Citation
Florida quarterly bulletin of the Agricultural Department

Material Information

Title:
Florida quarterly bulletin of the Agricultural Department
Uniform Title:
Avocado and mango propagation and culture
Tomato growing in Florida
Dasheen its uses and culture
Report of the Chemical Division
Alternate title:
Florida quarterly bulletin, Department of Agriculture
Alternate title:
Florida quarterly bulletin of the Department of Agriculture
Creator:
Florida -- Dept. of Agriculture
Place of Publication:
Tallahassee Fla
Publisher:
s.n.
Publication Date:
Frequency:
Quarterly
Monthly[ FORMER 1901- Sept. 1905]
regular
Language:
English
Physical Description:
v. : ill. (some fold) ; 23 cm.

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Agriculture -- Periodicals -- Florida ( lcsh )
Agricultural industries -- Statistics -- Periodicals -- Florida ( lcsh )
Genre:
serial ( sobekcm )
periodical ( marcgt )

Notes

Dates or Sequential Designation:
-v. 31, no. 3 (July 1, 1921).
General Note:
Description based on: Vol. 19, no. 2 (Apr. 1, 1909); title from cover.
General Note:
Many issue number 1's are the Report of the Chemical Division.
General Note:
Vol. 31, no. 3 has supplements with distinctive titles : Avocado and mango propagation and culture, Tomato growing in Florida, and: The Dasheen; its uses and culture.

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University of Florida
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University of Florida
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This item is presumed to be in the public domain. The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries respect the intellectual property rights of others and do not claim any copyright interest in this item. Users of this work have responsibility for determining copyright status prior to reusing, publishing or reproducing this item for purposes other than what is allowed by fair use or other copyright exemptions. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions may require permission of the copyright holder. The Smathers Libraries would like to learn more about this item and invite individuals or organizations to contact Digital Services (UFDC@uflib.ufl.edu) with any additional information they can provide.
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FLORIDA


QUARTERLY


BULLETIN

0F THE

AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT



-APRIL 1, 1911


B. E. McLIN

COMVIISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE TALLAHASSEE, FLA.



Part I--Articles on Sois and the Growing of Various
Crops in Florida.
Part 2--Crop Acreages and Conditions. Part 3--Fertilizers, Feed Stuffs and Foods and Drugs. Entered .hnuary 31,1903, at Tallahassee Florida. as second-class matter
under Act of Congress of June, 1900.

TiESE BULLETINS ARE ISSUED FREE TO THOSE REQUESTING THErM


T. J. A PPLEYA RD, State Printer
Tails hassle, Fla.

.'-- )


VOLUME 21


NUMBER











COUNTY MAP OF STAT E OF FLORIDA
























PART 1.


ARTICLES ON SOILS AND THE GROWING OF
VARIOUS CROPS IN FLORIDA.
















GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF
FLORIDA SOILS.


This article is necessarily general in scope and is intended to supply information on this important subject in a brief way to those seeking such information before coming to this State to make new homes. With no funds for immigration purposes, we are limited to small space in the Bulletin to supply that which every proposed immigrant wants and should have, and which we cannot gyve in any other way.
The average soil of Florida is sandy, mixed with more or less clay, lime and organic matter. The greater portion of the lands may be designated as pine lands, because of the pine timber which predominates. There are lands on which the timber is a mixture of pine, white oak, red oak, water oak, live oak, gum, bay, hickory, magnolia, cabbage palmetto, etc.; these lands are termed 1iixed hammock lands.
The general classification of soils is in the following order: First, second and third rate pine lands, and high hammock, low hammock and swampy lands.
The pine lands cover much the larger portion of the State, and the soil is apparently all sand, lut such is not the case; over a greater portion of the State this sand is thoroughly mixed with small particles of shells, which contain carbonate of lime, other minerals and decomposed, finely granulated vegetable matter. It is true that Florida has her proportion of poor lands, just as have all other States and countries, but compared with some other States the ratio is very small. With the exception of a very small area of supposedly irreclaimable swamp lands, there is scarcely an acre in the entire State which cannot be made, under the wonderful influence of her
1-Bul












tropical climate, to pay tribute to man's energy. Lands which, in a more northerly climate, would be utterly worthless, will, in Florida, for the reasons above stated, yield valuable productions.

FIRST-CLASS PINE LANDS.

First-class pine land in Florida is wholly unlike anything found in any other State. Its surface is usually covered for several inches deep with a dark vegetable mould, beneath which to the depth of several feet is a chocolate-colored sandy loam, mixed for the most part with limestone pebbles and resting upon a substratum of marl, clay or limestone rock. The fertility and durability or this character of land may be estimated front the well-known fact that in the older settled districts this kind of soii has been cultivated for as many as twenty years successfully in corn or cotton without a pound of any sort of fertilizer, and are still as iproductive as ever; practically, then, these lands are inde. structible. It is on this class of lands that both truck and fruit growing is most successful, and which produces the finest quality of Sea Island cotton. It is also tine farming land and yields good crops under ordinary mjethods of cultivation. By the growing of leguminous plants, these soils and all other pine lands can be continually kept in a high stale of fertility.

SLcoNn-CLASS PINE LANDS.

The second-class pine lands, which make up the largest portion of lands, are practically all productive. They are not hilly, but for the most part undulating in their surface. In some places, however, these elevations amount to hills. Some of these hills in Hernando County are regarded among the highest points in the State. Underlying the surface of clay, marl, lime rock and sand. These lands, from their accessibility and productiveness, the











facility of fertilizing with cattle penning and the impression of their greater healthfulness than hammock lands, have induced their enclosure and tillage, when the richer hammock lands were near by, but more difficult to prepare for cultivation.
Some of these lands have no regular compact clay under them, or, at least, not in reach of plant roots. This fact is taken frequently as an evidence against them, since the popular prejudice is decidedly in favor of a clay subsoil, This objection, if it really be one, is taken for more than it is worth, for clay proper, or alluminum, as the chemists call it, is not food for plants. Its uses to the plant are purely mechanical. It serves as a reservoir for the storage of moisture in times of drought, as well as to hold firmly the roots of the growing trunk, but not to feed the hungry or thirsty plant. Sometimes it has been found in slall quantities in the ash of woods, but this is because the rootlets take up more or less of whatever salts are in solution about them, and clay has been taken up in this way, just as poisons may be taken up; for trees are sometimes killed by pouring poisonous liquids about their roots, but clay never makes any part of the organium of plants, nor is it numbered among the ele ments which contribute to their growth.
Also a well-established fact as to the value of a clay subsoil is! that without its presence the applied fertilizers will leach through and be lost. The fertilizers used are generally lighter than the soils to which they are applied, or fihai1 the w ater coming down from the clouds. As the rains fall some of these fertilizers are carried down, after a time of drought; as the soil fills they are borne upward again by the waters to the surface, and both as fhiey go down and coie up, whether they be liquid or gaseous, the humus of soils has a strong absorbing affinity for them and readily appropriates and retains their for the uses of the plant when the superabundance of water has passed away. But if the soil is not filled to











,the surface, so as to bring back directly any fertilizer in solution that was carried down, it is safer there in the subsoil than on the steep hillsides of clay, where what is applied is frequently carried away by he floods, together wilh fhe soil, to the vales below. Whereas, what has gone down in the porous soil is brought back by the capillary attraction of the surface soil in time of drought to the reach of the growing crop. One of tlhe uses of drought is that it thus brings up from the subsoil, with he assistance of shallow cultivation, any mineral food 1hat may be there to where it will be in reach of the gO'owillg crop.
Iluf light, sandy soils, though they may produce freely at lust, soon1 give way, and this fact, for frequently it is

a fact, is regarded as conclusive as against loose (11d poroius sibsoils, whereas it only proves that these light soils were not su flicienlly supplied with humus and the liwiled Si 1ly soon exhausted. Such lands can easily be reslred to their original ferrlity by the use of leguToh1i0lls plants, roIat ion of crops and careful cultivation; in fact, by such means they can be vastly improved over ili', original condition.

TiiIRi)-CLASS PINE LANDS.

Even the lands of tie "third rate," or most inferior class, are by no means worthless under the climate of Florida. This class of lands may be divided into two orders; the one comprising high, rolling, sandy districts, which are sparsely covered with a stunted growth of "black jack" and pine, and, near the lower east coast, scrub hickory and gualberry shrubs. It is also on much similar soils along the east coast that the finest pineapples are produced; the other embracing low, flat swampy regions, which are frequently studded with "bay gauls," and are occasionally inundated, but which are covered with luxuriant vegetation, and very generally with considerable quantities of valuable timber. The for-












mer of these, it is now ascertained, is also well adapted to the growth of Sisal Hemp, which is a valuable tropical production. This plant (the Agave Sisalana), and the Agave -Mexicana, also known as Maguey, the Pulque Plant, 11e Century Plant, etc. have both been introduced into Florida, and they have both grown in great perfection on the poorest lands of the country. As these plat ts derive their chief support from the atmosphere, they will, like the common air plant, preserve their vitality for many months when left out of the ground.
The second order of the third-rate pine lands are not entitel y worthless, as these lands afford fine cattle ranges and in some localities large tracts of timber adapted to the manufacture of naval stores and milling purposes.
Just here we feel that it is not out of place to say a few words concerning the topography and influence of these lands on the health of the inhabitants thereon. A general. feature in the topography of Florida, which no other country in the United States possesses, and which affords great security to the health of its inhabitants, is that the pine lands which form the basis of the country, and which are almost universally healthy, are nearly everywhere studded, at intervals of a few miles, with hammock lands of the richest quality. These hammocks are not, as is generally supposed, low, wet lands; they never require ditching or draining, they vary in extent from a few acres to many thousand acres; hence, the inhabitants have it everywhere in their power, when desired, to select residences in the pine lands, at such convenient distances from the hammocks as will enable theta to cultivate the latter without endangering their health, if it should so happen that the hanunock lands appeared to be less healthy than the pine lands.
Experience in Florida has satisfactorily shown that residences only half a mile distant from cultivated hammocks are entirely exempt from malarial disease, and those who cultivate these hammocks and retire at night












to pine land residences maintain perfect health. Indeed, it is found that residences in the hammocks themselves are generally perfectly healthy after they have been one or two years cleared. Newly cleared lands are sometimes attended with the development of more or less malaria, a fact that, under similar conditions, is no more peculiar to Florida than any other Staie. In Florida the diseases "which result from these ,1Narings ore generally of the mildest type of bilions fever.
The topographical feature hee no ed, namely ; a general interspersion of rieh hiaiimnocks, surrounded 1 high, dry, rollhi!g heca hy pine woods, is an i a . a: which no other Slat iI i l.ion enjoys; 111(1 Floridla forms, in this respect, a strikig contrasi vi-i h soire other Southern Stes whose sag or an( (1 l(on lands are generally surrounded bv vast .al tuvial regions, subject to frequent inundations, so thai if is imlpiosi!,,/e to obtain, within many miles or them, a heal liy residence.
At first thought it wold eein improbable to many people that the malarial diseases of Florida (abounding in these ricl hainimock lands and exposed to a tropical sun), should so generally be of a much milder form than those which prevail in more northern latitudes. But Such, however, is the fact. It is suggested, in expilanation of t1his fact, 1hat t he UXIirmtian ve-etation which, in the Southern and Midldlo Stales, passes through all the stages of decomposilon, is, in Florida, generally dried up before it reaches the stage of decomposition, and that, consequiently, the uaniity of aialaria generated is much less than in climates more favorable to decomposition. This view is strengthenel 1by the fct that the soil of Florida is, almost everywhere, of so pocons and absorbent a character that moisture is seldom long retained on its surface, that its atmosphere is in constant motion, and that there is more clear sunshine than in the more northern States. It is further suggested that the uniform prevalence of sea breezes, and the constant motion of the











atmosphere in the Peninsula, tends so nich to diffuse and attenuate whatever malaria is generated that it will general produce only the mildest form of malarial diseases, such as intermittent fever.
The lands which in Florida are universally denominated "rich lands" are. first, the "swamp lands;" second, the "low hammock lands;" third, the "high
hammncks." and fourth, the "first rate pine, oak and hickorv lands."
SWA\MP L.\NI)S.


The swIm1, 'inds are. unqiestioni hly, ihe 0 ost durable rich hands in Ilie State. Theyv are lie most recently formed lands, and are st ill annually receiving additions to their surface. They ae iaitrinsitalh lie roi valuable lands, because they are as fertile as ihe ha murocks at d more durable. They are alluvial in character and occuI,. n tual depressions, or basins, which have gradually filled up by deposits of vegetable debris, etc., washed ". fron the adjacent and higher lands. Drainage is in dispensable to all of them in their preparation for suecessful cullivation. Properly prepared, how ever, their inexhaustible fertility sustains a succession of he most exhausting crops with astonishing vigor. These lands have been known to produce as much as (600 gallons of syrup, or about 5,000 pounds of sugar, per acre, without fertilizer. We mention sugar cane in t is connection as showing the fertility of the soil, because it is known to be one of the most exhausting crops' It is not, however, quile fair to make this the measure of fertility of similar lands situated in different climates and countries, for we find on the richest lands in the State of Louisiana, the product of sugar is little more than about half what it is in Florida.
But this great disparity in the product of these countries is acounted for, not by any inferiority in the landiv of Louisiana or Texas, but by the fact that the early











visitations of frosts in both these States render it necessary to cut the cane in October, which is long before it has reached maturity, while in Florida it is permitted to stand, without fear of frost, till the last of November or December, or till such time as it is fully matured. It is well known that it "tassels" in South Florida, and it never does so in either Louisiana or Texas. When cane "tassels," it is evidence of its having reached full maturity. In consequence of the considerable outlay of capital required in the preparation of this description of land for cultivation, and from the facility formerly existing for obtaining hammock land, which requires no ditching or draining, swamp land has been but little sought after by persons engaged in planting in Florida until in recent years; now, however, there is a great and ever-increasing demand for these lands by individuals and incorporated companies, thus suddenly recognizing their immense productive value.
The greater part of what are known as swamp lands proper are mostly located in East and South Florida, although there are numerous and quite extensive bodies in North, Middle and West Florida.

THE EVERGLADES.

While the soils of this region differ little in their general characteristics, from the swamp lands above considered, still, owing to their prominence as such and as the greatest reclaulation undertaking in recent times, also their unique geographical position, we submit a brief description under their own heading. These lands are being rapidly and successfully drained by the State. as well as by private and corporate owners.
"The Everglades of Florida cover an area of about 4,000 square miles, embracing more than half of the portion of the State south of Lake Okeechobee. The subsoil of this vast region is a coraline limestone. * * * Upon this surface lies an immense accumulation of sand,











alluvial deposits and decayed vegetable matter, forming a mass of sand and mud from two feet to ten feet or more in depth, that overspreads all but a few points of the first strata."
"Upon tie mud rests a sheet of water, the depth varying with the conformation of the bottom, but seldom at drv seasons greater than three feet. The whole is filled with rank growth of coarse grass, eight or ten feet high, having a serrated edge like a saw, from which it obtains its name of 'Saw Grass.' "
In many portions of the Everglades the saw grass is so thick as to be almost impenetrable, but it is intersected by numerous and tortuous channels that form a kind of labyrinth, where outlets present themselves in every direction, however, terminating at long or short distanles in apparently impenetrable barriers of -rass. The surface of water is quickly affected by rain, the alternate rising and falling during the wet seasons being rapid. The difference of level between highest and lowest stages of water is from two to three feet. The general surface of the Everglades was thus subject to great changes prior to the inauuncalion of the system of drainage now so successfully under way. Small keys, or, in reality, hammocks, are here and there met with, which are dry at all seasons; upon them the soil is very rich. There are many such. Undoubtedly 1hey were often made the site of Indian gardens.
Laige areas, covering many square miles, which but a few years ago were marshes covered with saw grass and rushes, aie now op( meadows. drv all seasons, excepting the rainv months, affording pesitre for mnmiy thousand heads of cattle. The fall or rapids at the heads of all streans running from the Glades have receded towards the center of the Glades and Lake Okeechobee several miles.
The Florida Everglades at present may be described as a wet prairie, being a strip of land about one hundred











and fifty miles long by fifty-five miles wide, and lying between the pine and swamp lands which have grown over two reef's of rock running parallel with each other from North to South. No rivers penetrate into the Glades beyond fhese rock reefs on either sife and the land is very level, being composed chiefly of muck and sand lying in a basin with a rock bottom. The annual rainfall over this territory averages nearly sixty inches. It has for this reason, and because this rainfall has no other outlet over these reefs, been and is too wet for cultivation. The muck which overlies the sand and rock varies from about two feet on the edge ot tl,e Glades to a depth of twenty feet in the middle, and would average over the whole territory a depih of befv.-en six and eight feot. The land is free from trees and Si m)s 'Ind almost free from bushes; ihe iem of lea inz -ing oft no consideration whatever, simply requiring mewing downii the grass and burning it, wheo lhe soil is ready to be tilled, as soon as the excess water is mi off by the drainage canals.
The soil, as compared with other portions of the country, taking into consideration its natural richness, location and climate, is more valuable for agricultural purposes than any that is known, being particularly adapted to the growth of cane, cotton, Irish potatoes, celery, toinatoes, cabbage, turnips, beets, onions and, in fact, any crop will grow well on these lands except such as require a colder climate.
The composition of the soil being almost entirely decomposed vegetable matter, is rich in nitrogen, but lacking to a great extent in the mineral constituents necessary to make a perfect soil consequently, phosphoric acid and potash will have to be supplied in varying quantities for a majority of crops, in some of these muck soils, especially where rock or clay is absent or too far below the surface to exert any appreciable influence. With these additions, when necessary, however, these soils will, without doubt, be the most productive in this country,











and the equal of any in the world. Without the addition of the chemical fertilizers mentioned, these soils will not equal in productiveness the first grade of swamp lands.

Low HATIMOCKS.

Low hammocks, which are practically swamp lands, are not inferior to swamp lands proper, in fertility, but are considered not quite so desirable. They are mostly level, or nea rly so, and have a soil of greater tenacity than that of the high hammocks. Some ditching is necessary in ianv of them. The soil in them is always deep. These tapds are also extremely well adapted to the growth of cane, corn and, in fact, all vegetable crops, nor are these soils as subject to the effects of prolonged drought as higher lands. There is not nearly so large a proportion of low hammock as there is of swamp lands.

HIGH IJAM MOCKS.

High hammocks are the lands in greatest favor in Florida. These (lifter from low hamocks in occupying higher ground and in generally presenting an undulating surface. They are formed of .a fine vegetable mould, mixed with a sandy loam, in many places several feet deep, and resting in most cases on a substratum of clay, marl or limestone. It will be readily understood by anyone at all acquainted with agriculture that such a soil, in such a climate as Florida, must be extremely productive. The soil scarcely ever suffers from too much wet, nor does drought affect it in the same degree as other lands, owing to its clay subsoil. High hammock lands produce with but little labor of cultivation all the crops of the country in an eminent degree. Such lands have no tendency to break up in heavy masses, nor are they infested with weeds.
To sum up its advantages, it requires no other preparation than clearing and plowing to fit it at once for the











greatest possible production of any kind of crop adapted to the climate. In unfavorable seasons it is much more certain to produce a good crop than any other kind of land, from the fact that it is less affected by exclusively dry or wet weather. It can be cultivated with much less labor than any other lands, being remarkably melow, and its vicinity is generally high and healthy. These reasons are sufficient to entitle it to the estimation in which it is held over all other lands.
Some of the counties in Middle Florida, Gadsden, Leon, Madison and Jefferson, and Jackson, Holmes and Washington Counties, in West Florida, have large areas of fine high hammock land, underlaid with a stiff clay. These are the best lands of the State for the growth of shortstaple cotton and are, indeed, the cream of the State for general farming purposes. They are of the earliest formation of the Florida lands. As before stated, areas of these lands in varying extent are found in every section of the State, in almost every county.
Some of the largest bodies of rich hammock land in East Florida are to be found in Levy, Alachua, Columbia, Marion, Hernando, Citrus, Pasco and Sumter Counties. There are in Levy county alone not less than one hundred thousand acres of the very best description of lands adapted to sugar cane culture, and there is but a small proportion of any of the counties, here mentioned, that will not produce remunerative crops of short-staple and Sea Island cotton without the aid of manure.
The first rate pine, oak and hickory lands are found in pretty extensive bodies in many parts of the State. From the fact that these lands can be cleared at much less expense than the swamp and hammock lands, they have generally been preferred by the small farmers and have proved remarkably productive.

I)nAIIE LANDS.

There are, besides the lands already noticed, extensive











tracts of prairie lands, which approximate in character, texture of the soil, and period and mode of formation, to the swamp lands, differing only in being practically destitute of timber. Some of these lands are, however, extremely poor and non-productive, owing mostly to a substrata of hardpan, clay, which is impervious to moisture and impenetrable alike to the roots of fruit trees or plants. When the liardpan comes as near to the surface as, say, seven or eight feet, the growing of citrus fruit trees is not advisable. When it comes no nearer than, say, four feet, and surface drainage is good, vegetable growing can be made successful with proper cultivation and frtilization. The most of these lands afford excellent pastures during ilie grealer part of the year. In fact, it is lhis class of' lands that make up the great- cattle ranges of Ilie State, on which hundreds of thou-;ands of cattle thrive the year around. These lands are found in tracls of varying extent in every section of the State, but in Southern Florida, in Southern Hillsborough County; in Manatee, in the great Myaka River prairie region, in southern Polk County, and in ])eSoto, Osceola, Brevard and v.ee Counies, which include the Alifia, Kissimmee and Caloosahatchie River valleys, is found the greatest grazing region east of the Mississippi River. The climate is perfect, never cold enough to kill the grasses, which grow as green in January as in June, and where water is in bountiful supply at all seasons of the year.

EASE Or CULTIVATION.

Perhaps the most attractive feature peculiar to the soils of Florida is the ease with which they can be cultivated as compared with stiff, heavy soils of other States, while quite as fertile. Another is that the greater part of the farm labor and tillage can be, and much of it is, performed during those months of the year when the ground further north is frozen. Still another peculiarity is, fiat fertilizers can be applied to greater advantage,









is

because the fertilizing material will remain in the soil until the stimulating chemical ingredients are assimilated and absorbed into the earth and are not carried away by washing rains, as they are in broken or mountainous countries, and also because the porosity of the soil enables the atmosI)here, through oxidization, more readily to aid the fertilizers in the work of decomposing the minerals of the soil, thus setting free the food elements they contain for the use of the growing crops.













TIE CITRUS GROVE, ITS LOCATION AND CULTIVATION.



By P. H. PAOLFS, M. S.

Director Florida Agricultaral Experiment Station, and
State Superintcndent of 1'armers' ]nst4tutes,
University of Florida, Gainesville.



CITRUS CULTURE.

CHOOSING A LOCATION.

The character of Florida soils is variable to a considerable extent. Even in the same vicinity various kinds of soils may occur. These vary fron a clay to loamy, sandy, and marly soils. Some of them, also, are muck soils.
Clay Soil is one of the best for citrus-growing when it is found in a warm region. Less fertilizer is required and the trees are productive, bearing an unusually fine quality of fruit if the soil is properly handled.
Loam lig Soil.-This is the character of the soil that is most largely employed for citrus-growing and with best results Elsewhere this soil might be referred to ab sandy loam. It contains a considerable admixture of clay and organic inatter. with a large body of sand.
Sandy Soil, or sandy land as it is often called, is usually free from a perceptible admixture of either vegetable matter or clay. For the most part it tends to be lacking in water and fertilizer-holding power. When it is almost pure sand it appears white, and is usually considered an unfavorable soil.
Marly Soils occur in some sections. After a considerable amount of humus has been worked into the stiff











marl, they make good soils for citrus trees. In their original state, the marly soils are apt to produce an indifferent growth in the young trees, usually causing them to suffer more or less from dieback. scale insects, and other such disorders. This condition, however, passes off as the soil becomes more thoroughly tilled and has more vegetable matter incorporated in it.
Mi cl Soils are not the ideal soils upon which to plant citrus trees, since they are inclined to be sour, to produce an exuberant growth, and for a number of years to give rough and imperfect fruit. After muck lands have been cultivated for a number of years and brought into a thorough state of tilth, they produce excellent crops of citrus fruits, unless the miucks remain raw in form and contain a considerable amount of huinic acid.

TiE NATURAL GROWVT As AN INDEX.

TL~amiolc.-It is in our native hanmmocks that te wild citrus groves occur. In some regions thousands of trees have been transplanted from these old native groves to higher lands. In other places the hammocks were cleaned up, leaving the orange seedlings standing, to be budded over to the better varieties. These wild trees were always found to be the sour orange. At the present time the hammock lands are regarded as the ideal ones for citrus culture. The great cost necessary to clear these up thoroughly has in many eases deterred people from making use of them.
Rolling Pinc.-The higher pine lands, more or less rolling, upon which long-leaf pine trees are growing, give us some of the best citrus lands we have in the State. These lands are easily cleared, and quickly brought into service for setting out to citrus trees. They are usually sufficiently drained naturally to permit the citrus groves to grow off promptly and produce a lot of fine fruit. They are less desirable than the hammocks, on account of requiring a larger amount of fertilizer to bring the trees











into bearing. After years of cropping, however, they will require little or no more fertilizer than the adjacent hammocks.
Jabb(ge Panlctto Hanin ock.-These hammocks differ from the hammocks proper in that they are usually more or less covered wvith water for a part of the year. The cabbage palmetto is the predominating tree. Wherever the land is high enough above the adjacent water, these lands may be droined and brought into service for citrus culture. Whien properly handled, they make among our best -itrus groves.
Sl'l ainiock.-These differ from the other forms of hammock in Ihalt the soil is composed, to a greater or less degree, of shell. The trees usually grow off pIromptly and make a good showing, but sooner or later are apt to be affected sen'erelv with dieback; and while in many cases most excellent fruit is raised on shell hammocks the -y require a special and careful treatment. This character of land may safely be used by those who are expert in handling ciltrus tl'ees.
Drained Lands.-Lake beds and other lands, sometimes called prairie, that are high enough to permit of thorough drainage, have been used to a considerable extent for planting to citrus. In lese lands it is purely a question as to whether they are sufficiently high to permit of thorough drainage during the rainy portion of the year.
Pinc LanJ, With Oak Undcrgrowth.-Some of the pine land, frequently called second grade pine land, especially that which has a considerable undergrowth of scrub oaks, must be looked upon with some suspicion. Where clay is found willfin two or three feet from the surface, this character of soil can be safely employed for locating a citrus grove, but where the sand is very deep it will be preferable to choose a location elsewhere.
Fl athoods.-This character of land is usually level and more or less covered with water during the rainy season. As a rule, a hardpan occurs from a few inches to a few
2-Eul












feet below the surface. This prevents rapid and thorough drainage. Saw palmettoes are usually absent or scattered on this character of land. The predominating undergrowth is gallberry. By hardpan, we should understand a more or less impervious stratum occurring in the soil at a depth of a few inches or a few feet. It obstructs the passage of water downward, and also obstructs the downward progress of the roots, causing the soil to become water-logged during the rainy period, and probably very dry during a period of drought. This hardpan may be made up of various matters, either calcareous, siliceous or ferruginous. The cementing material usually breaks up and lets the sand fall apart when exposed to the air. If the hardpan is of a ferruginous nature, it is more or less poisonous to citrus trees. Various methods have been adopted for bringing into cultivation land that has a hardpan under it. Sometimes this hardpan has been broken through by means of plowing. In such cases the hardpan was near the surface and in a thin layer. In other cases, the surface soil has been mounded up so as to put the trees on ridges. In a few cases the hardpan has been broken by discharging dynamite under the trees. Iron salts as they normally occur in the soil have a yellowish or reddish color. Where these colors occur, the darker colored iron hardpans are not likely to be present, consequently it is sometimes concluded that a reddish or yellow soil indicalcs one especially favorable for agricultural purposes. These flatwoods lands, when thoroughly and deeply drained and the hardpan broken, make a fair place for producing citrus fruit.
Spruce-Piae Land.-The spruce-pine land, as well as the scrub-oak land, should not be employed for citrusgrowing at the present time. Splendid citrus orchards occur on lands of this kind, but they have been brought out by experts and at the cost of much more than would have been necessary on lands better adapted for citrusgrowing. In addition to this, these lands produce trees that are subject to many disorders.












SITE OF TiE GROVE.

Immediately upon deciding that one wishes to plant a grove, he should select the best site that can be procured. A great many questions arise in determining where a grove shall be located. A few of these are discussed below.
Distaeac From Transportation Linc.- The ultimale object being The selling of fruit at a remunerative figure, it becomes necessary to locate a grove within a reasonable dislanice of some line of railroad or water Iransportation. The distance which it will be profitable to transpoil fruit by wagon will depend largely upon the condition of the roads.
Another determining factor in the matter is the cost of the land. A grove of moderate-sized trees, heavily loaded, should produce a thousand boxes of oranges to the acre. Allowing fifty boxes to a load, this would require twenty trips to the transportation station. If a grove were located lhree miles away from lhe station, it would probably take (Ie man with a two-horse team six days to haul this fruit. If located one-half that instance, . it would require only three or four days. Allowing about ,4 a day for Ihis work, the hauling of the fruit fron the minme distald gi rove wold increase the cost about 58 per acre. which amount must be charged as an annual tax. Friom tIis Iie lending lmrclaser cal readily calculate hox n l more lie can af/ord lo pay proportionately for hali iii close proximily the railroad station.
Fi-on Prolectioo.-There are no paris of Florida that are leitiel v flce from occasional frosts, and11 in some parts of lhe State freezing wealher may lie expected to occur during every winter. There are a few isolated places, however, that are so favorably located that freezing weather is of rare occurrence.
Ili1der ordinary circunstances, d drop in temperature to 2S degrees and a continuation of this for several hours











will not freeze citrus fruit. If, however, the drop goes lower, say to about 26 or 25 degrees, serious damage is apt to result, especially if it is long continued. A drop in temperature of 21 degrees is not likely to prove seriously damaging to trees unless it is of continued duration. Trees in a thoroughly dormant condition will pass through a temperature of 18 degrees without the loss of much wood, but, as a rule, a considerable amount of foilage is lost at that temperature. This, however, varies with different varieties and with the conditions of the tree and the duration of the cold. Even if it does go to freezing, a sudden drop in the temperature and a contamination of it for a number of days proves rather disadvantageou1s to the health of the citrus grove. It is, therefore, very desirable to have some form of protection against cold.
later totectioi.-Water protection proves to be one of (lie best shelters againsl occasional cold days in winter. It has been found that regions located in large dies of water, or with a northern, eastern aiid western protection of water. are much less subject to drops in temulerati're than those that are exposed. Quite a number of such places may be fmnd as far north as 29 degrees 45 minutes of latitude. Even north of this region some, fine groves occur that have been protected by artificial means. Fartier souih, at about the 2Sth parallel of latitude, a nunmber of locations have been found where water has protected the trees, and in some cases even the fruit, against the most severe cold that we have had.
Hainwock Protcion.-Quite a number of citrus growers in the State have found that hammock protection is quite as feasible as water protection. Bly locating in a large hnumock and securing the surrounding lands, citrus growers have cut out small tracts in the hammock varying from five to ten acres in extent and planted these in citrus trees, leaving these small groves entirely surrounded by hammock trees. To make such a plan practicable. it is necessary to own the surrounding hammock; otherwise,











one would have no control over the hammock trees which he wishes to use as protection against cold.

