The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1880-07-21
THE FLORIDA .AERICULTURIsT.

the deacon drew his chair a little
nearer. his, hostess. IA R
.A"It must be q gfeat-load for veto
carry alone. Sudh large farm is
treamenjons.respe possibility 'for- a lone
woman"
"Qns ! don't mind it; it,keeps me,
proper busy" e.
The deacon pitched his chair along
few inches farther; eyed ,oughter
hev,a brother or cousin, or some rel
alive like, to share the burden with
ye."
MY shoulders gre plenty strong"
returned Miss Kezia good naturally.
Pm glad TO show folks that there are
women who are good for something
besides giddy- gadding and tattling-"
"Yis, yis: answered the deacon,
1--WE can all testify to your vally and
worth. You're a real honor to your
sex. You're-you're bright and
shinin' beacon light to the tritiin' and
vain minded women Of the world !"
and the speaker waved his hand at
the conclusion of this little oratorical
flourish.
Then, hitch, hitch, hitch went the
chair Miss Kezia-ward ''Don't ye
feel sort o lonelyAt spells, he asked
insinuatlngIy.
Miss Kezia glanced suspiciously at
the rapidly advancing chair. She
dropped her knitting and went to
the fire and piled up the blazing
sticks Of wood. Then she came back
to the table and Set her chair on the
farther side Oft, thus putting a bar
rier between her and her visitor.
''I'm never lonely, deacon; plenty to
do is the best medicine tor loneli.
ness"
But Eonianls tender, dependent
creatur'. Woman'sa vine" there the
deacon assumed his weekly prayer
meeting drawD, and needs suthin's to
cling to when. the troublous desolat.
in waves and winds OF affiietion, and
sorrer roll over her," sa EsG &
"Stuff and nonsense ?" exclaimed
Miss Kezia with contemptuoas
sniff, shouldn't have expected. that
a man Of your sense, deacon, would
reneat such silly trash, l have no,
patience with Che people who are
always talking as ifa Woman couldn't
stand alone, and needed proppipg up,
like 4 rag doll that hadn't any back
bone. I'm no Ane-no\such creep
ing. helpless thi94, can Nell you. 1
e iha f4 savtt - 4kt = fpH y now
in bloom again and has sent out tour
strong spathes, 5eaSh, enclosing ca
spadix of staminate flowers. Morris
Bras, in the same valley, has plan;
in bloom which islonly five years old
from the seed. Lam, curious to know
if it is a common occurrence in Flor
ida for the date palm to blossom at
this early age. A few years ago a
bunch of dates, grown at Key West,
was exhibited al your State fair, and
it was stated that the tree (which
produced it did not bear until it was
sixteen years old. In this State at
some of the old Spanish missions are
date trees, probably from seyentyfive
to hundred years OF age. Some of
them are fifty or sixty feet high, but
have never perfected their fruit. It
is, therefore, doubtful if there is any
locality in California where the warm
season is long enough to ripen the
fruit OF this variety. s,~r
We need not despair, however, of
sometime seeing dates successfully
produced in the warmer portion of
the United States. Not long since
a French engineer discovered at
Jemapes in Algiers, not tar from the
Mediterranean, a date tree which
ripened its fruit In August, while
the crop of most kinds is not matured
until October. A full account of it
was published in the Rev,se Horticote,
OF Paris, and the editor expressed
his belief that the variety could. be
successfully grown, and thatit would
ripen its fruit anywhere that the or
ange would grow without protection.
The only reason why dates cannot
be successfully grown in all parts Of
Florida and i'll the central and south.
ern portions of California, is that the
warm season is not long enough.
But with a variety like that men
toned above, which would be likely
to come to maturity in September or
October, there is little doubt of sue
cess.
Il Suckers from the tree found in AL
giers were to be taken 10 France and