The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-01-04
FlOrida Orange Groves.

Florida, the Italy of America, is rap
idly growing into one vast orange grove.
An orange grove with 1000 bearing trees
is q lifelong competency for any man.
To purchase such q grove would cost
800 tree, or 100000 for the grove.
Trees return an annual income of SIS to
800 each, and they will bear fruit fifty
years. A Florida letter says A man
may plant 1000 trees this year. In ten
years he will have an average yield of
100 to the tree, or 100,0 oranges to his
grove, worth from 81, 500 to 50, 600 on the
trees. In five years longer, or in fifteen
years from the planting, he will have
500 oranges to the tree, or 500, 900 or
anges glimmering in the green foliage of
on the trees. He will thus have by an
original outlay of, say $4,000, in ten
years an income of 50, 500 year, in
creasing of itself to $4,000 per annum
in the next five years. His property will
be worth at a low estimate $50, 900 to
$50,
A man who is in hurry for an income
selects n wild grove. Then cutting the
tree smooth off about six feet from the
ground, he inserts number of sweet or
ange buds between the bark and wood of
the stump: covering them carefully, SO
that the air cannot get to them. These
buds sprout readily, and in three or four
years he has fine grove of sweet orange
trees growing on sour orange stumps.
These transformed trees are the hardest
and healthiest that can be found. An
other short cut to a mature orange grove
is to buy young trees and have them
transplanted. In any of the leading or
ange counties, n man can buy four-year-
old trees at one cent apiece and have
them transplanted for twenty-five cents
apiece. These trees will bear in three
years from the transplanting, and i'll five
years will produce 1000 oranges to the
tree worth $15 to $50 before they are
gathered. This is Il favorite method of
starting grove and creates quite de-
mand for young trees. There are a great
many men who grow seedlings to sup
ply this demand. An acre will produce
1,500 seedlings that in four years will
be worth 81 apiece. As the profit is so
enormous, the labor SO light and the re-
ward SO certain, in orange planting, it
may be asked why Florida is not Zone
solid orange grove q reply that it is
very raplillS DecOulllp So lHe uuluDef
of new trees set out in the past ten years
is simply incredible. These new trees
have hardly begun bearing as yet; when
their fruit does come on, the world will
be astonished at the amazing fertility of
our "Amcrican Italy"
Some idea of the extent of the new
groves may be had when L call to mind
that within radius of ten miles of Lees
burg, in Sumpter county, there are 80, =
900 trees that will be bearing full fruit
age i'll three or four years. At 800 Or
anges to the tree, a very low estimate,
there will be furnished annually, three
years from now, from this half a county
0,000, 600 of oranges This is but one
of score of similar orange centers. Mr.
Bishop authorizes the statement that in
the past ten years there have been 900,-
600 new orange trees set out, or wild
trees reclaimed in Florida. This will
involve an addition to the then crop of
160,000,000 Of oranges. But the de-
yelopment is now going on faster than
ever. 1t is probable that 40, 900 new
trees will be set out this year; some say
10000. There is hardly planter that
] have met who does not know OF two or
three men who are putting out groves
ranging from two hundred to one thou
sand trees.