FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
107 
of real gold pouring forth into the tills 
of the owner, who is pictured as having 
little to do, but to while away his time 
in the cool shade of the beautiful ever¬ 
green trees and watch climate, sand, wa¬ 
ter and Doctors Nitrogen, Potash and 
Phosphate’s compounds produce magic 
results year after year. 
Were this picture a true one, there 
would be little need of this gathering 
from year to year for the purpose of 
studying and discussing with other grow¬ 
ers, and consulting with the learned pro¬ 
fessors and scientists of the State and 
Federal Department, the various and 
complex difficulties to be overcome. Ev¬ 
ery member of the Society, and especial¬ 
ly those who have been engaged in citrus 
culture for a few years, realizes that it is 
simply a case of “the survival of the fit¬ 
test.” 
The more hazardous the undertaking 
or industry, the more fascinating it be¬ 
comes. In no industry is this more keen¬ 
ly illustrated than the growing of citrus 
fruits. A few years’ immunity from dam¬ 
aging freezes, and we see the planting 
of citrus trees extended to the very 
northernmost limit; and a few of the 
golden balls hanging on the trees hun¬ 
dreds of miles north of the zone of reas¬ 
onable safety, sets the community wild, 
and commercial plantings are immediate¬ 
ly planned, while the more somber-hued, 
steady going deciduous fruits adapted 
to the locality are looked upon as a sec¬ 
ondary consideration, and in many cases 
entirely overlooked or forgotten. 
Diversification and crop rotation is be¬ 
ing urged and taught by every agricultu¬ 
ral paper, State or National institution or 
agricultural college. Diversification 
should be applied to fruit culture as well 
as to farm crops. If sufficiently far 
South to safely grow tropical fruits, Av- 
ocadoes, Mangoes or any one of the 
many others that only need to be pro¬ 
duced in sufficient quantities and intro¬ 
duced on to our vast markets, to make 
them both popular and profitable, you 
should plant a reasonable quantity of 
tropical fruits. If too far north for these 
more tender tropical fruits, then you are 
far enough north to consider some of 
the deciduous fruits, of which peaches 
is probably the better known and more 
popular of those grown in the South. 
The interest in peach culture by mem¬ 
bers of the society is not sufficient to un¬ 
dertake to consume your time in a tech¬ 
nical discussion. We will therefore just 
touch on a few of the essentials and some 
of the troubles. Peach growing has 
troubles of its own, the same as citrus cul¬ 
ture, some of which are probably more 
vital. But if proper varieties are select¬ 
ed, trees well planted and cared for, the 
results will well repay the cost. 
First—Select and plant only the varie¬ 
ties of the Spanish or South China strains, 
preferably the latter. Why is it that the 
orange grower who knows will not plant 
Washington Navels in Florida? They 
won’t bear. For the same reason, do not 
plant Elberta and other varieties of the 
North China or Persian strain of peaches 
in Florida, as the trees do not grow well 
and will not bear at all. 
Second—Plant on well drained, virgin 
soil. Drainage is essential, and vir¬ 
gin land is best, as it is less liable to be 
infected with Nematode, which is inju- 
