The Republican journal., 1869-03-18
Oranges and Ailigators.

Oranges and Ailigators.
| A correspondent of the Hartford Times,
writing from Enterprise, on the St. Johns
river, Florida, Feb. 8, says:
The shores are mostly low, very apt to
be swampy, and are th,ckly covered with
the primeval forest. Live oaks, water-oaks,
gum trees, palms, and a host Of other trees,
line the silent shores, some in full leaf, 9TH
ers in fresh green leaves half grown, The
whole making an impressive scene in their
shaggy nantIe5 Of long gray moss, They
grow to the very edge Of tie water. Here
and there the traveller sees small opening,
with a rude and cheap house and the begin
ming Of an orange grove. All hands are
planting oranges. 1t begins to be seen that
on the river, where transportations to "a
vannah and other cities further north can
be obtained, oranges pay" better than
anything else. So every little clearing is
begun by setting out the wild orange trees
and grating them with the sweet orange,
or planting the sweet orange seed. Halt
an acre will give large return. TAis may
be understood when | say that tree in full
bearing will produce from 1000 to 1000 Or
| anges, and the price, when taken from the
tree, is generally about three cents apiece.
Ere long the banks of the magnificent st.
Johns, where they are high enough for cul-
tivation, will be a series Of orange groves
and market gardens, for early vegel ables
for New York Last Christmas there was
frost that spollt all the fruit ou ihe lowe-
St. Johns and at ST. Augustina, the first
d,
saw aud tried some oranges to-day, taken
from load brought here from point uear-
ly a hundred miles further south, that are
not only untouched by the frost, but far su-
perior to the best Havana oranges to be OBJ
tanned in New York or the United Sta.es.
They are larger, solder more delicious.
| And some grown here at Enterprise are
still very fine, being not much hurt. 1 saw
an old man who cane aboard 1T Melouvllle,
on the other side of The Lake, who looked
like d tenant Of one Of our uorrhorn aims
houses, and who told me he had $50 trees,
160 Of which bore they are young trees,
and do not bear fall YET, but he sold last
December, $1,000 worth of oranges from
160 trees, and expects to double it III a year
He made besides ten barrels Of sugar All
the sugar and syrup | have used III Florida
was made near the spot where found it,
wherever that might be. Each farmer
makes, generally, his own sugar and syrup.
Florida cotton, too, is an important crop,
bringing 81 a pound at Savannah. | talked
with a man on board yesterday who cared
carts about sixty miles TO MeIlonvllle, ~
take the steamer, and he is promised SLID
in Savannah. He told me lost 800 hogs
last year by panthers. Wildcats he don't
care for; they catch young pigs, but their
ravages are nothing 10 those of the pauthers.
Bears, he says, are abundant at his place,
and he often sees Indians. They come to
hunt, and live no one knows where. Corn,
worth here So a bushcl, is q large item
among the imports to these Florida towns
on the river. They ought to raise corn to
export. And they ought to get a better
breed Of hogs and COWS. They show NJ
enterprise. Their hogs are wretched AM.
mals-long-snouled, coarse-halred, black,
peaked-back beasts, that never can be made
to weigh 100 lbs. Their cows are good
for nothing, and no wouder milk is scarce.
There is no grass and the cows have to
shift for themselves. 1t looks strange to a
new conner, to see orange groves and fields
all white, or gray white, from the mixed
sea sand and pulverizcd shells which make
the soil, and no grass. Cows are actually
seen sticking their heads under water, to
get the fresh bottom grass Of the river.
The coarse grass of Florida dries up and
dies down, every winter, and is now just
coming up.
The orange grove opposite Pilatka, of
which l spoke in the first letter, contains
500 trees. The fruit was suffered to re-
main too long on the trees, and the Christ
mas frost spoilt it. Before it came, the
manager (from Vermon) picked s65 worth
in one day, from a single tree a1d 500
day is not uncommon. The grove is neat
ly kept and very beautiful, with its wealth
of golden fruit. Messrs. Adams and Alb
bott, who live far north, purchased the place
OF ESQ acres, three years ago, for S9,O0O
sold OFT $50, and from their grove they
cleared the remaining cost of their pur-
chase, it is said, in one year. They got
five cents each, last year, for a large part
of their oranges, For their labor they pay
500 a mouth and rations.
The whole labor system of the south is
disorganized and unreliable. Everywhere
hear the cry, "rhe negroes won't work"
If they agree to work on shares, no depend
ance can be placed on their continuance.
They will often leave suddenly, leaving the
the crop to take care of itself; and will al
ways leave if money is paid them. Their
low animalism can scarcely be understood
by northern people, without a visit this WAY.