FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
GL 
The present crop was saved by open 
fires—only lighting every other row. 
Fired five times during the winter, but 
know now that three times would have 
been enough. At the time was afraid to 
take chances. Orchards in our section 
not fired will have some fruit, but a very 
light crop of the early varieties. For all 
ordinary cold snaps, down possibly to 22 
or 23, I believe it entirely practical to 
save young peaches with open wood fires 
placed northwest of each tree. But with 
such a freeze as we had that Monday 
morning in February, ’99, if you could 
rest contented, my advice would be, stay 
in bed, sleep on, take thy rest; believing 
that it may be years before we will again 
be visited by such a blizzard. We have 
faith to push on. 
Given a first-class piece of virgin high 
pine land, well cleared and plowed, set 
with first-class four to six feet trees as 
our worthy President knows how to 
grow, not closer than 20x25 feet, with a 
little good fertilizer, thorough cultiva¬ 
tion, dig out the borers, fight the San 
Jose scale with kerosene or kerowater, 
thin the fruit, don’t pick until well col¬ 
ored (not ripe enough to be soft), handle 
like eggs, grade and pack carefully, full 
measure pressed down, ship to good 
houses only—and await returns with an 
assurance and satisfaction Wat is sure 
to come with experience. 
At one time in my life I was the happy 
possessor of forty Leconte pear trees, 
but as demands arose for more profitable 
uses of the land, they have slowly but 
surely disappeared, until only a beggarly 
half dozen is left. These are kept so 
that when my friends say, “Do you have 
pear trees?” I can truly say, “Sure. Why 
not?” 
Led on by the glowing accounts of 
fortunes to be made growing Kelsey or 
Satsuma or Blood plums, by our agricul¬ 
tural writers and nurserymen, not wish¬ 
ing to be left behind in any good thing, 
I set out 300 of these trees, fertilized, 
pruned and digged about them for three 
or four years, without results. They 
were uprooted and used for a glorious 
Fourth of July bonfire, to the delight of 
the small boys of the neighborhood. We 
now boast of only one plum tree, an Ex¬ 
celsior, set in ’94, bearing a light crop in 
’97, better in ’98, in ’99 sold plums to the 
amount of $11 and had all we wanted for 
home use; in 1900, shipped seven crates, 
which sold for from $2 to $3.50 per crate. 
Had some home sales and uses. Tree 
bending under present crop. Two or 
three of the newer Japan plums, Botan 
and Wickson, set three years ago, but no 
fruit to show yet. 
As between peaches, pears and plums, 
give me peaches every time; three times 
a day if you please, sliced, with sugar 
and good Jersey cream, with an occa¬ 
sional cobbler thrown in for variety. 
PEACH TREES UNDER PROTECTION. 
Report by C. C. Shooter, of the Com¬ 
mittee. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
The last few winters have emphasized 
the fact that if we wish to grow very ear¬ 
ly peaches some kind of protection is 
necessary. The old Peento, which is 
one of the earliest peaches to ripen, and 
also one of the best in quality, is going 
out of cultivation because it is so seldom 
that we can get a crop from it. In the 
few mild winters previous to 1895 it was 
the best paying peach we had. 
That peaches will grow, thrive, and 
