50 ORANGE CULTURE IN FLORIDA. 



lime. Of our pine land, that on which the hickory 

 is found mixed with the pine, with yellow subsoil, 

 should rank first. Such a soil is really a mixed 

 hammock and pine. Next to this is the pine 

 mixed with willow, oak, and black-jack. Consid- 

 ering the ease with which such lands as the last 

 two classes are cleared and planted, and the readiness 

 with which the orange grows on them, they deserve 

 a high rank, and especially if fertilizers are close at 

 hand. In selecting a location in the purely pine 

 lands, select that which is thickly set with tall trees, 

 well drained, and with a yellow subsoil. Such soils, 

 if occasionally dressed with alkaline manures, grow 

 the orange admirably. 



While with proper care the orange may be grown 

 successfully in almost any portion of the State of 

 Florida, still it is wise to select a location which 

 may combine all conditions favorable to the best 

 results. Among the favorable conditions we would 

 mention water protection. Whoever has travelled 

 over the State, not by railroad or steambpat, but 

 through the country, and noted the effects of frost 

 here and there upon the orange trees, and es- 

 pecially at the close of a severe winter, must attach 

 great importance to water protection. Its advan- 

 tages were known to the old settlers, as witness their 

 frequent advice to those who in later years have 

 gone into the orange business. Its advantages 

 were known to and made available by nature so far 

 back that " the memory of man knoweth not to the 



