The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1879-12-24
Lake George. a 10
Proceedings of the Lake George Fruit
Growers Association.


Proceedings of the Lake George Fruit-
Growers Association.
The regular meeting of this associ.
alton took place on December 18th,
in the Masonic Hall at Georgetown,
through the courtesy of Messrs. Bur-
chsted & Thorn, the enterprising mer-
chants who occupy the lower floor OF
the building.
After the usual preliminary pro-
ceedings a report was presented by
Mr.. S. U. Hammond, chairman of
the committee appointed to collect
the orange statistics for Putnam coun.
ty. The report consists of an elabo.
rate tabular statement of the number
of bearing trees, blooming trees,
trees coming into bloom, small trees,
trees in nursery, and the number of
oranges for 1879, in every grove in
the county; to which is subjoined a
complete and exhaustive report upon
the orange industry as a lucrative
pursuit in this county and East Flor
ida generally, together with the in
ducements offered by this section to
immigration. The report is the ablest
treats on the subject ever offered to
the public, and at once places Putnam
county first in the list of the orange
growing counties of the State. The
committee stated further that the re.
port would be published by the press
of East Florida, and that arrange.
ments had been perfected with the
leading newspapers of the State, to
give an entire page of one issue to
the report, to accommodate those de-
sirous of obtaining extra copies: The
report would also be printed in cir
cular form for the use of citizens.
Mr. VIM. d. Allen, of Fruitland,
Florida, then presented the following
essay: .ags 3ll i
- 14 SoRGUM. RiS. e'j'ii 4
1t seems to me not out of place in
consideration of this great subject Of
sorgnm (for indeed look upon it as
really great subject), to preface my
remarks by few words on the gen
eral question of sugar. For 1T is
hardly enough tor us Florida farmers
to know that in our little country
stores sugar sells. for so many cents
per pound. We want to know
whether it will pay us to raise sugar.
If it will not, it matters little to us
which is the best sugar plant. And,
in examining this subject, a very i'm
portant consideration is the demand.
/ find, from governmental statistics,
that in 1850 there was produced in
the United States, in round numbers,
243,OOO,O00 lbs. of sugar. At the
same time 201,000,0OO lbs. was i'm
ported. We then produced more
than one half of our consumption.
In 1874 we produced 134,OOO,OOO
against consumption of 1,7O5,OOO,'
600, or not quite one twelfth of what
In 1877 100000 worth o.
sugar was imported and sold in the
United States. About two-thirds o1
the amount for which imported sugar
is sold goes to the Government Ii
the shape of duties. These are du
ties in our favor. Fi.s
1 presume shall not be asked by
an intelligent audience to say thai
sugar raising in Cuba is a paying bus
mess, and yet they receive tor thell
goods but about one-third as muci
as we would obtain tor similar arti
Gle produced in Florida. It, will
such margin in our favor, we can
not produce sugar at a profit there
must be a screw loose somewhere.
1t is we'll known that it has beel
very lucrative crop in Louisiana
but there it has been obtained by thu
employment of large capital
And now we come to the question
which has most interest for US, viz:
Can we, with little or no means
except willing hands, earn our dali.
bread and clay by little for rain.
day." in the cultivation of sugar.
And just here sorgum pops up it
head and smiles aloud and says,
reckon"
1t is the poor man that sorgur
speaks to. Twenty-Five dollars pc
acre for cane seed takes little fol
tune to start with, on even a model
ate cane plantation. To seed a.
u ,>0un1c of cnpd