Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-07-09

with them an experimental shipment
consisting chiefly of watermelons,
which they have been shipping for the
past three weeks to New York and 9th.
er cities. From Chicago they are dis
tributing to the various surrounding
cities of the northwest. They started
with three train loads, of thirty-two
cars altogether, Of which three or
four car loads will be opened here to-
day and sold in this market. These
fruits can be here in
THREE DAYS
from picking, and as they are fully
ripe when picked, and carefully packed
in moss when shipped and in well ven
tilated cars, so as to have not the least
contact with any hard substance, they
cannot be justly set down as cholera.
breeders. In the present case, to test
the possibility of bringing ripe melons
here uninjured, none which were even
suspected of being green, or partly So,
were allowed to be packed. This being
an experimental shipment for the pur-
pose of testing the conditions most ia
vOrable to transportation without dam
age, every precaution has been taken
that could be suggested to secure their
safe transit. They have also with them
some bales IF Southern moss, which is
another valuable product of Florida Of
which lttleis known here, but of which
thousands of bales are shipped annu-
ally to New York for upholstering pur-
poses, as a substitute for curled horse
hair, as it is not only much cheaper but
i more healthy, and almost indestructi-
bic. This Will be as valuable to West
| eTn uphOlstGrers as it to those of the
East, and they certainly would not now
dispense with it.
/ FLORIDA PRODUCTS.
To give something Of an idea of the
productiveness of Florida, and the va
riety Of the products, of which but lit
| tie lie really known through the North,
Mr.. Yoyle gave the fol owing informa-
ton: The portion of the State from
whence they come, Is entirely different
| from that of the St. Johns river, as it
has high, rolling surface, the altitude
above the sea at Gainesville, the largest
town in the central part of the State,
being go feet. The town of Live Oak
lies to the northwest OF Gainesville, on
the Atlantic and Gulf Road. That
section is the natural habitat Of the
orange, many groves growing in wild
luxur:anc,, and those often In perfect
thickets. They talk Of oranges as the
people Of the North do of thOrnapples,
and ye5 VIXEN this whole country is
opened to commerce with Florida, even
wild groves viii have to contribute
largely to the supply. The wild oranges
are sour, and the sweet ones are cult.
tivated. Numerous large groves Of the
latter are already bearing and yielding
profits that would seem almost incred-
ible. For instance, a full sized bearing
tree has been known to yield 500
worth Of fruit in one season.
ENORMOUS GROVES,
of young trees are planted, and each
year brings additional groves into bear /
ing. The time required for orange
trees TO mature Is about seven years,
yet sometimes they begin the second 1
year % yield fruit. A tree at the third !
year Of bearing actually yields about |
500 oranges, II well cared for. In Ala |
chua county alone, there were :, 900, 900 !
sweet orange trees, old and young, all /
tod. Orange lake viii soon be sur /
rounded by sweet orange groves, as far |
as the character of the land viii permit. /
This point alone Will ship this year at /
least zoo barrels, and in a few years it I
viii be lot only hundreds, but hundreds /
of thousands. In that portion Of the /
State the banana grows mostluXuriant- /
ly. Specimens of them were sent to 4
st. Louis by the delegation, but none
were brought here.
LEMONS, SWEET AND SOUR,
and, IN fact, all the citrus faulty /
flo irish IN Florida, and are articles IF |
export. Arrowroot, ginger, tap.-.a, /
and sage can also be raised success /
fully as articles Of commerce, but /
their cultivation has as yet been limit
ed to the domestic demand. A sweet /
potato, that when cooked has the coz
sIstency Of a ripe banana, with a SUI
gary taste, is the variety tbat is in
variably eaten there, but rarely finds
its way North, from the fact that
Northern people expect different quail
tiles III a potato from the Southerners,
the mealy potato with them being re-
jected as tasteless and unpalatable.
RAILROAD FACILITIES.
Two railroads run through the center
Of several counties in the bill country
and furnish ample means for transpor-
tation to other shipping points. Other
roads are projected and must soon be
built, for the rapid increase Of pOpula-
ton and increasing business demands
an increase of railroad facilities.
There is a constant stream of emigra-
ton, summer and winter, from all
parts Of the Union.
The railroad communication is very
good at present, and Is being coutin-
ually improved, 50 that 1t viii be an
easy matter to carry out this scheme
of bringing fresh fruits to the city Of
Chicago-this being the objective point
above all Others In the country. The
fruit will be sent IN cars attached to
express trains until the Illinois Cen
trail Is reached, when they viii form a
part of the fruit trains which run on
that road as rapidly as do the passen-
ger trains. The roads travelled are the
Florida and Gulf, the Atlantic and
Gulf, the Georgia Central, the West
ern and Atlantic, the Nashville, Chat
tanOOga and St. Louis, and the Illinois
Central. As soon as possible cars built
for this purpose will be
placed in operation. At present few
of the Illinois Central fruit cans will be
taken South, and others constructed
exactly like them. Mr.. D. H. Elliott,
who is the general freight agent Of the
Florida and Gulf Railroad company,
was one # the first to encourage this
enterprise and to point out to the Peo-
pie of Florida the means by which they
could place their fruits upon this mar
ket. By so doing, the South will not
only be benefited, but also the inter
railroad lines and the business
interests of the northwest as well.
WHIT THEY HATE TO SEE.