The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1878-04-02
FORTUNES IN FLORIDA.
THE COST OF FO UNDING AN ORANGE
GROVE.

GROVE.
Future Millions In Store for tho Land
OF Flowers. Great Progress in q new
Industry.
Correspondence Of the Detroit Free Press.
1t requires very little money to
set ones self up in Florida. Let
us assume that a man with family
has $4,000. He is absolutely In
dependent. For $1OO he can buy
100 acres of good land. For IN
additional 800 he can clear up
and fence such as he needs. His
orange grove will not need fencing.
A mule and farm implements will
cost $3.50. A house and outbuild-
ings will cost $4OO. Cheap furni :
ture can be had for 500. He will
thus have expended $3.50. He
should then buy 400 orange trees
four years old; these would cost
him 81 a piece, and ten cents each
to set them out. He will then have
his home, 100 acres of land, partial
ly cleared and fenced, mule and
farming implements, and good
young orange grove. All this will
here cost him $1,000. He will have
$500 left with which to cover all
contingencies until his grove gets
to bearing. He can then go to
work to support himself for four
years. He will find that he has
the richest sort Of farming land.
Good crops can be grown with
surprising ease. He can raise 200
bushels of sweet potatoes to the
acre. Sugar cane grows as we'll rs
it does IN Cuba, and with careful
farming can be made to clear $1OO
TO the acre and upwards. If no is
near city, navigable river, or q
railroad, he Gun mike truck farming
very profitable. He can raise two
crops of vegetables every year. He
Will lind that the lakes swarm with
hsh and duck, and the woods
abound with game. If he has
ordinary industry he can not only
support himself, but can 10y up a
little money while he is waiting.
WHERE THE PROFIT COMES IN.
In the third year after his grove
of four-year old trees has been set
out he will get a few oranges,
possibly 800 worth. The fourth
year will give him an average of 100
oranges to the tree or 10000 to the
grove. Then he can sell at say $1.5O
per hundred or six 5000 for the
crop. In the fifth and sixth years
he will have 500 or 800 to tho tree,
on 100000 to 250,OOO oranges.
These he can sell at 81 so per hun
dred, or $4,000 to S3,500 for tho
crop. This income will 90 up to
$4,000, with OH annual cost of $500
to $500. If he is wise he will have
added certain number of trees to
his grove every year, so that he
will have new trees coming into
bearing every season.
Let us suppose, however, that q
man comes to Florida with only
$3.50 in his pocket. That is, he has
this sum in his pocket when he
reaches his destination. He must,
of course, begin on an humble SCALE
In the first place, he pays nothing
tor his land, entering homestead
He need not even pay the entry
fee. For 1875 he can put up good
log house. He might buy 200
seedlings at twenty cents each, and
have them set out. The whole cost
will be $50. He can hire q mulo,
and for $40 buy oil the necessary
implements. Ho will then have
spent 800. He must clear his
land as he needs it himself, or he
can hire some help. If he finds
that he can succeed in digging O
living out of the ground, he might
invest $50 of his remaining $3.50 in
fifty four--year old trees, for Of
course it is essential to get money
from his grove as soon as possible.
In four years he will begin to get
help from his grove, and in seven
years it will more than support him.
Of course, he will have added to it
from year to year, and in ten years
he may be accounted fairly inde-