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March A. D. 1876.
DEAR SIR :-With the view of establishing a
pleasant Winter Resort in Florida, combining
the advantages of society and all the comforts
of a home, at reasonable cost, with beautiful
scenery and the benefits to be derived from the
(ultiret .oAht'*r*(Myig g J hao'&. iftey com-
pleted the purchase of one of 'the most beauti-
ful and desirably located pieces of real estate
in East Florida.
It is situated in Marion Cotnty, on the
south side of Orange Lake, near the largest
orange groves.in Florida, some of which,,cn-
tain nany thouSdnd trees. 'is, tract Idn s
0o res < dBr it is hI k 44at
tiful, a part of it being 75 feet high above 'the
waters of Orange Lake, affording an extensive
view over the lake and surrounding country.
The soil is of the kind best adapted to the
culture of the orange, being a rich dark loam,
with a substratum of clay and marl.
'Thie orange "g/obv9 HlJ cbqilt I f 16 acres of
land. each acre of which 'tf be pInted with
orange trees at the rate of ioo trees on each
acre, makilng'ih the entire grove i5,6oo trees.
This gi-ove will be put into a joint stock
* ACmpany unde' 'ihe laws of Florida, (under
which investors in joint stock companies are
not responsible beyond the amount, of their
subscription for stek).rmthe sum of $31,o00.
There will he ,56 shares in the company of
$2ao each. Shares will be sold on the follow-,
ing terms: $o5 cash on' each share, and thr
balance in five years at eight per cent. interest.
Payments, mayhe made annually or semi-an.
nually, t. the option of the shareholder.
There will be ten. semi-annual payments of the
balance due on shares sold to.shareholders who
desire to make semi-annual payments, and will
be in the following sums, viz : $21.00, $20.40,
$19 8o, $I9.20, $18.6o, $r8.oo, $17.40, $i6.8o,
$x6.zo, and $15.60. There will be five annual
payments of the balance due on shares sold to
shareholders who desire to make annual pay-
mentis, in the following sums, viz: $42.oo,
$39.6o, $37.20, $34.80, $32.40. These sums
will be forwarded by shareholders when they
are due by P. O0 orders to the President of the
Board of Trustees. The first payment may be
made to the cashier of any National Bank or
agent of any responsible express company, and
certificates of stock will be forwarded by the
Board of Trtstees.
The value of shares in this company will in-
cmiase at te rate of io0 per cent. annually.
Orange trees begin to bear on the third year
afterthey ard budded and young groves just be-
gipning to bear are worth $zSoo per acre. A
grove in full bearing will yield a crop worth at
least PioPo. per acre yearly, and.are rarely for
sale at any price.
Toishow. what may be done in orange cul-
ture, I will make a few statements of the result
ofrithe experience of the following ngnted gen-
tlkiehmeall of'whom are too wire knmoMn for
truthfulness to be questioned.
Mr. Jeffords, of Marion county, after the
war found himself with a large plantation, but
minus his negroes to work it, with a summer
residence on the Gulf of Mexico. On less than
an acre of land around the house at this place
there were 83 orange trees that had never before
been looked upon as having any considerable
value, and they had not been cared for for sev-
eral years; but now Mr. Jeffords thought this
orange crop should be turned to account and
after using what his family required he sent to
market $x6oo from these 83 trees. Thus from
less than an acre of land on which stood his
house and orange trees he has a considerable
income.
In Mr. Vogt's orange grove in Marion coun-
ty, are two twenty-two year old orange trees
which have the following dimensions: both are
35 feet high, the circumference of the trunks
two feet above the ground are, one 4 feet 7
inches, the other 5 feet 6 inches. The branches
form a circumference of 81 feet. These trees
each bore a crop of 5000 oranges during the
year 1875.
Mrs. Simmons in the Orange Lake region
has a tree 24 years old, it has borne 17 crops
and the last crop was worth $65.
General J. M. Commandu near Orange Lake
region, has several large trees in his grove, from
one of which he picked 3300 oranges, for which
he got two cents each.
Mrs. Thigpin has a tree in her grove 5 miles
from Palatka that is 27 years old, it has borne"
5
x9 crops, is two feet in circumference around
the trunk two feet from the ground, and this
year she sold 4300 oranges from it at two cents
each, and she said her family had used a good
many before the crop was picked.
Professor Stowe at Mandarin, showed us a
tree that he had budded 6 years ago, and he
estimated the crop on it when we were looking
at it at about 2500 oranges.