SHELTEn FRoMi SEA WINDS.

Around the coast of Florida the bleak sea winds are damaging to citrus trees and citrus fruits. The direct influence of the sea breezes is to cause the atmosphere and soil to become drv. This stunts the grove and in some cases makes it absolutely impossible for the trees to attain a size that will enable them to bear a profitable crop. in some cases, where groves have been planted in such exposed places, it has become necessary to erect an artificial windbreak. This being built ten or twelve feet high, affords the first row protection against the sea breezes. Each row then successively forms a protection for the succeeding row.
In addition to the direct influence of the sea winds, we also have the indirect effect in causing the fruit to become torn, scratched, bruised, or otherwise mutilated, and unfit for market purposes. The foilage, and especially the rapidly growing young shoots, are likely to be seriously damaged by mechanical injury from the sea winds. Where it becomes desirable to plant a grove within the influence of the sea winds, it is very important that a strip of hammock should be left as a wind protection. If this is not available, a protecting row of trees should be planted. The native bay tree resis-ts the influence of the sea winds well, but probably a much better tree for the purpose is the camphor.
PREPARIN(; TIE LAND.

Clcari;g the Iicld.-In preparing for a citrus orchard, it is important that all native trees, stumps and other material should be removed from the soil. A few cabbage palmettoes may be left for nurse trees for some time, but there should not be a large number, certainly not











more than one hundred to one hundred and fifty to the acre, and, of course, all of those occurring in the rows where trees should stand ought to be removed. Liveoaks and especially pines are found to be very injurious to the growth of citrus trees.
It is not impossible for a person to make a good grove in a field that is full of stumps and debris. The chances, however, are much against his making a success. ie would be the exception to the rule if he did so.
Brcaking and PIlowin.-After the field has been thoroughly grubbed and freed from all obstructions in sight, the next important step is to plow the land thoroughly. During Ilhis operation a large amount of roots and undergrounld trash will be turned up. This should be removed and buirned. Weeds, grass and stuff that will decay rapidly can be left on the ground and be plowed under to good advantage. It is important to have a large plow and sufficient horse power to do the work thoroughly. A fourteen or sixteen-ineh plow, or, better still, a thirtyinch disc plow, will be found useful.
Previous Cropping.-Most people who are intending to put out a citrus grove become impatient for a crop and, consequently, are too much in a hurry to plant trees. The severe change that has taken place on the land by the removal of the forest and the burning of the stumps has set up a disturbance in the soil. The land, therefore, is in most cases unfit to receive anything but the most vigorous plants. If the field is prepared in time to be planted to a crop of vegetables, this is highly advisable. These vegetables will be less affected by the adverse conditions than are the citrus trees, and even if they should be adversely affected it would mean only the loss of one crop and would not be communicated to the succeeding years. If the season is not a proper one for planting out vegetables, the field may be planted to some farm crop, especially a cover crop, such as velvet beans, cowpeas or beggarweed. If a good crop of velvet beans has been










grown upon the soil, we are pretty certain to have it in first-class condition for setting out to citrus trees. In addition to putting the soil in good condition, the velvet beans will add a large amount of ammonia to the soil, requiring 'ess of this element in the fertilizer to be applied to the trees when set out.
Catch C cops.-Duiug the succeeding year vegetables and farmn crops may he profitably planted between the rows of citrus trees. One should, however, not lose sight of the fa(t that the citrus orchard is the main project under consideration, and that these catch crops must be removed or entirely destroyed if they in any way interfere with the health and growth of the citrus trees. After the vegetable crop has been removed from the citrus grove the midCles may be plaited to velvet beans, cowpeas or beggarweed. These plans will continue lo add ammonia to the soil, prevent leaching by heavy rains and finally return to the soil a large anmunt of hunms, which is very much needed to produce growth and health in citrus trees. It is, however, entirely possible to get so much organic ammonia in the soil as to cause dieback in the small trees. When this occurs, the planter loses from one to two years' time in the growth of his trees.
lPcrfccl Drainage XcucssCry.-One of our foremost agriculturalists in the State has said that there is not an acre of land in the State of Florida that does not need draining; that even the steep clay hillsides would be improved by being underlaid with tile drains. Our general experience has been that when people speak of land as being perfectly drained they mean that it is perfectly drained during the dry part of the year, and forget altogether about the rainy part of the year, which is the critical season. A grove site should be so perfectly drained, naturally and artificially, as to never allow the soil water to stand above two feet from the surface at any time. Several instances are known where groves located on the top of a hill, seventy-five feet above a lake,










had standing water in the soil during the rainy season. Such trees as are within the influence of this water necessarily becomes weakened by the exclusion of oxygen and interference with the bacterial life in the soil. For the orange grove as a whole, surface drainage appears to be the cheapest and most profitable. Tile drains are likely to become clogged by citrus roots, and much damage may result before the grower recognizes the defect,
Irrigai'ion.-ivhile much good can be done by conserving the moisture in the soil, occasional years occur. however, when the drought becomes so severe that if one had an irrigating plant the advantages derived from it would be sufficient to pay for the whole outfit; and during about three years out of five a sufficient number of droughts occur to make a good irrigating plant very desirable. The type of plant to use depends very much upon one's own inclinations and the amount of money he has to spend. Furrow irrigation, as practiced in California, is entirely practicable and ]ias been ured to some extent in Florida. This is the cheapest method, and the one which will doubtless be generally adopted.

CULTURE PROPER.

Object.-Too many grove owners look upon cultivation in the light taken by a certain colored boy, who, when asked what he was cultivating for, replied: "Seventy-five cents a day." During a money stringency the first thing the grove owner does in many cases is to cut down the amount of cultivation. We cultivate an orange grove to admit. air into the soil, as a first requisite, to keel) up the bacterial life; and, secondly, to conserve the moisture present.
Gcr, Actioln.- Plants in general take up the ammonia in the soil in the form of nitrates. These nitrates, to a large extent, are formed from broken-down vegetable matter. They are prepared by the organisms constantly present in the soil. Nearly all of our fertilizers applied










to the trees must go through this breaking down process. Possibly the only exception to this is when we use nitrate of soda and nitrate of potash. To secure the best results the nitrifying bacterial must be present in the soil in sufficient quantity. The temperature of the soil must range roniewhere between 40 and 130 degrees F., the most favorable soil temperature being about 98 to 99 degrees. A reasonable amount of moisture is necessary, and there must be a free circulation of air. The nitrates are most rapidly formed in the soil near the surface, especially in the first six inches. The depth at which the largest amount of nitrates are formed varies with the condition of tthe soil. From this it will be seen that nitrates are forming rather rapidly in our soils during almost the entire year.
Conscrving Moistur.-Another important reason for cultivating is to conserve the moisture of the soil, To make the fertilizer applied available to the plant, it becomes necessary for these substances to be placed in solution. In the absence of moisture in the soil the fertilizer applied to the grove will be as useless as if left in the bag. On the other hand, if too large an amount of moisture be present, the plants are unable to get a sufficient amount of the chemical elements in the water that is being absorbed. Conservation of moisture by cultivation is best accomnplisled by using some light iniplemient that will work rapidly over the soil, breaking the crust or stirring the already loose surface soil, forming,, what is usually spoken of as the soil mulch. The appended table shows the eirnrt o' cultivation and non-cultivaion on lands that would to considered fairly good citrus lands. During the year when these tests were being made there was a very great deficiency in the rainfall; in fact during the four months following the first of January, there was only one rainfall that amounted to enough to wet the soil:










M ISTURE IN CULTIVATED AND UNCULTIVATED LAND.


April 18, 1908.


CultivatedFirst foot . Second foot . Third foot . Fourth foot .


Percent- Tons
age. per acre.
5.35 107.0
5.73 114.6
5.17 103.4
-4.94 98.8


April 24, 1908. Percent- Tons
age. per acre.
4.71 94.2
5.67 113.1
5.28 105.6
4.95 99.0


Totals .
UncultivatedFirst foot . Second Foot . Third foot . Fourth foot .


Totals .


4238.2. . 412.2


2.81 3.17 2.92 2.83:


56.2 6.4 58.4 6 1. 6


. 239.6


2.91 3.20 2.99
31. i!


58. 1
64.0 59.S 613.8


. 246.0


Cultivated land, average . 418.0 tons Uncultivated land, average . 242.8 tons.

Diff. in favor of cultivated land . 175.2 tons of water, or 11/2 in. of rain.

The above table shows that an amount of moisture equal to one and one-half inches of rainfall may be conserved by plowing and cultivating.
Increasing Humus Content.-The humus is the darkcolored material which occurs in practically all soils to a greater or less extent. Sandy soils almost devoid of humus are very white. When a large amount of humus is added to such a soil, it takes on a dark color. Our pure muck or peat beds may be said to be pure beds of humus, though the decaying vegetable matter at this period of its transition is not usually spoken of as lumus, but rather as peat. In the next stage of its decay it takes on more of an earthy character, and is then spoken of as humus. All forms of animal and vegetable matter










take this form before changing into distinctly inorganic substance. Large roots, roots of crops, stalks of crops, and similar growth, are useful in increasing the hmnus of he soil. The most useful of our humus-supplying plants are the legunies. Foremost anong these is the velvet bean. Cowpeas and be-garweed are also excellent for ci trils groves.
loti ns in the soil improves its mechanical condition by making a compact soil looser and inore perneable to the roots of the plants. It gives the 1-ach soil a waterholding capacity and, therefore, a capacity for holding planmt-food, especially such as has been supplied in the form of fertilizers. It furnishes a convenient location and food for the useful micro organism which prepare the fertilizers for the citrus trees. In adition to the above advantages an increase iii the humus content of the soil increases the soil warmth.
From what has been said in the foregoing paragraph, it should not be considered that hmunius is an unmixed blessing. Too large a supply of humus in a grove will cause dieback, and in a fruiting grove it is likely to produce what the orange growers properly know as aminoniatcd fruits, as well as dieback. Consequently, the citrus fruit -rower must not attempt to push his trees too rapidlyi, md must also be careful to hitve his soil loroughly drained ( drainiage for the rainy season, in ot-der that the life processes in the soil may go on in a normal way.

KINDS OF CULTURE.

There is probably no other subject in citrus-growing that formerly elicited so much heated discussion as did the question of the time and kind of cultivation. Usually the debaters ignored entirely the kind of soil, the character of their land, and the length of time during which they had practiced their particular hobbies. We. therefore, find that the sects were divided into practically three schools: The perfectly clean culture men, who considered











it a disgrace to have a sprig of grass visible in their groves; the school who argued that since our wild trees never were cultivated in the native state, therefore the grove trees should not be cultivated; later, a third school sprang up that considered it entirely proper to cultivate during the drier part of the year, but ceased cultivation altogether during the rainy part of the year. It speaks well for the hardihood of the orange tree to be able to endure and produce a paying crop under all oF these conditions of cultivation. Some of the school of clean culturists conserved the moisture of the soil by using a liberal organic mulch. Some, in fact, went so far as to spend much time andi money in cutting shrubbery from the hammock or piney woods and applying this under the trees as a mulching, to add humus to the soil and to conserve the moisture.
Later, and from necessity, a number of orange growers have had to take care of orange groves that became completely sodded with Bermuda grass. We might call these the Bermuda sod groves.
Spring Cultivation.-In sections of Florida where it becomes necessary to bank trees to protect them against the danger of winter freezing, cultivation should not be begun until all danger of frost or freezing is past. Remove the heating aptaratus or piles of wood that may have been placed in the grove to protect it against freezing, then pull (own the banks and begin to cultivate.
Grove , that have been well tilled the year before will be found in excellent shape for using small tools, such as the Acme hari'ov, planet Jr., etc. In groves where considerable veget,.ble nuter is left over from the previous ye-ar, it may be necessary to use a cutaway harrow to break this up. The fi-st cultivation in the spring may be somewhat deep, since it is not likely that new feeding roots have been formed near the surface. If, however, the cultivation is not started until feeding roots have formed, it is best to avoid deep cultivation. Deep culti-











nation at this time of the year, as at any other time, i a relative rather than an absolute term.
After the first cultivation, nothing more than a mere stirring of the first inch or two of soil should be given. This conserves the moisture so much needed at this time of the year. Our driest portion of the year is likely to occur during March, April and Ma.y. The inore frequently we cultivate, 1he more of the soil moisture is conserved. Ordinarily, it is not profitable to cultivate mote frequently lhan once a Neek. If our soil is in the best possible condition, a weeder may be used. It may be necessary to ioad the weeder with a small piece of cordwood. With such an implement, a man and a horse can cultivate a ten-acre grove in a day.
(aich Crops.-Where some forit of crop is being gr-own between the rows of trees, it is necessary to give this crop the bet of attention and an abundance of fertilizer to kecpj iL from drawing heavily on ilhe young grove. It is a good practice to keep at least six feet away from tle reach of the branches. Trees that are over live years old are likely lo have rools extending as far as midway between he rows; consequently, cultivation of the catch crop should be gauged according to the needs of the citrus grove.
Sionier CtUtivation.-Some line groves and much exeelent fruit have been produced by a cttntinuous sunimer cultivation other groves have been seriously injured and the crops of fruit have been ruined by such work. The question depends more upon what the character of the land is tian upon any dogmatic method of procedure.
Ordinarily, it is safe to discontinue cultivation as soon as abundant rains occur, and to allow grass and weeds to gr(,w at ltcir will. If the grass and weeds become too tal! and appear to be tl detrinlent to tie grove, a trower may be used to cut them down. During the summer
scaesO liVIe will rot and return 1o the soil as humus. If the g',x-o*,does not need mowing the gra ss and weeds may












be allowed to grow, and at the close of the rainy season the grass may be made into hay and removed from the field. Where the soil is deficient in humus, it will probably pay better to mow the grass and weeds and allow theiml to rot to humus in the grove.
Velvet beans, cowpeas and Leggarweed may also be plantcd in groves if 1he soil is not too rich in organic ammnonia. These le.mnes abstract nitrogen fr(mn ihe atmosplhe.c'e and rcmt i to lilae soil in the orgainc form. There are instances where this has been carried on to the extent of producing dieback- in he grove. Where there is the probability y of getting too much organic nihrogcn in Ilhe soil, he legumie may be made into liay. If these legumes are used in I he ,rove, they sliould be mown in the beginning of t lie dry season so as to reduce 1he number of plant bugs to a minimum, since frequently these sucking insects cause a loss of fruit when the legumes are peritted to remain late in the fall.
Fall Cultivation.-Whelther we should cultivate in the fall or not will depend largely on local conditions. If we are having a severe drought it may be advisable to use a cutaway harrow, or an implement of this kind, to break up the surface soil so as 1o conserve the moisture. If the moisture is not needed, it is usually preferable to allow the soil to remain undisturbed.
Wijdcr COltiratio.-Iin the early winter, before there is any danger from frot, it is frequently necessary for us to cultivate to preveiit rapid evaporation of the moisture. We can also at that time incorporate more or less of the cover crop that grew during the summer season. Care must, however, be taken not to carry this cultivation to the extent of stimulating the trees into late growth; oiierwise, we are apt to get our trees severely injured by an early freeze. If however, the work is carried on in such a way as to conserve lhe moisture and yet not stimulate the grove into growth. much good can be done by early winter cultivation











Cdtivation and Dieback.-Dieback is a disease to which practically all of our citrus trees are subject, and one thal causes much annoyance and frequently considerable loss. The observant grove owner, however, will recognize the preliminary symptoms of the disease and guard against it. The disease seems to be due to unfavorable soil conditions, brought on by too rapid a development of ammonia in the soil. It may also occur as a result of a number of other conditions.
Depth to C(dtiratc.-The depth to which a grove may be cultivated safely depends more on the character of the soil than on any other condition. In sections where there is a deep clay soil, the roots of the trees penetrate well into the ground. In thin, sandy soil, the roots are apt to keep close to the surface. This is also the case in our low palmetto hammocks.
The depth to which we should cultivate, then, will depend largely on the character of the soil on which the grove has been planted. In general, we should never plow or cultivate so deeply as to disturb any considerable number of the fibrous rools, and certainly not to the extent of breaking large roots.
Bly observing the depth of fhe roots in the soil, we will be able to gmge, in a measure, the depth to which we can cullivate. This, we will find, varies, however, in the same grove in different years. Consequently, very much depends on the judgment of Ihe man who is doing the el! -ival ion, or having it done.
Implcmcats.-Under ordinary circumstances, the heavy two-horse plow has no place in a grove in good healh. A light one-horse plow may be used to some extent. This too], however, is a poor imldemenl, since it wastes so much time for the grove owner. One of the best imple ments for deep cultivating is the cutaway harrow or disc harrow. For a small grove, the one-horse harrow will be found preferable. For an extensive grove this is too slow, and we need a two or three-horse cutaway or disc harrow.











The spading harrow will also be found useful under certain circumstances. The Acme harrow is also an excellent implement to use when the vegetable matter has been worked into the soil. It does poor work, however, when a considerable amount of vegetable matter is present on the surface. The Planet, Jr., cultivator or Sweep cultivator is also excellent for shallow cultivation. When the orchard has been put into a .good state of tilth, and our only object is to conserve the moisture, the weeder is one of the best and most serviceable implements. The ordinary slring-tootlied cultivators are not good implementg, since they pull up too niany of the roots they happen to come in contact with.

BUILDING UP A NEGLECTED GROVE.

The best way to build up a neglected grove is to let the other fellow do it. Buying a neglected grove is like buying an o1l, neglecled horse. Under certain eircnis tance% it ay be done with profit, but under ordinary circumstances it is cheaper and much more satisfactory to start 11 new grove.
It happens frequently, however, that one has an old grove, or that part of his property happens to be an old, neglected grove. In such cases, we wish to know what is best to do.
Pruning.-The first step in such conditions is to go into the grove with a good sharp saw, pruning shears and other implements for butchering trees. The pruning should be done thoroughly and severely. Take out first all dead wood; then take out all of the weakened wood; finally, shape the tree up so as to make it more or less symmetrical. Do not leave any long, spreading branches, even if they appear to be perfectly healthy. Head them back, so as to make a good, compact tree. When an ol1, neglected orchard has been properly treated, it is family a sad-looking sight.












Fkrbilizers.-Give the entire grove a liberal allowance of a fertilizer such as is used ordinarily for producing growth. A good formula for this purpose will contain about 4 per cent. amianonia, 6 per cent. phosphoric acid, and S per cent. potash. As a source of ammonia, nitrate of soda may be employed; as a source of i)oash, use a hih-rade sulphale of potash, or low-grade sulphate of potiash ; and as a source of phosphoric acid, the acid phoslihate. The amount to be applied per tree should be very liberal. More people err in alqying too little than in applying too much. Spread the fertilizer evenly broadcast over the entire grove, at least over the portion of the grove where tiees occur.
Piowig.-Ordinarily, such a grove should be plowed very deep, even to the point of breaking and cutting large roots. Care must, of course, be taken not to plow so deeply as 1o destroy a large percentage of the roots of the trees. This will vary according to the character of the soil on which the grove happens to be located. Ordinarily, the plow nmy be nade to go five or six inches deep, plowing much deeper in the middles and shallower near the trunks of the trees. After the grove has been plowed in one direction, then cross-plow it. In this way the fertilizer is pretty thoroughly incorporated with the soil and brought where the roots can get it almost immediately. After this thorough and deep plowing has been completed, cultivation with an ordinary implement should be continued.
By such drastic treatment, the weaker trees are likely to be killed out entirely. The sooner these are killed out the more profitable it will be for the owner. He can then replace them with vigorous young trees. The old trees that have vitality enough to stand such vigorous treatment are pretty sure to respond promptly.
3-Bul













PECAN CULTURE IN FLORIDA.


Much the greater part of this article is taken fromn the Florida Experiment Station Bulletin No. 85, by Prof. H. Harold flume, and also from the written opinions of other well-informed and expert growers of the 1eccan.

BOTANY OF THE PECAN.

The pecan tree is indigenous in the United States in the rich, alluvial bottoms of the Mississipp%, and also thought to be in some of the rich bottom lands of northeast Texas. Its northern limit is supposed to be abot Davenport, Iowa. In the Mississippi valley proper it extends within a few miles of the Gulf Coast, further west it extends into Mexico.
The area in which it may be grown is said to embrace within its four extremities the cities of Davenport, Iow;a, Chattanooga, Tenn., Laredo, Tex., the region of the headwaters of the Colorado River in Texas, and even at thepresent day as far west as Arizona. It extends furthest from the center of the area along the streams and rivers. It is at present grown in all of the Southern States in. greater or less degree. From the foregoing it will he seen that the pecan tree is a native in parts of the folowing states, viz.: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Outside of this area it has been planted in a large number of States. Its cultivated area corresponds rather closely with that of the cotton plant, thought its extension beyond this area is constantly increasing.
The pecan belongs to the family Juglandaccac (Walnut family), its near relatives being the other species of hickory, the walnut and butternut. For many years the scientific name commonly applied to it was Carya Of ivae forinis Nutt, but in deference to the rules of priority











this name has largely given place to the name Hicoria pecan (Marsh) Britton. This name Hicoria pecan, is peculiarly significant, since it is truly American, being derived from powcohicora and pecan, two words used by the Indians for hickory nuts.
It is a large, stately tree, 75 to 170 feet in height, with wide spreading branches and symmetrical top. The bark is rough, broken and grayish-black in color. The bark of the young twigs is quite smooth, liberally dotted with lenticles, and during their early life, together with t he, leaves and flowers of the tree, they are covered with a liberal coating of rather rust-colored hair. The leaves are oval, compound, composed of from seven to fifteen falcate. oblong lanceolate, sharp-pointed serrated leailets, grieea and quite bright above, lighter colored below, and when mature, nearly or quite smooth. The flowers are of two kinds-pistillate and staminate The former are produced upon the young shoots, while the latter come froin buds upon twigs one year old. The staminate catkins are usually produced in two groups of three each, from a single bud, and have very short stalks. The stamens are three to five in number in each flower, and borne beneath a three-parted bract. The pistillate flowers have a four-valved involucre (known in the mature form as the husk) and a two-parted stigma. The nuts are quite variable in size, shape, color and quality. Some are long and pointed, others are nearly spherical. In Texas the spherical, or nearly spherical, nuts appear to be more common than elsewhere. Selected nuls of some varieties will weigh an ounce or more each, while of many other kinds it takes a hundred, more or less, to make a pound.
As a general rule the husks of most varieties open at maturity. In some, however, they remain closed, or nearly so. These latter varieties are objectionable on account of the increased difficulty of gathering the crop.
Pollceation.-The pecan is well-pollenated. In con-










sequence, there is a great waste of pollen, to compensate for which it is produced in large quantities. Wet, windy weather, at the time the trees are in bloom, frequently interferes with pollenation to such an extent that the crop is reduced very considerably.
With sonie species of hickory, notably IT. iniiniaa and H. glabra, cross-pol lenation and consequent cross ferlilization with the pecan have resulted in several well-narked hybrids. None of these found thus far, with perhaps one or two exceptions, have been worthy of propagation.

RANGE OF CULTURE IN FLORIDA.

The pecan may be, and practically is, grown in all sections of the State wherever the soil conditions are found to be satisfactory. Its culture, however, should not be attempted in the southern portion of the State much, if any, below 28 degrees latitude; success would, at best, be questionable; it might succeed in the elevated portions of Polk and Ilillsborough Counties, but it is uncertain.
The statement is frequently made, and quite generally believed, that the pecan will succeed wherever the larger species of hickory are found in the State. This is largely true, as the pecan belongs to the same family and genus of trees, but it should not be relied on implicitly v. In no case must soil conditions be overlooked or disregarded.

PECAN PROPAGATION.

The pecan may be propagated from seed or by budding and grafting.
Formerly they were grown almost entirely from seed and seedling trees were plante(l. But now seedlings have given place to budded mnd grafted trees. Why so? It was liToiUnced ns a fact, not so imany years afgo, and there are some who may still inaintain it, that 50 per cent., or some other p er cent., of IJe'a Is woul Cone true to seed. But it must be slated as a fact that neither 50,











nor any other per cent., will come true to seed. We have yet to find a single instance where the nut of a seedling tree was identical with that borne by its parent plant. Occasionally theY are better, but the rule is that they generally are vastly inferior to the fruit produced by th paint plant. eiice, if an chard of trees or the samie hal it ot' g-owtlh, irolificness, regularity in b,,ari g, uniforni though at, rees wiNch will produce a c(op (f nuts uniforLR in size, shape, color ind quality, is d 1,i,,e, do not plant seedlin" tiees. Scores of these scedling treeR produce nuts but little larger than cihinqualinii, ',nd it ii a fact which cannot be gainsaid that the seedling pecan, up to the time of fruiting, is an unknown quantity, after which it is too frequently a disappointment.
But seeds have their place. From them are grown the stocks upon which to work desirable varieties. From seeds may be originated new and desirable varieties, for it sometimes happens that the seedling is better than the parent. Seedling trees may be grown and set out in orchard form, to be top-worked afterward. This plan has something to recommend it. It is less expensive, provided time is not an object, for it takes a longer time to get bearing trees by this plan, and it is open to the further objection that :t is more dillicult to secure uniformitv in size and shape of the trees than it is by setting out budded or grafted trees at first. The objection in the way of expense, if that be an objection, is best overcome by planting nuts in nursery rows, grafting the trees there, and then setting them in the ield. By no means should the nuts be planted where the trees are to remain. It is too difficult to give them the necessary care. Besides, they a-e likely to be destroyed by squirrels or other animnals, or the seedlings injured through carelessness in cultival ion.
Sclcling and Planting Aitts.-Nuts to be used in gro-wing stocks should be fully matured before gathering. Some care should be taken in their selection. They should











be of good size for the variety, and sliold be gathered only from healilhy, vigorous trees. Frequently the only object held in view is o)l get as many nuts as possib;le in a pound, vithoii regard to the tree on which Ihev -pew. We believe that this is in a large degree responsible for the unsatisfactory growth made bv many grafted trees. Those nuts which mature first are best for planting.
The nuts may be planted in Florida as soon as they are taken from t!!e trees, placing tlieur in drills three and a half feet apart and covering them two and a half or three inches deep. in many cases it may be necessary and more convenient to stratify the nuts in damp sand in boxes, first an inch layer of sand, then a layer of nuts, until the boxes are filled. These boxes should be placed, in a cool. shady place, under a building, in a cellar, or buried in the earth. It is a good plan to cover them with wire net to prevent mice, rats or squirrels from attacking them. In early spring Ihe boxes should be emptied out and the nuts planted as directed above.
The seed-bed should be thoroughly prepared, plowed deeply or subsoiled, well supplied with organic matter, either from stable manure or from beggarweed. velvet beans, eowpeas, or some other leguminous crop on the soil, and turned under.
During the growing season the seed-bed should be kept well cultivated anud free from wee(s iand grass. A fertilizer rich in nitrogen should he used. Its composition will have to be governed very largely by the character of the soil and the care and cultivation given it previously; but for good nursery soils a fertilizer analyzing three per cent. nitrogen will give good results. In a favorable season the tops of the young trees will be a foot or somewhat more in height, with a tap-root two feet and a half or so in length. The following spring and summer many of the young trees can be worked by grafting or budding.
Propagating Tools.-The tools necesary for propagating pecans-nursery work and top-working-are a corn-










mon budding knife, a budding tool, a grafting iron, a grafting mallet and a fine-toothed saw.
The budding knife should have a thin blade of good steel, capable of retaining a keen, sharp edge. The whetstone must be used frequently to keep the blade sharp to insure the making of smooth, clean cuts.
At least three budding tools have been invented. These are known as White's, Galbreath's and Nelson's budding tools, respectively. The principle in each one is that two sharp cutting blades are fixed parallel to each olher to insure uniformity in cutting annular and veneer-shield or patch buds. White's budding implement is especially recommended for use in top-working. The holes along the sides are used as a gauge for measuring the stock and bud stick. In the writer's opinion, the one best adapted for veneer-shield budding, but the blades are just a little too close together. A very satisfactory knife for this work may be made from two ordinary budding knives and a piece of wood l.hre-quartevs of an inch square and four inches long. To opposite sides of this the blades can be firmly atached with rivets and by binding with fine wire and twine.
The grafting iron is indispensable in cleft-grafting. These can be purchased at small cost, or a blacksmith can make an excellent one from an old flat file. Three or four inches of the file should be flatened and sharpened for a blade. In the remainder drill two holes and attach two pieces of wood to form a handle.
A small-sized carpenter's mallet answers nicely for a grafting mallet, or a very good one can be made from a piece of tough wood or a piece of an old wagon spoke. A leather thong should be attached to the handle, through which the wrist can be slipped to carry it when topworking.
The best saw for use in top-working is a carpenter's back-saw. This has a stiff blade, fine teeth, and leaves a smooth, clean cut.










