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with soils underlaid with "hard pan," a stratum, seemingly of dark 

 sandstone, underlying, and generally but a few feet from the surface, 

 many sections of our State. Analysis will likely show this "hard pan" 

 to be a concrete of sand, iron and salt. The best surface indication of 

 the presence of "hard pan" is an abundance of saw palmetto with an 

 abundance of roots above the surface. The palmetto feeds largely 

 upon salt, its roots containing an unusually large per-cent. But " what 

 is fun" and life to the palmetto is death to the orange, as well as to the 

 pockets of hundreds of those who have attempted in vain to grow 

 oranges on lands underlaid with "hard pan." If your land has on it 

 an abundance of saw palmetto with roots on the surface do not select 

 that location for an orange grove until you have dug a few feet below 

 the surface in search of "hard pan." If you wish to ascertain the 

 <iepth of natural drainage revisit the hole twenty-four hours after it is 

 dug, and measure the distance from the top' of the water to the surface 

 of the ground. This distance is the depth of the natural drainage of 

 the soil. 



The orange will grow in a variety of soils in clayey, sandy, 

 shelly or loamy soils ; in hummocks black or grey, on pine lands or 

 black-jack ridges. It does well on soil underlaid with clay or sand. 

 It will even do well on a light soil underlaid with white sand if fertil- 

 izers are annually applied. But whoever wishes to plant an orange 

 grove should be careful to select the best available soil. Perhaps the 

 poorest soil suitable for orange growing is that underlaid with a white 

 sand, as such a soil leaches very readily the soluble manure. Perhaps 

 the best soil is found in our dark grey hummock with deep soil under- 

 laid with a yellow clay or yellow sand subsoil. The natural growth 

 should be tall and large with an abundance of live oak and hickory, as 

 such a growth would indicate an abundance of 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 hummock and 

 pine. Next to this is the pine, mixed with willow oak and black-jack. 

 Considering the ease with which such lands, as the last two classes, are 

 cleared and planted, 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 



