The Florida agriculturist. [volume], January 01, 1879, Image 1

About The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911

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The Florida Agriculturist.
.... A JOURNAL DEVOTED’ TO STATE LYTERESTS.
Yol I
■XLI letters on business should be au
:ssse<i to Agriculturist Publishing
<3 .itid all matters connected with the
•vtitorial Department to Editor Florida
agriculturist, DeLaml, Fla.
TERMS:
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scope of this paper are solicited.
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- -Tffi FLORIDA AGRICULTURIST ;
PUBLISHED EVEIIY WEDXFSDY.
pinLisHEU by ran
A GR ItlL r l It IST I IB LI SI 11CO. |
C, UODJtirVO I A-., Editor. J
" / , -fci'T "A
Agricultural Societies-
Florida -Fruit Grower’s Association.—C.
Codrinston, pies., DeLaucl; D. H. Llliot.
sec., Live Oak ; I). S. Place, cor, sec., \\ al
<l< Orange liulge Agricultnsal and linini- !
aration Society.—Dr. B. B. Bennett, pres.; |
jolm Canon, sec.; N. K. Scovel, cor. sec j
DeLand, Volusia Cos. Weekly meetings
—MI I l_J.lLJl_.il_
We are sorry to be obliged to
give our readers, the Auj:£Cl'litkist
for this week in a reduced form. It
is our intention in future, to publish
ou a better quality of paper, and in
pursuance of this intention, we made
an order for such paper some weeks
a rr o . Owing to a delay that we
are not responsible tor, it has not
arrived; the old stock is exhausted,
and we are obliged to give such as
we have. We hope our subscribers
will appreciate that we are a long
way from market and on our part
in future we will try and order far
enough ahead to avoid the possibility
ot delay. Tiie Pi bi.isuers.
Work for January.
This is usually a wet month, not so i
cold as December, Irost seldom forms, i
Transplant fruit trees ot all kinds, i
also vines. Prime grape vines; most !
of the Black Hamburg in this Stale j
have been killed by too early and ex- j
cessive bearing. No fruit should be ;
allowed on the vines the first year, j
and only a few bunches the second
year, to be increased year by year as
the vines get older. Ail the vegeta
bles recommended last month can be
planted also this month. It is a good
time to plant Irish potatoes for home
use or sale. Ashes is a good fertili
zer if it can be had; it not. there arc j
fertilizers manufactured particularly |
for them. We have great faith m ;
the Stoekbridge manures, for which i
Messrs Hart. Benham & Cos. of .lack- i
sonville are Agents, having used it in j
our garden with good etlect. Ad tci
tUizers for Irish potatoes, must have
a liberal per centageof potash, while,
some plants do not require so much.
It is therefore necessary in ordering
your fertilizer, to mention what you
require it lor. Prepare land and pro
cure 6eod at onco, il you intend to
plant tobacco. 3loasrs. Hart, Bsn-
ham & Cos., may be able to furnish
seed ot the Cuba tobacco; if not, it
may be procured by enquirin'* of
Judge P. T\ . Y\ hite of Quincy, as a
good deal is grown in Gadsden Coun
ty, To make the seed bed, pick out
a good piece of land, plow it up and
temo\e all the roots in the ground,
make a heap ot hard wood ami burn
o' *-i’ the spot, rake smooth before you
sow the seed, a spoonful of which
must be mixed with ashes before
sowing. Leat down the ground aft
er sowing the seed, bv laying a board
and tramping on it. If the weather
threatens to be cold,cover with brush
or a light lrame with grass on it
or a light lrame with grass on it.
iobacco seed should not however be
sowed until the end ot the month, or
all in I ebruary. It is necessary how- ;
ever to procure seed in time. Tobac- ’
co requires soda, potash and lime as j
fertilizers. I lye and oats can be!
sowed this month. Muskmelons j
might be made a profitable crop if
shipped early. To grow them the I
soil requires to be rich in potash and
phosphoric acid. A three pound (
melon with one ounce “of seed, will!
contain 33 grains of potash, and 531
grains of phosphoric acid hi the first
and 16 grains in the seed.
Tlte Japan Persimmon.
Dyospyros Iyaki.
j We have received from the Rev.
j Henry Loomis of San Francisco,' Cal.
