146 FLORIDA FRUITS ORANGES. 



So far is this from being the case, and so profitable have 

 these orchards been to their owners, that instead of any 

 overproduction, the people, like Oliver Twist, call for 

 "more, more," and the demand for nursery stock to set 

 out new orchards is considerably on the increase, although 

 in these fruits nearly all the States are competing with 

 each other, and are able to raise their own temperate cli- 

 mate fruits on their own soil. 



Overproduction of oranges! when there are just as 

 many people waiting to consume the Queen of Fruits as 

 there are to consume all the apples, pears, and peaches 

 raised on ten thousand times the area. 



The question that faces the orange grower is, how to 

 supply the future increasing demand. 



Superior varieties of fruit will, always bring superior 

 prices; a fruit with a known name and reputation will 

 rank higher than one unnamed. 



An experienced orange grower said: "Seedling trees 

 are generally eight to ten years coming into bearing, and 

 no two trees in a grove are sure to produce alike, or of as 

 good a quality. While we only get twenty dollars a thou- 

 sand for seedling and unnamed varieties, we get from 

 forty to fifty dollars per thousand for our select varieties. 

 The sooner orange growers understand this the better it 

 will be for them." 



Even supposing that the price of oranges should drop 

 to ten dollars per thousand, which it is not likely to do for 

 the best qualities, the grower would still realize as follows : 

 Given seventy trees to the acre, and each tree bearing only 

 five hundred oranges, that would be five dollars a tree, or 

 three hundred and fifty dollars per acre ; so that a ten-acre 

 grove at these moderate estimates would give an annual 

 income of thirty-five hundred dollars. 



Can you find ten acres North that will give so good a 



