawberries love moisture, not too much but enough,
and continuously supplied ; hence, in selecting ground for
their cultivation, choose always a low spot, but not by any
means a wet spot, or one not susceptible of drainage ; dry
soil on top with moisture near enough to the surface to
feed the down-reaching rootlets that are ever crying out
for "water, water, more water," is what this berry wants
and must have to thrive.

A level piece of land, with clay from eighteen inches to
two feet below the surface, would be a good selection.
When shelter from the north and west winds can be pro-
cured, it will be found an advantage, as these are the winds
that whip out foliage and dry off moisture.

If no such spot offers, a full measure of success can not
be had, unless artificial irrigation can be supplied, and as
a matter of fact, in all cases where a large acreage is
planted this should be given, either by means of a wind-
mill or ram ; this latter is comparatively inexpensive, and
in many locations entirely practicable ; and in other cases,
again, where a lake or pond is at hand, standing on more
elevated land than the strawberry field, a simple aqueduct
or pipe line would furnish all the water needed.

The proper location selected, the next step is to clear the
ground thoroughly of all roots and trash, and plow, har-
row, and rake until it is smooth and level. Next lay off
the beds for the plants ; if in the field, for culture by horse
power, mark them three feet apart; if a small garden
patch only, for hand culture, eighteen inches between the
rows will be ample.

Many consider the "hill" system superior to any other;

STRAWBERRIES. 191

by this method the beds are made four feet wide, and the
plants set out in three rows, one in the center, the others
fifteen inches from it on either side, and the plants fifteen
inches apart in the rows. The finest obtainable fruit is
said to be secured by this mode of planting, but it requires
hand culture in the beds themselves, though between them
the cultivator can be used. Strong, thrifty plants in the
"hill" protect each other, as the close foliage shades roots
and berries.

For field culture in Florida, however, we believe the
narrow row, which is also called the ''hill" system, and
more correctly so than the above, to be the most satisfac-
tory in all respects. Mark off the rows as before, three
feet apart, or two and a half if preferred; now, throw
down upon them a liberal supply of well-rotted compost,
muck, stable or cow manure (do not allow sticks or stub-
ble), and either spade or plow it in at least a foot deep;
do not make the mistake of treating the strawberry as a
surface feeder ; its roots, if they can find food, will go down
two feet or more, as they love to do in their search for
water, and spread very little on the surface.

If none of the home manures named can be had (they
are to be preferred for turning under because reteotive of
moisture), use some good commercial fertilizer instead, and
do n't be afraid of it either.

The plants in the narrow row should be set in singe line,
ten or twelve inches apart ; if in good soil, one year's growth
will make a continous line of green.

The cultivator will keep the soil clean and mellow, and
leave very little to be done by hand ; what there is can be
readily done by a simple little iron instrument, readily made
by the local blacksmith, in shape thus, T; fasten this to a
wooden rake or hoe-handle, and it will be found a most
excellent implement for the purpose, as it can be used flat

192 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS.

to scrape the surface, or, turned perpendicularly, can be
thrust deeply between and close to the plants with scarcely
any disturbance, yet, by a side twist, drag out the most
obstinate weeds when deep among their roots.

By this system of planting, the ground is as fully occu-
pied as it should be ; each plant receives the proper share
of attention, the berries are open to light and air on all
sides, and the mulching, which is now considered indispen-
sable to good culture, is easily applied.

There is no doubt that a thick mulch around the plants
does exercise a very great influence on their thriftiness ; it
keeps the land evenly moist, not wet one day and dry the
next to the detriment of the surface roots ; it protects the
fruit from injury by heavy rains, keeps it out of the dirt,
and, to a great extent, prevents the growth of weeds.

So important is this mulching considered by the straw-
berry growers around Charleston, S. C. , that they willingly
pay one dollar a bale for pine straw, the collection of which,
for this purpose, has become a regular business, and use
thirty bales to the acre, covering almost the entire ground.
They claim that the expense is amply reimbursed, not only
in the increased yield of the plants, but in the saving of
expense in keeping down the weeds. The Florida grower
has plenty of pine straw at hand, free of cost, save that of
gathering; wire-grass or leaves would answer the same
purpose, though more liable to be disturbed by the winds.

And now a few words as to the proper mode of setting
out the plants ; this is a very important point, apparently
very simple, yet it is very seldom done as it should be.
The well-known horticulturist, E. P. Koe, speaks feelingly
on this subject as follows :

" We may secure good plants of the best varieties, but
if we do not set them out properly the chances are against
our success, unless the weather is very favorable. So much

STRAWBERRIES. 193

depends on a right start in life, even in a strawberry bed.
There are no abtruse difficulties in properly imbedding a
plant. One would think, if a workman gave five minutes'
thought and observation to the subject, he would know ex-
actly how to do it; if one used his head as well as his
hands it would be perfectly obvious that a plant set with
its roots spread out, so that the fresh, moist earth could
come in contact with each fiber, would stand a far better
chance than one set out any other way. And }et, in spite
of all I can say or do, I have never been able to prevent
very many of my plants from being set too deeply, so that
the crown and tender leaves were covered and smothered
with earth, or not deep enough, thus leaving some of the
roots exposed. Many others bury the roots in a long,
tangled bunch ; others hastily scoop out a shallow hole, in
which the roots are placed in the form of a half circle, with
the roots which should be down in the cool, moist depths
of the soil turned up toward or to the very surface."

And yet, as Mr. Roe further remarks, "It is almost as
easy to set out a plant properly as otherwise," and the re-
sults are certainly very different.

Here is the right way to plant a strawberry. Make a
hole deep enough to put the roots, spread out in a fan-like
circle, down for their full length into the soil, holding the
plant in the left hand ; fill in with the right hand, pressing
firmly around the roots ; when the soil is even with the
surface, press with both hands as close to the plant as pos-
sible, putting on your full weight until the crown is just
even with the surface ; if you can pull the plant up again
by taking hold of the leaves, you have not made it as firm
as it should be.

This method may seem hard and slow, but once it is
learned it can be done very quickly. The negro women
around Norfolk, Va., frequently set between two and

17

194 FLORIDA FRUITS SMALL FRUITS.

three thousand plants a day, and do it properly, too. Al-
ways plant in moist, freshly-stirred ground, free from lumps
or trash.

If the roots, on receipt of your plants, are found to be
sour, black, or moldy, and this often happens if they have
journeyed far, wash them in clean, lukewarm water, and
carefully trim off the shriveled ends ; let them lie in water
for a few hours. After they are set out, sprinkle a hand-
ful of fine bone-meal, if you have it, close around the
plants, water them liberally, soaking the ground, and
mulch heavily.

Unless the weather be cloudy for several days, at and
after the time of setting out, shade must be supplied —
palmetto leaves are excellent for this purpose — placed al-
most horizontally so as to shelter thoroughly from the sun ;
in lieu of palmetto, even a handful of grass dropped on
the crown of the plant is better than nothing.

Do not allow the runners to grow until after the fruit-
ing season is over ; if you do, the plants will be less thrifty,
the berries smaller, and less in quantity. But after the
fruit is all gathered, then let the runners run; if there
are any vacant spaces in the rows put down some, so the
gaps will be filled, and this is all that needs to be done,
so say some of our Florida cultivators, until the time for
transplanting or setting out comes round again.

" Let the weeds grow as they will during the summer
season, they will shelter the strawberry plants from the
sun, and they will be found all right when you come to
cut down and weed out the trash in October."

And that there is some truth in this statement we have
proved in our own garden ; plants utterly hidden from
May to September were found to be thrifty and green
when summoned from their retirement.

Another plan, highly recommended by those who have

STRAWBERRIES. 195

tried it, is to dispense with the mulch after the crop is in,
and instead to sow a row of cow-peas, some short, bushy
variety, between the rows, and chop them down when the
peas are nearly ripe, leaving the roots undisturbed ; the
foliage thus cut is to be left on the ground to shade and
enrich it, while the cow-pea roots will at once go to work
to make good their loss, and by the time setting and culti-
vation come around again, a second lot of foliage is ready
to be cut and used as a mulch for the fruiting plants ; by
this simple, inexpensive method the ground is greatly en-
riched, the rows and straggling runners shaded during the
summer, and a large supply of mulching grown on the
spot without the labor or expense of hauling it.

It is not necessary, as once supposed, to make a new
bed each year; a strawberry field, if well fertilized and
cultivated, may, with profit, occupy the same ground for
three or four years, and sometimes more.

The best time to set out the plants in our State is from
the middle of September to the middle of November, but
October is preferred as the month par excellence. Good,
strong plants will begin to bear in January, and keep on,
more or less, until May or June ; the main Florida crop is
gathered during February, March, and April; the ship-
ping season frequently lasting over seventy days.

Remember that the strawberry is a gross feeder, it is a
great drinker, a confirmed toper, but it is just as great an
epicure.

A celebrated grower of small fruits thus tells how to
fertilize this plant :

' ' Use all you think you can afford, then shut your eyes
and put on as much more, and it will pay every time."

As to the best fertilizers to use : this depends so much
upon the character of the soil in different localities that
the wisest plan is to make local inquiries, and find out who

196 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS.

has succeeded and who has failed, and what fertilizers were
used. Stable manure, if free from stubble, is considered
one of the very best foods for the strawberry ; also cow-
chips and muck, the latter applied with more active mate-
rial. Bone dust, cotton-seed meal, and wood ashes are
also of great value ; and here is something vouched for by
good authority as being splendidly effective :

" Fill a half hogshead with water, and put into it one
quarter of a pound of ammonia, and the same amount of
niter. When the plants are blossoming sprinkle them
with this solution at evening, twice a week, until the fruit
is nearly full size. The result will be double the amount
of fruit."

Never use lime or land plaster, as they are poisonous to
the strawberry. Do not forget this.

And now as to the varieties best suited to our soil and
climate.

Upon this point there is a wide diversity of opinion,
owing, doubtless, to the difference in culture and soil in
the several localities, which, as we have seen, exercise a
powerful influence on the strawberry, both in quality and
quantity of fruit.

We would advise every one intending to embark in
strawberry culture to set aside a small piece of ground for
experiment, and to plant therein a dozen plants or more
of every variety that seems desirable or likely to prove
profitable ; a couple of years' culture will show which to
retain and which to reject.

At present the leading market variety is undoubtedly
the celebrated Charleston berry, Neunan's Prolific ; this is
a medium sized, aromatic berry, firm and sub-acid, and a
great bearer. At the same time we believe that there are
others which will eventually be recognized as superior.

The Federal Point or Little Giant is a very fine, large

STRAWBERRIES.

berry, and either is or has become " a native 01 the coun-
try ;" it bears well, ships well, and in flavor is superior to
the Neunan berry.

With many growers -the Crescent seedling is growing
rapidly in favor, and deservedly so. This is a very dis-
tinct and remarkable variety; its average size does not
much exceed that of the famous old market berry, the
Wilson, and its flavor is about the same. Its blossoms
are, however, imperfect, and a perfect flowered variety
should be set in every eighth row. It is extremely pro-
ductive, and has a really wonderful capacity for thriving
on poor, thin land, and under almost all circumstances and
in any soil ; it cares nothing whether its home be in the
cold clay of Canada or the warm sand of Florida. Prac-
tically it is the cosmopolitan berry. A yield of over five
thousand quarts to the acre is not uncommon, even with
slight fertilizing, and the bright scarlet berries are very
handsome, attracting quick sales.

The chief fault of the Crescent seedling is that the ber-
ries are apt to be too soft for a long journey by rail, unless
carried in refrigerator cars, as, in fact, all strawberries
ought to be.

We might go on indefinitely suggesting varieties as
worthy of at least a trial, but the truth is that every berry
which has been proven to do well on light, sandy soil, and
to resist summer heat and drought — and these are many —
should be tested carefully by the Florida grower who de-
sires to attain the best possible results, and consequently
the largest profits.

Remember always that it is only the best fruit that
brings the best prices, and that there is a right way and a
wrong way in picking and packing, as in every thing else ;
and this latter part of the business is of so much impor-
tance that though all the rest may be done properly, and

198 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS.

the finest berries obtained, yet if this, the closing opera-
tion, is carelessly performed, all the previous work is
thrown away, and a report of "arrived in bad condition,
not salable," will be the ultimate result.

Never pick the berries when they are wet ; always gather
them when they are half or two thirds colored, and, if
possible, leave an inch, or better still, two inches of the
stem attached to the fruit, they will keep fresh and firm
much longer.

Inspect every berry yourself, don't trust this important
work to others or you will deservedly suffer for it ; there
will most certainly be some fruit too ripe to pack, and if
not thrown out great injury will result to the rest.

Pack in neat strawberry boxes, not loosely, but so as to
prevent shaking about ; and you will find it pays to place
the top layer stems downward, so as to show the bright
red color of the berry to best advantage.

Ship always by the quickest route, and, wherever possi-
ble, in refrigerator cars or boxes.

In order to find how many plants are required to set
an acre at any given distance apart, multiply the width
by the breadth in feet, and see how many times this num-
ber is contained in 43,560, which is the number of square
feet in an acre. For example, plants set 1 x 3 feet, each
plant would occupy three square feet ; therefore, by divid-
ing 3 into 43,560 the number required would be given.

BLACKBERRIES.

Why this luscious berry has not already come more
"to the fore" in Florida we are unable to see, except on
the well-known principle, that "we always overlook our
nearest blessings."

The blackberry grows wild in abundance here, as it does
in almost if not quite every State in the Union ; and just

BLACKBERRIES. 199

because it is so wide-spread a blessing it meets with less con-
sideration than it deserves. Only a few years ago it was
regarded in this country, as it still is abroad, merely as a
bramble. Of late, however, attempts have been made to
originate "prize berries" by planting the seed, but so far
Dame Nature has the best of it, as all the finest varieties
now in cultivation are from chance seedlings found grow-
ing wild.

For instance, the well-known Kittatinny blackberry was
found in the mountains in Warren County, N. J.; its fruit
is large, very large under good culture, sweet, rich, and
melting, but, like all its race, hard and sour when eaten
prematurely.

For home use they should not be picked until fully ripe,
but if they are to be shipped then gather them when half
ripe, and pack with the same care bestowed upon straw-
berries.

There are two species of blackberries, out of the hun-
dred and fifty scattered over the world, that have furnished
all our best varieties for cultivation ; these are the Rvbus
villosus or High Blackberry, and RvJbus canadensis or
Dewberry. Both of these are found in Florida, and both
are worthy of close attention, and wherever fine bushes
are found they should be carefully transplanted and culti-
vated ; they should, however, be in a dormant state when
moved, and if this precaution be taken there will be very
little danger of the plants dying, as they will stand a great
deal of hard treatment.

The soil should be light, mellow, moist, and not over
rich ; the same manures recommended for the strawberry
are suitable for the blackberry, but the quantity should be
less ; too rich soil will produce a rank growth of canes, but
lessen the quantity of fruit.

The rows should be seven or eight feet apart for field

200 FLORIDA FRUITS — SMALL FRUITS.

culture, six feet for garden, and the plants three feet apart
in the rows.

If the ground is not very fertile the young plants will
need a start, which can best be given by scattering a com-
post containing muck dbwn the furrows in which they are
planted. They should have support, to do their best, and
an inexpensive method of giving it is by the use of posts
and wire ; by this system they can be grown in one bushy
row, shading and supporting each other.

The canes often shoot up five or six feet high, and this
should be prevented by pinching off the ends of the shoots ;
this checks the upward tendency and forces side branches,
which are the fruit bearers.

RASPBERRIES.

This is a fruit as yet new to Florida, but we believe
that some varieties can be profitably raised, and we urge
upon our readers careful and persevering experiments in
this direction.

Like the strawberries, raspberries require moisture and
cool manures; muck, sweetened by lime, is one of the
best fertilizers for this splendid berry, but, unlike the
strawberry, it does well in partial shade, although it does
not require it.

As a rule, the black-cap varieties do better in light soils
than the red, but there are some of the latter that appear
to flourish equally well in sandy loam as in heavier lands ;
foremost among these stands the Cuthbert, a very fine, red
berry, and one especially adapted for trial here.

Let every fruit grower try a few raspberries of differ-
ent varieties, requesting some prominent nurseryman to
select for him such as are worth the experiment in our soil
and climate. Be assured he will not regret it.

OLIVES. 201

CHAPTER XXI.

OLIVES AND PECANS — OLIVES.

The olive is a low-branching evergreen tree, reaching a
height of from twenty to thirty feet ; its leaves are stiff
and narrow, of a light or bluish green ; its blossoms appear
on the wood grown the previous year, in June, July, or
August ; the fruit is a berried drupe, oblong, rather small,
of a yellowish green color, but when fully ripe turning
black.

A native of Greece, it became naturalized centuries ago
in Spain, Italy, the South of France, Morocco, and kin-
dred climates ; in fact, the whole basin of the Mediterra-
nean, from the thirty-fifth to the forty-third degree of lati-
tude, is one great belt of olive trees.

This, like the orange tree, attains literally to a "green
old age." In the valley of the cascade of Marmora, there
is a plantation over two miles in extent of very old trees,
supposed to be the identical ones mentioned by Pliny as
growing there in the first century of the Christian era.

In Palestine, here and there, are olive trees estimated to
be two thousand years old, and some of these, although
their trunks are hollow and like an empty shell, bear boun-
tiful crops ; one, a few years ago, yielded two hundred and
forty quarts of oil.

It is a common saying in Italy, " If you want to leave
a lasting inheritance to your children's children, plant an
olive."

The olive has been successfully cultivated in California
for a number of years ; and if in California, why not then
in Florida? As a matter of fact, it has been raised and
has fruited in Orange, Hillsboro, Dade, Nassau, St. Johns,

202 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS.

and other counties. The climate is suitable, the soil equally
so, for, while this famous tree will grow luxuriantly in a
clay soil, if well fertilized, it delights in a dry, sandy loam,
and planted in such is thoroughly at home.

It bears fruit at two or three years old, increasing up to
its fiftieth year, and in its sixth year, if it has been well
cared for, begins to repay the expense of cultivation, even
if the ground between the trees is not otherwise employed,
and there is no reason why it should not be cultivated to
annual crops, just as a young orange grove may be.

The olive, as we have mentioned, likes a dry soil; its
roots run down deeply, and find all the water they need
far below the surface. In California the olive growers
claim that it is the only tree that needs no irrigation, es-
pecially in the foot-hills of Santa Barbara County, and
around San Jose; here the frequent fogs are found to
yield sufficient surface moisture for the olive, and for the
olive alone.

Certain it is that it never suffers from drought. The
first olive trees in California, and presumably in the United
States, were planted years ago by the old Jesuit Fathers at
the " Spanish Mission," north of Monterey, and the first
regular orchard was set out at San Jose, thirty years ago.

From these trees came the now celebrated Mission olives
so popular in the State of their adoption. Oil sweet, rich,
and agreeable to the taste, has been made in California
and has met a ready sale, but all the olive oil at present
produced, and there is a large acreage now in bearing, is
not sufficient to supply the demand from the druggists
alone ; and if all the land in California and in Florida
suited to the culture of this valuable tree, were now
planted and yielding olives, the supply would still be in-
sufficient ; or at the best, not more than equal to the de-
mand, for good, honest olive oil is needed every where;

OLIVES. 203

for daily use in the household, for medicinal purposes, in
the various arts. There is no other oil that is as highly
esteemed for the same uses, and when we consider that it
retails in this country at one dollar a quart flask, and
that an acre of olive trees in full bearing will average
seven hundred and fifty quarts, a certain profit is self-
evident.

In 1884 the United States paid for imported olives, one
hundred arid twenty-seven thousand one hundred dollars ;
why should we not keep this money in our own pockets?

And in addition to the yield of oil there is the pickled
olive ; the same fruit picked when half ripe, steeped in an
alkaline solution to extract a part of its bitterness, then
washed in fresh water, and finally bottled with salt and
water, to which fennel or some other aromatic herb is added.
The taste for the pickled olive is an acquired but still an
extensive one, and the demand is large ; it might just as
well be supplied by home product as to be imported.

The olive does not require rich land, too much fertiliz-
ing improves neither the tree nor the fruit, hence it is one
of the cheapest of all fruits to raise; and not alone for
this reason, but also because the cultivation of the ground
set in olives, does not at all injure or retard it. Peach or
pear trees, grape-vines, corn, vegetables, all can be grown
continuously in the olive orchard, rather to its advantage
than otherwise.

Another point in its favor is the ease with which it is
propagated ; suckers rise in abundance from the roots of
the older trees, and these, transplanted, become trees in
their turn. The seed is frequently planted, and some claim
that this is the best mode of propagation ; cuttings from
the olive, however, take root so readily that this is the
usual method followed to obtain young trees.

A rather odd circumstance is related which strikingly

204 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS.

illustrates this point. Mr. Jackson, in his "Account of
the Empire of Morocco," mentions a large plantation of
olive trees near Messa, which struck him as being, to say
the least, very whimsical in the arrangement of the trees,
for they were planted here, there, every where, sometimes
in large groups, sometimes in small, sometimes singly, and
again in short rows or angles ; order nowhere, eccentricity
reigning supreme.

Inquiry brought to light the history of this unique plan-
tation, it was as follows :

" I learned from the viceroy's aide-de-camp, who attended
me, that one of the kings of the dynasty of Saddia, being
on his journey to Soudan, encamped here with his army ;
that the pegs with which the cavalry picketed their horses
were cut from the olive trees in the neighborhood, and that
these pegs being left in the ground on account of some
sudden cause of the departure of the army, the olive trees
in question sprang from them. And the disposition of the
trees did exactly resemble the arrangement of cavalry in
an encampment."

From twenty-five to thirty feet is the proper distance for
setting the olives in the orchard.

The proper time for gathering olives for the press is just
as they mature ; if they are left too long on the tree the
next crop will be a failure, and it is to this fact that the
olive tree owes the unjust reputation it has gained in some
countries, in Languedoc, Spain, and Italy, for instance,
of bearing only on alternate years ; in these countries the
crop is gathered in December and January, while in France
it is gathered in November, and there the trees bear regu-
lar annual crops, while the oil, because the fruit is gath-
ered during the first stage of maturity, as soon as it turns
purple, is of a better quality and commands the highest
prices.

OLIVES. 205

In Europe the method in general use for gathering the
olives is to knock them off with long poles, and then the
women, children, cripples, and old men pick them up from
the ground. This is a very poor plan, as it not only bruises
the fruit and renders it liable to rot, but the contact with
the earth is apt to give an unpleasant taste to the oil.
It is much better in all respects, even as regards economy,
to pick them by hand.

Elwood Cooper, the well known California (Santa Bar-
bara) horticulturist, tells us of a method of collecting the
olives of his own contrivance, "by which an active man
can pick four hundred pounds a day."

"I have," says he, "arranged, on a ranch wagon, plat-
forms with ladders securely fastened, so that the fruit from
the different heights of even large trees can be gathered
from the wagon, which is driven along the rows, and one
half of the tree picked from each side. This plan obvi-
ates the necessity of moving ladders, climbing, etc., and
relieves the pickers from the labor of carrying the fruit,
as the sacks containing the same are always at hand on the
platform. The leaves and imperfect berries are separated
by passing the whole through a winnowing mill; this
process leaves the fruit in the best possible condition
preparatory to manufacturing the oil."

This latter process is exceedingly simple. To allow the
water to evaporate and to concoct the mucilage, the olives
are spread out in beds about three inches thick and left
for several days. Then the fruit is reduced to a pulp,
placed in sacks of coarse linen, and subjected to a light
pressure.

The oil first expressed is the purest and highest priced ;
the cake left is moistened in water and again pressed, a
second-rate oil being the result, as now the oil of the
kernels, under the heavier pressure, mingles with the oil

206 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS.

of the fruit and deteriorates from its quality both in taste
and in its keeping properties. This, the common oil, can
not be kept sweet in casks for more than eighteen months
or two years.

Kaising olives for commercial purposes will yet become
one of Florida's great industries, and not only so, but there
is no reason why other of the "far south" States should
not help in the good work, for while this noble tree, as we
have seen, does not desire a rich soil and will flourish in
sand or clay, or on rocky ground, it will also resist frost to
a great degree, having been frequently known to stand un-
injured through a temperature as low as 14°.

A few words as to varieties, of which there are many
scattered over the world.

The Mission olive, already referred to, is late in matur-
ing its fruit ; but this, in Florida, where the mild climate
would admit of every olive attaining its full maturity, is
no objection, although, in a colder climate, it would be a
serious drawback.

The Manzanillo olive is one of the early ripening kinds ;
is excellent for pickling, and yields good oil.

The Reudonvillo. Fruit small but excellent.

The Nevarillo Blanco. A copious bearer of large olives,
yielding abundantly of the best oil.

The Empeltre. An excellent bearer ; oil first quality ;
resists frost well; a valuable kind for cooler as well as
warm sections.

The Gordal. Hardy also ; fruit of the best for pickling
or oil.

The Verdeso. Also frost-resisting ; quality same as the
Gordal.

These are all early maturing trees ; in the late, equally
good for Florida, we have the

Marvileno, bearing very large olives.

PECANS. 207

Picudo, which yields enormous sized fruit, both first
quality for oil and pickles.

Madrilenzo. Fruit large, excellent for pickling, walnut-
shaped ; yields but little oil. Prune tree cautiously.

THE PECAN TREE.

This is another of Florida's coming crops. Our people
are just beginning to realize, not that there is profit in this
popular nut, but that it can be raised here, on their own
grounds, to perfection.

And why not ? It is native to Texas and Louisiana ; it
flourishes in every State as far north as Virginia, and even
(near the coast line) in Maryland, Delaware, and Southern
New Jersey, for it is the fact that in these States there are
pecan trees, large, beautiful, and bearing heavy annual
crops.

There are several fallacies that have contributed to re-
tard the spread of pecan orchards.

First and foremost is the idea held by so many, that to
plant a pecan tree is to plant only for the profit of one's
grandchildren ; probably this idea came from the knowl-
edge that, as a rule, nut-bearing trees are long in coming
into profit ; the hickory, and some others are fifty years or
more before they bear any crops worth speaking of, but
it is not so with the pecans. Planted on land of ordi-
nary fertility they usually begin bearing at six or seven
years old from the seed ; on rich land they are often a year
or two later in bearing, because they grow faster and make
such luxuriant foliage that they have no time to stop for
nut-making ; in either case the nuts are of the same qual-
ity, first class and thin-shelled.

So much for the first fallacy ; now for the second, and
that is, that the nut must absolutely be planted where the
tree is to grow, because "if grown elsewhere and trans-

208 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS.

planted, the tap-root will be cut or broken, and if it is
curtailed at all the tree may grow, but will never bear nuts."

Now, there is just as much truth in this idea as there is
in the statement that the moon is made of green cheese.
The transplanted pecan will grow and bear fruit just as
any other tree will, even though its long tap-root is broken
in moving ; it is not the tap-root that bears the nuts, it is
merely the anchor that keeps the tree upright and helps
convey its water-supply.

If it can be done conveniently, it is better to plant the
nuts three inches deep, good, fresh nuts and no others,
laid on their side, where the tree is to stand, because then
there is no check to the growth by transplanting, and
nearly a year is thus gained.

But it is not necessary, and the great majority of pecan
orchards are set from nursery trees ; the nuts are started
in boxes of moist earth, and as soon as they sprout are
placed in the nursery rows. When high enough out of the
ground they should be heavily mulched.

By the end of the first season they will be ten or twelve
inches high, and if the soil is loose and deep the tap-root
will be still longer than the top. And now they should
be set out where they are to remain, either in the or-
chard, thirty-five feet apart, about forty trees to the acre,
or here and there, wherever a handsome, highly ornamen-
tal shade tree is wanted, in avenues or in nooks around
the house.

The pecan tree seems to be at home in all kinds of
soil, so that it be not desperately poor, and has a clay sub-
soil— rocky, clay, or sand, dry or moist. And as to its
culture : for the first two or three years it should be well
mulched, and occasionally, if the soil is thin, be moderately
fertilized ; this is all the care it needs, for its deep-seated
rootlets render it independent of surface cultivation.

PECANS. 209

It is a fact not generally known that the cutting of a
tap-root, of nut-bearing or other trees, is really beneficial
to the lateral growth of the tree; another little known
truth is that the tap-roots of all trees, nut or others, are
short-lived ; they die and decay as the lateral roots grow
large and strong.

In setting out the young tree or in planting the seed in
the open ground, we would strongly recommend surround-
ing it with a circle of the woven wire netting, now so much
in use for fences, arched across the top; this would not
only mark the spot but protect it from injury by the plow,
in raising crops in the orchard, and also from horses or
cattle.

Since the pecan needs no surface working we would ad-
vise that the orchard be converted into a permanent past-
ure, and the ground thus made to serve a double purpose,
as well as the trees, the latter furnishing a most grateful
shade for the cattle grazing there, while the wire netting,
raised higher as the trees grow, would prevent any injury
being done to the trees.

If the seed are planted in the orchard, put two or three
in the hill, they will sprout in from four to ten weeks ; sur-
plus ones can be removed ; they should be partially shaded
during their first summer.

December, January, and February are the best months
for planting pecans, either seeds or trees.

