530 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1. 



great part of the patch. I commenced at once 

 recommending him to put in tiles, and get rid 

 of all the water. Friend Green told me 1 might 

 know all about strawberry-raising in Ohio, but 

 that I aid not understand it in Florida. Of 

 course, the frost had played mischief with the 

 early crop. Strawberries are planted here in 

 double rows, about three feet apart. These 

 double rows have the plants a foot from each 

 other in every airection, and they are permitted 

 to bear but one crop. After they are done 

 fruiting they are allowed to put out runners 

 enough to make a new plantation in the fall. 

 The fall-set plants bear the crop in February 

 and March. We got over on a protected side of 

 the woods where the tall limber had kept off 

 the frost; and I was delighted to find here and 

 there ripe strawberries in the month of Febru- 

 ary. Somebody has said (1 do not know who) 

 that the strawberries of Florida lack the tine 

 flavor of those grown away up north, where we 

 have zero weather, and snow as high as the 

 fences; but when 1 got a taste of a fairly ripen- 

 ed berry 1 declared at once it was the most de- 

 licious strawberry or fruit of any kind I ever 

 tasted in my life. After I had sampled quite a 

 number it occurred to me they might be more 

 valuable than 1 knew; so I remarked: 



*• By the way, friend Galloway, you say you 

 have already marketed a few. What price do 

 you get for them at this season of the year, if I 

 may inquire?" 



" Oh ! I have an offer of f 1.50 a quart for some 

 I expect to get off perhaps to-morrow." 



" Dollar and a half a quarti" repeated I, as I 

 took a great luscious oerry away from my 

 mouth, where it was almost safely lodged. 

 "Now, look here, my good Iriend," I contin- 

 ued, '■ perhaps I owe you an apology for help- 

 ing myself so freely. I do not think I want 

 very many, even if they are so delicious, if tJiat 

 is what you are getting for them." 



"Oh! help yourself— help yourself, Mr. Root. 

 When I told you the price 1 am offered 1 did 

 not think a word about those you have been 

 eating. And, by the way, this price is a little 

 extra on account of the freezes. 1 think it is 

 about the best figure I was ever offered." 



A few weeks afterward, while 1 was in Jack- 

 sonville, I found out how they managed to be 

 able to pay such a price. Little cards were up 

 on the sidewalk, advertising ice-cream with 

 real strawberries; and the strawberries were 

 right close to the notice, to let people see they 

 were genuine. The dishes of cream were fur- 

 nished at the usual price; but they managed 

 to make one quart of strawberries make 

 a good many dishes. When I asked friend 

 Galloway about manuring his ground he re- 

 plied that he had settled down on Bowker's 

 strawberry fertilizer, applied to his ground at 

 the rate of 500 lbs. per acre. 



The next neighbor we called on was a bee- 

 keeper; and as he is right on the shores of one 

 of the beautiful lakes, he does quite a little in 

 the way of catching fish. Oh! I did not tell 

 you that Lakeland is surrounded by beautiful 

 lakes. Friend Cochran (where we were visit- 

 ing) had a contract to supply six dozen speck- 

 led perch at a certain hour in the afternoon. 

 I suggested to friend Green that it was not fair 

 to hinder a man when he was trying to fill an 

 order, and that he and I should get into the 

 boat and help him by catching fish too. Well, 

 I did help. I caught two beautiful perch while 

 friend Cochran caught twenty-six. I had a 

 hook and line and pole just like his own; and I 

 dropped my hook into the water just as he did, 

 and yet he was catching fish all the time and I 

 was not. Is there a trade or skill in just drop- 

 ping a baited hook into the water and then 

 watching for the cork to bob up and down? 



Indeed there is. The old veteran fisherman 

 could tell at a glance about where the perch 

 would be likely to be hidden liear certain water- 

 plants. Then he knew how to drop the line 

 without making a great splatter and racket. 

 Furthermore, he kept his line moving, just 

 about enough to coax the fish without frighten- 

 ing them away. Now, friend C. is an expert in 

 his own line of work; and I am sure friend 

 Green can testify with me that his good wife is 

 also an expert in her line of work; and that line 

 consisted in getting us a grand good dinner, 

 mainly from the fish we had just caught in the 

 lake. By the way, what do you suppose these 

 speckled perch that are caught by the hundred, 

 sometimes, in a single afternoon, bring in the 

 markets down in Florida? Why, only three 

 cents each. They do not sell fish by the pound 

 down there. They are like eggs— so much a 

 dozen. 



Now I shall catch it again for what I am 

 going to tell; that is, some of the friends who 

 think 1 am inducing people to move down to 

 Florida just to be disappointed, may be will 

 grumble some more. The story is this: Not 

 very far from friend Galloway's strawberry- 

 ranch a piece of ground was lately sold for $1.25 

 per acre. Friend Green, with whom I was vis- 

 iting, was the lucky purchaser. It was right 

 adjoining the railroad, besides, about seven or 

 eight miles from Lakeland, and a steam-sawmill 

 was located right there, cutting up lumber at 

 the time of the purchase. After friend Green 

 had bought the tract of land, he took the pro- 

 prietor of the sawmill over on it and sold trees 

 enough from the tract to more than pay the 

 purchase money. The mill-man paid so much 

 apiece for the trees just where they stood in 

 the woods, so friend Green had no expense 

 whatever to stand in the matter. A nice large 

 straight pine-tree brought— how much do you 

 suppose? OnlySOcts.; and some of them that 

 were not quite so nice sold for two for a quarter. 

 Well, 7 trees on an acre, at 20 cts. apiece, paid 

 for the land. Then the railroad company offer- 

 ed to make a flag-station right there by the 

 sawmill if friend Green would put up a little 

 building, and the building was already up. I 

 asked friend Galloway before I left what he 

 considered his best strawberry ground worth 

 per acre. He said it was not for sale, but finally 

 decided he would not want to part with it for 

 less than 8100 an acre; and the land that costs 

 only §1.25 is hardly a mile away; and I thought, 

 from the looks of it, it might be exactly as good. 

 You may ask why such chances are left "lying 

 around loose." Well, one reason is that people 

 are too lazy to go to work and build up a busi- 

 ness as friend Galloway has. Another thing, 

 there are a great many who do not seem to 

 have the ability to make the wilderness blos- 

 som as the rose. Even if they were to under- 

 take it they would have bad luck here and 

 there, and perhaps everywhere. / should en- 

 joy going into those Florida wilds and building 

 up a home; and I am just conceited enough to 

 think I could make things grow as those straw- 

 berries do, and as that grape-fruit tree does I 

 was telling you about. 



It was Saturday afternoon. I was getting so 

 much behind with my appointments that I was 

 obliged to push on. I had half an hour to wait 

 for a train. I had read newspapers, and read 

 over the bills stuck up over the walls of the 

 depot, and felt a longing for something that 

 would help me study my Sunday-school lesson 

 for the morrow. 1 went over to the drugstore 

 and asked them if they had any periodical to 

 sell that would answer my purpose. Although 

 they kept a sort of news depot, the proprietor 

 told me they never had any calls for any thing 

 in that line. When I looked disappointed he 