Waxes, Cloth and Twine.-Good grafting-wax may be made according to either of the following formulas:
1. Resin 6 pounds, beeswax 2 pounds, linseed oil 1 pint.
2. Resin 4 pounds, beeswax 2 pounds, tallow 1 pound. Melt the ingredients in an iron kettle over a slow fire, stirring slowly to insure thorough mixing. When melted, pour out into a bucket of cold water. Grease the hands, remove the wax from the water as soon as it can be handled and pull until it is light-yellow in color. Wax not needed for immediate use may be rolled op in balls, wrapped in oiled, stiff brown paper, and put away for further use.
Waxed cloth can be prepared by melting the wax in a kettle and dropping into it sheets or wide strips of old calico or cotton cloth. As soon as saturated with the wax, remove them from the kettle and stretch on a board. For use tear into strips, one-quarter or one-half of an inch wide.
Waxed twine is prepared by dropping balls of No. 18 knitting cotton into the melted wax and stirring them about for four or five minutes, or until the wax has penetrated them.
Selecting Cions and Buds.-Cions and bud sticks
should be taken from healthy, vigorous trees. Select the cions from well-matured wood of one year's growth, though a piece of two-year-old wood at the base will not matter. The wood is angular, small and the internodes long, and the pith large in proportion to the diameter. Either terminal portions of twigs may be used or portions back of the tip, but the buds should always be well 'developed, full and plump. For this reason grafts should not be cut from wood far back from the tip of the branch. As stated already, twigs of the previous season's growth are generally used, provided the growth is not too large. Grafts are generally cut about five or six inches long and should be from one-quarter to three-eights of an inch in thickness.










It is best that the grafts be cut while still in a dormant state, and inserted in the stock just before growth starts. The cions may be kept for a considerable length of time by plating them loosely packed, in damp moss or sawdust, in a box. The box should be covered over with earth and the cions kept sufliciently moist to prevent dr ying out. The di!erence in the condition of tie stock an(l ci(o, it should be understood, is not absolutely necess ry Is -)od resuls ale frequently obtained without these proc:,rtions, but i n tpte pe,.n a difference in doriaancv is extremely desirable, and it is an important factor in securing good results.
For bud-sticks, well-developed one-year-old branches, one-half to seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, and on which the buds are well formed, or older wood, with plump, full buds, are selected. Such sticks frequently show three buds at a node, and if some misfortune should overtal,e one or two of these, there is still a chance of success, though the upper one, being the strongest, is generally the one which starts, provided it is uninjured and the bud takes. The degree of maturity of the bud is important, and care should be exercised that only those which are plump, full and well-developed, are used. It is easy to distinguish between desirable and undesirable buds.

GRAFTING AND GRAFTING METHODS.

Top-working by grafting, or the grafting of nursery stock above ground, should be done in spring iust before growth starts. The preference is for the latter part of the season, provided there is not too much work to be done, as the cions have less time to dry out before the process of uniting with the stock begins. The work of whip grafting nursery stock under ground just at lie crown roots of the seedlings can be started in the latter part )f Decemberr and continued until February. For this work the earth is thrown back from the seedlings, leaving them standing in a narrow trench. After the cions are










inserted, the ground is placed back about them, covering
-hen up, leaving only the top bud exposed. The seedling trees cannot be dug up and bench-giafted satisfactorily in winter, as is; the practice \vith apples, pears and other fruits. It can be done, but the percentage of unions secured is too small to make it an economical method to follow. The only satisfactory plan is to graft the seedhgs in the nursery row, as described above.
Two methods of grafting are used, cleft-grafting for top-working and whip-grafting for working both nursery seedlings and old trees.
Clcft-Gurafiig.--Having selected ie place on the branch or trunk at which the ion or cions are to be inserted, the part should be sawed off with a smooth, clean cut. 'ihe eud of ih, stub can then be cut -quarely off at the point desired.
The trunk or branch is then split with the grafting iron. The cleft should be carefully made, and should be about one and a half inches in length. In preparing the cion, a sloping cut is made at the lower end about one and a half inches long, cutting into the pith from a point one-half way up the cut, down to the lower end. On the opposite side, the second cut should not touch the pith, but should be made through the wood throughout. The cion should be left wider on the ouler side than on the inner to make a tight fit when inserted. Start the cuts on each side of and just at a bud.
Having made the cleft, open it with the wedge end of the grafting iron and place the cion in position in the cleft stock. Ti c anibimn layers should be in contact and the cion should be shoved well down until the whole of the wedge is within the stock. In large stocks two cions may be inserted, the weaker of which should be removed if both live. L!'rge stocks will exert sufficient pressure against the cions to render timing unnecessary, but if the stocks are small the union should be firmly tied with waxed twine or cloth, and in any case the ends of the cut











so.k and the union should be covered smn(othlv with grn 'tinc-.wax. Should there he danger of tie stock exerting too much pressure (as in the ease of large stocks), the cleft should be made well out t' on sw-e of the (enter.
lWhiip-f7,afliayf.-1tocks, - rv sedling trees or branches in the tops of old trees, should be less than an inch in diameter, one-half or five-eights inch being a nice size.
A sloping cut. an inch or an inch and a half long, is made at the end of the cion, a correponding cut is made on the siock, a small tongue of v Ool isr -2s1ed on each by making a cut with a knife-blade parallel to the grain of the wood. The tongue is raised a little on both stock and cion and the two are then shoved together, with the cambium layers on one or both sides in contact. They must then be firmly bound together with twine or cloth, the whole of the cut surfaces being covered over to the exclusion of water, air and the germs of decay.
The cion and stock are preferably chosen of nearly the same size, but a cion somewhat smaller than the stock may be used, in which case the cambium layers along one side of the surfaces in contact must be placed opposite, as a]re adv indicated. In working nursery seedlings by whipg'afting, the cions should be inserted so that the point of union will be under the surface of the ground. The earth should be placed back around the union as soon as the work is completed. This plan of propagation will not give satisfactory results except on well-drained lands.

BUDDING AND METHODS.

Budding is preferred to grafting by some propagators, as they are able to secure a larger percentage of unions than by grafting. Much, however, depends upon the
locality, soil and drainage. By either method from fifty to seventy-five per cent. of successful unions must be cousi ered satisfactory. The amateur may well be satisfied with 10 per cent.











The season for budding is when the bark will slip well during the months of July and August. The season is, however, often extended into September. Many of the buds inserted late in the season remain dormant until the following spring.
During the season, from the first of July until September, the atmosphere is moist, the buds are in good condiLion, the sap flows freely, and better results are secured than at amy otlier time. The buds" commonly used are those which have been formed just previously, They should le carefully selected and only those fully nmatured should be used. Oliver (Bulletin 30, Bureau 01 Plant Industry, U. S. I). A.) recommends the use of dormant buds of last season, but the method has not met with favor because of the large amount of wood which must be sacrificed to secure a few buds.
Annular Budding.-By this method branches or seedling trees three-quarters of an inch or less in diameter may be worked. It is preferable that the stock and bud stick be of the same size, though the stock may be somewhat smaller. From the stock remove a ring of bark an inch or so in length. On the bud-stick select a good bud and remove it by taking out a ring of bark the same in size as the one removed from the stock. Place this ring in the place on the stock prepared for it and bandage securely in place, using a piece of waxed cloth, The wrapper should be brought around the stock, so as to cover the cut ends. The bud may be covered over or left exposed.
In ten days or two weeks remove the bandage, and ex'nmine the bud. A pllmp, full bud at this time is an indication that union has taken place.
1-cnecr-Shield or Patch-Budding.-If this method is used, it is not essential that the stock and cion be of the same size, and so far as size alone goes almost any stock may be used. A rectangular or triangular piece of bark is removed from the side of the stock. From the bud











stick cut a similar piece of bark with a bud in its center. Place the bud in place on the stock and wrap as in annular budding. If the stock is considerably larger than the bud-stick, the piece of bark with bud attached will have to be flattened out somewhat before inserting.
Lopping.-Frequently buds, particularly those inserted late in the season, act as dormant buds and do not begin growth until the following spring. The top of stocks ludd;,d during June, July and August should be lopped up to Septeiuber first. It is always s well to start the iuds out befi're , roVih ceases fr the seson, but stocks bulded after the first of September should not be lopped until the following spring, just before growth begins.
One method of lopping is to cut the stock back to within five or six inches of the buds, at first. Later, after the bud has grown to some size, it should be cut right back to tle bud and painted over to prevent rotting. Lopping may also be performed by cutting the stock half off two or three inches above the bud and bending it over. After growth starts in the bud, it should be removed entirely, thus throwing the full flow of sap into the bud.

TilE NunsERy.

The best soil for the pecan industry is a well-drained, loamy soil, with a clay or sandy-clay sub-soil. The land should be put in good condition before the trees or nuts are planted in it. Crops of beggarweed, velvet beans plowed under, or a good dressing of well-rotted stable manure will go a long way toward putting the ground in good shape. The ground should be plowed deeply and put in the very best tilth.
Throughout the growing season the ground should be cultivated frequently. Shallow cultivation to conserve moistpiiw and destroy weeds is all that is necessary-. It is net possible to grow good trees without thorough, frequenf ci,!tivation.
Fertilizers containing considerable nitrogen should be












used at the rate of about 30 pounds per acre. One analyzing " per cent. phosphoric acid, 3 per cent. potash and 6 per cent. nitrogen is about right for nurseries on most Florida soils.
As soon as a block of trees is removed, it is an excellent plan to sow the ground in one of the leguminous crops mentioned above, io hiep it to reciuperate. The fieq neat cullivalions, so necessary for the growth of lhe lirees, wear out the hiumus in the soil. The legunies will replace this if grown, mind ;lowct hack into (lie -.oii, atl hey are dead and dry.
Toi -oVnKi-G PECAn" 'TRELs.

Ly far 'he greater number of seedling trees in the State have not fulfilled the expectations of their planters. The trees are not prolific, or the fruit which they bear is small and inferior. Such trees, if in good health and vigor, may be top-worked to advantage. Seedlings may be planted with the expectation of top-working them., but this is not recommended.
If the trunks are small, an inch or an inch and a half in diameter, the whole top may be removed at once. If the trees are of inedium size the main branches may be worked close to the trunk; and if large, grafts may be inserted farther up from the trunk. Buds may be inserted in vigorous branches. The growth of such b-anches may be induced by cutting back the ori,,inal branch of the tree in late winter. Lateral buds will then be forced into growth and by midsmmner the branches formed from them will be large enough to bud. The attempt should not be viade to bitd or graft over the whole top of a large tree in one season. Only a few branches should be worked each year, and in the course of two, three or four years, depending upon the size of the tree. the old top can be entirely removed and replleed by a new one of a good variety.
Both cleft and whip grafts may be used, but the latter can, of course, only be used on small stocks. The objee.











tion to working very large branches is that they do not heal readily; two and a half inches is about the maxinmmi in size. Large wounds should be painted over with while lead paint to prevent decay.
For several months after the new top has commenced to grow the cions or buds have but a slight hold upon the stock, and as the growth is usually very vigorous and the leaf surface great, considerable damage is frequently done by strong winds, or by wind and rain together. To prevent this, the voung shoots may be tied together or fastened to other portions of the stock. If this be done, care should be taken that the twine used does not do injury by cutting into the wood. To obviate this, a piece of burlap should be placed around the branch beneath the twine, and the twine should be removed as soon as it has served its purpose. In some cases the top may be supported by lashing a pole against the side of the trunk and fastening the grafts to the upper part of this, or a pole may be driven into the ground at some distance from the trunk, fastened against a branch or stub of a branch above and used in the same way. After the top has grown sufficiently to take care of itself, these posts can, of course, be remove(]. Sometimes, after the top has made considerable growth, and particularly if large branches are allowed to develop opposite each other, they are split apart and the whole top ruined. If this undesirable conformation exists it is lest to take steps to prevent splitting. A bolt having a stout washer against the head should be placed through two branches, a second washer placed on and the nat screwed up. The bolt will, in the course of a few years, be entirely covered. By this means the tree trunks are held firmly together. This same plan may be used to save branches which have partially split apart. Sometimes a branch may be inarched from one large branch to another to serve as a living brace.
Necvessari], a considerable number of wound.; are am de in top-working. Branches are removed entirely, others












are cut back to within a foot or so of the trunk and grafted. Often these fail to unite. Such stubs shomld not be left. If branches are formed on them they should be cut back to the point where these buds start; if no branches come out from them they shol be cut back. to the trunk or large branch on which they are borne. If left, they prevent the healing of the wound, rot back, and the rot is carried into and down the trunk of the tree, resulling in a hollow and weakening the trunk. Swooth eals should be (nade, ald thcse shod be covered with white icad pbit to prcvcnt decay. A little lampblack may be added, if desired, to make the paint nearly the color of pecan bark.

SOILS AND TiimR PREPARATION.

The peculiar conditions of soil and moisture surrounding the pecan in its native home might be regarded as an indication that it cannot be grown except on deep, rich soil, in proximity to rivers, ponds or steams. Such, however, would be a wrong inference, for it succeeds adinirably and bears good crops on a wide range of soils. Silence we find it today in localities far removed from the regions to which it is indigenous and thriving under conditions differing greatly from those obtaining in its native home. In Florida, trees may be found growing on soils ranging from the black hammock to the less fertile high pine lands. On hammock soils, however, the trees are often inclined to develop wood at the expense of fruit, while on less fertile soils the trees make less wood and bear more fruit proportionately. Pecans thrive well on flat woods; the grove of Dr. J. B. Curtis, Orange Heights, Fla., is planted on this type of land. Moisture in sufficient quantity must be present, but it will not do to plant the pecan on land that is continually wet and boggy. The presence of a hard, impenetrable sub-soil doubtless has a great influence upon the welfare of the tree, and it would be better to select other ground, or when this is impossible, to blast












out the hardpan. A quicksand sub-soil is equally objectionable. If close to the surface, it should not be used. The roots cannot penetrate it. All things considered, the best soil is probald y one which has previously supported a growth of holly, willow-leaved oak, dog-wood, hickory and those other trees usually found associated with them. A sandy loam, with a clay or sandy-clay sub-soil, is difficult to surpass.
A land intended for young trees should be well prepared. This preparation will depend largely upon the care ind treatment which the soil has received previously . Land on which the forest still stands should preferably be thoroughly cleared and put in cultivation for a year or two before planting. Leguminous crops are excell(at to precede the setting of the trees. 'low the ground roughly, break deeply, harrow it level, and it is ready for the trees.

PECAN PLANTING.

1;wuinq Trccs.-Florida has suffered as much from fraudulent pecan tree agents as any other State. Seedling trees have been "doctored" and sold to plinlers, an(] varieties have been sold which were untrue to name. Unfortunately, too few people are acquainted with the characteristics of a budded or grafted tree.
Tho-se who are thoroughly acquainted with the wood, twigs and branches of pecan trees are ale to tell the different varieties at a glance. The color of the bark, the shape, size and arrangement of the lenticles, the size and shape of the buds are always characteristic, and by these barks varieties can be distinguished. Every planter should acquaint himself with the wood characterislics of the varieties. But, after all, the safest, by far the safest, plan is to deal directly with honest nnrserymen, men of unluestionable integri. lty, men who give their business careful thought and attention.
4-Bul











The best trees for general planting are well-grown oneyear-old trees, from three to five feet high.
Too often but slight attention is given to the planting of the trees. There is too frequently a disposition on the part of the person setting trees of any ki.id to do the work as raidly as possible, without considerat ion for the future welfare of the plants. Few realize that 1:1ne spent in careful, intelligent preparation of the so and in setting the trees is time well spent and well paid for in the afluerdeveloliment of trunk an( 1 branch. Bleter a month spent in preparing the future hme of le yournig Iree than years of its life sent in an unequal strlnggzle for existence. More than that, the tree may die outright and a year must elapse before it (an lie replaced, It is general, stated that the pecan is a slow grower, anl .yet trees fri olnt twelve to fourteen yca1s old wil souetilies measure flom thirty-five to fifty-seven inches in cirruniferen(ce at the base, wile un der less favorallde virmvstances olhers will stand still for a period of six or seven years, or until they have accumulated sulicien t energyv to overcirle the untoward conditions of their envivo'ilrivet.
Di.stanccs.-Tlhe dis'lance apart at whi(h Ihe ree should he set will depend in a Inieasure upon ihe character of the soil. If rich and noist, fie trees sliould be set farther arlt than on higher, drielr soils. Forty feet is generolly believed to lie alot righitl for most Fiirida hlnds. Two mileth(ds of setting may le lolloxved, re(.tall nrlar and hexagonal. The number of Irees which may be set per acre by the rectangular system are as follows:

40x40 . 27 trees 40x45 . 24 trees 4 lx50 . 21 trees 40x60 . IS trees 45x45 . 21 trees 50x .50 . 17 trees 50x60 . 14 trees 50x75 . 11 trees











6Ox6O . 12 trees 60x75 . 9 trees 70x70 . 8 trees 70x75 . 8 trees 75x75 . 7 trees

To find the number of trees for any distance not given in the ahove table, multiply the distances together and divide 4:h5fI0, he n umber of square feet in an acre, by the priodutt. The result will give the number of trees.
By he hexagonal system, about lifteen per ceiat. Iiore trees may be set per acre than by the redcialar s.vstein If a double planting is contemplated, as pecans uand peaches, the rectangular systeii should be uisei , anid on1e or more peaches set out in each rectangle fOmed by the Feenntls.
taking the Ground.-lf a good phwman ncan be
cured, the rows can be run off w\ ilh a jolow, running boltlenMthwise and crosswise of lie field. ()rur iunly, hovw ever, a true corner may be est alished vith i crirent era's square, lie lid staked out a round the outside. For the reelangular system, lhe stakes tn len le set u p in h center of le field Iy measuring or loy AiWtiig or by boifi. Ordinany building laths lnmike gom slakes.
To slake off the ground ly tlhe hexmiggal ulthod, ,cil men.e on one side (f the Held and plant takes at the W! sired distance apart where the Irees are to stan. U'iig two chmins or two pieces of wire with miu's at lhe cal' (their leng h being the same as tle tree distance), he 1msition for 1the second row of trees may be easily ascertnined, Drop I he rings over two adjoining stakes and stretch thm out until they form an eqilaleal triangle with the base line. Plant a stake at the apex to indictle where The tree is to sand. St up all the stakes for this second row in the same manner, then use it as a base line and so onv across tMe field.
Planting.-TIaving set a stake where each tree is to stand, the planting board should then be brought into use.











This is simply a light board, five or six inches wide and six feet lng, with a notch cut in the center of one side and an inch hole bored in each end. In digging the holes for Mhe trees this board is laid down on the ground with the 7ot ch against the tree stake. Two small wooden stakes are then shoved into the ground through the holes in the ends and fihe board and tree stake both taken away.
in preparing the tiee for planting, all broken or bruised rools should be cut off immediately behind the injuries. This is usually done before packing for shipment if trees are purchased from a nurseryman, but possibly may be neglected or the ends of roots become rubbed or ja,ge in transit. The cuts should be made with a sharp knife from the underside of the roots and outward, leaving a smooth, sloping cut. To trim the rools to the best advantage, they should be held upside down while trimming.
In setting out a pecan tree, a hole 24 inches in diameter and 30 inliches deep is usually large enough, although wider holes may be dug wilh advantage, thereby enabling more pulverized and richer soil to be put around the roots, which is beneficial to the new feeding roots as they form. When seating out the trees, carefully fill in among the roots with pulverized top soil or woods earth. Wellrotted manure or not exceeding one and one-half pounds of commercial fertilizer may be put in the outer sides of hole, as far as practicable beyond outer ends of lateral roots, while hole is being filled, but by no means to come in contact with the roots or trunk of tree. No fertilizer should be put at bottom of hole. Work and firnmiy press the dirt among the roots, laying each root in a natural position. No holes or cavities in the soil should be left, and soil must be in close contact wili all roots especially the tall-riit. The bottom of the hle should be firm, to avoid furt her settling of the tree. The tree sh ld lLe set at such a depth that after a copious watering od the permanent settling of the earth it will be, perhaps, a











little deeper than it stood in the nursery row. It is very important that no part of the crown or root be left uncovered when planted or afterward, and if at any time it is found that the earth has settled and left any brownish-red part of the crown or root exposed, it must again be covered with soil.
The point where the root and crown leave off and the trunk begins is a very vital portion of the newly-set tree and must always be underground. Trees should be carefullv examined afler the first heavy rain after planting, and earth thrown to tree if soil has settled. It is better to plant them an inch or two deeper than they stood in the nursery row than to run thk risk of having the crown of root exposed. If tap-roots are inconveniently long, say over thirty inches, they must be cut off by a sloping cut with a shai-p knife. In the larger size trees it is better to sink a hole deep enough to receive the root without cutting shorter than is done before packing. The foolish theory about a pecan tree not bearing if its tap-root has been cut has been so thoroughly disproved that it is not worth discussion. If the tap-root is cut when the tree is dug, as is often necessary, the cut quickly heals and a new tap-root (sometimes several) will form. After planting is completed, loose soil should be lightly thrown around the tree to lessen evaporation, or it may be mulched with leaves, straw, etc., in lawns and other places where no crops are to be planted. The mulching of newly set frees is highly recommended. The ground is thereby kept moist, a slow decaying supply of natural plant food is provided, and grass and weeds are not so troublesome, thus avoiding the necessity of so frequently stirring the soil immediately around the trees. The ground around fruit or nut trees should never be allowed to bake or crust, and it is the more important with newly set trees, particularly the first season.
Never allow the roots of a pecan tree to become dried out. It is best that the necessary root pruning be done in












the shed and the trees carried to the field wrapped in a damp blanket, from which they are removed one by one as required for planting. The tops should be pruned back slightly to restore the balance between the roofs and the tops, which has been disturbed in the process of transplanting.
The best time to plant pecan trees is somewhere between the first of December or the latter part of November and the first of February. Preference must be given to the earlier part of this period, as the ground will have a chance to become firmly packed and the root wounds will have partially calloused over before the growing season begins. Besides, the early spring season in Florida iw usually dry and recently planted trees do not stand nearly so good show as those planted in December and January.
CuUrLIVATION.

Because the pecan grows as a forest tree in some parts of the country many people suppose that it can be left without care and cultivation, left as any other tree in the fields and woods is left to shift for itself. But if fruit is required from the tree, no matter whether planted in the garden or the orchard, it should be given good care. Too many of our practices are based upon ideas taken from the native iees of ihe woods and fields. But all these trees do from year to year is bear a few fruits, many of which are imperfect, in the attempt to reproduce themselves. If that is all that is desired of the pecan tree well and good; a system of neglect will secure the result and the insects and fungi will be the chief beneficiaries of the practice.
One lesson can be learned from the woods. The ideal soil conditions for the pecan grove is that found in the forest. The soil there is filled with vegetable matter and humus; it holds water and plant food. The aim in the cultivation of the trees should be to provide and maintain a soil as nearly ideal as that.











Whether anyone would have the temerity to advocate the cullivalion of a pecan orchard along the lines applied to peach orchards and citrus groves is seriously doubted. A pecan plantation will begin to bear in froni six to eight years after planting and should produce a very fair crop at ten y ars, after which it rapidly increases in productivity. Put during the period when the trees are growing and no fuit is being produced, cultivationi must be given. This is best done by planting the land between the tree rows in cot on, peanuts or other field crops, in vegetables, cowpeas, beggarweed or velvet beans. The last mentioned crops may be used in making hay. These are the ideal crops for the pecan orchard. It would be best to follow a systenalic rotation of these crops. As, for instance, first ye: i peanuts, second year cotton, or first year crabgrass and beggarweed, second year cotton, and third year velvet beans or cowpeas.
The area grown in these crops should by no means equal the total area of the field. The tree rows for a width of four or five feet on each side should not be planted in crops during the first year. This strip should, however, be cultivated during the first part of the season and "bou the beginning of the rainy season sowed to beg'garweed. The cultiv-ted area will necessarily become more resiricted each Year, and eventually the ground will have to be given up to the trees.
Then the plan frequently advised is to put the land in grass and use it for a pasture. But grass is generally an important item in the cultivation of neglected pecan orchards. It is synonymous with vglcct and bad treatvwnt. It interferes with the growth, development and frUiring of the trees, and this plan is no longer advised by growers.
Instead, it is preferable to cultivate the trees in spring, continuing the cultivation well up to the rainy season. Later, in August, a crop of crabgrass and beggarweed may be removed for hay. By autumn a considerable











additional growth will be formed to cover the ground in winter and turned back into the soil to restore and maintain the necessary humus content of the soil.

FERTILIZERS.

On nearly all Florida soils pecan trees are benefited by the application of fertilizers in some form or other. Large quantities of food materials are taken from the soil in the growth of the trees and the development of the crop.
Tile greatest demand made on the :oil by the tree is for nitrogen, and this can be met by applying stable manure, or by growing leguminous crops and turning them under, as already directed. In the fertilizing of the pecan this is by all means the best policy. The potash in the form of sulphate or muriate of potash and the phos phonic acid in the form of acid phosphate can be supplied separately.
Formulas.-The requirements of the trees will differ at different stages of their growth. The needs of the young trees differ from those of fruiting ones. For young trees, nitrogen in considerable amounts is required, while for bearing trees more potash and phosphoric acid and less nitrogen, relatively, are required. If complete feriilizers are used, those given the young trees should atalyze about live per cent. phosphoric acid, szix per cent. poiash and four per cent. nitrogen; while one containing six percent. phosphoric acid, eight per cent. potash and four per cent. nitrogen is about right for bearing trees.
If we assume that acid phosphate analyzes 14 per cent. phosphoric acid, high-grade sulphate of potash 50 per cent. potash, cotton seed meal 6.5 per cent. nitrogen, and dried blood 14 per cent. nitrogen, the following amounts of these materials, which may le mixed at home, will give approximately the above analysis:











FOR YOUNG TREESAcid Phosphate (14 per cent. goods) . 700 pounds H. G. Sulphate Potash . 225 pounds Cotton Seed Meal . 1,150 pounds

If dried blood is used in place of cotton seed meal, onehalf of the amount, or 575 pounds, will give as much, or slightly more nitrogen, than the 1,150 pounds of cotton seed meal.

Fop, OLD TREES-Acid Phosphate (14 per cent.) . 850 pounds E1. 1. Sulphate Potash . 300 pounds Dried Blood . 250 pounds Cotton Seed Meal . 600 pounds

2,000 pounds
Applying the Fertilizer.-The whole of the fertilizer may be applied in spring, just before the growth starts. On the whole, this is one of the best times to apply it. In some cases it may be advisable to apply only half the material at that time, leaving the other half for application about the first of June. So far as the nitrogen part of the fertilizer is concerned, this would be good practice, but the potash and phosphoric acid may as well be applied at the beginning of the season's growth.
In applying the fertilizer to young trees, it should be put on in a circular band about the tree (closer or farther away, depending on the size of the tree), and spreading it around on a sti-i four or five feet wide. As the trees increase in size, ile fertilizer should be applied over a lprer area until, in the case of old trees, the whole surface should receive an application.

PRUNING.

For such pruning as is necessary for pecan trees, a few tools should be provided. These will consist of a pair of











good pruning shears, German solid steel pruning shears being the best, a pair of Walter's tree prunes for cutting back long branches, and a good pruning saw. One of the best pruning saws is what is known as a Climax pruning saw, or a Pacific Coast pruning saw is equally as good.
It is not advisable to prune the trees during the time when growth has just started in spring, and the sap is in active motion. At this time it will be well-nigh impossible to properly protect the wounds. The necessary coat of paint will not stick to the wound when wet with sap from the tree.
While pruning may be done during the suer months, when the tree is in full leaf, all things considered, the best time to prune is in early spring before growth starts. There is usually less to be done on the farm at this season and more time is available for the work. Wounds made at this time usually heal quite rapidly.
In cutting all branches the saw should be held parallel to the )art which is to remain, and the branch should be ciif off smoothly close up to the trunk.
As soon as the branch is removed the wound should be painted To protect it from decay. For a protective covering, nothing is better than white lead paint. A small amont of coloring matter may l)e added to it, if desired.
As a general rule, the pecan requires comparatively little pruning. At the time of planting, the young trees should be cut back some distance, particularly if they are very tall. It is well to have the main branches from within four or five feet of the ground. After this about all the pruning necessary is to remove dead or injured branches and cut back those which have a tendency to run up beyond their neighbors. For this work, as well as in procuring grafts or bud-wood from the top of the tree, the tree-pruner comes into good service.
Top-worked trees frequently require considerable pruning to get them started so that they will develop into symmetrical trees.











HARYESTING AND MARKETING.

The pecan crop is not so difficult to harvest qnd prepare for market as a crop of oranges or peaches, for instance, and yet some care must be taken to put the nuts on the marl.et in inviting shape.
Fi(ld Equipmcnt.-The equipment necessary for harvesting consists of an extension ladder, a step-ladder, a number of bamnboo fishing-poles and picking sacks. The best kind of step-ladder is one having three legs instead of four. Picking sacks should be made from ordinary help or jute sacks. The sack should be spread open with a piece of stick, sharp-pointed at both ends, placed in one Side of the mouth, thus making the opening triangular. Place a pecan nut in the lower corner of the sack, tie one end of a piece of stout twine about it as it lies in the corner and then tie the other end of the twine to the center of the mount of the stick opposite the stick. The twine should he short enough to draw the bottom and top of the sack close together, leaving an opening through which the arm may be thrust and the sack slung over the holder.
lickhg.-As soon as the greater percentage of the burrs have opeed, the crop should be galliered. It will not do to wait until all have opened, neither is it advisable to pick the trees over a number of times. Pick them clein at one picking. The burrs of those nuts which are fully malured will open, the burrs of immature ones may not. The latter should be discarded.
'The men should climb the trees and pick the nuts by hand, using the bamboo poles only for those entirely out of reach. Even llls should be done carefully, so as not to injure the bearing wood of the trees. Care in picking good nuts by hand will amply pay the grower, because the beating and shaking of the trees will cause a considerable quantity of fruit to be lost, and a few pounds saved will repay all the time and trouble. Of course, in very high











trees there is frequently nothing to do but shake and thrash the crop off the trees. The plan of covering the ground beneath the trees with a large sheet would work well and assist in reducing losses. As soon as taken from the trees the nuts should be spread out under a shed or in a building to dry. A very convenient plan, and one which will save space, is o provide a sufficient niuuber of trays, three feet by four feet, and three inches deep, with halfinch mesh wire bottoms, and place the nuts in these, two or two and a half inches deep. Racks can be provided around the room in which to place these. In from ten days to two weeks from the time of picking the nuts should be cured.
Grading.-The variety should be made the basis of the grade; that is, each variety should be picked, packed and marketed by itself. This, besides, gives an excellent opportunity to compare the commercial value of different kinds. When a grower has a large number of different kinds of seedling nuts, and a small quantity of each, they may be graded by passing them through screens.
Polishing.-At the present time practically all of the common market nuts are both polished and colored. Coloring should not be resorted to, and in the case of good varieties of nuts ljolishing should not be don. In the case of small or mixed lots, however, polishing is useful in nakine the nuts more uniform. It can be accomplished by putting ihe nuts, with a little dry sand, in a barrel fixed so that it can be rotated like a revolving churn and turning over until the nuts receive the desired polish. The better nuts, however, should be put on the market just as they come from the trees. The markings, (lots and streaks on the outside are their trademark and should not be interfered with.
Packagcs.-For shipping small quantities of pecans by express, nothing is better than a box. Barrels are best for larger shipments. For mail shipments stout pasteboard, wooden or tin boxes or tin cans make good packages.