As we have noted, the first season's growth should leave
the young tree ten or twelve inches high ; the second year
they will grow three or four feet ; and the third they will
be well branched, and from seven to ten feet high.

And now, having seen how easy it is to raise a pecan
orchard — there are a number of trees now fruiting heavily
in Florida — let us see why we should do it as a source of
income easy and sure.

18

210 FLORIDA FRUITS — OLIVES AND PECANS.

The oldest pecan orchard of which we have any record
is in Alabama, and is over fifty years old ; the trees in this
orchard now frequently yield three barrels of nuts each
in the same season, producing an income, without trouble
or expense, save that of gathering the nuts, of one thou-
sand dollars annually per acre.

A barrel contains one hundred and forty-five pounds of
nuts, and last year, from Florida trees, they averaged to
the producer twenty-three cents per pound by the barrel.
But even at only ten cents a pound, one hundred pounds
to the tree, and forty trees to the acre, we have a clear
profit of four hundred dollars, while the ground that sup-
ports these bountiful trees may also yield other crops or
feed a herd of cattle.

There is no other tree that, with so little care, expense,
or attention, will yield so much profit.

Let Florida have her pecan orchards as well as her
orange groves. It has already been proved that the one is
as valuable as the other, and when the Florida pecan is
placed upon the market, as it is certain to be ere long, it
will rank with the Florida orange and pine-apple, for no
other State can equal her soft-shelled pecans.

The largest and oldest bearing pecan orchard now in
Florida consists of fifty trees, the property of Arthur
Brown, of Blackwater, Santa Kosa County ; they are from
twenty-five to forty years old, and are the pride of their
owner, and, as we can certify, justly so.

Not only are the trees beautiful in themselves, but their
products of several distinct varieties of thin-shelled pecans
are all that any one could desire; never has the writer
tasted pecans as thin-shelled, tender, and delicious in flavor
as those raised in this Blackwater orchard, the pioneer of
Florida's future pecan industry. .The nuts from these
beautiful trees were on exhibition at the New Orleans Ex-

PECANS. 211

position as coming from "Santa Rosa County, Fla.," and
justly attracted general attention because of their large
size, smooth shell, thin enough to be crushed in the hand,
and delicate, sweet flavor.

This practical proof of what Florida had done, and
could do again, at once gave the needed impetus to pecan
culture, and already hundreds of young trees from this
pioneer orchard are working their way "upward and on-
ward " in almost every county in the State.

The pecan tree appears to have but one enemy, and
that one obtains foothold only through carelessness. Watch
the trees and keep them free from caterpillars' nests, other-
wise a large worm makes its appearance and girdles the
limbs, killing them in a short time. The presence of the
caterpillar is easily detected, hence can be easily got rid
of; so says Mr. Brown, who knows more about pecan cul-
ture than any one else in Florida.

The worm betrays its presence by the exudation of gum
on the tree, which, being scraped off, reveals beneath a
round hole entering the tree for an inch or two and then
turning upward ; a piece of wire thrust into this hole will
kill the worm. If, however, the worm is not found there,
but has deserted the scene of its first labors, dig around
the roots of the tree close to the trunk, and it will be
found to a certainty.

Mr. Brown reports that he searches for these worms,
which are striped and long-nosed, every spring, but has
only killed seven ; hence, they are certainly not very for-
midable from numbers, if hunted down in this manner.

The several varieties in this pioneer orchard, than which
no better can be found for planting throughout the State,
or outside of it either, are named as follows, all of them
being remarkably soft-shelled :

212 FLORIDA FRUITS OLIVES AND PECANS.

TURKEY EGG.

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

GEORGIA MELON.

Very large ; rather round at one end, flat at the other ;
dark stripes over the entire nut like the famous Georgia
watermelon, hence the name given it ; meat of first quality
in every respect. From one tree of this variety Mr. Brown
gathered at one gathering (December) one hundred and
thirty pounds of nuts.

REPTON.

Large; shell rather whitish, one end round, the other
decidedly pointed ; black points ; meat sweet and tender ;
tree remarkably beautiful. From one Repton tree, said
to be forty years old, over five hundred pounds of nuts
were gathered this past season.

TEXAS.
Quite large, some very long ; white hull ; black points.

RIBERA.

Large ; few black marks, and pointed at both ends ;
meat very fine.

PETITE.

Small and plump ; white hull ; very desirable.

In addition to these the Blackwater pecan orchard con-
tains several varieties, large and excellent, but not yet
named.

When we consider that this orchard was abandoned for
twenty years, left to take care of itself, and at the mercy
of hundreds of negroes and irresponsible whites, who

PECANS. 213

"gathered" the nuts by throwing sticks and stones at the
trees instead of shaking them, their present production is
simply wonderful and very significant.

We acknowledge our indebtedness to their present owner
for many points of value given here regarding pecan cul-
ture.

It is yet too early in the history of Florida horticulture
to speak very positively as to the destined value of other
nut-trees in her future development. But we believe, rea-
soning from analogy, and from instances here and there
that have come to our knowledge of experiments success-
fully made in different sections of the State, that the pro-
duction of nuts of all kinds will eventually become one
of bountiful Florida's leading industries.

Walnut and hickory and oak trees are indigenous to the
State : surely this is hint enough to the wise man to press
forward and use this fact to his profit.

The white walnut, the butternut, and the chestnut, es-
pecially the Japan chestnut, are all quickly maturing trees,
and their nuts of superior quality. The white walnut and
the butternut bear in five or six years from the seed.

They like a light, sandy soil or loam, either naturally or
artificially fertilized ; a clay subsoil is no objection, but it
must be dry, whatever be its nature. Set the trees forty
feet apart and cultivate between, either to annual crops or
the smaller fruit trees, peaches, figs, plums, or grapes, or
berries.

The English walnut also succeeds well, having been
thoroughly tested.

The smaller soft-shell varieties of the walnut are most
profitable to cultivate ; when the common hard-shell vari-
ety sells for nine cents a pound, the former readily bring
fourteen to fifteen; they also bear earlier than the hard-
shell black walnut.

214 FLORIDA FRUITS OLIVES AND PECANS.

Chestnuts are very profitable, and one of the most nu-
tritious of fruits, and the Japan chestnut has been proved
to be the best of its kind. It is a small tree, and bears at
three years old; of moderate size, very handsome for
lawns, as well as of great money value ; like the other nut-
bearers, it flourishes on sandy soils with dry subsoil. The
nuts are large and of the finest quality.

COCOA-NUTS. 215

CHAPTER XXII.

COCOA-NUTS.

The cocoa-nut palm is one of^the most valuable trees
given to the world by a most beneficent Creator, and its
history and wide-spread capabilities are so full of interest,
especially to those who can proudly point to this great tree
rising heavenward upon their own domains, that it is well
worth while to pause and look upon it in its broader view
before proceeding to examine the narrower one of its prac-
tical culture.

Throughout all the broad extent of the vegetable king-
dom, there is no one family of plants so full of beauty,
usefulness, and majesty as the family of the palms. Their
prevailing form is familiar to every one, for no trees are
so often pictured as these, with their leafless, cylindrical
stems or stipes, as they are termed, surmounted by a crown
of graceful, tapering leaves.

It may not be generally known that this distinguished
family (like many human ones) receives its name from one
of its most diminutive members, the dwarf fan-palm, the
only one indigenous to Europe.

With this graceful little tree the Romans were well ac-
quainted, and from them it received the name of palma,
from the resemblance of its fan-shaped leaves to the human
hand. Afterward, when its numerous relatives became
more widely known, the great similitude of their leaves
caused the name of palma or palm to be bestowed upon
them all, as the common surname of the whole family.

That many of these are as yet totally "unknown to
fame " is not to be doubted ; each year come the tidings
of the discovery of some "new palm," and while nearly

216 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS.

six hundred members have been introduced into the botan-
ical world, and a Christian name bestowed upon each, it is
the opinion of our savants that the entire family numbers
at least one thousand individuals, each generous palm
holding forth some "good and perfect gift" for man's ac-
ceptance.

Of this royal race there are two which are pre-eminently
familiar to the world at large, owing to the commercial value
of their products ; these are the date and cocoa-nut trees.

Of these two palms it is difficult to determine to which
belongs the higher rank ; in genealogy, the date-palm un-
doubtedly has the advantage; it is the "palm tree" of
Scripture, and from time immemorial has been an honored
dweller in its native lands, Asia and Africa. But on the
contrary, over the birth-place of the cocoa-nut there hangs
a strange mystery ; the only palm indigenous to both hem-
ispheres, and having a wider geographical range than any
other member of its family, yet neither in the East or
West has its place of nativity been clearly proven.

In the earliest reference to the cocoa-nut palm — one hun-
dred and sixty-one years B. c. — we find it mentioned as
growing in Ceylon, upon whose shores its nuts had been
cast by the friendly ocean waves.

But whence came they, from the main land of India or
the far-off continent of America? This is a question that
must forever remain unanswered ; but fortunately for man-
kind the mystery of its birth detracts in nothing from the
usefulness of this tree, which may well be called the
"Ocean Palm."

Down upon the wave-washed coast, with the salt spray
dashing over its stem and leaves and lashing its roots, the
cocoa-nut loves to dwell ; remove it inland, where the sea-
breeze can not play among its leaves, and it will droop and
languish.

COCOA-NUTS. 217

Who has not read of those wondrous coral islands where
the cocoa-palm is ever the first, and oftentimes the only,
tree to spring up amidst the reeds?

Many a noble ship, many a precious life has been saved
by this ocean-loving palm, which, nestling down upon some
wave-hidden reef, sends its tall stem heavenward, flourish-
ing even while the sea washes over its base, and waving its
feathery leaves aloft in warning to the mariner, that he
may avoid the danger which else must have proved fatal to
him and his barque.

Familiar to many of our readers, doubtless, is an in-
stance of this high use of the cocoa-nut palm, which lies
" near unto our home."

In the harbor of Baracoa, at the eastern end of the
island of Cuba, rises a mountain known as the ''Anvil
Mountain," because of its resemblance to an anvil, as seen
against the horizon by an incoming vessel. Upon the very
summit of this mountain towers aloft a solitary cocoa-nut
tree ; the first object seen by the sailor as he nears the east-
ern end of the island, and as anxiously wratched for as ever
is beacon or light-ship. No one knows how old it is, nor
who planted it there, but there it has been since the earli-
est records, and great will be the dismay among the way-
farers of the sea when the familiar "Anvil cocoa-nut"
is seen no more looming up grandly against the horizon.

Yet, dweller by the sea as it is, and basking in the warm
sunshine, the cocoa-nut loves not all tropical shores alike ;
with one exception, that of St. Jago, of the Cape de Verd
islands, it is never found upon volcanic shores, and in the
Sandwich Islands it grows, but does not flourish with its
pristine vigor ; like an exile in a foreign land, it languishes
as though weary of life. The tree is smaller and less
hardy, and the fruit diminutive in comparison with its
brethren of Ceylon, an island which it dearly loves.

19

218 FLORIDA FRUITS COCOA-NUTS.

Yet even thus, so highly was it prized by the natives,
that for centuries a law was in force, whereby women were
forbidden to taste its fruit under penalty of the dire dis-
pleasure of their gods. But the time came when this un-
just and superstitious law was to be rendered null and
void.

Oppressed as the native women were, they yet possessed
the right, in rare cases, of inheriting the chieftainship of
their fathers, and by one of these favored few was the
right to partake of the cocoa-nut won for all her sex.
Disregarding the threatened vengeance of the gods, as
launched upon her by their priests, she broke and ate one
of these hitherto sacred nuts, and, no evil consequences fol-
lowing, from that day the prohibitory law was abolished
throughout the Sandwich Islands.

We have already remarked that this beautiful palm has
a wider geographical range than any of its kindred ; this
is most emphatically true.

In India we find it growing low upon the wave-washed
shores, and again, less vigorously, at an elevation of six
hundred feet above the sea. In Venezuela it clings to
life at a distance of a hundred leagues from its beloved
ocean friend ; and yet more, even in the heart of Africa
it finds wherewithal to exist, although it there bears no
fruit.

In striking contrast to these drooping exiles we need but
to look upon the little islands off the coast of Sumatra,
washed over by every storm, to find the cocoa-palm lifting
its crowned head in the joyousness of full health and vigor.
Nearer home we find the Brazilian coast, for a distance
of nearly three hundred miles, heavily fringed with these
noble trees, while one small island near by (that of Ita-
marca) yields annually three hundred and sixty thousand
nuts.

COCOA-NUTS. 219

Take away the cocoa-palm from the numerous islands of
the Pacific Ocean, and the majority of them would at once
become uninhabitable, for these useful trees, often alone
and unassisted, furnish the native population with food
and shelter and clothing ; without their loving gifts these
tropical isles would be dreary and desolate wastes.

Dwelling in the East and in the West this one palm
alone is said to furnish food for no less than a hundred
millions of human beings besides a countless host of
animals.

How say you, is not this a noble tree ? Is not its life
a precious one ?

Ceylon, however, that land of tropical profusion, is pre-
eminently the home of the cocoa-nut tree, although, as we
have intimated, it can lay no claim to being the place of
its birth.

In the most ancient voyages on record mention is made
of the " beautiful cocoa-nut groves" of this great island,
which, in days gone by, was called "Taprohane," and
again, " Serendih," while still further back it is supposed
to be identical with the far-famed "Tarshish" of the
Scriptures.

Those very groves described by the Arabian voyagers
are still flourishing at the present day, only greatly en-
larged and improved, for so valuable have their products
become that the prosperity of the entire island is now in-
timately connected with their cultivation. And yet for
many years, for long centuries, in fact, the Cingalese lived
in total ignorance of the precious treasure which girdled
their shores.

True, as we read in the ancient chronicle of Ceylon, the
" Mahawaiiso," the small red cocoa-nut, grew in the inte-
rior of the island, and its milk was employed in manufac-
turing cement for building temples ; but further than this

220 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS.

one variety the Cingalese knew nothing, and never dreamed
of its value as an article of food.

Regarding the tardy discovery of the vast importance of
the cocoa-palm, there is handed down among them a curi-
ous tradition ; the exact date of the events related is, how-
ever, not given.

It seems that a great and good rajah chanced, most un-
consciously, to offend the god Buddhoo by neglecting to
offer sacrifices under a certain tree, which the deity had
set apart as sacred to himself; not being blessed with om-
niscience, the rajah was ignorant of this fact, and was
(most unreasonably we think) punished for comporting
himself accordingly. His whole person became covered
by a white, scaly substance, so that he well-nigh lost all
semblance to humanity ; his people, by whom he was
justly beloved, offered prayers and sacrifices in his favor,
while he himself patiently awaited the result.

One night he fell into a deep trance, which lasted for
several days, and during this sleep he beheld a vast ex-
panse of water rolling up against the land upon which he
stood. He tasted it and found it nauseous and salt ; turn-
ing his back upon the blue waters, his delighted eyes rested
upon a great number of tall, slender trees, having no
branches, but only a tuft of leaves at the top, and dark-
colored balls nestling under this feathery crown.

The Rottah rajah awoke, and thought upon this won-
drous vision ; his home had ever been in the heart of the
interior, where, even to this day, the cocoa-palm is un-
known ; he had never seen the great ocean ; he had never
beheld such trees as he had looked upon in his sleep. The
more he thought upon it the more he became convinced
that his dream had been sent by the great god Buddhoo ;
but what did it portend ?

The Rottah rajah prayed, and offered sacrifices of sweet-

COCOA-NUTS. 221

smelling flowers, and then he once more lay down and fell
asleep.

But now the scene changed : he saw himself lying as he
actually was, beneath a tree, and from the neighboring
jungle an immense cobra di capello issued forth. The
rajah regarded it without fear ; it was the sacred snake of
the Buddhists, and had protected their god while he walked
the earth. The snake approached the dreamer, and thrice
dipped its forked tongue in the leaf of water which the
rajah's attendants had placed at his side ; then it bowed
its head over him and slowly retired to the jungle. The
good prince awoke, and slept again ; this time he revisited
the scene of his first vision, and there beheld an old man
"whose face shone with the splendor of the moon."

This was Maha Sudona, the father of the god Buddhoo.
In majestic accents he addressed the rajah, bidding him
arise and journey for one hundred hours to the southward,
where he should behold in reality the tree of his vision ;
its fruit he could obtain by fire, since it could not be other-
wise reached, and by making it his sole diet for the space
of three moons, his health would be restored, and a long
life await him.

And now, having looked at this most royal palm from
what we may well term the romantic point of view, let us
examine more closely into that portion of its life history
which is eminently practical ami useful to man. Rearing
their feathery crowns to a height of from sixty to one hun-
dred feet, these noble trees, even before the period of their
fruit-bearing arrives, begin their career of usefulness in
shielding the palaces and huts which are built in their
midst, from the danger of the terrific thunder-storms
wrhich are of such frequent occurrence in their native
land. Their tall stems arrest the fiery destroyer, and di-
verting it from its perilous course conduct it harmlessly

222 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS.

to the ground; and thus it is that accidents from light-
ning are of extremely rare occurrence in the vicinity of
these beautiful palms.

Commencing our investigations, as is most appropriate,
at the lowermost point, let us first make acquaintance with
the roots of the cocoa-nut tree. These are not sturdy and
far-reaching, like those of our forest monarchs, but are
slight, slender, and flexible, springing singly from the bot-
tom of the stem, and deeply fringed with those wondrous
little caterers, the thread-like fibers which collect the food
and pass it on into the body of the tree.

And here, in the slender roots of the cocoa-nut palm,
we observe a phenomenon which finds numerous counter-
parts in human life : they are weak and easily bruised, yet
their hold is not readily shaken, and the more rocky the
soil upon. which their lot is cast, the greater the obstacle
which they encounter, the stronger do they become, the
closer do they cling to their anchorage ground.

Do not these humble roots afford a noble example for
our guidance ?

And now let us see to what practical uses this, the least
valuable portion of the tree, is applied.

Boiled with ginger the roots become an efficacious rem-
edy in cases of fever, and, with the addition of the oil of
the nut, the same decoction is used as a gargle.

In Brazil baskets are woven from the smaller roots, and
of late the larger ones, highly polished, have come into
use as canes and umbrella handles.

In the East, where the habit of chewing the areca-nut
prevails, the more tender roots of the cocoa are chewed
instead, whenever a full supply of the favorite nut can not
be obtained.

Next in order comes the stem or stipe. It stands erect,
without branches, often reaching to the height of over

COCOA-NUTS. 223

a hundred feet, and measuring from one to two feet in
diameter, while along its whole length, at regular inter-
vals, are well-marked parallel rings, the cicatrices of
fallen leaves ; by these rings the age of the tree is readily
ascertained.

Should its growth be retarded for one or two years, as
sometimes chances in unskillful transplanting, the stem ex-
presses its disapprobation by a permanent contraction in
diameter, so that the trunk has often a larger dimension
at the base and summit than at the middle.

In the interior arrangements of their stems the palms
bear no resemblance to other trees ; this one difference suf-
ficing to distinguish them at once as belonging to an en-
tirely distinct family, forming in fact the ultra-aristocracy
of the tropics.

Examine the stem of a white lily and you will find that
it is really a series of leaves, rising one above another, and
united at their bases so as to form an apparent stem.
Greatly resembling this growth is that of the palm ; it
possesses no bark, the surface appearing to be formed of
the cicatrices which succeed the fall of the leaves and
become gradually hardened by the action of the sun and
the air.

The wood of the cocoa-nut improves with the age of the
tree ; soft when young, it yearly increases in density until
finally it acquires an extreme hardness, and is consequently
highly valued.

In the Maldive and Laccadive Islands, boats are made
from the hollowed stem, and planked with wood from the
same tree. The Polynesians it furnishes with their most
valued spears, and the Puris Indians, of Brazil, manufac-
ture from it their best bows.

Many of our readers are doubtless familiar with the
wood of the cocoa-nut palm, although ignorant of its iden-

224 FLORIDA FRUITS— COCOA-NUTS.

tity with the "porcupine wood" of commerce, a change of
name more striking than euphonious, and for which it
wrould be difficult to assign a reason other than the caprice
of the manufacturers of elegant work-boxes and costly ar-
ticles of furniture, by whom it is chiefly imported. Hard
as ivory, of a rich chocolate color, spotted with black, and
finely veined, it admits of an exquisite polish, the choice
pieces frequently resembling dark agate.

Before the cocoa-nut palm becomes aged (it bears fruit
for seventy years and lives much longer), the interior of
the stem affords a floury substance, which is sweet and
pleasant to the taste, and may be called the bread of the
tree; in addition to this flour the stem also yields a species
of gum, highly prized by the Tahitian women, who use it
to plaster and stiffen their hair, according to their ideas of
beauty and grace.

In Barbary guests are entertained on festive occasions
with the honey or the dipse of the cocoa-nut palm, which
is really the sap of the tree. The crown is cut from off a
vigorous palm, and the top of the stem thus left bare is
scooped out into the form of a deep basin.

The sap ascends on its accustomed course, unconscious
of the evil fate that awaits it, and finding its return cut
off flows gently, and, as we may imagine, sadly into the
receptacle prepared for it. Here it collects at the rate of
three or four quarts a day, during the first fortnight ; after
this the quantity diminishes, and at the end of two months,
the sap, exhausted, ceases to flow, the tree becomes dry and
dead, and is cut down for timber or fire-wood.

The dipse thus obtained is sweeter than honey, and of
less consistency, but if not used immediately it becomes
thick and ropy, and after distillation affords an agreeable
spirit, which is called arikyby the natives, and is the "palm
wine " of the ancients.

COCOA-NUTS. 225

Let us now pass on to the bud which contains the incip-
ient terminal leaf; this is sometimes used as an article of
food by both Europeans and natives; boiled it becomes
an excellent cabbage; steeped in vinegar it forms an
agreeable pickle; but, useful as the terminal bud cer-
tainly is in these capacities, it is to be regretted that it is
ever so employed, as its removal necessitates the death of
the tree.

Every one has heard of "toddy;" this is a sweet juice
obtained by wounding the unexpanded flower, and beating
it daily with a stick, which operation facilitates the flow
of the sap ; a healthy blossom will yield from one to two
quarts of juice daily for more than a month.

By boiling this suri, as it is called, a coarse, brown sugar
is obtained, which is termed pageny, one gallon of the suri
yielding a pound of sugar; while still warm, the thick
syrup is poured into cocoa-nut shells, where it soon be-
comes solid. By a subsequent operation the pageny itself
furnishes a most excellent molasses.

The surif in its half fermented state, furnishes the yeast
used by the bakers of Ceylon, and reaching the stage of
acetous fermentation it becomes as fine a vinegar as one
need wish for.

Not yet have we measured the capacity of this wondrous
juice elaborated by the wounded flower, nor yet have we
seen the fullness of the return of "good for evil," of
which it furnishes so illustrious an example.

There is a form in which the suri is still more valuable
than as sugar, molasses, yeast, or vinegar ; this is the
" toddy," to which we have already alluded. In its middle
state of fermentation suri is transformed into this cele-
brated liquor, which, intoxicating in itself, is rendered
still more so by the addition of the leaves of a species of
datura.

226 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS.

In appearance awack — another name for toddy — is clear
and transparent, and of a light straw color. Ceylon alone
exports annually from five thousand to six thousand leag-
uers, each containing one hundred and fifty gallons.

Nor are these the only gifts bestowed by the wounded
flower, which, be it observed, is of large size and purely
white, as befitting so beneficent a spirit. By adding a small
quantity of pageny to the sweet suri, a strong cement is
obtained, which is capable of receiving a beautiful polish ;
walls are prepared for the reception of this cement by
wetting them with a strong infusion of the husk of unripe
cocoa-nuts, a fluid which is also used in mixing the ma-
terials.

In Madras roofs are covered, and columns and floors
are overlaid with this pageny cement, the latter being fre-
quently stained so as to resemble the finest marble. In
Holland, too, this strange cement has been satisfactorily
employed for various purposes.

We come now to the leaves, which, always beautiful, are
also infinitely useful.

At the base of each young leaf, inclosing and protecting
it from harm, we find a net-work of fiber, which presents
the exact appearance of coarse cloth, the threads crossing
each other with great regularity.

The Papuans and Tahitians convert this strange cloth
into a garment, simply by joining its edges with a fiber
obtained from the same tree, and leaving a hole in the
center through which to pass the head. This garment is
usually worn by the native fishermen ; its strength, dura-
bility, and freedom from injury by sea-water rendering it
especially desirable for such pursuits. When fresh from
the tree it is beautifully white and as transparent as lace,
its pure delicacy suggesting the use to which it is fre-
quently applied — the construction of cradles for infants.

COCOA-NUTS. 227

But soon the white cloth turns green, and is then made
into aprons and other garments. Age, so far from deteri-
orating, greatly increases its strength, and in this stage of
its existence it proves an invaluable friend to the native,
providing him with an excellent water-proof cloak " with-
out money and without price."

This cloth, so strangely woven in nature's loom, is also
employed as a filter for toddy, as a bag through which to
strain cocoa-nut oil, and as a sieve for sifting arrowroot
and other flour.

The leaves of the cocoa -palm are, probably, of all
leaves the most valuable. We have seen how, in their
incipient state, they are used as a vegetable ; in their next
stage, still unexpanded, though perfectly formed and of a
beautiful silver texture, white and semi-transparent, they
are wrought into exquisite crowns, wreaths, lanterns, and
valentines.

Beautiful in their youth, they are still more useful in
their old age— a prototype of human life. Old and with-
ered, their loveliness all gone, they yet furnish no despic-
able torches, when bound together in bundles six feet in
length and several inches in diameter. The torches are
called "chulls" in Ceylon, and if skillfully carried will
burn brightly for half an hour.

The young leaves likewise furnish boys and girls with a
beautiful material upon which to interchange verses upon
certain holidays. The older leaves, after undergoing a cer-
tain preparation, are termed ollahs, and as such are used
for graven purposes — letters, documents, books, and the
like. Neatly rolled up and sealed with gum lace, these
ollahs frequently pass through the post-office, sometimes
traveling even as far as England without injury.

The young leaves are stronger than the old, and strips
of them are used for all kinds of ligatures, while the full-

228 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS.

grown leaves, from fifteen to twenty feet long, are every
where employed for thatching in Ceylon ; when used for
this purpose they are plaited into huge roofing-mats, with
which the bungalows of Europeans are thatched as well
as those of the native population.

The Malays plait the leaflets into sails for their phras,
and wonderfully durable do they prove to be.

The uses of the cocoa-nut leaf, like that of all palm
trees, are manifold. Mats for roofing buildings, for shel-
tering young plants, for covering cattle-sheds, for fences,
for walls, for ceilings, and for human coverings ; all these
necessities they supply in the one article of plaited mats.
Moreover, they furnish baskets, large and small, delicate
and rough, coarse, or so fine and close that fluid may be
carried in them as in buckets, baskets to catch fish and to
carry them.

The midribs of the leaves are used for propelling boats
instead of manufactured oars or paddles, and when bruised
at one end this same useful midrib is converted into a brush
for scrubbing and whitewashing. The smaller ribs of the
leaves become formidable rivals to the pin manufactories,
being universally employed by the poorer population of
the ' ' palm lands " in place of those indispensable articles
of the toilet. As toothpicks, also, they perform good serv-
ice ; and by simply tying a bundle of them firmly together
with a midrib in their center, a most excellent broom is
obtained, so excellent, indeed, that no other is employed by
either rich or poor.

By the South Sea Islanders, too, these small ribs of the
cocoa leaf are extensively used as teeth for the combs of
which they are skillful manufacturers.

The chief food of domesticated elephants is the cocoa-
nut leaf, and it is a wonderful thing to observe how dex-
trously this intelligent animal separates the woody fiber
from the thinner margin of the leaf.

COCOA-NUTS. 229

In the Maldive Islands a species of fish (the bonneta) is
preserved by means of the cocoa-nut leaf; the backbone is
removed from the fish, and, after being placed for some
hours in the sun, with frequent sprinklings of salt water,
it is wrapped carefully in cocoa leaves and buried in the
sand, where it soon acquires a horny hardness, and is then
sold in the markets.

By skillful manipulations hats, bonnets, capes, and tip-
pets are formed of the entire leaf, and in the Marquesas
Islands the full dress of the priests is formed of these won-
drous leaves, without the addition of any other material.

Soap is seldom needed or employed in the regions of the
cocoa-palm, because these same leaves, when burned, yield
a large proportion of potash, which admirably answers the
purpose of a cleansing agent.

So numerous, in fact, are the uses of the cocoa-nut leaf
that our limited space compels us to leave their value
"half untold." Let us, therefore, pass on to the fruit of
this noble tree, the cocoa-nut itself.

In its earliest state, small, green, and immature, it yet
commences its career of service to man, for, when grated
fine, it becomes a valuable medicine, and, when mixed
with the oil of the ripe nut, it becomes a healing oint-
ment. A little further a'dvanced, the semi-transparent
jelly which lines the shell furnishes a delicate and nutri-
tious food, while the aqueous fluid or " milk" in its center
becomes, when iced, a most delicious luxury, which is also
frequently used in tea as a substitute for cow's milk.

