358 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



as May or June, Your sweet potato crop, planted in 

 August, on the lands that have already produced a crop of 

 vegetables, ought to yield you from 100 to 400 bushels per 

 acre. A great many new settlers can be named who have 

 averaged $100 per acre on watermelons, cucumbers, &c, 

 and 200 bushels of sweet potatoes on the same land, the 

 same season. The young orange trees planted on the same 

 land will not be injured by such crops. It is, really, neces- 

 sary cultivation for the young grove. In a few years — 

 from six to eight— this grove will be valuable in propor- 

 tion to the care and skill bestowed upon it. 



"If you must settle in the woods and clear up the land, 

 starting in January or February, with the aid of one good 

 hired man, you ought to have five acres cleared, fenced 

 and broken up with the 'plow, in time to plant one acre in 

 watermelons and one in cucumbers, tomatoes, &c, by the 

 first of March. Then you have until August to cultivate 

 the other three acres in corn. When the fodder is stripped 

 from the corn, sweet potato vines can be planted in ridges 

 thrown up in the middles of the corn rows. The vines 

 planted cost nothing. One bushel of sweet potatoes, bed- 

 ded in January, the slips drawn in April and every rain 

 until July or August, and planted in rich soil, will make 

 an abundance to plant your entire five acres in August. 

 The two acres in watermelons, cucumbers, &c., well man- 

 ured and cultivated, ought to bring you $200 in June and 

 July. The five acres 'planted in sweet potatoes ought to 

 yield, at the lowest, 500 bushels. It is seldom that pota- 

 toes sell for less than fifty cents per bushel, in Florida. 



"Now, then, if you have been able to hire your plowing 

 done, you have saved the value of ahorse. It is worth 

 what a poor horse will cosf to keep him one year. Suppos- 

 ing this course has been pursued and you are able to keep 

 your hired man and plant your five acres in orange trees, 

 two years old, in November, you are then in a position to 

 ask (and very likely to get), from $500 to $1,000 for what 

 ought not to have cOst you over $250. The crop raised is 

 that much extra, and should be a support for the next year. 

 "With fish of all kinds and game abundant, near you, moss 

 to make the best mattresses hanging on the trees around 

 you, all the material for fencing and building at your door, 

 there is no other climate where nature comes so near pro- 

 viding a good living for the cost of reaching out your hands 

 to gather it. The experience which you have had in bat- 

 tling, through the first year, will enable you to live more 

 comfortably on less labor, each succeeding year. 



"In the suggestions here given, a thousand industries that 

 will earn any working man a support, are not mentioned. 

 The certain and quick competency from the steady increase 

 of a small stock of cattle, sheep or hogs, the fine openings 

 in hundreds of growing towns for profitable ventures in 

 merchandising, the crop to be reasonably expected, the 

 second and third years trom planting bananas, grapes, figs, 

 sugar cane, &c, are all left out, and tne hardest case is pre- 

 sented for the first year, to a working man of very limited 

 means. If such a man can live through the first year, he 

 is independent for the others." 



The "Florida Land and Immigration Company," of 

 which Col. J. B. Oliver, editor of the paper just quoted 

 from, is general agent, is doing good service in locating 

 settlers and supplying some of the best selected lands at 

 very low rates. There is a great deal of unoccupied land, 

 and the theory is, that the occupancy of a portion at lowest 

 rates, must enhance the value of the remainder to an ex- 

 lent that will seem a fair average price for the whole. 



We have been much interested and amused at the in- 

 genuity of a scheme to induce purchasers, of Florida 

 lands, which originated with Mrs. Mattie A. Bridge, a lady 

 who has very high endorsements, and who may be address- 

 ed at the office of the Florida fiew Yorker. This scheme is 

 inoculated with the stimulus of chances. Sixty-one tickets 

 are issued to cover a section of good land on the Transit 

 Railroad, any one of which will entitle the holder to an 

 aere, and may secure twenty-five acres, ten acres, five acres, 

 four acres, or two acres. The cost of a ticket is $10. A 

 section consists of 100 acres. A circular distributed by 

 this lady says : — 



"The land is of the best and most productive quality in 

 Florida, much of it being situated upon the margin of the 

 finest lakes in the State, and side by side with orange 

 groves worth $1,000 per acre, that cost six years ago less 

 the $5.00." 



-**♦- 



FRUIT CULTURE. 