Frequently shipments are made in sacks, but the sack does not afford sufficient protection to the contents and should not be used. As a rule, the box should be made so that a given weight will fill it, but this difliculty may be overcome, to a certain extent, by putting in a pad of paper or excelslor-palper being preferable. Fill the packages on a solid fhor, shaking lhem down well and putting in all they will hold, placing the pad, if one has to be used, in the otloni.
On the outside of the packages, before shipping, should be placed the name of the grower, the variety, the nunibr of poiunds, and the shipping directions. Small boxes to be shiii;ed by express for the holiday trade should be wrapped in good qualify wrapping paper before shipping.
Nulwkttiiag.-The best plan for marketing good pecan nuts is to build up a private trade. As a matter or fact, at the present time but very few of the large, full-meated pecans find their way into the general market. They are either taken by seedmen or consumed by private customers. In building up a private trade, advertising has its place, of course. Advertisements inserted in a magazine or papers, particularly in those which are published in the "o-ist towns of the State, may be found hellful.
The object and aim should be to give each private customer a package, bright, neat, attractive and containing the best quality of nuts. If a certain price per pound is fixed for a given quantity, then this should not be varied under any circumstances. Each year the same quality of nuts should be given to each customer. It will not do to give large ones one year and smaller ones the next; this tends to create dissatisfaction. In some of the larger cities there are high-class fruit dealers who handle nothing lut fruits, nuts, etc., of the very highest quality. Under sone eircuistances it might be well to enter into negotiations with such firms.











VARIETIES.


Although the pecan industry is not old, yet a very considerable number of varieties has been brought forward. Not all of these are or have been meritorious, and in fact many varieties are now represented by name only, Other varieties are com1rativly new, and no one can speak authoio ativel.y of what lhey will do over a wide raii-e of territmry. Still oler val'ieties have been propaga ted by buds or grafts for a number od years, with lie resud that they have beeni tested fairly well over the country, oine. of the varieties so Wied lave proved satisfactory others have not. Of the older varitices, Stuart, Van Denian and Fr1lcher have been found salisfac tory in nearly all cases l v,-heI(, aCt lial lnd a]Rolie ave Iov'd OCI SOusatlis' aiory that they iave bee clt out of the lisf of many in'-olators. It is dmiibtful whe her a more wo thless nut has ever hieell h a a ned ajiold llhan that nil'ich-iaiiied %%aiiety, mlie. Colmanhianl, Pride of tle Coaest, eliitlly, Tweiticilh Century, etc. Fo' the Florida hlanters, the bt'st ulvi(e that Cail be given is to plant neilher (entiniial no' Ruie. They citiher (10 not bear enough fruit or iat whi ih ,hev do produce is inferior or poorly filled (t. \'in I )e1an, Stiat anllit Frotsoler, on the t hr hand, have generally borne iull c(ops of its of' good quaIlity.
A salisfahory ('oiiwi(.ial )ecan nut must lie pr(dific, of gro(o size, good (111lity, must 1)t 1he Sl)u"Iorii c in its bearing, plump, wi lb a blight, plresenkn l~e exte'im! aind t)ref(ernly a liglht-(olred( kernel. The nuis should, besides, yield sixty per cent. or upward f kernels. All these things in one van'iety lmlke a difficult c(lbinationi to secure. Un]due weight mast not, however, be given to size, for size and quality are usually antagonistic to ench other. In fact, in ecalns, as in other fruits, we mfs go to the small or medium sized ones for the best qlnlhiy. No variety of pecan is superior to San Saba in qual i ty, yet











it is a small nut. Other varieties which may be regarded as standards of quality are Schley and Curtis. The former is a medium to a large nut and medium prolific variety, while Curtis is of medium size, precocious and prolific.
Moneymaker is reported as doing well in Louisiana, and, being a medium-sized nut, it is likely to succeed in Florida; but the shell is rather thick. Georgia has proved to be a prolilic and precocious bearer. Nearly all of the varieties given in the following list have been reported up on favorably by diftIerent growers.
In planting pecans, no greater mistake than that of planting a large number of varieties can be made. At most, the plantings should be confined to four or live varieties. If the grower desires to experiment, and it is ,I good thing to do, then a tree or two of a number of other varieties should be included in order to test their merits.
Varieties Rccoar indcd.-The following list contains the varieties whi'h are worlhY the attention of Florida planters. Not all of them have been thoroughly tested as yet, and the reason for inserting then here is to urge that this be done - not in large numbers, not in ten-acre blocks but in lots of two or three trees. In the meantime, 1litil our knowledge of the varieties and their adaption is increased, the saflest advice that can be given the Florida phnter 1)y the writer is to confine himself to such well known varieties as Curtis, Frotscher, Schley, Stuart, Van Dlenan. This list for planting in tihe western part of the State may be supplemented by Bolton, Sweetmeat, and Georgia. Pabst and Russell are also much in favor with a good ninny growers. Continued improvements in those we have and equally as valuable additions are, of co-rse, to be expected and are being added from time to time.










68

REMARKS.

While we believe pecan growing to be a fine investment, we advise conservatism; do not plant more than can be properly cared for; the industry bas come to stay, and with time it will grow to vast proportion,,,. We do not believe that my person living today will ever see the demand wholly supplied, let alone a glutted market. The best grade of pecans are bringing about 50 cents per pound. but if this price is reduced in time as low as ten cents per pound there is more money in growing them ilmn there is in most of the standard crops under good management. So we say to the young or the middle-aged man or woman en-aged in, or about to engage in, either general or special farming, to plant pecans in proportion to their ability to care for them properly-it will pay them.














SUGAR PRODUCTION IN FLORIDA.



CANE CULTURE AND SIRUP MAKING.

By R. E. Rose, State Chemist, Tallahassee, Fla.

The culture of sugar cane, and the manufacture of raw sugar or sirup in Florida, dates from the earliest settlement. The plant was introduced by the Jesuit Fathers and largely cultivated on the East Coast, near St. Angustine and New Smyrna, by the early Spanish settlers, the canes havin- been introduced from the West Indies, where it was cultivated on a commercial scale as early as 1518. The remains of sugar factories, and evidences of sugar culture on an immense scale, are still found at New Smyrna in the Turnbull hammock. A drainage system is still in use, established by sugar and indigo planters more than two hundred years ago. There is no reason to doubt that Florida was the first of the United States to cultivate and manufacture sugar on a large scale.

ANCIENT MACHINERY AND METHODs EMPLOYED.

I regret to say that the same primitive methods used in those ancient days still prevail, and that a modern, economical sugar factory does not exist in the State today. To this fact, and the lack of modern apparatus, I attribute the present condition of the industry. No effort has been made to improve the wasteful two-roller horse mill, with wooden frame, and the old Jamaica kettle set in a clay furnace, the mill extracting not exceeding 50 per cent of the juice, and frequently less, while the kettle, juice trough and skim barrel account for a loss of 20 per cent or more of the small quantity secured by the mill. I am convinced, by observation of
&-But












a number of sirup plants in the State, that, on an average, not to exceed 40 per cent of the sugar content of the cane is secured, and that 60 per cent is wasted after producing the cane and hauling it to the mill. The meth ods generally pursued in Florida are as primitive as those still followed in Mexico and South America. A few modern sirup plants have been erected, notably in Gadsden and Jackson Counties.

MODERN APPARATUS REQUIRED.

A modern factory, with improved mills, evaporators, filters, bagasse burners and other modern labor-saving devices, properly constructed clarifiers, filters, etc. will readily secure double the quantity of sirup or sugar, of a much better quality, from the same amount of cane, than can possibly be accomplished by the crude and wasteful apparatus universally employed in Florida today; at far less cost.

ONLY ('RUDE METHOI)S EMPLOYED.

in no other agricultural and manufacturing enterprise has the farmer and manufacturer failed to take advantage of the improvement in methods and machines. I can only attribute this to the generally accepted belief that cane growing and sirup making, even under the present crude and wasteful method, is considered a most profitable business. I have talked with hundreds of farmers in all paris of the State, from Pensacola to Key West, from Jacksonville to Tampa, and have yet to meet one who did not positively assert that he derived more cash, with less labor per acre, from his cane patch than from any other crop.
MAXIMUM TONNAGE PRODUCED.

The fact that we produce crops of cane of from fifteen to thirty-five tons per acre, with an easy average of twenty tons, cannot be gainsaid.













QUALITY OF CANE SUPERIOR.

That this cane is equal lo any in sugar content, and far superior to that grown in other States, cannot be denied. Too many tests and analyses have been made from canes taken from all parts of the State, and from all kinds of land, by eminent chemists and sugar makers, who have unqualifiedly stated that our canes are equal to any, and superior to most, grown in America, or even in Cuba, to permit a doubt to exist as to the peculiar advantages of Florida's soil and climate for producing a plant of mximumn tonnage and sugar content.

3i1PiiOvED AiPPARATUS IN LOUISIANA.
Louisiana for years struggled with tie horse mill and
Louiiihntheohorse
open kettle, making brown sugar and molasses. This had to he sent to the refinery and treated by the old "clay process." Gradually the methods of the refiners improved, clarification was perfected, filters were improved. the juice was made chemically and mechanically clean. the vacuum pan was evolved, which led to the "double effect" (or vacuum evaporator), the mill was increased from two to lhree, then five then six, and now nine rollers are used. The extraction formerly thought very good at 60 per cent has been increased to 83 per cent, leaving practically only the dry fibre of the cane. The fuel bill, formerly three cords of wood, or equivalent in coal, per acre, has been eliminated, the pulp or bagasse of the cane, in a well-balanced modern factory, furnishing all the necessary fuel for all purposes. The evolution in the sugar factory of Louisiana has been in keeping with lhe progress along all other lines. Twenty years ago the modern "central factory" was the exception; today it is the rule; there are hundreds of such factories in Louisiana, handling from 500 to 1,200 tons of cane per day, making large profits, while selling granulated sugars at 44 to 5 cents per pound. These factories extract and produce












fully 100 per cent more sugar from a given amount of cane than can possibly be secured by using the antiquated mill and open kettle. At the same time, the quality is such that the value of the sugar per pound is increased from 3, to 41 or 5 cents, or from 50 to 65 per cent increase.

RAW SUGAR, OR SIRUP, COMPARED TO REFINED OR PURR SUGAR.

A ton of cane, producing 90 pounds of raw sugar, worth $2.70, will, with improved apparatus of large capacity, produce 180 pounds of granulated goods, worth not less than 4 cents per pound, or $7.20, while the cost of producing this 180 pounds of granulated goods will be less than to produce the 90 pounds of brown sugar.

BEET SUGAR FACTORIEs EMPLOY ONLY IMPROVED MACHINERY.

The only reason why it is possible to make beet sugar profitably is the fact that none but the most modern apparatus is used, making it possible to secure all the sugar, at the least possible cost, from the beet, a plant well known to be inferior to tropical cane in average sugar content and also containing larger percentages of impurities. No beet sugar factory would attempt to make raw sugar and sell it to the refiners at the price fixed by the refiners. The result would be disastrous to the grower and manufacturer of raw sugar. On the contrary, the beet sugar factory makes none but the finest granulated goods, goes directly into the market, and demands and receives the market price fixed by the sugar refiner for first-class goods. The culture of beets is one of the most precarious and difficult crops known, requiring extraordinary skill and immense labor; the crop is subject to many disasters; in infancy it is delicate and easily destroyed by adverse climatic conditions; it requires skillful culture, heavy fertilizing and proper irrigation. When










ready for harvest the work must be promptly finished, the crop stored free of frost, and carefully handled at all times. Five acres per hand for culture is a fair task, while a yield of ten tons, with an average of 12 per cent sugar, is a fair average yield, or 2,400 pounds of sugar per acre, paying the grower a maximum of $5.00 per ton of beets, or $250.00 per annum for culture, harvest and delivery of five acres of beets, with a total failure expected two years out of five from drought, rain or frost.

SUGAR CANE A RUGGED, ROBUST PLANT, EASILY
CULTIVATED AS INDIAN CORN.

To a Florida audience I need not say that cane is a robust, rugg d plant, as easily cultivated as corn, requiring no thinning to a stand at enormous cost of labor, no special care, and seldom properly fertilized; still, I have yet to learn of a total failure of a cane crop from drought! flood or insect pest.

AcREAGE PER MAN EMPLOYED.

Twenty acres per hand, with a yield of 20 tons of cane per acre, is not unusual. (With the eame amount of fertilizing and labor as demanded by beets, one man can grow 30 acres, with an average of not less than 25 tons of cane per acre, that will yield in a modern factory 10 per cent of pure granulated sugar per ton of cane, or 5,000 pounds per acre, or 125,000 pounds per hand used in culture.) Understand that while one man can cultivate 20 acres under ordinary conditions (and 30 if he works as hard and constantly as the beet grower), no one man can harvest such a crop, nor can the beet grower harvest his five acres without help. This cane, delivered at the factory, will furnish practically all the fuel necessary. The beet factory must use coal. This, however, is offset by the value of the beet pulp for feeding purposes; still, the beet factory is ', compared to the cane sugar factory of equal capacity, more










costly, while the process of manufacture is more complicatied and expensive. The extraction, clarifying, filtering and )Urifying of 1)e juice, owing to the large amount of impurities, is far more difficult than in handling cane juice. Raw beet sugar is not fit for conumniption by man or beast. This fact has had much influence on the industry and forced the emplo nment of the best and most scientific methods in beet sagar manufacture. Cane sugar, as we all know, is a most palatable and nutritious food, from the cane itself up through the various preparations of sirup, raw sugar, molasses candy, to retired sugar, or rock candy. In no stage can ii be said sugar cane und its products are not fit for food.

COST OF (ANE SUGAR, COMPARED TO BEET SUGAR.

I have frequentlN stated, and again assert, that firstclass granulated ,ugar can be made from Florida cane at a large profit when selling the sugar at less than it costs to produce beet sugar. That if these facts were intelligently placed before the American farmer and capitalist, the enormous suMs now being invested in beet culture and manufacture would be diverted to ihe sugar belt of the South. and particularlYv to Florida.

FA("rs IDEMONSTRATEI).

It requires no experinreniation, there are no facts to demonstrate, tihey are here ready for investigation; ihe plant, the amount it will produce per acre, its sugar conlent, the cost of produclion, in labor and time; these factors are lhe only ones that iteed to be authoritatively established by our Agriculiural )epartment, or by our own people, to induce the influx of labor and capital.
While I am notia ad advocate of sirup making as a general industry, know ing tlhal it is but a crude and wasteful method, and t most lit an expedient, still, a well-made sirup. cleanly prepared. properly clarified and neatly










packed, is in demand at fair prices and will pay fair dividends on the investment.

CENTRAL FACTORIES NEEDED.

Until our people are educated to the necessity and value of "central factories," where the farmer may sell his cane direct to the factory for more than he now gets for his sirup, it will be well to encourage the sirup industry. Provided none but the best is made, top prices may be expected ; if thin, dirty, dreggy slops, packed in a sour keg or dirty barrel, is produced, it is only fit for the pigs-and not good for them.

WHAT GOOD SIRUP Is.

In reaking sirup (good sirup), the object is to produce a thick, clear liquid. that will not granulate or "sugar off." It may be startling to a number of my auditors when I assert that first-class sirup contains but comparatively lille sugar. A first-class sirup, be it made from cane, maple sap, corn, rice, potatoes, beets, watermelons or other vegetable substance, is but a solution of glucose, or "invert" sugar, with no appreciable quantity of sucrose, or sugar; hence, to make a good, thick, heavy, clear sirup, we proceed to change our sugar to glucose, or "invert" sugar, exactly opposite to the desire of the sugar maker. The sugar maker seeks to prevent the "inversion" of his sugar to glucose, and to get his sugar to the "grain" as quickly a, possible: he desires as little glucose as possible, and separates the molasses and glucose from his crystals as rapidly as possible.
Starch, glucose and sugar are all closely related, all carbo-hydrates-the basis of fats in animals, which are hvdro-carbons. The difference between sugar and glucose is but the addition of one molecule of water. Sugar being "C12. 11-, O1," by adding one molecule of water ("H O") we have glucose-"C, , H,, 0"." By the edition of water,










in the presence of heat, acids or ferments, sugar take,z up a molecule of water and becomes glucose Starch also in the presence of an acid and heat, or a ferment, becomes glucose.
Sugar does not ferment, it must become glucose "invert" sugar first; neither does starch ferment, it must algo be changed to glucose before it ferments. Another fact to be remembered is that glucose, in the presence of heat and moisture, will attack and convert sugar into glucose; by the action of long-continued heat the whole of the sugar will be converted or "inverted." A quantity of pure sugar, dissolved in pure water, kept simmering on a stove for some time, the evaporation supplied will in time become a solution of "invert" sugar, with no sugar (sucrose) in it. If the juice of an apple, orange or a few grapes, or other acid fruit, is added to the vessel the "inversion" will occur more quickly.
Cane juice is a solution of Sugar, glucose and other solids and gums. Ripe cane has but little glucose-frequentily less than 1 per cent, generally 2 to 21 per cent. Unripe cane has a much larger percentage of glucose, sometimes as much as 50 per cent; the immature tops of cane are always high in glucose and poor in sucrose, orsugar. Evidently the starch in the cane (or what would be starch in corn, rice or potatoes,) is first formed in the immature part of the cane. It is by the subtle chemistry of nature changed into sugar, a chemical feat the despair of the most eminent scientists. To change a sugar into glucose is a daily performance in the laboratory and factory; to remove the molecule of water and change glucose to sugar has been the dream of the chemists for years; so far it bas not been accomplished.

SUGAR MAKING DISTINGUISHED FROM SIRUP MAKING.

Knowing now the materials we have to deal with, and their behavior in the presence of acids, heat and ferments, we can proceed to prepare the substance we require. If we










want sirup, we do not demand ripe cane, which the sugar maker requires; a quantity of glucose in the unripe tops will do no harm, hence we begin grinding when the canes are ripe from one-half to two-thirds the length of the stalk (say October 15), though ripe cane makes more sirup in proportion than unripe cane. Unripe cane will make good sirup, but not good sugar. Ripe cane, quickly "boiled off," will certainly granulate if boiled to the proper density; unripe cane can hardly be made to granulate bry the most expert Sugar makers.

RIPE CANE FOR SUGAR.

To make sugar, use ripe cane, cut off the immature tops, leaving as little unripe cane as possible, clarify and evaporate rapidly, place in coolers of large area to allow quick cooling and granulation.

UNRIPE CANE MAY BE USED FOR SIRUP.

For sirup making, use considerable unripe tops; do not hurry the process at any point; the juice may stand in the tank for some time (one or two hours), a little ferment will not hurt it; clarify and skim at a moderate beat; evaporate Slowly, and skim carefully. This slow evaporation will insure a heavy, non-crystalable sirup.
Much of the excellence of Florida sirup depends on the slow evaporation in deep kettles, with great heat long continned, the delay in the juice barrel between strikes, and the large amount of ferment necessarily added to the juice by the mill with its wooden frame and the sourness of the various strainers and utensils used. The mill is seldom washed off, and is never "limed" to destroy ferment.
The evaporator is never a favorite with sirup makers; they can't boil thick before the sirup sugars. This is a fact. If, however, larger quantities were run at a time, and the fire kept low, equally as good sirup could be made on the evaporator as in the kettle. For practical purposes, on a










fairly large scale (10 to 20 barrels, or 400 to 800 gallons, per day of sirup), I should advise a separate clarifier and a partial evaporator, and finish in a separate vessel. The secret of good sirup is perfect clarifying and straining, careful and continuous skimming, and plenty of time given to the evaporation, using more or less unripe cane, with some fermentation allowed. Boil your sirup to a uniform density of about 33 degrees Beaume, while hot; this will yield a sirup of about 38 degrees Bleaume, when cold. These saccharometers can be purchased of any instrument dealer, or can be ordered through any druggist. They are absolutely necessary for uniform work.
J pparatu.---The first prerequisite is a first-class horizontal mill, well built and exceedingly strong, to extract the juice; such a mill can only be had from manufacturers who have had long experience in building sugar apparatus. A first-class three-roller mill, properly set, will extract 60 per cent of the weight of cane in juice, or 70 per cent of the total juice. The clarifiers and evaporators should, if possible, be steani-heated, the coils made of copper, for economical reasons. Copper conducts heat better than iron; while iron pipes will make as good sugar, they will require 40 per cent more fuel to do the same work; a copper coil will work better with 60 pounds of steam than an iron coil with 100 pounds.

ADVANTAGES OF STEAM APPARATUS.

'The advantage of a steam train is obvious; the nianipulator has absolute control of the heat and can regulate it as circumstances demand. A fire-heated evaporator cannot be so perfectly regulated. In either case, steam or fireheated evaporators, I strongly advocate a copper heating surface, on account of fuel economy; the difference in cost will be more than offset during the first season. There are a large number of reliable manufacturers of first class apparatus who can, and will, furnish apparatus at far less than they can be designed and built for locally. A "homemade" apparatus is most expensive and unsatisfactory.










('ulturc.-It is useless for me to attempt to instruct Florida farmers in cane culture. The methods are fully understood by them. 1 can only say that a large part of the culture should precede the planting. The bed should be deeply plowed and in perfect tilth before planting. J prefer fall planting, particularly in South Florida. By having the ground ready, the planting can be done at the time of grinding, using the immature tops for seed. An acre of tops should plant more than an acre of new land. fn ,Soulh Florida, cane should yield at least three good crops from one planning; frequently, with proper care, it will last five or six years. The culture should be shallow, at all times working a low ridge around the cane. For fertilizing, nothing is better than cow-penning, which, however, should be re-inforced by 150 to 200 pounds of high grade sulphate of potash (45 to 50 per cent of potash) and 500 to 1,000 pounds of 16 per cent acid phosphate. Cane requires potash to mature its juices, as does all fruit or sugar-producing plants. A general fertilizer for cane should have about three proportions: Ammonia 3, phosplioric acid 6, potash 4. Cotton seed meal, acid phosphate and kainit mixed in equal parts and applied, 10)0 pounds per acre, will give most excellent results; this will yield the necessary fertilizing elements in about the correct proportion.
At present prices, this fertilizer should not cost to exceed $25.00 per ton at seaports. One thousand pounds per acre should insure a crop of not less than 20 tons of cane per acre, with an average of 10 per cent sugar. or 4,000 pounds sugar per acre, or 400 to 500 gallons of first-class sirup per acre, using a first-class apparatus and exercising due economy. About one-half this amount can be secured with the usual apparatus now generally employed in this State.
Varieties of Cane.-There are a number of different canes, probably seventy-five or more known varieties. In many cases the same cane is known by different local











names. There are not to exceed a dozen kinds that are valuable in Louisiana and Florida, of which probably three distinct kinds are worth considering. The "Crystaline," from which a number of different canes have originated, is generally considered best; tile "Red Bibbon" and the "Purple" canes come next. The large white or Hawaiian cane is largely planted in Florida; it is a favorite for chewing. It is a slow grower, late in starting, and does not rattoon perfectly.
The "Crystaline" is considered the best all-around cane. It is known by many local names. It rattoons well, is early in sprouting and ready to "lay by" by May 15; its sugar content is high and impurities small.
The "Red Ribbon" is also an excellent cane, and inferior to the "Crystaline" only in the fact that it does not rattoon so perfectly.
The "Purple," or Bourbon cane, is a hardy cane, smaller than either of the others named; its sugar content is equal to the "Red Ribbon" or "Crystaline"; it is well adapted to North Florida, and is almost exclusively cultivated in Georgia; it will stand more frost than the "Crystaline" or "Red Ribbon."
A new seeding cane, perfected by Dr. William C. Stubbs, recently Director of the Louisiana Sugar Experiment Station, known as "Demarrara No. 74," has been largely introduced into Louisiana. It is a robust, hardy green cane, with a much larger sugar content than the ordinary canes; a heavy producer, with but few impurities. It has not yet been extensively introduced into Florida. Where it has been tried it has been found desirable, being early in mnaturity and has a much larger sugar content-1O to 1.5 per cent more than the ordinary varieties.
A variety known as the Japanese cane was introduced from the Louisiana Sugar Experimental Station some fifteen years ago; it rattoons profusely and will grow on high pine land, making heavy crops where ordinary cane would fail to produce profitable crops; it makes first-class sirup,












but is not considered a first-class sugar-producer on account of its high percentage of glucose, and solids not sugar. 1 believe it will be of great value to those situated on high pine ridges, and as it stands frost better than ordinary cane, it will be an acquisition to North Florida and Georgia.

PREPARATION OF SOIL-PLANTING.

Soil for cane (or corn) should be well drained and deeply plowed; not less than six inches-preferably eight or more inches, depending on local conditions. This should be done as early as practicable in the fall, not later than November 15 for spring planting; if for fall planting, in October. The soil should be well harrowed, putting the seed-bed in firstclass tilth. The fertilizer should be spread, or scattered, broadcast, and thoroughly harrowed in before planting. Fall planting should be done in November; spring planting in February or March. Rows should be opened six feet apart, four inches deep; the seed canes laid in the furrow, continuously, lapping each cane one or two joints, if the seed is sound and the eyes perfect. In case of damaged seed cane, more is required; frequently "two canes and a lap" are needed; the object being to get one sound eye for every six inches of row, to insure a good "stand." Cover fall-planted cane four inches deep, in the spring, when germination has begun; remove part of the covering, to allow the heat and air to penetrate the soil. Much cane is lost from too deep planting. For spring planting, cover not more than two inches deep.
Germination will frequently begin in North Florida in February; in M iddle Florida in January, when part of the covering should. be dragged off, to assist in germinating. In tropical Florida below the 28th parallel, cane will sprout and grow at any time, and can be planted whenever convenient.













C ULTIVATION.

The culture of cane is exactly similar to the culture of corn; one of the best tools for early cultivation is the "weeder." It can be used at any time from the planting, and run in any direction-with the rows or across themand can be used exclusively until the cane is two feet high, after which a cultivator should be frequently run in the rows. The culture should at all times be shallow, not to disturb the root system. A turn-plow should never be used to cultivate cane. Continue cultivating till the cane completely shades the ground. Allow no weeds to grow in the r'Ows nor the middles, at any time.

HARVEST.

Harvest begins in Louisiana October 15--though the cane is far from mature at this date. The large areas, however, demand early harvest. In North Florida, November 1 to 15; in South Florida, December 1; below the 28th parallel, harvest may be delayed till January 1, and is frequently continued till March 15. sometimes till April 1, the climate being practically similar to Cuba, adding full sixty days' growth and maturity to the crop.
That portion of the plant which has shed its blades or leaves is mature: that part to which the leaves still cling, the lops, is not fully mature. Generally two-thirds of the stalk is matured by November 1st.
When ready for harvest, the cane should be stripped of its leaves, to allow the sun to mature the juices-a lah is a good tool for this purpose. Enouoh cane should be stripped at one time to supply the mill several days.

CUTTING CANE FOR SIRUP.

When cutting cane for sirup, top it high, to leave two or three of the upper, unripe, immature joints; this immature cane juice is largely glucose, or "invert" sugar, and tends to prevent crystallization.













CUTTINGG CANE FO SUGAIR-MAKING.

in cutting cane for sugar-making, top low, using only the fully matured or ripened cane. Cut only what is necessary to supply the mill each day. Only fresh-cut cane should be used for making sugar.

FERMENTATION.

A slight fermentation will not damage cane for sirupmaking. adding to the "invert" sugar (glucose) and allowing the sirup to be boiled thick without danger of crystallizing.
A very small amount of fermentation will materially damage cane for sugar-making, increase the "invert" sugar
-molasses, and decrease the crystals of sugar in proportion to the amount of glucose )resent. Fermented cane cannot be made into sugar, though with proper care it may be worked into fair sirup.

E XTRACTI NG-M I LLIN G.

Use none but a heavy, well-made mill. wvith large sliafts, requiring not less than two good a nials to pull it.
A steam-power, horizontal mill should be used wN-hen there are nore than twenty acres to harvest.
The l)up (or bagasse), when i)assed through the inill, should be broken into short, dry fragments, apparently free of juice. When passing_ the mill as flat ribbons, unbroken at the joins, it has not been well ground, and still has a large percentage of juice left in it. A well-set lorse mill can l)e vnn to extract 60 per cent of the weight of the cane in juice, leaving 25 per cent still in the cane (cane is composed of 85 )per cent juice and 15 I)er cent of dry fibre).
Seldom do horse mills extract more than 50 per cent of juice, leaving 35 per cent in the cane. A well-designed, powerful, six-roller steani-power mill will, when kept properly set, extract 75 per cent, still leaving 10 per cent of












juice in the cane. Seldom do steam mills extract more than 75 per cent of the weight of cane in juice.
The most powerful steam mills-nine rollers, wjth crusher and "saturation" between the last six rolls-average not to exceed 80 per cent of the juice, or 93 per cent of the total sugar in the cane.
A mill extracting less than 65 per cent of the weight of the cane in juice is not an economical apparatus. A good steam-power mill, with six rolls, will average 75 per cent, a gain of practically 20 per cent in Lwirup or sugar.
Few cane growers realize the enormous losses they sustain by using inferior mills.

STRAINING AND CLARIFYING.

Between the mill and the juice tank, or barrel, a coarse wire strainer should be placed, to remove coarse particles of cane or leaves; under this a gunny-bag strainer; below this a coarse muslin or cheesecloth strainer. Needless to say, these strainers must be kept clean and frequently changed. They should be stretched on hoops, like sieves, and a number kept on hand for changing. From the mill to the juice tank, near the clarifier, or evaporator, a pipe should be run-generally below the ground, not to interfere with the team. At its outlet another strainer of flannel, or "filter cloth," should be placed.
Thorough straining wonderfully reduces the labor of skimming and greatly improves the quality of the sirup or sugar.
The juice tank at the mill need not be of great capacity. It serves only as a funnel for the pipe to the larger juice tank near the clarifier or evaporator. This tank should hold at least sufficient for a charge (or run) of well-strained juice; it also acts as a settling tank and removes large amounts of heavy impurities that settle to the bottom. It Should be cleaned at least once a day, and well washed out.











MILK OF LIME FOR CLARIFYING.