In their unripe state cocoa-nuts are used as a regular
article of food. The natives of Ceylon and Malacca, living
upon no other food than this, will yet labor vigorously day
after day, while in the Maldive Islands labor performed
is more frequently than otherwise paid for in cocoa-nuts
alone.

230 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS.

In every land where this palm flourishes its fruit forms
a principal article of food, and in the East, as we have
seen, the milk of the small red cocoa-nut is used as a cement
in building.

In the preparation of the world-renowned East India
condiment — "curry" — grated cocoa-nuts perform a most
important part.

The chief product in the kernel of the cocoa-nut is an
oil, which is extracted either by decoction or compression,
the latter being the method generally adopted when the
operation is performed upon a large scale. On an average,
twelve nuts yield one quart of pure oil.

The process is commenced by cleaning the nut of the
outer husk ; the shell is then broken and the nut exposed
to the sun for several days, at the expiration of which
time its watery parts are all evaporated. In this state the
kernel is called copra.

To extract the oil the copra is ground in a clumsy mill,
worked by bullocks, and the substance or refuse which re-
mains after this operation is fed to pigs and poultry. In
its native lands this oil is used for lamps ; the lower ranks
burn it in cocoa-nut shells, the wicks being a bunch of fiber
from the husk; the wealthier classes, however, pour the
oil into brass lamps, four or five feet high, having several
flat basins with ornamental beaks to hold the wicks.

Cocoa-oil is also used to anoint the body, and is exten-
sively employed as a substitute for olive oil in pharmaceu-
tical preparations. Mixed with a species of resin, and the
compound melted, a substance is obtained which is used in
India instead of pitch for calking the seams of boats and
ships.

Cocoa-nut oil has, of late years, found two new and
important uses; the one as a chief substitute for wax
in the manufacture of fine candles; the other as an

COCOA-NUTS. 231

excellent material for a fine quality of soap. It is also
often employed as a lamp-oil in European countries, as well
as in its native land ; and the cloth manufacturer and glass-
blower frequently prefer its use to that of olive oil.

In closing our account of the uses of the kernel of the
cocoa-nut, we must not forget to mention a custom which,
to us of more refined taste, is simply revolting, but which
to the Marquesans who practice it is highly enjoyable and
natural :

When the elder natives decide upon a grand " drinking
bout," they collect together all the boys in the neighbor-
hood and compel them to seat themselves around an im-
mense bowl ; they are then well supplied with the kernels
of cocoa-nuts, and set to work to masticate them. Each
mouthful, when well chewed up, is spit out into the bowl
until a sufficient quantity is accumulated. Then the boys
are dismissed, water is poured upon the masticated nut, the
mass thoroughly stirred up, and, after being allowed to
settle again, the elders assemble, and for the next few
hours enjoy themselves to the full of their bent.

Now for the shells of the cocoa-nut ; these are converted
into beads, drinking vessels, ladles, sugar basins, and
measures. They also afford fuel, and, when burned to
charcoal and mixed with lime, form a coloring matter for
the walls of houses.

The husk or fibrous pericarp of the nut, called coir (from
the Latin word cormm, the skin), is employed in various
ways as cordage ; it is, perhaps, most useful, and certainly
the best material yet known for cables, because of its great
elasticity and strength. Until chain cables were intro-
duced coir cables were universally used by all ships sailing
in Indian waters.

Coir is prepared by soaking the fiber in water for several
months, and then beating it upon a stone with a very

232 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS.

heavy weight ; the fibers are then twisted into yarn, from
which cordage of all sizes is manufactured. The natives
sew together with coir yarns the planks which compose
their boats. The ropes which anchor them and the sails
which give them the power of motion are made of the
same material ; nor does this, like hemp cordage, need to
be tarred, as the sea-water, ever friendly to the cocoa-palm,
improves rather than injures the coir fiber.

In Europe, as in Asia and America, this valuable fiber
is preferred to horse hair for stuffing beds, cushions, chairs,
and saddles, as it is indestructible, has no unpleasant
smell, and never harbors vermin.

Brooms, mats, rugs, and brushes are also manufactured
from coir, and in Ceylon the husk in its natural state with
the fiber attached forms a first-class scrubbing-brush all
ready for use.

Who will not "yield the palm" to the cocoa-nut tree as
the most royal, the most useful of its race, not excepting,
perhaps, even the honored date tree ?

For forty years or more this noble tree has thriven and
borne fruit among the Florida Keys, and here and there
on the mainlands of the southernmost portions of the State.

It is rather singular, therefore, that only within the last
three or four years has its culture come to be regarded as
among the commercial, not possibilities, but assurances of
our fair land; it is indeed "passing strange," and yet it
was the same with the orange and the pine-apple, and will
be with other resources now lying at our feet neglected or
unheeded in this wonderful country so full of unknown
possibilities.

As we have seen, the cocoa-nut palm requires the vicin-
ity of the sea to reach its highest perfection, and this
requisite is every where present in those portions of Flor-
ida whose climate is suitable to its growth.

COCOA-NUTS. 233

From the Caloosahatchee River on the Gulf of Mexico,
and Lake Worth on the Atlantic, the cocoa-nut belt ex-
tends southward, embracing all the numerous coast islands
or "Keys."

It is not, as many suppose, necessary that the salt spray
should literally lave the roots or trunk of the cocoa-nut,
but it is a fact that it needs salt air, and plenty of it, and
while it will grow one hundred miles or more from the sea,
it will not bear fruit ; the nearer its beloved friend, the
ocean, the more nearly perfection is attained.

The Florida nuts are fully equal in quality to any grown
elsewhere, and they possess a vast advantage over all others
in being so near the great United States market.

There is no doubt but that within the next few years all
the land in the State and on the Keys, suitable for cocoa-
nut culture, will be set in trees, and yet, when this is done,
so limited is the area convertible into cocoa-nut walks that
the whole number of trees is not likely greatly to exceed
one million, and consequently, the demand will always
exceed the home product.

The nuts are buried until they sprout, then transferred to
the field, and carefully planted where they are to remain ;
it is usual to make a hole two feet or more in depth, and
cover in the nut at the bottom, filling up level gradually,
as the young sprout pushes its way upward.

The Florida growers generally set the trees twenty feet
apart ; this is too close, and the time will come when the
roots will intermingle and rob each other of nutriment
and moisture, and then, to preserve the vigor of the rest,
some trees will have to be cut down as a sacrifice.

The tree generally begins to yield in six or seven years,
but not abundantly until it reaches its eighth or ninth year,
and then it continues to bear for seventy or eighty years.
In good soils, and especially in wet seasons, it will blos-

20

234 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS.

som every four or five weeks, so that there are usually
ripe nuts and blossoms in all stages on the tree at the same
time. From five to fifteen nuts form a bunch, and a thrifty
tree will produce from eighty to one hundred annually,
sometimes more, but this is the average.

The cocoa-nut palm likes good feeding and salt air to
drink, but further than this requires but little culture.

Like all who occupy elevated positions in this world the
cocoa-nut has its enemies, and formidable ones they are,
too.

One comes direct from the skies, and its name is light-
ning ; it frequently strikes these lofty trees, kills the ter-
minal bud, and hence the tree, for death to the one means
death to the other. The others are " of the earth, earthy."
One is a veritable bete noir, or "black beetle;" it exca-
vates a hole of about an inch in diameter, in the terminal-
leaf bud, and when the leaves expand they appear full of
holes, as though riddled with bullets, and the tree often
dies from the injury it has received. The larva or grub
of this bete noir is about three inches long, plump, and
round in proportion, and its head is black ; it is called tu-
cuma, in British Guiana, and is esteemed a great delicacy
by the epicures of that country. Usually it is served up
by frying in a pan, but many prefer it raw ; they seize it
by its black head, dip it in lime juice, and forthwith swal-
low it with great gusto.

Ugh ! Here is a nice, new dish for some of our Florida
growers ! Try it, somebody.

Another depredator among the cocoa-nut walks is the
rat, especially the black rat, which nests in trees, and is a
splendid climber ; so serious has this source of trouble be-
come in some parts of Jamaica, the rats destroying the
tender young nuts by thousands, that the Director of the
Public Gardens and Plantations has given the subject spe-

COCOA-NUTS. 235

cial attention, urged thereto by appeals from planters all
over the island, and below is what he has to say regarding
his investigations and search for a remedy :

' ' I have had reason to look upon the depredation by
rats in cocoa-nut trees as one of the most serious troubles
of the cocoa-nut planters. Numerous letters have been
addressed to me on the subject, and in addition to this I
estimated that at the Palisadoes plantation, under my
charge, the loss caused by rats among the cocoa-nuts
amounts to nearly £100 per annum.

"Dr. Ferguson, of Port Maria, reports the destruction
caused by rats on his extensive cocoa-nut walks as ' im-
mense,' and the subject has necessarily occupied his atten-
tion for some time, while numerous other correspondents
speak in similar terms.

"The question of protecting cocoa-nut trees from the
attacks of rats is therefore a matter of considerable impor-
tance, and with the view of contributing something toward
this end I have lately been in communication with cocoa-
nut planters in different parts of the island, and from the
replies received I select one or two which, as the result of
actual experience, will no doubt commend themselves to
careful consideration. This first of these replies is from
Mr. Joseph Shearer, Vale Royal, Duncan's P. O., and is
as follows:

" ' I got out, in 1882, 1,000 sheets galvanized iron 36x12
(they stood me, with cost and charges, £35 14s.), and 1,000
tin sheets 36x12, the cost of which was £28 7s. IQd.
Although dearer at first the zinc are preferable, as near
the sea the tin sheets soon become rusted. The rats were
so bad in the cocoa-nut walks where I used these sheets
that I reckoned they paid their cost fully the first year.
In putting them on I nailed them flat to the trees with two
or three sheathing nails in each. If the cocoa-nut trees

236 FLORIDA FRUITS — COCOA-NUTS.

are very close together a rat can go from one to the other
across the limbs, and great care should be observed that
there are no lacTders near by, such as a dry limb hanging
on the ground, or a mangrove twig, etc. close by, because
if there be any such the rat will get up the tree independ-
ently of using the trunk, and the zinc or tin sheets would
be of no use. It is a safeguard, if you can not isolate all the
trees, to at least isolate clumps, as now and again the rats
will find an opportunity of climbing. Care must be taken,
too, to dislodge the rats from the top before putting on the
tin sheets. The best thing I have found for this is sand-
wiches of bread and phosphoric paste deposited among the
roots and fronds/

"Mr. John Clark, Haughton Court, Lucca, writes:
'"The zinc sheets to protect cocoa-nut trees from rats
have been tried here with good results ; the rats that live
in the trees must first of all be driven out of the trees or
be poisoned ; the sheets must then be nailed round the tree,
simply flat against the stem, low enough in the case of
short trees so that the rats can not spring from the trunk
below the sheet on to a limb that may be hanging down
near the trunk, which they have been known to do. Rats
have been seen attempting to pass over the sheets and
failing.

" ' The sheets are zinc, forty-two inches by twelve inches,

and apparently one thirty-second inch thick, and cost about

eight pence each in London. Tin sheets last no time, and

are not to be thought of. The nails for putting them on

are ordered as fivepenny galvanized shingling nails.'

"Father Woollett, Reading, writes as follows:

" 'I have, here at Reading, used tin bands to prevent

rats from climbing cocoa-nut trees, and with very good

effect ; but I regret to say that, owing to the neglect of

repairing damaged bands, the rats have recovered posses-

COCOA-NUTS. 237

si on of the trees. The bands were so fixed that the lower
part opened out trumpet-shaped, the advantage of which
must be apparent. The cost of each tin, including the
fixing it on the tree, was 9d. Each tree was well cleared
of rats previously to fixing the tin on it, and a supply of
poison left for the benefit of any skulkers. Probably zinc
would be better than tin, stronger, and not so easily dam-
aged by weather.'

"Dr. Ferguson, Port Maria, recommends the use of
* strips of galvanized iron in the form of an inverted fun-
nel, or even horizontal and kept in a position by wedges
of wood/ and as another idea suggests the use of ' two
semi-circles of earthen-ware tiles fastened by wire in holes
at the ends of the tiles. Such tiles, one half inch thick
and four or five inches broad, could be made by stamping
them out of clay in a press.'

"It is very probable that Mr. Shearer and Mr. Clark's
plans, which require only galvanized iron (not tin) sheets
thirty-six inches by twelve inches, and fastened perpendic-
ularly on the trees by means of a couple of sheathing nails
will commend itself for general adoption. These sheets
cost, it will be noticed, delivered on the estate, at the rate
of £35 14s. per thousand. This is a large sum to expend
at once on cocoa-nut trees, but the bands are required only
for bearing trees, and I quite agree with Mr. Shearer that
where the depredations by rats are really bad, the sheets
will pay for themselves during the first year."

As to the profits of a cocoa-nut walk, they are great
enough to satisfy the most exacting, once the trees are
fairly in bearing.

At this present time, and for several years back, the
nuts have brought, by the cargo, delivered in New York,
seventy-five dollars a thousand for the first quality, rang-
ing down to twenty dollars for poorer grades.

238 FLORIDA FRUITS — OTHER TROPICAL FRUITS.

CHAPTER XXIII.

OTHER TROPICAL FRUITS.

Among the many other fruits of South Florida fast
rising into prominence, first and foremost stands the

• • MANGO.

This is a large, spreading tree like the walnut, with lan-
ceolate leaves, green and shiny, seven or eight inches
long, and having a sweet, resinous smell; the flowers are
white and grow in bunches at the ends of the branches.
The fruit bears considerable resemblance to a short, thick
cucumber, and taking the average of all the varieties,
" whose name is legion," is about the size of a goose egg.

Some, when ripe, are of a beautiful green, others are
orange color. When thoroughly mature, ripe, but not
overripe, the mango is as delicious a fruit as one need
wish to taste, but let it become in the least degree de-
cayed, and oh ! what a transformation.

The writer has a very vivid recollection of one such
eaten — nay, tasted — on the Isthmus of Panama ; a mixt-
ure of tow and turpentine would be the nearest approach
to the delicious flavor and stringy texture of that mango.
It had probably not only "seen better days," but was also
one of those inferior seedlings which appear now and then
as "sports," although, as a rule, the seed of the mango
yields fine fruit.

This seed is a rather large stone, something like that of
the peach, to which the pulp adheres firmly ; the fruit is
very perishable, and so is the vegetative power of the
seed, and when they are to be sent to any distance they
should be carefully wrapped in wax.

THE AVACADO. 239

The mango is a native of Asia and its islands, and also
of Brazil, but the former are considered as superior both
in size and flavor.

So highly esteemed are some of the finer trees in India,
that guards are placed over them during the fruiting sea-
son ; especially is this the case with the Mazagong mangoes,
the most superior of all.

The mango dodol is the largest of all the many varie-
ties, the fruit being the size of a large shaddock, and
weighing over two pounds. This tree loves high, dry,
sandy soil, and moderate fertilizing ; it grows rapidly and
bears at three years old ; the fruit, where a market can be
quickly reached, finds ready and profitable sale, but will
not bear shipping on long or rough journeys unless picked
very green.

The Florida mango of the Gulf coast is at present mar-
keted chiefly in Key West and New Orleans. It is not as
yet extensively planted, but its area is yearly extending,
so far as the limited area possible for its growth will al-
low; it will not bear frost, and by " frost" we mean here,
as elsewhere in this work, a degree of temperature which
will produce even a thin film of ice.

THE AVACADO

(Pronounced ah-guah-cahta),

Often, but erroneously, called the alligator pear; it is
not a pear at all, and has nothing in common with that
fruit except, perhaps, in shape and size; another name
frequently given it is " Vegetable Marrow."

The tree, which is a handsome one, attains to the size of
an apple tree ; the leaves are oblong, the flowers of a yel-
lowish-green color, and the fruit, which sometimes weighs
two pounds or more, is regarded as one of the most deli-
cious in the world.

240 FLORIDA FRUITS — OTHER TROPICAL FRUITS.

It co ii tains one large seed or kernel ; the flavor of the
fruit surpasses that of the finest muskmelon, and on ac-
count of its rich, marrow-like, vegetable texture, is usually
eaten with pepper and salt, or lime juice mixed with sugar.

There are three varieties of the avacado, the red, pur-
ple, and green, the latter being most highly esteemed.

This tree is counted among the purely tropical fruits ;
but this is, in some degree, a mistake. It has been suc-
cessfully raised, without injury from even severe frosts, as
far north as Palatka, and this fact should be more widely
known.

As simply a shade tree the avacado is beautiful, but
when to this is added the fact of a bountiful yield of fruit,
which sells readily at from six to eight cents a pound, or,
at the lowest, by the dozen at seventy-five cents, that the
tree will easily yield one thousand pounds annually, and
that it begins to bear when five years from the seed, it will
be seen that this is destined to become one of Florida's
favorites, so soon as its high qualities are better known.
The fruit ripens from August to October.

Other fruits there are in abundance which will yet
become known as "Florida fruits," but at this present
writing are not sufficiently established or cultivated to be
of any commercial importance, although of no little value
to those whose location allows their culture.

The field for experiment is wide, and we hope to see it
thoroughly tilled, not only by private enterprise but under
the more effectual direction of both our State authorities
and the General Government.

GRAPES. 241

CHAPTER XXIV.

GRAPES.

Many varieties of grapes have been tested, and tested
satisfactorily, in Florida, but foremost among them all
ranks the Bullace or Vitis vulpina family, native grapes of
Southern origin, which, owing to their late blooming and
late ripening, will not succeed north of the more southern
portions of Virginia.

It is a curious fact that while the several members of
this family vary greatly in the quality of their fruit, even
in the wild state, this is the only difference that can be de-
tected in them : All the cultivated and all the wild varie-
ties are alike in leaf, bloom, and general habits, the only
perceptible difference, apart from the fruit, being that the
white sorts have pale green tendrils, and the purple kinds
purple tendrils.

The whole habit and manner of growth of the Vitis vul-
pina family is so entirely unlike that of any other grape
in cultivation, that the rules generally applied to grape
culture are here at fault.

Most grapes root with ease from cuttings, but the Bui-
lace varieties do not, their wood being so dense and com-
pact that it is almost impossible to get cuttings to strike ;
consequently the vines are propagated by layers, and where
a large number are desired, certain vines are set apart for
this purpose alone. These are kept cut back almost to the
stump, only short shoots, with four or five eyes or buds
are left ; this is done in the fall or in the spring. The
shoots, which are very numerous, are allowed to grow
until June, by which time they have attained a length of
five or six feet ; then the leaves are all stripped off from

21

242 FLORIDA FRUITS — GRAPES.

the lower part, and the shoots gathered up in bunches of
six or eight ; a hole is made near their junction with the
stump ; a handful or two of rich compost or thoroughly
rotted stable manure, incorporated in the soil to be filled
in, then the vines are bent down into the hole, the earth
firmly packed in on them, the ends left out turned slightly
upward, and the work is done. During the summer the
weeds must be kept down, and the ground kept slightly
moist, not wet. By November the layers are ready to be
lifted and set out, either in their nursery or in their per-
manent places; they will be found fully supplied with
strong, thrifty roots. One good, large stump thus de-
voted to propagation, will in one season furnish from fifty
to a hundred layers. These layers may be set out at any
time while dormant, and this, of course, is during the win-
ter and early spring months.

They should not be set closer than twenty-five feet to
each other in any direction, and if the land is very rich
not closer than thirty feet. This may seem very far apart
while the vines are young, but wait awhile and see, and if
the holes where they are planted are well manured before
setting out you will " see" all the sooner.

Cut back the vines as they are planted, so that no more
than three or four eyes or buds are left, and drive down a
stout stake alongside of each, so that it stands fully six
feet out of the ground.

Watch the young vines carefully and pinch off all of
the lateral shoots, a few at a time, so as not to check the
growth of the main stem, which is the object of your care.
This must be tied to the stake as it grows until, at the end
of its first season, it should have reached the top, a single,
stout, clean stem.

Before spring comes again a canopy should be prepared ;
four perpendicular posts, six feet high (out of the ground)

GRAPES. 243

and ten or twelve feet apart with slatted top, will suffice
for the second season's growth, and each season, as the vine
spreads, the canopy must be spread also to meet its increas-
ing requirements.

It is a fact to be noted and heeded, especially by the
Northern settler* who thinks he * ' knows all about grapes,"
that the Bullace family will not do well at all spread out
on the perpendicular arbors usual at the North, and indeed
every where, for most other varieties of grapes. They must
emphatically be kept spread out uniformly on this horizon-
tal canopy, and not permitted to overlap and crowd ; if
they are, the fruit production is lessened and deteriorated ;
also the trunk for six feet up must be relentlessly shorn of
all lateral branches.

It has often been said that the Bullace grapes do not
need pruning ; and this is quite true in the sense in which
other grapes need it. This difference is owing to the fact
that in the Bullace or Vitis vulpina family all the eyes or
buds, that in other vines lie dormant, unless forced into
activity by pruning, start out of themselves, thus causing
a more even, uniform growth over the whole vine ; some-
times, when the vine is very vigorous, the branches over-
lap and crowd, and in these cases the Bullace vines need
pruning to the extent of cutting out the feebler stems.
We have often heard and known of persons "bleeding to
death," but it is not often that this happens to a denizen of
the vegetable world.

Until very recently all nurserymen and growers held
that there was no remedy for preventing Bullace grape-
vines from literally bleeding to death if any considerable
limbs were cut or broken during those months when the
sap is flowing freely in the spring and summer. Such is
the tremendous force of the circulation of the sap, that
the wound thus made has no time to heal over like that of

244 FLORIDA FRUITS — GRAPES.

an ordinary plant, but the sap flows out, drop by drop,
until the vine dies for want of nutriment. Recently, how-
ever, one of those happy accidents, by which so many dis-
coveries are made, revealed a remedy, certain, and easy of
application. A strong, thrifty vine having been burned by
its frame catching fire, the owner cut it back to about
eighteen inches from the ground. The vine at once began
to bleed, and its death must have speedily followed had he
not bethought him of charring the cut end ; a lighted
torch was applied, but for a day afterward the sap con-
tinued to drip, though slowly; by another charring the
cure was completed and the vine saved.

The vine, if it has grown with its usual vigor and thrift,
should bear the second year from the layer — that is, the
first season on the canopy; of course it does not bear
very heavily, it has as yet neither root nor branch enough
to make much of a crop, but with each year's growth the
yield increases rapidly.

Old vines frequently bear thirty bushels of grapes, and
in vineyards of fifteen to twenty years' standing, single
vines often yield from fifty to seventy-five bushels.

A bushel of grapes, weighing about sixty pounds, yields
three to four gallons of wine, and from the pomace that
remains after expressing the juice no inconsiderable amount
of vinegar can be made.

The following are the several varieties of the Bullace or
Vitis vulpina grapes.

SCUPPERNONG.

Bunches seldom composed of more than eight or ten
grapes ; grapes large, round, bronze color when fully ripe ;
skin thick, flesh pulpy ; very vinous, sweet, and of a pe-
culiar musky aroma ; exceedingly pleasant and refreshing.

Matures from middle to end of August. Fruit has
never been known to decay before maturity. Vine is free

GRAPES. 245

from attacks of insects or disease ; gives a certain crop an-
nually ; is very prolific, and rapidly becoming popular as
a wine grape. Makes an excellent sweet wine, resembling
Muscat, and when properly manipulated produces a fine,
sparkling wine.

THOMAS.

Bunches of six to eight grapes; grapes oblong, large,
light violet color, quite transparent; pulp tender, sweet,
of a peculiar vinous flavor ; quality superior to any of its
type ; has but little musky aroma, and makes a superior
red wine. Matures middle to end of August.

FLOWERS.

Bunches of from fifteen to twenty-five grapes, which are
almost black, and sweet, vinous flavor. Matures end of
September to middle of October.

TENDER PULP.

An improved seedling of the Flowers. Grapes large,
very sweet ; pulp tender. Matures end of September.

PEEDEE.

Resembling the above, except that the grapes are light
colored, like the Scuppernong.

These are all of the Bullace family. Other grapes that
have so far been successful in Florida are :

CONCORD.

Bunches large, berries very large; blue-black, with
bloom ; skin thin ; pulp juicy ; a beautiful market variety ;
rampant grower and good bearer. Ripens middle of July.

246 FLORIDA FRUITS — GRAPES.

DELAWARE.

Bunches medium, red or pink; skin very thin; pulp
very slight ; juicy, vinous, and most delicate table grape ;
very prolific bearer. Ripens about middle of July.

CLINTON.

Bunches medium, berries large, black, vinous, and very
refreshing ; makes a delicious claret wine. Ripens middle
of July.

DIANA.

Bunches large, compact, berries large; reddish lilac;
little pulp, sweet ; very productive.

HARTFORD PROLIFIC.

Bunches large, berries large, blue ; flesh pulpy, musky,
sweet; prolific bearer and fine grower. Ripens early in
June.

GOETHE (ROGER'S NO. 1).

Large ; greenish yellow, turning pink at full maturity ;
very sweet, vinous, and of well-defined aroma; excellent,
and is a reliable bearer. Ripens in August.

WILDER (ROGER'S NO. 4).

Very large; blue-black; very fine, and a thoroughly
reliable bearer. Ripens in August.

MRS. M'CLURE.

A cross between Peter Wylie and Clinton, foliage and
growth resembling the Clinton ; very vigorous ; bunch and
berry medium size ; white, and of excellent quality.

PETER WYLIE.

Vine vigorous, short pointed ; holds its foliage till fall ;
bunches alone medium, shouldered, loose ; berries medium,

GRAPES. 247

round, white, transparent; golden yellow at maturity;
flesh melting, vinous, delicate, Muscat flavor; quality
best ; best flavored white grape ever grown in the South.

Ripens in July.

BERCKMAN'S

Holds foliage till frost ; bunches large, berries above me-
dium ; reddish pink ; first quality. Ripens in July.

These are all native grapes of the foreign varieties.
Black Hamburg, Black Prince, and Chasselas Blanc or
White Sweet Water have been tried and "not found
wanting," especially the former.

In fact, there is no doubt that Florida is destined to be
a great grape country, both for raisin-making and for the
production of wine. The grape loves a warm, dry, sunny
soil, more especially a sandy loam, and this Florida can
give almost over her whole surface.

Here, as well as elsewhere, one of the greatest difficul-
ties the grape grower has to contend with is the pilfering
of the numerous birds. Covering the several bunches
with paper or cheese-cloth bags is a method often resorted
to for protection, but this is a very tedious process. An-
other is to pass strings across the tops of the vines, birds
will not alight under them.

Still another, and a very effectual way to save the grapes
from the feathered robbers, is so to train the vines on hori-
zontal canopies that the dense mass of foliage on top will
shield the fruit below ; the birds then can not reach it, for
they will never fly up from beneath the canopy.

Yet another and very effective method for protecting,
not only grapes, but all fruit, is one invented by a poor
East India native, who little expected its fame would ever
travel beyond the limits of his humble field.

An empty bottle, a string, a cork, and a nail — these are

248 FLORIDA FRUITS — GRAPES.

all the materials required. The bottom of the bottle is cut
off by a heated wire being drawn along a file mark ; then
the string is passed through the cork in the mouth of the
bottle, its lower end, with a nail (or small stone) tied to
it, hanging about two thirds of the way down to the lower
part of the bottle ; this, you will see at once converts the
latter into a bell, the nail being the clapper; the bottle
must now be hung up on a twig of the plant to be pro-
tected, either by a continuation of the clapper string, or,
which is much better, by a wire passed around the neck
of a bottle. The least breeze causes this novel bell to
tinkle, and a number of them, placed here and there in
an orchard or vineyard, will effectually frighten away the
birds, and preserve the fruit from their ravages.

Another enemy we have to contend against is the leaf-
roller, which devours the young leaves, and thus prevents
the fruit from maturing. The following is claimed to be
about the only effectual method of destroying them :

To ten pounds of flour mix enough petroleum to reduce
it to a thin liquid, no lumps ; then add one pound of bo-
rax and a half pound of sulphate of iron. Apply with a
spray fountain pump ; a light application will answer the
purpose, the lighter the better. A fine, frost-like coating
will be left on the leaves, protecting them from other in-
sects as well as the leaf-roller. This emulsion is excellent
for the trunks of trees, and, diluted with whale-oil suds,
for spraying young trees.

In picking grapes to send to market great care must be
taken not to handle the bunch itself, as this will rub off
the bloom, which lends so attractive an appearance to the
grapes ; the stem only should be held in the hand.

Five-pound boxes, not larger than these, are the proper
size for packing them in; they are very cheap, and are
made either of very thin pieces of wood or of stiff paste-

GRAPES. 249

board. The grapes must be laid in carefully, shaken
lightly to make them pack firmly, and filled even with
the top. The boxes thus prepared are placed in larger
boxes, and are then ready for shipment.

When grapes are properly handled in picking, so that
they are not broken or bruised, they may be kept for
months by the following simple process :

Nail cleats on the inside of nice, clean boxes, about an
inch from the top, and between them, on the inside of the
top of the box, nail bars, made of two strips of wood
placed one on the other, the lower one the widest, so that
there will be a ledge on each side of the narrower center
strip.

