WHERE TO PLANT. 59 



how carefully the land is cultivated, these stumps scattered 

 all over it will harbor ants and weeds, especially that curse 

 of a cultivated field in the South called ''maiden cane" 

 grass, which it is almost impossible to eradicate ; once it is 

 established, its roots run down to a depth of several feet, 

 and every joint makes a new plant. For this enemy the 

 pine stumps afford first-class rallying points ; it is simply 

 impossible to destroy it in a field where they are. And 

 even if the maiden cane can be kept at bay, as the orange 

 trees grow larger the pine stumps encroach upon the space 

 they require, and by this time, when it is at last deemed 

 advisable to get rid of them, fully one half will have to 

 be chopped out laboriously, because the orange trees near 

 them would be injured if they were burned out. Better, 

 by far, burn them out in the first place, and have your 

 land smooth and clean, and no broken or crooked lines 

 among your orange rows because of stumps interfering 

 with setting them out in their proper places. It will cost 

 you fifteen or twenty cents apiece to do this, but it is 

 cheaper in the end. 



A still better method, because cheaper and just as effect- 

 ive, is one that is more rarely practiced than the other 

 two, only because it is newer and not generally known as 

 yet in Florida. This is to dig a hole quite deep against 

 one side of the pine tree, cutting off the large roots there 

 and laying bare the tap-root, and then build a fire in the 

 hole beneath and against the tree; by keeping the fire 

 constantly smoldering, and in contact with the tap-root, 

 the latter is burned off, and the tree, having thus lost its 

 balance, topples over and comes crashing to the ground all 

 at one time, and it only remains to burn the tree, fill up 

 the hole, and the land is clear and smooth, ready for the 

 plow for all time to come ; no falling branches or trees, no 

 weed-gathering stumps. This method of clearing costs 



