586 
AUG. 8 
GARDENING IN FLORIDA.. 
Peculiar Southern Methods and 
Needs. 
As the beauty and glory of the gardens in 
south Florida are already past, or fast wan¬ 
ing. save in exceptional instances where 
there is sub irrigation or artificial protec¬ 
tion from the scorching summer heats, etc., 
as people are already bsginning to shape in 
their minds the plans for the next “all-the- 
year-round” garden, it seems to be a good 
time to consider some of the differences be¬ 
tween gardening at the North and in south 
Florida. 
The first differences are tho=e of climate 
and seasons. Consequently the times of 
p'antingare different. There is little dif¬ 
ference in the care of the ground except that 
here it must not he exposed bare to the 
frequent showers and burning nys of the 
summer suu; for that means destruction to 
the soil; it must be covered with something, 
for here shade is fertilizer. 
The would-be gardener’s first endeavor 
here is to select a suitable plot of ground 
for a garden. This is a much more difficult 
matter than at the North, and is one great 
reason why visitors see so few gardens here. 
At the North a piece of ground is selected • 
near the residence and the gardens are 
brought into prominence. Here they are 
hid away in the hummocks or “bay-heads,” 
or located on the margins of lakes or streams 
and the country is so diversified, so varied 
in its character, that favorable sites are 
readily secured in most communities. The 
“ flat-woods ” also afford good garden sites, 
and, with irrigating appliances, the ordin¬ 
ary high priced lands make excellent gar¬ 
dens. In fact, facilities for applying water 
when needed are indispensable for success¬ 
ful gardening on any class of land, there 
being a drought of several weeks—some¬ 
times months—nearly every spring and 
autumn.and water must be applied or failure 
will be the result. Yet the dews are so gen¬ 
erous that we never suffer from the parch¬ 
ing droughts so common at the North. 
Frequent stirring of the soil also greatly 
helps out a short water supply. 
Here the real beginning of the gardening 
season is September in place of April in the 
latitude of New York City, not in respect 
to the warmth of season and the quality of 
the weather but as regards the time of be¬ 
ginning to plant the garden. Many plants 
have been grown in protected seed boxes 
and shady places to be ready for transplant¬ 
ing in September and October. The north¬ 
ern gardener has protected his plants from 
cold, and transplants when he thinks the 
danger from frost is past; the south Florida 
gardener has protected his plants from the 
direct rays of the midday sun and the re¬ 
flected heat from the ground. He has little 
fear of frost except during December, Jan¬ 
uary and the first week in February, and 
even in those months the frosts are infre¬ 
quent and usually light, though exceptional 
years occur too frequently to permit the 
gardener to have that perfect confidence 
that “ casteth out fear.” 
In September or October are planted or 
transplanted most of the vegetables seen In 
Northern gardens, especially such as are 
quick to mature or that will stand a light 
frost, as well as quite a number peculiar to 
this latitude, while every few weeks the 
same kinds are planted for succession. 
But to return to the preparation of the 
garden : The gardener having secured his 
land, cleared It of its native growth, broken 
it up and put in drains where needed, pro¬ 
ceeds to neutralize the natural acidity of 
the soil by liberal Applications of lime or 
potash, or both, working it repeatedly to 
bring it to the proper state of tilth. He 
also gives the soil a plentiful supply of fer¬ 
tilizers, usually commercial, unless he is 
able to “cow-pea” his land. Frequently 
some field crop—cow peas usually—Is grown 
to aid in sweetening the soil which is very 
acid at first. Thus far the work has been 
very definite and straightforward, but now 
the gardener’s troubles begin. With 
droughts in spring and autum, an excess 
of rain and a hot, scorching sun during the 
summer months, with occasional frosts 
more or less severe during winter, the im¬ 
portant questions are when and how to 
plant and how to treat this, that and the 
other vegetable. In the North centuries of 
experience have developed certain well de¬ 
fined rules regarding times of planting and 
modes of culture that are well adapted to 
the comparatively uniform progress of the 
seasons. Here in south Florida the case is 
different. Civilized man has hardly occu¬ 
pied this land for half a centory, and it is 
only during the past decade that practical 
gardening has received attention. Rapid 
progress is being made, however, and the 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
failures and successes will soon make of 
this experimental stage the stepping stones 
to success. The agricultural papers are 
gathering the facts, and ere long some cap¬ 
able writer will winnow and combine and 
produce a practical treatise on gardening 
in this latitude. 
