660 Orange Groves of East Florida. 



■with numerous spreading branches, the ramuli dividing trichotomously ; its 

 appearance at a distance is not unhke that of /*inus canadensis. The wood 

 is dense and close-grained, heavy for one of this family, and in old trees of a 

 reddish colour, like that of ./uniperus virginiana ; it is of a strong and pecu- 

 liar odour, especially when bruised or burned ; hence it is frequently called, in 

 the country where it grows, " stinking cedar." It makes excellent rails, and 

 it is not liable to the attack of insects. A blood-red turpentine, of a pasty 

 consistence, flows sparingly from the bark ; it is soluble in alcohol, forming a 

 deep clear solution ; when heated, it evolves a very powerful terebinthine 

 but unpleasant odour. The foliage is much like that of Tkwis canadensis 

 and Podocarpus ^axifolius, only the leaves are larger. The ripe fruit, or 

 rather seed, is as large as a nutmeg, with beautifully ruminated albumen, the 

 inflexions of the brown investing membrane penetrating through the white 

 albumen about half way to the axis ; a structure which alone will separate 

 it from Taxus, nor, indeed, has it (so far as I know) been observed in any 

 other of the family. There is no fleshy cup, but the external coat of the 

 seed itself is fleshy, or rather leathery, and covers the whole, leaving a mi- 

 nute perforation at the summit. The seed, deprived of its succulent external 

 covering, strongly resembles the gland of a large acorn, as well as the fruit of 

 Taxus nucifera Kcempf. figured in Richard's Mem. on the Coniferce, tab. 2, 

 {Ann. Nat. Hist., p. 129.) 



Art. VIII. On the Orange Groves oj" East Florida. By Alexander 



Gordon. 



In a communication to the Garde7ier's Magazine for 1828, 

 p. 463., I recollect having made some remarks on the gratifica- 

 tion 1 derived from viewing the luxuriance of the orange trees 

 in East Florida. Having recently returned from exploring that 

 country to a very considerable extent, probable more than ever 

 was accomplished by a Pale face (according to the Indian 

 phrase) before, I shall therefore trouble you with a few remarks 

 on that subject, but more particularly as respects the city of St. 

 Augustine, which has been long famed for its oranges, and with 

 which I was so highly gratified on the 1st of Jan. 1828, as al- 

 luded to by you in the Encyclopcedia of Gardening. 



I may here remark that all over East Florida natural groves 

 of the orange abound, but at St. Augustine the cultivation of 

 that fruit was carried to a great extent, particularly by the Mi- 

 norcain portion of the population. St. Augustine is one of the 

 oldest, if not the very oldest city within the jurisdiction of the 

 United States, and has long been a place of great resort for in- 

 valids afflicted by pulmonary and bronchial complaints. I had 

 visited this city in. 1828 and 1831, and I am free to confess I was 

 in perfect raptures with its diversified beauties. It then appeared 

 like a rustic village, the white houses peering from among groves 

 of orange trees, which grew in the greatest luxuriance; the 

 clustered boughs, covered with their golden-coloured fruit, yield- 

 in^ a rich harvest to the owners, and affordinir a delijrhtful shade 

 to the foreign invalid, where he cooled his fevered limbs, and 

 imbibed health from the perfumed atmosphere, while the ear 



