The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-10-19
GOOD ADVICE FROM GAITsKIIL.

S: III. Gaitskill. of Mcintosh, one
OF the leading agriculturists OF Mari
on county, writes as follows to the
Florida Grower:
in your issue OF October 10th r.
L. l.. asks about the growing Of
cactus. i have some cactus growing
on my farm chat gets good size and
fruits heavily, bearing a good sized
pear The pear looks good enough
to eat, but / have never tried it.
This cactus seems to grow here wild
and fuxuriant
After reading DIR. r. II. Rolfs'
paper ON Citrus Groves, Location
and Cultivation, " / am more than
ever impressed with the utter fulfill
ty of efforts to give Instructions or
advice that will apply TO the whole
state of FLORIDA. While he says,
different lands require different
treatment, it is almost impossible
to convey TO the new conner in Flor
ida correct idea of the difference
In land and the kind OF treatment
best suited by writing about 1t. This
applies ito almost all crops, regular
farm crops and vegetables as well
as 10 orange trees. DIR. Rolls says
that before planting trees land should
be cleared of everything, even to lit.
tie pieces OF brush. Yet, within
twenty-five miles of DIR. Rolls home.
some of the best groves the state has.
ever had were planted In heavy ham
mock land The trees were cut and
relied i'm windrows, and after allow
Ing time for the tops 10 dry q fire
was run through the WindroWs. Quite
a lot of the limbs were burned Oft
Then the windrows we're pushed clos
er, the logs were piled and all burn
ed. Often trees were then set, sim
ply by digging holes large enough
to take in the spread of roots, on the
tree TO be planted. Land has been
cleared ready for trees at $25 per
acre; to take out all stunnps and
roots i'm good hammock land, and
that is the only kind OF land that
nature planted orange groves on.
would be very costly. The stumps
bother but a few years. az they rap
idly decay and while decaying add
humus to the sofl. Working around
the stumps and cutting sprouts Is
announcement for a year or two. but
not quite as inconvenient as paying
big fertilizer bills to make soil
where nature has given no aid. God
put mark upon almost everything
he made whereby man might be able
to know what it was, and the nat
rbral growth of land tells plainly
where the fertile soil is. Men may
prevent nature. for time and sea-
son, to be succeeding. but in the end
those who transgress natures laws
usually pay the penalties attached.
Keep up the canker fight Make
it open and loud. send check
for $40. Put 1t in the fight. am
ready to send more. as needed. Keep
up the fight on green fruit ship
ments. Is South FLORIDA afraid OF
freeze or afraid of the keeping and
carrying qualities of their fruit that
they want to rush them out OF the
state before they are ripe? Some
say we must start early or we will
not have time TO handle large crop,
but 7 think the month of February
and month OF March have almost as
many DAYS as the months OF October
and November, and fruit t1at Is well
ripened, sweet and juicy i'm Febru-
airy and iMarch sells about as high
as that shipped in October and Mo-
yember. cannot understand why
South Florida should want TO rush
the frlit market. The more north
ern grower, as around Citra, seems
in no hourly. but lets his fruit get
fully ripe on the trees, but the Cit
ra grower is not afraid OF freeze,
nor that his fruit won't keep and
carry after it is fully ripe