238 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
tion for thoroughness—he was not a 
‘‘clock watcher/’ but was known as a 
“dependable boy.” 
In the, fall of 1883, he went to Louis- 
ville, Kentucky, where he was employed 
on job press work for the Courier-Jour¬ 
nal. On October 3rd, of the same year, 
he was married to Miss Martha S. Brinly, 
of Louisville, Ky. 
Returning to Florida in 1885, he pur¬ 
chased a one-half interest in the Florida 
Agriculturist, and later on became sole 
owner, turning over the orange grove 
which he had set out as part payment. 
Fie continued as editor and owner until 
1907, when he sold all his rights and in¬ 
terests in the publication. 
In the early days of horticulture in 
Florida, fertilizers were hedged about 
with walls of secrecy and mystery, and 
when he began his experimental work in 
fruit and vegetable growing at his home 
near DeLand, Florida, he was met with 
opposition and refusals from Northern 
fertilizer manufacturers in his endeavor 
to procure raw fertilizer materials. 
Through the influence of a friend, he 
finally secured several hundred pounds 
of materials and with these began the 
mixture of fertilizers according to his 
own ideas. Fie operated extensive exper¬ 
imental grounds in connection with the 
work of the publication of his paper. On 
these grounds careful experiments and 
records were made in the application of 
different plant foods in different propor¬ 
tions, and as a result, in the course of 
years he gained an accurate knowledge 
as to the plant food requirements of the 
various crops in-conjunction with dif¬ 
ferent soils, which could not be obtained 
in any other way. 
He was the first to manufacture fer¬ 
tilizers within the State of Florida, and 
the first to contend that no manufacturer 
of fertilizer could make any one plant 
food suited to all conditions. He was the 
first to advocate special formulas for 
special soils 'and crops. 
His efforts in behalf of the soil tillers 
of the State of Florida did not end th£re. 
Realizing the difficulties the grower had 
to combat in the field in the wav of dis- 
* 
eases and insect pests he made an ex¬ 
haustive study of these conditions. 
The results of his experiments and in¬ 
vestigations were published from time to 
time in the Florida Agriculturist and rev¬ 
olutionized the' use of plant foods. 
In order to supply the growers with 
the plant foods his experience and experi¬ 
ments had proven was needed, in 1890 
he commenced the manufacture of fer¬ 
tilizers on a very limited scale at DeLand, 
the then center of the orange region in 
the State of Florida. 
In 1897, his fertilizer business having 
increased to such proportions it became 
necessary on account of transportation 
facilities to move to Jacksonville. Up to 
1901 the business was owned and oper¬ 
ated by him individually, but in this year 
it was incorporated under the laws of the 
State of Florida, as the E. O. Painter 
Fertilizer Company. 
Possibly the one thing which he accom¬ 
plished which has more than any other 
redounded to the benefit of the growers 
of the State of Florida, was that he made 
