The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-09-24
For THE FLORIDA AGRCULTURIsT.
Clean and Green Culture-Shears or
No Shears.

Tor the last lew months OVorclesbn culture
in orange groves, as well as pruning or no
pruning Now, while both sides have ably
discussed their ideas and given their ex-
perience, both sides may have overlooked
some very important facts, and as have
read carefully both sides of the arguments
advanced. and arguments that appeared
honest and plausible, they have in my
opinion overlooked one important fact,
and that is that their experience in nearly
all cases covers only one grove and but
very few over two groves. Now, to set up
the fact that their experience is worth
more than the experience of all other
growers in the State is preposterOus. We
have great many intelligent and scien-
tific men all over the State who have
made orange culture their study for a
number of years, and many of these men
come here with an extended knowledge of
nursery culture, which was made use
full to aid them in managing the orange
in Florida. But experience in Florida
soon taught him that he must under
stand the climate and soil before he could
become successful, and that the ideas and
notions he entertained when he came here
must be abandoned and new knowledge
gained by actual experience. And now,
after twehty-three years cultivation OF
the orange, for that time will cover
the most scientific of our grow
ers, here comes forward experience and
knowledge from all classes, telling how it
should be DONE and these reports from
men who have not been in the State over
one year up to all the intervening twenty
years; and nearly all, though their eXpe-
Renee is limited, declare that their meth
cd is right, and all others that do not
agree with them wrong.
Now, to come to real facts, who among
us is we'll enough experienced in all it's
details to give us the true theory; who
among us has had that extended knowl-
edge thatWill be acceptable in all portions
of the State? Would we not arrive at abet-
ter understanding, and be better able to
form a basis, by offeringa small premium
for the best work On orange culture from
actual experience from each and every
county in the State, giving location, soil,
cultivation and exact treatment? Then
let a competent committee take these re-
ports and compare them and see if one
form or plan the most universally adop-s
ted was the best Actual facts must &C.
company the report as to treatment from
the start, and age of trees when set, and
whether sweet or sour stocks were used.
Then, instead of few discussed reports
we get the experience of the whole State.
We are well aware of the fact that we can
get many good hints even from neW-cOm~
ers, but when taken as a whole they must
certainly give way to old experienced Or
ange culturists on many points. Many of
them have been here for twenty years
and over and have made the cultivation
of the orange their chief study, but that
does not prove that they knows it all by
any MEANS but many things they have
learned and are fixed facts and when a
man, no matter how shrewd he may be,
tells them what he knows to be untrue, he
meekly laughs at it and says, Oh, what