152 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
lo. Has any member of the society had 
any experience in growing “Ginseng”? 
With what success? Can it be success¬ 
fully grown in Florida? 
Mr. Painter.—Ginseng has been tried 
in Florida but the only one who made 
money out of the deal was the firm who 
sold the roots for planting. 
II. Can a grove be cared for and fer¬ 
tilized so that it will give a full crop each 
year, if so, how and when to fertilize it? 
Mr. Blackman.—Mr. President, I can 
answer that in part, not from my own 
experience, but for another. This gentle¬ 
man take it one vear with another, has 
good to heavy crops of grapefruit. The 
first few years his grove bore, it would 
produce a heavy crop one year, the next 
ligliter. The owner commenced experi¬ 
menting in fertilizing and for the past 
three years his grove has been loaded 
almost to the breaking point. I do not 
know what kind of fertilizer he uses, or 
how many applications or when applied. 
He uses a fertilizer manufactured in this 
State. He works his grove in the spring, 
allowing the weeds and grass to grow 
through a portion of the summer. I do 
not know how much fertilizer he uses to 
the tree; but I do know that he gets a* full 
crop each year. 
Mr. Connor.—I do not know that I can 
give any light on this subject but I wish 
to say that there are so many things that 
have to be taken into consideration to 
produce a full crop of fruit that I do not 
think we can lay it altogether on the 
kind of fertilizer used for the reason that 
there as so many other things that we 
have to take into account. If we do not 
have moisture then we are not apt to have 
a full crop of fruit, then again I think 
the time, and quality of fertilizer used has 
something to do with it. My idea is that 
the time of fertilizing is in the fall of the 
year, it seems to get the grove in better 
shape to set fruit and then I would follow 
that with a light application in the spring, 
then feed the tree gradually all along the 
year. If you feed the trees well, being 
careful to have suitable analysis, you will 
have no trouble in getting a good crop 
each year. 
Mr. Gist.—All of Florida is not so 
fortunate as to have a rock foundation to 
put their groves on, therefore some suffer 
for the lack of moisture. I think Mr. 
Connor’s remarks were well made, for 
my observation is that a tree that has 
been well fed winters well. Down in 
Miami they do not have to consider the 
winters as we do. A well fertilized tree 
will stand a lower degree of temperature 
than a poorly fed one and thus better 
crops will be the result the next year. 
12. How are bamboos propagated? 
Will they grow from cuttings, if so what 
time should they be put out? 
Dr. Walker.—They are propagated by 
taking the roots. This can be done at 
most any time. 
Mr. Steele.—I saw in a neighbor’s yard 
a large clump of bamboo, from which‘it 
was impossible to get a sprout. I took 
some cuttings, slender twigs, and planted 
them in moist soil and all grew. 
13. Given a sandy soil of a tidewater 
island that is too salt for growing oran¬ 
ges is it possible to neutralize the excess of 
salt by the use of a special fertilizer? 
The soil is so salty that the kelsey plum 
after being transplanted when matured 
will taste as salty as if it had been pickled 