Let the grapes hang on the vines as late as possible, and
then cut the bearing shoot so that the bunch of grapes will
lie in the center ; cut the shoot to fit so that it will slide in
by a tight fit on the bars, one end resting on a ledge of
each ; this will hang the bunches in their natural position,
allowing the air to circulate freely all around them. Put
the cover on the box (loose), and place the latter in as
cool a place as you can find ; remove the cover now and
then and examine the bunches, taking off any dried or
decaying berries.

250 FLORIDA FRUITS — CHINESE SAND PEARS.

CHAPTER XXV.

CHINESE SAND PEARS.

All over the North, wherever pears are grown, there
has of late years prevailed a dire disease, mysterious in its
cause, mysterious as to its remedies, and plain and certain
only in one respect, that of the destruction of pear grow-
ing as a profitable market fruit. Whole orchards of thou-
sands and tens of thousands of trees have gone down be-
fore the dread disease, and their owners have abandoned
the pear-growing business in despair.

For years it seemed as if this delicious fruit must be
numbered among the things of the past, but for the ad-
vent of that for which our horticulturists had been largely
hoping, an entire new race of pears, with all the health
and vigor of the wonderful pears of China, and free from
the dreaded "blight" and all other diseases so destructive
to those which may now be termed our native varieties.

In China the pear trees reckon their lives by as many
centuries as ours by decades, and are never attacked by
disease. This sturdy race of pears has been acclimated in
the United States by half a century of trial, and in all
that time not a single Chinese pear has been touched by
blight or any other disease.

Happily, it has also been shown that these pears, unlike
the majority of the more familiar sorts, are especially
adapted to the Southern States, particularly to Georgia
and Florida.

As yet there are not many varieties of these pears, all
of the sand pears now on the market having sprung from
the original Le Conte, but this is a fault that will soon be
mended, for all over the land enterprising horticulturists

CHINESE SAND PEARS. 251

are experimenting in hybridizing the China sand pears
with our old valued varieties; that is, taking the pollen
from the blossoms of our best dessert pears, and impregnat-
ing with it the blossoms of the healthy, hardy Eastern
sorts.

Trees grown from the seeds of pears thus impregnated
have retained the same degree of health and vigor and
freedom from disease that belonged to the mother tree,
while the fruit they bear is as large, handsome, and deli-
cious as that of the home variety which was selected to be
the male parent, which is usually the Bartlett. And of
such excellent keeping qualities are these newly-created
pears that they may be, and have been, shipped to Europe
as freely and successfully as apples.

This race of blight-proof pears is one of remarkably
rapid growth and intense thrift and vigor. The trees
grow readily from cuttings, and, if well cared for, will
bear in three years from the date of rooting.

Their value is greatly enhanced by their power of adap-
tation to circumstances, for they will thrive on sandy soil
or in clay, in dry lands or in moister situations, although
they should never be planted in places more than moist —
wet. They like a rich soil, and respond generously to lib-
eral feeding. As all pear trees need a good supply of
water when fruiting, they should be heavily mulched dur-
ing this period, if set out on lands subject to drought. One
point must, however, be borne in mind; these pears, on
quince stock, will not do well in Florida.

All the sand pears are naturally symmetrical in shape,
and very ornamental, needing little pruning, save the re-
moval of dead branches from time to time.

That the Chinese race of pears is destined to become one
of the staple productions of Florida, as it is already of
Georgia, we have no doubt. It has only been three or

252 FLORIDA FRUITS — CHINESE SAND PEARS.

four years since this fruit first began to attract the atten-
tion of Florida fruit growers, and already orchards of five
to twenty acres of Le Conte pears are being planted here
and there over the State by far-seeing men, whose energy
(and means) are equal to their faith.

From all parts of Florida reports are beginning to come
in of the successful fruiting of the few trial trees set out,
and before long pear orchards will be no uncommon sight.
In some localities they will rival the orange in number and
importance.

At present the Le Conte is the one Chinese sand pear
most generally known, because it was the first to be intro-
duced, and from it the other varieties have originated —
some just from the seed, some just as the Le Conte itself
originated, from an accidental hybridizing with the Bart-
lett pear — and of course some years necessarily elapsed be-
fore these new sorts could be fruited, or be sufficiently
proven to be placed upon the market as distinct varieties.
Meantime the Le Conte was winning its way to the front
rank and becoming widely known. There are now other
pears, however, originating from it, as the mother tree,
that are destined to surpass it in public favor as soon as
their great merits are generally known. Among these the
Kieffer Hybrid, as we shall presently see, stands pre-emi-
nent. The history of these several varieties of the Chi-
nese sand pears is as follows :

THE LE CONTE.

Over forty years ago Major John Le Conte purchased a
lot of fruit trees from a New York nurseryman, and
among them was one labeled "Chinese Sand Pear." He
was told that this tree was of no value, as the fruit would
not mature in this country. The Major, however, carried
it to Liberty County, Ga., where it "waxed exceeding

CHINESE SAND

strong," grew into a tall, beautiful tree, and soon began to
bear a large, fine fruit, excellent for cooking, for preserv-
ing, and for dessert.

Major Le Conte had presented this tree to Mrs. Harden,
and after its true nature had been thus revealed, a friend
of the latter, Major Varnadoe, secured a cutting and
started the second Le Conte pear tree in Georgia, but just
then came our terrible civil war and the tree was neglected.
Peace restored, the Major turned back to his old project
again of propagating this grand tree on a large scale, and
when he moved to Thomas County, Ga., in 1869, he car-
ried with him a great quantity of these cuttings, and from
the young trees that resulted from these was inaugurated
what has already proved to be in Georgia, and will soon
prove to be in Florida, a veritable " bonanza."

The oldest growers of the Chinese sand pear race have
yet to meet with a single case of blight, or other disease,
or defective fruit.

The Le Conte pear roots with extreme ease, if kept
slightly moist while rooting, and grows off afterward with
great rapidity, frequently attaining a height of thirty feet
in seven years, with limbs twenty feet long bending to the
ground under their weight of delicious fruit, until such a
tree, fully fruited, resembles a weeping willow, so far as
its branches are concerned. The general shape of the tree
is that of a cone, and is very handsome.

It is of unexampled prolificacy, it being no uncommon
thing for a tree to bear from four to six bushels of fruit
at its first bearing, and at its fourth year to yield twenty
bushels of fine, marketable pears.

They ripen about the first to the middle of July, more
than a month before the earliest of all other pears, and
hence always "skim the cream" of the markets. Major
Varnadoe, a year or two ago, received ten dollars a bushel

254 FLORIDA FRUITS — CHINESE SAND PEARS.

for his first shipment; the usual net price, however, is
from five dollars to six dollars a bushel.

It is a peculiar feature of this pear that it perfects not
only one crop in one season, but sometimes partially ma-
tures a second before the first is all marketed.

The pears are picked before they are fully ripe, and
then spread out on one blanket and covered by another.
This ripens them evenly and gives a rich, golden color,
which makes them as pleasing to the eye as they are to the
palate, for the Le Conte, be it known, is a fine-flavored,
juicy, aromatic fruit.

The tree has no "off years," but gives continual crops
year after year. The original tree, in Liberty County,
Ga. , is the greatest bearing pear tree known ; has never
missed a crop, and has yielded at one picking thirty-nine
bushels of large, smooth, marketable pears.

Another thing that extremely enhances the value of this
remarkable fruit, in a commercial sense, is its unusual
keeping qualities. The Le Conte is one of the best, if
not the very best, shipping pear that the world has ever
produced, excepting only its own offspring, as we are
about to note.

KIEFFER'S HYBRID.

In the year 1868 Peter Kieffer, of Philadelphia, planted
a quantity of seeds of a Chinese sand pear in his garden.
One of the seedlings thus raised proved to be the bearer
of a new variety of pear, and one of exceeding merit in
every respect. This seedling commenced bearing in the
year 1873, five years from germination of the seed, and
has borne full crops every year since, the quantity steadily
increasing with the bearing surface of the tree. In the
fall of 1877 it yielded four bushels, the next eight, and so
up to the present season the yield has gone 041 steadily in-
creasing.

CHINESE SAND PEARS. 255

Wherever the Kieifer Hybrid has been exhibited it has
taken the first prize as the best blight-proof hybrid seed-
ling, and in the markets it always commands a higher
price than any others. The fruit is large, measuring from
ten to twelve inches around ; is double turbinate in shape,
pointed at both ends; flesh white, and remarkably firm
until it ripens, then it is juicy, rich, with a pleasant vinous
flavor, .and of best quality.

It is a splendid keeper, and can be shipped to markets
a month or so distant, arriving in better order than when
it started, ripening on the way. It does not rot until very
ripe, and remains sound at the core to the very last. The
fruit is a rich yellow, tinged with red, and very attractive.
The tree is very ornamental, an early bearer, commencing
to fruit at two or three years, and is enormously productive
as it grows older. It is also a very strong grower ; young
trees planted in the spring often making a growth during
the summer of four to five feet. It grows well in any ordi-
nary soil, whether heavy clay or light sand, but does its
best on the latter, hence is peculiarly adapted to Florida.
The fruit commences to ripen in July, and continues
through November.

At the International Exhibition in Philadelphia, in
1876, the Centennial Commission gave to P. Kieffer a
prize medal and certificate of award, for "originating a
hybrid pear of remarkable excellence, between the pear
of culture and a Chinese sand pear, giving promise of a
new race of pears of great excellence."

GARBER'S HYBRID.

This is the best of many seedlings of the Chinese sand
pear, raised by Mr. J. B. Garber, of Pennsylvania. The
tree is fine, healthy, and vigorous, like all that spring from
this hardy source. The fruit is of good size, measuring

256 FLORIDA FRUITS — CHINESE SAND PEARS.

nine inches around, and is much flatter and rounder than
the Le Conte or Kieffer. Its color is greenish-yellow when
ripe, with a red blush on one side ; stem is slender, of me-
dium length ; flesh firm, coarse-grained, juicy, with a pe-
culiar, pleasant flavor. It ripens well and evenly, and is
of excellent quality and a good shipper. Ripens in Sep-
tember.

COCKLIN'S SHA-LEA.

This pear is the best of two thousand Chinese sand pear
seedlings, raised by E. H. Cocklin, of Pennsylvania, and
is not a "sport," but undoubtedly an accidental hybrid
between the above pear and a Bartlett tree, which grew
near that from which the seeds were obtained.

The seedling commenced to fruit in 1873, when five
years old, and has borne full crops every year since, bear-
ing in 1877 eight bushels of fine, marketable pears. The
fruit is remarkably handsome, smooth, high-colored, and
beautiful. The skin is yellow with a bright-red blush on
one side ; medium size, measuring ten inches around and
twelve inches lengthwise ; stem long, calyx small ; shape,
double turbinate; flesh white, crisp, firm, and of good
quality.

This pear, from its handsome shape, fine color, and other
good qualities, has already become a prime favorite in the
market, selling readily at six dollars per bushel when
pears of the older varieties are selling at one third that
price. The fruit begins to ripen in October and continues
through November, just when pears are scarce and high.

These three new-comers in the family of Chinese sand
pears, Kieffer's Hybrid, Garber's Hybrid, and Cocklin's
Sha-Lea, are destined to secure as firm a foothold in our
Southern pear orchards as their mother tree, the original
China sand Or Le Conte pear has already done. Very few

CHINESE SAND PEARS. 257

pears grown on any of these trees prove to be unfit for
market, but any that should be so could be readily utilized
by drying them, just as we have recommended the surplus
guavas to be treated.

In handling pears for market it must be borne in mind
that they are a delicate fruit, and require tender treatment,
a bruise being ruin. They should be picked when fully
matured, but before they are ripe, to insure safe carriage.
To hasten the ripening process they should be spread on
paper or blankets, and covered with the same, in a moist
air. To retard the ripening, keep the fruit uncovered in a
dry air, and as near 40° temperature as possible. In pack-
ing remember that pears absorb odors with great readiness,
and therefore always pack them in clean barrels or boxes.
Never use "fruit baskets," they are not firm enough;
either pack in slat boxes or in barrels with plenty of holes
bored in them for ventilation.

Pears are not elastic like apples, therefore must not be
packed down so tightly. When the point of destination
is very distant, the sides, top, and bottom of box or barrel
should be lined with paper, straw, or some other soft, dry
material.

Separate the different sizes and qualities, just as with
oranges or lemons, and place them always on their blossom
ends. Pack just tight enough to keep the fruit from mov-
ing about. The French gardeners are justly celebrated
for their success in packing pears for distant markets, and
this is how they do it :

They pack their pears, carefully picked and handled, in
small boxes, covering the sides and bottom with dry moss,
or soft, dry paper, as we do oranges, and pack in layers,
the largest and primest specimens at the bottom, and fill
in the interstices with dry moss or paper. In this way
every pear is held firm in its place, and no one pear can
press another. 22

258 FLORIDA FRUITS — FIGS.

CHAPTEE XXVI.

FIGS.

This fruit is destined to become one of the staples of
Florida. It is of quick and easy growth, and particularly
adapted to both soil and climate ; but up to the present
time its culture has been carelessly conducted, and but
little pains have been taken by the nurserymen of the
State to introduce those varieties especially suited for com-
mercial purposes, namely, those that are light-colored, and
therefore the best when dried for market, and those that
that are superior as table fruit.

Gustav Eisen, of Fresno, California, tells us that the
following conditions are highly favorable to fig culture :

" 1. Abundance of moisture in the soil before the figs
begin to ripen.

1 1 2. Good and perfect drainage at any and all times.

' * 3. The gradual drying of the soil when the fruit is
ripening.

" 4. Sufficient heat to insure sweetness in the figs.

"5. Absence of any frost lower than 18° Fahr., though
figs can stand 12° if they are tolerably dormant.

" 6. Absence of heavy rains during the maturing of the
fruit.

"Again, the following conditions are more or less injuri-
ous to fig trees, if the object is to procure good fruit for
drying or the table :

" 1. A wet soil, sour from stagnant water, during the
fruiting season.

" 2. Cess-pools, sewers, and ditches in so close proximity
that the trees can send their roots to them.

"3. Heavy and repeated showers of rain during the

FIGS. 259

maturing of the fruit. Some figs are not much affected
by this ; some, however, will spoil, crack, and sour.

' ' If, with these conditions favorable, a proper site for the
orchard is selected, no great difficulty will be encountered
in setting out and caring for the trees. In planting, how-
ever, great care should be exercised in shading the roots
from the sun and wind. Figs are more apt to get hurt
from exposure to sun and wind than almost any other fruit
tree, and if the roots once have become perfectly dried, it
is generally difficult to get the trees started.

" The proper distance apart to set the trees is dependent
upon circumstances. Heavy growing varieties should be
planted twenty-five to fifty feet apart ; if the former, every
other tree may be cut out when the trees grow too large.
In the meantime a profitable crop has been for years se-
cured from each. If set twenty-five feet away we believe
ten years will elapse before any necessary cutting has to
be done.

" The head of the fig tree should be started not over two
feet from the ground, and at that height the tree should
be allowed to branch out freely, thus to form a low, spread-
ing crown. On such low trees the fruit is easy to pick,
the stem is kept cool, while the crown of the tree receives
the maximum of sun. High-stemmed fruit trees are an
abomination and not profitable, if fruit is the object. We
do not refer now to fruit trees for shade or for avenues, as
such trees may be given any shape desired.

" The priming of a fig orchard is a very light job, simply
because no regular pruning, as practiced and necessary for
other fruit trees, is here needed. Here and there a branch
may be cut out or a dead limb taken away, but no stopping
of branches is required, though it would not prove absq-
lutely detrimental to the tree.

''The sweet but deceptive expectation, that, when an

260 FLORIDA FRUITS — FIGS.

orchard or vineyard once is planted, the owner may lay in
his easy chair and wait for the fruit to ripen without any
further trouble or labor, can alone be referred to the fig.
We know of no other fruit tree that needs so little care,
or, in fact, demands to be left alone as does the fig ; even
the constant plowing of the soil, so much needed in other
fruit plantations, is here even a disadvantage. Figs should
be left alone; keep the weeds away and nothing more.
One plowing is enough, provided the trees are in the proper
soil; two would injure the trees. The fig has any quantity
of surface roots, and if these are disturbed the trees will
suffer. Figs which are never plowed produce as fine fruit
as those cultivated with care. While other trees cry for
constant care, the fig trees beg to be left alone ; they are
fully able to care for themselves."

It is with the fig in its natural state much as it is with
guavas, the taste for each must be acquired, but when once
attained is very strong. In Europe the people are trained
from childhood to like the fresh fig ; it is seen on the hotel
tables as a dessert fruit whenever it is in season, and fresh
or stewed, even more than dried, it forms an important
part of the food of the masses.

It is a mild laxative, and hence particularly wholesome
for a warm climate, and to this fact the inhabitants of
Southern Europe are fully alive. It should be the same
in America, and would be if more care were taken to place
the best sorts on the markets.

Wherever fresh figs are offered for sale in the United
States, the largest and coarsest kinds only are sought for,
and it is very amusing to those who know better, to see a
customer pass scornfully by a lot of fine, delicate-flavored,
but small fruit, and purchase a larger, more showy kind,
not one half so palatable or rich.

The people are not yet educated to a proper appreciation

FIGS. 261

of figs, and it is the fault of the producers that this is the
case. The public are always ready to seize upon a good
article, when it is made known to them as such. So long
as the fruit growers exercise so little care and wisdom as to
plant inferior sorts of figs, because they are larger than the
more delicate kinds, just so long will the people care little
for them in their fresh state, not knowing how excellent a
fruit they might have.

Let the fruit growers of Florida and California set out
the small, finely flavored varieties of figs, and there will
soon be a demand throughout the country for all that they
can raise.

It is true, as urged by the former, that the coarser kinds,
such as the Brown Turkey, Mission, and Brunswick, are
hardier and easier to raise than the others ; but there are
many localities in both the great fig-growing States, Flor-
ida and California — in fact, through all the length and
breadth of the former — where the finer and more delicate
sorts could be raised without the least danger of loss by
frost. Let our growers try it, and they will soon find that
the fig is one of the most profitable fruits that can be
placed on the general markets, either fresh, preserved, or
dried.

Already here and there in Florida a few wide-awake, en-
terprising men are establishing factories, where limes, figs,
m oranges, citrons, guavas, and any other fruits that can be
obtained, are being prepared for market in the shape of
pickles, preserves, dried fruits, jellies, marmalades, and
wines. The only trouble is that they can not procure
enough material to keep them busy, except in the one
item of oranges, the others not yet being raised in suffi-
ciently large quantities.

For instance, this past year, at St. Augustine, Mr. S. B.
Vails, during the height of the fig season, preserved about

262 FLORIDA FRUITS — FIGS.

sixty bushels of that fruit daily ; but the supply was soon
exhausted, and in the quaint old city the people complained
because there were no fresh figs left for them to purchase
for home use ; thousands of bushels more could have been
sold in this one place alone, with great profit to the grow-
ers. It was the same with limes and guavas ; the factories
were compelled to close for want of material to operate on,
and yet there are thousands of acres of land suitable for
the culture of these valuable fruits still unoccupied.

The fig-tree grows very readily from cuttings, and this
is the most satisfactory way to start a fig orchard : plant
the cuttings deep just where they are to stay, for the fig
is much like the pine-apple with regard to its roots; the
latter object so strongly to transplanting, unless very care-
fully done and kept moist, that they are very likely to die,
or at least lie dormant for months or even years, while
new roots are forming alongside of them and outstripping
them in the race.

We heard not long since of a gentleman who set out
several fine young fig trees procured from a nursery ; the
trees did not die, they lived, but that was all they did do
for more than three years, and so disgusted was their owner
that he was on the point of digging them up and throwing
them away, when, happening to relate his experience to a
neighbor, the latter bade him let them be as they were.

"I have often remarked," said he, ''that almost invari-
ably a fig tree transplanted will lie comparatively dormant
for four years and then start out, grow rapidly, and bear
prolifically for years upon years. Wait a few mouths
longer ; your four years are nearly up, and then you will
see."

So the fig owner waited and he did see. The condemned
trees suddenly awoke to life, and put on a vigorous growth.
In one season they gained as much bearing surface as could

FIGS. 263

reasonably have been expected in three seasons, and the
following year, and every year thereafter, these awakened
trees bore heavy crops of fruit.

A cutting placed in permanent position, with the ground
properly prepared and suitable after-treatment given, will
outstrip a transplanted fig tree, as a general rule.

Wherever the future tree is to stand — and if there is
clay near the surface so much the better — a hole three feet
in diameter and two feet deep should be excavated, the
top soil thrown to one side, the subsoil to another ; then a
compost of muck, forest leaves, and stable or hen manure,
or some commercial fertilizer, should be thoroughly incor-
porated with the top soil and the hole filled in and tightly
packed with this mixture. If the compost is moist, as it
should be, the fig cutting may be thrust down, sloping, in
the center of the spot thus prepared, the earth packed
firmly around it (in this last lies the secret of successful
rooting), a mulch of leaves or grass placed around it, a
tall stick or two driven down alongside as a guard, and the
work is done. Should there be a long dry spell after
planting, then, but not otherwise, the cuttings should be
watered.

Before long, buds will develop and the young tree will
grow right along, beginning to bear in its second or third
year, and continuing to do so for a life-time or more.

The time is not far distant when our people will awake
to the true value of the fig, whether sliced with sugar and
cream as a table fruit, as a preserve, as a sweet pickle, or
as a dried or shipping fruit.

Wherever fresh figs are placed on sale in the Florida
cities and towns, they sell readily at from ten to twenty
cents a quart, and even if the local price should fall to
five cents a quart, there would be still a handsome profit
for the grower.

264 FLORIDA FRUITS — FIGS.

The experiment of shipping fresh figs from Florida to
the Northern markets has already been made with eminent
success. They were sent in refrigerator cars, carefully
packed in quart boxes, and, having been picked just before
maturity, they ripened in transit, and arrived in perfect
order, bringing the splendid price of forty cents a quart,
when even at one half of that amount they would have
given a very large profit.

There is no doubt whatever that if good, sweet, ripe figs
are thus sent to the Northern cities in quantities, they will
soon be sought after as a dessert fruit ; they only need to
be known to become exceedingly popular, just as they are
in Europe.

The true Smyrna fig, the dried fig of commerce, has not
yet been introduced into Florida, although several impor-
tations of alleged cuttings have been made in California ;
upon fruiting, however, they were found not to bear the
true Smyrna fig. Recently it has been proven that the
agents of the importers were deceived in the cuttings ; the
true Smyrna fig tree or cuttings not being allowed to be
sent out of the country. Seeds from the imported figs
themselves will, however, germinate, and thence our sup-
ply must come.

The principal varieties of the fig now cultivated in
Florida are as follows:

ANGELIQUE, OR EARLY LEMON.

Small ; greenish yellow ; fine flavored ; early.

BRUNSWICK, OR MADONNA.

Very large ; violet ; good, and very productive.

BLACK ISCHIA.

Medium size ; bluish-black ; very good quality.

FIGS. 265

BLUE GENOA.
Medium size ; bluish black ; very fair quality.

CELESTIAL.

Very reliable for orchard culture ; class fruit very early,
and gives large crops ; fruit medium size ; pale violet, and
very sweet.

BROWN TURKEY.

This variety is also excellent for orchards ; fruit medium
size ; brown ; very sweet and delicious.

GREEN ISCHIA.

Fruit medium size; green, with crimson juice; very
good and prolific.

LEMON.

Very large ; yellow ; sweet and prolific.

WHITE GENOA.

Leaves smooth, not deeply lobed ; growth medium size.
Fig medium size, larger than Ischia ; skin very thin ; meat
finely grained and highly flavored. A fine and very valu-
able fig for drying.

WHITE SAN PEDRO, OR APPLE FIG.

Leaves not deeply cut, woolly. Tree a strong grower.
Fig very large, as large as a medium apple, the largest of
all figs ; skin rather thin ; highly flavored and sweet when
grown on drained soil. Very fine for table, but too large
to dry well.

WHITE ADRIATIC.

From Sicily, Italy. Enormous grower and bearer. Skin
very thin ; meat very sweet and highly flavored, and very
valuable for drying. As a table fig it is equally fine, but
is not as large as San Pedro. Should only be planted on
well-drained soil. 23

266 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS.

CHAPTER XXVH.

PEACHES* AND PLUMS.

Who does not love it, the luscious, juicy, fragrant peach ?
Why, the very mention of it, when it is not within our
reach, is enough to " make the mouth water" and the nos-
trils expand in the futile hope of recalling the taste and
smell of past pleasures connected with that "fruit of the
gods."

We have yet to meet with the first person who avows a
distaste for a fine, aromatic peach, and, strange to say, we
have met with but few more who could tell * ' whence its
name or what's its name."

The botanical designation of the peach, Amygdalus Per-
sica, at once reveals its origin and the land of its nativity,
for to Persia do we owe this most popular fruit, and yet,
strange to say, in this, its native home, it was considered
unwholesome, and so was far from being the favorite it now
is with the civilized world. In point of fact, it really was
unwholesome in those^days, just as it is now, where its due
care and cultivation are neglected or not understood, for
the peach is one of those aristocratic trees that object to
"roughing it" through the world, and will not flourish as
it might if not intelligently waited upon by its owner.

Hence, in Media, that province of Persia to which we
owe our improved peach of to-day, the fruit seldom ripened,
the flesh was tough and indigestible, and the flavor bitter,
and all because its true character and requirements were
unknown. Just exactly as many a human heart has be-
come toughened and embittered from not being understood
and rightly treated by those about it.

*Peaches — Originally published in the Florida Agriculturist.

PEACHES. 267

Columeila tells us that when the peach was first intro-
duced into the Roman Empire from Media, during the
reign of the Emperor Claudius, it was possessed of ex-
tremely injurious qualities.

Somehow the Chinese, in the "good olden times," even
more than in the present, seemed to take hold of every
new plant or discovery with a zest that soon carried them
beyond the nations of Christendom, so it was with the
peach ; although a native of Persia, its first visit to foreign
lauds and the first true appreciation it met with was on
Chinese soil, and there we find it flourishing and at home
almost as early as it was noted in its native land. Thence
it spread to Asiatic Turkey, where the natives regarded it
with deep veneration, and even connected various super-
stitions with the tree and its fruit, at least so Pliny and
other classical writers tell us.

That the peach was one of the ' ' trees in the Garden of
Eden " there can be no doubt, and surely God could have
placed there, for the comfort of our first parents, no more
delicious fruit than this ; and perhaps it was for this rea-
son that after their fall it was withdrawn from the knowl-
edge of their descendants; for, curiously enough, we find
no mention of the peach in the Bible, although its con-
gener, the almond, is mentioned even as far back as in the
time of Jacob, for we read that when preparing his gift
for the Governor of Egypt, he commanded his sons to
take "myrrh, nuts, and almonds," thus showing the high
esteem in which these three articles were held. And yet
again in the minute directions for making the golden can-
dlestick we find mentioned, among the chief ornaments,
the myrtle and almonds ; again and again the almond you
sec, yet never once the peach ; hence it is quite safe to
infer that to the Israelites the peach was an unknown
fruit, although the almond is so nearly identical with it.

268 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS.

We have seen how the peach when first brought to Rome
bore unwholesome fruit, yet in a few years thereafter we
find it so vastly improved, by proper care and cultivation,
as to be highly valued by the Roman patricians, and re-
garded by them as one of their choicest luxuries, and as
such Italians still consider it.

From Italy the peach was carried to England about the
middle of the sixteenth century, and it is still cultivated
there as an exotic, as it must ever be, for the cool, moist
climate prohibits its general culture, and its fruit can only
be perfected when trained against sheltering walls or under
glass. Hence, in England, the peach is rarely seen except
on the tables of the wealthy. Even in France, whose cli-
mate is milder than that of England, it can only be occa-
sionally perfected in the extreme South without protec-
tion, and hence its cultivation is confined to gardens, and
the fruit, as in England, " tickles the palate" only of the
rich.

To the honor of the United States, be it said, that it is
the only country in the world where, either in ancient or
modern times, the peach has been cultivated in such quan-
tities as to be placed in the open market, and brought
within the reach of all. Here it is not only the wealthy,
as on the continent, but the poor, as well, who may feast,
at slight expense, on the most wholesome and delicious of
all fruits, and every year its cultivation is becoming more
and more extended, and its profusion in the markets greater
and greater.

Next to the United States, China raises more peaches
than any other one nation, but even there it is only the
rich who profit by them. The Chinese as a nation are
great gardeners, and originate much that is curious as well
as useful in this as well as in other arts.

Years ago, while still the Chinese were shutting them-

PEACHES. 269

selves out from intercourse with other nations, we used to
read accounts by venturesome travelers of the wonderful
peaches raised in China; peaches of enormous size and
strange shapes, notably one that has latterly become
familiar to some of us, the flat or Pien-tau peach, and
another that is yet a stranger, the crooked peach. We
hope that some of our enterprising nurserymen may soon
get hold of the latter and introduce it to the residents of
Florida, for if it flourishes here as vigorously as its sister,
the Pien-tau, we could not in reason ask for any thing
better.

