The Florida agriculturist., 1889-01-09
For THE FLORIDA AeRIcunruRrsr.
MelrOse.

ful sugar boiling, has hindered my doing
so. Wishing you to know good deal
more about this section and it's people, |
have taken some pains to visit neighbor-
ing farmers, and will now tell you more of
them and their success.
| will begin with your subscriber and
sometimes correspondent, M. A. Callahan
of the Gold Dust grove, whois, by-the-way,
delighted with the proposed changes in
the AGRICULTURIsT. Mr.. Callahan is well
known throughout the State as a sue
cessful nurseryman, but few know the OBJ
stacles he has had to encounter and the
perseverance with which he has met and
overcome them, and made his part of this
beautiful wilderness subservient to the
comfort and enjoyment Ofman. Neither
has he impaired it's beauty Mr.. Callahan
tried California in his numerous ram mblngs
and staid there several years, but he
awards the palm to Florida, and | sup
pose will live and die here. His place is
on Geneva Lake, and most beautifully
located. He has ''sights" of oranges,
from seedlings and buds, of SO many va
rieties that l cannot name them; and his
little trees in the nursery are full of oran-
ges-trees not four feet high. His orange
trees look beautifully green and thrifty,
though he has never used any CONNER
cial fertilizer in the eleven years of his
ownership. He plows under the peas,
beggar-weeds and other natural growth,
and uses a compost of muck and manure.
He has native and imported apples,
also ounces, peaches, pears, grapes, and
you ought to see the Kelsey and BOtan
plums! He has over 10000 Of these
stretching in long, long lines toward the
lake, and all looking fourishing and well.
But what | admired most was the fine
Japan persimmOns, which are pictures OF
beauty, and just melt in your mouth.
never imagined they could be SO good,
but then [ had never enjoyed a thor
oughly ripe one.
Mr.. Callahan has handsome lawn of
the St. Augustine grass, which had heard
of but never seen. 1t is handsOmer than
the Bermuda, and as correspondent OF
your paper once said, does not interfere
with the growth of other things as the
Bermuda does Mr.. Callahan also showed
me where he had drained a large pond;
the ground lis as black as Illinois soil and
must be extremely rich, though he has
taken off large quantities of muck, which
was composted and piled near by. This
land he intends planting to sugar cane.
with his good wife's help, to keep them all
hot. There are several subjects on which
he intends writing to the AGRICULTURIsT
when he can find time, and as he gave me
his plan of conquering the salamanders,
] suggested that he give it to you and
benefit his neighbors throughout the
State.
Another handsome grove here is owned
and cared for by Mr.. Clarence Moore, who
came to Florida from Philadelphia, in
poor health, nearly nine years ago, and
did not at once get to work. But he has
more than made up for lost time. His
trees are fine, particularly his Tangerines
or 'Kid Glove" oranges, which were
mass of yellow, and the finest and biggest
| have ever seen anywhere. went all over
his grove, admiring it and wondering at
the size and bearing of the trees, which
seemed to me wonderful for the length OF
time. On several trees he had fruit in
four different sizes from that of a hazel
nut to the full grown yellow sphere, and
beside these on the same tree were the
fragrant white blooms hidden away under
hegreen leaves. Mr. Moore bright, prom
ising little son, aged about twelve years,
is also a grove and land owner. did not
learn from Mr.. Moore his method OF cult
ure, but presume he does about as his
neighbors do.
Mr.. AIeck GoodsOn and his family were
deep in the mysteries of syrup boiling the
second time we went over to see his grove.
AS [ told you before, have never seen
finer trees than his. He has one grape
fruit tree bearing between two and three