The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1883-01-20
Notes on Florida.
Correspondents Of Tho News. ]

correspondence o. Inc News
OF the citFon family, tue orange de-
servedly stands ut the head of the list,
and can he iaOre successfully grown in
Florida than in any other part Ut the
United States. The business il but in
its Infancy here yet, but enough
has been done to prove tlut il
can he made exceedingly profitable.
Like every other industry it has it,
drawbacks, and eonc men hnyo made
failures from neglect or poo: sclec
lion of their lands, but those who have
given attention to their grovce, nearly
all succeeded we'll.
Trees will bear in ak years from the
seed with proper culture, and If graft
ed or bnddod, IN much less time, aud
in few years they ARE paying band.
somoly. We have u neighbOr who
gathered ~, 900 oranges from ten tIees
which wero only IL years old. $1,000
per acre is n very common yield for
groves in full bearing, and twice that
amount has frequently been realized.
Many groves just coming into bcnrlng
have sold for $1,000 per acre, while
some others could not be- bought for
three or four times that amount.
Persons who are unablo TO bny
young groves, can easily get trees 3, 4
OF years old and they will soon come
into bearing. But tho POOR man who
cannot buy trees, may start n grove
from tho seed, and make his living of
the land while his trees are coming On.
Many of the best groves In the state
have boon created in that way. There
mood be no fears Of OVERRIDING the bus
mess, as of the 600, 900, 900 oranges
consumed in the United States annual
ly, less than 10000, 000 nre grown at
home, and with the increase of pro
duction there is II like increase in pop.
ulation aud demand.
Lemons and lines will bear In from
two TO three years from the seed, and
the fine varieties now being introduced
into the state bid fur to pay equally
M well if not better than the orange.
The. trees cnn 10 planted much closer
than the orange, and THUG pay more
per acre. Enfgo groves are scarce in
this part Of the state, but every house
las a few trees. There IL one tree in
this county now over 40 years old,
which Il 5 feet 81 inches in circumfer-
ence three feet from the ground; IA 10
feet through the boughs, and has borne
from 5000 to 10000 oranges per nDnum
for the past Is years. Had tho owner
planted 1000 trees at that time you can
easily see what his iucomc would be at
the present.
Pine-apples are now being very
prOhtably grown in some parts OF the
state, and as IL is to "A great degree au
air plant, it can be grown ON any kind
of soil, and from 5000 to 10000 can be
grown per aero. But as they are east.
" injured by cold, they can only be
prohtably grown In two or three Of
the southern counties of tho state.
Cocoa nuts arc being extensively
planted on the islands along the gull
coast of Manatee and Monroe counties
and bid fair to be profitable. Coffee
and tea have been successfully grown
in the same region, but only few ex
peIiments have been made.
The banana is extensively grown
throughout South Florida. The Afri
can or horse banana Ia tho hardest and
most extensively grown, but inferior
inc CuOnn uNuTI, tnu bhul ringer
Fig and French are finer, but only
grown in the southern counties. The
fruit is highly nutritious aud very pal
atablc, aud can he grown in groa
abundance with but little or no atten
ton.
The guavn, n most excellent fruit
resembling the fig, but much larger
grows MS easily RS the peach and mucl
longer lived, furnishes the guava jelly
Of commerce, and is an excellent sub
stitute for the peach for culinary pur
poses. 1t cannot BIO made profitable
except by canning or making jelly
Many persons here fatten their hog
on them.
The date palm does we'll here, bu
as it takes about 90 years to come int
bearing from the seed, but few hav
planted them
The sugar apple, pomegranate man
go, snppadilla and alligator pear d
we'll, bnt have only been planted as a
ornament or as an experiment as yet.
TEXAS.