The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-04-08
A Foreign Gardener on Orange Cul.
ture.
PAOLA, March q. 1896

A Foreign Gardener on Orange Cul.
ture.
PAoLA, March "a. 1886.
Editor SANFORD JOURNAL:
DEAR SIR beg permission. Mr.. Ed.
itor, TO say TO the readers of the Sanford
Journal why can say that am gar
dener.
learned the flower and vegetable gar
dening at the public lessons of the Jar
din dies Plantes," in Paris. France, and
the fruit culture at the nursery Of the
''Jardln du Luxembourg" under the les.
sons Of Mr.. Handy. who has since been
superintendent of the French National
Nursery. and of the nursery of Algiers,
Africa, and under the lessons Of Mr. Le-
pere at "Montreuil aux Piches." near
Paris. He exhibited peach tree on
which the fruit was forming the name
Napoleon. Then worked in the orange
grove at Blidak, Algeria. l was there,
not OF my free will, after the insurrec.
ton Of June, lS4s, in Paris. and before
the secession war l was gardener at Osy-
ka, Miss. from 1855 to 1857. and since
at Tallahassee. Fla, from 1871 to 1879.
where several citizens Of Sanford have
known me. All my life l have had a
garden for profit or for pleasure.
HOW To PLANT AN ORANGE GROVE.
The first thing to consider is the sit
uation, near easy transportation. then
the quality of the land. The soil for an
orange tree has to be at least six feet
above the highest water; well drained,
naturally, or 1t has to be drained.
There is sometimes on the shores of
lakes what is called hardpan. which is a
layer Of sand, very compact. wet and
brown. This hardpan cannot ba pen.
etrated by roots, and it is impossible to
raise anything above it, SO it has TO be
considered as does the water, and no
trees ought to be planted where it is not
at least six feet under the surface Of the
soil. These rules keep good for the ham.
mock. sandy loan, pine land, or black
jack ridge.
CLEARING THE LAND.
As l have said in former letter, the
pine and oak trees and brush have to be
cut and the roots grabbed, but don't
burn anything; let the fibre of the logs
rot. and you will'iind the heart for fence
posts, and all roots and trash being piled
will rot and make vegetable manure. A
good plan to do this is to cut the logs
fifteen feet long. and pile them as YOU
would log house: then tumble all roots
and trash inside. and 20 as high a. it is
necessary with logs and trash, and you
will avoid the unsightly pile. Palmetto,
containing a La &c quantity Of potash.
and giving certain amour. of ashes,
can be burned. but burn them on the
road or on the place where the house has
to be built; the fire destroying the vege.
table matter in the sandy soil. Don't
burn them in the grove.
FLOWING THE GROVE.
The soil of Florida being unfortunately
burned every year, the top soil is pretty
poor in vegetable matter. That is why
II has to be plowed very shallow, and as
s we have only the resource to raise green
crops to augment this vegetable mould.
the land Of the grove has to be plowed
just deep enough to bury the y rass and
rotten leaves. When the land il plOwed
the first work is to mark the place Of the
trees. Nature, to secure the absorption
of the food also the steadiness Of a tree.
employs its roots, and il We try to find
the ends Of the roots OF the orange tree,
we will find, as u constant rule. that the
roots are so far all around the tree. as
the tree itself is high; so, IL we plant
seedlings, which will grow up at least
twenty feet. I'VE want to plant the trees
80 that the roots will lind this same space
free. Seeding trees, at thirty-nve feet
each side, is Il good distance, and the
roots will not be crowded before the trees
are bearing. This gives thirty.tive trees
to the acre.
For budded trees which will never
grow so large as seedlings, the trees can
he planted in rows thirty feet apart from
north to south. and fifteen feet apart
from east to west. This gives ninety.
eght trees to the acre, and the trees hav-
ing fifteen feet on ne side they will not
be too crowded. The reason for giving
m n 70 ,m to the trees from north to
south. is this The trees need, to grow
10 perfection. to have free access 10 the
rays of the sun, and this disposition is
very important. Another reason IL, that
all the bad winds in the peninsula are
from the east or west. and so less trees
will be exposed to the blast.
Another good way to plant will be to
plant seedlings at thirty.five feet each
way. and in the middle of four, plant a
budded tree. This is good plan, and
will give ffty.five trees to the acre. Of
which twenty will give fruit the fifth
year Of the bud, and help to support the
grove before the seedlings begin to bear,
which will be about nine or ten years.
Surely these measures are much larger
than any grove planted up to this time.
but the obvious reason for doing it Is
this: A tree as tall as twenty feet has
all around 1t a twenty foot radius Of
roots. II you give only twenty-five feet
space between two trees. the roots will
become so tangled that neither water,
fertilizer nor air can be admitted to the
roots. except the surface ones. The un.
der roots will necessarily starve, and be
of very little use to the trees. That Is
the reason why so many trees now are
crowded with dead limbs.
a. PRIcHARD.