83S 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



fJCNE 1, 1886, 



these fac's thafc Ihero is roora for grave doubt whethei" 

 my or"^uai quesciou can ueaDswereil at6nuitively. Any 

 iu'kistry, lo he iimune-nitive, nqnires a moderatd 

 prtjiirn'uary outUy, luoilcrate working espt^nses, and a 

 regular anJ accessible market fcr its produce. Florida 

 ora.ige-growiug.at the present time offers none of these 

 advantages. Land in tlio neighbourhooil of railroader 

 water communication i.? fore d fir nh vo its tru" value; 

 hired labour, owing to scafcifcy of bauds, is very costly, 

 and the marlcet, offered by the great cities of the North 

 and 'West very precanous. Want of organisation has 

 hitherto placed orange growers completely at th.t mercy 

 of the commission merchants, who, even if perfe;i!y 

 honest and trustworthy thom.selves, cannot guard 

 against the disastrous effects of frost c!i nniti or a 

 glutted market on the arrival of their consignments. 

 Consequently, it is nothing uuusial to find thit, while 

 A. has been fotuuate in placin^- his fruit in New York 

 at a moment when the supply w.ts short and prices higli, 

 and has netted a dollar a box on his shi|)inent, 15., al- 

 though shipping from the same point only a day or two 

 later, hi's lost half Ins fruit by bad weather on tlie jour- 

 ney, HHtl lias not realised sufBcient on the remainder to' 

 pay freinht. An organisation is now being formed 

 among Florida growers, whieh proposes to control the 

 shipment aud distribution of fruit and other produce 

 to the north and west, and, if it proves succe.ssful, we 

 shall hear of fewer cases of loss, and injury to the oran- 

 ges, i.ud of mora satisfactory returns to the growers. 



But still, the prospect cannot be descibed as en- 

 couraging for the beginner. The heavy original out av, 

 the length of time before any return can be expected, 

 and the risks from frost, disease, and insects, are all 

 considerations which must be faced by any young man 

 who looks to Florida oranges as his source of income ; 

 and a very rouijh calculation will suffice to show how 

 great the risk is in proportion to the chance ^if success. 

 Suppose a purchase maile of 20 acres of good fiue land 

 wi'h fair shipping facilities. Such land will cost at 

 least S.50 per acre, generally considerably more. Allow 

 $30 per acre for clearing and grubbing ; !g200 for fencing, 

 $60 fi r ploughing, and s30 per acre for irees. We have 

 thus a preliminary outlay of S'-,4G0, without allowing 

 anything for the fertiliser used in planting, or for the 

 time and labour of the planter. The cost of cultivating 

 • and fertilising subsequently may f.iirly be estimated at 

 ,UtO per animm per acre or SSnO per .annum for the grove- 

 Here again I am making no allowance for Icsses through 

 frost or disease, preferring to tako the lowest possible 

 estimafe. Supposing thi; ti'ees to be three years old at 

 the time of planting, ami to come into markctiblo 

 bearing at nine years old, we hav'o six years at least 

 without retuins, representing an outlay of S^iSOO on 

 caretaking. The whole cash outlay, tlien, up to the 

 time at which returns commence, is :^7,2tiO. ami in order 

 lo state the case fairly, the interest on tlie original in- 

 vestment and on each subsequent year's outlay should 

 be taken into account. Now, in Florida 10 per cent is 

 con.sitlered a moderate rate of interest, aud is the usual 

 rate at which mortgages are effected. If, then, the 

 original §2,400 had been invested at this rate, and in 

 each subsequent yi.ar SSOO had been added to the in- 

 Testment, the total sum standing to the investor's 

 credit at the end of the sixth year woulfl be rather 

 over SlO.iOO. If he were thou to eommenco drawing 

 his annual inleriwt, his income from the investment, 

 still at 10 per cent, would be JUO.'iO. This snrn, then, 

 he must not from the sale of his oranges in ordu- to 

 make a fair return on his ouHay;and to do this he 

 must market, in such C(,ndition as to biiuga clear net 

 profit of one cent per orange (which wouldbecnnsideiably 

 above average prices), no fewer than lSri,000 oi-auges 

 every year, jvilowing, as before %90Q annual outlay on 

 his grove. I do not say that his trees, with duo car*' and 

 good fortuue. will not produce this ruunl>er, or even 

 more when thi'y have attained their full growth; but, 

 all thing< consnlcrcd. is the (;'>me worh the randle ? 