The universally used clarifying agent in all well-conducted sugar or sirup factories is a mixture of freshly burned quicklime and water. Air-slaked lime will not answer the purpose, and should not be used. To prepare this "milk of lime," use one pound of quicklime to one gallon of water, thus having two ounces of lime to each pint of the mixture.
Place 40 pounds of quicklime in a 40-gallon barrel; slake it with water; when it is thoroughly slaked, add water to make 40 gallons (if the water is at all times above the lime it will keep indefinitely, fit for use).
Before dipping out a portion for use, stir the "milk of lime" thoroughly to get the necessary lime suspended in the portion to be used. It should be about like thick whitewash.
For each 50 gallons of raw, strained juice, use one pint of this "milk of lime." Take one pint of "milk of lime," add one gallon of water; stir it well to suspend the lime; sca ler this over the surface of the juice in the evaporator or clarifier; distribute it well and mix it thoroughly with the juice.
SKIMMING.

Bring the juice to a boil quickly, but do not let it "boil up;" when the "green blanket" forms and begins to "crack," draw the fires, or turn off the steam. Remove the blanket of green scum quickly and carefully. Don't let the scum fall back into the juice at any time.
After cleaning carefully, renew the fires, or turn on the steam; skim continuously and carefully, while evaporating; evaporate with moderate heat for sirup, quickly for sugar.
AcIDITY.

Normal cane juice is always slightly acid. If cane has been cut some time, or exposed to the sun for some time,
6-Bul












it frequently becomes quite acid (ferments). The lime is to neutralize this acid-coagulate the gums and albumins. Practically all the lime is removed in the scums, or the settlings.
CAUTION.

The amount of lime recommended-one pint of "milk of lime," equal to two ounces for each 50 gallons of juice-is but approximate. Very ripe cane, sweet and unfermented, may require less; green or sour cane, more than indicated.
For sirup-nlaking, the juice should at all times have a slightly acid reaction; for sugar-making, it should be neutral-neither acid nor alkaline.

TEST FOR ACID.

A few sheets of Blue Litmus paper should be procured. Cut this into half-inch strips, about four inches long, and keep in a dry bottle. Before liming the juice, dip one of these strips into the juice. The blue paper will at once be turned pink or red, depending on the amount of acid present. After living, dip another strip into the limed juice. It should show but a pale pink. If it remains blue, you have too much lime, and raw juice should be added till you get a faint pink color on the paper. Juice for sirup should always be slightly acid, turning the blue paper a faint pink.
BOILING.
For Sirup.-After thorough clarifying and skimming,

boil steadily and slowly (skimming all the time) till the sirup makes 33 degrees.
For gugar.-Boil off as quickly as possible, until the saccharometer shows 36 degrees.

BEAUME SACCHAROMETER.

For uniform sirup or sugar-making, an instrument (a











hydrometer) called a "Beaume Saccharometer" is abso, lutely necessary. These instruments cost 50 cents each, and can be had of any instrument dealer. Any druggist can order them.
In sirup-making, boil till a sample of the hot juice shows 33 degr .es on the spindle, which will be about 38 degreett when cold.
Use a glass or tin cylinder about ten inches long for testing; fill the cylinder full of hot juice and drop lie spindle in; it will float at the point of density of the sirup. Sirup should show 33 degrees when hot; for sugar, boil to 36 degrees, hot.
PACKAGES.

The finished sirup should be bottled or canned while still hot, in perfectly cleaned and sterilized bottles or cans, and sealed hot. Cans, corks, caps or covers should be boiled or steamed to sterilize them.
Barrels or other wooden containers cannot be successifully sterilized, and will certainly ferment in a short time. Any sirup, thick or thin, sealed hot, in sterilized cans o.bottles, will not ferment until exposed to the air and be. coming infected by the germs of fermentation. No harm less preservative (or anti-ferment) is known. ChemicaLs that will prevent fermentation will also prevent digestion and are prohibited by good morals, as well as the purc food laws of the country.

CENTRAL FACTORIES.

A central factory for sirup or sugar, with an assureei acreage of from 200 to 500 acres, where farmers can fur nish from 10 to 20 acres without too great a haul, should. be a most profitable investment. Such a factory should purchase cane on the basis of one-half the sirup or sugar made ; the farmer purchasing n ecessary paJ'kages if he preferF' to take his share "in kind," rather than accept the value of his half at the factory without packages. The amount











of sirup or sugar in the cane is readily determined by the specific gravity of the juice at the mill. With a good mill and modern apparatus, a yield of 30 gallons per ton of average ripe cane of 8 degrees Beaunie can be expected. Ihis sirup should be worth 30 cents per gallon at the facory, or $9.00 per ton of cane, of which the farmer should receive $4.00; at 20 tons per acre his gross yield is $80.00; by proper fertilizing and culture, he can increase both the sugar content and the tonnage; 30 tons are frequently made, while 40 to 60 tons have been produced per acre on the rich hammock and muck lands of the State, when properly drained, fertilized and cultivated.

SIRUP PACKAGES.

Packages for sirup should not exceed five gallons each, while one-gallon cans and quart bottles, neatly labeled and sealed hot, to insure the preservation of the aroma and peculiar flavor of well-made cane sirup, are preferable. A fair price for good sirup in five-gallon cans is from 40 to 60 cents per gallon, while quart bottles will sell from 60 cents to $1.00 per gallon. Five gallon cans will cost 25 cents delivered, each, or 5 cents per gallon; one-gallon cans will cost 10 to 15 cents each, while quart bottles will cost 5 cents each. These prices, of course, can be reduced by purchasing in car lots, or by purchasing the material and having the cans made at the factory, as is done in most canning establishments. The freight on ready-made cans is a very large item of expense. An outfit for making cans is not expensive, while the skill required is not great.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

This question is of such importance that the United S,-;ates Agricultural Department has recently undertaken a series of experiments in Georgia and Florida. along the line of sirup-making. 1 believe our State could make no better investment than to establish a sugar experimental











station in Florida, along the lines of the Louisiana Sugar Experimental Station, which has added enormous sums to the profits of our Louisiana sugar planters; lias educated numbers of practical sugar -rowers and sugar niakers. This station would soon be a self-supporting and selfsustaining institution, and sliould be run on practical, as well as scientific, principles, and thus train our young men to "know how," as well as to 'know why," certain processes will yield certain results.

BULLEITJNS AND LITERATURE.

I would suggest to all lose interested in sugar cane, sirup and sugar-nlakin', to write to the Louisiana Sugar Experimental Station, at New Orleans, for a copy of "Sugar Cane," by Prof. William C. Stubbs, Director of the Louisiana Sugar Experimental Station (enclosing 50 cents for the same) ; also, to obtain from the United States Agricultural Department, Farmers' Bulletins Nosr. 90 and 135, "The Manufacture of Sorghum Sirup." The apparatus and methods therein recommended are equally applicable to the manufacture of sirup from cane.
During recent years experiments under the direction of the United States Agricultural Department have been made in Florida and South Georgia in manufacturing sirup from sugar cane. A report, covering a number of analyses of soils, and a larger number of analyses of cane has been published in these bulletins, Nos. 70 and 75, of the Bureau of Chemistry of the United States Agricultural Department. This report sustains the position assumed by myself and others that Florida and South Georgia produce cane equal to any country in sugar content, and that the tonnage compares favorably with more tropical territories.











AVERAGE ANALYSIS OiP FLORIDA CANE.

The average from Florida and Gcorgia shows:
Sucrose, or pure sugar . 12.08 per cent. Glucose, or reducing sugars . 1.32 per cent. Co-efficient of purity . 79.50 per cent.

SUM MARY.

IWhile these general rules and directions are given, there are many "kinks" and conditions arising that require experience and skill to succeed in making a really good quality of sirup or sugar. The art of sugar boiling is like all other arts, and requires practice and skill to become an adept. While it is possible to tell "why" certain results should follow certain processes, one can only learn "how" by practice. Numerous failures may be expected. 'Some of the niost skillful sugar boilers are unable to tell "why," but they do know "how" to produce the best results. There are numbers of chemists who, while they know "why" certain results are to be expected from given conditions and processes, have not the skill required to boil sirup or sugar successfully. "Sirup boiling" in all sugar-making countries is a distinct art, trade or profession skillful sugar boilers frequently being paid as much, or more, than either the superintendent,. manager, chemist or engineer of a sugar factory.
R. E. 1OSE.
rpallalhassee, Fla., September, 1910.

PIZ. H3. WV. "VILEY'S CONCLUSIONS.
In conclusion, f quote from Prof. 11. W. Wiley, Chief

Chemist, United Slates Agricultural Department:
"The problems connected with the sugar and starch products are four or five in number.
"First of all, the soil is to be considered and, therefore, agricultural interests should pay some attention to staple










crops-that is, crops that have a market the year around and can be preserved and marketed at any time. Sugar and starch are types of such crops. These substances take absolutely nothing from the soil; they are fabricated by he plant from the atmosphere and water; hence, the. sale of such products does not tend to impoverish the soil.
"The soils of Florida are largely of a sandy nature "
Sandy soils are not suitable for producing wheat, for instance, but they are well adapted for producing sugar and starch. In Florida, it is more a question of climate than of soil, since, with a favorable clima-, e, scientific agriculture will produce a crop from almost any kind of soil.
"The second problem to be considered is that of fertilizers. Perhaps there is no State more favorably situated than Florida in respect of fertilizers. You have here inexhaustible deposits of phosphate. In the leguminous crops which grow here-namely, peas, beans, alfalfa and beggarweed grass-you have a most valuable means of assimilating nitrogen from the air. In cotton seed, fish scrap and other animal refuse, you have access to large stores of nitrogen. Through your seaports, stores of fertilizer materials, such as nitrate of soda and potash salts, can be brought from South America and Germany. It
would be hard to find any other portion of our country where fertilizers could be sold more cheaply than in this State.
"The third problem is the character of the market. This country is the greatest sugar and starch consumer in the world. We use more than 2,000,000 tons of sugar annually. Of this quantity, before the Spanish War we made only about 300,000 tons-about one-seventh of all.
"Since the Spanish War we have acquired Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Philippines, all of which gives us large additional quantities of sugar. This year we will produce about 100,000 tons of beet sugar, so that at the present time it may be said that we produce about one-











third of all the sugar we consume; but still there is a vast foreign market, which we might supply with a home product.
"There is no danger, therefore, of overstocking our own market with increased sugar productions, nor is there danger of the beet sugar driving the cane sugar cut of the market. For many purposes-as, for instance, the manufacture of sirtip-be, t sugar is unsuiiable, and there will always be a demand for all the cane sugar that can be made.
"The sugar crop of the whole world for the present year is about 10,000,000 tons, of which nearly 7,000,000 tons are made from the sugar beet.
"The sugar beet cannot, however, be grown in Florida profitably. Here you must depend on the sugar cane for sugar, and upon the cassava and potato for starch. From starch, glucose can also be made, and it seems to me that in the near future the glucose industry will pass from the Indian corn belt to the cassava and potato belt. In one particular industry Florida and the southern parts of Georgia and Alabama island pre-eminent, and that is in the manufacture of table sirup from sugar cane. It is important, however, to secure uniform grades to hold the markets of the world, and this can only be accomplished by mixing together the products of small farmers, or by the establishment of central factories, where the cane grown in the neighborhood can be manufactured under standard conditions.
"By the development of these great industries, sugar and starch making, including table sirups, untold wealth will in the near future flow into Florida.
"From by-products of the factories, immense quantities of cattle food can be obtained, both from sugar cane and the starch-producing plants. Thus, a dairy industry can be established in connection with sugar and starch making, which will add much to the wealth of the State."













FUNGICIDES, INSECTICIDES AND
SPRAYING CALENDAR.



Many of these mixtures can be obtained already prepared from reliable dealers, which saves much time and trouble in mixing them. The following precautions should be taken into consideration:
1-Care should be taken to keep all substances employed in spraying where they cannot be gotten at and used by mistake. All substances should be correctly labeled.
2-Solutions and mixtures containing copper sulphate, corrosive sublimate and arsenate of lead should be made in wood, glass or earthern vessels.
3-Arsenical solutions should not be applied to fruits, etc., within two weeks of the time they are to be used as food.
4-Trees should not be sprayed when they are in blossom, as the bees, which are necessary to fertilize the flowers, may be destroyed.
5-Florida growers interested in spraying and other means of checking insect pests, not fully covered in this article, should write the director of the Florida Experiment Station at Gainesville, for further information.

FUNGICIDES.

1 1'ORDEAUX M U'RE.

4 pounds copper sulphate (blue vitrol.)
4 pounds lime (unslaked.)
25-50 gallons water.
Dissolve the copper in hot or cold water, using a wooden or earthen vessel. Slake the lime in a tub, adding the water cautiously and only in sufficient amount to insure











thorough slaking. Afier thorough slaking, more water can be added and stirred in until it has the consistency of thick cream. When both are cold, pour the lime into the diluted copper solution of required strength, straining it through a flue-mesh sieve or a gunny cloth, and thoroughly mix. The standard mixtures are:
(a) 25 gallons (full strength solution, or 4-4 25 formula.)
(b) 50 gallons (half strength mixture, or 4-4-50 formula.)
It is then ready for use. Considerable trouble has frequently been experienced in preparing the Bordeaux Mixture. Care should be taken that the lime is of good quality and well burned, and has not been air-slaked. Where small amounts of lime are slaked, it is advisable to use hot water. The lime should not be allowed to become dry in slaking, neither should it become entirely submerged in water. Lime slakes best when supplied with just enough water to develop a large amount of heat, which renders the process active. If the amount of lime is insufficient, there is danger of burning tender foilage. In order to obviate this, the mixture can be tested with a knife blade or with ferro-cyanide of potassium (1 oz. to 5 or 6 ozs. of water). If the amount of lime is insufficient, copper will be deposited on the knife blade, while a deep brownish-red color will be imparted to the mixture when ferro-cyanide of potassimn is added. Lime should be added until neither reaction occurs. A slight excess of lime, however, is desirable.
The Bordeaux Mixture is best when first prepared. Stock solutions of lime and copper can be made and mixed when required.
2-The following, known as the 6-4-50 formula, is in very general use:
6 pounds copper sulphate.
4 pounds lime.
50 gallons water.











3. BORDEAUX MIXTURE Fon PEACH FOLIAGE.

The Bordeaux Mixture, as ordinarily applied, frequently injures to some extent the foliage of the peach, etc., causing a shot-hole effect on the leaves. This injurious effect has been shown to be largely obviated by the use of the following:
3 pounds copper sulphate.
6 pounds lime.
50 gallons water.
This is known as the 3-6-50 formula. Some experimenters have also recommended the following for peach foliage:
(a) 2-2-50 formula (Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 180.)
(b) 3-9-50 formula.
The latter contains three times as much lime as copper sulphate.

4 BORDEAUX RESIN MIXTURE.

5 pounds resin.
I pound potash lime.
1 pint fish oil.
5 gallons water.
To make resin solution, place resin and oil in t kettle arid heat until resin is disolved. Cool slightly and then add lye slowly and stir. Again place the kettle over the fire, add the required amount of water and allow the whole to boil until it will mix with cold water, forming an amber-colored solution. Take 2 gallons of the resin solution and add to it 10 gallons of water. Mix this with 40 gallons of Bordeaux Mixture.
Recommended for Asparagus Rust on account of its adhesive properties. (N. Y. Agr. Exp. Sta. (Geneva) Bull. 188.)











SACCHARATE OF CoPrER.

4 pounds copper sulphate.
4 pounds lime.
4 pints molasses.
25 gallons water.
"lake 4 pounds of lime and dilute the same with water. Dissolve 4 pints of molasses in a gallon of water and mix with the lime. Stir thoroughly, and let it stand for a few hours. Dissolve 4 pounds of copper in 10 gallons of water and pour it into the lime-molasses solution, while stirring briskly. Allow the mixture to settle. Draw off the clear, greenish solution for use. IEecommended in France as a substitute for the Bordeaux Mixture.

6 AMMONICAL COPPER CARBONATE.

5 ounces copper carbonate.
3 pints ammonia (26' Beaume.)
50 gallons water.
Dissolve the copper carbonate in ammonia. This may be kept any length of time in a glass-stoppered bottle and diluted to the required strength. The solution loses strength on standing.

7 EAU CELESTE.

(Blue Water.)

2 pounds copper sulphate.
1 quart ammonia.
50 gallons water.
Dissolve the copper sulphate in 6 or 8 gallons of water; then add the ammonia and dilute to 50 or 60 gallons of water.











COPPER CARBONATE MIXTURE.

1 pound copper carbonate.
40 gallons water.
Mix the copper carbonate with a small quantity of water to make a paste; then dilute with the required amount of water. For fruit rot of the peach, etc. (Delaware Agr. Exp. Sta., Bull XXIX.)

9 COPPER ACETATE.

6 ounces copper acetate (Diabasic Acetate.)
50 gallons water.
First make a paste of the copper acetate by adding water to it then dilute to the required strength. Use finely powdered acetate of copper, not the crystalline form. For the same purpose, and of the same value, as the preceding forumla.

10 COPPER SULPHATE SOLUTION.

(Strong Solution.)

1 pound copper sulphate.
25 gallons water.
Applied only on trees without foliage.

11 COPPER SULPHATE SOLUTION.

(Weak Solution.)

2-4 ounces copper sulphate.
50 gallons water. For trees in foliage.

12 POTTASSIUAI SULPHAT&.

3 ounces potasium sulphate.
10 gallons water.
Valuable for gooseberry mildews, etc.












13 POTffASSlI PERMANGANATE.

1 part potassium permanganate.
2 parts soap.
100 parts water.
Recommended in France for black rot and mildew of the grape, etc.

14 IRON SULPHATE AND SULPI~rRic ACID.

Water (hot), 100 parts.
Iron Sulphate, as much as will dissolve.
Sulphuric Acid, I part.
Prepare solution just before using. Add the acid to the crystals, and then pour on the water. Valuable for treatment of dormant grape vines affected with anthracnose, application being made with sponge or brush.

15 CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE.
(For Potato Scab.)
2 ounces corrosive sublimate.
15 gallons water.
Dissolve the corrosive sublimate in 2 gallons of hot water; then dilute to 15 gallons, allowing the same to stand 5 or 6 hours, during which time thoroughly agitate the solution several times. Place the seed potatoes in a sack and immerse in the solution for 1J hours. Corrosive sublimate is very poisonous; consequently, care should be taken in handling it, nor should the treated potatoes be eaten by stock. The solution should not be made 1in metallic vessels.
16 FoRNIALIN.

(For Potato Scab.)

8 Ounces formalin (40%o solution.)
15 gallons water.
Used for the same purpose as corrosive sublimate, but not poisonous. Immerse the seed potatoes for two hours.












INSECTICIDES.

17 PARis GREEN-DRY.

1 pound Paris Green.
20-50 pounds flour.
Mix thoroughly and apply evenly, preferably when dew is on the plants.
18 PARis GREEN-WET.

1 pound Paris Green.
I pound quicklime.
200 gallons water.
Slake the lime in part of the water, sprinkling in the Paris Green gradually; then add the rest of the water. For the peach and other tender-leaved plants, use 300 gallons of water. Keep well stirred while spraying.

19 ARSENITE oF LimE.

1 pound of white arsenic.
2 pounds of fresh burned lime.
1 gallon water.
Boil together for 45 minutes and keep in a tight vessel. Add 1 quart of this to a barrel (50 gallons) of water. for use.
This insecticide has been recommended by a number of Experiment Stations, but has not yet been sufficiently tested at the Massachusetts Station to receive an endorsement.
20 ARSENATE OF LEAD.

4 ounces arsenate of soda (50% strength).
11 ounces acetate of lead.
150 gallons water.
Put the arsenate of soda in 2 quarts of water in a wooden pail, and the acetate of lead in 4 quarts of water in another wooden pail. When both are dissolved, mix with












the rest of the water. Warm water in the pails will hasten the process. For the Elm-Leaf Beetle, use 25 instead of 150 gallons of water.

21 WHALE OIL SOAP.

2 pounds potash whale oil soap.
1 gallon hot water.
For winter use only.

22 KEROSENEi EMULSION.

Sound hard soap, shaved fine.
1 gallon water.
2 gallons kerosene.
Dissolve the soap in the water, which should be boiling; remove from the fire and pour it into the kerosene while hot. Churn this with a spray pump till it changes to a creamy, then to a soft butter-like mass. Keep this as a stock, using one port in nine of water for soft-bodied insects, such as plant lice, or stronger in certain cases.

23 MEMCMANICAL EMIULSION.

A Substitute for the last. Made -entirely by the pump, which draws water and kerosene from separate tanks and mixes them in the desired proportion by a mechanical device. Several pumps for the purpose are now on the market.

24 RrisIN-LIME MIXTURE.

5 pounds pulverized resin.
1 pound concentrated lye.
I p~int fish or other animal oil.
5 gallons water.
Place the oil, resin and 1 gallon of hot water in an iron kettle and heat till the resin softens, then add the lye and Erfir thoroughly; now add 4 gallons of hot water and boll




Full Text

PAGE 1

VOLUME 2t NUMBER 2 FLORIDA QUARTERLY BUI~LETIN OF THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT -1:\_Pl~IL 1, 1911 -----------------------B. E. MCLIN COMMISSIONER AG RICUL'J:'URE TALLAHASSEE, FLA. Part l 22 Articles on Soils and the Growing of Various Crops iu Florida. Part 2--Crop Acreages and Conditions. Part 3--Fertilizers, Feed Stuffs and Foods and Drugs. Enter ed .Jm,uary :l l, 1903. at Tallaha ssee Florida. 1ts second-class matter under Act of Co ngr ess of , lune. 1900. TH(Sl BULUTINS AR( ISSUtD fR(f TO THOSE REQUESTING THEM T. J. A PI' LEYA RD. St ate P rinter Tal In ha:-s, 1 e, r•~la . ..,.,~ .. .

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COUNTY MAP OF STATE OF FLORIDA

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PART I. ARTICLES ON SOILS AND THE GROWING OF VARIOUS CROPS IN FLORIDA.

PAGE 5

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF FLORIDA SOILS. 1'his article is ne cessari ly general in scope and i s in tended to supp ly inforrn atio n on this important sub ject in a br-ief way to tho se seeking such information before coming to this State to make new homes. \Vith no funds for immi gratio n purp oses, we are limit ed to small space in the Bulletin to supply that which every propo se d im migrant wants and shou ld have, and which we cannot give in any other way_ The aYe rage soil of Florida is sandy , mixed with more 01 less clny, lime and organic m attet. The greater por tion of t h e lands ma y he designat ed as pine land s, be cause of i"he 11inc tirnhf~r whieh pr rdomi nates. 'l'lt e l'e are lands on which the timer is a mixture of pin e, white oak, red oak , water onk, live oak, gum, bay, hicko ry, mag nolia , cabbage palm etto, etc.; t h ese lands are termed mixed h ammock land s. 1'hc general classifi catio n of soil,: is in the follmYing order: First, second and third rate pine lands, and liigh hammotk . . low lrnmmo ck an d swampy lands. The pine lands cover much the larger portion of the State, and the so il is apparently all s a nd, but suc h is not the case; over a greater portion of the State this sand is thoroughly mixed with small particl es of shells , which contain carbonate of lime, other minerals and decom posed , finely g ranulated vegetable matt e r_ It is true that Florida h as her proportion of poor lands, just as have all other States and countries, bnt comp ared with so me other Sta tes the ratio is very small. with the exception of a very small area of supposedly irreclaimable swamp lands , there is scarcely an acre in the entire State which cannot be made, under the wonderful influence of her 1-Iln l

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6 tropical climate, to pay tribute to man's energy. Lands which , in a more northerly <:limate, would be utterly worthless, will, in Florida, for the reasons above stated, yield valuable productions. FIRST-CLASS PIKE L.-1. N DS. First-class pine lanu in Florida is wllolly unlike any thing found in any otller State. Its surface is usuall y covered for sev eral inches d ee p with a dark vegetable mould, beneath which to the depth of several feet is a chocolate-colored sandy loam , mixed for the most part with lime i;tone pebbles and resting upDn a substratum of marl, clay or limestone rock. The fertility and dura bility of this character of land may be estimated from the well-known fact that in the older settled districts this kind of soil has been cultivated for as many as twenty years successfully in corn or cotton without a pound of any sort of fertilizer, and are still as produ tive as ever; practically, then, these lands are inde structible. It is on this class of lands that both truck and fruit growing is most successful, and ,vhicll produces the finei;i: quality of Sea lslaucl cotton. It is also tine farming land and yields good cr ops under ordinary me th ods of cultivation. By the growing of leguminous plants these soils and all other pine lands can be con tinually kept in a high stat e of fertility. SBCOND-CLASS PI:-SE LA NDS . The second-class pine lands, which make up the largest portion of lands, are practically all productive. They are not hilly, but for the most part undulating in their sur face. In some places, however, these elevations amount to hills. Some of tllese hills in Hernando County are regarded among the highest points in the State . Under lying the surface of clay, marl, lime rock and sand. These lands, from their accessibility and productiveness, the

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7 facility of fe r tilizing with cattle penning and the im pre ss ion of their grcaf('r h ea lthfulness than hammork land 8, ha, e indu ce d th cii e n c losure and till a ge, wheu the rid1er hammock lauds 11 t!rc n ca 1 uy, uut mor e diffi. cul t to prepar e for c: nlti vation. Some of th ese lands have no regular rnmpact clay under them, or , at l eas t, not in reach of pla nt roots. Thi s fact is taken frequ e ntly as an evidence against iliem, since the po1J11lar p1eju d ice i s decid e d l y in favor of n c lay s ubsoil, Tili s ouj cd iou. if it really be one, is tak e n for mor e tilan it i;; wol'til, for cla y proper , 01 allumiuurn, as tli e chem ists call it, is uot food for plants. Its uses to tile plant aie }lurcl,r m ec hanical. It serves as a reservoir for th~ stornge o f moisture in times of druu 6 ht, as well as to hold firmly til e roo ts of the growiug trunk, but not to feed the lrnngr;r or thirsty plant. Sometimes it has been found in small qu an titi es in tbe ash of wood s , bu t this is b e cau s e the rootlets take up more or less of whatever salts al' e in solution alwut tllcm, and clay has been taken up in this w ay , just ns poisons may !J e tak e n up; for tre es a l' C sometim es killed !J . I' pouriug poisonous liquids ab o ut their roots, but clay n e , r makes any part of the or g aniRlll of plant s, nor is i t numbere
PAGE 8

s the surface, so as to bring back directly any fertilizer in solution that was carried down , it is safer ther e in the subsoil than on the steep hill s ides of clay, wher e what i8 appli e d is fr eq neni l,r ca rried away uy ih e floods, together ,yi1h 1he soil, to th e vales b e low. whereas, wlrnt has gone down in the por o us soil is brought back by the capillary attraction of the surface soil in time of dron g ht to tllc reach of the growing cr op. One of the us es of drou g ht is that it thu s bring s np from the s ubsoil, with the a :a:sista nc e of shallow c ultivation. an y miner a i food iliat mn;r be iher e to wh e r e it will be in rea c h of the giowillg crop. nnt lighi , sn ni.ly soil:-;, thou gh they may produ ce fre e l y at Jil";t, soon give wa y, and tllis fact, for frequ en tly it i s a fad, is regar ded as e oncln s ivc ns against l oose an
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9 mer of these, it is now ascertained, is also well adapted to the grmvth of Sisal Hemp, which is a valuable tropical pro1lnctinn. This plant ( the Agave Sisalana), and the Ag:we )Icxicana , also known as )Iaguey, the Pulque Plant, the Century Plant., etc., llave botll been intro duced into Flori!ln, and they have botll grown in great petfeetion on the poorest lands of the country. As these plants derive tlleil' chief support from tlle atmosphere. they will, like the common air plant. preserve their vitality foi man~ months when left out of the ground. Tile second oi-der of the thii-d-rate pine lands are not enti rel,, worthless, as tlle,.:c lands afford fine cattle ranges antl in sorne localities large tracts of timber adapted to the manufacture of naval stores and milling purposes. Just he1c we feel that it is not out of place to say a few worrls concerning the topography and intluence of these lands on the health of the inhabitants thereon. A general. feature in the topography of Florida, which no other country in the United States possesses, and which affords great security to the health of its inhabitants, is that the pine lands which form the basis of the country, and which are almost universally healthy, are nearly everywhere studded. at intervals of a few miles, with hammock lands of the richest quality. Thes e hammocks are not, as is genernll,r supposed, low, wet lands; they never require ditching or draining, tlte,v vary in extent from a few aCl'es to many thousand acres; hence, the inhabitants have it everywl1ere in their power , when desired , to select resi denc e s in the pine lands, at snelt eon venient distances from the hammocks as will enal1le th e m to tnltivatc tile latter without endangering their bealih, if it should so happen that the lwmmock lands appeared to he less heal1hy than the pine lands. Experience in Florida has satisfactorily shown that residences only half a mile distant from cultiv:.1ted ham mocks are entirely exempt from malarial disease, and those who cultivate these hammocks and retire at night

PAGE 10

10 to pine land residences maintain perfect heaith. "Indeed, it is found that residences iu the hammocks themselves are generally perfectly healthy after they lta,e been one or two ycal's cleared. :Newly clPare,1 lands are sometimes attended wit lt the devclopmeut of more or less malaria, a fact 1"hat, undel' similm <'m1ditions , i;; no more prculiar to Florida tkm an,r other ::;;tale. Jn F101ida the diseases which result from these clcal'ings are generally nf the mildest type of bilious fe,~er. 'l'l..le topogrnpltira 1 fen t nre lte;e uo tc d , namely; a general inte1sper:-:io11 of i-il'h hammocks, r-;mrorm,1ed by hig!J, dry, rolli!i); , lieal / . h,v pine w oo <1:;; , is :rn ar~rnni:ng:e which no other Stntr. 0 i11 iln~ l ~ uion enjoys; : rnd Fl01-i,ln forms, in this ref,:Jll'cl", n sil'il,ing eon(-r::u,t '.'i ith f:On~e other South ern St::tes whose snp11 arn1 ,: ol ton la:1ds al'e generally au1-rom](led !Jy v:ist , 1Jlnvin1 : . cgin ns_. subject tn frequent inmH1a1iom;, HO that it h, im1H,s f,i ldc (o obtain, within many 111iles of iliem_. a henhhy 1•e:c;itle11 ce . At first tho11g!Jt it would i,eern imv1 01lal>le to many people that the rnnlarinl di sensci; of Florida (abounding in these rich lrnmmoek lands and exposed to a tropical 111rn), shoul,l so genernlly he of a 1uueh wilder form than those which p1evail in more northern latitudes. But sucli, however, is the fact. Tt i s suggei-ted. in explana tion or this fact, 1ha1 the lnxmi:rnt w.~etation which, in the So11thern :rnd }ridc]le Stn1es, pass es through all tbe stages of decornpnr-;ition, is, in F'lo1idn, generally dried up before it l'eaches ihe stnge of' 11ccomposiiion, and that, conseqnently, the qnan1 i!y of rnahi . rin ge nerated is much less than in l'limnteB mme favo1nh!e to decomposition. This view is strengthe1H'1l l>y tlie L, c t that the soil of Florida is, almost CYer.\where, of f::O porous and absorbent a charnctee ihnt 1tH1istmc is :c-.cldom long retained on its aurface , tlrnt its ntmm-pliere is in constant motion, and that there is more clear sunshine titan in the more north ern States. It is further suggested ihnt the uniform prevalence of sea breezes, and the constant motion of the

