The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-01-23
ALBERTUS VOGT ON
THE CITRUS INDUSTRY

!
ol;nion are worth consideration
From very many years of actual
work as a surveyor, prospector and
.tioy rider" over practically all OF
Florida, | know that the only por-
tion of the State in which citrus
fruits can and are being grown
safely and with profit is compre
hended in that portion of Peninsula
Florida situated and being between
township line 16 S. and township
line AZ S. OF this territory not to
exceed three .fifths is land, the bal
ance being lakes. rivers, etc. or
this three fifths of land, not to eX-
coed two-fifths is adapted to the
successful growth of citrus trees
The balance being general farm and
grazing lands.
OF course there are some oranges
and grapefruit crown north of town
hip line l6. and a narrow strip OF
land on the East Coast south of
township line AZ does grow some
citrus fruits, but comparatively /
speaking the qualities are negligi
BILE.
| Your ideas that grapefruit ought |
to be sold cheaper is all to the good.
The fancy cafes, dining cars, ETC.,
may demur to this, but let 'em kick.
That will help us to advertise the
truth.
Every grower will admit that it
is no more costly to grow grapefruit
than oranges They ship better,
keep longer and hang good on the
trees until May. Besides % to So
grapefruit fill box, while oranges
run SO and 2SS and up. Ninety one
trees to the acre, that is to say
16x3O feet is the distance the best
fruit grower in Florida sets his
, trees. Now. suppose the trees only
bear five boxes each. That is 455
boxes the acre; at so cents the box
! makes 1927. so per acre. Can any
| fruit grower anywhere else do that?
/ Can any kind of farming on any
S sort of land equal it counting the
cost of labor, fertilizer, ETC., ex
pended? Any grower knows that
grapefruit trees in full bearing will
O produce more boxes per acre than
will oranges.
n good orange and grapefruit groves in
# Florida, but | would love to take you
and Wallace Stovall and Ben llarri-
@ son and Frank Harris and Mckay
in an automobile and show to yol
"a the groves of Nelson Thompson a.
:. Frost Proof, the Donaldson grove a
- Tabor Lake, the Singleton grove a
"a Lake Childs, the Simmons and Orig
!: gers groves at Lake Ste:rns, ant
n have you study the soils and natura
F. timber growths on the outside OF tn
4; fences and walk into the groves ant
ia feel and eat of the fruit, There i
II, not an ailing tree in any one o
i
b gold. and skin as thin and plan
err as buckskn. You could ship
e, around the world, and the soil OF
Is, which this splendidly perfect frui
rs, is grown is what a novice would cal
l. yaller sand, but do you take pin
r.. cup full of the soil and wash it an
II, you will in the floating process hay
not more than spoonful of silicat
left, and the native growth right u
to the fence on every side is %
fire. stunted and dwarfed live oal
:, hoop-pole hickory, grapevines an
: blue palmetto and spruce pine.
The first citrus groves | ever sa'
:. on this character of lands was on
of 40 acres planted by Count Fred
erick DuBarry, and one of "a acre
(St. Johns WOODY by Lord Hem
Peters at Enterprise, on Lake Nor
roe. | saw them first in 1876, ar
- last in 1911. | wish you could 81
them now And, going back to Il
as. d. cb;1ds and Stearns countr
Lake Illus anu ot1ai 10 'ooh''
my there are about 100000 acres of tn
kind of land there, but you car
the buy it for it is principally owned
ost two big corporations. Recent
MIA there | saw Natal grass six feet hi
de and seeding, sugar cane, mature
as eight feet. and lima beans, tomato
at and squashes and melons, pun
not kinS and and casava, and there I
by none better crown. asked j.
lere Driggers: What did you fertil
llar this truck and cane and grass with
G in He said: Nothing; I've cut &
and Natal grass twice in year {
the the dark stun is overrunning
place.
,son There are thousands of acres
of such land in Florida high alb
aro overflow, but always moist. and
c.r looming into its own in the m
ona land bounds named in the outset
Hoy this letter.
,r;+v You and | are glad to buy ap
oil vat 30 cents per peck for choice OF
.an An orange or grapefruit box
49, hold three pecks of apples.
o,a tapple growing sections of \
,.;t. lAmerica in ratio are 100000
:. !; to acre of citrus fruit lands.