The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-02-10
THE INDIANA STATE SENTINEL. TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 10, 1874.
A SCENE.
THE LAND OF THE ORANGE GRGyE

A SCENE.
THE LAND OF THE ORANGE GROVE.
EIGHTY DEGREE IN THE HouR
IN A RETREAT-sCENE ON A
MISUNDERSTANDING LETTER
FROM AN INDIANAPoLIrAN AMONG 81
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PALATKA, FLA, Feb. 3.
From a Special Correspondent of the Sentinel
Sir:-The thermometer for the past few
days has maintained itself persistently at
500 in the shade, and we persons of polar
"Reminiscences began to grumble about the
heat. We threw aside our paper collars; the
starch was taken out of linen before nine
O'Clock A.. NJ. and we were fain to seek that
retreat where the fragrant mint mingles it's
cooling oder with ice, lemons, claret, sher-
ry, and occasional cereal extracts denomin-
ated here 'Old Black Crow" "Tar and
Feathers" etc. To change this scene, 1
sought an orange grove which is coz
stantly before our eye, more than a
mile away, across the st. Johns. /
charter a small boat and an Intelligent
African for rs csnts per hour, and we strike
out boldly to cross the deep, smooth river.
Great fish now and thea Jump almost into
the boat; wild ducks swim before us, tam
TALKING us that we left our gun at home;
hsh eagles and vultures hang in the heavy
air overhead, ready at any moment to
pounce upon living fish, or dead ones. In
hfteen minutes we approach a small boat
house, built on a slight sandy elevation.
where alighting We enter the gate of Col.
Harris celebrated orange grove. The gate.
way is fianked by rows of huge bananas,
whose pendant and gigantic clusters of
flowers almost brush the hat as one passes.
The grove is simply inclosed by a low
picket fence, and the ground upon which it
stands Is not more than twelve feet above
the level of the sluggish river. If you can
imagine a thousand trees planted in rows.
all straight, clean, and fourishing, whose
boughs interlap in such compact masses of
foliage that no ray of sunlight ever pene-
trates to the pure white sand in which they
grow, and then can think of these bright
green trees closely dotted over with golden
fruit, perfe ct in form and hangingin clusters
Just as you have seen apples in the fall in a
weil-to-do orchard, you may have some idea
OF being In an orange grove. In the center
of the grove is the house of the gardener
who keeps the grounds, picks the fruit, at
tends to the shipping, etc. In a well. ar
ranged fruit house / found the oranges by
the hundreds of bushels spread upon moss,
and being rapidly.
CONVEYED TO BOXES AND
This grove was planted about forty years
age, and went to ruin-as almost every or
snge grove in Florida did before the war,
for this fruit was unknown Id our market
until since that period. Some eight years
ago Col. ID. A. Hart, a Vermonter who has
livedia Palatka for twenty years or more,
purchased the grove and 200 acres OF land
with 1t for $1,000. Col. Hart at nee pat the
thing in good shape, and whilst others paid
little attention to high culture, because the
orange fourishes in a wild state all about
the country, the grove had the best atten-
ton. Thousands of loads of swamp muck
and dead fish, shell-lime, ETC., were added to
the white sand in which this tree grows.
The result of the culture has been the pro-
duction of more and finer favored oranges
than were ever known before, in proof of
which / will state that about twelve thou
sand dollars worth of fruit was sold last year
and this year it will reach fifteen thousand
dollars worth. The whole crop averages
tour cents apiece, and every orange is sold
and paid for at the grove, to people visiting
here, who purchase and ship from one to a
dozen boxes home. After eating about a
dozen oranges on a bench under the cool
shade, 1 felt better, and made. some inquiry
about orange growing, and as the fruit has
been the mania here for five or six years,
and as on an average about five hum
dred letters and essays per year have been
written, I will only touch the matter slight
ly, hoping it will not encourage
ANY Dol IN INDIANA,
Who has an acre of ground and half a
dozen apple trees, to pull up, sell out, and
move to this country TO go into orange Gull
ture. There are two kind of oranges grow
ing wild in large groves in this state; one is
a sour fruit, which tastes like a lemon or
strong orange flavor; and the other is called
bitter-sweet, because the outside is intensely
bitter but the juice sweet. Now some nat
ural groves are only thinned out and graf
ted, or budded with sweet fruit. Some are
transplanted, and others grown from
seed. The tree flourishes in the pure white
sand. Now this is only one part. The
other sid is, that to clear the new land is
Just about as difficnlt as clearing the worst
land in Indiana one hundred times. When
these trees and palmettos are removed then
you have a fine bank of white sand-pure
quartz in powder. In this you must work,
and here youmust work where every days
work from April to November costs more
physical energy than three days at home,
during harvest. My own view would be
that only such persons as cannot live north
on account Of health-should farm down
here, and that no one with a poor farm in
Indiana can better his condition here. A
Door farmer in Indiana will eternally be a
poor farmer-no matter where he moves to.
r. r.1
NrU ~ MY