The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1882-12-06
Florida and Her King.-NO. /.

Mrs. Il. II. Fary. In Chicaqo. St0ndardi
IL mas come to be the fashion for
many States of our grand republic to
set up kings of their own. Thus,
king cotton and king corn have long
since put on their crowns and held
their rightful sway over their undis- |
puted territory. Other States have
followed and pushed their special
productions to the front for kingly |
honors.
| Florida. though late in the day, is
not to be out.done by her sister States,
but is ready now for grand coro-
nation OF her king, the orange. The
story goes, that every orange con-
tains an embryo king-thus, if all
the seeds Of an orange are planted |
at the same time, in the same soil, |
and like condition, one will be far
in advance of toe others 10 sturdi, |
ness OF habit and vigor OF growth.
In short, one will be hing Let us
! trace
TIE HISTORY OF TIE KING.
There has been little dispute
about his birthplace. Some contend
that away back in the past when
the Spanish held possession Of these
pine forests and tangled hammock
lands, that they scattered the seed
of the orange brought with them
from their native land through these
wild woods Of magnolia, palmetto,
cypress and cedar, where they have
been left to take care of themselves
in their own way. Others maintain
thai our king is native Floridian;
that his birth dates away back in the
past when this peninsula State was
gathered out Of the depths of sea in.
to a long, high heap OF sand and shell,
and then when succeeding ages Gov
cred 1t with Vegetation our king first
saw the light. In either case he is
member OF the royal citrus family
and entitled TO kingly honCrs. But
he lacked culture and refinement.
lie was raised in the woods. lie
must like many al untutored youth,
have the advantages otbetter society,
] better schooling--in short, to make
his own way In the world, he must
totally change his original character
what was acid in his nature must
he turned to sweet, aud the rough
bitterness of his features must be
smoothed, so that the grand possibil-
tues OF which he was capable would
does io5k ike t TIE most rstaiS5HaI wsy7Yr
to get fertilizer that contains {all pa
the needed elements of fertility, and OF
the more humus we keep in the soil TO
by growing and turning under green W
crops, or hauling in muck grass or or
anything that can be obtained that or
does not cost more than it is worth, pi
the better will be the result. For tl'
instance, one OF our largest planters SO
and orange grower told me not long pr
ago that last year on a heavily cows pl
penned patch for Irish potatoes, he III ~
planted one halt with Forrester's, in u u
the drill, and the other without any. p
His first halt yielded double what
the second did-double in bulk, not
in numbers, fer there were as many
potatoes in the second patch as the
first. Again, look at the plan of w. &C
L. Horne, who prepares his COM in
post of swamp muck, COW manure, st
cotton seed, lime and salt, and final.
ly adds two hundred pounds of Stock. ne
bridge fertilizer for each acre. For I'll
the result he says he feeds his land q
and his land feeds him. This year lal
L grew good crop Of sweet pota> pc
toes on muck bed, but where l fel
used super.phosphate at the rate OF tel
200 pounds per acre, l doubled the ce
crop. These are examples Oh gems TIRE
eral crops; "but this d-lment will err
entirely kill out an orange grove" be
Let's see: In less than a mile from hu
here, on gray pine land, is grove his
made by a man who worked out for on
living-made his compost at home ga
and then bought all the formulated ere
commercial he could, and applied a
both to his grove, and he made trees to
faster than others who were depend. thu
ing on their compost and green crops of
alone. He made two rows of trees, PHI
just eighteen, in manner that up> sol
sets ali these theories of the sun kill sui
ing the land. There has not blade gre
of grass or weed grown near them be,
for six years. They have been kept or,
as clean as floor. He put on his pir
compost and commercial in small tho
quantities, two or three times year, flo
and now those trees are two years fru
ahead of any trees in this settlement the
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