The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1918-11-28
GREAT POSSIBILITY
IN FLORIDA FRUIT
Florida Offers Suitable Soil and
Best Climate
FRESH FRUIT ALL THE YEAR
Every Farmer Can and Should
Have a Perennial Supply at His
Home.-Best Attended Trees
Produce Finest Fruit.

A most attractive phase of farm
life in Florida is that which can
be developed from fruit growing.
1t is a form of intensive culture,
pays more per acre than crops of
the general farm; and while / am
not suggesting that our farmers
specialize upon fruit alone, it is a
most valuable side crop for the
general farm.
Nature does half of the work
and asks no share of the profits.
The climate insures not only
the life of the tree, but the vigor
of the tree and the quantity of the
fruit. The length of the growing
season and the general summer
rains; the abundance of sunshine
and sun-heat promote size, beauty
and quality of fruit. The large
areas of loamy soils, rich in plant
food, easy to cultivate, into which
roots penetrate to an amazing
depth-these are the conditions
which explain Florida's possibili-
ties in the fruit world.
Let me state here basic fact
about fruit-growing and one that
the farmer setting out oranges,
grapefruit, figs, plums and pears
must understand and thoroughly
appreciate. The growers business
is to raise trees. The very high
est quality Of fruit comes from
his trees as a natural consequence
of cultivating, not fruit, but fruit
trees. The tree must be vigorous;
it must be thrifty, full of sap,
well rooted, developed to the very
highest degree of efficiency.
But here is the rub, and where
50 many Florida orchardists have
failed. Not only in Florida, but
all over the South has it been the
prime cause Of failure of fruit
men.
1t requires skill, good Judge
meent, experience, watchfulness,
art, to grow fruit successfully.
You cannot plant your orchard
and then go fishing until it begins
to bear. That is why SO many
fsilures are now made. While
tLey don't all go fishing, many
persist in merely planting an or
chard and then letting nature
take care of it. Nature left to
herself is bungler in practice.
She can make only small apples;
it takes man to make fine
beautiful Bellfower or Pippin.
The orchard must be cultivated,
narrowed, combed as with fine
tooth comb; not a weed, no hol-
lows into which moisture will
gravitate; no hard surface, but a
blanket of dust to hold back the
moisture from being sucked up in
to the air.
Then too, the grower must wait.
1t takes time to grow an orchard,
and he must know how to make
ends meet while his trees are COM
ing ON, if he intends to specialize
in fruit growing. A chit or miss"
orchard will not go. Don't fool
with fruit unless you are willing
to go at it right Unless you are
willing to adopt the methods of
the California, Washington, Ore
gon and Colorado growers, don't
waste your time with fruit or
chard, because you will never be
able to compete with the growers
in other states where they have
developed their industry to the
highest degree.
Aim at quality 1t is only
quality that sells fruit nowadays.
The est-fruit-on-top is a lying de-
vice and never built up a business,
even for the door-to-door hucks-
ter.
Many kinds Of fruit that can be