FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
53 
important to have a good foundation for 
an orange grove, and the bedrock of the 
good foundation is good soil. To begin, 
now, after thirty-one years of study, I 
should select some good hammock land, 
well drained naturally, good loamy soil, 
sandy subsoil, with clay not too close to 
the surface; preferably, I should select a 
piece of uncleared hammock. I should 
select land that grew large hickory, oak, 
ash, magnolia, and red bay trees. Large 
trees indicate fertile soil and shows well 
developed top roots. I would cut this 
timber all down in the spring and early 
summer, felling the trees in windrows, 
and putting the smaller trees and brush 
in the windrow with the large trees. I 
would let this timber lie in windrows un¬ 
til fall. I would then put fire in the win¬ 
drows and burn all I could without mov¬ 
ing any of the timber. After fire had run 
through the windrows, I would cut all 
limbs” and brush from the tree trunks, 
cutting to lengths that could be easily 
handled. Then I would cut the logs into 
ten- or twelve-foot lengths, or short 
enough for a few men to handle conveni¬ 
ently. After the cutting Kvas done, I 
would roll the logs into piles, piling the 
limbs and brush with the logs; then I 
would make a clean burn of all of this 
timber; or, if there was a market for the 
logs, I would sell the logs and burn all I 
could not sell. When we planted our first 
groves there was no market for our logs, 
and we piled and burned all of the tim¬ 
ber. After the logs and brush were 
burned, I would plant a crop of snap beans 
hoping to get some beans to ship before 
frost killed the beans, and after the bean 
crops were all killed in the north. Then 
I would stake my land, setting stakes 
where I wanted to plant a tree. In past 
years, we put our trees twenty-five feet 
apart. Now, I would plant trees fifteen 
feet apart. I would plow the land as best 
I could, using a strong plow stock, with 
a root cutter. This would merely cut 
some roots and stir the soil a little bit. 
Planting fifteen feet apart is too close for 
permanent trees, but I would plant fifteen 
feet and cut out as trees begin to crowd. 
The trees to be taken out will have paid 
for themselves before they begin to crowd 
injuriously, and I want to shade the 
ground as quickly as possible. After the 
trees begin bearing, I would quit grow¬ 
ing vegetables, and would begin fertil¬ 
izing the trees. The trees would need 
no fertilizer as long* as I was growing 
vegetables, and very little cultivation, 
as the fertilizer and work given the vege¬ 
tables would be ample for good growth of 
tree. I would cultivate the trees shallow 
in the fall and during* the spring, possibly 
until the rainy season started, until the 
trees had made a fair top, and were bear¬ 
ing some fruit; then all cultivation would 
cease. I would mow the grove twice 
each year, once about July, letting the 
grasses and weeds lie on the ground just 
where they fell when cut, and I would 
mow again in October or November, and 
use this crop for hay, or rake into the 
middles as a safeguard against fire, and 
possibly clean and harrow of* plow an oc¬ 
casional row, simply as firebreaks; I 
would sow fertilizer broadcast twice each 
year about May and November; but it 
does not matter as to^ the time of the year 
about applying fertilizer, the rule being 
to apply more fertilizer before the last ap- 