PAGE 11

11 atmosphere in the Peninsula, tends so much to diffuse and att <: nuate whatever malaria i,; generated that it will gen e rally prndnce only the mildest form of malarial dis east)S, snch as interrni tten t fever. The lands which in Florida are universally denomi nated "rich lands' ' are. first. the "s namp lands;" sec on d, th e low lrnrnmoek lnnds ;" third, ihe "high hmnmock,s; _, and fourth , the "first rate pine, oak and hick ory lands." Tht :. sw,111q, l a nd s :1 1 0, 1rn q w ri01whly, the n : os t dura ble l'ich lands in ihe State. Tiley al'r: f !te rnn :,J recently fo rned ]:mils, and are s1i1! nnmwlly receiving arldi!ion• to tl1ei1 smfaC'c. They a;e intiin,-ieally n1e nwc-t valu alil e l:rn<1s, bemuse they ar e a,,: fertile as 1he lrnmmock• nL
PAGE 12

12 visitations of frosts in both these States render it neces Emry to cut the cane in October, which is long before it has reached maturity, while in Florida it is permitted to stand, without fear of frost, till the last of November or December, or till such time as it is fully matured. It is well known tllat it "tassels'' in South Florida, and it never does so in either Lonisiana or 'fexas. "TT 7 hen cane "tassels," it is evidence of its having reached full ma turity. In consec1ue11ce of the considerable outlay of capital requireu in the preparation of this description of land for cultivation, and from the facility formerly ex isting for obtaining hammock land, which requires no ditching or draining, swamp land has been but little sought after by persons engaged in planting in Florida until in recent years; now, however, there is a great and ever-increasing demand for these lands by individual8 and incorporated companies, thus suddenly recognizing their immense productive value. The greater part of what are known as swamp lands proper are mostly located in East and South Florida, although there are numerous and quite extensive bodies in North, l\fiddle and West Florida. 'l'IIE EVERGLADES. \Yhile the soils of this region differ little in their gen eral ch:nactel'isties, from the swamp lands above consid ered, still, owing to their 1nomincnce as sueh and as the greatest reelamntion undertaking in recent times, also their nniq11c g
PAGE 13

13 alluvial deposits an many such. T.TndoulrtedlJ they were often made the site of In dian g-ardens. Lmge areas, co,ering many sqnm e miles, which but a fe,y ,Years ngo we1e mnrshes eo..-e1c 'd with saw gi-ass an
PAGE 14

u and fifty miles l ong by fl.fly-five mil es wide, and lying betw een the pine and swamp lands which have grown over two reefs of rock i-11nning parallel with each other from North to Sou t h. Ko i-ivers 1jenetrate into the Gladeiil beyond 1 he se rock reefs on e ither s i t:c and the lnnd is very level , being co mp osed chi efly of muek an d sand lying in a basin with a rock bottom. Th e annual rninfoll over this territory nverages Hearly sixt_y i nche s . It lrn s for this reason , and hecnuse this r ainfall has no other outlet over' these reefs, he e n and :s t oo wet for cultivation. The muck which ovel'!ies the sa nd and ro ck varies from about two feet on the edg:e or tile Glad es to a depth of twenty feet in the middle, :m , 1 would : n el'age over the whole territory a d e p1l1 of hetw r<• n si~~ nn d eigl.tl feet . Tlt c land is free from fre es and ~d . 1m1ps . and nlmnst f1ee from b1rnh cs; ihe item of clen1i11J h ingof 110 (n>'id<'rntion wh::it e,e r, simply r eq nil'i ng m'Ying (l ow n the gra ss and burning it, whe ; i ihe soil i s refld_v to be till ed, as soo n as the e xcess water is rnn off h,v tlle dr ain age canals. TJ1e soil, as compare(l with other po rt ions of the co un try, taking into eonsi
PAGE 15

15 and the equal of any in the world. Without the addition of the chemical fertilizers mention e d, these soils will not equal in productiveness the first grade of swamp lands. Low H.u.n10c r;:s . Low hammocks, which are practically swamp lands, are not inferior to swamp lands proper, in fertility, but are consi
PAGE 16

16 greatest possible production of any kind of crop adapted to the climate. In unfavorable seasons it is much more certain to produce a good crop than any other kind of land, from the fact that it is less affected by exclusively dry or wet weather. It can be cultivated with much less labor than any other lands, being remarkably melow, and its vicinity is ge11erally high and heal thy. These reasons are sufficient to entitle it to the estimation in which it is lield over all other lands. Some of the counties in Middle Florida, Gadsden, Leon, l\Iadison and Jefferson. and Jnekson, Holmes and wash ington Counties, in ,Yest Florida, have large areas of tine high hammock land, Ulldetlaid with a stiff clay. These are the best lands of the State for the growth of short staple cotton and are, indeed, the cream of the State for general farming purposes. They are of the earliest form ation of the :F'lorida lands. As before stated, areas of these lands in varying extent are found in every section of the State, in almost every county. Some of the largest bodies of rich hammock land in East Florida are to be found in Levy, Alachua, Columbia, l\Iarion, Hernando_. Citrns, Pasco and Sumter Counties. There are in Levy county alone not less tllan one hun dred thousand acres of t!te very best description of lands adaIJted to sugar cane culture, and there is but a small proportion of any of the counties, here mentioned, tllat will not produce remunerntive crops of short-staple and Sea Island cotton without the aid of manure. The first rate pine. oak and hickory lands are found in wetty extensive bodies in many parts of the State. From the fact that these lands can be cleared at much less expense than the swamp and hammock lands, they have generally been pl'efel'l'ed by the small farmers and have proved remarkably productive. I'IU!ltIE LA::\'DS. 'l'!tere are, besides the lands already noticed, extensive

PAGE 17

17 tracts of prairie lands, which approximate in character, texture of the soil, and period and mode of formation, to the swamp lands, differing only in being practically desti tute of timber. Some of these lands are, however, ex tre1m:ly poor and non-productive, owing mostly to a sub strata of hardpan, clay, which is impervious to moisture and i mp e netrable alike to tile roots of fruit trees or plant s . 'IYhcn the hardpan co mes as near to the surface as, s.i.v, seven or eight feet, the growing of citrus fruit trees is not advisable. When it comes no nearer than, sny , four feet, and surface drainage is good, vegetable growing cnn be made succssful with proper cultivation and f 1 rtilizntion. The most of t hese lands afford excellent pas t 1m _:i s t1ming ihc grea1e1 part of the yenr. In fact, it is this class of' lands Hint make np tile grentcattle rang es of the Stat-e, on whi c h lrnndreds of thousands of cnttk thrive the year arom1d. 'l'h csc lands arc -found in t1 nci.s of Yarying extent in every section of the State, but in So 11tll e1 n Flol'ida , in Southern Hillsborough County; in Manate e_, in the great Myaka River prairie rrgion, in southern Pol!;: County. and in DeSoto, Osceola, Br ev ard and I , ee Counties, whi c h in c lnde t he Alifin, Kissimmee nnd Cn!oo,:;alrntchie Hi\er vnileys, is found the greatest gr a zi:lg rrgion cast of the :\lississippi River. The cli mate is perfect, never cold enough to kill the grasses, wlti c li grow as green in .January as in June, and where wate1 is in bountiful supply at all sen.sons of the year. EASE OF CULTIVATION. Pel'liaps the most attractive feature peculiar to the :-oils of Florida is the ease with which they can be culti Yated as compared wiih stiff:. heavy soils of other States, while quite as fertile. Another is that the greater part of th e farm labor and tillage ca n be, and much of it is, performed during those months of the year when the g-ronnd further north is frozen. Still another peculiarity is, tl1at fertilizers can be applied to greater advantage,

PAGE 18

18 because the fcrtiliziug material will remain in until the stimulating chemical ingredients are lated and absorL c d into the earth and are not the soil assirni carried away by washing rains, as they are in broken or moun tainous co untries , and also because the porosity of the soil enables the atmosphere, through oxidization, more readi !y to aid the fcrti l izers in the \Yotk of dee om posing the minerals of the ~uil , thus setting free the food ele ments th ey contain for the use of the growing crops.

PAGE 19

THE CITRUS GROVE, ITS LOCATION AND CULTIVATION. BY P.H. ROLB'S, M. s. Director Florida 1lgri c ultuml Exp e riment Station, and State Superintendent of Far//lers' 1 nst-itutes, University of Plorida, Gainesville. Cl1'RUS CUL'l'URE. CHOOSING A LOCA'l ' ION. The character of Florida soi ls is variable to a consider abl e extent. Even in tile same vicinity various kinds of soils may occur. Thes e vary from a clay to loamy , sandy, and marly soils. Some of them, also, are muck soils. C lay Soil is one of the be st for citrus-growing when it is found in a warm region. Less fertilizer is requir ed and the trees are productiv e . bearing an unusually fine qualily of fruit if th e soil is properly handled. Loa111iing Soil.-'l'his is the character of the soil that i s most larg e ly em ployed for cit rus-g ro wing and with best results Elsewhere this soil might b e referred to a:; sand y loam. It contains a considei aLle admixture of c lay and organic matter. with a larg e body of sand. Sandy So il,. or sandy land as it is ofte n called , is usually free from a pereeptible admixture of either vegetable matter or clay. For the mo st part it tends to be lacking in water and fertilizer-holding pow e r. When it is almost pure sand it appears white, and is usually considered nu unfavorable soil. Marly So'il.c; occur in some sections. After a consider able amount of humus has been worked into the stiff

PAGE 20

marl, they make good soils for citrus trees. In their original state, the marly soils are apt to produce an in• different growth in the young trees, usually causing them to suffer more or less from dielmck. scale insects, and other snch disorders. 'fl.tis condition, however, passes off as the soil becomes more thoroughly tilled and has more vegetable matter incorporated in it . .1liuck Soils are not the ideal soils upon which to plant citrus trees, since they are inclined to be sour, to produce an exuberant growth, and for a number of years to give ro11gh and imperfect fruit. After muck lands have been cnltivated for a nmnber of years and bronght into a thorough state of tilth, they produce excellent crops of citrus fruits, nnless the mucks remain raw in form and contain a considerable amount of lrnmic acid. Trm NA '. rurtAL GnowTn As . '..N INDEX. TiaJJ1JJ1ock.-It is in our native hammocks that the wild citrus groves occnr. In some regions thousands of trees have be e n transplant e d from the s e old nntirn groves to higher lands. In other places the hammocks " ere cleaned up, leaving the orange seedlings standing, to be budded over to the better varieties. These wild trees were always found to he the sour orange. At the present time the hammock lands are regarded as the ideal ones for citrus culture. 'fhc great cost necessary to clear the s e up thor oughly bas in man y cases deterred people from making use of them. Rolling Pine.-The higher pine lands, more or less roll ing, upon which long-leaf pine trees are growing , give us some of the best citrus lands we have in the State. These lands are easily cleared, and quickly brought into service for setting out to citrus trees. They are usually suffi ciently drained naturally to permit the citrus groves to grow off promptly and produce a lot of fine fruit. They are less desirable than the hammocks, on account of re qniring a larger amount of fertilizer to bring the trees

PAGE 21

21 into bearing. After years of cropping, however, they will require little or no more fertilizer than the adjacent hammocks. Cubbayc Palmetto Ha111mock.-These hammocks differ from tlle hammocks proper in that they are usually more or less cowred with water for a part of the .rear. The cabbage palmetto is the predominating tree. ,Yherever the lalld is high enough above the adjacent water, these lands may be drnined and brougllt into service for citrm cnltrrc•. ""ht>n properly handled, they make among our best c-i trns gro,e;-,. Blic7l Jla111111ock.-'i'hese differ from the other forms of hammock in tl1at the soil is composed, ton gre:iter or les11 dt>grce, of shell. 'fhe trees usually grow off promptly and make a good showing, bnt sooner or later are apt to he affected severely with dielJaek; nnd ,.-hile in many rnses most excellent fruit is raised on shell hammock• tl1e~ rPqnire a s11ecial and careful treatment. This char acter of land may safel;, be nsed by those who are expert in lwndli11g cilrns trees. Drni11ccl Lands.-Lake beds and other lands, sometime• en lied prniric, tlrnt are high enough to permit of thorougJa drainage, have been used to a consideral.Jle extent for !Jhrn tiug to citrus. In the:;:e lands it is purely a question as to whether they are :-:uflieientl.r high to permit of thor ough drainage during the rainy portion of the year. Pinc Land, With Oak Unc!crgroicth.-Some of the pine iand, freqnently called secondgrnde pine land, eRpccially that which has a considerable unde1growth of scrub oaka, must lie looked uvon with some suspicion. "'Where clay i• found within two or three feet from the surface, this char acter of soil can be safely employed for locating a citrua grove, bnt where the sand is very deep it will be prefer able to choose a location elsewhere. Flat1rnods.-'l'ltis charncter of land. is usually le,el and more or less covc1ed. with water during the rainy season. As a rnle, a hardpan occurs from a few inches to a few 2-l~ul

PAGE 22

23 feet below the surface. This prevents rapid and thorough drainage. Saw palmettoes are usually absent or scattel'ed on this character of land. The predominating under growth is gallberry. By hardpan, we should understaml a more or less impervious stratum occurring in the soil at a depth of a few inches or a few feet. It obstructs the passage of water downwal'Cl, and also obstructs the down ward progress of the roots, cam;ing the soil to beconm water-logged during the rniny period, and probably ver,1 dry dming a pel'iod of drought. Tliis lianl1mn may be made up of val'ious matters, eitlier calcareous, siliceous or fenuginous. The cementing material usually breaks up and lets the sand fall apart when ex1iosed to the air. If tile hardpan is of a ferruginous nature, it is more or less poisonom, to citrus trees. Vmious methods have been adopted for bringing into cultivation land ihat has a hanlvan under it. Sometimes this hardpan hm; been broken through by means of plowing. In such cases the liardpan was near the surface and in a thin layer. In otlter cases, the surface soil has been mounded np :,;o as to put the trees on ridges. In a few cases the hardpan has been broken by discharging dynamite under the trees. Iron salts as tltey normally occur in the soil have a yellowish or reddish color. ,vhere tliese coloi-s occnr, the dmker color-ed iron lrnrdpans are not likely to be present, conseqncutly it is sometimes concluded that a 1eddisli or yellow soil indicates one espe('ially favol'able for agricul tural p111ioses. 'l'hese flafr,oods lands, when tliorouglily and deeply flrained and the hnrdpan broken, make a fair place for producing citrus fruit. S7Jrucc-Pil1c Lancl.-'l'he spruce-pine land, as well as the f'>ernb-oak land, should not be employed for citrus growing at the present time. Splendid citrus orchards occur on lands of this kind, but they have been brought out by experts and at the cost of much more than would have been necessary on lands better adapted for citrus growing. In addition to this, these lands produce trees that are subject to many disorders.

PAGE 23

23 SITE 01 •' THE Gr:oYE. Immediately upon deeicling that one wishes to plant n grove, he should select the best site that can be procured. A great many questions arise in determining where a groye slin 11 be located. A few of these are discnssed below. Di st an ce Pro111 TransJJortation Linc.-'l'lte nHimate objert being Hie selling of fruit at a l'emunerathc fignre, it Lecornes necessary to loente a g1ove within a 1easonnble dis1nu e e of some line of rnilrond or water trani;:portation. 'l'he distance whieh it will be profitable to transport fruit hy nagon will depend largely upon the co ndition of the roads . \not her determining factor in the matter is the ros1 of th e land. A grove of moderate-sized tre es , heavily loadeu, should produce a thons:md boxes of 01nnges to the n crc _ Allon-ing fifty boxes to a load, this wonld re quiI-c twenty trirs to the trnnsportation station. lf a grove we1 e located ihree miles a\Yny from the stntion , it would probably take on e man with a two-hms e te n m six
PAGE 24

24 will not freeze citrus fruit. If, however, the drop goes lower, say to about 26 or 25 degrees, serious damage is apt to result, especially if it is long continued. A drop in temperature of 24 degrees is not likely to prove se1'iously damaging to trees unless it is of continued duration. Trees in a thoroughly dormant condition will pass through a temperature of 18 degrees without the loss of much wood, but, as a rule, a considerable amount of foilage is lost at that temperature. 'l'ltis, however, varies with different varieties and with the conditions of the tree and tlm duration of the cold. Even if it docs go to freez ing, a :-;ndden drop in the temperature and a con tilrnation of ii: for a nmnber of days proves rather disadvnntngeo;1s to the health of the citrns grove. It is, tltrr0fore, very desirnble to have some form of protection againf.:t cold. lValcr Protcction.-,Tatcr 1notcction prnvcs to be 011e of the !Jest shelte1s against occasional cold days in wink,. It h:rn been found that regions located in large b,,die:,; of wntt-r, or with a uorthern, ensten1 arul wPsten1 proteetion of water. ave nmch le:-s subject 1o drops in temperature than those that are exposed. Quite a number of such places may be fonnd as fa, nol'th as ~fl degrees 45 miilntes of latitude. Even nol'1l1 of this region :-ome fine groves occur that have heen prntecied by artificial means. Far ther son1h, at about the ~Sth parallel of latitude, a num ber of locations have been found where water has pro tected the trees, and in some cases even the fruit, against the most severe cold that we have had. Ham.mock Protci•ion.-Quite a number of citrus grow ers in the Staie have fonnd that hammock prntection is quite as feasible as water protection. B.v locating in a large hammock and securing the smTmmding lands, citrus growers have cut ont small tracts in the hammock varying from five to ten acres in extent and planted these in citrus trees, leaving these sm:1 JI groves entirely smT0111H1t'd hy hmmnock trees. To mnke 1-mch a pl:m practicalilP. ii is necessary to own the smTomuling hammock; otherwise,

PAGE 25

25 one would have no control over the hammock trees which he wishes to use as protection against cold. SrrnLTER Fno:\l SEA Wrnns. Around the coast of Florida the bleak sea winds are damaging to citrus trees and citrus fruits. The direct illnuence c,f the sea breezes is io cause tlle atmos,phere and suil to become dry. 'rliis stunts the grove and in :;ome cases makes it absolutely impossible for the trees to attain a size that will enable them to bear a profi tabl~ ci-op. In some cases, where groves have been planted in such exposed places, it hns become necessary to erect an artificial windbreak. This being built ten or twelve feet high, affords the first row protection against the sea breezes. Each row then successively forms a protection for the succeeding row. In addition to the direct influence of the sea winds, we also have the indirect effect in causing tlle fruit to become torn, scratched, bruised, or otherwise mutilated, and unfit for market purposes. 'l'he foilage, and especially the rapidly growing young shoots, are likely to be seriously damaged by mechanical injury from the sea winds. Where it becomes desirable to plant a grove within the influence of tlle sea winds, it is very important that a strip of ham mock should be left as a wind protection. If this is not availab!P, a protecting row of trcefl should be planted. 'J'!1e naliYe bay tree resi:,,(s the influeace of the sen winds well, bnt probably a much better tree for the purpose is the camphor. PrrnrAitrNG THE LAND. Cleari;;g the Picld.-In preparing for a citrus orchard, it is important that all native trees, stumps and other material should be 1emorcu from the soil. A few cab bage palmettoes may be left for nurse trees for some time, but there should not be a large number, certainly not

PAGE 26

more than one hund1'ed to one hundred and fifty to the acre, and, of course, all of those occurring in tl.Je rows where trees should stand ought to be removed. Liveoaks and especially pines are found to he very injurious to the growtll. of ci trns trees . It is not impossible for a pe1son to make a good groYe in a field that is full of stnmps and debris. The chances, however, arc much against his making a stH:cess. He would be the exceptiou to the rule if he did so. Breaking and J>loivi ng .-A f ter t he field has bec!n thor oughly gn1hhcd and fr ee d from all obstn1ctions in sight, the ne xt irn1JOdau t step is to plow th e land thoroughly. Dmi11g this operation a large am o unt of roots and under ground trash will be turned up. This s hould be removed aud bm-ned. \re eds, grns~ ; and stuff that will decay rap idly can be left on the gro un d and be plowed under io good advantage. It is important to have a '.arge plow and suflieien t hon,e power to do the work thoroughly. A fourt ee n or s ixt eenindt plow, or, better still, a thirty inch disc IJlow, will be found usefnl. Pr ev ious Croppiug.-Most people who are intending to put out a citrus grove become impatient for a crop and, consequently , are too much in a hurry to plant tree s . The severe change that has taken place on the land by the removal of the fot es t and the burning of the stu111ps has set up a disturbance in the soil. The land, therefore, is in most cas es unfit to receive anything but the most vigorous plants. If the field is prepared in time to be planted to a crop of vegetables, this is highly advisable. These , egetables will be less affected by the adverse con ditions than are the cih-us trees , and even if they should be advc1 sely affected it would mean only the loss of one crop and would not he communicated to the succeeding years. If the season is not a proper one for planting out vegetables, the field may be plantd to some farm crop, especially a cover crop, such as velvet beans, cowpeas or beggarweed. If a good crop of velvet beans has been

PAGE 27

27 grov.n upon the soil, we are pretty certain to have it in first-clai;:s condHion for setting out to citrus trees. In addi tion to putting the soil in good condition, the velvet beans v.i]] add a large amouut of ammonia to the soil, re,p1iring 1r:c-s of this element in the fertilizer to be ap plied to the trees wlicn set out. Catch Crops.-D11ring ihe rmcceeding y e ar yegetables and fa]'JJ1 crops nrny be profitably planted between the rows of ciiTus trees. One should, however, not Jose sight of 1lte fa, : t tlint the citrus orchard is the main project under co11siderntion, and that these catch crops must be re111ovN1 or entirely destroyed if they in any way inter fere with the h (' alth and growth of the citrus trees. AHer the vegelable crnp has been ren'lovcd from the citrus grove the rnidc'les may be planted to velvet beans, cowpeas or beggarw1. ed. These p!an1s ,rill continue io add ammonia to the soil, prevent leaching by h e aYy rains and finally return to the soil a large amount of lnmrns _. which is very rnueh nC'ec1ed to produce growth and health in citrus trees. It is, howeYer, entirely possible to get so much organic ammonia i\1 the soil as to cause dieback in the small trees. \Vhen this occnrs, the planter loses from one to two years' time in the gJ"Owth of his trees. Perfe c t Drainage Xcecssary.-One of our foremost agriculturalists in the State has said that there is not an acre of land in the State of Florida that does not need draining; that even the steep day liillsides would be im proved by being underlaid with tile drains. Our generai experience has been that when people speak of land as being perfectly drained they mean that it is perfectly drained during the dry part of the year, and forget alto gether about the rainy part of the year, which is the critical season. A grove site should be so perfectly drained, naturally and artificially, as to never allow the soil water to stand above two feet from the surface at any time. Several instances are known _ where groves located on the top of a hill, seventy-five feet above a lake,

PAGE 28

28 had standing water in the soil during the rainy season. Such trees as are within the influence of this water neces1arily becomes weakened by the exclusion of oxygen and interference with the bacterial life in the soil. For the orange grove as a whole, sm•face drainage appears to be the cheapest and most profitable. Tile drains are likely to be come clogged by citrus roots, and rn11cb damage rnay result before the grower recognizes the defect, Irrigat-ion.-'iVhile much good can be done by conserv ing the moisture in the soil . , occnsional years occur. how llJVer, when tl1e drought becomes so sen~1\~ tlrnt if one had an irrigating plant the advantages der-iYed from it would be sufficient to pay for tllc whole outfit; and during about three years out of five a sufficient number of droughts occur to make a good irrigating plant very de airable. The type of plant to use depends very much upon one's own inclinations and the amount of money he has to i-pend. Furrow irri ga / ion , as practiced in Cali fornia , is entirely practi cab l e and ki s hren ur-ed to so1ne extent in Florida. This is the cheapest method, and the one which will doubtless be generally adopted. CULTURE PROPER. Object.-Too many grove owners look upon cultjyation in the light taken by a certain colored hoy, who, when asked what he was cultivating for, replied: "Seventy-five cents a day." During a money stringency the first thing the grove owner does in many cases is to cut down the amount of cullivation. '1 ' c cultivate an orange grove to admit nir into the soil, as a first requisite, to keep up the bacterial life; and , secondly, to conserve the mois t ur ~ pres ent. Germ A . ction.-Plants in general take up the ammonia in tltc soil in the form of nitrates. These nitrntei:;, fo a large extent, are formed from broken-down vegetable matter. They are prepared by the organisms constantly present in the soil. Nearly all of our fertilizers applied

PAGE 29

29 to the trees must go through this breaking down process. Possibly the only exception to this is when we use nitrate of soda and nitrate of potash. To secure the best results the nitrifying bacterial must be present in the soil in suffi cient quantity. The temperatnre of the soil must range i;omewhere between 40 and 1:JO degrees F., the most favor able soil temperature being about 98 to 99 degtec s. A rea sona ble amount of moisture is netessary, aud tl1 e re must be a free circnlation of air. The nitrates arc most rapidly fonned in the soil near the surface, especially in the Jirst ~;ix inches. The depth at which the l:ugest amount of nitrates are formed varies with the condition of the soil. From this it will be seen that nitrates are forming rather rapidly in our soils during almost the entil-e year. Conserving Moisturc.-Another important reason for cult i vating is to conserve the moisture of the soil. To make the fertilizer applied available to the plant, it be comes necesi"aty for these s ubstances to be placed in solu tion. In the absence of moisture in the soil the fertilizer applied to the grove will h <~ as u se less as if left in the bag. On the other hand, if too large an arnonn t of mois tur1J be present, the plants are unable to get a sufficient amount of the chemical elements in the wat<'r that is being absorbed. Conservation of moisture by cultivat-ion is b est aceornpfo,hed by n sing some light implern c\ nt tllnt will work rapidly over the soil, Lreakinf~ the crust or stiningthe already loose surface soil, forming what is usually spoken of as the so il mulch. The appeurled table shows the effed of' cnl tivation and non-cnltiva' ion on land s that would l H' considered fairly good citrus lnnds. D11l'ing the yenr when these tests were being mnde there wa,a very great deficiency in the rainfall; iu fad during the four months following the first of January, there was onl;v one rainfall that amounted to enough to wet the soil:

PAGE 30

30 Mo1S1'UltE 1x CuLTIV.\TED AND G;s;cuLTIYA'l'ED LAND. Apri l 1 8, 1908. April 24, mos. PercentTon s Percent'fons Cultivat ed age. per acre. age. per acre. First foot ..... ..... 5 . 35 107.0 4 .71 94.2 Second foot ........ 5.73 114 .G 5 .G7 11:3.1 'l'hird foot ...... .. 5.17 10:3.4 5.28 105.G Fourth foot . ...... 4.D4 flS.S 4.!J5 9fl.0 To ta l s ........ 423.S 412 .2 U nculti vated First foot ..... .... 2.81 5G.2 :Un 58 .1 Second Foot . ...... 3. 17 G:l.4 3.:..lfl G4.0 Third foot ........ 2.92 58.4 2. !}!) 59.S Fomth foot . ... .... ~ . s;; Ill.Ii :L lD G:1. S Total s . . . . . . . . . 23!J. 6 246 . 0 Cultivated land, aver age .......... .. 418.0 tons Uncultivated land, av erage ....... . 242.8 tons. Diff. in favor of cult ivated land . 17 5. 2 tons of wate r, or ll /:2 in. of rain. The above table shows that an amou nt of moisture equal to one and one-h alf inches of rainfall may be con served by p l ow ing and cultivating. Increasing Hitm us Contcnt. -The humus i s the dark colored mat eria l whidt occurs in practicnlly all soils to a greater 01 l ess extent . Sandy soi l s almost devoid of hunrns are very whit e . Virhen a lar ge amount of humus is adfled to s uch a soil , it takes on a dark col or . Our pure mu c k or peat beds may b e said to be pure beds of hum1.1 s, ih o n g h the d ec aying vegetable matter at this period of it s transition is not usuall y spo ken of as humus, but rath e r as peat. In the next stage of its deeay it takes on more of an earthy character, and is th en spoken of as humu s . All forms o f animal and vegetable matter

PAGE 31

31 take this fol'm b e fore elian g ing into distinctly in0rganic sul,stnnce. L,nge roots, roots of crops, stalks of crops, and similar growth, ,we us e ful in inei easi11g the lnmrns of the soil. 'l'h e most us efu l of our ltumns-supplying plaids ,ue the legum es . Foremo,-t among these is the ,eln~t bean. Cowpens and beggarwe ed are also excellent for ('i tn1s gro ve~:. En111:1s in the so il irnproYes its m ec hanical condition by u1aking n ernupact s oil looser and more pcun c able to the roots of the plants. J t g i n 's the k ad1y s oil a ,vater hol,Jing eapaci1y and , therefor e, a rnpacHy for holding plant-food, espec:iall_y sneh as has lJc en supplied in t he form of fertilizers. Tt furnishe s a convenient 101:ation and food for the useful mi cro organism which prepare the fertiliz e rs fur th e citrus tr ees . In acli tion to t he abov e advantages an inercm;e iu the hnmns c: m1tent of the so il increa ses th e soil warmth. From what has be e n said in the foregoing paragraph, it should not b e considci e d that humus is an unmixed blessing. Too large a supply of humus in a grove will cause diebaek, and in a fruiting grove it is likely to pro duce wliat the 01ange growers prnperly know a s a111-mo niatc(l frnits, as well as dieback. Cons e quently, the citrus fruit gro\\ r 11111st nut attempt to pusll his trees too rap idly, an
PAGE 32