Heretofore, Florida, partly because it is a newly-settled
country, has not done much in the way of peach raising,
but the few who have had enterprise enough to plant and
cultivate a few trees have been amply repaid, and the re-
sult of such intelligent efforts is sufficient to justify the as-
sertion that when Floridians wake up to the fact that
" there's millions in it," then their State will easily step
forward into the first ranks as a peach grower ; for the
peach is a native of a mild climate ; severe winters chill
its life-blood, and late springs kill its delicate blossoms or
young fruit. Florida's mild winters are congenial to it,
and if we exercise proper care in the selection of varieties
we need have little if any fear of our crops being ' ' nipped
in the bud " by Jack Frost.

The peach, to do well, requires care and cultivation ;
but given these it will accommodate itself to almost any
soil, and, while preferring a clayey loam, will flourish in the
sand if the clay be three, four, or even five feet below it.

Of course with peaches, as with other fruits, not all va-
rieties are suited to all localities ; for each section of coun-
try there are certain kinds that do well while others will
not grow at all. Hence, it is a point of great importance
to ascertain just what kinds are best suited to our own

270 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS.

special localities, and this point, for Florida, has been
pretty well worked out in the last few years.

Pre-eminent among those suited for the fruit growers of
Florida are the

Pien-tau peach, or China flat peach.

The Honey peach, maturing fruit early in May, some-
times even in April.

Early Louise and China Cling are also early peaches, and
do well in Middle and South Florida, as also in North and
West Florida.

These are all vigorous growers, prolific bearers, and their
fruit is of exquisite flavor and fragrance.

Briggs' May and Wilder have succeeded excellently in
North and West Florida.

These are all "foreign varieties," but there are a few
native peaches, obtained from pits planted from Florida-
grown fruit, that are worthy of our best attention and
care. Among these are

Beach's Periodical, a strong, healthy growing tree, bear-
ing large, fine-flavored fruit from July to September — the
very months when other fruits are scarce, and our parched
throats crave their refreshing juices.

Goodbread peach, so named after its originator. It is me-
dium in size, and begins to ripen from May 15th to June
1st. A cling of the most exquisite flavor, bearing trans-
portation admirably, it is peculiarly suited to Florida fruit
growers.

Another is the May peach, ripening the last of May or
first of June ; and yet another, called the November, fur-
nishes ripe fruit of best quality in October and November.
These kinds are offered by one of our well-known nursery-
men, and another introduces to our notice the following, all
natives of Florida or Southern Texas :

Pennies' Free, a large, fine-flavored peach, ripening in
July.

PEACHES. 271

Bankman's Free, also large and good, perfecting the mid-
dle of August.

Onderdonk's Favorite, a large, yellow, juicy, July peach.

Cablets Indian, a cling-stone of large size, ripening also
in July, and with the peculiarity of purple or reddish flesh,
whence, we presume, its name of "Indian."

Thus we see that any fruit grower of Florida may, by a
judicious selection of varieties, secure a full supply of this
delicious fruit during at least seven months in the year,
these months, too, covering a period when this fruit brings
almost fabulous prices in the cities north of us.

In short, we need here in Florida but to set out peach
orchards as we set out orange groves, and give them as
much attention, to obtain another source of income just as
generous and reliable as the much-vaunted golden fruit,
yielding, too, a larger sum per acre ; for while one hundred
and eight is the largest number of orange trees permissible
to an acre, peach growers, placing their trees fifteen by fif-
teen feet, have space for one hundred and ninety-three
trees.

And now let us pass on to that most important consider-
ation, the proper care of the peach tree.

First of all, in setting out the trees let the hole be well
spaded, raised in the center, with a hole for the tap-root,
and large enough to admit of the roots being spread out as
nature intended them to be ; do n't crowd them in a bunch
on one side or against the stem, that is a slovenly method,
and unworthy of an intelligent being ; they need to cover
all the ground they can to procure food enough for their
foster parent ; then spread out the roots carefully, and to
do this you must " stoop to conquer." Throw the earth
carefully upon them until the hole is half filled, then raise
a bucket of water as high as you conveniently can, and
pour half of it down around the stem ; this will pack the

272 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS.

earth around the tender rootlets much better than the hand
could do it — you will see this by the way the soil washes
down — put on more earth and then pour on the rest of the
water, shaking the tree gently as it settles ; this done, scat-
ter a handful of salt around the base of the stem to keep
the borers away. Throw on more soil, tread it down firmly,
then a little more dry soil on top, loosely, and your work
is done. Even in dry weather the tree thus planted will
need no more care for three weeks at least. It takes time,
to be sure, but often time lost is time saved, and so it is
here, not only time saved but trees saved.

It is the nature of young peach trees to keep on growing
till late in the fall, and it is best, even in Florida, to check
this injudicious vigor by pinching off the young shoots and
ceasing to stir the soil. Bearing trees, in this respect,
should be treated differently; let them grow as late as
they will, it will do them no harm in this latitude, for the
latent fruit buds will consume all the extra sap caused by
cultivation.

In the last word, cultivation (conjointly with pruning),
lies the grand secret of success in peach raising ; from the
moment the buds begin to swell in the spring till the leaves
fall in the autumn, keep the soil around the tree so mellow
and free from weeds that you can at any time run your
hand right down into it and bring it up filled with loose
soil.

Cultivate at the beginning, cultivate at the middle, cul-
tivate at the end ; this, with due pruning, will secure a
fine crop of fine peaches, where, without these two things
conjoined, the same trees would produce tough, leathery,
unripened fruit. This latter is the usual condition of our
native Florida peaches, not because they are inherently
poor, but because their owners, like the ancient Medians,
do not understand their proper treatment.

PEACHES. 273

Cultivation and pruning — pruning and cultivation ; these
are imperative elements of success in the peach orchard.
A very rich soil is not needed, in fact, it is apt to promote
branch growth at the expense of fruit, for every horticultu-
rist knows that great growth and fruit can not be expected
the same season.

The best fertilizer for the peach tree is made in the fol-
lowing proportions: Four bushels of leaf mold, or ham-
mock top soil ; one bushel of well rotted cow chips ; one
peck of unleached hard-wood ashes ; and a quarter of a
peck of salt; these will give splendid results in growth
and fruit.

The tree requires yearly pruning, as the fruit is only
grown on wood of last season's growth, and a superfluous
branch, therefore, only takes so much wood away from the
working portions of the tree.

When set out it should be cut back to within two and a
half feet of the ground ; below this cut young shoots will
be produced, from which three should be selected to form
the main branches of the tree, all other shoots being
pinched off; the second year these three branches are cut
back one half their length, one shoot being allowed to
grow to continue the branch, and another to form a sec-
ondary branch, while a few bearing shoots are left to grow
from the older wood; the third season the six leading
branches are shortened one half, to obtain more bearing
shoots, and so the formation of the "head" goes on for
five years, and then, thereafter all that is necessary is an-
nually to shorten in the older branches and trim out where
too thick.

As we have demonstrated, it is the want of this self-
same pruning and cultivation that has given the opportu-
nity for so many to declare that * ' good peaches can not be
raised in Florida." Let those who have old peach trees

274 FLORIDA FRUITS PEACHES AND PLUMS.

take our advice and saw and cut and clip now at once, till
little is left but the trunk and three short branches at the
top ; then hoe away the weeds, and next spring give a dress-
ing of the fertilizer we have specified, and our word for it,
one or two years hence those old "worn-out" trees will
bear profusely, fine, ripe peaches, not leathery ones.

Summer pruning is best for bearing trees ; it forces out
new shoots for next season's bearing, while spring pruning
is better for young trees.

Peach trees, in fact all fruit trees, are a great deal like
children; they need care and constant attention to con-
duct them safely " in the way they should go."

A good many persons, new to the business, appear to
think that all one has to do, to have a fine orchard and
large yearly crops of fruit, is to plant the trees and then
let them alone to struggle along as they best may. But
this is an erroneous and fatal idea ; fruit trees have their
enemies in scores, and as their attacks produce disease, and
ultimately death, if not checked in time, it behooves the
fruit growers to be ever on the war-path.

The most deadly of the insect enemies of the peach tree
is the white worm, familiarly known as the "borer," which,
entering the trunk, usually below but sometimes above the
collar where the bark is soft, burrows into the very center
of the wood, if allowed, and destroys the tree by literally
" eating its heart out."

There are several .ways of waging war on these burro w-
ers, and here are some of them :

When you observe a tree losing its usual thrifty appear-
ance, its leaves dropping or turning brown, you may be
pretty sure that a borer is "at the bottom of it," and if
you look closely on the ground, at the root of the tree, you
will notice a little pile of reddish sawdust. Seeing this
you may know at once that you are on the right trail, and

PEACHES. 275

a look at the stem will disclose the tiny round hole through
which the would-be destroyer has entered.

Now, how to get at it is the question. If you have
been watching your trees as closely as you should have
done, it will not have had time to do more as yet than
burrow between the bark and the wood, and then its course
is easily traced under the bark by the eye, like the rise in
the ground made by a mole. Press with your finger-nail
along this furrow until the bark peels from beneath it;
this will tell you that the end of the burrow is reached,
then cut a slit that will lay open the bark, and the borer
will be at your mercy.

When it has entered too deeply into the wood for the
knife to reach it, a bit of slender wire thrust into the hole
and pushed along the burrow until it will go no further, in
other words, has reached the end, will effectually dispose
of the intruder.

Sometimes, however, the burrow has gone so far into
the tree that the winding tunnel can not be followed by the
wire, and then an ingenious device, the invention of a cel-
ebrated horticulturist, comes into service and rescues the
tree from death. This is nothing more than a little funnel-
shaped reservoir with a rubber tube, having a tiny nozzle
depending from it. The reservoir is filled with a solution
of tobacco or carbolic acid, then hung on a branch and
the nozzle inserted in the borer's hole ; the fluid flows slowly
down, and, following the windings of the tunnel, no mat-
ter how long or tortuous, ultimately meets the enemy and
destroys it. This result may be known by the fluid ceas-
ing to flow from the reservoir, showing that the tunnel is
completely occupied by the rescuing liquid. The fluid
does no harm to the tree, and a budding slip wrapped over
the hole will enable nature to repair damages very quickly.

And right here we will speak a word in favor of the

276 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS.

much maligned woodpeckers. If the fruit grower only
knew how much solid, substantial aid these poor birds gave
him in his war on the insects that attack his trees, he
would never allow one to be shot on his premises. In the
matter of this self-same borer, for instance, they always
seem to know just where to find it, and, if above ground,
rarely fail to rout it out and end its career of mischief
forever.

For one fruit he destroys the woodpecker saves fifty.
The borer deposits its eggs on the base of the trunk where
the bark is soft ; here it is hatched, and from this point
usually bores its way into the tree ; consequently, wherever
traces of borers are found, after routing out such as have
already effected a lodgment, it is a good plan to remove the
earth from around the collar, hunt for any cocoons that
may be hidden there, then fill in with fresh earth, a shov-
elful of ashes, and a little salt or lime.

Another way to exterminate this pest is, after dislodg-
ing those inside the tree, to swab the trunk from the lower
limbs to the upper roots with a wash of lime and sulphur,
then re-cover the roots with fresh earth and pour over them
a bucketful of water with a teaspoonful of carbolic acid
dissolved in it.

So much for remedies ; now for what is of much more
value, preventives — one ounce of which, as the proverb
truly tells us, is worth a pound of the former. It has
been observed that the peach trees in iron regions are very
seldom attacked by borers, they do n't like iron, evidently
not being in need of a tonic, and so when there is iron pres-
ent in the soil, there the peach trees flourish in the highest
perfection.

All stone fruits, let us mention here, are improved by
iron, either by a few nails driven in near the root, or by
blacksmith's cinders ; and as for the borers, if cinders can

PEACHES. 277

not be had, all one has to do to keep these pests at a dis-
tance is to dissolve one pound of copperas in eight gallons
of water, and let the earth be well soaked with it close
around the stem of the tree : it is life to the tree and death
to the borer.

Another preventive is ashes and salt; another, and a
very effective one is to scrape away the earth and wrap
stiff brown paper around and below the collar, then re-
place the soil, and the wandering borer, searching for a
place whereon to lay its eggs, will pass on in disgust.

Another preventive, and an excellent one, too, is twice
each year, in the spring and late summer, to dash a bucket-
ful of scalding water on the base of the trunk, so that the
collar will get a liberal bath ; it won't hurt the tree in the
least, but it will kill the borer and its eggs ; the tree do n't
mind " getting into hot water," but the worm does. Trees
treated in this way grow with amazing thrift, and it will
pay the peach grower to procure a large iron kettle for
the express purpose of heating water in the orchard so
that every tree may be scalded thoroughly, especially so if
the hot water is made the medium for applying the cop-
peras solution as above ; this would be " killing two birds
with one stone."

In cases where the borer can not well be routed, or where
ants are injuring the tree, a piece of tow, or similar mate-
rial, dipped in a mixture of hog's lard and chloride of
lime, and tied low on the trees, will cause a speedy surren-
der of the invading forces ; they will evacuate the prem-
ises without stopping to demand the honors of war.

The "yellows" is another and much-dreaded enemy of
the peach, and in many sections of the North it has spread
like an epidemic over whole tracts of country, sweeping
out of existence thousands of trees in a single season ; for-
tunately, we see but little of this fatal disease in the South,
still it is well to be fore-anneal.

278 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS.

The question ' * What is the yellows ? " can not yet be
answered without a shadow of doubt, but the prevalent be-
lief is that it is a disease caused by a minute fungus growth,
and is analogous to the fatal " blight" in pear trees, which
is without question caused by a fungus so minute as to re-
quire a high-power microscope to detect its presence.

Sulphur and lime are deadly foes of all fungoid growth,
and a wash of these two combined will help the tree at-
tacked by yellows.

A most excellent remedy also is to wash the trees with a
solution of quassia. One pound of chips, costing about
twelve cents, is boiled and reboiled until eight gallons
of the solution are obtained ; this, poured around the
trunk and sprayed with a hand -pump over the foliage
will effect a wonderful change in the most forlorn-looking
trees. This quassia solution will also banish the green fly
and other troublesome insects.

Nearly eighty years ago Dr. Darwin suggested that very
solution of copperas or sulphate of iron, which we have
already mentioned, as a remedy for the yellows, and for
the gummy secretions so common in fruit trees, and in the
year 1840 a scientific farmer in France was so highly suc-
cessful in using this remedy that the Academy awarded him
a medal as a public benefactor.

But here, as with the borers, preventives are better than
remedies. The yellows is hereditary among peach trees
just as surely as insanity and consumption are among men ;
therefore, be careful that your peach trees come from
healthy stock and are budded with healthy buds. One
tree affected with the yellows will, if not cut down and
burned as soon as the trouble is detected, communicate the
disease to the whole orchard ; so it behooves the peach
grower to be watchful.

A horticulturist who has had many years' experience

PEACHES. 279

with curl-leaf in the peach orchard, asserts that there is
but one cause for this malformation of the leaves (a fun-
goid growth), and that is, that the bark of the tree is too
close, and fits so tightly that the sap can not circulate
freely, and hence the leaves are not properly nourished.
He recommends an up-and-down cut through the bark of
the trunk and main branches with a sharp knife, and de-
clares that in a few days after this is done all signs of curl-
leaf will disappear from all the younger leaves, and appear
no more. If the tree is watched carefully, and the bark
split when needed, curl-leaf will be prevented. Another
remedy is to wash the trunk and branches with lime.

Standing still, very slow, or very rapid growth are as-
signed as the cause of tight bark, and consequent curl-
leaf.

By observing these simple directions for the care and
fertilizing of peach trees, the most veritable novice may
have a fine, thrifty, and paying orchard, and we trust
that a few years hence Florida will be as celebrated for
her early peaches as she is now for her delicious oranges.
Here is a sample of what has been, and can be done
again, in this line of industry.

In Chambers County, Ala., near the Georgia line, is the
largest peach orchard in the world, embracing two hundred
and fifty acres of this luscious fruit, of which over eighty
thousand dollars worth have already been sold. It is
owned and cultivated by Mr. John Parnell, brother of
the leader of the Irish Land League. Some twelve years
ago he bought an old worn-out cotton plantation, and con-
verted it into one immense peach orchard ; his fruit is al-
ways the first in the market, bringing almost fabulous
prices.

Mr. Parnell is coining an immense fortune out of his
peach orchard, and there is no reason why Florida can not
do as well as Alabama in the cultivation of this fruit.

280 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS.

As to the budding of the peach tree, which is the only
certain way of obtaining sure results, it should be done in
the same manner as has already been described in Chapter
IV, pages 42 and 43 ; therefore it is not necessary to repeat
them here. Suffice it to say, that when peach buds are in-
serted in peach stocks, the latter should be yearlings only,
although those two years old will often do well ; our na-
tive varieties of wild, rapid-growing plum trees, however,
are by many preferred for stock for peach budding. In
Bryan County, Ga., is an orchard containing two hun-
dred trees thus budded as an experiment, and the results
have been extremely gratifying, fine crops of superior
fruit being gathered yearly from the trees.

In conclusion we would add a word of caution to all in-
tending to set out peach trees, in particular, not to delay
beyond the early part of February at the latest, as the
trees take but a short period of rest, growing late and
starting early, so that there is but brief time during which
it is quite safe to transplant them ; we have, however, seen
trees set out in March do well, but it is a greater risk.

PLUMS.

The plum tree likes plenty of water, hence moist (but
not wet) lands are best adapted to its growth. It does
well in sandy soil, but better if there be clay near the
surface.

For years back the plum, like the pear, has been subject
to the attacks of a special enemy that has well-nigh ruined
the business of their culture as market fruits; with the
pear it was the "blight," with the plum an insect, the
curculio.

But just as a new race of pears has been found to resist
the "blight," so has there been found, for the South, es-
pecially, a new race of plums proof against curculio; these

PLUMS. 281

are the several varieties of the improved Chickasaw type,
as follows:

CUMBERLAND.

Large, yellow, juicy, sweet, and very good. Matures in
September.

DE CARADUEC.

Medium, round, yellow, with brown red cheek; juicy,
sweet, and of fine flavor; a remarkably fine plum. Ripens
early in June.

WILD GOOSE.

Large, somewhat oblong; bright vermilion red; juicy,
sweet, good quality ; a cling-stone ; a very showy and fine
market fruit, and a prolific bearer ; the most profitable of
all the Chickasaw type.

HATTIE.

Medium, round, bright red; very sweet and of good
quality. Follows the Wild Goose in maturity.

NEWMAN'S.

Medium, bright red, round ; a cling-stone ; quality good.
Ripens early in July.

All of these plums named above should be picked as
soon as they commence to color, and ripened in the house,
where, in three days' time, they will acquire a brilliant
color. If left on the tree too long the fruit drops, and
never attains the quality of that which is house-ripened.
This gradual ripening allows these varieties to carry per-
fectly to distant markets.

PEACH-LEAVED, OR KANAWHA.

Medium, oblong, bright vermilion ; juicy, fine-flavored ;
quality very good. Ripens in September. Although it
begins to color in July it is not fit to use until it ripens
upon the tree, two months later.

24

282 FLORIDA FRUITS — PEACHES AND PLUMS.

JAPAN MEDLAR, OR JAPAN PLUM.

This valuable fruit is generally known in Florida under
the latter title, which is an entire misnomer. There is a
true Japan plum, but it is not an evergreen as is the
Japan medlar.

This tree is not only a very ornamental one, with large,
evergreen leaves, but it is destined to become one of the
leading fruits of Florida. It has been introduced into Cal-
ifornia, but rarely fruits there, as the early blossoms are
almost invariably nipped by severe frosts.

In Florida the fruit matures without danger of loss, and
wherever the orange tree flourishes there the so-called Japan
plum flourishes also. It grows slowly at first, but after
the first three years increases in size more rapidly, and by
its eighth year frequently attains a height of twelve or
fourteen feet, and is covered with fruit and bloom ; the
ultimate height of the Loquat is about twenty feet.

The fruit ripens from January to March, and is of good
quality, sub-acid, and a general favorite; excellent pre-
serves are made of it, and as for its jelly, it has no supe-
rior among the many jellies offered for sale in the markets.

The fruit, resembling an ordinary plum in size and
shape, carries as well, and in fact better than the peach.
It has been shipped to the Northern markets in perfect
order, selling there from twenty-five to forty cents a quart
basket. In the Florida local markets it sells readily at
twenty-five to fifty cents a quart.

The tree, if well cared for, commences to bear in its
fifth year, and when covered with bloom fills the air with
a delicious fragrance.

Another fruit destined to be of great value is

KELSEY'S JAPAN PLUM.
This remarkable plum was imported from Japan in 1871

PLUMS. 283

by the late John Kelsey, of Berkeley, CaL, whose name
has been given to the fruit as a just tribute to the memory
of one of California's pioneer leaders in horticulture. The
following points of excellence are claimed for it :

1. Its wonderful productiveness is unsurpassed by any
other plum, either native or foreign.

2. It comes into bearing at the age of two to three
years, blossoms appearing frequently on yearling trees.

3. The fruit is of very large size, being from seven to
nine inches in circumference, and specimens weighing six
and a half ounces each ; it has a remarkably small pit.

4. It is very attractive in appearance, being of a rich
yellow, nearly overspread with bright red, with a lovely
bloom. It is heart-shaped ; it ripens from first to last of
September.

5. It is of excellent quality, melting, rich, and juicy ;
its large size renders the paring of the fruit as practicable
as the peach, which is quite a novelty, and it excels all
other plums for canning.

As a dried fruit it is destined to take the lead, equal to,
if not surpassing, the best dried prunes. Experiments re-
sulted in yielding nineteen and a half pounds of dried
fruit to the one hundred pounds of fresh fruit. In text-
ure it is firm and meaty, and it possesses superior qualities
for shipping to long distances ; it remains solid longer than
any other variety.

284 FLORIDA FRUITS — JAPANESE PERSIMMON.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

JAPANESE PERSIMMON, OR DATE PLUM.

Among the fruits quite recently introduced into Florida,
and indeed into the United States, is the Diospyros kaki, or
Japanese persimmon. Wherever it has been tried — and
many are now scattered all over the State — it has done
well; even the imported trees have given a satisfactory
account of themselves, and now that our nurserymen have
succeeded in propagating it on seedlings of the' wild per-
simmon stock that grows luxuriantly on pine land and
hammock alike, we may look for still better results. Its
successful culture and great profit to the grower is fully
established, and henceforth the Japanese persimmon will
rank as one of Florida's favorite fruits.

In Japan it is considered the choicest and most popular
of all the many fruits of that favored country.

There are several varieties, some conical in shape, some
round, and they do not at all resemble in any respect the
typical "persimmon" of our own land.

The fruit of the finer varieties is of a beautiful yellow
or red color, and measures from three to four inches in
height, and from eight to nine inches in circumference;
of seeds, it has from five to seven, of a small size. The
fruit ripens from September to March, and its flavor
is so delicious that it is readily understood why it is
so great a favorite in Japan, where its different varieties
have been so carefully crossed and recrossed that it has
become to that country what the apple is to the United
States.

The dried fruit is as palatable as the fresh, is fully the
equal of the fig, and can be kept a long time ; moreover,

JAPANESE PERSIMMON. 285

the Japanese persimmon, or date plum, as it is often more
properly called, is a fine shipping fruit, and will bear trans-
portation safely to great distances.

The tree is highly ornamental; leaves dark, glossy
green ; shape symmetrical ; it is a very prolific bearer, is
as hardy as a pear tree, and fruits sooner. The seedling
tree bears in about ten years, but is apt to "sport," or
not bear fruit at all, and hence is not desirable because
not reliable. Budded trees fruit in from one to three years ;
they prefer a light, sandy soil, are not affected by curculio,
grow to a large size, and attain the age of a hundred years
while losing none of their vigor.

A number of varieties have been introduced into the
United States, and of these there are two principal divis-
ions, one of which is large, round, and shaped like a Green-
ing apple. The flesh of this variety resembles that of the
pear or apple, and is eaten in the same way ; it is unsur-
passed for the table, and considered equal to the peach and
pear. Its color is a rich, golden hue, and the flesh "juicy,
vinous, and firm." This variety should be inclosed in a
tight cask for a few days after picking to render it perfect.
The other variety is oblong, like a " Minie ball" in shape ;
"it is soft, sweet, and custard-like, is eaten with a spoon,
and with cream and sugar is one of the most delicious fruits
that is known."

The fruit of this variety attains a very large size, and,
owing to the large amount of saccharine matter it con-
tains, is the sort usually dried and prepared like figs for
market ; in this form it is sold as sweetmeats in Japan.

Professor W. E. Griffis, the author of " The Mikado's
Empire," tells us :

' 'As regards the value of the Japanese persimmon there
can be but one opinion ; the tree itself is one of the hand-
somest of fruit trees, and in the fall, with its golden-hued

286 FLORIDA FRUITS JAPANESE PERSIMMON.

fruit hanging to the branches after the leaves have fallen,
forms a beautiful and striking picture in a landscape. As
to the fruit itself, it is nutritious, palatable, and to a high
degree charged with those chemical ingredients which give
most fruits their value in preserving the health and puri-
fying the blood. This fact is insisted on by the Japanese
doctors, some of whom I have known to cure their patients
by a -' persimmon cure,' like that of the 'grape cure' of
Southern Europe."

The following are the best varieties so far introduced
into the United States, and for sale by our principal Flor-
ida nurserymen :

TANEASHI, OR SEEDLESS.

Very fine, large, oblong ; flesh soft ; color dark red, with
black spots.

IMPERIAL.

Shaped like an acorn or "Minie ball;" very large, with
dark stripes on the surface; flesh soft when ripe, sweet
and fine.

ROYAL.

Nearly round ; pale yellow ; large size ; early. Ripens on
tree ; good for drying.

AMONG.

Large, round, a little flattened ; orange color.

MINOKAKI.

Very large, oblong, pointed ; highly colored ; often with-
out seeds.

HYAKAME.

Largest known, and of the very best quality.

MIKADO.

Flat like a tomato ; medium sized ; bright yellow ; flesh
solid.

JAPANESE PERSIMMON. 287

TAIKOU.

Round ; pale or greenish yellow ; fair size.

NIHON.

Slightly oblong ; yellowish red ; black spots on the sur-
face and in the flesh ; flesh solid. Very early.

DIAMIO.

Slightly oblong ; reddish, with dark point ; medium size ;
flesh soft.

DIE-DIE MA WELL.

Large and round, with slight point at apex.

HAYCHUYA.

Large, oblong ; rich color ; one of the best.

288 FLORIDA FRUITS — EVAPORATING FRUITS.

CHAPTER XXIX.

EVAPORATING FRUITS.

Our work on "Florida Fruits" would not be complete
without a reference to a comparatively new industry, which
is destined to be a revelation of wealth to the fruit and
vegetable growers, not alone of Florida and the United
States, but of all countries ; a revelation of wealth on the
principle that a " penny saved is a penny earned."

Wherever fruit or truck is raised for market there is
sure to be a waste of unsalable produce, which could be
utilized for home use if there was not "too much of a
good thing," which, however, there is, and so a great deal
spoils and is lost. Another thing, in many places, espe-
cially in newly-settled States like Florida, it is very diffi-
cult, if not impossible, to get perishable produce to market
in good condition, hence, people living in these localities
are cautious about raising such products. But modern
invention has swept away this heretofore serious drawback.
The farmer or fruit grower may now plant what he will,
gather as he will, and then quietly place the result of his
labor in such shape as shall assure him a large and sure
profit, without the possibility of loss, no matter how far
he may be from the great markets, nor how slow his means
of transportation. Nay, more ; he may prepare his pro-
duce and pack it away to await the highest market prices,
instead of being obliged to place it on sale when the field
is already overoccupied. Neither is the produce thus res-
cued from waste and low prices in poor demand ; on the
contrary, the supply will scarce be able to keep pace with
it. If the article supplied be the best of its sort, a good
price and ready sale is always sure. The recent invention

EVAPORATING FRUITS. 289

which has brought so great a boon, not only to the pro-
ducer but to the consumer, is that of the evaporation of
fruits and vegetables. To be sure, they were evaporated
years ago and placed on the market with a great furore, but
the principle then employed was totally incorrect, and the
result correspondingly disappointing to all concerned. The
fruit offered was really cooked and then dried, and not
genuinely evaporated at all. The trays were placed one
above the other in a box or chamber ; the hot vapor or
steam from below was augmented by the moisture from
the contents of the lower trays, and the result was that
the fruit swelled just as though it had been cooked, the
delicate membranous cells burst asunder, and the starch
they contained, instead of being converted into grape-
sugar or glucose, acidified, and thus both the sweetness
and the flavor of the fruit, which is an essential oil held
prisoner by these same little cells, dissipated, and conse-
quently the whole character of the fruit was changed.
The salt had lost its savor, hence, evaporated fruits took
no hold on public favor, and those who had invested in
expensive driers soon abandoned their use, the universal
verdict being that " it did not pay." And yet all felt that
there existed a satisfactory solution of the vexed question
of perfect evaporation, and within the last few years it
has been solved completely by the invention of the "Amer-
ican Fruit Drier," by Dr. Ryder.

