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CHAPTER VIII. 



THE ADVANTAGES OF PARTIAL FOREST SHELTER 



Will be considered in this chapter. Its frequent discussion among 

 orange growers, its importance to all, and especially its importance to 

 many portions of the State where success must ever depend upon either 

 forest or some artificial protection, demands careful consideration. 

 Many persons have heretofore considered it unnecessary, and the idea 

 even absurd. But years of experience and observation and especially 

 the experience of the winter of 1876-7 have made many converts. 

 Let the reader consider some facts that may be mentioned. 



Wild groves have grown luxuriantly, have borne abundantly, and 

 lasted, no one knows how long, not suffering, so far as the writer has 

 been informed, even from the severe frost of 1835; and all under forest 

 protection. Again, all through Florida in almost every old settled 

 community and evenin the southern tier of counties in Georgia, there 

 are a few old trees standing and bearing well and fine fruit. Hun- 

 dreds seeing these trees have thought that what has been done once 

 can be done again, and have planted in the same neighborhood of 

 such trees, but unfortunately in the open field, or what is equally fatal, 

 where the morning sun would smite the orange tree after a frost, and 

 have failed. They have failed to consider that these trees that have 

 survived so long and done so well, were planted in almost a dense 

 forest when only a few forest trees had been cut to give place to the 

 cabin of the early settler; or that they were planted on the north or 

 west side of the house and thus never exposed to sudden thawing ; that 

 under some such protection of house or forest they passed through the 

 tender age of their early life until their own boughs could furnish 

 their trunks the protection needed. As to the questions of productive- 

 ness and thrift under partial forest protection they are settled by the 

 success of the few who in the face of opposing theories have planted 

 and succeeded. Some of the most thrifty young groves in the State, 

 grown with less expense and equal to any of their age in productive- 

 ness, have been grown under the shelter of the pine or oak trees. 

 Many groves one year ago in a most flourishing condition, and 



