of Hural Art and Taste. 



43 



This bed yielded ten bushels in one year, 

 when well attended. 



A lady having read, that if strawberry 

 plants were cut down in July they would 

 increase in productiveness, tried the experi- 

 ment on her own bed, and found it true. A 

 sister of this lady, residing in New York, 

 owned a bed of fine strawberry plants. 

 During the summer, they were eaten oif by 

 some straying sheep. She supposed the 

 plants were killed, and proposed replanting 

 them ; but did not. In the spring they 

 came up again, and produced an extra crop 

 of berries. 



Perhaps the cropping checked the ten- 

 dency of the strawberry to throw its roots 

 out of the ground ; which, if unprotected in 

 winter, must reduce the vitality of the 

 plant. A. G. 



Beading, Pa. 



Orange Culture in Florida. 



BY AL FRESCO. 



EDITOR Horticulturist: I am amused 

 at the communication of Oliver Taylor, 

 in your October number, regarding my ar- 

 ticle on Orange Culture in Florida. I am 

 opposed to controversy, but dislike to be 

 unjustly censured and misrepresented ; and 

 solicit space for a few remarks touching the 

 communication of our half-century critic. 

 My object was to briefly refer tu the open- 

 ing for capital and enterprise in Florida, 

 and, if possible, induce persons to visit the 

 more favored portions of the State and 

 investigate the subject for themselves. 



Mr. 0. censures me for not "telling the 

 whole truth." I stated nothing but the 

 truth, and if I told all the truth regarding 

 orange culture in Florida, and described 

 the many resources and advantages present- 

 ed by the State, your columns would not 

 present room for one of Mr. O.'s communi- 

 cations for months to come. When I write 

 for horticultural journals, I select some 

 practical subject and discuss it as briefly as 

 possible, for I conclude that readers of such 

 journals are posted in agricultural chemis- 



try, and the theory and practice of horti- 

 culture. 



Mr. 0. refers to land speculators, and "^ 

 evidently intends to convey the idea that I 

 am prompted by selfish motives, and use 

 your columns for the purpose of advancing 

 some land speculation. I do not own an 

 inch of land in the State, nor am I in any 

 way interested in any land speculation But 

 I am deeply interested in anything that can 

 be produced at home, avoiding the necessity 

 of importing it, and thereby retain in our 

 country the metal we so much require. 



It has been my privilege to visit more 

 places on this earth than the piny barrens 

 of eastern Florida, where it is evident Mr. 

 0. has obtained his pomological and cherai- 

 co-agricultural knowledge. I can assure 

 your readers that I have eaten oranges pro- 

 duced in California, Pacific islands, Austra- 

 lia, South America, West Indies, Bermuda, 

 Azores, Mediterranean, and under glass, in 

 England and the United States, and I have 

 yet to taste fruits equaling or even ap- 

 proaching that produced in Florida. Con- 

 vinced of the superiority of Florida oranges 

 and lemons, and the adaptability of the soil 

 and climate of certain portiofis of the State 

 to produce the fruit in the greatest quantity 

 and perfection, coupled with the fact that 

 we annually expend millions for the import- 

 ed article, induced me to prepare the com- 

 munication, trusting that some of your 

 enterprising readers might be induced to 

 visit the State and investigate the subject 

 for themselves. 



For the information of Mr. 0. and possi- 

 bly some of your other readers, I shall fur- 

 nish a few facts and figures illustrating the 

 importance of the subject under considera- 

 tion. For the period of twelve months 

 there were imported into the port of New 

 York: 



From the Mediterranean, 474,849 boxes, 

 containing 112,462,600 oranges; 317,528 

 boxes containing 114,408,260 lemons : of 

 this quantity 25 per cent, perished during 

 the voyage. 



From the West Indies, 45 cargoes, con- 