32 it a disgrace to have a sprig of grass visible in their groves; the school who argued that since our wild trees never were cultivated in the native state, thcrefot e the grm•e trees should not be cultivated; later, a third school sprang up that considered it entirely proper to cultivate during the drier part of the year, hut cea sl•(1 cultivation altogether dmiug the rainy pal't uf tlle year. Tt speaks well for the hardihood of the orange t1 ce 1 o be able to endme and proch:ce a paying crop under all of the se con ditions of cultivation. Some of the school of clean cultur ists conserved the moistme of the soil by nsing a I i!Jetal organic mulch. Some, in fact, went so far as to svend much time and money in c utting shrnbbery from the ham mock or piney woods and applying this under the frees as a mulching, to add humus to tlle soil and to conserve the moisture. Later, and from necessity, a number of orange growers have had to take care of orange groves that became com pletely sodded with Bermuda grass. We might call these the Bermuda sod groves. Spring Culti-vation.-Iu sections of Florida where it becomes neces8ary to bank trees to protect them against the danger of wiuter freezing , cultivatiou sliould not be begun until all danger of frost or freezing is past. He mme llle heating apparatus or piles of wood tllat may liave been pl.teed in the grove to protect it against freez ing, then pnll down the banks and begin to cultivate. G 1'ove s that lrnYe been well tilled th e _year Lefore will be found iu excelleut shape for using small tools, snd1 as the Acme hanow, Pla11e1 Jr., etc. fn groves where con side1nbl e veg e faLle nrnU c r is Idt o,er from the previous year, i t may be n eu •s:-:11-,v to m,e a cutaway harrow to bieak 1.his up. The fi:st cnltirntion in the swing may be somewhat dcc p, since ii is not likely that new feeding roots have been formed near Hie surfn ce . If , however, the eultivation is not started until feeding roots have formed, it is best to avoid deep cultivation. Deep culti•

PAGE 33

33 vation at this time of the year, as at any other time, ui a relative rather tllan an al.lsolute term. After tile first cultivation, nothing more than a mere stining of the fi1st inch or two of soil should be given. This conserves the moisture so much needed at this time. of tlrn year. Our driest portion of the year is likely tu occul' during )!arch, ,\Jiril and ~lay. The mol'e fre qucnt l .r we cultivate, the more of tile soil moisture is conseHl '. ll. 01dinal'ily, it is not pro1iUtble to cultivate mo1 c f1 ec1nently 1han once a week. If our soil is in U1e best possil.>le em1dition, a weeder may lie used. It may be ne('essary to load tlie wecuer with a small piece of cord wood. ,Vith such an implement, a man and a horse can cultirnte a ten-acre grove in a day. Catch Crops.-\rherc some form of crop is being grown between the rnws of tr e es. it is urces s a1.r to give this crop the best of attention and an abundance of fertilizer to keep i t from drawing LenvilJ on the yonng grove. 1t is a good p1:1<.:tice to keep at least six feet a way from the reach of the IJ1anehcs. 'f1 e e s 1liat arc over 1he years old are likely to luwe roots e x tending as far us midway between the 1ows; consequently, cultirn1ion of the catch cro should ue gauged acconling to the needs of the citrm, groYe. Sum111cr C1rltivation.-Somc tine gnwes and rnnch ex cel ! ent fruit bnve lJe e u JHodmpd hy a coutinuons summer cultiva1ion; other gro,eR have been seriously injured and the crops of fruit have lleen mined hy sn c h work. The que,-tion depends more upon what the character of the laud is than upon any dogmatic m e thod of procedure. Ordin:1l'ily, it is safe to discontiuue enltivation as soon ar; ahnn(1nnt rainf! occnr, and to allow grass and wcedr; to gro'i\ at their will. If the ~r1ni--s and weeds become too tali rm(1 apprar to be :i 11etrimrnt to tlte grove, a mower may lie m,ed to cut thrm down. During the summer r;ensou tli e 1 -: e will rot and return io the soil as hnmns. lf 1he grnn•
PAGE 34

31 be allowed to grnw, and at tlle close of the rainy season tlie gra,:s ma,r l.Je made into hay and removed from the field. \\'her e the soi l is d eficie 11 t in lrnmus, it will ]Jrub ably pay b ette r to mow the grass and weeds am1 allow them to rot to humus in tile grove. \" cl vet b eans . cmq1eas and Legganvced rn:1y also l.Je plant ed in groves if 1 Ile s oil is 1tot too rich in ot/pmic nmmonia. These JegmHe s a hst nirt 11itrogen from i he :limu s pheiC' and l'el m n it to i;u ? ~,u il in the l,q ;: 1nie fo rm. 'l'here nre in sta JJ Cl'S wlw1 e thi s h:1s been c:arried o n to the extent of w od rn:iu g diebnck in foe g1 0Ye. Where the re is th e 1nobability of gett in g too mnch orga ni c niirogcn in ilie soil, ih e legurn e may be mad e i nt o hay. If these leg11m cs :1l" e used in 1 he g 1 re, they sl10111d be mown in the l1 egi nniug of th e dry Rt!a s on so ai,; to reduce th e number of p lant hu gs to a minimum, since frequ e ntly these suck ing in sec is cause a loss of fruit when th e legum es are per mi tt e d to remain l ate in the fa] l. Pall C1tlti va tion.-Whefoer w e should cultivate in the fall or not will depend lar ge ly on local conditions . If we . are having a severe drougllt it may be adv isahle to use a c utaway harrow, 01 an implement of this kind, to break up the s urfa ce soil so as to co nser ve th e moi st ure . If the mois tu re is not n eede d, it is u s ually weforahle to allow the soil to remain undistnrbed. 11'i 11tc r C1 1lfil)(tfi on .-In the cady ,vinter, before there iR any dang er from fr m,,t, i t is fr e qnen! l,v nec ef'sn ry for nH io cul1-i,nfe Jo prm nt n1pid evnporation of t h e moi s ture. we ca n nbo at th at time incorpornte more or lc,;s of the cover crop tllat g;rew chnin g the summer season. Ca re mnsi, however, h e tak en not to car ry this c ultiva t i on to the exte nt of :cilimnlatin g the tre es i nto lal c growth; otherwise, w e al'e npt to ge t om trees seve r e ly injured hy n n rnrl;v fr eeze . If hmy c1e r. the work is carr ied o n in s nch a way as to conserve the moisture and yet not sti ulat e the g-rove int o growth, m1wll good can he don e by early winter c ultivation

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35 Cultivation and Dieback.-Dieback is a disease to which practically all of our citrus trees are subject, and one tha 1 causes much annoyance and frequently considerable loss . The ousei-vant gl'ove ownc1, however, will recognize the preliminary symptoms of the disease and guard against it. 'l'he disease seems to be due to unfavorable soil conditions, bro11g:1t on by too rapid a development of ammonia in the soil. It may also occur as a result of a mnuLer uf olher conditions. Depth tu Cu ltiwtc.-'l'he depth to which a gi-ove may b e c ultivated :-;afely <.lq.Jends more on tlle chal'acter of the soil than on any other condition. In sections where there is a deep clay soil, the roots of the trees penetrate well into the ground. In thin, sandy soil, the roots are apt to keep close to the surface. 'l'llis is also the case in our low palmetto hammocks. Th e depth to which we shonld cultivate, then, will de pend lar ge ly on the drnra c tcr of the soil on which tlie grove ha s been planted. In general, we shonl,l never plow or c-ultiv.lte so deeply as to disturb any considerable number of the fibrous roots, and certainly not to the ~x tent of breaking large roots. By observing the depth of the roots in the soil, we will be able to g:rnge, in n measur e, the depth to which we can cuHivale. 'l'his, we will finll , varies, howevN, in the same groY e in different ye:11-s. Consequen1-ly, ver.v mn(:h d pends 011 1!1e judgment of 1lie mun who is doing the c:11 !ti V [ 1tion, 01 having it done . I111plcli1c11t.s.-Urn1c1 ordinary c ircurnstm1ces , the henvy two-horse plow has no place in a grove in good hea 1 th. A light one-hol'se plow may he used to some extent. This tool, however. is a poor implement, since i I waste ;; so much time for the grove owner. One of the best imple ments for deep cultivating is the cutaway harrow or disc 1.ianow. For a small grove, the one-horse harrow will be fonnd preferable. For an exte n s ive grove this is too slow, and we need a two or three hors e cu taway or disc harrow .

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3G The spading harrow will also be found useful under cer tain circumstances. The Acme harrow is also an excellent implement to use when the vegetable matter has been WOl'kcd into the soil. It docs poor work, however, when a con:;idcralllc amount of vcgetalllc matter is present on the smfaee. 'l'hc Planet, Ji., cult-ivator or Sweep culti vator is also excellent for shallow cultivation. ,Ylwu the ot chanl has been put into a ,good state of tilth, and our only ohj c <'t is to conserve the moistnre, the weeder i:,; one of th e best and most senkcablc implements. 'l'l!e ordi1wry sp1i1Jg-toothed culti,atm s arc not good impl e rneutll, siuee they pull up too mauy of tile roots they happen to come in contact with. IluII,IJLNG UP A Nr<:aLECTED GROVE. Tile be:-t way to build up a neglected grnvc is to let the 01l1er fellow do it. Buying a neglected grnve is like buy in~ an old, ueglectell hor:'!e. Uudet certain citemmdances it may IJc done with profit, but under ordi11ar:, 1ircurn sta11ces it is cheaper and rnucll more sati8facto1y to start n new gro,e. It happens frequently, however, that one has au old gl'(JYC, or that part of his propert;r happens to Le an old, ncglc<.:ted grove. In such cases, we wish to know what is 1Je8t to do. Pnrning.-Tlle first step in such conditions is to go inio tbe gl'Ove with a good i:-hnrp saw, pruning shears and oth e r implements for butclicring trees. The pruning should be done thoroughly and severely. Take out first nll dead wood; tllen take out alJ of the weakened wood; finally, shave the tree up so as to make it more or less s.rmnwfrical. Do not leave any long, spreading hrnnchcs, even if they appear to be pc1fcctly llealthy. llead them kick, so ni:to make a good, eornpnct tree. \\'hen nn old, nvglecte
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37 Ferl•ilizers.-Give the entire grove a liberal allowance of a fertilizer such as is nsed mdinnrily for prcH.Jucini growth. .-\ good formula for this purpose will contain about 4 per cent. mnrnouia, G per cent. phosphoric acid, and 8 per ccut. potash. As a somce of ammonia, nitrate of soda nwy lie clllployed; as a source of potash. use a hig;h-g;rade sulpba!e oJ' potaf-h, or low-grade sulphate of potmd1; and as a som-ec of plw:--phoric acid, the acid plw~ph:1te. The mnmmt to be a11plied per tree should be vc1 y liberal. ~lore people err in applying too little tlian in applying too much. Spread tlie fertilizer evenly lll'oad cast over the entire grnve, at least over tlie portion of the grove where trees oceur. l'lou:in.(7.-0nlinarily, such a grove shonlu be plowed very deep, even to the point of breaking and cutting large roots. Care must, of course, he taken not to plow so deeply as 1o destl'Oy a large petcentagc of the rnob of the trees. This will vary accoiding to the character of the soil on which the grove lwppcns to be loc~dPLL Ordi narily, the plow may be nwde to go five or six inches deep, plov,ing much deeper in the middles and shnllmYer near the trunks of the trees. After the grove has bc<>n plowei in one direction, then cross-plow it. In this ,my the fer tilizer is pretty thoroughly incorporated with the soil nrnl brought where the roots can get it almn~t imme diately. After this thorough and deep plowing lim, been cornplet'd, cultivation witll an ordinary implement should be continued. By su('h drastic treatment, the weaker trees are likely to be killed out entirely. The sooner these arc killed out the more profitable it will be for the owner. Ile can then replace them with vigorous young trees. The old tree• that have vitality enough to stand such vigorous treat ment are pretty sure to respond promptly. 3-Bnl

PAGE 38

PECAN CULTURE IN FLORIDA. Much the greater part of this article is taken frum the Florida Experiment Station Bulletin No. 85, by Prof. H. Harold Hume, and also from the written opinions of other well-informed and expert growers of the Pecan. BOTANY OF THE PECAN. The pecan tree is indigenous in the United States in the rich, alluvial bottoms of the Mississipp; , and ali-,o thought to be in some of the rich bottom lands of ,1orth east Texas. Its northern limit is supposed to Le about Davenport, Iowa. In the Mississippi valley p1 oper it ex tends within a few miles of the Gulf Coast, furthet west it extends into Mexico. 'l'he area in which it may be grown is said to embrace within its four extremities the cities of Davenport, Iown. Chattanooga, Tenn., Laredo, Tex., the region of tile head waters of the Colorado River in Texas, and even at th~ present day as far west as Arizona. It extends furthest from the center of the area along the streams and rivers. It is at present grown in all of the Southern States in greater or less degree. From the foregoing it will be seen that the pecan tree is a native in parts of the folowing states, viz.: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, ArkaIJ-sas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Outside of this area it has been planted in a large number of States. Its cultivatd area corre sponds rather closely with that of the cotton plant, tllongh its extension beyond this area is constantly increasing. 'fhe pecan belongs to tile family Jttglanclaccoe (Walnut family), its near relatives being the other s11ecies of hick ory, the walnut and butternut. For many years the sci entific name commonly applied to it was Caryn Olivae form-is N1ttt, but in deference to the rules of priority

PAGE 39

m.1 this name has largely given place to the name Hicorfa , pecan (Marsh) Britton. 'l'his name Hicoria pecan is pe culial'ly significant, since it is truly American, being de rived from poiccuhiconi and pecan, two wo1ds used by the Indians fo1 hitkory nu ts . It is a large, stately tree, 75 t o 170 feet in height, with wide spreading brandies and symmet1ic:al i op. 'J'he bark is tongh, bJ"Oken and grayish-black in l'.Olor. Th e bark of the young twigs is quite smooth, liberally dotted with lenticles, and during their arly life , together with the leaves and fiowern of the tree . , they are eoven•d with , t libend toating of rathe1 rust-colored hair. 'rlte leaves are oval, compound, wmposed of from seven to fifteen falc:ate, oblong-lanceolate, sharp-pointed serrated leailets, grcet1 and quite bright above, lighter coloted below, and when mature, nearly or quite smooth. 'l'he {iow<'r,; are of two kinds-pistillate and staminate . 'l'he former are produced upon the young shoots, while the latter come from Luds u11on twigs one year old. The staminate cat kins are usually lJI"Oduced in two groups of three eac:h, from a siugle bud, and have very short stalks. 'l'he stamens are three to five in number in each flower. and borue Leneath a three-parted bract. The pistillate flow ers have a four-valved involucre (known in the mntnr1~ form as the husk) and a two-parted stigma. The nufa are quite varinble in size, shape, color and qnalit_v. Some :ne long and pointed, others are nearly s1ihel'ieal. In Texas the spherical, or nearly spherical , nuts appear to be more common than elsewhere. Selected nnis of some vmi c ties will weigh an ounce or more eac:h, while of rnanj other kinds it takes a hundred, more or le:,: s, 1o wake .1 pound . .As a general rule the husks of most nuieties open at mahirity. Jn some, IIowever, they remain c:lose,1, or nearly so. These latter varieties are object io n:tble on ac count of the incr e ased difficulty of gatheriug the nop. Pollcnation.-The pecan is well-pollenated. In con

PAGE 40

40 isequencc, there is a great waste of pol1en, to compensate for which it is prodneed in large quantities. "'et, windy weather, at the time tlic trees are in uloom, frequently interferes with pollenation to such an ext e nt that the nop is reduecd very consitleraul.v. with some speci1•:,; of hickory, no t ably IT. minima and H. glubm, cross-polle11ation and con:-eqnent cross-fer1ili zatio11 ,,ith the pe<":111 h,l\"e r es ulted iu se,ernl well-marked hyLrids. Kone of the:-e found thus far, with perlinvs one or two exceptions, have been WOl'tliJ of provagation. RA:\'GE OF CULTURE IN Fr.OUIDA. 'l'he reran may Le, and practically is, grown in all sec tions of the St:ltc wltereYcr the soil conditions :ue found to be sati:-fadMy. Its culture, howe,er, shonkl not be attempted in the sonthern portion of 1he State much, if any, below ~S degrees latitude; sncecss woul,1, at Lest, be question:ildc; it rni;;ht sncceed in the clcrnted portious of Polk and Ilillsborongh Counties, but it is uncertain. The statemcut is frequently made , and quite generally believed, that the pecan ,\'ill succeed where,er the la1ger species of hickmy are found in the State. This is largely true, as the pecan lwlongs to the same family nnd genus of trees, hnt it slwnld not be relied on implieitl,v. In no case must soil conditions Le overlooked or disregarded. PECAN PnoPAGATION. The peran may be propagated from seed or hy budding and g1nfting-. Formerly they were gro,Yn nlmost entirely from seed and se e dling tr1•s \YCl'C planted. Dut now seedling!< have given pl:we to l1111lded an,1 grnfted trees. \rl1y so? It was ~1nn01rneed :1s a fad, rnit so many yeal's ago, and there are some who ma,v still maintain it, that GO per cent., or some othPr p
PAGE 41

41 nor any other per cent., will come true to seed. We I.m,e yet to foul a single instance where tli~ nut of a seedling tree was identic: .. 11 with that l,orne lly its parent plant. Oceasionall.r tLe~ are 1.Jeticr, lint the rule is that they genel'nl'y :-trc rn,ily inferior to tltc fruit produced b_y thll p:li'c11t plant. Hence, if an ordwrd of tre e s or the ~arne hahii or g10wfo, prnlifie111 ! s~, 1 cgnl:u ity i:t lw.1ri1:g, u n form tl11:ghout, trees which nill produce a nop <•f nuts u11ifornt in size. l'1rnpe, col01 :md quality, is dcsil'ed, do not plant seedling fTecs. Sr.:oi-cs of these sec11Ii11 6 trecli! produce~ 1rnts but little ln!'ger than cltinqnapim . nnd it is a faet wliiclt cannot be gainsaid that the seedling pecan, up to the time of fruiting , is an unknown quantity, after which it is too freqnentl,y a disappointment. But seeds have their place. From tllem a1e grown the stocks nJ_J0n which to work desiral>le varieties. From seeds u 1 ay be ol'iginated new and desirable varieties, for it sornetiwes happens that the seedling is better than the parent. Seedling trees may lie grown and set out in orchard form, to be top-worked afterward. This plan has something to recommend it. It is less expensive, pro vided time is not an object, for it takes a longer time to get I.Jeni-in~ trees by this plan, and it is open to the fur ther olJjediun that it is more diilJcnH lo secme 1rniform i_ty in size and shape of tlie trees than it is hy setting out buddetl or grafted trees nt first. The objection in the way of expH1se, if tlrnt be an objection, is best oycrcome by planting nuts in nursery rows, grafting the trees there, alld then i-ci1ing thelll in tile field. Il.Y no 111em1s should the nntrs be planted where t11e trees arc to rcmaiH. It is too di Olen It to gi re them the neeessary care. Bcside;i, they ai-e likely to he destroyed hy sqninels or other ani mals, or 1.he seedlings injured through carelessness in cul tirn1iou. Selecting and Planting .Nuts.-Nnts to be used in growing stocks should be fully rnatmed before ga1hering. Some care should be taken in their selection. They should

PAGE 42

he of g:oo that this is in a large degTec responsible for the unsatisfoctory growth made by many grafted trees. Those nuts ,vhiell mature firr-:t are best for plnnting. The nnts may be planted in Florida a!-soon as they are tnken from the iTees, placing them in drills three and a half feet apart :nid c overing them two nnd a half or three inches de<>p. in many ('Uses it may be n e cessary and more convenient to stratify the nuts in damp sand in boxes, first an inth layer of sand, then a layer of nuts, until the boxes are tilled. 'l'!Jese boxes should be placed in a cool. shady placc>, under a hni I ding, in a cellar. or buried in the earth. ft is a good plan fo covet them with wire net to prevent mice, rats or squirrels from nttaeking tlwm. In early spring the boxes ,d1ould be emptied out and the nuts planted as directed above. The seed-bed should he thoroughly prepared, plowed deeply or s11h,:oil ,e d, y, ell suppliP
PAGE 43

43 rnon budding knife, a budding tool, a grafting iron, a grafting mallet and a fine-toothed saw. The bud ,li ng knife should have a thin blade of good s teel, capal,le of l'etaining a keen, sharp edge. The whet stone must be used frequently to keep the blade sharp tu insun! tbe making of smooth, clean cuts. At least three budding tools have b ee n inventerl. 'l'hese are kno"n as " . hite s, Galbreath's and Nelson ' :,; lmdding tools, respectively. The principle in each onCJ is that two sharp cutting blades al'e fixed parallel to each other to insur e uniformity in cutting annular and veneer-shield or patch buds. White 's budding implement is esJJecially recomended for use in top-working. The holes along the sides are med as a gauge for measuring the stock and bud stick. Jn the writer's opinion, the one best adapted for veneer-shield budding, but the blades are just a little too closEi together. A very satisfactory knife for this work may be made from two ordinary budding knives and a piece of wood tl1r-t'e-quartets of an inch sqnare and four inches long. 'l.'o opposite sides of this the blades can be firmly atached with rivets and by binding with fine wire and twine. 'l'he grafting iron is indispensable in cleft-grafting. These can be purchased at small cost, or a blacksmith can make an excellent one from an old flat file. Three or four inches of the file should be flaten e d and sharp ened for a blade. In the remainder drill two holes and attach two pieces of wood to form a handle. A small-sized carpenter's mallet answers nicely for a grafting mallet, or a very good one can be made from a piece of tough wood or a piece of an old wagon spoke. A leatller thong should be attached to the handle , through which the wrist can be slipped to carry it when top working. The best saw for use in top-working is a carpenter's back -sa w. This has a stiff blade, fine teeth, and leaves a smooth, clean cut.

PAGE 44

44 Waxes, Cloth and Twine.-Good grafting-wax may be made according to either of the following formulas: 1. Resin G pounds, beeswax 2 pounds, linseed oil 1 pint. 2. Resin 4 1Joum1s, Lees"ax 2 1JOunds, tallow 1 pound. Melt tLc ingredients in an iron kettle over a slow fire, 1tirriug s lowly to insme thorough mixing. \rhen n1elted, pour out into a bucket of cold waler. Grease 11te li:mds, rewove the wax from the water as soou as it can Le llan dleu and pull until it is light-.rellow in color. \Yax not neeucd fo1 immediate use 11wy be rolled up iu balls, wrapped already, twigs of the previous season's grnwth are generally used, provided the growth is not too large. Grafts are generally cut about five or six inches long and be from one-quarter to three-eights of an inch in thickness.

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4G It is best that the grafts be cut while still in a dormant state, and inserted in the stock just before growtll starts. The cions may be kept for a consic:1eralile length of time by placiug them loosely pad:e,1, in damp moss or s:nn1ust, in a hox. 'l'he box should be covered o,•er with earth and the cions kept sufiicientl.Y moist to prevent dryin . c: out. The (1i!l't-rr11ce in the condition of the stock nnd cion, it filhould he umlerstood, is not nusolntely necessn1 ., as [-!:OOd resnl(s nre frequently obtain e d without these pe<' c :rntion,,, but in g, , 1ft ; ug tl,e 11e :m a differen c e in dorm:-in c .1 is ex tremely dcsirnlile, and it is an important fartor in srenr ing good results. For bud-sticks, well developed one-year-old b1anches, one-lwlf to scrnn-eigbtlis of a n inch in diameter , nnd on which the buds are well formed, or older wood , with plump, full buds, are selected. Such sticks frequently !!!how three buds at a node, and if some misfortune should overtnke one or two of these, there is still a chance of suc cess, iho11gh the upper one, being the strongest, is gener ally the one which starts, provided it is uninjured and the bud takes. The degree of maturity of the bud is impor tant, and care should be exercised that only those which are plump, full and well-developed, are used. It is easy to distinguish between desirable and undesirable buds. GR,\FTDl'G A N' D GRAF'I'ING METHODS. Top-working by grafting, or the grafting of nursery stock abme ground, should be done in ~:pring ,inst udorn growih startR. The preference is for the latter part of the season, provi1'. e d thcr-e is not too much wo1 k to be done, as the cions have less time to dry out before tile process of uniting with the stctk begins. The work of whip grafting nur:-ery stock m1i.1er ground just ,\t the crown I'Oots of the seedlings can be started in the latter part ;Jf l>ecernhe1 nnd continued until February. Fo1 this work the earth is thrown hack from the seedlings, Jeaying them standing in a narrow trench. After the cions are

PAGE 46

4(; iuserted, the ground is placed back about them, covering 1bem up, leaving only the top bud exposed. 'l'he see dling trees cannot be c.hlg up and bcnd.1-graft e d satisfactorily iu "in t er, as ii; tl1e pra<.:ticc , ,: ith ap1 ; les, peats and other fruits. It can be done, but the per ce ntage of unions se cured is too small to make it an economical method to follow. The only satisfactory plan is to graft the seed lings i.11 the nnrsery row, as described above. Two methous of grafting are used, cleft-grafting for top-working and whip -g rafting for working both nursery seedlings and old trees. Oleft-Urafi'iug.-Having selected the place on the branch 01 tr-uuk at which the cion or cions are to be ini-:erted, the part should be sawed off with a smooth, cicau c.:ut. 'lL e er id of 1 ht' stnlJ ca n t i1cn !Jc cut i;,quarely olf at the point desired. 'fhe trnnk or h r an e h is then split with the grafting iron. Th e cleft i--lwuld be carefully made. and should be abon t one and a half int hes in length. 1n preparing the cion, a sloping cut is made at the lower end about one and a half inches long, cutting into the pith from a point one-half way up the cut, down to the lower end. On the opposite si de, the second cut should not touch the pith, but should be mnde through the wood throughout. The cinn s honld he lef t wider on th e ou1cr si de 1h:m on the inner to make a tight fit when inserted. Start the cuts on each side of and just at a brn1. Having made the elcft, open it with the wedge end of the grafting iron and place the cion in position in the cleft stock. 'l.'7, c ca III lii 11 ,n layers shonlcl b e in conta ct and the cion should be shoved well down until the whole of tbe wedge is within the stock. In large stocks two cions may he in s erted . . ihe w e aker of whi ch should be removed if ho t h Ji•;e. L:nge st ocks will exert sufficient pressur e against the cions to render tieing unnec ess ary, hut if the stocks are small the union should l.Je firmly ti e d with wnxed twine or cloth, and in any case the ends of the cut

PAGE 47

47 s,od, nnd rhe union s hould he covered imwotltly with g-1 a H in ;:; -wax. Should t h e r e he o f' ,,;o o: l i;; r:d~ . e(l on cnrh by making a c ut with a knifc -h lade pa ra ll e l to the grain of the woo r 1. 'l'he tongue is raised n li1tlc on both stock and t'ion and the two are then shoved tog et her, with the cnm bium lny e!'s on one or both sides in con ract. 'l'IH '_ Y must then b e fi rm ly hound together with twine or cloth, the whole of the cut surfaces being covered over to the ex clusion of water , nir and the germs of decay. 'rhc cion and stock arc preferably c hosen of n e arly the same size, bnt a cion som ew hat small e r than the stock may he us e d . in which case the cambium la yers along one side of the surfaces in contact must he placed opposite , as al1 cn dy indiC'n te d. In working nurser y seedlings by whip g!afting, the cions should be inserted so thnt the point of union will be under the surface of the g round. The earth should be placed ba ck around the union as soon as the work is co mpleted . This plan of propngation will not give satisfactory results except on well drained lands. BUDDING AND METH ODS . Bnddin g is preferred to grafting by some propagators, ns they a r e ahle to secure a larg e r percentage of union~ thnn by grnfting. l\fnch, however, d e pends npon tlw locality, soil and drainage. By either method from fifty to seventy -f ile per cent. of successful unions mu s t he con sidered r-:n t i sfnct ory. Th e amateur mny well he sntisfi(' r 1 with 10 pe r cent.

