Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1868-04-02
AGRICULTURAL.
.RlAn, aAapkn AND nOUsEaOLD.
rAs 0ranes -Oranss GaIIurs j rIelIaa

Aho vran9e--VfaDBo VuAtufo ID tiofiua
[oofrsspondencs Of the N. Krening Postl
Very early the Spaniards importe,
and planted trees, which grew an,
throve as if the Peninsula were thei
native home. Indeed, they made thei
way into the forests Of the interior tt
Isuch an extent and became so common
| ia the widest part Of the country
that at this time nearly ell the people
of the state believe aud win Afouil,
maintain that the sour orange is Al
Indigenous tree. This is certainly moi
the casN. The sour orange OF the Flor
ida woods is the true Seville orange.
In Florida, there are, perhaps, mill
ions of these wild trees. In Q few
places they grow in almost compact
groves, excluding other trees. Much
more commonly they an found singly
or in clumps, in thick forests of oaks,
walnuts, sweet gums, laurels aud mag
nolias. Rarely do they become large
trees. They are seldom more than
| twenty feet high and FIVE or six inches
| in diameter, with a few struggling
branches. Where one has grown IN an
open space, or where the wild trees
have been left standing in a cleared
field, they grow large with very thick
heads, aud prodnce great quantities OF
fruit. 4.
i The beauty OF the orange tree is
greatly enhanced by its fruit, which
lgrows proIusely on the extreme boughs
seeking the sun and the air. Small
trees, only three or four years budded,
land with branches spreading out seven
or eight feet, frequently bear a thou
sand oranges, Some groves bear an
average cropof two thousand oranges
per tree. The oranges begin to ripen
in November, but few are picked then; !;
for, though tbe orange is a perishable
fruit when picked, it will hang ripe on
the tree for twelve months. growing
better and sveeter until spring. Very
rarely does an orange fall of. Climb
Into tree if you can. Sharp thorns,
two inches long, make the task difficult.
To pick an orange you must pull
smartly, and often the frnit falls at last
only when a section Of the peel about
the stem Is pulled ont.
NEW GROVES,
The prospect of permanent product
| iveness and proftableness of the orange
crop has attracted the attention OF
thousands of immigrants, and many of
them are planting new orchards. The
failure of the cotton crop, and the be-
lief that il will be improbable hereaf-
ter, has driven men to seek for some
more marketable product. The success
of the orange was visible to almost ey.
cry man. To plant agrove is neither
difficult nor costly, aud thousands of
men have set out trees this winter. -
Almost every man on the st. Johns
river has planted trees this winter. -
Some have dozen or two about their
houses, and others have groves Of
thousand trees or more.
At st Augustine there are young
groves of several Thousand trees. The
immigrants to the Indian river all in-
tend to plant groves. On tue banks
OF the Oklamaha and Lakes Griffin,
Eustis and Harris, most Of the inhablt-
ants are planting trees. In q few To-
calities in the interior many trees have
been planted. On the Gulf coast
hundreds Of groves are planted. AL,
most every Immigrant who arrives de.
signs to plant an orange grove, what
ever else he may do. If no misfortune
befalls the trees, Florida will be full of
orange groves very soon, and in a few
years viii pseddcs fruit erough to sup.
ply the northern market. WJt-
There are not many places where the
wild trees grow thick enough, or well
enough distributed to make groves,
but advantage Of such natural groves
as do occur is not often taken. On
Lake Griffin northern man has made
u grove of $500 trees simply by clear
ing hummock Of forty acres. This
is three times as large as any grove
now In bearing.
The beauty Of the groves is best seen
when ascending the st. Johns. The
rich color Of tAe oranges set in the
brilliant green OF the leaves, with a
background of dark live oaks and som.
bre pines, and the dark water of the
broad st. Johns in tue foreground, all
unite to make picture not easily for
gotten.
No garden plant is so ornamental, no
orchard fruit mora delicious, no pro-
duce OF field or garden more profitable.
There seems to be every reason why
they should be planted IN great mum.
bers wherever they " ill grow.
The largest orange grove in Florida
is on the Indian river, thirty miles
south OF New Smyrna. It contains fif-
teen hundred trees, and covers about
fifteen acres. II as many trees are
planted for few years to come as have
been planted this year, the orange crop
OF Florida will sodn be worth twice as
much as its total productions are
worth now.
GRATING. AS the time will soon be
here when grating will be in order, we
will repeat our iorimeI advice that every
farmer should do his own grating. 1t
is very easy operation when once un-
derstOod, andtbisis readily done by
seeing the operatiOn., a sharp pen
knife aud good fine saw are indispen-
sable. Splitting the stalk SO that the
bark shall not be brnised--aud Snap
ing the scion wedge-fashion both ways,
preserving also the bark uniniured--
and placing the rim Of the wood OF
both stock and scion exactly together,
so that the sap can interminglo-there
is no danger OF failure if properly
waxed. We make a. shonIder to the
graft and think it adds to the certainty
Of success, though probably weakens
it. We prefer also two eyes or buds to
graft, and wonld rather have only one
than more than two. One years wood
should always be used when it can be
obtained, as it is more certain to take,
and grows more vigorously.
We wish to remind those preparing
grating wax. that xve have fonnd fonr