Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-03-09
LETTER FROM FLORIDA.
ORANGE GROWING IT'S PROFITS AND ITS RISKS
HEST LOCATION AND CLIMATE.

Try 10 give tnem DtleI uebCIlptlOu VI luo
culture of the orange. In the first place. lest
my letter should conflict with the opinion of
those who have had long experience in the
business of orange raising, would say, l am
but stranger in a strange land, and can
give only the impressions made by a three
months sojourn in land that is supposed by
many orange growing enthusiasts to be infe-
rior only to that first occupied by Adam and
Eve. A man desiring to engage in the bust
ness of raising oranges wishes to know, first,
what the profits are, secondly, the portion of
the state best adapted to the orange As re-
CARDS the profits, I presume many Of your
readers have studied, and, l might say, have
almost gone wild over the figures given in the
pamphlets sent out by the different immigra-
ton societies in this state. A perusal of these
pamphlets will give one the impression that
an orange grove ten years old WILL at the low
est calculation yield $500 to the acre with
very little outlay for labor aud fertilizers.
Well, | have no doubt but that q grove well
cared for in a good locality will do this, and
even better than this. l might cite many
groves as proof Of this but your readers
should understand that there are hundreds,
and even thousands, of groves that hardly pay
the cost of taking care Of them. One travel
ling through this state will see hundreds Of log
shanties standing empty and silent a5 the
grave, the occupants having invested their
little all in few acres of land and buildings
and, after enjoying a few years of squallor
and misery have returned North, sadder as
well as poorer. 1t seems to be the opinion of
would.be orange growers that man can start
a grove with but little capital aud in few
years be worth at least ten thousand dollars.
This reminds me Of what a young man from
Texas said to me but few days since. He
said "These fellows here will take piece of
paper aud pencil and sit down and figure
themselves worth from ten to fifty thousand
dollars in few minutes; but jus, let them get
it, that's ALL" 1t is curious fact that nearly
every other man in Florida wants to sell eth.
err land or an orange grove another interest
ing fact is a good many Of the bearing groves
are nortgagod for all their worth This may
be an evidence of their gregt value, but "A man
living in Brattleboro mortgaged for all he is
worth is considered rather unfortunate, TO say
the least One coming here to grow oranges
should make up his mind in the fret place,
that he has got to live ten years before his
grove will yield him any income to speak Of.
II he can raise vegetables successfully, be is
all right if he can find work at some good
trade, he will be likely to succeed or if he
can induce some friend to have grove taken
care of for few years, he will be likely to live
the allotted time without serious suffering.
There are a good many draw backs 20 the bust
ness the scale insect will frequently attack a
grove and if not checked will seriously injure
it, many times will nearly destroy the trees
II one sets out a grove where the soil is most
ly white sand Cand Florida is blessed with a
good deal of Just such soil he must fertilize
heavily or his trees will not grow very fast !;
or if the trees are planted where the frost is
too severe they are very liable to be damaged,
if not killed entirely. As to the location that
is hard question to decide, as every portion
of the state, nearly is claimed to be the true
"oGange belt" The Indian river section, it
is generally acknowledged, produces the fin
est oranges, but as a place for continued resi-,
dence it is not very desirable: the mosquitoes
ar. troublesome, the sAnd-hies are numerous,
the means of communication are not good ;
the last difficulty will, however, likely soon
be removed, as one or two railroads have been
surveyed and are expected to be built there
Alachua county contains some excellent land
and is well adapted to the orange; the only
objection see to it is the frost. The means
of communication are good; the railroad from
Fernaudina to Cedar Keys runs nearly through
the centre Of the county; there is a large
quantity of hammock land well adapted to
raising early vegetables, and many a man has
made his fortune in that way the climate is
pleasant to live in, and there are many fine
orange groves, the people are social and
friendly, and perhaps no county in the state
offers greater inducements TO a poor man
than this. Il may say in this connection that
see Col. Hodgkins every few days, and it
does my soul good to see how comfortably he
is fixed for living for the next few years.
He thinks Arredonds is good place to live
in. "Why," he says, 'even a lazy man can
do well here.') As l said, the frost seems to
be the ouly objection to this county but the
people here contend that a certain amount of
cold is beneficial to the orange. That may
be the case, but those living in Bradford
county, north of this, say the same thing
There must be limit to the amount of cold
that an orange tree will endure. How faI
north it is safe to engage in orange growing
am unable to say, but l am inclined to think
tie less frost you have for an orange tree the
better. travelled up the st. Johns, the ia
nous tropical river of this state, from Palatkt
to Sanford and saw very fine groves all along
the river in fact the groves in that part Of
the state seem to thrive remarkably well
whether it is owing to extra care being taker
of them, or that the climate is particularly
adapted to them, am unable to say. Tn,
soil seems to be poor, and no comparison car
be made with it and that about Arredonda
The main portion of the settlers go up the st
Johns river, however. Orange county has
great boom at pres ent, and is fast filling up
1t cannot be denied but that that county il
many respects is the most desirable portion
of the state to live in; it abounds with pur
water lakes, and the land is generally higl
and rolling. l saw some as fine location
about four miles from Sanford as any hav
seen in the state. Sanford contains mostl.
Northern people and is a pleasant, thriyinl
city 1t contains churches, schools, and al
the comforts of any Northern village, know
of no place in which person can spend tn
winter more comfortably than there.
word about the climate in Florida, and l an
done June in Vermont is supposed to b
about as comfortable as any month in tn
year. Well, no June in Vermont ever wa
more pleasant or comfortable than it has bee
here for the past few weeks, or, in fact, tn
greater part of the time since We came here
Dec lst. Many a man living in Vernon
could prolong his life ten years by comm
here winters, and the expense would be bu
trihng compared to the benefit received.
Hoping these lines may be of some interei
to portion of your readers remain, your
truly Z. p. WHITE.
The Railway Age of Chicago publishes
summary of the railway construction in th