IT is stated that in some parts of the continent of Eu- 

 rope fruit may be bought at one cent per pound, and 

 if fruit culture were attended to in our country in the same 

 manner, the grateful apple, the melting pear, and the lus- 

 cious cherry would be within the reach of even the poor 

 man's purse. But so long as the attention of our farmers 

 and landholders is not directed to this in the right way, so 

 long will fruit be scarce and high-priced. In Switzerland, 

 where the land is divided into small holdings, each occu- 

 pier being the owner, as a matter of course he is always 

 endeavoring to make the most of his plot. All his land, 

 whether pasture or tillage, is planted with tall standard 

 fruit trees, so as to admit of the oxen and plow passing 

 beneath them. Strawberries, currants, raspberries, and 

 other small fruits are not forgotten, but' attended to with 

 great care, and even the hedgerows are utilized; and many 

 a bushel of fruit or walnuts is gathered from what would 

 otherwise be waste ground. There the peasants acquire a 

 love for aboriculture while yet at school. A plot of 

 ground planted with an assortment of fruit trees being 

 generally at the disposal of the schoolmaster and his pu- 

 pils, he will give them lessons on budding and grafting, 

 explain to them the relative merits of the different varie- 

 ties, and thus impart knowledge into their young minds 

 which generally bears fruit in after life. If some such 

 system were adopted in the schools of our agricultural 

 districts, it would diffuse practical knowledge among the 

 rising generation, the importance and results of which 

 cannot be overestimated. Fruit trees, walnut, hickory, or 

 chestnut look better than stunted elms or ailanthus, give 

 as gsateful a shad® to- the weary pedestrian, and put jn©rje 



money in the owner's pocket, and if this were carried out, 

 in time our unsightly fences and hedge rows would be la- 

 den with fruits in their season, and our country land- 

 scape be a garden indeed. 



■ -♦♦♦• 



The New York Hortictjttjral Society.— The annual 

 meeting of the New York Horticultural Society was held 

 in its rooms, West Thirty-third street near Broadway, the 

 President, Mr. John Henderson, in the chair. After the 

 preliminary business was transacted, the report of the 

 Treasurer for 1876 was read, showing a balance on hand 

 af $495. Though rejuvenated only twelve months ago, 

 the roll of membership shows nearly 300 names, which the 

 society confidently hopes to more than double during the 

 current year. It was decided that in future at the regular 

 monthly meetings, special exhibitions of rare plants, flow- 

 ers and fruits be held, a schedule of prizes for which was 

 read by the Secretary. These meetings are free, and to 

 them the public are cordially invited. And now that the 

 society has got thoroughly organized, at each meeting a 

 paper on some subject connee'ed with horticulture will be 

 read and discussion thereon invited. Last year's exhibi- 

 tion at Gilmore's Garden having proved a decided suc- 

 cess, two large exhibitions will be held this season in some 

 suitable hall in May and September, for which schedules 

 of premiums amounting to over $2,500 are already issued, 

 and can be had by any one interested on application to the 

 Secretary. In addition to this a splendid exhibition of 

 roses and strawberries will be held in their rooms on tne 

 26th of June. The election of officers for the ensuing year 

 resulted in the choice of the following gentlemen : Presi- 

 dent, John Henderson; Vice Presidents, Peter Henderson, 

 James M. Paterson, R. B. Parsons, and S. B. Parsons; Re- 

 cording Secretary, Wm. J. Davidson; Corresponding Sec- 

 retary, James Y. Murkland; Treasurer, Isaac H. Young. 

 - -*-»♦- 



Oranges and Lemons Indigenous to Florida. — Ac- 

 cording to a map dedicated by Michael Lok, citizen of 

 London, to Sir Philip Sidney in 1524, republished in a vol- 

 ume of the Hakluyt Society's works, Florida extended 

 from the Hudson river south to Cape Florida. It has been 

 stated by some writers that the orange was not native to 

 Florida, but that it was introduced by the Spaniards, but 

 ida in 1562, in Hakluyt Society's Publications, gives a list 

 Jean Ribaults, in his description of a voyage to Terra Flor- 

 of the natural productions of that region, among which 

 oranges and lemons are enumerated. 



.«.,.«. ! 



Chrysanthemums— Ed. Forest and Stream— Please 

 tell me what varieties of Chrysanthemums you consider 

 best for early fall flowering. My varieties have almost all 

 run into a dirty pink color, and I would like to get a few 

 distinct colors that I can depend upon, preference being 

 given to the Pompone varieties. W. 



We name over a dozen of those varieties we consider re- 

 ally good sorts in their respective colors. There were 

 some very fine newer sorts exhibited at the November 

 meeting of the N. Y. Horticultural Society, but they have 

 not been sufficiently tested out of doors yet: A urora, or- 

 ange; Oriole, cinnamon; Bob, dark chestnut; Boule Blanclie, 

 white; Canrobert and Stella, yellow; Mad Dumage, pink; 

 Iffigenia, rose; Prince Albert, fringed white; Rui des Lilli- 

 puts, purple; Surprise, white with* rosy tips, and Marabout, 



light blush. 