'I'hr ughont the abave cal'-nliition I hive unlor rather 

 t,h m ov.r stat'.-d expi nse.s, and wherever iny items err 

 they err in favour of the jTow^i-. I hive omitted to 

 ;:dd anything to annual outlay for the bix»« and pack- 

 mg, or evt-n for freight, which are all con*i ^•■i^b c itetos. 

 The new-comer then must have at bis command 



a sum of §3,460 (roughly JSV)) with which to lay out a 

 20-acro grove, aud su.licie- i, in addition, to keep him 

 and pay the espeuses of grove-tending for at least six 

 years, before he can look for any income from the sale 

 of his fruit. Part of the annual expenditure will, of 

 course, be saved if he is able and willing to do field- 

 hand's work himself, or if he applies himself to some 

 other method of earning money to pay expenses. But, 

 in either cas.-, it is still fair to estimate the cost as above, 

 since his own time and labour must be considered equal 

 in actual money value to that of a hired hand. 



So far I have writti-u only of oraiige-gro\ving, and 

 I have endeavoured to put the case fairly aud imparti- 

 ally. The conclusion I have been forced to arrive at is, 

 that the risks were too great and the outlay too heavy 

 to .instify expectations of returns commensurate with 

 the expense and anxiety, bfow far time aud matured 

 experience will alter the ca,se, I am uuible to prophesy. 

 Rates of freight, which are at present almost prohibi- 

 tive, may be so far reduced by ihe extension of the 

 railroad system in F'orida, and the increase of com- 

 peti*'on, as materially to better the orange-grower's 

 position ; but so long as the tide of winter-travel in- 

 creases, and it ci.utinues to be the fashion among 

 wealthy northerners to own a grove in Florida, the cost 

 of production will not diminish. How, then, ,ire bona, 

 fdt settlers to make a liviug ? 



This question may he answered very easily, and 

 here is a grain of comfort for the intending emigrant. 

 There are three ways open. The first, and hitherto the 

 most successful method, is to trade, not in oranges, but 

 in orange-groves. Land cleared and planted with 

 young trees Amis a much readier market among the 

 visitors than wild land of eipia ly good quality, and at 

 prires which afford a good profit upon the outlay. In 

 this way the original investment can be rapidly turnetl 

 over, and an imcome realised alranst from the outset. 

 A secoufl method is "truek-farmin.i," or, in other 

 wiirds, market gardening for the northern cities, or for 

 the supply of fashionable southern re-sorts. The small 

 fruit and vegetables of Florida are in immense demand 

 in northern markets, and strawberries, green peas, to- 

 matoes, cabbage, and cauliflowers (all of which can be 

 ripened in the open air in Florida in February and 

 March) bring returns which seem almost fabulous. A 

 gardener in Alachua 0' unty recently told me that four 

 barrels of caidiflowers which he shippeil t^o J^ew York 

 early in 18.S-1 brought him a net profit of §27 (about £5- 

 12s-) per barrel; and a gentleman in .lacksonville during 

 last winter raised radishes in large qniutities, and sold 

 them in that town for a cent apiece. The.se two instan- 

 ces are sufficient to show that there is a field for the 

 gardener, and they might be multiplied indefinitely from 

 the experience of other Floridians. More care is 

 necessary in the selection of land for gardening than 

 for orauge-growing ; but there is abundance of such 

 laud in the State, ami it,s prices are not as a rule so 

 high as those asked for grove lands. Thirdly, there is 

 always the consideration that Florida is anew State, as 

 yet sparsely settled, but growing so rapidly in popular 

 favour that towns are every day springing into exist- 

 eni-e where hifherto a few seatfercd cabins in the woods 

 bave been the only signs of human habitation. Each 

 new town increases the demand for labour in all its 

 branches, and the man who is able and willing to work 

 need never be without em]iloymeut. JIanual labour in 

 America does not involve loss of caste. The gentleman 

 (l use Lhe wonl advisi'dly) who has spent his working 

 houis with a can of paint and a sheaf of brushes on the 

 top of a ladder will be as welcome in the lirawing-room 

 io thfi eveidng as if lie had lounged away the day, 

 . cigar in mouth, upon the hotel jiiaxza ; and where wages 

 are as high as they are here, and all honest work is 

 honestly iM' ' for, the dollars accumulate with wonder- 

 ful rapidity. 



Lastly, I woiihl add a word-of warning to the possible 

 settler in Floridn. Do not be deluded by the offers of 

 tt'C-e who, tor a "premium,'' are willing to teach tyros 

 tlif art, of orang ■ growing. It is a stale old trick, but 

 Jet it is successfully played in many parts of the State, 

 These aci'emmfdat-ng gentlemen find the rate of wages 

 demanded by tield-hauds a serious bar to sncoess ; and it 



