The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-26
n[MTTCN DR.. A. E. BUCHANAN
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$4,000 and 5000 boxes; the Speer grove near
Titusville. and the old Indian grove of Col.
Magruder at Rockledge Some of the trees
on these and other famous old groves have
great records as producers. An orange tree
over seventy years old at Fort Harley, in
Alachua county, yielded, back in the eigh-
ties, 1900 oranges in one season; another in
ST. Johns county produced 1900. and one
in Bradford county over 10000, and a lemon
tree at Fort Reid 10000 lemons
These enormous yields can no longer be
duplicated Most of the old trees have been
cut down with frosts that their chances
of making large yields are greatly reduced
In fact, the old famous orchards-those that
have not been cut down and planted with
other fruits and vegetables-require five to
ten years of good weather to bring them up
to their former productiveness. Even the
famous Indian-river orchards were so ruined
by the freeze of several years ago that the
present crop will not amount to more than
10000 to 10000 boxes. Rich and productive
Orange and Polk counties have such a
small crop that they are classed along with
1.-The rest of the State"-an almost unheard-
of thing in the past. The steady increase in
the yield of the orange groves can be judged
from comparison of crop yields in the past
few years. The year following the freeze
the crop was 5000 boxes; last year it
jumped up to 10000 boxes, and this winter
it will be nearly 100000 boxes. This is not
Que to the recovery of the injured trees in
the northern sections of the State so much
as to the gradual coming into bearing OF
the new groves in the southern counties.
Thus we find this winter that, what was
one time the finest orange territory of the
world In Florida no longer draws it's chief
revenue from this crop Oranges have sud
uenly taken third and even fourth place in
the list or valuable products. Ahead OF the
golden fruits that first attracted the tide Of
emigration to the State are many vege-
Ia Ia ana a lew other fruits. In the place
or orange orchards one now sees strawber-
~ beds, ripening their luscious fruits for
the midWinter demand; rows upon rows OF
cabbages, marshaled like armies in tn
field for action tomato vines laden dow.
with the bright red fruits that are almo
as attractive to the tourist from the co
fIn 1,rf fVg
spring peas. fine string beans. kale. spinach
and every other vegetable that is in dc
mand by a civilized community. Every
farm is planted with a diversified crop. II
sudden freeze should sweep across the
state the farmer would not lose everything.
Ills harvest season begins in November,
and his planting season extends through
the whole winter. If a January freeze ruins
his crops. in the fields he rejoices in the
fact that he has already harvested all of his
early crops, and there is ample time for
plsnting anew for the early spring market
In country where such extremes OF eli
mate prevail such diversified system OF
farming as the only safe and sure one.
Then he has not by any means abandoned
Irult culture entirely. He raises quantities
OF fruits that will increase in profit as the
years go by, but the new fruits not the
klno 10 pc destroyed, even partially, by uh-
peach, which supplies our Northern mar
kets with the first of these delicious fruits;
as in western New York; the groves of pc
can-nut trees. which become a steady
source of income in the course of "A few
generations increasing the profits until the
trees are hundred years old, and, finally,
owe trees which viii thrive in climate
where oranges and lemons would be killed.
1t IS doubtful If the olive industry will ever
attain the proportions in Florida il has III
California; but the trees are very good 10
add to the list of fruits that will thrive in
the South Fig trees are also planted in
considerable numbers in northern Florida.
and fresh figs from the South are delicacieS
that appear in the North in summer. The
chief obstacle to success in raising figs has
been that the fruits ripened about the lst
OF July-right in the middle of the wet sea-
son IN Florida-so that drying was impossi-
Bile. But there to the front of Manatee and
De Soto counties the growers are looking TO
this for their chief profit. They have no
competition in this line either from the
Mediterranean district or the Pacific coast.