Mrs. Forward, of Palatka, has a tree the crop
of which she has sold for $105. This was the
crop of 1874.
I am credibly informed that Colonel H. L.
Hart of Palatka, derives an income yearly of
$2ooo per acre from his orange grove. Col. F.
L. Dancey and Dr. Mays of Orange Mills, on
the St, John's river, do full as well from their
groves.
With these facts before us there is. no room
for a reasonable doubt that with proper man-
agement of the affairs of this company, the
shares would increase in'value very rapidly,
and, as the shareholder pays only eight per
cent. interest on the balance due on his shares,
if the increase in value of the shares should be
as great as may reasonably. be expected, his
investment will begin to be profitable imme-
diately, and as the certificates of shares will be
transferable, it is probable that any holder of
several shares can, after the first year, sell half
his shares for as much as all of them cost him.
The orange grove will be cared for after the
trees are planted out by some competent and
responsible person, and a small Tmorithly assess-
6
ment, say $i per month for six months each
year, will be made by the directors of the
company for this purpose.
After the organization of the company no
share shall be exposed for sale to any one not a
member of the company until the members, of
the company have had the refusal thereof.
This land is deeded to a Board of Trustees,
all the members of which are among the best
and most responsible gentlemen in the State of
Florida; they will hold it in trust for the
shareholders until the company is organized,
which will be by vote of the shareholders, when
the Board of Trustees will turn all matters re-
lating to the affairs of the company over to the
Directors of said company, and all matters be-
longing to me shall be turned ovef to the.
A prompt payment of instalments due on
shares and of assessments for care of trees will
be required, failing in which, shares of delin-
quents will be sold after due notice.
Transplanting will commence immediately,
on the sale of shares and all the trees shall be
transplanted by the Ist of June.
This enterprise is especially adapted to those
who desire to have orange groves in Florida,
but find it inconvenient to break up business at
home and go to Florida and wait for the orange
trees to hear fruit.
It may be said without fear of successful con-
tradiction that no other-branch of regular legit-
imate business, either agriculture, commerce,
mercantile or manufacturing, can show the
high degree of success that has attended the
orange business in Florida. Its per centage of
profits goes far ahead of the most favored min-
ing, bank or railroad stocks, and is incompar-
ably more regular in its annual returns.
When compared with life insurance this en-
terprise will be seen to have decided advan-
tages; for in this, after a few years, the share-
holder receives an income annually during life,
which is greater than the sum his family would
receive from a life insurance company at his
death, for a much larger sum invested with
them. Then too, a considerable sum must be
paid yearly to an insurance company during
life, while in this enterprise the payments are
inconsiderable after the first year, and in four
years cease altogether; at that time the orange
crop from the trees will be in value more than
enough to pay all dues and annually increasing
thereafter.
A railroad has already been graded from
Waldo on the Fernandina and Cedar Keys
road, past Orange Lake towards Tampa Bay,
and this road will be built and ready for busi-
ness probably to transport the orange crop of
this year to market. This will insure transpor-
tation within forty rods of this grove.
The telegraph wire of the International
Ocean Company passes through this land and
a telegraph station will be established here due-
ing the summer of 1876, and a.daily vnail will
be arranged for immedisael'f. I ,
On the -highest point of land on the south
side of Orange lAke which is an tiiq tract,
and overlooking the waters oT the4ake, And the
large orange groves oni its Ibanks
rounding country for mile~,fotwu
have been reserved forra hotel iitei l
will be a separate inmestmeant'irft thef
grove, but it designed is 'a homp 'for
the shareholders in the grove who M iny
posed to invest in .it. :It is' etimM
$8ooo would build a hotel of forty
will be built on the sat of Novemb, i
and will be put into shares of ~p l
all .subscriptions to st !,in ho~a mo
on ist September; ti to the Board o.
tees appointed to at aterustees for thep
grove company- One isare iin hotiro1
its holder to areoo il the hotel *id
will be required Wl pary tabliboad,
Land for loottaps adjacent: o the gr
be purchased at reasonable rates and i
will be6'raished for Sul per rhodaAnd, I.
Tab1,lrud&wmill be furnisht*
thoie4i in bettages ,widr IbWtsi may
it adi Udehfte ioet. ; *
fj p -are disposed to, make .an efft rto i
shares; I will beipleaiedl to hear from youa .
will send you whatuer further infornattionu
may require. Respectfully Yra,2 .' .
S* 7 I .. .. ,! :..-
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