; a handsome descriptive plate bm'ld
|of the above tree and fruit. \vb°'
| plates, of every variety of the buY'
U^andsonmlvyfc^mtj^
them w Huong to grow such product-1
ions. The Rev. Dr. Nevin amission- i
ary to China and residing in Los An- j
geles says of this fruit:]
“ I may say in answer to special in
quiries concerning the Japan persim
mon that I have known it tor about
18 years and regard it as one of tfie
I finest fruit that can be found any
! where in the world. The llev. Henry
! Loomis ot San Francisco, formerly
I missionary to Japan but obliged to
! give up on account of health, is en
i gaged in importing these trees direct
! from Japan. If this iunions fruit
i dots as well in the l niied States as
i in China and Japan, extending from
: the extreme south to the cold north,
| and in ever variety of climate, and I
: can see no good reason why it should
j not, no one will ever regret having
I given space, money and lime to its
! introduction m this or any other sec
i tien of the country.
Diivrtiou* tor Pi.iiiUug lit ’ Japan
Peivdinmtms.
Tlje Japanese Persimmon requires
no special treatment. Like all <>tncr
trees, cure in planting and cultivating j
will result in a greater quantity >u.
larger and superior iruit.
It the soil is loose, make the hole !
large and deep enough to lake the
root at the natural depth without
cramping. Bet. the hole be a little
the deepest at the edge, an l highest
at the center, so that the roots will
! incline a little downward, as the tree
I rests on the bottom ot thy bed.
In heavy clay soil make the holes i
j very large and place under the trees
| a bed ot light or sandy earth, well j
j pulverized. Let all the roots be in j
! their natural position, ami it the soil 1
is likely to become very dry (as in
some parts of California), plant the
tree an inch or two deeper than it
o-rew. Put no manure, uul.-u- well
decomposed and mixed wltu oii, in
Delaud, Florida, Wedneafc January, l, 1879.
the holes, or in contact wi|7~T~
i Fill with clean, mellow if •, *777*
i some water. Tread the e *°!f ‘ ln .°
1 about the tree, and keep it/ ' m ~
mellow, allowin'. no.hio , * ro "“ 4
; near, he tree. ' ? grow
It is well to cut back \ . i
, , yhen plant.
, ng, ami .faneroots have l. . ureJ
remove the injured pan,, hh !h
knife. 1
In locations where the '
,• , , . . ;un is par
ticularly not m bummer,pi. i
a , 1 ’ce board s
hve or six' niches wide oni ~ ,
• , 3 the south
side, or enclose the trees h| soin
to protect them for one o* VQ Se '.
A !, S ht matolron4, surface
may bo used with beneficir > ,
IV . , , V i results.
'Uen not planted at cover
the roots witheartb, and !-'r)j,, e g t , ronl
■sun, air and frost. If .tMi bark ap .
pears shriveled, bury
earth for ten days before pf
J ”| anting.
aaMaawa————fat
Floridiana^
Geographical Divisions of or i^ a .
The Florida Immigrant divide j tl s ‘
into four divisions, for the pniji'xr. . ‘
venieute in locating counties ac IT',
iuif differentsections. These di' li.' 'l,' ~'’
been generally adept, ' x4T77
easteux f. v ;
i jacksokvM bmia'ton,
deft —*f-. v lll:honti. ,
I on J.yetre aml-fc'Mmltou. -A
South Florida—ls coinposeWof the
counties of Heruamlo, Suruter.Hliange
Volusia, Brevard, Polk, Hiiisboroßli, Man
atee. Monroe anti Dade.
—They have anew steanlboat on
Orange Lake called the “
—The middle Florida fair] will be
held in Tallahassee on the inst.
—The ladies of Key West intend
making a grand display of their
handiwork at the Gainesville fair.
—The Sumter county Advance en
dorses our suggestion for the great
southern caravan to the State fair.
—Heavy shipments of Oranges are
being make weekly from Tampa. The
crop on the Gulf coast, of that fruit,
has been unusually good.
—Hillsborough county will make a
! grand display of their products at
i the rotate fair. They can make a
j grand exhibit it the people will only
unite in the good work.
