Wilmington daily gazette., 1873-03-25
FLORIDA'S ORANGE GROVES.


Correspondence of The N. Y. Sun
TTTUsvILLE Fla, March lover forty
years ago an English gentleman named DUN :
mltt entered Florida. He was q man of refine !
ment and education. /.
DUMMITT's GROVES.
| reached Dummitt's groves about noon.
They contain 3 900 orange treGs, aad are sur
rounded by thick scrub. NJ fences sepera-
ted them from the scrub, and it Is a common
thing for deer and even bears, to be seen in
the groves. POssumS and codns are plentiful Il
and even wild cats and panthers make their
appearances at intervals. The groves are L
about mile long and quarter of mile |
wide. The trees are about twenty five feet |
apart The ground beneath them Is kept
| entirely free from any vegetation. 1t is OF a
rich sandy formation. The whole grove was
/ cool and shady Hardly tBck OF sunlight |
fell upon us while We were in IT. The land !
was naturely curved like a Darsnthesis thus |
| keeping it entirely free from swamDy mOis-
ture. The first tree that attracted my atten-
tiOn as entered the grove was a lemon tree.
The lemons were thin-skinned and of an
extraordinary size. In some places l found
lemons and oranges growing upon the same
tree, and in one case lemons, oranges, and
lines upon the same branch. Some Of the
orange trees were in blossom, others were
loaded with dark green fruit la various stages
of development but the most of them groan-
cd under the weight Of large ripe yellow oran7
geS. The climate and the soil are such that
, Capt. Dummitt says that he has raised Oran-
ges every month in the year
MILLIoNAIRE's HOUSE.
AS approached the Captains house, the
trees grew thicker and the shade became more
dense. One OF his daughters stood in the door
The mansion was built of unplaned boards
g They had neither been painted or whitewash-
ed, and had become black from the action
OF the weather. The house contained but one
room. The captains bed, well protected by
: mosquito bars, stood in the southwest corner.
= Another bed was IN the Otet corner. Opposite
e the door was the fireplace, surmOunted by O
II rough mantlelpiece. Everything was as clean
$ as pin, thanks to the captains daughter,
:, The walls were neither lathed nor plastered
lr and streaks of daylight could be seen between
) the side boards There were no windows in
h the house. Light was admitted through 9
square hole, which was covered with rough
rs wooden shutters.
- DUMMITT's INcoME.
le Dummitt's Grove has produeed eOO M,
se oranges this season, He says he will ralsq
lie million next year. Three Or four year5 40,
g. the trees were nearly destroyed by insects
n but they have fully recovered and look fine
than ever. This grove Is celebrated through
out the State. 1t Is looked upon as a Kind q
A. Mecca by the orange produces OF Florida I
costs Capt. Dummltt not quite 81, 900 a yea
-, to keep his magnificent grove in order. Sl
IN hundred thousand oranges at two cent
as nv apiece on the trees would give him a net
n0 income Of $1,000 year, and one millio
oranges would give nett income OF SIG OOI
=. 81. But frstclass grove fully developed. Ol0l
~ to average ,OOO oranges to the tree Man
= trees yield 5000 and one tree in the old EatO
,er Grove, near Enterprise, is said to haYe pr
81 duced 10 900 oranges in one year. Dummitt
in Grove, in the hands of a shreWd Yank1
is. possessed Oh Dummltts experience, wOu
et turn IN an income OF 1rOm $50, 5000 to $40 On
or a year. provided the oranges could be sol
,29 at their present price.
en- Capt. Dummitt Is nearly 20 years old. l
is a thin man, with gray hair and gray bear
he cares butlittle for mOuey and Is contents
so long as he makes q living. Ii anybO'
tn wants his oranges they must go to his gro
~" and buy them on the trees The Captain ne
AZ er looks for purchaser. The purchaser mt
az look for the Captain.
7 MIR. DE BARRY 5 GROVE.
ga Mr.. De Barry, the Champagne King
New York has started magnificent gro
I'M three miles below Enterprise He has clear
'ur- up the Most of the land, planted nearly 81
trees, erected the finest residence in the Sta
ssa- and spent altogether about $50, 900 upon I
a Of place. Most of the trees are very young, a
ed, none of them have borne fruit. His hol
ing resembles rich gentlemRn's country seat
but the Hudson. 1t is beautifully furnished, 9
1er- lighted by gas manufactured on the place
re, The view from the grove iS very fine.
to heart seems bound up in this grove. 4
ling ground, however is not like the soil on
Indian River hummOcks, and the oranges
tern never thrive as they do nearer the sea cos
the IndeedI hear that Mr.. De Barry is alrei
wing disgusted and Offers to sell out for $40 900.
oIts, THE KENT AND sANDFoRD GROVES.
ould At Melonville, opposite Enterprise, a
It's of Keut has very fine grove, containing pro
port bly, 800 trees. They are all thriving, and
/ the dotted with the yellow fruit.
anal Gen, Sanford, formerly United States
tom ister to Belgium, has several thousand a.
, 1eo of land near Mellonville. He has imports
NV colony Of Swedes, who agreed to work
him a specified time without wages, a
which each one was to receive two acres
sh- a homestead.
Mr. j. w, Harvey and q Mr.. Feaster
rson, have fine young groves Rt Sand Point ,abo
Pa, mile from the Indian river. Their gro
shot though small, are in fina condition.
e act HARRIET BEEcHER STOVES GROVE.
After Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stoves grove at \
that DARN, q few miles above Jacksonville,
there small affair, She has probably one or
loda- hundred trees. Her cottage Is partly hid
,sions beneath some iine live oaks 1t Is an IN
lersa- tending mansion, and was told that it
lsath for sale
Mr.. James Patterson, we'll known To
we0 to lawyer, owns the beautiful De Soto gT
Huer on the Banana river, ten miles north Of
Canaveral He saved his life by puFcha
this grove, and living upon it. He has
't. fruit-bearing trees. and has recently set
r. A. several hundred more. His hummOck is
!, has and rich, and in few years his groves
nond. be second only to Dummitt's grove.
ThaI One of the finest groves In the State wa