The gardener has one great advantage 
here that he lacks at the North,—he can 
plant something every month in the year 
and by shading and mulching such as need 
it during the summer, and protecting from 
the few frosts of wi nter, he can have the sat • 
isfactlon of garden products in variety at all 
seasons. 
In my former home.near the 42nd parallel 
of latitude, May was the time to prepare 
and plant the garden, and even then danger 
was apprehended from frosts from the 15th 
to the 20th. Here, near the 28th parallel 
the weather is usually more warm and the 
danger from frost less in February than 
there in May, making the season here fully 
three months earlier. Further, February 
frosts here, if we have any, are usually less 
severe as well as more rare than May frosts 
there. But “it is the unexpected that 
happens.” Some winters there will not be 
frost hard enough to injure the most tender 
vegetable, while last year, except in favored 
localities, there were two killing frosts in 
March and this year one the 7th of April. 
The successful gardener has to be prepared 
for these rare visitations. 
Though gardening here properly begins 
in September and continues throughout the 
year, there are special times that are deemed 
most favorable for the planting of particular 
vegetables, but the great feature here is the 
successive plantings of the same thing at 
intervals of a few weeks. Again, for some 
things there are two natural seasons of 
planting. ;Insect pests are also avoided by 
planting things out of their natural season. 
As regards preparing the ground and fer¬ 
tilizing there are probably little, if any. dif¬ 
ferences, except those already stated, be¬ 
tween Florida and the North. There, how¬ 
ever, the work of planting is crowded into 
a short season ; while here there is no such 
press of work either in planting or harvest¬ 
ing. The greatest trouble here is to get a 
good stand of the more tender plants. The 
critical period is from the time the seeds 
are sown until the plants get three or four 
Inches high. The soil dries out very rapidly 
and planting being largely done in the dry 
periods of spring and autumn, the seeds 
must be kept moist in the ground until 
they germinate, and the plants until they 
get a good start. If they dry out they are 
done for; if too wet they rot. Again, the 
rays of the sun are so hot that if the ground 
is too dry it shrivels the plants ; if too wet, 
it scalds them. Hence, great care and con¬ 
stant attention are required. When they 
are once well started, the after cultivation 
is much the same as at the North, but they 
must be hurried to shade the ground for 
self protection. In fact, mulching is quite 
important during the summer months. 
Gardens here are improving from year to 
year and there are many notable successes. 
Orange Co., Fla. sherman adams. 
AT THE GENEVA EXPERIMENT 
STATION. 
This has been a good season to test the 
ability of different vegetables to withstand 
drought. The Director expects to get a 
supply of water for irrigating from the city 
system. The different kinds of grass and 
their comparative growth form an inter¬ 
esting study. Alfalfa has made the largest 
growth and is cut for soiling. One plot 
seven years old showed that but few plants 
had been run out by other grasses. This is 
the only food for which the cattle that are 
confined to the barn and yard will leave 
ensilage. Orchard Grass has also made a 
large growth, but it is of poor quality and 
ripens too early for hay, there having been 
no good hay weather or time to cut it in the 
fore part of June. 
Prof. Hunn has a large number of straw¬ 
berries both old varieties and seedlings—one 
row matted and one of hills of each kind. 
A walk among them would convert the 
strongest adherent of the hill system. The 
matted row gives the best results every 
time. The Crescent is the most profitable 
market berry. The plants should be quite 
thick. A careful grower will study the char¬ 
acteristics and wants of his variety and treat 
it accordingly. 
Early is loaded with fine berries. The 
whole bed is a model and has more than 
four times the amount of berries obtained 
by the average grower. The effect obtained 
from the use of some of the nitrates was 
very marked and the fruit was very large. 
The use of fine, rotted manure in excessive 
quantities for mulching is liable to make 
the fruit soft and flavorless. 
The early potatoes have 67 combinations 
of fertilizers, and by the aid of rich soil 
and plenty of labor, they are growing finely 
in spite of a lack of moisture. 
