The star. (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1874-1875, 1875-04-09
Orange Cultivation.

The cultivation OF the orange In flor-
ida has been attended with remarkable
success, and will doubtless become one
OF the leading industries OF the State. A
beautiful orange grove owned by Col.
Hart contains seven hundred trees,
some of them forty years old, which
yield from twelve to twenty-five hum
dred oranges each, and a part of them
have been known to bear no fewer than
four or five thousand. 1t requires the
care of only three men, an oyerSeer and
two negroes, and affords to the owner an
income of $4,000 or SIS, 900 year.
There are many young groves on the
Oclawaha river, and more tnan million
trees are budded there. Before the war
acres of land covered with the wild or.
anges were ruthlessly cleared to make
room for cotton and cane. 1t Is mainly
northern capital that is invested in Or
ange culture throughout the State at
present. In the Indian river region the
woods along the banks are according to
one account, tgreat gardens Of the sour
wild orange, and We often, says the trav-
eler, chad to clear the ground of vast
quantities of the fruit before we could
pitch our tents" These wild trees can
be set out in new lands, ana at the prop
er time budded with the sweet orange.
ANY time during the winter months is
proper lOt AZ HtooB
or gratis, grow enormously the first
year; and, in five years at most, II one
hundred transplanted trees have been
set out on an acre, that acre will yield
1O, 600 oranges; next year the yield will
be doubled, and in ten years from the
date of transplanting with anything like
reasonable success, one iS sure Of an in
come for life. For the orange is hardy
tree, gives sure crop, has Few insect
enemies, and lives for more than hum
dred years. A good tree will bear from
one Thousand to three thousand oranges
yearly. Some of the trees in an orchard
$500, many OF the oranges weighing
nearly pound each. One single grove
on the Indian river, with 1850 trees,
produced in season 100000 oranges.
Only a small capital is needed for the
starting OF grove, and the rewards OF
successful one are very great. Or
anges sell at from $50 to $68per thousand
in Jacksonville, and are readily salahle
in any of the Atlantic seaports. When
the necessary dredging and building OF
canals has been accomplished, SO that
the Indian river may have an outlet via
st. John, the north will be supplied with
oranges OF more delicate texture than
any it has yet seen, and the number OF
groves along the river will be legion.
Other tropical fruits are no less sue.
cessfui. Not only do the orange, the
lemon, the lime and the pomegranate,
| but the plum, all varieties of berries, the
olive, the banana and the pineapple grow
luxuriantly. Black Hamburg and white
Muscat grapes fruit timely in the open
air; the Concord and the Scuppernong
are grown in vast quantities. The
guava, the tamarind, the wonderful ali
gator pear, the plantain, the cocoanut
| and the date, the almond and the pecan,
luxuriate in southern Florida. We have
within our boundaries tropic land,
rich and strange, which will one day be
inhabited by thousands of fruit-growers,
and where beautiful towns, and perhaps
cities, will yet spring up.