of Rural Art and Taste. 



Orange Culture in Florida. 



BY AL FKESCO. 



[Concluded.] 



R. 0. refers to the "application of muck 

 as being injurious because it is a power- 

 ful absorbent of ammonia." In the name 

 of common sense, where does it obtain such 

 an excess of ammonia ? Certainly not from 

 the soil or atmosphere. I will simply ask 

 Mr. O. if the application of fresh muck in 

 excessive quantity, does not injure vegeta- 

 tion in consequence of the presence of an 

 excess of humicacid? which condition could 

 be changed by exposure to the atmosphere, 

 or by the addition of lime or ashes. In our 

 communication, we referred to the abun- 

 •danee of muck, and stated that '*lime is 

 cheap." We did not consider it necessary 

 to point out the fact that muck required 

 manipulation before it was adapted to sup- 

 ply plants with the elements of growth. We 

 did not deem it necessary to discuss the prin- 

 ciples of agricultural chemistry, which we 

 imagined every horticultural tyro under- 

 stands. 



Mr. 0. refers to the thinness of the soil, 

 and the deficiency of pasturage. We do 

 not question the correctness of his statments, 

 for we have reason to believe that his obser- 

 vations have been confined to the eastern 

 portion of the State, where a thousand acres 

 of land in most localities would be dear at 

 any price. But his remarks do not apply to 

 many portions of the state. Mr. 0. is like 

 many others who have condemned the State — 

 they have not visited or examined its garden 

 spots. 



Mr. 0. asserts that often one-third of the 

 fruit on a tree cracks open before ripe. 

 That such an accident may occur in the 

 region where Mr. 0. resides, I do not for a 

 moment question ; for if the soil is such as 

 he describes, the trees cannot mature a full 

 crop. In all my wanderings in the State, 

 during summer aud winter, I, never heard 



such a thing referred to. Even though 

 one-third should fall off, orange and lemon 

 trees set such immense quantities of fruit, 

 that "one-third of a crop" could be spared. 

 Apples and pears crack and are seriously 

 injured in our northern states, yet they are 

 profitable. In some soils and in some lo- 

 cations those fruits are a failure, yet such is 

 no evidence that they cannot be successfully 

 grown in other localities. 



He informs us that the fruit does not bear 

 transportation, as well as that raised in drier 

 climes. This is true to a certain extent ; 

 for the Mediterranean and West India fruit 

 is so thick-skinned, spongy, and juiceless, 

 that it cannot be injured to the same extent 

 as the luscious orange of Florida. The 

 oranges produced in Florida are to a great 

 extent thin-skinned, and overflowing with 

 luscious saccharine juice. One reason why 

 Florida fruit decays, is owing to careless 

 packing. They are picked and handled with- 

 out care, seldom sweated. When packed 

 they are placed loosely in barrels ; and during 

 their journey, they are rolled from wagon to 

 dock, dock to boat, and the dose is repeated 

 until every orange is bruised. When the 

 growers pick and handle the fruit with care, 

 subject it to a sweating process, and pack it 

 in proper boxes, with each fruit wrapped in 

 paper or dry moss, the fruit will carry to 

 our northern markets successfully. Mr. 0. 

 tells us that much of the fruit is lost whilst 

 en route to our northern states, but neglects 

 to refer to defective packing, and does not 

 even give us an idea of the percentage of 

 loss. The official returns of the port of 

 New York show that 25 per cent, of Medi- 

 terranean, and 45 per cent, of West India 

 fruit decayed. Even with defective packing 

 we question if Florida fruit decayed to the 

 same extent. Last February I gathered 

 oranges at Enterprise, Melonville, Harts 

 and Moragnys groves, at Palatka, Manatee, 

 Tampa, Sumpfeerville and Booksville, and 

 carried the fruit with me during my travels, 

 uninjured, until I arrived at my northern 

 home. 



Your correspondent refers to a grove of 50 