.+++. 



FARMING IN FLORIDA. 



Picalanta, Dec. 18th, 1876. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



While Florida has never been noted for the richness of 

 its soil in general, yet between Jacksonville and Palatka, 

 east of St. John's river, plenty of good farming land may be 

 obtained on easy terms from $7 to $75 per acre, according 

 to location. The Orange is undoubtedly a good paying 

 crop; trees selling from $25 to $45 per 100, and if planted 

 judiciously, proper treatment being shown them, at the 

 end of the fourth year you will realize that your invest- 

 ment has been a paying one. Meanwhile the cost of living 

 can be defrayed by the cultivation of Fruits, Vegetables, 

 etc., the Strawberry being pre-eminent, selling readily at 

 85c. per quart, being a rapid and abundant grower, requir- 

 ing but little attention. The returns from this crop alone 

 have netted me more in cash this season than, I venture to 

 say, most of your tradespeople have netted during the 

 entire year, and without half the care or anxiety. The 

 salubrity of the climate is universally acknowledged by 

 thousands of invalids who have come here to escape the 

 rugged winters of the North. I would not, as a rule, ad- 

 vise tradesmen to come here, but of farmers there is a 

 scarcity. With $1,000 a good practical man, one that is 

 not afraid of hard work and plenty of it, can make more 

 money in five years than most of your farmers North iu 

 seven. Chances for failure of crops are very few, it any. 

 A farm properly managed yielding an abundant harvest, 

 and ready markets for the product. Our forests and 

 streams abounding in game and fish, make it at once the 

 farmers' arcadia and the sportsman's paradise. 



Very truly, Alex. Winchester. 



. -4^fe~ ■ 



COLD WEATHER IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 



Port Hotal, Jan. 3d. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : — 



After mature deliberation I have concluded that Green- 

 land's icy mountains— having started to invade (West) 

 India's coral strand— have become stranded off the Caro- 

 linas, and sincerely hope that they may soon be set free and 

 move on to their destination. On no other hypothesis can 

 I account for the present long continued frigidity which as 

 yet shows no signs of abatement. 1 am looking for the 

 Arctic Owls every day. 



Seriously, three or four common winters have been 

 boiled down into the one month of December, '76, and if 

 the weather only keeps on so we shall have skating before 

 long. I shall look with interest for your reports from 

 Florida. The cold and rough weather has kept me at 

 home, and I" can only report that rabbits, opossorns and 

 partridges are plenty. 1 keep a few etssl traps set for th§ 



former, with good success. I venture to predict that par-' 

 ties coming South now will be greeted by a warm and open 

 spring. In spite of the cold weather my Orange trees re- 

 main unscathed, but of the fruit left upon the trees a large 

 portion ha3 suffered. As a rule, it is not safe to allow our 

 Oranges to remain unpicked after the middle of December. 

 To get them at their best they should be gathered the last 

 of November, carefully packed away in chaff, dry moss or 

 cotton, and eaten in the months of February and March. 

 I have kept them in this way as late as the month of May. 



Rusticus. 

 , -ft*** 



—The annual dinner of the New York Horticultural So- 

 ciety took place on Tuesday evening, at Mouquin's res- 

 taurant, 141 Fulton street. The table was magnificently 

 adorned with choice and rare flowers. Next week we 

 shall speak of it at length from an aesthetic standpoint. 



Damage to Fruit in Florida by Frost.— The Florida 

 New Yorker says; — 



"It has been a matter of near a month's anxious inquiry 

 to learn through the Florida papers, as well as diligent 

 private correspondence, the exact amount of injury sus- 

 tained by this unprecedented spell of weather. Beyond 

 the killing of very young trees in certain sections of the 

 State and partial injury to fruit and the shedding of the 

 foliage, no very serious loss has been sustained. To be 

 able to make this report will be worth thousands to 

 Florida. It may be fifty years before such an extraordi- 

 nary weather report shall be registered again." 



— A. R. Whitney, Franklin Grove, Lee County, III, the 

 most extensive orchardist in the West, has marketed 2,000 

 bushels of winter apples the present season, and gathered 

 over 20,000 bushels of cider apples from his own orchards. 

 He also purchased from 10,000 to 15,000 bushels of apples 

 from his neighbors, lie has already made 2,700 barrels of 

 cider, and his presses are still running. From his apple 

 pomace he has washed out 45 bushels of apple seed, and 

 will save pomace enough to feed all of his stock for the 

 entire winter. — Turf, Field and Farm. 



