The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-06-25
For THE FLORIDA AGRICULTURIsT.
Not Theories Now, But Facts.

Ida horticultural society, when gives us
a full pen picture of all the actions of
that great body of our representative
fruit growers. The reading OF this ac-
count is almost as good as being there
and hearing it ourself. We see that while
there are many diverse opinions in regard
to the manner of growing our different
fruits, and especially the citrus, most of
it is due to the different kinds OF soil on
which the different groves are located.
Each year more and more reliable infOr-
nation is being added, so that if begin
ner will take your valuable journal and
study it as it brings it's weekly quota of
the experiences of the different growers in
all parts of the State, he need not far
err in all the essential points in making
a profitable grove He can steer his bark
clear of the rocks which have ruined the
crafts of others, unless he is SO conceited
that he knows more than all other grow
ers.
Theory and speculation have nowgiven
place to actual facts. What eve are
going to do'' is now what we have done
and what we are doing. For instance,
party wrote long article years ago
about raising cattle in Florida on the
range, that he was going to improve his
range by putting a wire fence all around
it; then he was going to check the land
off ten feet each way and plant Guinea
grass in the checks, and in year or two
it would spread all over the whole tract:
then he would have the finest range in all
Florida, and he would supply the mar
kets of Florida with tender, juicy beef In
our dreams we have been feasting on
that delicious beefsteak, but, alas! the
reality has not yet been heard from. But
when Gov. Stafford says that he has had
an acre of Para grass that he has fed
COW on for year and four mules part of
the time, we can see some reality about
that-a fact that one can take hold of
and go and do something likewise, that
will enable him to keep a COW to furnish
milk and butter for his family and de-
licious veal occasionally.
Another of the theories has been, and
is, peach growing. Hundreds of dollars
have been invested in peach growing.
Some OF our neighbors set hundreds of
trees, and it did look for while that
they would be successful. One of the old
settlers, we think he lives near Palatka,
wrote in your paper after the freeze four
years ago that after a big freeze some
years previous which seriously hurt or
ange trees, the growers set out hun
dreds of peach trees, which died out in a
few years. The sentiment of your meet
ing is that the peach is a failure. Thus
history repeats itself. Our nurseryman
here, who sold quantities of trees four and
three years ago, set out a large orchard
for himself When we were there this
spring he was having them dug up; they
we're a failure, and this failure has be-
come one of the realities. We never had
much faith in the peach and invested very
lightly. We expected little and got less.
Perhaps it was because cow peas had
been grown on the land. We are thank
full that the root-knot caused by the
deadly COW pea does not effect the orange
tree. Is the idea that the cow pea is al
fcotod with tho Same root knot, that the