The knapsack sprayer is very handy 
among currants, gooseberries and small 
trees. An improvement now in use by many 
is a long gas pipe attached to the hose. By 
means of this the nozzle on the end of the 
pipe, can be placed in any part of the tree, 
by a man standing on the ground. Spraying 
has come to stay, and the successful fruit 
grower must learn how. Mr. Fairchild of 
the Department at Washington, is experi¬ 
menting with grapes and nursery stock, 
which were contributed by prominent 
nurserymen. They are sprayed with dif¬ 
ferent mixtures for blight and rot. The 
plants are very thrifty and the vegetables 
show by their growth that Bro. Terry’s 
system of diligent culture in times of 
drought is effective. The mildew of the 
gooseberry is conquered and the bushes 
were loaded with very large fruit. Mr 
Gasper, of Geneva, was setting tomato 
plants; although the weather was very hot 
and dry, he will not lose one. The ground 
was worked till very fine and a quart of 
water was poured on the roots before the 
fine dirt was hoed around them. Rhubarb is 
very profitable for him, yielding at the rate 
of several hundred dollars per acre. One 
small plot of currants, the second year from 
setting, gave fruit enough to pay for the 
plants and $72 worth of cuttings. This 
would come near the $1,000 per acre story 
in practice. C. E. c. 
Poultry Yard. 
CARING FOR THE MOULTING HEN. 
What extra care and feed do you give 
moulting hens to get them through the 
season in the best condition? Is moulting 
harder on the heavier breeds than on the 
light, active ones? Can you by any system 
of feeding and care hasten this moulting 
period and thus start the hens laying earlier 
in the fall ? 
Meat, Milk, Fresh Bones. 
1. As the growth of the new feathers takes 
from the fowl the elements necessary for 
the production of feathers, the food should 
be highly nitrogenous, meat, fresh bones 
from the butcher, and milk being preferred. 
At times the bird is nearly naked, hence dry 
quarters and protection against exposure 
should be afforded. 2. I have never ob¬ 
served any advantage in favor of tho large 
or small breeds. More depends on the vigor 
and hardiness of each individual than upon 
breed. 3. Oily foods hasten the dropping 
of the old feathers. Linseed meal or sun¬ 
flower seed induces moulting and hastens 
the process. Such foods not only contain 
oil, but are nitrogenous, and also abound in 
mineral matter. They are the best foods 
for moulting hens, a gill of linseei meal, 
mixed with bran being sufficient for 10 hens 
once a day. p. H. JACOBS. 
Weed Out the Medicines. 
My system of handling fowls while moult¬ 
ing is based on the principle that no healthy 
animals need tonics or stimulants while 
growing. I discarded the medicine chest 
3 
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Has it ever occurred to you that, with a little labor, wasting apples, berries and vege¬ 
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coffee, butter, rice, oatmeal, etc , or go far towards purchasing clothes and little luxuries 
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To the Women of the Household it is a Little Gold Mine. 
No labor you can perform for cash returns pays as well as that of converting wasting 
fruits into evaporated stock. These products are among the highest priced luxuries in 
food products. Evaporated peaches, cherries and raspberries, 20 to 2 > cents per pound; 
apples, pears, blackberries, etc , 10 to 15 cents; all salable to or may be exchanged with 
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Recall the Waste of Fresh Fruit on the Farm or Town Lot for Seasons Past. 
This wasted fresh fruit, with a little labor added, represents just about one-tenth as 
many pounds or bushels of evaporated fruit. No other business than farming now al¬ 
lows such a large waste, or could be long sustained. 
Another View of the Matter for Farmers’ Attention, 
COMPARATIVE AVERAGE VALUES PER POUND. 
>rn... 
its.... 
beat. 
irley. - 
iax-seed... 
ack wheat. 
per lb 
Farm Crops. 
* 0.1 
2 
2 
•l 
5 
Beef..per lb. .$0.6 
Poultry . “ .. 10 
Cotton. “ .. s 
Clover seed.... “ ..10 
Wool. “ ..25 
Groceries. 
Flour.per lb..$0.2V6 
Sugar. 
Soap. — 
Oatmeal 
Rice 
Butter. 
Coffee. 
Tea.... 
Evaporated Fruits, etc 
Blackberries..per lb.$0,414 
Apples . •• 8 
Sweet Corn . “ 8 
whortleberries “ 15 
Pears . “ 15 
Cherries . “ 12 
Peaches. “ 18 
Raspberries.. “ 20 
Its Capacity is Ample for Domestic Use. 
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