The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1888-02-29

come almost the home of the vine in all
its glory and profit. So Florida shall
jet become the home of great variety
of fruits, flowers and plants, not now
known in our fair land.
The people in SanbIe, taking time by
the foreiock, have been developing a
large variety of plants in all directions.
Mr. Ell. Nj. Hitchcock. a nine years res
ident of Sauble, and one of its pioneers,
has some thirteen acres, running from
the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West
Railroad to the river. The land, espe-
cially ON and near the river, is solid
muck bed of a most valuable character
He has two hundred peach trees, and
one large grape vine among many other
vines, which the guild nu,cs of the Fruit
Growers Association, at one of its ses-
sions could not give its proper name.
Out of part of his swamp or muck
beds he has made vegetable patches,
wherein he has raised large quantities of
cabbages, ruiabaga turlips and other
truck material. fit for the Gods to par
take of.
He utilizes parts of his muck beds by
cutting down his hammock trees, throw
ing them across the swamps, which have
been previously ditched, then piling on
top of these logs all kinds of brush and
trash. He then carries dirt and covers
the whole with said dirt, making rich
soil which does not hold the rain but
teaches through, but which. with the wa
ter underneath, keeps everything moist,
growing and never to be dried out by the
sun or want of rain. We have seen gar
den truck Of various kinds fit for Pa
latkans TO eat, grown on said reclaimed
and new made soil.
Then he has hundreds of peach pits
sown. which are peeping out of the
ground. besides other hundreds half as
high as six footer, growing thriftily.
OF course, he does not neglect the
orange business. Only he does not
carry all his eggs to market in one bas-
ket. And to show this patent fact he
has some 900 orange tree nursery stock
| and a fine orange grove which, had it
not been for the big freeze, would now
be nearly bearing Florida's staple fruit.
And, like little man, he makes his own
| fertilizers, from muck, lime, hog and
stable manure. Young man, North and
West. come here and do likewise. Only
you need the three big Ps-pluek, plod
and push.
Then his neighbor, Mr.. Edmund Shep-
herd, and whilom partner. has gone into
| the same general line of things. This
| wide awake Northener, with his active
Southern lady, has some eighty peach
| trees, three hundred and sixty orange
| trees in grove shape, with some fifteen
hundred nursery orange stock. He has
also twenty pear trees, lots of pecans,
Japan persimmcns, and other trees of
all descriptions. AS to vines, there are
plenty of them, and all in reasonably
thrifty condition. Mr.. Hitchcock and
he divided up equally their lands in for
mer times, and Mr.. Shepherd has his
| fine bed of the best muck also to work
out the best of vegetable growths,
and snaps his fingers at the
high priced fertilizing merchants of the
North and South. Mr.. Shepherd does
not sit down and await all this fruit
growth to give him and family bread and
meat, but has become the imitator of
Horatius of old. watching the bridge
not of old Rome. but of the jackson vile,
| Tampa and Key West Railway over
Rice Creek.
| Well, Mr.. Headeater, as some Birth
isher might say, that heard discourse
| from the Rev. DIR. A. III. Robinson on
last Sunday at our school house. The
| people seemed pleased to hear this gen.
tleman. But as Palatka has heard and
known this gentleman for years 1t is
needless to descant on his merits. The
| people seem TO think the mind and soul
must be cultivated as well as the SOIL
And thus they propose to have him
visit them once month. VOYAGER.