MAV h 1890,] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
?8l 
■ 
may the watera of the Atlantic Ocean some day rise 
and sweep New England from the face of the earth. 
Danger to life and property all over the world is 
possible at any time from scourge, pestilence, or the 
ravages of the elements. The f rost_ danger to tropical 
and semi-tropical fruits, however, is on a par with 
the frost danger to vegetables and fruit in the North, 
only if anything, much less so . No one in the North 
would hesitate in the buying of a farm, or in planting 
fruit trees adapted to that climate through fear that 
some very seveie winter might destroy the next year's 
crop. There is the remote contingency that a severe 
frost might damage the crop once or twice in a cen- 
tury, but how many times in the last twenty.five 
years have the Wheat crops aud the Apple and Peach 
crops in the North been seriously damaged ? Every- 
thing upon the face of the earth has its enemy, but 
on this account we do not hear of the business of 
raising Wheat and fruit in the North being ruined 
or abandoned. There is no doubt of the fact that 
Orange culture here, in the Orange belt of Florida, 
is one of the substantial industries of the world, and 
those who engage in it soonest will take the lead and 
hold it, as the older the trees when properly cared 
for, the greater is their bearing capacity. Thus wrote 
Carl Webber in Ihe Eden of the South, and although 
written six years ago, the remarks given above still 
apply. And notwithstanding the fact that thousands 
of plantations of Oranges have been made in Florida, 
there is still room for more, and a prefitable income 
can be realised from Orange growing in Florida, pro- 
vided the trees are carefully grown and fertilised. 
Many owners of Orange groves are totally ignorant of 
tht culture of the Orange, consequently various 
methods of procedure are pursued by them. One 
cultivator hots the ground between the trees to keep 
down weeds. Another sows Cow Peas (a kind of 
dwarl Bean used as fodder) to cover and shade the 
ground between the trees. Others mulch with 
straw or long grass for a distance of from 6 to 10 feet 
from the stem of the tree, while others allow the 
branches to grow low in order to shade the trunk of 
the individual trees from the sun, and cultivate close 
to the trees with the hoes. Others trim off the 
branches so that a horse-hoe can pass under the lowest 
branches, and thus allow the horse-hoe to be run 
very near the tree. Some use commercial fertilisers. 
Others use none, but dig out muck from the swampy 
parts of the woods, and dig this into the Orange 
groves. As this muck is a deposit of decayed vege- 
tation which has been forming for ages, it is some- 
times valuable as a manure, that is, when a good 
sample is obtained. There are millions of tons of this 
manure in the low-lying swampy parts of the woods, and 
after being made into a compost for a few months, 
it is found very useful for improving the sandy soils 
of which much of Florida consists, which are short 
of humus. The Orange, however it may be treated or 
ill treated, must feel pretty much at home, for it 
flourishes so long as it gets a little something besides 
the ordinary soil. 
Budded trees are mostly planted now, consequently 
a certain approved variety of Orange can be depended 
upon from every tree, aud not a number of varieties 
as when seedling Oranges are planted. In the latter 
case Oranges are of all sorts and sizes, and some have 
thick rinds, others thin ; some are affected with the 
rust mite, while others are clear and bright. It is now 
the. rule to plant budded trees, so that fruit of one 
variety, texture, &c, can be secured. Budded trees, 
however, are not so hardy as seedlings, the latter 
passing through the slight frosts of Florida wirters 
almost uninjured, a slight scorching of the latest and 
most tender growths being the only damage sustained ; 
but should an unusual frost visit that favoured coun- 
try, as was the case in 1885 — 6, budded trees are 
liable to be greatly damaged by the freezing of all 
the young wood. The frost of 1885 — 6, however, did 
not kill many old or well established treos outright, 
and every grove affected by the frost of that winter 
has reoovered, and the trees are now in luxuriant 
health, growing vigorously and bearing good crops. 
" I am not sure," writes a Florida Grape, Orange, and 
Strawberry grower, " whether the said frost was 
altogether a matter to be deplored, for a vast amount 
of insect life in the way of parasites must have been 
destroyed at the same time. Had not this been the 
case, we Florida Orange growers might now have had 
a serious task on our hands, fighting mealy-bug, rust- 
mite, red-spider, and other troublesome pests, which 
were most likely stamped out by that keen frost." 
Unless some very decided and unlikely change in 
the climate of Florida occurs to cause the temperature 
to become much lower than it is at present, Orange 
culture in Florida can be counted upon as a permanent 
and remunerative industry. All the tropical and semi- 
tropical parts of the world are being ransacked for 
varieties of the Orange as well as other fruits likely 
to succeed in Florida ; and it ia very probable, writes 
the same correspondent, that in the course of a few 
years a greater variety of tropical and semi-tropical 
fruits will be found growing in Florida than in any 
other piece of land of its size on the face of the globe. 
The Orange trees are mostly planted 24 feet apart 
each way, and are cultivated in the way each cultiva- 
tor considers best. Some groves (like English gardens 
and farms) are in better condition than others; but 
it often happens that two groves in different sections 
of the State do not succeed alike, although planted, 
cultivated, and manured alike, as the soil varies so 
much in a very short distance ; and an Orange grower, 
like other growers of fruit and grain, finds his first 
task is to ascertain in what particular variety of plant 
food his land is deficient, and then to regulate his 
fertilisers accordingly. 
From seedling trees twelve to fifteen year* old now 
growing, writes my friend, in the grove in which I 
write, 1500 Oranges have been obtained from one tree 
for the year's crop. Budded trees bear at two years 
from the time of budding, but it is unwise to allow 
them to do so. And if Orange growers will only practise 
a little self-denial, and pick off all fruit as soon as 
formed for two or three years, with the sole object of 
first making a fine well-shaped tree, they would find 
that their acts of self-denial, will be handsomely repaid 
in a grove of luxuriant trees, prepared to bear a 
very much greater quantity of fruit at the end of 
four years than they otherwise would have done bad 
they been allowed to bear a few Oranges each year 
as soon as the trees commenced to bloom. - It is no 
unusual thing in Florida to see an Orange tree one 
year old from the bud showing clusters of flowers, 
and in many cases they are allowed to bear an Orange 
or two "just to see what they will be," and «ach 
year the trees are more and more stunted in growth 
by this proceeding. 
Fine large trees are produced at six years from the 
time of budding. Some trees at this age attain to * 
height of 12 feet, and as much th r cugh the 0*41 
and bear heavy crops of fruit. But a grove of budda e 
tree? is a sonrce of anxiety to the owner, since th 
keen frosts referred to above, and a constant run to 
the thermometer, is kept up during the duration of 
cold spell in water. 
The frosts usually are three in number during the 
winter, namely, November, December, and January — 
one each month, and usually lasting three or four 
nights; but any one not used to a Florida winter, 
my esteemed correspondent avers, would say at noon 
on a day during the prevalence of the "cool spell," 
"that no such thing as a frost could oome here." 
However, it is the north-west wind which is responsible 
for any damage done to the trees, the freezing air 
being brought down by it from the north-western 
States ; and if the wind continue long in that quarter 
in winter, it is sure to affect the trees much or little. 
The heat of the sun during this time completely 
neutralises the effect of the cold, the day being some- 
what like a warm day in early autumn in England ; 
but when the sun sets, then the air rapidly becomea 
cooler, and about 9 or 10 o'clock, p.m., the frosts 
usually occur. 
As to profits of Orange growing there is great 
diversity of opinion. If the business is conducted aa 
it is conducted by a good many men owning small and 
moderate-sized groves, there are none. Orange growers 
