The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-05
-Four Enemies to Orchards and
Groves.


A Florida orange grower makes the fol-
lowing wise observations:
our groves have four powerful enc
mics; they are the plow, evaporation,
teaching and winds. l name the pillow first,
for it is the potent cause Of the mischief
done by the others. Ii rips and tears the
surface tender roots l have often seen
in neighboriug groves. as well as my own,
roots fifteen TO twenty feet long exposed
] DO not wonder that the cracker on
Indian river, having been told that plow-
ing would augment the productiveness of
his grove, when he saw the mischief it
had produced in damaging the trees and
diminishing the crop of fruit, went to the
other extreme and threw the pillow into
the river. 1 need not enlarge on the
mighty power of the sun in exhausting the
moisture of bare land. II Is this omni-
potent pump of the Almighty that is dry
ing up the. feeders to our lakes at the
present time, and drawing vast reservoirs
of water from the lakes themselves.
The bare sandy land is a perfect sieve
for teaching out the best soil where evap-
grafton and washing processes have COM
bined you notice no soil, but white bleach
ed sand only. l have named evaporation
and teaching, but am not sure that l ought
not to have placed the destructive winds
first The high winds of this spring have
left the marks of desolation in noor-sWept
fences, etc. The fierce gale of October, 81
made terrible havoc in exposed grounds
The owner of the place this side. south of
The seminary, had Just plowed and fertiiz-
ed his grove, and when he saw the heaps
of sand, like snow drifts, piled up against
his south fence, embracing his fertilizer
and best soil he remarked to me this is
the last time | shall allow my land to be
exposed to fall Winds | should add March
April and May as wei as October. Our
annual drought occurs during these
spring months. The constant action of the
strong and often fierce winds abrades the
soll, wears it away. Let me have five or
ten acres surrounded on all sides by five or
ten groves, with no Intervening fence be
tween my grove and the others; then let
the surrounding groves be plowed and
thoroughly fertnized and the ground left
bare in March, April May and Octoberand
my grove protected by grass or weeds or
bermuda if you please, ana l viii never
need 10 buy or spread a pound of fertilizer
on my grove. / VIII get free of cost the
richness aud the wealth Of my neighbors'
eroves-the winds of heaven win bring
them to me.
on every hand I behold groves bare
and wnd-swept. and am of the opinion
that they are mainly in this condition on
account of a premature sowing of beg
sarweed seed. | hurry by is fast as l
can these bare hot sands, especially when
ploWed on both sides of the road The
poor trees are in torment developed i'm
burning cauldron of heat, leaves curling
and dropping to the ground.
Groves are plastered an over with mort
cages, and the purchase and waste Of
commercial fertilizers spread on bare
sands l know grove, sand piled up on
every side all the time, thus plastered
with a mortgage-money loaned year by
year TO buy an increased amount of fer
fl, n Ia,
mammoth crop that would sweep off the
mortgage. The nearest TO il came in 1S9L
| "A year when every grove of sufficient
! age was laden with fruit. But the freeze
took the fruit and most Of the trees.
This is the trouble with what Is called
| 'clean culture fertilization on storm
| swept sand. There is good crop only
! senl-occasionaliy. To harvest large an
! nual crops there must be a good basis
! for them in a deep rich subsoil. Such
/ soil can only be made by plowiug under
! annually a liberal supply OF maured hu-
I mus or transferring such soil from The
! neighhpring woods. Would il not he well
for the orange grower to duplicate as far
as possible the semi-tropical conditions
| around him? l look out upon the park in
| front of my residence and behold the lofty
| aud stately pines on my way 60 town
! notice the thrifty copse of oaks. thickly
! strOWn together, leaves dark and green
and healthy during the most severe
| thoughts, and SO with the pines. l ask
| myself, what would he the effect to treat
| the pines aud oaks as We treat our orange
| trees-rip and tear up those long life
| roots of the oak, especially the pine; COM
| pei them 70 draw the lfe-blood from the
roots reaching down in almost pcrpendicu-
lar lines into che sandy depths-wouid
| they not have hard struggle for life.
! if they did not withcr and die? Surround
| ed on every side with bare ground expos