76 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
show off remarkably well at four or five 
years old, and at ten or fifteen years of 
age they will cause many a passer-by to 
wish that he ^‘owned that tree.’' 
The difficulty heretofore experienced 
in planting palm trees has been that we 
have not known just what to select, nor 
how to set them out after they have been 
selected. We are apt to treat a palm tree 
very much as we would a jardiniere of 
ferns, that is, sticking it in some house 
corner where it can get only a peep of sun¬ 
light now and then. The palms about 
which I wish to speak later are such as 
can stand the full glare of the sun without 
injury; they can be left out in the most 
tempestuous winds that we have; they can 
stand months of neglect, and come out 
smiling from this course of treatment. 
Like every other cultivated specimen, 
they, however, take very good naturedly 
to kiifd treatment. They differ from most 
trees in that the position of their leaves 
permits the free circulation of air, and 
the broad leaved, fan palms afford a good 
and cool shade. 
With all these good qualities they have 
the still further excellent ones of being 
remarkably free from fungus and insect 
attacks. In addition to this, they do not 
harbor ^that most annoying pest with 
which we have to deal at times, the Flori¬ 
da mosquito. 
In setting out these trees due regard 
should be had for the landscape effect. 
One of these trees when once set out is 
almost never transplanted. Not that they 
are so exceedingly difficult to transplant, 
but their beauty being once realized, they 
are so valued that no one has the courage 
to hazard the chance of losing a fine speci¬ 
men. If the trees are planted with a view 
of avenue setting, they should be placed 
far enouo'h back from the road to allow a 
full development of the leaves without the 
necessity of cutting back. For planting 
about the door yard or open lawn due re¬ 
gard should be had for the point of view, 
so that when these have grown to be tall 
trees the view may not be obstructed. The 
contour of a piece of land should also be 
had in mind, and the general character of 
the trees and other ornamentals about the 
door yard. 
In discussing these trees I have confined 
myself to a very limited number, and 
have taken those that will be perfectly 
hardy in all parts of the State. A few 
nice plants of hardy species, well selected, 
will be found more pleasing than a great 
variety jumbled together in a sort of 
horticultural museum. 
The three palms that I wish to consider 
are able to withstand freezing tempera¬ 
tures, and live out of doors on the Atlantic 
coast as far north as Charleston, and on 
the Gulf coast to New Orleans. Conse¬ 
quently, every land owner in the state of 
Florida should have one or more of each 
of these palms in his possession. 
In general it may be said that palms 
need an abundance of sunshine, and an 
abundance of fertile soil although they 
will thrive remarkably well on sandy soils 
that have been moderately fertilized. 
Cabbage Palmetto (Sabal Palmetto.) 
—^^I mention this one first because it is a 
native. And here I may be permitted to 
digress a moment and preach a curtain 
lecture on the fact that we do not ap¬ 
preciate our native decorative plants suffix 
ciently. We have in our flora many speci¬ 
mens which make the handsomest of 
decorative specimens, but simply over¬ 
look them and cast about us for something 
that has been imported from distant and 
little known lands. I see that illustrated 
constantly at my own home, where many 
