2230 NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



rolling pine land. It is better adapted to western, eastern 

 and central than to southern Florida. 



Under favorable conditions, Jennings and Red 

 Astrachan apples may be fruited in western Florida; 

 Santa Fe apricot in western and eastern Florida. Figs 

 do fairly well for home use and for canning or candying 

 in eastern and central Florida. They need a compact, 

 fine-textured soil. 



Mulberries will grow on hammock or good quality 

 of rolling pine land in all sections of the state. The fol- 

 lowing varieties have given good crops: Downing, Hicks 

 and Stubbs. Pomegranates make a more or less orna- 

 mental fruit. Acid, Purple and Sweet do well in western, 

 eastern and central Florida. 



Pecans are adapted to various kinds of soils, especially 

 from central Florida northward and westward. The 

 best agricultural lands such as are considered the most 

 suitable for the growing of cotton are best adapted to 

 pecan-growing. The best stock on which to grow 



Eecans is the pecan seedling. Much time and money has 

 een lost in attempting to bud native species of hickory 

 already established in the hammocks to pecans. While 

 it is possible to secure good bearing trees in this way, it 

 is usually financially unsuccessful. Leading varieties 

 are the Curtis, Frotscher, Russell, Stuart, and Van 

 Deman. 



The growing of strawberries is controlled largely by 

 efficient and reasonable transportation. If the crop 

 cannot be placed upon the market promptly it is worth- 

 less. Probably nine-tenths of the fields of the state are 

 planted on moist flat woods land, or what is locally 

 known as gall-berry flats. Such land is cleared and 

 thoroughly drained by means of open ditches. On such 

 land strawberries begin to ripen in January and con- 

 tinue until May or June if properly cultivated, though 

 the season of profitable shipment rarely extends beyond 

 the middle of April. Especially prepared refrigerator 

 cars are now carried by some railroads on express trains. 

 The plants are usually set out every year, in August, 

 September and October, and bear a good crop the fol- 

 lowing spring. The most successful strawberry growers 

 continue to cultivate a part of the old field to secure 

 new plants to be used the following fall for planting 

 out the new field. 



Pineapples find their most congenial habitat on 

 spruce pine land. Soil from pineapple fields contains a 

 large percentage of sand and insoluble matter, as high 

 as 98 per cent. The land must be well drained, free 

 from any standing water, even during the rainy season. 

 The most extensive pineapple area is located on the 

 sand hills near the coast. The character of the vegeta- 

 tion and physical condition of these hills or dunes is 

 essentially that of the scrub land of the interior. The 

 slat sheds or pineapple sheds, which are constructed to 

 afford a half shade, serve a good purpose in summer as 

 well as in winter. In summer the slats reduce the 

 amount of sunshine that reaches the plants and conse- 

 quently the intensity of heat, though probably not the 

 total warmth. In winter they interfere with rapid radi- 

 ation, which would occur as the result of a sudden 

 freeze or of a frost. The slat shed is a simple structure, 

 the essential part of it being the roof or covering, which 

 is made of boards or slats fastened so as to leave an 

 opening between the boards or slats equal to the space 

 covered by them. These vary in size from a common 

 plastering lath to boards 4 inches wide. The height of 

 the covering above the ground varies from 6 feet to 

 rarely more than 10. The most extensive fields are 

 located in southern Florida. Smaller areas have been 

 planted in central Florida; nearly all of these are pro- 

 tected by sheds, some of the sheds being so constructed 

 that the roof may be closed completely. The islands 

 or keys underlaid with coralline limestone form one of 

 the most suitable habitats for this plant, while the low, 

 fertile islands or keys are worthless for a pineapple 

 plantation. Red Spanish is cultivated more extensively 



than all the other varieties combined. It is a hardy 

 variety, and one suited to extensive planting with a 

 minimum amount of attention. For extensive culture, 

 Egyptian Queen, Porto (Puerto) Rico and Ripley 

 Queen do well generally. Smooth Cayenne is promising, 

 because not spiny. 



Bananas are cultivated only for local markets, but 

 form a source of considerable revenue to a number of 

 plantations. The land best adapted to them is a low, 

 moist hammock or a bay head, especially such soil as 

 is composed largely of muck. Baragoa (Red Jamaica), 

 Cavendish, Golden, Hart's Choice and Orinoco ("horse 

 banana") are leading varieties in southern Florida. 



The guava has attained considerable importance, 

 though as yet it is not cultivated extensively. Planta- 

 tions exist in various parts of the state, but the greater 

 quantity used in canning and for jelly is collected from 

 trees grown without cultural attention. Nearly all of 

 the fruit is from seedlings that have originated from 

 scattered seeds. Well-drained fertile soils are favorable 

 locations, but the guava adapts itself to almost all 

 classes of cultivated soil. The sweet varieties are pre- 

 ferred for dessert, while the sour kinds produce the 

 largest amount of jelly. The total amount of jelly and 

 other guava products produced in the state will amount 

 to many carloads annually. The Cattley and Straw- 

 berry guavas, while more cold-resistant and delicious as 

 fresh fruit, are less popular than the varieties derived 

 from the American species. 



Mangoes are being grown extensively for the northern 

 markets. They are now being fruited in the southern 

 part of central Florida. The large extension in pro- 

 duction of this fruit, however, will take place through- 

 out southern Florida, mainly toward the southward. 

 Orchards of considerable size are being planted to 

 budded varieties from India together with budded 

 varieties that have originated in Florida. Some of these 

 varieties that have originated in Florida from the seed 

 of Indian varieties, appear to have better fruiting 

 qualities than their parents. Good citrous soil is pre- 

 ferred for growing mangoes. The same cultural care 

 that proves best for citrous fruits is also applicable to 

 the mango. The fertilizer requirements of the mango 

 are very similar to those of Citrus. Among the old 

 seedling varieties, No. 11 is a favorite on the east coast, 

 while seedlings belonging to the Bombay group appear 

 to be more frequently planted on the west coast. Among 

 the budded Indian varieties, Mulgoba has been most 

 extensively planted. It has, however, proved dis- 

 appointing in its productiveness, though the fruit has 

 no superior. Sandersha has become well established. 

 Cecil, belonging to the Cambodiana group is very 

 productive and a favorite. A large number of varieties 

 in the form of inarched trees, have been imported. 

 These are now fruiting and in the course of the next 

 decade or two there will be considerable opportunity 

 for selection from the best of these. 



Coconuts are confined to southern Florida and along 

 the seacoast. While the trees continue to grow when 

 transplanted to the higher lands, they need the low, 

 moist lands of the coast for fruiting and for highest 

 development. 



The avocado is a salad fruit of American origin, hav- 

 ing been cultivated by the Incas, by whom it was called 

 "ahuacatl." Up to twenty years ago, little effort had 

 been made toward propagating improved varieties of 

 this fruit. With the settlement of extreme southern 

 Florida came a rapid development in its propagation 

 by budding. This is carried on almost as easily as in 

 the case of citrus. A careful survey of the trees fruit- 

 ing in south Florida in 1903 showed that about 3 per 

 cent of the seedling trees bore commercially profitable 

 crops. Budded varieties of the avocado may now be 

 secured from the leading nurserymen in southern 

 Florida. The range of bearing trees is northward to the 

 southern part of central Florida. The leading varieties 



