29 



which is thickly set with tall trees, well drained and with a yellow sub- 

 soil. 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 traveled over the State, not by railroad or 

 steamboat, but through the country, and noted the effects of frost here 

 and there upon the orange trees, and especially at the close of a severe 

 winter, must attach great importance to water protection . Its advant- 

 ages 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 contrary," as witness the 

 many wild orange groves to the south-east of lakes and rivers. As 

 our coldest winds come from the north-west, the benefit of water pro- 

 tection on any given location is in propoation to the width of the water 

 lying to the north-west, and the proximity of such a body of water to 

 said location. There may be seeming exceptions to this general rule. 

 Air currents are governed by laws similar to those governing water. 

 Hence, when any obstruction suddenly opposes a current, whether of 

 air or water, an eddy or circular motion is given to the current. Bod- 

 ies of timber with dense undergrowth standing on the north or north- 

 west of a grove and along the shore of the river or lake have the effect 

 of creating a rolling current of air like a. breaker from the ocean roll- 

 ing over a sand bai^ and so, when the wind is from the north-west, 

 bring down upon the grove a stratum of freezing air from above. The 

 remedy for this is to clear out the underbrush along the shore and 

 allow the warmer air from the surface of the water to flow through the 

 grove. The taller trees should stand to break the violence of the wind 

 from the orange grove and to check the violence of the air current 

 upon the moist soil, which readily yields its moisture along with its 

 heat to a strong air current and so intensifies the cold. It is regretted 

 that some good locations along the St. Johns have been marred and 

 groves made to suffer damage from want of attention to the above. 