—The Board ot State Canvassers
has given the seat in Congress to the
Hon. Noble A. Hull, by throwing out
! Brevard and Madison counties. Hull’s
majority over Bisbee was 10.
—The Steamer St. Johns on a late
trip, was obliged to refuse freights
at Fernanditia, she being so heavily
loaded with inft and other products
troin the St. Johns river So an try.
Tue State Fair. Messrs.
Place and Farrell 01 the State fair
committee left on this morning’s train.
The committee had a meeting yester
day and arranged some important
business..
The report of the committee on
premium list and advertising was re
ceived and accepted.
Messr-. Farrell, Barnes and Spark
man, ot the local committee, were ad- !
mitted t>> full membership in the j
■ State lair committee, having been j
; elected under a former resolution.
Messrs. Farrell and Barnes being j
! present took part in tbe discussions
i oi business brought before the eom-
I mittee.
Messrs. Farrell, Barnes and Place
| were requested to make some addi
tions to the premium list, and super
vise the list of special premiums, now
j being oif-red.
A finance committee, consisting of
1 Messrs. Fan-ell, Bid well and Spark
| man p was appointed to supervise and
audit all bills for expenditures.
Col. A. L. Barnes, superintendent,
was authorized to dispose of all priv
ileges on the fairgrounds and account
to the finance committee. j
The secretary was instructed to !
correspond with leading citizens in j
every county where societies are sot |
already formed, and request them to j
organize at once and report their i
local committees at the earliest pos
sible date, in order that their iy> s
can be published in the State ?
Bulletin , and to request the atten
ance of delegations from every county
in the State. The committee ad
journed to meet at Gainesville at the
call ot the secretary.— Union.
Om - Literary Society.
This Society surpassed all previous
efforts, in the elaborate entertain
ment given last Monday evening,
j The programme was pleasingly va
j ried and many ot the selections were
■ot special merit. Everything passed
■ oft well and apparently to the entire
j satisfaction of tlie audience of about
150, judging from the frequency of
applause. -The “ Pyramid of Beau
ty ” was a charming scene of lovely
ladies and children, adorned with
tasteful wreaths of native flowers and
evergreens. The “Bridal Wine
Cup ’ was given with much dramatic
power by Miss Rowen.i Dean, in por
traying the blighting effects of intem
perance. “ Pygmalliou ar\d his'Stat
ue ” was a beautiful and classic tab
leau.; Mr. K. S. Dean as Pygmallion,
.Miss Lamb as the statue, and Mrs.
• t __i- ■- . ..I ■"■■■
sceiieT ’sustained
Bennett in a pretty cd^BJpSn^os
tume, and was well seconded by Mr.
Moon. “ Abdication and Death of
the old year ” was exceedingly well
represented by Mr. J. J. Banta, as an
old man, reclining in the midst ot
falling sheaves of ripened grain, and
the declamation on the death of the
old year was effectively given by Dr.
•Voorhis. The chorus was well rend
ered by the two Misses Dean, Miss
Ada Parcg, Dr. Harsha, Dr. Voorhis
and others. Mrs. Voorhis sang the
solo very rinei wind for an encore, a
graceful, airy Intie song; the duett
by ALis. Jordan and Mrs. Voorhis,
was well received ; the “ Old Wom
an and her Shoe, pleased
the little ones ; little Bertie Bennett
recited very prettily. ‘‘ Dorothy
Gray; ” Mr. J.N. banta, convulsed the
audience with his comic song,“ Saur
Kraut;" C’apt. Jordan brought down
the house in his felicitous illustration
oi the “ Silent Orator " in his stump
speech. Miss Bowen a Dean read
finely and feelingly “ Grandmother's
Trust; ” and little Mattie Dean, re
cited the pretty little poem, the ‘•Ca
nary ' very nicely.
The society and our c’tizens have
done themselves great credit in this
entertainment, and we understand it
is their purpose to give a still more
ambitious one in the near future.
Below is the full programme.
PROGRAMS J£.
Opening Anthem ;. .Glory to God m the
highest.
Tableau * Pyramid of Beauty.
Quartette and Ononis;... .Come to the
Mountain.
Tableau ;... .Old Woman and her shoe.
Solo; Music of the Footfall.
Mrs. Dr. Voorhis.
Charade; Bridal vV'ite Cap.