He set aside, from the beginning, the erroneous idea
upon which the vertical evaporators were constructed, that
"evaporated produce should be retained and finished in a
humid atmosphere, entering at the point of greatest hu-
midity and finishing at the point of greatest heat." Water
in dried fruit means decay, acetous fermentation, and con-
sequent loss of sweetness and flavor. This theory had
failed lamentably in practice, so Dr. Ryder adopted the

25

290 FLORIDA FRUITS — EVAPORATING FRUITS.

opposite as the true method, and the result of his patient
investigation is what the writer, after careful study and
observation, fears not to pronounce the ne plus ultra of an
evaporator.

No one, even though blindfolded, can taste or smell a
slice of fruit or vegetable evaporated by the "American"
without at once distinguishing the name of the crude ar-
ticle. So perfectly is the flavor preserved, no mistake can
be made about it; and here is just the difference of prod-
uct between the old vertical method and vapor bath and
the "American's" inclined flue and "hot-air cure," a dif-
ference that is just as noticeable to the eye in color and
handsome appearance as it is to the palate in quality.

So, you see, that there is a right and a wrong way of
evaporating fruits and vegetables, and it was the misfor-
tune of the wrong method coming first under notice that
for a time threw the whole business of evaporating the
products of the soil into the shade.

In the past, as a rule, dried fruits have been literally
"flat, stale, and unprofitable ;" but now, under Dr. Ryder's
common-sense method, evaporated fruits are rapidly com-
ing into public favor, and there they will stay.

In many cases the producer who uses the best evaporator
(and we can truly say, having the welfare of our fellow
fruit grower at heart, that this is the "American Drier or
Pneumatic Evaporator"), will find that it will pay better
to convert all his produce into the evaporated article for
market than to ship it in its original state. The saving in
crates, in hauling, in handling, in freight, and in loss by
decay in transit — very important items to the Floridian —
would greatly augment the profits of the crop, besides
being perfectly safe.

The demand for evaporated fruits and vegetables will,
for years to come, fall far short of the supply, where the

EVAPORATING FRUITS. 291

supply is of the best quality. People are finding out of
late that they are not only very wholesome but that they
are cheaper than canned fruits. To prove this one need
only buy a can of any sort and its equivalent in cost in
the best evaporated fruits, place the latter in water for
eight or ten hours (which should always be done previous
to stewing slowly), and then try to put it in the empty
can ; the result will be a revelation most damaging to the
canned article.

The truth is that every agricultural family ought to own
one of these evaporators ; one of the smaller sizes will suf-*
fice to save many and many a dollar's worth of good,
wholesome food that must otherwise be wasted ; and this
is particularly so in Florida, where, during the heat of the
summer months, fruits and vegetables are apt to be scarce.
The farmer who owns one of these improved evaporators
— and the number is daily increasing, for there is no farm
implement that will pay its cost so quickly or so often in a
season — the farmer, we say, who owns one of these can,
during the season of plenty, dry all his surplus peas, beans,
sweet-corn, tomatoes, potatoes, both sweet and Irish, tur-
nips, beets, cabbages, egg-plant, or onions; it needs only
then to tie them up in paper or close muslin bags to "bar
out" insects, and when needed for use to soak them for a
few hours and cook slowly. It is no light thing, as every
householder knows, to have fresh vegetables on hand at
all seasons. In this one respect alone, apart from all com-
mercial considerations, we can not over-estimate the value
of these money and labor savers.

And the same is true of fruits ; in the season of plenty,
blackberries, strawberries, mulberries, huckleberries, plums,
peaches, pears, pine-apples, guavas, may be preserved for
future use with the greatest ease, and without the expense
of glass jars, cans, or sugar.

292 FLORIDA FRUITS — EVAPORATING FRUITS.

In one season the ordinary farmer, curing for home con-
sumption only, can save double the cost of this busy little
worker, which has yet another popular qualification : it is
cheap, far cheaper than the vertical machines, which really
destroy the fruit rather than preserve it.

There is a No. 6 size that will dry three bushels a day,
weighs two hundred pounds, and costs twenty -five dollars ;
then there is a No. 1 which evaporates six to eight bushels
a day, weighs three hundred and fifty pounds, and costs
fifty dollars. Three larger sizes are made, designed for
more extensive work : No. 2, costing seventy-five dollars,
cures from twelve to fifteen bushels a day ; No. 3 costs one
hundred and seventy-five dollars, and evaporates forty-five
bushels; No. 4, which weighs a ton, and swallows one
hundred and ten bushels, costs three hundred and fifty
dollars ; and No. 5, made only to order, costing four hun-
dred and fifty dollars, and eating up one hundred and fifty
bushels at a day's meal.

And still further to facilitate matters, these same manu-
facturers, called, by the way, "The American Manufac-
turing Company of Waynesborough, Penn.," place on the
market a "Parer, Corer, and Slicer," which performs its
triple work at one time, and costs only a dollar and a half;
and an "Improved Rotary Knife Peach Parer," same
price; also a "Peach Peeling Spoon" for twenty cents.
Thus is evaporating made easy.

Any one who chooses to send to this company for the
catalogue of their fruit drier, will learn a great deal to
arouse his attention and interest in a subject that grows in
importance as one looks into it ; and we will further add,
that with every drier full and money-making instructions
are sent.

We have elsewhere referred to the great profit of raising
the guava, our Florida apple, as it may well be called.

EVAPORATING FRUITS. 293

The subject of jelly-making is, as we have seen, one of im-
mense moment ; but not every one is able to command the
needful labor to place his fruit in this salable form, and so
there is a great deal of waste as things are at present, but
need be no more, for, with even one of the small evapo-
rators, all the loss may be made gain ; besides that, the out-
lay of work, time and capital are much less than in jelly-
making.

We believe that the drying of guavas for home use and
the Northern markets will, within a few years, become one
of Florida's great industries. Pare and slice the larger
specimens, halve the smaller ones and then lay them in the
warm embrace of the "American;" then pack them in
neat, two-pound paper boxes, such as are made for such
uses, and ship them off, forty boxes to the crate.

That there will be a large and increasing demand, once
guavas in this shape are put upon the Northern markets,
there is no doubt whatever, although, like all new things,
its introduction may be slow.

Guava jelly is popular, but its expense puts it beyond
the reach of the masses. Let them see guavas evaporated
ready at their hand to stew for the table, or to convert it
into jelly if they like, and we of Florida will have our
hands full to keep up with the demand, for you know Flor-
ida alone can supply this fruit, so herein there can be no
competition.

The Florida grower, even though far removed from
"rapid transit," has a bonanza in this one industry alone,
which is light, clean, pleasant, easily learned, can be car-
ried on, nay must be, under shelter, and requires very lit-
tle capital.

All this applies also to pine-apples, Le Conte and Kieffer
pears, peaches, figs, etc.

294 FLORIDA FKUITS — ODDS AND ENDS.

CHAPTER XXX.

ODDS AND ENDS.

This present chapter may truthfully claim to be, in point
of time, the ' ' latest edition of Florida Fruits," being, as
the reader will observe, made up of the tangled odds and
ends of information, experience, and observation, that
have been gathered together from out-of-the-way corners,
here and there, during the few months that have elapsed
since the main part of the work was sent to press.

After a battle has been fought, a great undertaking ac-
complished, it is an easy matter to look calmly out over
the field and point out how this or that might have been
better or more easily done.

It is very much the same with such a work as now lies
before us. In gazing backward over what has been accom-
plished, when the stress and anxiety of the actual labor is
over, and the pen almost ready to lie down and rest after
its miles of patient travel, we can see here and there points
of possible improvement, not so much sins of omission as
the opportunity to seize, before it is too late, upon the odds
and ends that have come into view since the previous pages
were written.

First of all, let us see what lessons have been taught
us by

THE FREEZE OF JANUARY, 1886.

The days and nights, inclusive, of the 9th to the 13th of
January, 1886, will never be forgotten by any dweller in
bonnie Florida at that disastrous time. Little did any one
realize what was in store for him when, on the 9th, Fri-
day, the United States Signal Officer at Jacksonville tel-
egraphed all over the State that a ' ' cold wave " was on its

ODDS AND

way southward, and that Florida would feel its first breath
that night.

The warning was significant enough to set some men to
work hauling wood and piling it among their trees, and
making ready for cordons of fire around their groves to
the north and west, whence came our ordinary cold
winds.

All Friday morning it rained a heavy down-pour ; ' this,
too, had been predicted by the weather prophets; and
early in the night the first cold breath of the coming en-
emy reached us — and such a breath as it was ! All night
the bitter northwest wind blew and howled and whistled
in every nook and corner, and our people, growing hourly
more fully alive to what might possibly be the outcome,
were too anxious to rest or to sleep, and yet it was too cold
to do aught but to lie still under what, for Florida, was a
mountain of coverings, until daylight should come, and
with it, perchance, relief. But not so; it came indeed,
but brought with it no hope of better things, rather the
certainty of worse to come ; as yet we had felt but a light
touch of the Ice King's hand.

The leaden heavens gave no sign of cheer, and the cold,
fierce wind continued to howl and shriek as if in derision
of the puny efforts of mortals to snatch their property from
its icy grasp. The huge fires kept burning day and night
were useless to arrest or change the fiat that had gone
forth. This was no "ordinary frost," whose cold hand
could be held in check by human devices, but one of those
rare, all-powerful strokes of the elements that teach us now
and again our own insignificance.

During the afternoon of Saturday, the 10th, the sky par-
tially cleared, and the sun tried to struggle through the
clouds and send down his rays to warm his shivering friends ;
but it was of no use. The clouds gathered again, the gale

296 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS.

howled as fiercely as ever, sifting into every corner of
dwellings ill-prepared for visitors from the arctic zones,
and, strange to record, now and henceforth to the end, the
worst of its work was done with the wind sweeping up
from the southwest ; and it was such a gale, this that came
from our usually warm quarter, so pitiless, so bitter cold,
as no Floridian had ever faced before, nor is likely to ever
again on his native soil.

Long before sunset ice began to form. In ordinary
storms the wind lulls as the sun sinks, but this was no or-
dinary storm, neither "rule, rhyme, nor reason" dictated
its course or actions.

Another night, and what a fearful one it was, in-doors
and out! neither hope nor comfort, physical or mental.
Out in the groves, here and there, men flitted about large
fires, desperately fighting to the last, hopeless now of sav-
ing the orange crop remaining on the trees, and feeling
that they would be thankful if they could save the trees
themselves. In-doors water was freezing, not a thin skim
of ice, but strong ice that had to be broken with a hammer.

Not for fifty years had Florida seen the equal of this
bitter storm ; it was the longest, the saddest night, that of
the 10th of January, 1886, that her present population
had ever met.

Morning dawned : ice, an inch or more in thickness, cov-
ered all shallow, standing water ; every thing that could
freeze was frozen, in-doors and out of doors — the hearts of
Florida's people also! Ah! those were times that tried
men's souls, times when they could only stand aside and
look on in desperate silence at the wholesale destruction
of the property they had toiled for years to accumulate.
For, note this fact, when the morning of the llth dawned,
with the thermometer nowhere in the State higher than 20°,
and in most sections still lower, all the way down to 15°,

ODDS AND ENDS. 297

with the oranges on the trees frozen solid, the leaves
curled and frozen so stiff that they crumpled in the hand
like sheets of ice, the despairing fear, in many cases, be-
lief, went out among the people that the trees also were
killed. The one, the crop, was a loss of one year, but the
other, the tree, one that many years could not replace.

Add to this depressing fear of total loss and ruin, the
fact that the biting wind was pitilessly sifting into the
houses, and that all through the day, on that bitter Sun-
day, water froze solid even within a foot or two of the
stoves ; that grown persons were blue and shivering, and
children crying with the cold, and the pandemonium that
had so suddenly swept down upon sunny Florida may be
faintly pictured.

Every one knew that all the injury had been already
done that was possible, and in dull, despairing apathy set-
tled down to a knowledge of heavy loss ; only the older and
most experienced growers held fast to the belief that the
bearing trees were not injured, the majority were too dazed
to be capable of reason or of hope.

Sunday night, Monday, Monday night, came and went,
and still the bitter wind howled, and the temperature con-
tinued lower than ever before known since 1835, when
every bearing tree in the State (not so many by thousands
then as now) was killed to the ground. By noon of Tues-
day, the 13th, the wind veered around to the eastward,
and then every one drew a long breath, for east winds in
the winter time, in Florida, always mean milder weather.
Before night it was evident that the terrible " dark days of
January, 1886," were over, and that now it only remained
for people and trees to thaw out and reveal the full extent
of the damage done. This could not be done all at once ;
some of the destruction was self-evident on the instant;
that the oranges, lemons, limes, were frozen on the trees,

298 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS ANT) ENDS.

and that their leaves were stiff, that the lemon and lime
trees were, in nearly all cases, killed to the ground, that
bananas, pine-apples, guavas were also generally destroyed ;
all these things showed at once.

Then, as the days and weeks rolled on, and the beautiful
Florida climate resumed the even tenor of its way, little
by little it began to be realized that the worst that had
been feared, the loss of the great staple, the orange trees
themselves, was mercifully spared her heavily stricken
people.

In many cases even the large bearing trees were seriously
injured, a few killed to the ground, but these were excep-
tional, and due either to unduly exposed locations or to
the fact of the trees being in active or very recent growth,
a condition which every one knows is always detrimental
to a tree at the approach of cold weather.

The freeze extended over the whole State, even the
most southern sections feeling its influence. There was
ice in Monroe County and beyond it ; Key West saw it ;
even Cuba awoke to the possibility, nay, reality, of a gen-
uine freeze, the first in her history. The wonder is that
the orange tree throughout the State was not universally
killed, since the temperature was as severe and the cold
more protracted than during the famous " freeze of 1835,"
which did kill them all.

There was a reason for their wonderful escape, however.
It is a matter of record that the coldest temperature of
the Florida winters occurs between December 20th and
January 15th, and the weather for several weeks prior to
the Ice King's harvest was emphatically of this description,
thus checking the flow of the sap in the trees and putting
them to sleep as it were, and in excellent condition to meet
the advancing though unsuspected enemy.

Another reason why more damage was not done lay in

ODDS' AND ENDS. 299

the fact that the weather, both during the freeze and for
some days after, was cloudy, and the moderation of tem-
perature very gradual instead of sudden.

In many cases not only were the older orange trees un-
injured, except to the extent of shedding their leaves, but
young trees in grove and nursery escaped damage. The
writer even had tender, dormant buds, that were exposed
to the full extent of cold and wind, buds set in young
nursery (grape fruit) stock, yet they passed through it
unharmed, and are now in strong, vigorous growth ; but
other buds, side by side with these, on lemon and lime
stock, were killed, together with their foster parents.

Right here is one of the lessons of the freeze. Another
is, to cease cultivating the trees early in the season and
check the flow of the sap, so that the leaves may rest, and
the sap already in the body of the tree may fulfill its mis-
sion and form into the tissues that build it up.

Not, understand, that we at all anticipate another such
frosty visitation; that is not likely for fifty or more years
to come, but that every tree needs rest, and during every
winter there may come "cold snaps" that would injure
young, tender growth, while it would not in the least affect
a dormant tree.

That the freeze of the past winter will eventually prove
to have been a ' ' blessing in disguise " we are well assured.
For one thing it has proved, that the orange tree will stand
uninjured a much lower temperature than even its best
and most familiar friends supposed possible, and the result
is that Florida to-day, with her groves full of vigorous
growth, and oranges Half grown, with her young trees
making a thrifty growth also, with energy and hope once
more triumphant, Florida is to-day, we repeat, as profit-
able a field as ever for orange culture, with the added as-
surance that she did not have before, that the tree is very

300 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS.

hardy, and will withstand a temperature of 15° or even
lower, while the fruit continues uninjured unless the tem-
perature falls below 26°, which is an exceedingly rare oc-
currence. And even if the fruit was frozen once in eight
or ten years, we could stand it ; but it need not be frozen
at all, even with the temperature at 20°, for all we have
to do, on the first suspicion of danger, is to gather and
bury the fruit in dry sand, and then market it at leisure, as
we have already mentioned on page 134.

A few wise men thus saved their crop this present season,
and at this present writing are reaping the result in per-
fectly ripe, sound oranges, that sell readily at from three
to five dollars a hundred.

No, there is no ground whatever for discouragement of
orange culture; on the contrary, well - located, healthy
groves are actually more valuable now than before the
great freeze, because their value and hardiness are placed
on a surer basis ; we know what we before only believed,
because we could not know.

But the most important lesson of all those that our re-
cent unexpected experience has taught us is this :

Diversify production ! To employ a homely but signifi-
cant phrase, " Do n't put all your eggs in one basket;" then
if your basket gets upset before it reaches market there is
something else left to fall back upon for support.

Floridians needed a shaking up, and a pushing out of
the one groove which was filled up with oranges, nothing
but oranges. Our soil and climate are as well adapted to
many, very many other fruits as they are to oranges and
the citrus family. Then why give our whole attention to
the one only?

If our people had paid as much attention in the past as
they will do in the future to figs, peaches, pears, plums,
grapes, apricots, pecans, walnuts, strawberries, and black-

ODDS AND ENDS. 301

berries, they would have felt the loss of the orange crop
but lightly.

Already this great lesson has gone home, and other
Florida fruits than the citrus are being largely set out all
over the State. Right ! diversify production and prosper.

THE REFUSE OF THE ORANGE CROP.

In every grove, whether large or small, there must nec-
essarily be hundreds or thousands of oranges not fit to ship
or to sell in their original shape ; some of these are blown
from the trees by high winds ; others are thorn -pricked or
punctured by birds; others drop from drought or over-
loaded trees.

We have frequently seen the ground actually yellow with
fallen fruit, left to lie under the tree, an utter wicked waste
of one of the most valuable fruits we have. And what
we have seen, others have seen every where over the State,
a deliberate throwing away of thousands of dollars, for
every one of those dropped oranges could be utilized, and
a great industry developed for the good of the people at
home and abroad.

We refer to the manufacture of orange wine ; we would
not advocate the making of any intoxicating beverage — far
from it; but certainly pure orange wine does not come
under this heading. It is true that such drinks are some-
times disguised with so-called "orange wine," and sold un-
lawfully as such, but this is not an argument against the
manufacture of pure, honest orange wine. The manner of
making it is simple ; any one can do it and do it well by
following the recipes given in this work, and the result
will be just so much profit added to the crop ; there need
not be an orange lost.

And this is not all ; the use of surplus oranges for wine
would serve to steady the price and value of the fruit. If

302 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS.

there came a glut in the market, and prices fell, they
could be kept at home, and the wine made from them
would ultimately bring more profit than the oranges would
have done if shipped.

As to the value and superiority of sweet (or sour) or-
ange wine, here is what a prominent dealer has to say
about it, and he speaks "as one having authority":

"It is the best tonic, medical or otherwise, that can be
taken into the human system. It is nourishing, of agree-
able flavor,' and, what is more, a perfectly pure native
wine. Every body knows what recuperative power there
is in luscious, ripe oranges, and as no part of the fruit is
used in the manufacture of the wine but the pulp of per-
fectly ripe oranges, and none of the wine bottled from the
casks until it is at least three years old, it is easy to see
that the wine made from Florida oranges will, at no dis-
tant day, outrival any of the imported still wines. In
taste it is marvelously palatable, and I am told that it is
the cleanest wine in the market to-day, there being but
8.64 per cent of absolute alcohol, and slightly over 5 per
cent of sugar. Florida, filled with orange presses, will
outrival the famous vineyards of France and Italy in
time, for the manufacturers of this splendid wine are
pushing ahead with new and improved machinery, are
setting out countless orchards of the precious fruit, and
investing thousands of dollars in the enterprise which they
are satisfied will soon become one of the greatest industries
of the country. The supply is now in no wise equal to the
demand."

THE ORANGE PEEL.

This is another point that has not yet received the con-
sideration it deserves.

In Europe the orange rinds are carefully gathered up
and sold to the marmalade manufacturers, and New York

ODDS AND ENDS. 303

is now entering upon a steadily increasing import business
in orange peels, because the home supply does not even
begin to fill the demand. It is not used here as in Eu-
rope, for making marmalade, but as a basis for medicinal
preparations, tonics, orange bitters, syrups, and confections.
The imported peel brings from ten to twelve cents a pound,
and has no import duty to pay.

This may seem a small item, but it is such items that
make up the sum total of domestic economy ; save all the
clean orange peels, dry and sell them, and there will be
more money in our pockets and less sent out of the
country.

Note how the importation is increasing : In 1877, five
thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven dollars was sent
to Europe to pay for orange peels ; in 1881, the latest date
we have been able to obtain, the same small item of ' ' waste
peel" cost us over twelve thousand dollars. It has doubt-
less more than doubled now, and Florida might just as well
keep this money at home, since it would be all clear gain,
requiring no outlay.

SUMMER ORANGES.

There are a few varieties of late oranges (Hart's Tardiff
is one) that will hold their fruit well into the summer sea-
son, and such fruit is always at a premium, because it
comes in when the market is empty of oranges. But there
is a method practiced in Mexico by which any ordinary
tree may be made to bear summer oranges.

When the trees bloom at the usual season, a brush made
of stiff leaves or twigs is used to whip off the blossoms,
one and all ; none must be left to set fruit. The trees, be-
ing strong, healthy, and in vigorous growth, resent this
unmerited whipping, and at once set out to repair damages
and make good their loss.

304 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS.

The result is, that in June or July the trees are again
in full bloom, and this time the fruit is allowed to set ; as
it ripens in about a year or a little less, a fine crop of sum-
mer oranges is produced, worth double or treble the ordi-
nary crop.

Perseverance for three or four years will give the trees
thus treated a confirmed habit of blooming at the desired
time, and thus summer oranges are secured without fur-
ther trouble.

PEARS ON QUINCE STOCK.

Beware of these ; they are not suited for Florida's soil
or climate, for, as a rule, the quince itself is a failure over
fully three fourths of the State. Not only so, but the
Chinese sand pears, whose hybrids, the Le Conte, Kieifer,
and others we have mentioned in our foregoing pages, are
a failure upon quince stock.

Mr. William Parry, of the Pomona Nurseries, Parry,
N. J., whose experience with these pears is probably
greater than that of any other person, is very emphatic
in his statement that the quince is poisonous to all and
every admixture of the Chinese pears ; the American Agri-
culturist also confirms this statement, which is undoubtedly
correct, and should be more widely known than it is. It
should also be noted as a fact, that if buds be taken from
a pear (Chinese) on quince stock and worked on a pear
stock, the trees raised therefrom will be stunted and sickly.

Mr. Parry mentions an orchard of five thousand trees,
three thousand on pear stock the remainder on quince ; at
the end of the first year only one in a thousand of those
on pear stock needed replanting, while out of the two
thousand trees on quince two hundred had to be replaced ;
the next year as many more, and all that were left were
stunted and sickly. The same pears on pear stock, or on
their own roots, are strong and thrifty.

ODDS AND ENDS. 305

The writer's own experience confirms the point in ques-
tion; four trees of the Le Conte variety on quince stock
have almost stood still on our own grounds, while cuttings
from other trees on pear stock, although three years
younger, have far outstripped the former in size and vigor.

Of all the ills that trees are heir to there is none more
universal than those which are directly due to a cause that
need never exist at all. This is the exposure of the trunks
of fruit trees to the scorching effects of the afternoon sun
on the south and southwest. If the bark is not actually
killed and the sap soured on that side of the tree, it is
almost certain to become hide-bound, and to act as a liga-
ture on the delicate sap-cells beneath it.

In cutting across the trunk of an orange tree, for in-
stance, the difference of the rings showing the annual
growth of the wood is very perceptible, those that were
on the south and southwest sides of the tree being much
thinner than the same rings on the opposite side.

We have seen fruit growers set out trees from the nurs-
eries where they have been well shaded all their short lives
by low limbs and close planting, trim them bare, and thus
leave them out in the open ground, exposed to the full
strength of the sun, which beats down all day long on the
young, tender bark.

Now, is this good treatment or good judgment? Those
who pursue this course are answered, bye and bye, in trees
stunted, diseased, or dead, and then they wonder what is
the matter, and, if the trees were purchased, blame the
seller for the fault that lies at their own door, in full sight,
if they would but open their eyes and look. Never set
out a tree of any kind and leave it standing with a bare
trunk.

26

306 FLORIDA FRUITS — ODDS AND ENDS.

Go over young groves or orchards or single trees that
are dead or stunted, and in every case almost you will find
the bark scalded and peeling off on the south and south-
west sides. And where the tree has vitality enough to
drag on its weary existence, the presence of this "sun-
scald " will be found a standing invitation to borers and
wood-lice to enter and put in their death-dealing work.

So you see it will pay to protect the delicate stems
of your trees. How ? It is very easily done, and quickly.
The long, gray moss of the hammocks is excellent for
wrapping around the trunks ; just as good and more con-
venient for many are newspapers lightly tied. Either of
these will last for months, and should be kept in place all
the year around, until the trunks are well shaded by over-
hanging limbs.

SPECIALTIES IN BUDDING.

While Chapter IV of this volume deals in thorough de-
tail with the several methods of budding and grafting, yet
there are some few trees and plants which require especial
care as to the mode and time of propagating by these
methods. One of these, which is now attracting great and
deserved attention, is the

JAPANESE PERSIMMON.

Since the introduction of this valuable fruit into our
country the idea has generally prevailed that its propaga-
tion upon our native stock is very difficult and uncertain.
Now, the truth is exactly contrary, if one only knows how
to set about it.

The trouble was at first, that orange growers especially,
being more accustomed to budding than to grafting, nat-
urally tried to apply the same process to the Japan persim-
mon, forgetting, or being ignorant of an old rule in horti-
culture, that trees having thick bark should be propagated

ODDS AND ENDS. 307

by grafting, and that any tree that is prolific in throwing
up suckers may be root grafted, and also grown from cut-
tings.

Consequently, "eye buds" failed, a fact that was ren-
dered extremely aggravating by the abundance of native
wild stock, and the value of the Japan persimmon. But
now that experience has taught us the needed lesson it is
all easy enough.

First of all about the native stocks. Small trees are
best, with the stock not more than a quarter to half an
inch in diameter at the point of union, and to get good
stocks of this size they should be grown from the seed in
nursery rows.

The persimmon in its wild state is naturally almost des-
titute of fine, fibrous roots, and it is a difficult matter to
transplant the proper size satisfactorily. The best and
quickest way, therefore, to get good strong Japan persim-
mons is to drop the seed of the native sort in January in
shallow drills about three inches apart, the rows being
three feet apart. Do not have the soil very rich or cultivate
the young seedlings very freely ; the native persimmon is a
strong, vigorous grower, and your object now is to regulate
it, so that by the time it is one year old, and sufficiently
matured to graft, the stock will not be larger than that
named above, for, if it exceeds half an inch in diameter
before being grafted, it is almost worthless, a proper union
being well-nigh hopeless. Grafts on one-year-old stock
that have not been transplanted will make a growth of
from three to six feet the first year.

It is, however, as advantageous to transplant the per-
simmon twice, that is, once from the seed-bed to another
bed, and thence to the orchard, as it is to the orange, and
for the same reason, to promote the formation of fibrous
roots. Root pruning, by thrusting down a sharp spade

308 FLORIDA FRUITS ODDS AND ENDS.

pretty close to the stem, will serve the same purpose, a
very important one, for trees that are to be moved.

And now as to the grafting process. First, take notice
that the buds of the Japan persimmon begin to swell in
February, a week or two sooner than those of the native,
and therefore the scions must be cut that much earlier, at
the first sign given by the moving sap, and laid away in a
cool place, covered with moss or earth, to await the move-
ments of the native stock.

The best method of grafting this fruit is the "whip"
graft, as it is the most convenient. (For details of process
see page 47.) The earth should be removed from the
crown of the stock deep enough to allow the point of
union to be entirely covered when it is replaced. The
scion should be about three inches long, and only one bud
left above the ground ; after it is in place wrap strips of
waxed cloth tightly around the union of stock and scion,
overlapping the folds so as to insure it against the entrance
of water.

There is another method of propagating the Japan per-
simmon, much easier and more simple, though the trees
thus obtained are rather longer in bearing fruit than those
grafted. This is by cuttings, taken as other cuttings
should be, when the tree is in a dormant state, although
they can, by extra care, be made to strike root at any
time ; the cuttings root readily, and it is a curious thing
that this simple fact is not generally known.

GRAFTING THE GRAPE.

The grape is one of the easiest plants to graft, and the
best time to insert the graft is in the latter part of the
winter season, when both stock and scion are dormant. By
the following simple process, the common wild Florida
grape vine may be employed as stock for any of the finer

ODDS AND ENDS. 309

varieties, a use for which their vigorous growth especially
adapts them :

Cut off the stock just below the surface, then split it
with a chisel or knife-blade, and insert a wedge-shaped
scion, pushing it down into the cleft as far as possible, not
less than one or two inches; be careful that the bark
touches on the outside.

Another method is to cut off the stock as before, square
and smooth; then with an auger bore a hole about two
inches deep, and perpendicular ; get a scion that will j-ust
fit this hole, and push it down firmly to the bottom ; make
sure that it goes down all the way, and in order to do this
the safest plan is to measure the exact depth on a slender
stick, then lay this against the scion, and mark its height.
Then proceed as in other grafting ; wrap the point of union
with prepared strips, and mound up the earth over it.

