•fsO 



495 



FLORIDA AS A HOME FOR EMIGRANTS. 



Mr. John F. Rollins, of Fort George Island, Duval county, Florida, 

 _nds the following account of liis experiences and observations upon 

 Florida as a home for emigrants : 



My plautation is a sea-island in the moutli of the Saint John's River. Wo have a 

 slight frost occasionally, but the orange and other equally hardy trees do well even 

 farther north, if upnn the sen-cocu^t. I tind also that grapes, peaches, figs, plums, &c., 

 do well with me. 



I have been a resident here for four years; have passed through many, if not all, 

 the experiences of a now settler in this State, and have come to the conclusion that if 

 those who come here to settle will bring the same amount of health, good sense, money, 

 and pluck which new settlers take to the far West, we should have less complaints of 

 Florida and more successful settlers. The truth is, writers about Florida have given 

 more "flowers" than facte, and hence settlers have come here expecting too much 

 from the climate and depending too little upon their own efforts. It is hardly to be 

 expected that one so sick and broken down in the North that he can live there no 

 longer should be able to come here, bringing, it may be, only a few hundred dollars 

 with him, go into the woods to make him a home, and go successfully through all the 

 hardships incident to such a life. Yet, very many of our new settlers have been of 

 this character, and consequently there have been many failures. Florida is a "land of 

 flowers ;" but still it requires time and labor to raise crops and to grow orange-trees. 

 There is no question of the profitableness of fruit-raising. Oranges, lemons, limes, 

 ligs, grapes, bananas, pine-apples, pomegranates, peaches, apples, pears, plums, &c., 

 grow -well in various parts of the State, and a settler can select his location so as to 

 raise whatever fruits he wishes ; but he cannot grow every kind upon the same lot, 

 nor can he expect to have them all in a day. The orange will, of course, be the chief 

 attraction, and settlors will especially desire information about that. I have given 

 this fruit careful study, and find that it flourishes over a large part of the State, 

 though some localities are better suited to it than others. The young trees are tender, 

 and require careful attention and cultivation, but when once established they are 

 hardy ; and, having reached the proper age, bear annually large crops of l)eautiful 

 fruit. As there are no good nurserymen engaged in raising young trees, we have here- 

 tofore been unable to procure good ones of any variety, and it would be a great help 

 if the Department would aid us in procuring stocks and seeds to propagate from. 



Frosts and the scale-insect are to be contended with by the orange-grower. From all 

 information I have been able to collect, frosts seldom do serious injury, though occasion- 

 ally a crop may be lost and a few trees killed. As a protection, I would suggest that the 

 •limbs of the orange-tree bo left to grow as near the ground as possible. Where they 

 are cut oif it w»uld be well to place a wide board against the south side of the trunk, to 

 protect it from the sun after a freeze, as it is its hot rays shining upon the exposed 

 trunk, suddenly thawing the congealed sap, rupturing the sap-vessels and splitting 

 the bark, which kills or injui-es the tree. The scale-insect may be disposed of by care 

 and carbolic soap. 



It requires about the same time and care to bring an orange as it does an apple 

 orchard into bearing, but the orange-orchard is more profltablethan the apple, and full 

 as safe. So with other semi-tropical fruits ; when once in bearing in their chosen locali- 

 ties they are very profitable. 



The new settler must use good judgment in selecting land for the crop he wishes to 

 grow, and not believe all that is told him by those who have land to sell. Our climate, 

 soil, and crops are so diff'erent from those of the North and West that the new-comer 

 lias to study each, and often has to learn how to raise a good crop under the teaching 

 of experience — a teaching which is expensive of both time and money. 



Of our field-crops, sugar-cane is doubtless the best. It is a pleasant crop to raise, 

 aud properly and well manured, has proved exceedingly profitable. By the use of 

 manure, as large crops of sugar-cane can be raised in Florida as in any other State, if 

 not larger; no other State has a climate better suited to its production. Lands not 

 too dry should be selected; those low and moist but well drained are best. Good 

 modern machinery is not very expensive, but if settlements were made in colonies, so 

 that one large mill wouM answer for all, it would be a decided advantage. 



Sweet potatoes, cultivated near a market, are quite profitable. And so of other vege- 

 tables. Nearly all varieties grow well here, and the farmer who will give proper at- 

 tention to the cultivation of a garden need 7iever be without fresh vegetables for his 

 table. Many fail in this, and so throw the blame upora Florida ; but the reason of 

 their failure is that they do not select a suitable place for the garden, or do not plant 

 ^,fc the jiroper time, and give it duo attention subsequently. 