- P. A. Stine, a viniculturist of Kern County, Cal., has 

 adopted the following simple and successful plan of curing 

 raisins in the sun: The bunches are plucked, dipped into 

 hot lye, and placed upon board platforms in the sun. 

 There they remain from ten days to two weeks, being 

 turned meanwhile two or three times, when they are taken 

 down and packed ready for shipment to market. The 

 dipping in hot lye is for the purpose of killing the ova of 

 insects already deposited and preventing further deposit 

 during the drying process, which it effectually does, and 

 also for the purpose of rendering the skin tender instead of 

 leathery, as some varieties are apt to be. There is thus no 

 danger of the raisins being devoured by worms after they 

 are packed. — Stockton Independent. 



A Flower a Yard in Diameter.— On some of the 

 Fast India Islands, where so mamp queer things grow, is 

 found a flower that measures a full yard across; yet it has 

 only a cup-like centre, and five broad, thick, fleshy petals. 

 Seen from a distance, through the dark-green leaves of the 

 vines among which it grows, the rich wine-tint of the 

 flower, flecked with spots of a lighter shade, is said to im- 

 part a warmth and brilliancy of color to the whole sur- 

 rounding scene; but, the nearer the observer comes — all 

 eagerness to see more closely so wonderful a flower— the 

 less does he like it. Not that the color is less beautiful; 

 but who cares for beauty in human beings, when its pos- 

 sessor is malicious, disdainful, or untruthful; and who 

 cares for beauty in a flower, when the odor is disagreeable? 

 So, notwithstanding its proudly brilliant color and its 

 great size, the Mafflesia Arnoldia will never be admired, for 

 we are told that its "odor is intolerable, polluting the at- 

 mosphere for many feet around." — Saint Nicholas. 



— We still hold that chestnut trees may be, and have 

 been, transplanted with as great success as the apple, pear, 

 plum, peach, and cherry. Give them the same preparatory 

 manipulations in the nursery, and there will be an abund- 

 ance of lateral and fibrous roots either upon the young or 

 old trees. Chestnut trees sent out from the nurseries may 

 be injured during transit, and when planted out barely 

 live, remaining sickly and feeble until finally they die, 

 just as apple, pear, and other fruit trees have done in 

 thousands of instances; but this is no good reason for 

 placing the chestnut among trees difficult to transplant and 

 make live. We happen to live in a region where chestnut 

 trees abound, and we have also had considerable experience 

 in transplanting seedlings from the nurseries and trees, 

 from the woods, consequently our conclusion in regard to 

 the facility with which the chestnut may be removed is not 

 founded upon theory, but upon practical experience. — 

 Moare's Rural. 



The Chestnut.— If farmers, a dozen or more years ago, 

 had planted a dozen or two of chestnut trees, they would 

 not take hundreds of dollars for them now. They would 

 have furnished them from a peck to a bushel of 'chestnuts 

 per tree this past fall. They would be an ornament to the 

 homestead, that only years of growth could reproduce. A 

 man in a year can build a fine House and outbuildings, but 

 God builds trees, and takes years and scores of years to do 

 it. Man cannot build them. He can plant them when 

 small, and they will yearly grow in strength and beauty. 

 One of the most beautiful sights in nature is a beautiful, 

 symmetrical chestnut tree, loaded with its creamy-white 

 blossoms. We have seen acres and acres of them, and 

 stood and admired them by the hour. Every farmer could 

 have these scattered about his homestead, and his children 

 and grandchildren would take the greatest delight in 

 gathering the nuts from them. 



Chestnut trees are a little treacherous in transplanting, 

 but we transplant them by the hundred, yearly, and 

 always with success. The trees can be grown from the 

 nuts by farmers. Procure nut that have been permitted to 

 ripen pretty well on the tree. They may then be put away 

 for a few weeks, and then mixed with dry sand and put in 

 a box and nailed up to exclude mice, and buried outdoors 

 till spring, when they may be planted. Most nurseries 

 have the trees, and the quickest way to get them is to pro- 

 cure them from the nursery, three or four feet high. 

 Chestnut makes excellent limber for rails, splitting easily 

 and straight, and being very durable, it is also used in 

 making furniture, the inside work of passenger cars, steam- 

 boats, &c. It prefers a rather dry soil, and on knolls and 

 ridges anywhere in the west ana south will do well. We 

 urge readers to plant trees, nut-bearing trees as well as 

 fruit trees not only to adorn, but io increase the comforts 

 of home.— Mural Eom$, 