TO HAVE EARLY ORANGE BUDS.

It is of great advantage to be able to put in orange buds
early in the season, but, as a rule, this is impossible until
June, because only the current season's growth is available
for scions, and none of it is sufficiently matured earlier in
the season. By experiments, however, it has been found
that buds of the citrus family may be successfully ' ' win-
tered," just as other buds frequently are.

Select, as late in the season as possible, exactly the same
kind of buds as you would if going to use them immedi-
ately. Make a trench in a shed, or under some shelter
where the ground will not become wet, and line the bot-
tom with leaves — palmetto answers the purpose better
than any other — lay the bud sticks on these, not piled
thick or on top of each other ; then another layer of leaves,
more buds, and more leaves; the top layer should be
leaves, and earth cover the whole.

310 FLORIDA FRUITS ODDS AND ENDS.

In the spring, when the sap begins to move in the stock,
all you have to do is to bring out your buds and go to
work; they will "take" as readily as if just taken from
the tree in May or June, and a clear gain of at least three
months is the result.

Another point in propagating oranges not generally
known is, that they will root from cuttings and make good
trees. It is claimed that they root more readily if the
cutting is set with the small end down ; and this also of
lemons, but we will not vouch for the truth of this claim,
although we know that it is true of some others than the
citrus family.

SHELLAC COATING.

The coating of shellac, recommended on page 86, for
application to cuts or wounds made in trimming trees, is
prepared as follows:

Dissolve in one quart of alcohol as much gum shellac
as will make a liquid of the consistency of paint ; apply
with a common painter's brush. Keep it in a wide-mouthed
bottle or jar, well corked, and have it always ready for use.

REMEDIES FOR MILDEW, APHIS, AND RED SPIDER.

One quarter of an ounce of sulphide of potassium to
one gallon water ; apply with a syringe or fountain pump.
This substance is cheap and easily applied, and the effect
upon the above enemies of the fruit and vegetable grower
is almost magical. Grape vines, cucumbers, melons, plum,
and peach trees, in short every plant attacked, requires
only one to three sprinklings to be completely cleared of its
enemies.

ANOTHER REMEDY FOR MILDEW AND GRAPE ROT.

Four pounds of bluestone (copperas) to fifty gallons of
water, or, on a smaller scale, one ounce of bluestone to

ODDS AND ENDS. 311

six gallons of water. Sprinkle the foliage copiously once
a week as long as the rainy season continues (these dis-
eases being caused by an excess of moisture on the foli-
age). If mildew and rot have already developed before
this treatment is begun, and threaten loss of leaves or
fruit, a ten-per-cent solution of common whitewash applied
in the same way will arrest their progress.

DURABLE LABELS FOR FRUIT TREES.

The need of some better and more lasting label than the
usual wooden one, with the name penciled or printed, for
marking trees in nursery and grove has long been sorely
felt by the horticulturist; such labels are far from satis-
factory, the name being almost invariably faded or washed
out in a few months. A tree label, cheap, easily obtained,
and indelible, has been eagerly sought for, and here it is :

Get pieces of sheet zinc, the older and more corroded
the better, cut them in strips about an inch wide at one
end, tapering to a slender point at the other, and six to
eight inches long; then, with a soft, ordinary lead-pencil,
write on the wider end the name or number of your tree
or bud, with date or any other data desired; wind the
slender end of the strip around the stem or trunk. It will
unwind of itself as the tree grows, hence never cuts into
the bark. The older the label is the more distinct the
marks will be, the lead acting chemically on the zinc ; the
lettering, plain enough even at first, soon becomes outlined
with a fine flour-like substance, and then turns purple.

This label will last as long as the tree, only needing
occasional transfer to a new place, as the stem it clasped
at first grows too large for it. The comfort and profit of
such a label will be acknowledged by every fruit grower.

New tin, scratched upon with a sharp awl, answers
nearly as well as the zinc, but will not last as long.

312 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

CHAPTER XXXI.

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS — ORANGES.

Orange Wine, No. 1. Take perfectly ripe, sweet oranges,
the riper the better, as then the saccharine matter is en-
tirely developed ; peel and cut into halves across the cells ;
cut over a tub so as not to lose any juice, and squeeze both
halves hard before dropping in the tub. When the tub is
full put the whole mass through a wine-press, which must
be so close that none of the seeds can escape into the mash,
as they would give the wine a bitter taste. To each gal-
lon of juice add one pound of granulated or loaf-sugar,
and to each gallon of this mixed juice add one quart of
pure water. Put the whole in a barrel, leaving a space
of about five gallons for expansion of the wine during
fermentation.

Orange wine has to undergo the lower fermentation, as
by the upper fermentation all the volatile matter and the
aroma would escape. The barrel must be closed air-tight,
and a fermenting tube adjusted ; the fermentation is very
vigorous for the first few days, and the barrel must be
closely watched to prevent its bursting. The fermentation
subsides gradually after a few days, then the wine has to
be racked off and the lees can be filtered ; the fermenting
tube must be adjusted again to the new barrel, to remain
until the fermentation shall have ceased entirely. Rack
the wine off again in about six weeks after the latter pe-
riod, and in a month after this second racking it will be
fit for market, as there is no second or "spring" fermenta-
tion, as with grape wines.

Orange Wine, No. 2. Ninety sweet oranges, thirty-two
pounds of lump sugar ; break sugar in small pieces and

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 313

put it in a dry, sweet, nine-gallon cask, place the latter
where it is to remain. Have ready close to the cask two
large pans or small tubs, put the orange peels, pared thin,
into one, and into the other the pulp, after the juice has
been squeezed from it ; strain the juice carefully and put it
in the cask, then pour one and .a half gallons of water on
both peels and pulp ; let it stand for twenty-four hours,
then strain into the cask ; add more water to peels and
pulp, next day strain into cask. Repeat this process until
the cask is filled, which should take just seven days to ac-
complish, the water being properly proportioned to this
end, and the contents of the cask being stirred each day.
On the third day, after the cask is full, it may be securely
bunged down.

This is a very simple and easy method, and if directions
are followed the wine can not fail to be excellent. It
should be bottled in eight months, and will be fit for use
twelve months after making.

Orange Wine, No. 3. Juice of sweet oranges and water,
equal parts; to every gallon add three pounds of raw
Florida sugar; place in tight barrel, filled, with a bent
tube from the closed bung-hole to a pail of water. When
the gas bubbles cease to show in the water, close the bar-
rel ; leave it undisturbed for four months, then bottle and
cork tight. This makes a very fine wine that will keep
well in wood or glass.

Orange wine is of an amber color, tastes like dry Hock,
but always retains a decided aroma of the orange.

Twelve hundred sour, or fifteen hundred sweet oranges,
will make forty-five gallons of wine at from three to six
dollars per gallon, and ten gallons of vinegar at twenty-
five cents per gallon, wholesale.

Orange Vinegar. To the cakes which are left in the
presses, after making wine, add molasses and water, ac-

27

§14 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

cording to judgment ; let it stand until vinegar is formed,
then strain and bottle or place in casks.

Orange Marmalade, No. 1. Forty sour oranges; peel
and set pulp aside till next day ; soak peels in water (rain
water preferred) for twenty-four hours, changing the water
four times ; then boil peels in a porcelain-lined kettle till
tender, changing water three times, using boiling water
each time, and keeping the last used water for use as fol-
lows : Take out the peels, drain and spread out on a flat
dish or waiter ; put into the kettle the orange pulp, squeez-
ing each piece in the hand ; add three pints of the water
saved from the peels, and boil for one hour. While this
is boiling scrape off all the white from the peels, then shred
or chop the yellow portion into fine pieces ; next, strain
the contents of the kettle several times till it is as clear as
amber (there should be about seven and a half pints of
juice, if there is not, add enough of the water the peels
were boiled in to make up the difference). To this quan-
tity of juice add ten pounds of white sugar ; let it come
to a boil, then add the shredded peels, about five pints ;
let it boil all together for about one hour and a quarter,
or until it begins to jelly.

Orange Marmalade, No. 2. Of oranges and sugar allow
pound for pound. Pare half the oranges and cut the rind
into shreds ; boil in three waters until tender, and set aside ;
grate the rind of the remaining oranges, take off and
throw away every bit of the white inner skin ; quarter all
the oranges, and take out the seeds, chop or cut them into
small pieces ; drain all the juice that will come away with-
out pressing them over the sugar ; heat this, stirring until
the sugar is dissolved, adding a very little water if the
oranges are not very juicy ; boil and skim five or six min-
utes ; put in the boiled shreds and cook ten minutes, then
the chopped fruit and grated peel, and boil twenty minutes

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 315

longer. When cold put into small jars, tied up, with blad-
der or paper next the fruit, and cloths dipped in wax
over all.

Preserved Orange Peel. Weigh the oranges whole, and
allow pound for pound ; peel the fruit, and cut the rinds
into narrow shreds ; boil until tender, changing the water
twice, and replenishing with hot each time. Squeeze the
orange juice through a strainer over the sugar, let this
heat to a boil ; put in the shreds and boil twenty minutes.

Orange Jelly. One pint of water, two ounces of gela-
tine, half a pound of loaf-sugar, ten oranges, and one
lemon. Put water, gelatine, sugar, rind of one orange,
and rind of half a lemon into a sauce-pan together, and
stir over the fire until the gelatine is dissolved ; remove
the scum ; then add juice of lemon and oranges sufficient
to make one pint ; stir together until on the point of boil-
ing, then strain through a jelly bag or fine sieve, and when
nearly cold place in a mold previously wetted.

Preserved Oranges. Take small oranges, and rather
more than their weight in white sugar; slightly grate
the fruit, and score round and round with a knife, but
not very deep ; put the oranges in cold water for three
days, changing the water two or three times a day ; tie
them up in a cloth, boil them till they are soft enough for
the head of a pin to penetrate the skin. While 'they are
boiling place the sugar on the fire, with rather more than
half a pint of sugar to each pound ; let it boil for a min-
ute or two, then strain it through muslin ; do not put the
oranges into the syrup until it jellies and is of a yellow
color ; try the syrup by putting some to cool, it must not
be too stiff; the syrup need not cover the oranges, but
they must be turned so that each part is thoroughly done.

Orange Cream. One and a half ounces of gelatine, one
lemon, six large oranges, sugar to taste, half a pint of

316 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

good cream; squeeze juice from oranges and lemon, strain
and put in sauce-pan with gelatine, and enough water to
make juice up to one and a half pints ; rub the sugar on
the orange and lemon rind, add to it the other materials,
and boil for about ten minutes ; then strain through jelly
bag, and, when cold, beat up with it half a pint of thick
cream, then pour into wet mold.

Orange Tincture. Peel off the yellow part of the rind
very thin, and cover it with alcohol in a tightly-corked
bottle ; when the tincture is bright yellow pour off into
another bottle for use in flavoring puddings, custards,
cakes, etc.

How Orange Wine is made in Sicily. Boil the peels of
forty oranges in ten quarts of water until the water tastes
strongly of the peels ; add twelve quarts of orange juice
and thirty-six quarts of sugar. When cold pour into a
barrel ; leave the bung out during the fermentation, which
lasts forty days, and keep the barrel bung full, then close
the barrel and let the wine settle for two months. Two
days before bottling add a small handful of orange flowers
to give fragrance to the wine. Orange wine improves
with age, and acquires the taste of the Malvaria of the
Madeira. It bears transportation well ; it competes with
curacoa and other alcoholic, aromatic beverages of South-
ern France and Italy.

Sour Orange Wine. To five gallons of water add one
half gallon of juice and fifteen pounds brown sugar ; put
the sugar and water together, let it come to a boil, when
cool add the juice. Let it stand open till fermentation
ceases, then stop tight. It may be bottled after it has
remained in barrel about six months. This makes an
excellent wine, and if the receipt is followed it will be a
success.

Sour Oranye Wine, No. 2. To one gallon of juice add

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 317

three gallons of water, and to every gallon of the mixture
add three pounds of sugar; put into a barrel and let it
stand until fermentation ceases, which will be from six
weeks to two months ; keep the bung covered with a thin
cloth. After fermentation ceases it is better to draw off
the wine into other barrels, then stop up the bung tight
and keep it in a cool place.

Sweet orange wine is made in the same way, except that
you use equal parts of juice and water with three pounds
of sugar to every gallon of mixture. Of course the juice
must be well strained before the sugar is added.

Orange Champagne. The following is the recipe : One
gallon sour orange juice, three gallons rain-water, seven
pounds white sugar. Put into a keg, and each day add a
little fresh juice until effervescence ceases. After standing
about eight days, or when it becomes perfectly clear, bottle
and cork tightly ; secure the corks with string or wire and
set aside for use.

Sour Orange Preserves. Either grate or pare off the
outside rind of the fruit, cut in half and take out the
seed ; sprinkle liberally with salt and let it stand twenty-
four hours ; wash off the salt thoroughly and boil in soda-
water, allowing a good handful of soda to two gallons of
water. Then scald in clear water until the rind can be
pierced with a straw. Allow one pound of sugar to every
pound of fruit, and a pint of water to every pound of
sugar. Boil the syrup until it begins to thicken, then add
the fruit and boil until clear. When the fruit is cooked
enough, if the syrup is not thick enough, continue to boil
after the fruit has been removed. Change the clear water
two or three times after boiling in the soda-water, before
putting the fruit into the syrup.

Sweet Orange Preserves. Grate off the outside rind, cut
in half and take out the seed ; after this put the fruit in a

318 FLORIDA FRUITS HOW TO USE THEM.

weak brine and let it stay for twelve hours, then rinse it
in cold water ; put it into a kettle, cover it with cold water
and let it come to a boil ; repeat this several times until
the bitter taste is destroyed. Just as soon as the water
begins to boil change it for other water. Allow one pound
of sugar to a pound of fruit, and one pint of water to
every pound of sugar. Boil the fruit until it is clear, and
after it is taken up, if the syrup is not thick enough, con-
tinue to boil.

Orange-Flower .Candy as made in $icily. Soak one pound
of orange-flower leaves in water twenty-four hours ; pour
off this water, and, adding fresh water, boil to a good con-
sistency ; sprinkle well with cold water ; spread on cloth,
and sift over the mass two pounds of powdered sugar.
Spread out on dishes and place in the shade for a week
that the sugar may be thoroughly absorbed. Dry the
candy in the sun or fruit drier and serve on sheets of
white paper.

Orange Blossoms Utilized. Place sheets or any suitable
article under the trees at night to catch the falling blos-
soms ; in the morning before the dew is off gather up all
that have fallen and put in a three-cornered bag— flannel
that has been washed is best. As soon as possible pour
over these boiling syrup, made of the best sugar, but rather
thin ; hang up the bag to drain and leave it out all day ;
take out the scalded flowers and save them. Repeat the
process of fresh flowers for three mornings, using the same
syrup; then bottle for use as a delightful beverage, with
water added. The flowers that have been scalded can be
used by placing them in thin muslin bags between layers
of butter; the butter can be used in cakes, sauces, or any
way that flavored butter may be wanted.

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 319

LEMONS.

Lemon Tincture is made exactly the same as orange tinc-
ture, given above.

Pickled Lemons. Cut the lemons in quarters, not en-
tirely apart, and put a teaspoonful of salt in each one ;
put them where they will dry either in the hot sun or by
the stove ; when they are dried so that they are black and
look good for nothing, prepare the vinegar with cloves,
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger-root, onion, and a little mustard
seed, and pour it boiling hot over the lemons ; keep a year
before using. They are quite equal to the West India
limes. They require more vinegar than other pickles, as
the lemons will swell out to their natural size.

Lemon Jelly, for Layer Cake. Two cups of sugar, yolks
of three eggs, juice of two lemons. Cook till thickened
by setting in boiling water, and then add the well-beaten
whites of three eggs ; spread between layers of cake.

Lemon Cream. One pint of cream or new milk, yolks
of two eggs, four ounces of white sugar, one large or two
small lemons, and one ounce of gelatine. Put the cream
into a sauce-pan with the sugar, lemon peel, and gelatine,
and simmer over a gentle fire for ten minutes, stirring all
the time ; then strain into a jug, add the well-beaten yolks
of two eggs, and put the jug into a pot of boiling water ;
stir the mixture one way until it thickens, but do not al-
low it to boil ; take off and stir till nearly cold ; strain the
lemon juice and stir in gradually till well mixed, then pour
into a well-oiled mold.

Preserved Lemon Peel is made according to recipe given
for orange peel, or as follows : Make a thick syrup of
white sugar, chop thick lemon peels very fine, and boil in
the syrup ten minutes ; put in glass tumblers and paste
paper over ; a teaspoonful of this conserve gives a delicious
flavor to cakes, puddings, etc.

320 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

Lemon Syrup. Squeeze lemons, and strain juice care-
fully; then place in a broad, open dish, and add all the
granulated sugar it will dissolve ; let it stand for several
days, and stir and add sugar occasionally till it will take
up no more ; then bottle and seal closely ; keep in a dark
place and cool as possible. A tablespoonful to a tumbler
of water makes a refreshing summer drink.

Nourishing Lemonade. Pint and a half of boiling water,
juice of four lemons, rinds of two, and half pint of sherry,
four eggs, and six ounces of white sugar. Pare the lemon
rinds thinly, put it in a jug with the sugar, and pour on
the boiling water ; let it cool, then strain it, add the wine,
lemon juice, and well-beaten eggs, also strained, and the
beverage will be ready for use. If desired, the sherry and
water may be omitted and milk put in their place.

Lemon Butter. One and a half cups of white sugar,
whites of three eggs, yolk of one, grated rind, and juice
of one and a half or two small lemons ; boil gently twenty
minutes, stirring all the time. Nice for tarts or to be eaten
as preserves.

Lemons for Malaria. An Italian physician gives the
following directions for preparing a remedy for malaria,
which may be worth trying, as it is said to have proved
efficacious when quinine has given no relief: Cut up a
lemon, peel and pulp, in thin slices, and boil it in a pint
and a half of water until it is reduced to half a pint;
strain through a linen cloth, squeezing the remains of the
boiled lemon, and set it aside until cold. The entire liquid
is taken fasting.

LIMES.

Limes for Pickling, for Shipping to distant Markets.
They should be a bright yellow when picked, which
should be done carefully. Place in tight barrels or casks
the same day they are picked, and cover at once with a

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 321

brine as salt only as sea-water ; then head up tight, and
change water two or three times. Limes prepared in this
way are ready for use at any time, either as pickles or pre-
serves, by first freshening in clear water and then follow-
ing other recipes.

Pickled Limes are prepared exactly according to recipe
given for pickled lemons, and are equally good.

Preserved Limes. If the limes have been previously
kept in brine, freshen by soaking in several waters ; then
proceed as follows, same as if just picked : Take out the
seeds and place in cold water for twenty-four hours, chang-
ing the water several times ; boil until tender, in water to
which a little soda has been added ; soak again in water
for twenty-four hours, changing water as before ; the limes
are now ready to preserve. To each pound of fruit take
two pounds of white sugar and three pints of water;
make a syrup first, drop the fruit into it, and cook long
enough to become thoroughly heated through ; place limes
in jars set in hot water, boil the syrup down a little and
turn over them. Seal up the same as any other preserves.

CITRONS.

To Dry for Home or Market. Pick the fruit when green,
just as it comes to maturity ; cut into four or six pieces;
soak in clear water twenty-four hours, changing it several
times, boil half an hour in water containing a little alum,
and a few handfuls of green grass (Guinea preferred), or
the leaves of the citron tree ; pour this off, and boil half
an hour in thin syrup ; then weigh the citron and add an
equal weight of white sugar to the syrup ; dip the citron
into the latter two or three times, dry in the sun one day,
the second day fill the cavities of the citron with the syrup,
and continue to expose to the sun until thoroughly dry.
This makes an excellent article for commerce, being of

322 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

superior quality to that sold usually in the stores. If you
have a fruit drier so much the better.

Preserved Citron. Never use ripe citron in any shape,
it will not dry nor make a good preserve. Take green
citron, full grown but young and tender, cut into four
pieces, and take out pulp and seeds ; lay the citron in salt
and water for twenty-four hours, take it out and scald it
two or three times until the bitter is extracted ; then make
a moderately thick syrup, and boil the citron in it gently
until clear and translucent ; then flavor syrup with lemon
juice, all-spice berries, stick cinnamon, and root ginger.

Grape Fruit, or Pomola. This fruit is used only in its
original state, eaten as an orange, or prepared for the table
by carefully removing all the inner membranous skin and
seeds, and then sugaring the fruit an hour or two before
sending to table. The inner skins part readily from the
pulp, which is very juicy, and great care should be taken
not to leave any of the former clinging to the pulp, as it
is very bitter ; properly prepared there it no fruit more
refreshing than the pomola. The juice also makes a very
pleasant drink, prepared the same as lemon- or lime-ade.

TO PREPARE CITRONS FOR SHIPMENT.

There are two methods of preparing the citrons when
it is desired to ship them to a factory for purposes of pre-
serving or evaporation.

No. 1. Gather the fruit carefully, cutting the stem as
you would an orange or lemon ; place it in a basket lined
with moss, paper, or some other soft material, as it is im-
portant not to bruise the skin. See that all possible blem-
ishes, as of insects or dust, are cleaned off with a brush or
a sponge dipped in cold water ; spread them out for several
days.

Sort the citrons into two classes ; those that are large,

"i/ry

C"'

[(UNIVERSITY

HOW TO USE FLORIDA

plump, and free from blemish are to be marked "first
class ;" inferior ones are " second class." Wrap the citrons
in paper, and pack carefully in boxes, strongly made but
smooth inside, between two and three hundred in a box.

No. 2. Cut the fruit into halves or quarters, then pack
it in casks with a sprinkling of salt ; then fill the casks
with sea-water or its artificial counterpart. In twenty
days open the casks, take out the fruit, and remove the
pulp with a spoon; repack, and fill up again with sea-
water, to which a little salt has been added. Lay the cask
on its side with the bung open, that the gas may escape,
and keep it thus until ready to ship.

Commercial Candied Citron. Cut the fruit into halves
or quarters, according to its size, put it in a tub or cask
of brine, having first cleaned out the pulp, and leave it
for a month ; then renew the salt water, and let the citron
lie in it for four or five months, or as much longer as you
choose ; this long process is necessary to eliminate the bit-
ter principle from the rind, which it is otherwise impossible
to remove entirely.

Next, boil the fruit in fresh water until a fork will eas-
ily pass through it ; it usually takes about an hour and a
half to reach this point. Then put it in cold, fresh water,
to remain there for at least twenty-four hours, when it will
have turned to that light green color which we have
learned to associate with candied citron.

The next step is to drain the fruit, place it in earthen
jars, and pour over it hot syrup of white sugar at twenty
degrees sacchrometer ; cover it entirely, and let it stand
for three weeks, but the syrup must be poured off twice a
week, boiled, skimmed, and more sugar added each time
until the syrup is a little thicker than it was at the first boil-
ing ; turn it back over the fruit at boiling point. The three
weeks elapsed, put the citron in a vessel containing the

324 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

syrup, with all the sugar it can dissolve ; let it boil for ten
minutes ; and then for twenty-four hours keep it near the
boiling point without letting it reach it, then boil it again
until no more sugar can be taken up.

The proportion of sugar absorbed in this process is about
eighty pounds to one hundred of the citron rinds. The
boiling completed, the rinds are spread on wire netting and
dried, either in the sun, or, which is a far superior method,
in an evaporator. The writer's experience proves the
American Fruit Drier to be especially adapted to this
process.

PINE- APPLES.

Pine-apple and Tapioca Pudding. Soak a teacupful of
tapioca in a pint of water for two or three hours ; then
add one quart of milk, two beaten eggs, two thirds of a
cup of sugar, a little salt, and a tablespoonful of butter ;
bake in a buttered dish, stirring occasionally at first ; when
done it must be quite stiff; turn on to a platter and pour
over a pint of canned pine-apple, or uncooked pine-apple,
previously cut into little dice; sprinkle with sugar, and
cover tightly for an hour or two before using. Serve
cold.

Pine-apple Champagne, or "Chichi." The latter is the
proper title of this delicious and favorite drink of tropical
countries; it is a Spanish name, and pronounced as if
spelled chee-chee. Over the peelings of two small pine-
apples pour one quart of boiling water ; allow it to steep
until cold, then sweeten to taste, strain and bottle, corking
tight ; tie down the cork and place the bottle on its side ;
if placed in a warm place it will be ripe in twenty-four
hours. A small piece of ginger placed in each bottle will
improve the flavor. The whole pine-apple, chopped, can
be used if desired.

Pine - appleade. Boil the pine-apple or skins; allow

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 325

liquid to cool, then strain ; add lemon or lime juice, and
sweeten to taste.

Recipes for making a preserve or for candying pine-
apples being found in all cook-books, we will not repeat
them here.

GUAVAS.

Guava Jelly. This is a jelly that has a world-wide repu-
tation, although the Havana article, so familiar to the
public, is really no jelly at .all, but the fruit stewed down
to a smooth mass — a marmalade, in fact. True guava
jelly, as made by the following recipe, is as clear and
beautiful as crab-apple or quince jelly, and varies in color
from a pale amber to a light claret, according to the varie-
ties of the fruit :

Either the parings or the whole fruit (ripe, but not too
ripe) cut up, may be used. It is a good plan, when par-
ing guavas for the table (like peaches eaten with sugar and
cream), to put the skins into a small kettle, with also the
centers of the fruit containing a majority of the seeds, and
make jelly of them, a few glasses at a time, as the guava
jellies best in small quantities. Put just enough water
in the kettle to keep the fruit from burning before the
juices are extracted. Let it boil for an hour or more,
until well cooked, then strain through a rather coarse
bag; do not squeeze it at all, or if you do, strain it again
through a fine cloth ; measure the juice, let it boil a few
moments, then add granulated sugar, one and a half meas-
ures to each one of the juice, also the juice of one or two
lemons ; skim carefully, watch closely, and the moment it
ropes, or falls in large drops, remove and place in glasses.

Guava Paste. Take twelve pounds of guavas, not
peeled, to eight pounds of white sugar ; reduce the sugar
with water to a syrup clear and ready to sugar. Boil the
guavas until they are thoroughly softened, then pass them

326 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

through a sieve and boil again until they are at the right
point to harden, when the hot syrup is added. Test the
mixture by dropping it in cold water ; if it solidifies it is
ready for the boxes or cups.

Spiced Guavas — Canned Guavas are prepared according
to usual recipes for spiced and canned fruits.

BANANAS.

Fried Bananas. Peel and slice the fruit, sprinkle with
salt, dip them in thin batter and fry in butter. Serve im-
mediately.

Frozen Banana Pudding. Make an ice-cream of two quarts
of cream, one of milk, and one pound of white sugar ; stir
this well together and freeze hard enough to put into a
mold ; line the top of the mold with slices of banana
about an inch apart, then a layer of ice-cream, then an-
other layer of bananas and a little pounded sweet almonds,
then ice-cream, and so on until the mold is full ; cover it
with a cloth, put on the tin cover tightly, and pack it in
salt and ice for three or four hours.

Bananas sliced across make a pleasant addition to a dish
of grape fruit.

STRAWBERRIES.

Strawberry Syrup and Strawberry Preserves. One gallon
of capped strawberries will weigh six pounds when gath-
ered fresh, and allowed to lie lightly without being mashed.
For this quantity take one pound of best white sugar,
either granulated or crushed loaf. In a china bowl put a
layer of strawberries and a layer of sugar alternately,
until all the sugar has been put in. Let them remain so
for three or four hours to extract all the juice ; then with
a skimmer dip up all the berries, and lay them on a col-
ander to drain, without mashing them. When all the
juice is drained from them strain it through a coarse linen

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 327

towel or piece of flannel ; then to every pint of juice put
one pound of best white sugar. Put the juice and sugar
into a stone jar, set the jar into an iron pot of cold water.
Set the pot over the fire ; let it boil, stirring it occasionally
to dissolve the sugar ; skim the froth off. When all the
sugar is dissolved and the froth ceases to rise, take it off,
let it cool, put it into bottles, cork tightly, and set them
in a cool place. This syrup makes a delightful flavoring
for ice-cream, and with the addition of a little lemon juice
or vinegar and water makes an agreeable summer bever-
age. After all the juice has been drained from the straw-
berries they will weigh two pounds less than they did at
first. Take then their reduced weight in crushed loaf
sugar, and put a layer of the .berries and a layer of sugar ;
put them in a stone jar, set the jar in a pot of cold water,
set the pot over a brisk fire, and let the fruit boil until
perfectly tender and transparent. Stir gently at first so
as to dissolve the sugar without breaking the berries. The
preserves require more cooking than the syrup. Strawber-
ries preserved by this recipe keep much longer than when
prepared in the usual way. If you wish the color of the
strawberries to be bright, do not let pewter or tin come
near them during the process of preserving, for either
turns the color dull directly.

OLIVES.

