The Florida agriculturist., 1906-04-25


precision that astonished me. When
L questioned friend Bannehr he re-
piled:
Yes, they have in one sense made
"a wonderful success of that celery
farm | think it is generally admitted
it is one of the finest in the state;
but they spend a pile of money doing
it, Clearing out the big trees, bushes,
roots, clumps, and all, cost a lot, the
ditching a big sum more, and, after
that. hundreds of dollars have been
spent on fertilizers to produce this
magnificent growth. 1t now only re-
mains to see if they can sell the crop
for enough to pay for all this outlay"
Well, whether it pays or not L
am glad somebody has given us an
object-lesson that shows what is really
possible in the line of 'high-preSsure
gardening" If money must be vast
ed by experiments, L like to see 1t
wasted in this way. But we are not
sure it is wasted. Later ON L learned
of a man who sold celery from sin
gle acre to the amount of $500.
This was Oh Terra Celia Island, near
BradentOwn. This island is almost
every foot of it, under ''high-pressure
gardening Wouldn't this sum war
rant pretty good outlay?
Later. through the kindness of
friend Rood and LathrOp (brOther of
Henry LathrOp), of BradentOwn, L
saw before in any state in the
years ago, when L visited e. Il. Rood
he was experimenting with strawber
ries, and a few days ago L found him
still at it." In a region where no
body supposed that strawberries
could be grown, until he showed to
the contrary. l saw more green and
ripe berries on the plants than L ever
saw before i'll any state i'll the
Union is, for the size of the
plants. In the North, where we plant
2X4 feet, and keep the runners OFF, of
course we have i'll time immense hills,
but here in Florida they plant much
Closer feet by inches, and, if L
am correct, set new plants every year.
With this close planting the plants can
not be of great size; but the berries
OH some plants literally hid the foliage.
As mulching to keep the berries out of
the dirt is rather hard matter, the
most of Friend RoOd'S three acres is
not mulched; but his berries are all
carefully washed before being put
into baskets. They are then taken
right to the fruit stores and sold at
once L was with him when he took
i'll one lot, and his customers were sold
out and waiting for his morning in
stallment of fresh berries. OF course,
mulching must be followed with ber-
ries that are to be shipped. The va
riety grown mostly by friend Rood is
the Excelsior. 1t is rather tart, but a
little sugar fixes that. L asked him
how it was that he had the only
Strawberries in that region. He
answered something like this:
Friend r., the rest of the people
have not learned how. L have been
years studying and experimenting.
once sent North for 1000 plants, and
did not get quart of berries from the
whole lot. L had so many failures
was about to give up, and should have
done so had it not been for my wife.
L think L could now grow strawberries
anywhere in Florida
Now, friends, there are two or three
big morals in that speech. His good
wife had more sense and grit than
he had, and the trouble with a whole
lot of you is, you have not any wives
Again he (and his wife) learned the
trade by slow and gradual steps just
as my friends the Wright Bros. learn
ed how to fly. Il have got lot to tell
you about them soon. They have sold