Recitation ; .Dorothy Gray.
Bertia Bennett. .
Comic Song;....' Saur Krau:.
J. N. Bauta.
Tableau .. .Pygmaliion and his statue.
Mr. Dean, Mrs. Jordan, Miss Lamb.
Pantomime ; .Silent Orator.
Cant. J. B. Jordan.
Duett;. .Mrs. Jordan and Mrs. Voorhis.
Beading : Grandmother’s Trust.
Miss ltoweua Dean.
Tableau; Coming thro’the Rye.
Mi3S Lou. Bennett, and Mr. Moon.
Recitation ; The Canary.
Mattie Dean.
Tableau ;. .Abdication of the O.d Year.
J. J.Bauta.
Declamation;. .Death of the Did Year.
Dr. M. N. Voorhis.
Finale; Home Sweet Home.
Fruitgrowing af Federal Point.
We return thanks to Mr. E. If.
Hart of Federal Point for the plants
mentioned in Iris letter, and also for
the specimens of oranges. We
placed the fruit before the .Agricultu
ral society of this place, which pro
nounced them first*class. The “ Mal
te>e Blood, and •■ Exquisite orange
were particularly due flavored, and
met with unqualified approval;, as al
so the “ Mandarin '' seedling. The
lardtS was not sufficiently ripe to
gi\e an opinion on, but enougfci to
siiow what its future would be. Mr.
Hart says ;a Ids letter r
Editor iloYtila Arjricu&urist :
According to your request, I send
y>ou by mail steamer to day'’, a few
trees of the loquat, which please nc
ccqit with compliments. I had thenv
packed on (Saturday but was prevent
ed from getting them on board by a*
sudden and violent, shower. The
guava slips are from the largest and'
best white-flushed pear guava I ever
saw. The fruit is often the size of a*
hig Bartlette pear—has few seeds, is
firm, solid, and fine for eating out off
hand, lhe earth around the roots is
a specimen of a clayey sand underly
ing a small cypress pond, four or five
feet below the surface and- looks
worthless, but a sprinkle of it on top
of the ground in my grove every
Spring, with little or no after culture
during the season.jfcraducea the best
W'fl. VI v.’ V*lLli K - Ctrtf ' l-Lite, 1
stable Viiannfe. ft-is paradoxical, but ] r
true and seems to give the lie to sci
ence. People may apply science to
the culture of orange trees, but the
latter seem one of Nature’s vagaries,
affording so many exceptions to sci
entific theories, as to defy all set
rules.-
I enclose in the box a few speci
mens of oranges, fair samples among
hundreds, that you may see what can
be produced on the much abused pal
metto fiat woods, underlaid with that
“ bug-bear,” hard pan and stiff clay,
which as Rev Mr. Moore remarks
“ is fun for the palmetto but death to
the orange.” It is time that the mis
representations about these lauds
from people who ought to know bet
ter, should cease. The trouble, if
any, lies in the way people cultivate
or rather mis-cultivate them, and not
in the lands themselves.
Y\ itli respect to the oranges, I
would say, timt the Maltese Blood a
few weeks later, acquires a brilliant
crimson blush on the cheek, and the
flesh becomes dotted with red spots.
The skin is very thin, but tough, like
leather, and seldom splits during
damp weather at the time of ripen
ing. There is an agreeable blending
o! flavors in the last drops of juice
in this orange, quite unlike the slight
bitter, that is often perceived in ex
hausting the pulp of the ordinary
sweet orange.
The Durov and the Exquisite
(both European varieties) scarcely
ever crack when ripening, owing per
haps to the toughness ot the inner
skin, while for early and profuse bear
ing they surpass many other kind's.
E. 11. Hart. 7'
Federal Paint, Fla., Dec-. CO. 1878.
New Plants Introduced.
A. J. Bidwell ot Arlington Nurse*
ties, Jacksonville Fla., has just im
ported a variety of tropical plants
ne vto the State. Among them is
the Ananassa JTordtiina , anew vari
ety of pine apple, said to be able to
withstand nine degrees of frost.
Steamship Lartingtou, bound irom
Savannah to Bermuda with a cargo of
cotton, went ashore near that island
on the loth. of. last monih. Only
1,000 of the 4,000 bales were saved.
No. 34