The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1881-10-12
THE FLORIDA AGRICULTURIsT.

| sum with which 10 start neto' nv
last, utterly broken In health, ne sold
! for what he could get and much OF
what he obtained was payable $lOO
annually for five years. He had a
team and a few hundred dollars cash
in hand and when he arrived In
Orange county had to be assisted to
get in and out of his wagon SO weak
was he physically. Few of his neigh
bors who remained are now any bet>
ter off than when he left there. Con-
| trast their condition with the progress
he has made toward competency.
In December, 1874, he arrived on
his present homestead. In the spring
of 1875 he planted seeds of the sweet
oranges. Astonishing as it may
seem 10 many, some of these not
quite seven year old Seeding trees
have some fruit on this fall. The
trees are now eight to ten feet high.
They remained one year in the seed
bed and one year in the nursery. One
tree was never transplanted from
the seed bed and bore fruit in six
years. 1t is the wife's "pet tree" In
fact, l have noticed In all cases that
the few. trees growing close to the
house are far ahead OF those out in
the grove, the dish water and general
house slops which they so often get
/ seem to be relished by them and they
make fine growth. At the same
time that neighbor Simpson planted
his orange seeds he purchased and
set out close around his residence
about fifty, one year old trees. These
are now about all in bearing. They
have not been fed with commercial
tertiiz err. AT first few "cow chips
were gath cred to give them a start.
For several years he had two or three
COWS; always has few pigs and has
kept mule all the time. But the
mai n dependence Of the little home
grove Tor fertilization was on the fifty
or more chickens which he generally
kept and which passed much either
Jlme i'll the yard by the house.
-Four years ago FAST spring he
planted out his main grove CT $50
trees. A heavy growth ofgrass and
trash was plowed under in breaking
the land, and SO soon as partially
rotted land was replowed, and this
rich vegetable matter more thor.
oughly mixed through the soil.
-Four crops of corn have been taken
from that grove. After each crop of
corn was removed i'll J2ly. the land
was given up to the growth of COW
peas and weeds, and when the peas
were mature hogs were turned in to
fatten, and what they did not eat
was turned under to enrich the soil.
This season, aud henceforth, no crop
will be removed from the grove, but
several crops of weeds annually
turned under as food for the orange
trees. When this land was first
planted to grove it gave about six
bushels OF corn per acre; the last
crop was about sixteen. This grove
8 planted 30 feet apart each way
Mr.. S. would now advise poor man
to plant his trees so feet apart, SO as
to do more at farming in his grove
while waiting for it to bear. 1t was
part oft his grove $500 trees on five
acres) for which he was offered
$4,000 cash during the past summer,
but little over four years after the
two year old trees were set out.
But as these trees will be worth ito
keep fully $40 each in very few
years. he did not accept the offer Of
$40 each now.
1t was about five years ago that
MFR. S. set out his first grove OF about
$50 trees, away from his house lot.
Part CT these are on ground where
the grass was burned off and every
chip swept up and burned; the bal