St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-04-13
Letters from Florida.

NO. V.
Residents declare that the weather in
March has been exceptionally cool in
Florida, as | see by the papers it has
also been in Vermont. 1t has certainly
been much cooler here than | expected,
though generally just about right for
comfort. Yesterday (the 28th) the
mercury stood at 80 at mid day, and at
halt-past six this morning it marks 20,
and a warm wave is evidently coming.
The state is still overlooking with
Northern visitors and probably will be
for several weeks yet, although they
are thinning out somewhat. We met
Mr.. and Mrs. William Parks of Hart
ford, CT, formerly of St. JOhnsbury), ,
at Palatka, and Mr.. Charles Pierce and
family of Stanstead, on the st. Johns
river steamer.
Florida is now on one grand "boom.n
The man with an orange grove to sell
can dOuble-discOunt the corner lot man
of western town, the ranch-man of
Colorado, or the man with a bonanza
mine to sell in San Francisco. There
is nothing else thought of or talked
about between Jacksonville and Enter
prise on the south, or between ST.
Augustine on the Atlantic and Tampa
Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. There is
perfect craze to own an orange grove,
and hundreds of Northern men are
leaving money in Florida this spring in
exchange for deeds of land, with or
without orange trees. If there are no
trees on these lands the owners gener-
ally contract to have trees planted, SO
that when they next visit this land of
sand and alligators they will see the
tees growing.
The first effect of this universal craze
to own an orange grove is to greatly
initiate prices. People who have prop
erty to sell don't know what to ask for
it. Some real estate has doubled in
price in few months, and men who
own desirable groves in bearing, ask
fabulous prices for them. | saw a
grove in Marion county to-day from
which was shipped last winter twenty
two thousand boxes of oranges. As
these were worth about three dollars Il
box at the grove it will readily be seen
that this was good per cent on a very
large investment; and last year was an
"Otf year" at that. The fruit yield
this year from the same grove is
guessed at not less than forty thousand
boxes
1t Is not so very strange then that
people become infatuated with desire
to own an orange grove, and that many,
without mature deliberatiOn, look upon
rich orange grove as a very simple
thing to have, and go blindly at work
to cOnsummate the object. Strangers
in Florida do not all know that for one
acre of good hard wood hammock land
where the wild orange tree is indigo
nous and where the sweet orange is sure
to thrive, there are thousand acres O
sand where nothing will grow without
E fertilization, and where it is doubtful
if the orange will flourish very long
even with fertilizers; at any rate it i;
not yet proved that it will. So til,
man who looks at the Hart, Harri,
or Bishop groves and then buys few
acres of sand and starts grove, is moi
"dead sure" that he will in a few year,
have a grove like one of these, will
the income of a millionaire on thu
contrary, | think the chances are tina
he will make failure in orange raising
Nevertheless there are hundreds o
groves on this sterile soil that lool
well, and if one can believe the stories
, are success.
One thing is sure, there is no bust
ness or occupation on this broad eartl
so fascinating, charming, bewitching
as orange growing. This is the testi
mOny of every man who has tried it
h and it must be so in the nature o
l. things. First, the orange tree is tn
. handsomest tree grown-so symmetri
cal, such a beautiful color, evergreen
and when in health, every leaf beau
tiful dark green with the appearance Q
having been varBished. Second, til
orange tree responds so quickly t
good treatment and thorough care an
culture. A wild grove will bear frui
in three years from budding, and fire
quently little fruit the second yeal
- measured budded limb yesterday {
four years growth that was sixtee
inches in circumference and was a
least twelve or fifteen feet high. Bu
these things come only in friendl
soil and by constant care. The orang
i tree shows good treatment as Quickl
and as surely as a blooded horse {
lie. COW and also neglect just as certainl!
Yet the orange is hardy tree, an