Methods of Preparing Olives. In Italy the olives are
prepared for the table in three ways. First, pickled green ;
second, pickled ripe; and third, dried when ripe. The
green olives are picked before they commence to change
from the green color, and placed in a strong solution of
lime to take out the oily substance, and are then conserved
in water saturated with salt. The oil is taken from ripe
olives bv the use of salt instead of lime. The olives for

328 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

drying are fully ripe, dried in the sun, or in an evaporator,
packed tight in a jar with aromatic herbs to flavor the
fruit. Oil is then turned over the fruit to exclude the
air, but none is allowed to sink to the bottom of the jar,
as it might become rancid.

Pickled Olives. In Spain the green fruits for pickles are
allowed to reach full size, but yet be green and hard, and
are handled by a slow and a quick process. By the slow pro-
cess the freshly picked olives are placed in fresh water, which
must be changed daily for a fortnight ; the water must be
drawn off and promptly replaced, leaving the fruit ex-
posed to the air no more than possible. At first the water
will be very bitter, but the bitter will decrease daily. The
taste must determine the time required. When sufficiently
soaked the olive must be placed in a pickle containing one
volume of salt to fourteen of water. They may be kept
in clean, well-soaked tubs without any repugnant flavor-
ing, a layer of olive twigs and leaves being placed at the
bottom to prevent injury from pressure, and another on
the top, weighted down and covered with the pickle. They
will be ready for bottling in four months.

By the quick process a solution of two volumes of caus-
tic soda and fourteen volumes of water is prepared and
turned over the fruit. After remaining in soak an hour
the olives must be sampled by cutting a few open to ascer-
tain how far the solution has penetrated. The depth may
be noticed by the color, and should not exceed one half
the thickness of the pulp; when the proper depth is
reached, the solution must be immediately drawn off and
replaced quickly by fresh water, changing it three or four
times, and leaving the last water on twenty-four hours.
Brine, as for the slow process, is prepared, and the olives
placed in it ; by this process the olives will be ready for
use in thirty days.

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 329

Preserved in Oil. Ripe olives are preserved in oil by
steeping them in oil, without other preparation, and sea-
soned with fennel, coriander, salt, and pepper.

GRAPES.

Wild Grape Wine. The small wild grape, that grows
wild in such luxuriance in the Florida hammocks, makes
an excellent wine, as follows : Mash the grapes in a large
tub or bowl, and let them stand until there are signs of
fermentation setting in, then strain the juice by dripping
through a flannel bag. To three quarts of juice add one
quart of water and three pounds of light brown sugar.
Put it away in a demijohn in a moderately warm place,
and tie up the mouth of the demijohn closely with a piece
of thin muslin. Do not cork until fermentation is com-
plete.

Domestic Grape Wine. Put twenty pounds of ripe grapes
in a stone jar, and pour on them six quarts of boiling
water; as soon as the water is cool enough squeeze the
grapes with the hand ; cover the jar with a cloth and let
it stand for three days, then press out the juice and add
ten pounds of crushed sugar. After it has stood for a
week skim, strain, and bottle it, corking loosely; when
the fermentation is complete strain it again and bottle it,
corking tightly. Lay the bottles on their side in a cool
place.

How to Keep Grapes. Take full bunches, ripe and per-
fect ; cut the stem off smooth and seal by dipping it in hot
sealing-wax ; let them lie one day to make sure they are
perfectly sealed, if not, they will shrivel. If they are all
right, pack them in a box in layers, with dry saw-dust or
sand ; make the box as air-tight as possible. By this method
they will keep for months in perfect condition.

28

330 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

FIGS.

To Dry Figs. Gather the figs when the skins begin to crack
(which is a sign of maturity, and that the fruit contains
the largest amount of saccharine matter); make a strong
lye of oak ashes or common cooking soda dissolved in hot
water ; quickly dip the figs (in a wire basket) into the hot
liquid, and remove immediately ; expose to the air for a
minute or two and repeat the dipping. If the lye is hot
and strong enough the color of the fig will immediately
change, the dark varieties to a bright green, and the pale
colored to a pale green. Place the figs upon trays made
of wooden slabs, and expose to the sun, taking care not to
allow the dew to fall upon them. After a few days they
are ready to be put away in small wooden boxes, first put-
ting a layer of spice, laurel, or bay leaves at the bottom,
and another at the top ; put the lid on tight to keep insects
out. Figs placed in a dry room will keep a long time.
An evaporator, either purchased or such a one as is de-
scribed in the chapter on guavas, will greatly facilitate the
drying process ; but great care must be taken not to give
too much heat. So soon as the figs show signs of secreting
syrup, too much heat has been applied, and they will make
only an inferior article. The fruit should be turned fre-
quently in drying, and it is advisable to lightly press the
fruit with the hand in order to flatten it. The light col-
ored varieties are preferred for drying, although some of
the dark-skinned, especially the Brown Turkey, make a
very good article.

Pickled Figs. Pick the fruit with the stems left on, it
must be matured but not very soft; place it in a jar,
sprinkle the layers with salt, in the proportion of a half
pound to a peck of figs; pour on boiling water to cover,
and let it stand twelve hours ; then put the fruit in a col-

HOW TO USE FLORIDA FRUITS. 331

ander, and rinse with clear, cold water. Fill jars with the
figs; take strong vinegar, add a quarter of a pound of
sugar to each quart ; boil, and pour the hot vinegar over
the fruit. In filling the jars with the fruit, cinnamon bark,
cloves, and any other spices desired should be scattered
through it.

Fig Pie. A delicate dessert. For each pie chop half a
pound of figs (dried or fresh) very fine, and cook them up
with a cup of cold water, or part cider or brandy and part
water ; when the figs are soft and smooth, let cool, and add
the yolk of an egg, put in crust and bake ; make a me-
ringue of the white of the eggs beaten stiff, with two
tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar beaten in it ; flavor with
vanilla. As soon as the crust is done draw the pie to the
oven door (don't take it out), spread this on top, and let
it set for a minute or two, not longer.

Fig Pudding. Three quarters pound of grated bread,
half pound figs, six ounces suet, six ounces brown sugar,
one teacupful of milk, and grate a little nutmeg ; chop figs
and suet together, then mix in the bread, sugar, and milk,
and lastly, one egg well beaten. Boil in a mold four
hours; serve hot with sweet sauce.

Fig Candy. One pound sugar, three quarters of a pint
of water, and set over a slow fire ; when done, add a few
drops of vinegar and a lump of sugar, and pour into jars
in which slices of dried figs have been laid.

Fig Jam. Peel when entirely ripe, and boil a few mo-
ments until quite soft ; strain through a colander or coarse
sieve ; add one half their weight in white sugar, and boil
to the desired consistency. Flavor with lemon, pine-apple,
or any thing preferred. This is a very delicate and deli-
cious sweetmeat, and could be made a profitable article of
commerce.

Fig Jelly. Take fully ripe figs, peel carefully, put into

332 FLORIDA FRUITS — HOW TO USE THEM.

a porcelain or preserving kettle, and add water enough to
cover the fruit. Boil about twenty minutes, then strain,
add sugar, say half a pound to each pint of fig juice, and
boil again, from ten to twenty minutes, until it jellies.

Cakes of Figs, similar to those mentioned in the Bible,
are made by slowly stewing peeled ripe figs to a smooth
pulp in a porcelain kettle, adding a little sugar and fla-
voring matter, and stirring the mass constantly while cook-
ing. When thoroughly done, and reduced to a smooth,
thick pulp, free from lumps, pour into shallow pans or
fancifully shaped molds, and dry slowly in stove or evap-
orator. When fully dry wrap each cake in paper, and
store away in a dry place. These cakes may be broken up
and stewed for the dessert, or eaten from the hand like
dried figs or dates.

The fresh fig, as gathered from the tree, is a favorite
dish, cut and sugared, and eaten with cream. It is also
much used as an ordinary stewed fruit.

INDEX.

PAGE.

Acre, Number of Trees to 75

Age Attained by Olives 201

Age of Orange Trees 10

America, Orange introduced by Spaniards into 12

" Orange Not a Native of 12

Analysis of the Orange 89

Antiquity of Grafting 44, 45

Ants as Enemies to Seedlings 32

Aphis, Remedy for 310

Ariky, from Sap of Cocoa-nut 224

Avacado, or Alligator Pear 239, 240

" Description of Fruit 240

Description of Tree 239

" Not Tropical, but Semi-tropical 240

" Value of Fruit 240

« Varieties 240

A Vast Field for Experiment 240

Banana Pudding, Frozen 326

Bananas, Best Location for 183, 184

« Fried 326

• " Fruiting Period 184, 185

" Hart's Choice, Horse 185

How to Plant 184

Suckers from 186

" Value of 182, 183

Will Not Endure Cold 183

" with Grape Fruit 326

Barren Trees, How to Treat 147-149

Beauty of an Orange Grove 9

Beginning, Recent, of Orange Culture 12-15

Birds, To Protect Fruit from 247, 248

Blackberries, " a Blessing Overlooked " 198

" Distance ; Cultivation 199, 200

" Indigenous to Florida 1 98

" Proper Soil for 199

(333)

334 INDEX.

Bonner's Patent Compost = 92-95

" Borers," How to Destroy 274-276

Bud, Cocoa-nut, Various Uses of 225, 226

Budded Trees or Seedlings? 62-65

Budding Nursery Seedlings 36

Budding, Requirements for 38-41

Budding, Science of. 37-39

Budding, Shield 42-44

Bud " Pen " Not Recommended 41, 42

Buds, How to Select 41

Buds, To Secure Early Orange 309, 310

Buds, "Wrapping the 39, 40

Bug, Blood-red Lady, a Friend 103

Bug, Euthoctha galeator, Enemy 105

Bug, Leaf-footed Plant, Enemy 104

Bug, Mealy, Enemy 103

Bug, Twice-stabbed Lady, a Friend 102

Butterfly, Orange Puppy, Enemy 104

Buying One's Own Experience 15

Chestnut, Japan, Best 214

Profitable to Raise 214

Chickasaw Plum, Type 280, 281

Cisterns, Capacity of 151

Citron, Commercial, Candied 323, 324

" Orange, Lemon 165

Preserved 322

To Prepare for Shipment 322, 323

Value of 164, 165

Citrons, To Dry 321, 322

Cocoa-nut, Coir, for Cordage, stuffing Mats, Brooms, etc. 231, 232

" Drinking Bout of the Marquesans 231

" Jelly arid Milk, when Half-ripe 229

" " Legal Tender " in the Maldive Islands 229

" Medicinal Uses in Earliest Stage 229

« Oil Compressed from 230

Oil, Uses of 230, 231

Uses of the Shell 231

Cocoa-palm, A Lover of Sea Air 217

" Beacon to Mariners 217

Bearing Age. . , 233

INDEX. 335

Cocoa-palm, Birthplace Unknown 216

" Black Beetle, an Enemy 234

" " Bread " from the Stem 224

" Cement Made from Juices 226

" Cloth from the Leaves 226, 227

" Cradles from the Leaves 226

" Description of Stein 223

" Dipse : " Palm Wine " of the Ancients 224

" Distance Apart 233

" Good Soil, Salt Air 234

« Habits and Value of the Boots 222

" Height ; As Lightning Rods 221, 222

" in Ceylon 219

« in Florida ; 232, 233

" Legend of Discovery by Rotteh Rajah, Ceylon . 219-221

" Oars, Sails, Mats, etc 227-229

" Planting the . 233

Profits of a Cocoa-nut Walk 237

" . Rats Destructive to 234, 235

" Sandwich Island Laws Regarding 218

" Sugar, Toddy, Yeast, Vinegar 225

" To Prevent Rats from Ascending the Palm . .235-237

" Usefulness and Beauty 215

" Value to Islands of the Pacific Ocean 219

" Wide Geographical Range 218, 219

Compost, " Bonner's Process " 92-95

" Heaps, Value of 88

« How to Make 90-92

Condition of Stock and Scion 38

Cord for Measuring 151

Cordova, Old Orange Tree at 10

Cost of Clearing Land 55-60

Cost to Fence with Rails 60

Cost to Plow 60

Cultivation in Grove 78-80

Culture of the Lemon 152-158

Curing Oranges and Lemons 130-132

Die-back 108, 109

Diversify Production 300, 301

Drainage 33

336 INDEX.

Drought Never Affects Olives 202

Dry Hammock Land 32

Early Bearing, To Command 148

Enemies, Cocoa-palm 234-287

Eucalyptus Tree, Preventive of Scale Insect 149, 150

Evaporating Fruits, etc 288-293

Evaporating Guavas 292, 293

Evaporator, "American," Superiority of 289-292

" Home-made 177, 178

" Value to a Family 291

Fertilizer, China-berry Tree as a 149

Fertilizers 88-97

Fertilize, When to 97

Fertilizing Bearing Trees 97

Fertilizing Young Trees '. 96, 97

Fig Candy 331

" Jam 331

" Jelly .331, 332

" Pie .331

" Pudding 331

Figs .258-265

" Adapted to Florida 258

" Cakes of 332

" Care in Transplanting 259

" Commercial Value of 263, 264

" Conditions Injurious to .258, 259

" Distance Apart, Forming the Head, and Pruning 259

" Fresh 332

" How Esteemed in Europe 260

" How to Plant Cuttings 263

" Kinds to Plant 261

" Little Cultivation Kequired 260

" Pickled 330, 331

" Requisites of Successful Culture 258

" To Dry 330

" Trees Started from Cuttings Fruit Quicker than Rooted

Ones 262

" Value of the Fruit 260, 261

" Varieties Tested in Florida 264, 265

Florida a Field for Experiment 240

INDEX. 337

"Florida Fruit Exchange " 134

Florida Moss 29

Foliage Affected by Rust Mites 121

Freeze of January, 1886 294-301

Freeze of January, 1886, Extent of. 298

"Freeze, The," "A Blessing in Disguise " 299-301

Frost, Reasons for Injury from 298, 299

Frost, Mulching with Regard to 83

Fruit Drier, American 289-292

Grafting and Budding almost Identical 37

" by Inarching 46, 47

" Clay, How to Prepare 48

Cleft 49

Crown 49, 50

" Japanese Persimmon 306-309

" Several Methods of 46-51

" " Side " and " Ring " 50, 51

Wax 40,41

Whip , 47, 48

Grafts, To Remove Wraps from 50

Grape Fruit 166

Grape Fruit, How to Eat 322

Grape Grafting 308, 309

Grape Mildew, Remedy 310

Grape Rot, Remedy 310

Grapes, Bullace, Most Reliable 241

" " Bearing Capacity 244

" " Distance Apart 242

" " How to Layer 241, 242

" « To Prevent Bleeding 243, 244

" " Training and Pruning 242, 243

" Concord, Delaware, Clinton, Diana, Hartford Pro-
lific, Goethe, Wilder, Mrs. McClure, Peter Wylie,

Benckman's 246. 247

« How to keep 329

" Kept for Months 249

Other Varieties for Florida 247

" Picking and Packing 248, 249

" Protection from Birds 247, 248

" Remedies for Leaf-rollers 248

29

338 INDEX.

Grapes, Scuppernong 244, 245

" Tender-pulp, Pedee 245

" Thomas, Flowers , 245

Grape Wine, Domestic 329

Wild 329

Grove, How to Lay Out 70, 71

How to Set Trees 74, 75

Guava, Common, Value 179, 180

" Common, Varieties 180, 181

" Hardy, Cattley 181

Hardy, Chinese 182

Jelly 325

Paste (Commercial « Jelly ") 325, 326

Guavas, About Evaporating 177, 178

" Bear in Eighteen Months 1 78

" Evaporating 292, 293

" Time of Blooming 182

Winter Protection for 179, 180

Hammock Lands 54

Hammocks, How to Clear 55, 56

Hard-pan or Clay 33

" High Prices " of Bearing Groves. 17

How to Cultivate ." 76-80

How to Plant Trees 70-75

How to Succeed 18, 19

Humus must be in the Soil 89, 90

Importance of Good Seed 27, 28

Importance of Good Stock 27

Insect Enemies 98-106

Insect Enemies of the Peach 274-277

Insect Friends 102, 103

Insect Leaf-rollers 248

Insect Kemedies 106-109

Italy, Production of Lemons 147

Japan Medlar, or Plum 282

Japanese Persimmon, Propagated by Cuttings 308

" " Seedlings Sport 285

" " Stock for Grafting 307

" " Tree and Fruit 285,286

" " Time to Graft.. ..308

INDEX. 339

Japanese Persimmon, Value 284, 285

" " Varieties 285-287

" " Whip " Graft Preferred 308

Japan Plum, Kelsey's 282, 283

Labels for Fruit Trees 332

Ladder for Gathering Fruit 129

Land, Hammock, How to Clear 55, 56

" Pine, Best for Nursery 32, 33

" Pine, How to Clear 57-60

" Pine or Hammock 54-57

Lands, Low, for a Grove 52, 53

Laying Out a Nursery 33, 34

Leaf-rollers, Remedy against 248

Leaves of the Cocoa-nut 226

" Cloth from Cocoa-nut 226, 227

" Cocoa-nut, Various Uses 227-229

Lemonade for Invalids 320

Lemon Culture 152-158

" Cream 319

" Culture, Why so Recent 154, 155

" Eureka 158

Jelly (for Cake) 319

11 Kinds in Demand 157, 158

" Less Hardy than Orange 153, 154

" Napoleon, August, Belair, Premium 160

Peel, Preserved 319

" Seedlings Not Desirable 154

" Soil for 153

" Syrup 320

" Tincture 319

" Villa Franca, Lemon of, Genoa, Sicily, French's

Seedling, Bijou, Variegated 159

Lemons, Curing for Shipment 155

" First Crops Coarse 156

" for Malaria 320

" Large, Not Salable 156, 157

" Not to be Pruned 152, 153

" Pickled 319

" What Stock to Bud on 156

Limes ..161-164

340 INDEX.

Limes, for Pickling to Ship to Distant Markets 320, 321

" How to Cure for Shipping 162, 163

Pickled 321

" Preserved 321

Tahiti, Florida, Sweet, Persian 164

" Value of. 161-163

Will Not Bear Cold 161, 162

Locate Near Transportation 60

" Making " an Orange Grove 15-17

Mango, Description, Tree, and Fruit 238

" Dodol, Largest Variety 239

" Florida Markets at present Key West and New Or-
leans , 239

" Fruit Will Not Stand Shipping 239

" Highly Esteemed in India 239

" Eising into Prominence for South Florida 238

" Soil, High and Sandy 239

" Usually True from Seed 238

" Will Not Bear Frost 239

Manufactory of Citric Acid 163

Manure, Stable 95, 96

Mealy-bug 103

Measures, Boxes, One Acre, Cistern 150

" Plants and Trees to Acre .150

" Preventive, against Mites 123

Measuring-cord, How to Make 151

Medlar, Japan. 282

Mites, Attack followed by Kust 113, 114

Mites, Influence of Soil on 122, 123

How Spread Abroad 120, 121

" Peculiar to Citrus Fruits 121

Prefer Half-shade 118

Mite Bust, Description of 114-117

" Numerical Abundance 117

Eemedies 125-127

Mulching, Methods of 84, 85

" Orange Trees 81-85

Seeds 29, 30

Nursery, How to Lay Out 33, 34

" To Select Ground for a 32, 33

INDEX. 341

Nursery, Value of a Home 36

Nut Trees, English Walnut 213

" Japan Chestnut 213

" Pecans 207-213

Soil Best for 213

" White Walnut 213

Nuts Will Become One of Florida's Leading Productions 213

Oil, Cocoa-nut, Uses of 230, 231

Olive, Description, History 201

Distance of Trees in Orchard , 204

Ease of Propagation 203, 204

" Great Age Attained by the 201

" Imported into United States 203

" Introduced in California 202

" Method of Gathering 205

Oil Very Profitable 202, 203

Preparing Them for Oil 205, 206

" Qualities of Oil 205, 206

Kich Land Not Needed 203

" Successfully Fruited in Florida 201

Varieties of the 206, 207

When to Gather Fruit 204

Olives, Methods of Preparing 327, 328

Pickled 328

" Preserved in Oil 329

Orange, Beach's No. 1 136

" Beach's No. 2, Charley Brown, St. Michael, Beach's

No. 3, Homosassa 136

" Boxes and Paper . . ,. 132, 133

" Buds Preserved for Months 309, 310

" Champagne 317

" Cream 315, 316

" Flower Candy 318

" Groves, Great Value of 17, 18

" Groves, How to Cultivate 76-80

" Growing a Business 16-18

" How to Fertilize 88-97

Jelly 315

" Magnum Bonum, Nonpariel, Navel, Tangierine 137

" Mandarin, China, Moragne's Tangierine, Bijou 138

342 INDEX.

Orange Marmalade, No. 1 314

" Marmalade No 2 314

" Not Indigenous to America 12

" Oldest Florida Trees but Babies 15

" Peel 302, 303

" Peel, Preserved 315

" Philip's Bitter-sweet, Maltese Blood 141

" Preserved 315

" Satsuma, Spice, Acis, Beach's No. 6, Hart's Tardiff . . 1 40

" £lour, Preserves 317

" Sweet, Preserves 317, 318

" Temperature it Will Stand 299, 300

" Tincture 316

" Trees, How to Prune 85-87

" Vinegar 313, 314

" Wild 12, 13

" Wine, as Made in Sicily 316

« Wine, Medicinal Value of . . .302

" Wine, No. 1 312

" Wine, No. 2 312

" Wine, No. 3 313

" Wine, Sour, No. 1 316

" Wine, Sour, No. 2 316, 317

Orange Blossoms Utilized 318

Oranges, Best Varieties .135-141

Bright versus Kusty 105, 122

" Curing for Shipment 130-1 32

" Discoloration or "Kust " 110, 111

How to Gather 128-130

" How to Utilize the Eefuse 301-303

" Preserved for Months 134

« Sorting and Packing 132, 133

" Summer, How to Have 303, 304

Original Home of the Orange 11

" Overproduction," Fallacy of, 142-147

Packing Oranges Away in Sand-pit 134

Pageny Sugar from Cocoa-nut Sap 225

Palm Wine from Cocoa-nut Tree 224

Parnell's Great Peach Orchard 279

Peach, History of the 266-269

INDEX. 343

Peaches Adapted to Florida 269-271

Peaches, Best Fertilizer for 273

" Budded on Plum Stock 280

Curl-leaf in 278, 279

" How to Destroy the Borer 274-276

" How to Prune 273,274

Late Growth of Bearing Trees 272

Number to the Acre, and How to Plant 271, 272

Thorough Cultivation Kequired 272

" Seven Months of the Year 271

Value of Peach Orchards 271

When to Set Out 280

" "Worst Enemy, the Borer, 274

" Yellows " in 277, 278

Pears, Blight-proof :rTft 251

" Chinese Sand Pear Race 250-252

« Chinese Sand, Quince Stock Poisonous to 304, 305

" Description of Kieffer's Hybrid 255

" " Cocklin's Sha-Lea 256

« Garber's Hybrid 255, 256

" Grows from Cuttings 253

" Handling and Packing , 257

" History of Kieffer's Hybrid 254, 255

" Le Conte, Origin 252, 253

" Proper Soil for Chinese 251

" Time of Eipening and Picking 253, 254

" Unexampled Prolificacy 253

Pecans Adapted to Florida 207

" Best Months for Planting 209

Better, but Not Necessary, to Plant Nuts in Field. .208
" Fallacies Concerning 207, 208

in Nursery, When to Set Out 208

" Need No Cultivation 209

" Oldest Bearing Orchard in Florida, Blackwater,

Santa Eosa County 210

" Oldest Orchard on Kecord in America 210

" One Enemy, the Borer 211

Orchard as Permanent Pasture 209

" Protection on Setting Out 209

" Rich Soil Not Required 208

344 INDEX.

Pecans, Varieties in Mr. Brown's Orchard, Santa Kosa

County, Florida 212

" This Orchard Abandoned for Twenty Years without

Injury 212, 213

" Yield and Value 210

Pen Budding, Against 41, 42

Persimmon, Description of Tree and Fruit 284, 285

" Japanese 284-287

Value to Florida 284

" Varieties of 286-287

Pine-appleade 324, 325

Pine-apple and Tapioca Pudding 324

" Champagne 324

Pine-apples 167-176

" Care in Handling and Packing 175

" How Propagated 168, 169

" How to Cultivate 171

" How to Koot Plants 169, 170

" in its Wild State 176

Proper Soil for 167, 168

" Shelter from Excessive Kains 176

" Spanish, Sugar-loaf, Egyptian Queen, Cayenne. 173, 174

" To Control Fruiting of 175

« To Prepare Ground for 170, 171

" Winter Protection for 172, 173

Planting Trees in Grove .74, 75

" Nursery Seedlings 35, 36

Plants and Trees to an Acre 150

Plant, Where to 52-61

Plowing in Grove Injurious 77, 78

Plums, Chickasaw Kipened Indoors 281

" Varieties of Chickasaw, 281

" Chickasaw Type, Free from Curculio 280, 281

" Japan, Value, Time of Kipening 282

" Kelsey's Japan. 282

" " " Points of Value 283

" Moist Land for 280

Pomola, or Grape Fruit 166

Preparation of Lemons for Market 155

Preparing Land for Grove 70

INDEX. 345

Preventives for Borers 276, 277

Prices of Orange Trees N 68, 69

Protection by Forest Trees 55, 56

Protection of Fruit from Birds 247, 248

Protection, Water 60, 61

Pruned, Lemons Not to be 152, 153

Pruning Orange Trees 85-87

Kaspberries Worthy of Trial 200

Kats in Cocoa-nut Palms 234, 235

Eemedies, Die-back 108, 109

" for Enemies of the Peach 274-279

« for Kats in Cocoa-nut Palms 235-237

" Lichens, Smut, Honey-dew 108

Mealy-bug 108

" Orange-puppy 108

" Scale insect 106, 107

Kemedy for Aphis 310

" Grape-rot 310, 311

" Mildew 310

Kemoval of Trees from Nursery to Grove 73, 74

Roots of Cocoa-nut and Uses. 222

" Tap, Cutting Beneficial 209

Bust Mite 110-127

Bust, Proof of Cause 111-114

'• Bings on Oranges 118

" Busty" Oranges 110, 111

Sand, Packing Oranges in 134

Scale Insect, How Introduced 98, 99

Scale Insects, Enemies of 102, 103

Scale, Mussel-shell 100, 101

" White 101

Scions, How to Choose 41

Seed-beds, to Lay Out 30

Seedlings Eaten by Ants 32

How to Set Out 35, 36

" Less Valuable than Budded Trees 62-65

" Shelter for 31

" When to Bud 36

Seeds, How to Select and Plant 27-31

" Lost by Over-watering 29

346 INDEX.

Seeds, To Separate from Pulp 30

Shaddock, Mammoth Blood 165, 166

Shelter for Orange Trees 55, 56

Shellac Coating for Tree-wounds 310

Sheets of Iron for Cocoa-palms 235, 236

Sheets of Zinc and Tin for Cocoa-palms 236, 237

Shield Budding 42-44

Site for a Nursery 32, 33

Skill Kequired in Grafting 46

Soil Suited for Oranges 54

Sour Stock from Hammocks 65, 66

Spider, Ked, Kemedy for 310

Stable Manure, How to Save 95, 96

Stems, Boat Made from Cocoa-nut 223

Stock and Scion 38

Stock, Importance of Good 27

Stocks for Budding 66-68

Strawberries, Best Fertilizer for 195, 196

" "Best Fruit, Best Prices " 197

" Best Season to Plant 195

« Care in Setting Out 192-194

" Cultivation of 191

« Examples of Profits 188, 189

« Laying Off the Ground for 190, 191

« Mulch for .192

" New Beds Not Needed Yearly 195

" Number to Acre 198

« One of Florida's Great Crops 187, 188

« Picking and Packing 198

" Preparing the Ground 191

" Proper Location for 190

« Kapid Transit for 187, 188

" Shelter During Summer 194, 195

" • System of Planting 190,191

Varieties Best Suited 196, 197

Strawberry Syrup and Preserve 326, 327

Successful Orange Growers 19-25

Sun-scald, How to Avoid 305, 306

Suri, Juice of Cocoa-nut Bud 225

Tap-roots, Beneficial to Cut 209

INDEX. 347

" Toddy," Sweet Juice of Cocoa-nut Bud 225

Transplanting from Nursery 68

Transportation Facilities 60

Travels of the Orange 11

Trees, Care in Removing 73, 74

« Distance Apart .71-73

" Size to Purchase 68, 69

Value of a Home Nursery 36

" an Orange Tree 25

-Orange Groves 18-26

" Orange Groves, Rapid Increase in 22-26

« the Art of Grafting 45, 46

Varieties of Oranges 135-141

Vegetable Marrow, or Avacado 239, 240

Walnut, Distance Apart 213

" English : 213

" White or Butternut 213

Washes, Rust Mite 126-127

Scale Insect, No. 1 106

No. 2 107

No. 3 107

« « No.4 107

Water Protection 60

Water-Supply 33

Waxed Strips, Superiority of 40

Weather, Influence on Rust 119

When to Graft 45

Where to Plant Orange Trees 52-61

Who Will Succeed as a Grower 18, 19

Wild Orange Trees 12, 13

Wood of Cocoa-nut called « Porcupine Wood " 224

Woodpecker, a Word for the 276, 276

Worm, Pecan, Good Remedy 211

"Yellows " in Peach Trees 277, 278

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