The Florida agriculturist., 1884-07-23
Acclimatizing Plants.

A writer in the Florida Dispatch dat
ing from Pinellas, discources on growing
mangoes in his section. Pinellas, we
believe, is peninsular in Tampa Bav,
which, he claims, is below the line of in
jurous frosts, although he says they had
sufficient to freeze water a quarter of an
inch thick, and down to 29o Fahrenheit.
How a frost at only 29o could freeze
water quarter of an inch thick we can
not conceive, unless it was in a tin dish
or similar vessel. Open water does not
freeze 1T that temperature.
1t is very evident, however, we have
still great deal to learn about what GER
tain plants can endure, and what they
cannot. SO much depends on manage
ment. Thus, even away north in Con-
necticut, neighborhood may have its
| peach crop ruined by spring frost,
while one man in that neighborhood may
! escape by this superior management
| 1t is the same down here. Some
parties can ride safely through a frost
that sweeps others by the board. All
neglected plants have feeble hold on life.
Plants which grow wild, gradually
adapt themselves to new situations, and
aoprish or dwindle, as the case may be,
i ual.son, Inn still have All the oufwari
Enbiance, IS far as the tree IS concern
Ted, of cocoanut and produce d seed or
nut Of very dwarfish dimensions, which
/ will grow and produce other similar
trees. Indeed, this may be carried so
| far, that imported seed will grow and
! produce tree after its kind, and yet not
produce seed. This is the case with the
| date tree which is grown for ornament
as far north as southern France, but does
not produce fruit or seed: In this re-
a l. = 1,,Io
which will grow on to the verge OF their
limits in a dwarfed condition The birch
and other hardy trees will grow into the
arctic circle, but small and stunted, and
finally even they disappear
But the soil is still more important
factor. If plant or tree requires
moist soil, and is placed in naturally
dry one, this will influence the plant
even more than climate.
\ week or two ago, we gave an ac-
count of person in Putnam county, who
had four orange trees with Bermuda
grass growing under them. The rest of
the trees grew in cultivated ground i'll
the usual way. The trees with Bermu-
da grass did not she'd their leaves, while
the others did, during the prevalence of
| frost last winter. What are we to infer
from this? Why, that the Bermuda
| grass SdNeu UnO lT6cS, OF tIlG leaves cl
| the trees, from destruction.
Ii this were the first we had heard of
such phenomena, we might doubt the
correctness of the report. But this is by
no means the case. The subGect hos
been matter Of inquiry for many years.
In the annual Agricultural Report issu-
ed by the Government at Washington,
we have seen statements to the effect
that experiments have been made test
ing, by the thermometer, the effect OF
grass sod on the temperature of the soil
| bene ath, and it has been aseeftai1ed
that the soil is several degrees warmer
in winter than in soils otherwise situa-
ted.
But this grass must be attended to the
same as the bare fallow would have to
be. 1t must be kept close shaven, and
the same manure be applied, as we would
to the orange or other tree.
If this plan Of growing tropical trees
can be carried out it will be equal, in ef-
feet, to several degrees of latitude, and
will enable US to bring up here, other
conditions being present, the mango,
mangosteen, custard-apple, cocoanut,
yuca, arachaca, pacay, tumbo, jack, pa
lilo, chiramaya, the COW tree, palm oil
trees, and hundreds of others.
When we have time we will take up
the subject OF a moving implement bet
ter adapted for use among growing trees
and crops than the present ones. The
scythe is an unwieldy, awkward intfse-
ment, and the lawn-mowers are nCRiA-
ways adapted for the rougher kinds of
work.-Floridd New Yoker.