142 
southern cultivator. 
RIDICUJLE OFTEN RIOICUEOUS. 
Editors Southern Cultivator — Ridicule,, by those 
who know nothing whatever on the subject they are dis- 
cussing, has done more to keep agricultural improvement 
in the back ground than anything else. Whenever a 
planter comes to me and says that what I am doing in the 
field is wrong, and, instead of doing good, will result in 
harm and only harm, I want him to give me b. reason for 
so thinking ; and if he has no reason, only that he thinks 
so, his opinion is not worth a cent in my estimation 
For instance, if I was-subsoiling and a planter should 
pass by and inform me of the important fact that all my 
labor would be in vain; that the first hard rain would leave 
no traces of the subsoil plan, only to render the sOil and sub- 
soil more compact, I would, of course, come to the con- 
clusion that he had tried it, and that ’ his opinion was 
based upon experiment. I have respect for a man’s 
opinions if he reasons on the subject “like a man,” and 
desires to come to correct conclusions by experiment and 
investigation, though such investigation should uproot 
every old fogy notion which he and his father before him 
have ever entertained. But when a man plods away, 
literally, in the old beaten track of years past, and never 
tries an experiment, and ridicules those that do, and then 
presumes to say that everything is wrong, outside of his 
order of doing things, I do not feel called upon to adopt 
his system of plantation economy, because I know that 
he does not know whether he is right or wrong. I do not 
intend to take for granted t\Qxyth.\r)gl}\dii is told me about 
planting, subsoiling, composting, stock raisintr, &c , 
especially if such information comes from one who has 
never taken the trouble to step out of the common order 
of things to inform himself on the subject. 
If Dr. Lee, Dr. Cloud, Dr Philips, Col. Peters, Col 
Croom, or any of old veterns in the cause of our country’s 
agricultural salvation, should pass by the field that I were 
operating in, and say, friend, you are wrong, I would 
stop and hesitate long before I proceeded farther. And 
why'? Because I know they have studied agriculture, ex- 
perimented, tested and weighed in the balance almost all 
the theories now known to Agricultural Philosophy. It 
would be sensible to listen to them. They know what 
they are talking about. I would gain information from 
them that would be valuable. 
It has been by corresponding with such men, and read- 
ing what they have said in such papers as the good old 
Southern Caltivator, that I have been aroused and inform 
ed on the subject of agricultural science. And the thought 
of learning more and more on farming and planting and 
corresponding with such men as above referred to, gives 
to me half the pleasure of life. But when a man, for the 
sake of ridicule, says I am wrong, and gives me no other 
argument to convince me of the fact than a big foolish 
laugh, it is not apt to make a very lasting impression 
upon my mind in his favor. Yours, &c., 
G. D. Harmon. 
Millike7ds Bend, La., Feb., 1859. 
TROPICAL FRUITS IN LOUISIANA. 
A correspondent of the Homestead (Hartford, Conn.) 
writes : 
Tropical fruits in Louisiana, at this season of the year, 
are much more abundant than the fruits of the temperate 
zone. The only fruit of the North, at all common at the 
fruit stands and markets, is the Apple, and the specimens 
of these are not at all comparable to those seen at similar 
places in our cities. The growing of apples in this vicin 
ity is a recent movement, and they are not produced in 
sufficient quantity to supply the market through the win- 
ter. Those shipped from the North by way of the Gult 
stream, rapidly lose their firmness and flavor on the sea, | 
and are worth hule here. The main supplies come from 
up the river, and these are held at such prices that the 
consumption is not large. They come in competition, too, 
with fruits more congenial to the climate, and these are 
generally preferred by those accustomed to their use. 
The Orange stands first among these fruits, and is grown 
here in greatest abundance. It is found upon nearly all 
the plantations, where it is cultivated with reference 
mainly to home consumption. It is found also in many of 
of the yards in the city and suburbs, cultivated both for 
ornament and its fruit. The tree is of slow growth, but 
begins to bear in considerable quantities after six or eight 
years. It never attains a very large size, but trees are 
frequently found fifteen or twenty feet in height, and bear- 
ing four or five bushels of fruit. 
There is quite a variety of the Citrus tribe of plants 
cultivated here, the medica or lemon tree which bears the 
lemon of commerce, thevarigata or variegated lemon tree, 
the limonium or citron, \h&vulgagis or myrtle leaved, the 
acida or lime, the auraiitium or common orange, the ja- 
ponica or small fruited orange, bearing fruit about one 
inch in diameter, and thickly set upon the branches, a 
very beautiful shrub, the nohihs or large fruited mandarin 
orange, and the otaheite or dwarf fruited orange. Some of 
these are cultivated more lor ornament than for use. The 
sour orange is hardly to be distinguished in appearance 
from the sweet. It is nearly as common, and retains its 
fruit all through the winter, making a very inviting ap- 
pearance. The rind is very thick and bitter, and the pulp 
acid. It is only used for preserving. The orange gener- 
ally found in the New Orleans market is known as the 
Coast or Creole orange. It is supposed by tne nursery- 
men to be a seedling of the common Havana orange, with 
what reason I am unable to say. It is certainly very 
much modified by climate if it has that parentage The 
lorm is a more perfect globe, a little flattened at the stem 
and blossom ends, and the size abj>ut the same. The 
skin is thinner and finer grained. The quality is far better 
than the be^t Havanas I have ever tasted, and this is the 
common estimate put upon them by those who have eaten 
both varieties in their greatest perfection. A well ripened 
Creole orange just picked from the tree is so full of juice, 
neither too sweet nor too sour, that it leaves nothing to be 
desired in this kind of fruit. They continue in market 
four or five months. They are shipped to a considerable 
extent to the cities and villages up the river, but are never 
seen in )ur Northern markets. 
Strange as it may seem, they are not yet so generally 
raised, as to supply the market in this city. Immense 
qualities of oranges are brought from Havana, West 
Indies, Central America, and from Sicily. The soil and 
climate are well adapted to this crop, and it is only in 
rare cases, that the winter is severe enough to injure the 
trees. The tree is hardy and long lived, some specimens 
here being pointed out eighty years old or more. 
But the great business of the planters in the region where 
the orange flourishes, is growing the sugar cane. This is 
followed so exclusively, that on most of the plantations 
they do not even attempt to produce the meats and bread- 
stuffs for home consumption. The cane pays for every- 
thing. The unskilled labor employeu in this business is 
not adapted to the nicer manipulations of fruit trees, and 
the care of their fruits. The crop would be more perish- 
able, and for that reason the returns would be less certain. 
Few, except those of a small means, msike a business of 
growing oranges for market. A very large part of the 
trade in this fruit is carried on by boatmen, who call at 
the plantations, trade with the slaves, and transport the 
stolen fruit, fowls, and eggs to the city. These brats are 
always to be found in the season of fruit, at the levee 
among the steamers, carrying on a brisk trade with the 
travelling public. 
The few who have gone into the growing of this firm 
