A NURSERY IN THE FAR SOUTH. 



THE discovery that wonderful things in tropical 

 growth could be accomplished in Florida has 

 stimulated planters greatly in that favored land ; 

 and, naturally, establishments have sprung up 

 to supply them with their horticultural necessi- 

 ties. A number of creditable nurseries are found in the 

 more southern states, but the one farthest south is that 

 of Reasoner Brothers, at Oneco, near the Manatee river, 

 on the Gulf coast of Florida. A visit this summer to this 

 remarkable establishment proved so delightful that I 

 want to tell American Gardening readers about it. 



The Manatee river is more nearly an estuary of Tamp.i 

 bay, and is a most beau- 

 tiful stream, fringed as 

 it is on both sides with 

 luxuriant "hammocks" 

 of the richest land, and 

 dotted with productive 

 "keys." This locality 

 has become famed for 

 the early vegetables 

 produced, and large 

 quantities of tomatoes, 

 early beans and the like 

 go forward each season. 

 The steamers of the 

 Plant Line patrol the 

 the river daily, gather- 

 ing here and there what 

 they can for shipment 

 in bulk to the hungry 

 north. At Port Tampa 

 the cars are loaded at 

 the steamer's side. 



Though my visit to 

 this region was in mid- 

 dle June, when the south 

 experiences its hottest 

 weather, and though it 

 was preceded by a con- 

 siderable drouth, I 

 found the temperature 

 by no means unendur- 

 able, and the tropical 

 growth wonderful to 

 behold. 



The Royal Palm Nur- 

 series, as the Messrs. 

 Reasoner name their establishment, were planted in 1883, 

 and were the outgrowth of an earlier visit from his Illinois 

 home by the late Pliny W. Reasoner, whose most untimely 

 death in 1888 from yellow fever has been so deeply de- 

 plored by all who knew him. Mr. Reasoner. though 

 young in years, was a skilled horticulturist, possessed of 

 tremendous energy and great enthusiasm in regard to the 



possibilities of Florida, and his death was purely a sacri- 

 fice on the altar of his adopted state ; for the hard work 

 done in unhealthful surroundings at the subtropical ex- 

 position at Jacksonville, and later at the Cincinnati ex- 

 position (where he went as commissioner for Florida), un- 

 doubtedly weakened him so that he fell an easy prey to 

 the disease that left untouched those about him. 



The premises of the nurseries include some 400 acres of 

 rich upland " hammock." A striking feature at the very 

 entrance of the place is the magnificent live oak, on v.hich 

 the sign manual of the nurseries has been tacked. It is 

 80 feet high, and covered with long festoons of the well- 



Palm Nurseries. 



known Florida moss {Tillandsia ustu-oides). But in- 

 terest is on every hand ; for at the very gateway stands 

 a beautiful bamboo, which one can almost sec growing ! 

 The clump is but five years old, yet it was more than 40 

 feet high at the time of my visit, and actually growing 

 about a foot a day. It was flanked on both sides by sev- 

 eral magnificent olive trees, while a rod off was a superb 