PAGE 48

48 The season for budding is when the bark will slip well during the months of Jnly and August. The season is, howewr, often extended into September. 2\fany of the burls inserted late in the season l'ernain dormant until the following spring. Dming the semmn, from the first of ,July until Sep temher, the atrnrn,11here is moist, the Lrn1s are in good condition, the sa11 Hows freely, and better resuih,; are secul'e( l than at any othe1 lirne. Tlie lmu:;, co11rn1011l,r used are tlwf.:e which have been formed just previous],\, 'l'hey 2hou Id he carefully i,eleclecl and only tliose fully matured should be used. Oliver (Bulletin :rn, Bureau of l'lm1t Iu duf'try, U. S. D. A.) recommends the use of dormant buds of last season, but the method has not met with favor because of the large amount of wood wllich must be imcrificed to secure a few buds. Annular Budding.-Dy this method branches or seed ling trees three-quarters of an inch or less in diameter may be worked. It is preferable that the stock and Jmd stick be of the same size, though the stock may be some what smaller. From the stock remove a ring of bark an inch or so in length. On the bud-stick select a good bud and remove it by taking out a ring of bark the same in size as the one removed from the stock. Place this ring in the place on the stock prepareu for it and bandage Scmely in place, using a piece of waxed cloth, The wrapper should be brought around the stock, so as to con!r the cut ends. Tile lmd may be covered over 01., left expof;ed. In ten days or two weeks remove the bandage, and examine the bud. A plump, fnll hud nt this tiwe is an indication that union has iaken pince. rcnccr-Shicld or Patch-Buclcling.-If this method it! used, it is not essential that the stock and cion be of the same size, and so far as size alone goes almm;t an,r stock may be used. A. rectangular or triangular piece of bark is removed from the side of the stock. From the bud

PAGE 49

4D stick cut a similar piece of bark with a bud in its center. Pla('e the bud in place on the stock and wrnp as in annu• Jar lrner slwul
PAGE 50

iiO use
PAGE 51

51 tion to working very large branches is that they do not heal readily; two and a half inches is about the maximnm in size. Large wounds should he painted over with while lead paint to prevent decay. For several months after the new top has commence,l to grow the cious or buds have but a slight bold upon the stock, and ai-; the growth is usually very vigorous an
PAGE 52

52 are cut back to within a foot or so of the trnnk and grafted. Often these fail to unite. Such stubs slwuld not be left. If lmmd1es are fonn ed on them they should be cut Lack to tlle point wllere these buds stnrt; if no branches come out from them they should be cut back _ to the trunk or large brnnd1 on which they :1.1 c borne. If left, they prevent the healing of the wound, rot back, and the rot is carried into n11d down the trnnk of the ti-cc, s 11Iti11g in a hollow and weakening ihc trnnk. S1nooth c11ts s hould b e 111arlc, and these should li e corercd u ;i th -ichitc l ead paint to pr eve nt decay. A little lamp bla c k may he added, if desired, to make the paint nearly the color of pcean bat!;:. S01Ls AND TnEm PnEPAnATION, The peculiar concJitions of soil and moisture surround ing the pecan in its native home might he rcganle1l as an indication 1hat it c:rnnot be grown except on derp, rich soil, in proximity to rivers, ponds or streams. Sueh. how ev er, would be a wrong inference, for it succeeds arlmir ably and bears good erops on a Wi(lc range of soils. Ilence we find it today in localities far removed from the to which it is indigenous and thriving under cotl(litions differing greatly from those obtaining in its native home. In Floridn, trees ma y be found growing on soils rangine from the black lwmmock to the lei;;s fertile high pine lands. On hammock soils, however, the trees are often inclined to develop wood at the expense of fruit, while on less fertile soils the trees make less wood and bear more fruit pro portionately. Pecans thrive well on flat woods; the grove of Dr. J.B. Cm-tis, Orange IIeights, Fla., is planted on this type of land. l\Ioistnre in sutlicient qnantit_y muRt he present, but it will not do to plant the pecan on land that is continually wet and boggy. The presence of a hard, impenetrable imh-soil donhtless has a grent influence upon the welfare of the tree, and it won Id be lw( fer to select other ground, or when this is impossible, to blast

PAGE 53

53 ont the hardpan. A quicksand sub-soil is equally objec tionable. 1f dose to the surface, it should not be used. 'l'lte roots cannot pcnetl'ate it. A . II things considered, the best soil is proba!Jly one which has previously supported a growth of holly, willow-lemed oak, dog-wood, hkkory and those other frees usually fou11d associated with them. A s:rndy loam, " ' i th a clay or sandy-clay sub-soil, is diffi cult to surpass. A land intended for yonng trees should he well pre pared. This pi-eparntion will depend largely np,m the caie :md. treatment which the soil h:1s receiHl pre ,iou:-;ly. Land. on which the forest still stnuds f'liould rncfernlily be thoronglily cleared and p11t in cull ivation for a year or two hefore plnnti11g. Leguminous c1 ops are exC'elltut to prece1le the :-etting of the trees. l'low the g1,I thnrnughly, break deeply, harrow it le,el, and it is r, ~ a
PAGE 54

54 The best trees for general planting are well-grown one year-old trees, from three to five feet high. Too often but slight attention is given to the planting of the trees. There is too frequently a disposition on the part of the person set ting trees of any ki.1d to do the work as rapidly as possiulc, witliont comialize tl1at 1:11w t-{'CDt in e:ndnl, intl'llige11t 111t-pnrnlion of the soi: an'1 i11 set ting th e tl'Cl'S is time ,rel! spc•rrt and w e ll pai,1 for in the afte r-de velopment of trnnk nnd hrnneh. Bel 'er a mon l h spent in preparingthe fntm e l1ome t)f the young tree than ;re:ns of its life spent in an 1mcq1ial st;•ng!!le for exifd enee . l\Iore than tlwt, the tree may c1ic 011tTi;.;l1t nnd a year rnust elnp:,;e before it tan he rcpl:wf'd, It i~ ge1wrnlly stntet1 that the p ecnn is a :,;low gio,1e1, and yet tr cl's fr<,m iweln to fmlI'h . yl'al's old ,Yill :,;011H•ti111Ps rn cnsn1c from tl1irty-fin , tu ti f'ty s('H' n irl('lre:-; in ('ir,ferc•n('e nt the ha,;e, whil e n11dc ll'ss f.tyornlile ei1I' sneu yeins, m un i il 1h<>.r haY c :H< m111lla tc• tree shonld he 1--et will
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55 60xGO . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1~ trees G0x75 . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... !) trees 70x70 . . . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . . .. . . . 8 trees 70:x:75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . 8 trees 75:s:75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 7 trees To find tbe number of trees for any dislante not given in tbe :tl>ove table, multiply the distanrcs togdhl'l' and divide , 1::,i:ifiO, 1he nL1111l,cr of squnl'e feet in :w ane, l>.v the p1otl11d. The result will give the n11111lie1 of tl'ees. B,1 11Je hexagonal S.):,tcm, uLout 1ifteen pe1 eeut. 111(,re tl'ees 111ay \Jc :,;et per atl'C tlrnu by the rcdaligular s.n,tem . If a double plauti11g is conlclll]Jlatcd, a;; pc•can::; :rno.l peathl's, 1l1e rectangular s,rstcu1 f>hould be n;;l'd, and uue or lll(ll'e pead1es set out in eut h rectangle furnH~tl b_y th(' pl;\('D II S. f::!taking the Ground.-ff a good plowman tal,li:--hcd 'l':ilh : 1 caq•
PAGE 56

G6 This is simply a light board, fire or six: inclles wide and six feet long, wit It a notch cut in the center of one side :and nn inch hole bol'ed in each end. In digging the holes for the trees this IJoard is laid down on tile grnm11l witll the noh:h against the tree stnke. Two sfllall ,vooue11 1-takes are then shond iHto the g1Hl thrnngh the !toles in tlic ends aud 1hc !Joard anJ tree stake IJO!h taken nwaJ. ln wcparing the tree for planting, all hroken or bruised roots t;ltould !Jc cut off imlllediately lJel1i11
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G7 little deeper ti.tan it stood in the nursery row. It is very imJJortunt that no part of the crown or root be left un covered when planted or afterward, and if at any time it is found that the earth l.tas settled and left any bl'O\n1i s h-red part of the crown or root exposed, it must again be covered wi tl.t soil. 'l'he poiut wh e 1e the root and c rown leave oil and the trunk l;egins is a very vital portion of the newly-set tree and nrnst always be undergronnd. Trees i:;J10nld be care fully exarninctl after the first heavy rain aft e r planting, and emh thrown to tree if soil has settled. It is better to plant them an inch 01 two deeper than they stood in the umsery row ih a n to run th risk of having the crown of r o ot exposed. lf tap-roots are inconvcnien tly long, say over thirty inches. they nrnst be cut off b y a sloping cut witb a 8llm•p knife. In the larg e r size trees it is b e ter to sink a !10lc deep enough to receive the root without cutting shorter than is done before packing. The foolish theol'y about a pecan tree not bearing if its tap-root has been cnt l.tas been so thoroughly disproved that it is not worth discussion. If tbe tap-root is cut when the tree is dug, a8 is often necessary, the cut quickly heals and a new tap-root (sometimes several) will form . .After plant ing is completed, loose soil should be lightly thrown around ihe tree to leic:sen evaporation , or it mny be mulchetl wi t h l e nves, straw, et('., in lawns and other places ,.,.here no crops are to be planted. The mulching of newly set trees is highly reeommendetl. '.l'!Je ground is tlte rehy kept moist, a slow deenying supply of natuml plant food i s provided, nnd grass and weeds arc not i:;o troublesome, thus avoiding the n ecess it y of so frequently stining the soil immediately around the trees. The ground around fruit or nut trees should never be allowed to bairn or crust, and it is the more important with newly set trees, particularly the first season. Never allow the roots of a pecan tree to become dried out. It is best that the necessary root pruning be done in

PAGE 58

58 the shed and the trees cairied to tile field wrapped in a damp bl a nket, from whicll they arc removed one by one as required for p!:rnting . The tops should he pruned hack slightly lo r es tore the balance hetwecn 1lie root s and the tops, which lrns Leen disturb e d in the process of trans planting. 'l'he b e st time to plant pecan trees is somewlwre be twe e n tl1e firi;t of De ce mber or the latt e r part of Xovcrn ber mid the first of F e bnrnry. Preference must be given to the earlier part of this period, as the ground will have a cllance to become firmly pn c ked and the root wounds will h:we partially calloused over before the growing sem ,o n 1J c 6 i m,. B es iu es , th e early sprin;; se a so n in Florida iii u s ually dry and r ec ently pl:mted trees do not stand nearly so good a show as those planted in December and Jamw.ry . Cur : nvAT10N. Becau s e 1.he p ec an grows as a forest tree in some parts of tile counfry many people s nppose fhat it can be left witllout cme antl cultivation, left a8 any otlJcr tree in the fields and woods is l e ft to shift for it se lf. Dut if fruit is r e ,1ui1 ed from ihe tree, no mailer whe1h e r planted in the ganlen or th e 01-c:hard, it should b e gi,-en g o od care. Too man y of our praetil' es are ha ~e d upon id em , taken from th e native trees of Hie woods and fi e lds. But all thes e tice s do from y e ar to year i s bear a f e w fruits , man y o f whitlt ar e imperf e ct, in th e ati e mp 1. to r e produce thernseJ\ 7 e s. lf 1.hat is all that is J es ircd of the pecan tree well and good; a iy .ste m of neglect will secure Hie result and the iuscc1s and fungi will !Jc ihe chief beneficiaries of the p rac tice. One l es, ,on can he learned from the woods. The ideal soil con<1i1 ions for the p ec an grove is that found in the for es t. The i;oil tller e is filled with Yrg e tablc matter and hurrnrn; it h o lds water and plant food. T!Je aim in tile cultivation of the trees should be to provide and main tain a soil as nearly ideal as that.

PAGE 59

ti9 '''hether anyone would have the temerity to advocate the cultivation of a pecan orchard along the lines ap11Iied to peach 1 )1"tliar-ds and citrus groves is seriously doubted. A 1iec:rn planiation will begin to bear in from six to eight ye:m; afki' pl:rnting nnd should produce a very fair crop at ten ,Ytan,, after ,vhid1 it rapidly increases in produc tivity. Bnt dming the period when the trees are growing and no fniit is being produced, cultivation must he given. This is best done by planting the land between the tree ro,rn in cot !on, peanuts or other field crops, in vegetables, cowpeas, hegganncd or velvet beans. The last mentioned crops may be used in making hay. These are the ideal crops for the pecan orchard. It would be best to follow a syste'1iaiic rotation of these crops. As, for instance, first ~c:1" peanuts, second year cotton, or first year crab grnss and bcggarweed, second ~ear cotton, and third year velvet beans or cowpeas. The area grown in these crops should by no mean, equal the total area of the field. The tree rows for tt wit1th of four or five feet on each side should not be planted in crops during the first year. This strip should, however, be cultirnted during the first part of the season :md rhoni ihe l:Jp~inning of the rainy season sowed to brgg;nweed. The cnlti,atet1 area will necessarily become more resirided each year, nnd eventually the g1onnd will lwve to be given up to the trees. Then the plan frequenily advised is to put the land in grnss and nse it for a pnsture. Dnt gmss is generally an important Hem in the cultivntion of neglected pecan mchnrds. ft is sy1w11y111011s with 11cglcct and bacl treat m,nt . It interferes with the growth, development and fruiting of the frees, nnd this plan is no longer advised by growers. lnska(l, it is preferable to cultivate the trees in spring, continuing the cultivation well np to the rainy season. J,aier, in August, a crop of crabgrass and heggnrweed may be removed for hay. By autumn a considerable

PAGE 60

liO additional growth will be formeu to cove r the ground in winter and turned back into the soil to restore and main tain the necessary humus content of the soil. FERTILIZERS, On nearl y all Florirtiliz ers are used, those given the young trees shoulrl mialyze about fir e 1 w r cent. phGSJJhoric ncirl. !'-'ix per cent. potash and four per cent. nitrogen; while one containing r-ix per cent. phosphoric acid, eight per cent. potash ,rnd four per cent. nitrogen is about right for bearing tree<;. If we m:snme that acid phosJJhate analyzes 1'1 per cent. phosphoric acid, high-grade sul11hate of potasll 50 per cent. pota:-h , cotton seed meal G.5 p e r cent. nitrogen, and dried bl o od 14 per cent. nitrogen, the following amounts of these materials, which may he mixeu at home, will give approximately the above analysis:

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61 Fon. YOUNG TREESAcid Phosphate ( 14 per cent. goods) . . . . . 700 pound:,; H. G. Sulphate Potash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 pounds Cotton Seed Meal ..........•..•......•• l,lGO pounds If dried blood is used in place of cotton seed meal, one half of the amount, or 57G 1ionn
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62 good pruning shears, German solid steel pruning sheara being tlte best, a pair of "'alter's tree prunes for cutting Lal'k lollg llranches, and a good pruning saw. One of the best pr11ni11g saws is what is known as a Climax pruning saw, OJ' a Pacific Coast pruning saw is equally as good. It is not advisable to prune the trees during the time "hen growtlt has just started in spring, and the sap is in active motion. At this time it wiII be well-nigh im possilJle to properly protect the wounds. The necessary coat of paint will not stick to the wound when wet with sap from the tree. ,vhile pruning may be done during the sumer months, when the tree is in full leaf, all things considered, the best time to prune is in early spring before growth starts. 'fhere is usually less to lie done on the farm at this season and more time is available for the "ork. "onnds made at this time usually heal quite rapidly. In cutting all branches the saw should be held parallel to the part which is to remain, and the branch slwnlJ be rnt off smoothly close up to the trunk. As soon as the branch is removed the wound should be pain1ecl to protect it from decay. For a protcc1ivc cover ing, nothing is better than white lend paint. A small amount of coloring matter may be adJed to it, if 1ksired. As a general rule, the pecan requires comparnti,-ely little pruning. At the time of planting, the young trees should be cut back some distnnce, particularly if they are very tall. It is well to have the main branches from wiihin four or five feet of the ground. After -this about all the pruning necessary is to remove dead or injured branches and cut back those which have a ter,dency to run up be;rond their neighliors. For this work 1 as well as in procuring grafts or bud-wood from the top of the tree, the tree-pruner comes into good service. Top-worked trees frequently require considerable prun ing to get them started so that they will develop into symmetrical trees.

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G3 Il AilYESTH,G AND 1\lARKETING. Till' pecan crop is not so diITicult to harvest and prepare for rnal'ket as a crop of ornnges or pea<:ltes, for instance, and yet som e care must be taken to pnt the nnts on the mnrl : 2 t in inYiting shaj)e. Field Eq11ip111cnt.-The equipment necessary for har vesting consists of an extension ladder, a step-ladder, a numher of bamboo fishing-poles and picking sacks. Tlie best kind of step-ladder h; one having three legs instead of four. Picking sacks should be made from ordinary hemp or j11te sacks. 'l'he snc-k sliould he spl'ead open with a piece of stick, sharp-pointed at both ends, placed in one Ride of tlie mouth, illus making the opening triangular. Place a pecan nut in the lower corner of the sack , tie one end of a pie c e of stout twine about it as it lies in the corller and then tie the other end of the twine to the center of the mount of the f!tick opposite the stick. The twine shon)d he short enough to draw the bottom and top of the Rac:k close together, leaYing :rn opening through wbid1 the m m mn~be tllrnst nnd the sack slnng over the 1,bo , 1 ltlcr. l'ickin[!.-:.\s soon as tlie greater percentage of the burn, Im.Ye opened, the crop slwnld lie gn1hcrcd. It will not do to ~nit until all 11:we opened , JJ c itllcr is it atlvis aLle to pi<-k the trees m er n nmuLcr of times. Pil'k thern cl c: rn nt one picking. 'l'ltr lmrrs of those nub, wliich are fully matured will open , the burrs of immature oues may not. The latter should be discarded. 'fhe m e n should climb the trees and pick the uuts liy han
PAGE 64

trees thete is frequently nothin g to do but shake and thrash tlle crop off the trees. 'l'lle plan of coYering the ground beneath the fr ees with a lnl'ge sheet would work well and assist in r e ducing losses. As soon as taken from the trees t he nuts should be spread out under a shed or in a buildin g to dry. A very convenient plan, and oue which will sa r c 1-,paee, i s to provide a snffic icnt numb er of trays, three feet by four feet, and thr ee inches deep, wilh half inch mesh wire bottom1-,, and pla ce the nnts in these, two or two and a half inches deep. Ha cks can he proyided around tbe room in ,vhiclt to place these. In flom ten days to two weel~s from the time of picking the nr1ts should be cured. G rnding.-'l'he variety should be made lbc l>asis of the grade; that is, each variety should be picked, packed and market ed by itself. Tllis, heside s, gives an excellent op portunity to compare the commetcial value of different kinds. \\ihen a grower has a large number of different kinds of seedling nuts , and a small quantity of eac h, they may l>e graded by passing them through screens. Polishing.-At the present tim e practically aJI of the eorn1!1on rnarket uut s arc both polished and n>lu rctl . Color ing should not be resorted to, and in the ca8e of good va rieties of nuts 11olishiug sl101tld uut Le tlonc. In the case of small or mixed Jots, however, pol L,hing is us e ful in mnkiu g t ll e nuts mo re uniform. It ca n be accomplished hy pntlin~ t he nuts , 'iYith a littl e dry sand, in a barrel fixed so that it ean be r ota ted like a revolving C'hurn and tumiu g over until the nuts receive the desired polish. 'l'he bett er 1111ts, howev er, sh ould b e put on the rnnrket just as they co 11ie from the trees. The m:u kin gs, dots and streak s on t he out::::ide are their lrademnrk and s hould not be in terfere d with. Packagcs.-FOl' shipping small quantities of pecans by expre ss, nothing is better than a box. Barrels are best for larger shipments. For mail shipments stout pasteboard, wooden or tin boxes or tin cans make good packages.

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G5 Frequently shipments are made in sacks, but the sack doel!! not affm-d suilicient protection to the contents and should not lie used. As a rule, tile box shonld l.Je made so that a given ,veight will fill it, lmt tllis difliuilty may be over c01uc, to a cc!'tain exJ-ent, l>y putting in a pad of p:1per or exeelsiu1-pnpe1 bciBg p1 ferable. Fill the packages on a solid Jlun, slrnking 1hcm dmrn well a1td putti1tg in all they will ltold, placing tlie 1iad, if one lias to be used, in the !,ut10111. On the outside of 1hc pnc:lrnges, before 8hipping, sh011ld be placed the name of the gro\\'er, the vai iety, 1he 111m1br of JHilll1lished in the iomist towns of the State, may be found hel pl'nl. Tlle object and aim should be to gin~ eaeh prirnte cus tom e r a paekage, bright, neat, atirncthe and containing Hie best quality of nuh,. If a certain price per pound is fixed for a gh'en quantity, then this r,;bould not he varied under any circumstances. Each year the same quality of nub; fihould be given to each customer. It will not do to give large ones one year and smaller ones the next; thil!! tends 1o (Teate dissatisfaction. In some of the huger cities there are high-class fruit dealers who hnndle noth ing hut frnits, nuts, etc., of the -very highest quality. Under some circnrnstnnc0s it might be well to enter into negotiations with such firms.

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6G VARIETIES. Although the pecan indm~try is not old, yet a very con siderable number of varieties has !Jeen brought forward. Not all of these nre or lia,e been meritorious, and in fact many varieties are now rcpref::ented by name only. Other varieties nre cornparativl'l,y new, and no one can SJJeak authoritatin•ly of what they will do over a witlc r:rn~e of tel'l'ilory. Htill oilier va1ieties hare been propagated by buds m gr-arts Joi a 1111111licr of years, \\'ith the result that thr,v hare lice11 t estc> 1l fail'l,V well ov e r the cmm1r,v . . Home of the varicti<•s ::o frie1l lime p1oved satisfactory, olhers hnrn not. 01' the oldel' v.11ieties, 8111,u t, Yan De111n11 and Fr11t,:cl1er 11,ffe lit>en fonrnl sa1isfadm,Y in IH'al'ly all cai-es. ,,,-hi!<. C\'11l c 11ni:tl aud ltorne lwn• 111 1cd ;.,q nn sat ii-l'al'ior,v tlia t they lt:1n : h,eH cnt m1t ol' the fo,Ui of nwny p1,,1g,1lor;::, It i::; 1lonbll'11l \\hell1e1 a mo1c wo1th Jc :,; im1t l1.1s CH ' !' bet'll prnp:i t.:: nted and soI(1 th.m lliat rnnl'h-11a11wn is to pl:111! lll'ilher Ce11[('11Hi,ll nm Ho11w. Tht>y eilln do not bem e110111.d1 fniit or tit.it 1rl1ich 1h(',V do pl'otl out. Van ]lern:m. Hl11:11'1 and F1obd1rr, on the nlht 0 1 li:1rnl, have geuernlly liot•,1p full Cl ' OJIS of 11111s or gootl qnnlity. A i"a I isf'actmy (H 1-ci:il peC'nn 1111 t 11111f't he p1il ific, of go(J(l size, good qnality. rnust un1 he sp,1s11101 il' in it~ hen1 ing-, plump, will! a h1i;.d1t, 1nesPn lnhle ext<>1i111 nnd prefprahly a light-C'ol01d kernt'I. The nnts ,;lto11ld, he sicl<>s , yield sixty pct eent. 01 11pwnr1l of ker1wls. Ali thef'C things in one rnrid,v mnke a dill'irnlt eornhi11ation to seenre. T;ndne neight 11wst not, hmYcYet, he gin•rt to size , for size mHl rprnlity al'e u,:nally nn tng111listir: tn 1•:teh other. In fact. in pecans , ns in othet fruit:-;, we m11st go to tile small or medium sizctl ones for the best qnnlity. No variety of pecan is superior to San Saba in qua lily, yet

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67 it is a small nut. Other varieties which may be regarded as standards of quality are Schley and Curtis. The formci is a medium to a large nut and medium prolific val'iet,r, wliile Curtis is of medium size, precocious and proliti c . Mon ey maker is reported as doing well in Loui:;;iana, an1l, being a mediunH;iz e d nut, it is likely to sueeccd in Flo1ida ; but th e s h ell i:i rather thitk. Georgia ha s proved to be a pndilic aud prccol'iu11s L ea rcr. ~early all of the v:nieties g iHn in tlie following li:it have Leen report e d u11•m farnnll1ly by dill'ei-eut growers. Jn planting pecans, no greater mistake than t!Jat of pl:111ti11 g a la1g e nurnbei of varieties can Le made. At most, the plantings :ilionld l,e confined to fonr or :ive vai-iet i es. If tl1 c grnwer dei,;i1 es to experimcut, and it is .J go o ,1 t hing to do, th en a fre e or two of a nmnl>cr of otl,cr varieties s lioulu Le incluueu in order to test their m e 1itR. a ricl ics Rc co m mcndcd.-'l'he following Ih,t con ta ins foe Yari e iie s whieh :ue wo1th,v the attcution of Flo1 ida ph11dl'r,.:. Kot nll of them have l, re n thorongllly tested as yet, mid tlt e rem -o n for inserting tliem here is to urg e that this 1, e done not in lnrg e numLcr s, not in ten-acre bl<,<-1,R hut in lots of two or th ree trees. In the mean. . time, 11n1 ii 0111 knowledg e of the ,arictics and their a,laption is innea,;e
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68 RrnrAUKS. lVhi!e we believe pecan growing to be a fine investment, we aclYise conservatism; do not plant more than can be propel'ly cared for; the industry has come to stn;v, and with time it will grow to vast propor1ions. We cJo not believe that any person living tocJay will ever see the, demand w!Jolly supplied, let alone a glutted market. The best grnde of pecans are b1inging ahout 50 cents per pourn1 . lmt if tllis price is reduced in time as low ns ten cents per pound t!Jere is more money in growing them ilrnn there is in most of the standard crops 1111<1e1 good management. So 'We say to the yonng or the micldle-uged man or woman engaged in, or about to engage in, either general or special farming, to plant pecans in proportion to their ability to care for them properly-it will pay them.

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SUGAR PRODUCTION IN FLORIDA. CANE CULTURE AND SIRUP MAKING. By R. E. Rose, State Chemist, Tallahassee, Fla. The culture of sugar cane, and the manufacture of raw sugar or sirup in .Florida, dates from the earliest settle ment. The plant was introduced by the Jesuit Fathers and largely cultivated on the East Coast, near St. Augus tine and New Smyrna, by the early Svanish settlers, the canes having been introduced from the West Indies, where it was cultivated on a commercial scale as early as 1518. The remains of sugar facto1ies, and evidences of sugar culture on an immense scale, are still found at New Smyrna in the Turnbull hammock. A drainage system is still in use, established by sugar and indigo planters more than two hundred years ago. There is no reason to doubt that Florida was the first of the United States to cultivate and manufacture sugar on a large scale . .ANCIENT MACHINERY AND METHODS EMPLOYED. I regret to say that the same primitive methods used in those ancient days still prevail, and that a modern, economical sugar factory does not exist in the State to day. To this fact, and the lack of modern apparatus, I attribute the present condition of the industry. No effort has been made to improve the wasteful two-roller horse mill, with wooden frame, and the old Jamaica kettle set in a clay furnace, the mill extracting not ex ceeding 50 per cent of the juice, and frequently Jess, while the kettle, juice trough and skim barrel account for a loss of 20 per cent or more of the small quantity f:ecured by the mill. I am convinced, by observation of Ii-Bui

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70 a number of sirup plants in the State, that, on an aver age, not to exceed 40 per cent of the sugar content of the cane is secured, and that GO per cent is wastl•d after producing the cane and hauling it to the mill. 'l'he meth ods generally pursued in Florida are as primitive as those still followed in ~lexico and South America. A few modern sirup plants have been erected, notably in Gads den and ,Jackson Counties. :iformRN APPARATUS HEQUIRIW. A modern factory, with improved mills, evaporators, filters, bagasse burners and other modern labor-Having devices, properly constructed elarifiers, filters, etc.. will readily secure double the quantity of sirup or sugar, of a mueh better quality, from the same amount of cane, than can possibly be accomplished by the crude and wasteful apparatus universally employed in Florida to day; at far less cost. ONLY CIWDE :\II,THODS EMPLOYED. In no other agricultural and manufacturing enterprise has the farmer and manufachner failed io take advan tage of the improvement in methods and rnacbines. I can only attrihute this to the generally accepted belief that cane growing and sirup mnking, even under the present crnde and wasteful method. is considered a most profit able business. I have talked with hundreds Gf farmers in all parts of 1he State, from Pensacola to Key West, from ,Jacksonville to Tampa, and ha,e yet to meet one who did not positively assert that he derived more cash, with leRs labor per acre, from his cane patch than from any other crop. !IIAXIl\IU:\I 'fONNAGE Puouucm). The fad that we produce crops of cane of from fifteen to thirty-five tom, per acre, with an easy average of twenty tons, cannot be gainsaid.

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71 QUALI'l'Y Ob' C.\NE SUPEUIOH. That this cane is equal to any in sugar content, and far superior to that grown in other States, cannot he denied. Too many tests and analyses have been made from canes taken from all parts of the State, and from all kinds of land, by eminent chemists and sugar makers, who have unqualifiedly stated that our canes are equal to any, and superior to most, grown in America, or even in Cnha, to permit a dou!Jt to exist as to the peculiar advautnges of Florida's soil and climate for producing a plant of maxi mum torrnage and sugar content. l:-.11wvED Al'P.\UA'l'US IN LOUISL\N.L Louisia11a for years struggled with the horse mill and open kettle, making lnown sugar and molasses. 'l'llis had lo be seut to the refinery and treated by the old "clay process." Gradually the methods of the refiners im proved. clariiica tion was perfected, filters were improved. the juice was made chemically and mechanically clean. the vacuum pan was evolved, which led to the "double effect" ( or vacuum evaporator), the mill wns inereased from two to three, then five then six, and now nine roll ers are used. The extraction formerly thought very good at GO per cent has heen inerensed to 8B per cent, leaving practically only the dry fihre of the cane. 'rhe fuel bill. formel'ly force cords of wood, or equivalent in coal, pe1 ac1e, hns been eliminnted, the pulp or bagai'ise of the cane. in a well-balanced modern factory, furnishing all the necessary fuel for all pnrposes. The evolution in the sugar factory of Louisiana has been in keeping with the progress along all other lines. Twenty years ago the modern "central factory" was the exception; today it is the rule; there are hundreds of such factories in Louisi ana, lrnndling frnm fiOO to 1.~00 tons of cane per day, mak ing large profits, while selling granulated sug-ars at 4 to 5 cents per pound. These factories extract and produce

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72 fully 100 per cent more sugar from a given amount of cane than can possibly be secured by using the antiquated mill and open kettle. At the same time, the quality is such that the value of the sugar per pound is increased from 3, to 4 or 5 cents, or from 50 to 65 per cent increase. RAW SuGAR, OR Srnup, COMPARED TO REFINED OR PuRH SUGAR. A ton of cane, producing 90 pounds of raw sugar, worth $2.70, will, with improved apparatus of large ca pacity, produce 180 pounds of granulated goods, worth not less than 4 cents per pound, or $7.20, while the cost of producing this 180 pounds of granulated goods will be less than to produce the 9(J pounds of brown sugar. BEET SUGAR FACTORIES EMPLOY ONLY IMPROVED MACHINERY. The only reason why it is possible to make beet sugar profitably is the fact that none but the most modern ap paratus is used, making it possible to secure all the sugar, at the least possible cost, from the beet, a plant well known to be inferior to tropical cane in average sugar content and also containing larger percentages of impuri ties. No beet sugar factory would attempt to make raw sugar and sell it to the refiners at the price fixed by the refiners. The result would be disastrous to the grower and manufacturer of raw sugar. On the contrary, the beet sugar factory makes none but the finest granulated goods, goes directly into the market, and demands and receives the market price fixed by the sugar refiner for first-class goods. The culture of beets is one of the mm1t precarious and difficult crops known, requiring extraor dinary skill and immense labor; the crop is subject to many diRasters; in infancy it is delicate and easily de stroyed by adverse climatic conditions; it requires i,;kill ful culture, heavy fertilizing and proper irrigation. When

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73 ready for harvest the work must be promptly finished, the crop stored free of frost, and carefully handled at all times. Five acres per hand for culture is a fair task, while a yield of ten tons, with an average of 12 per cent sugar, is a fair average yield, or 2,400 pounds of sugar per acre, paying the grower a maximum of $5.00 per ton of beets, or $250.00 per annum for culture, harvest and delivery of five acres of beets, with a total failure ex pected two years out of five from drought, rain or frost. SUGAR CANE A RUGGED, ROBUST PLANT, EASILY CULTIVATED AS INDIAN CORN. To a Florida audience I need not say that cane is a robust, rugged plant, as easily cultivated as corn, requir ing no thinning to a stand at enormous cost of labor, no special care, and seldom properly fertilized; still, I have yet to learn of a total failure of a cane crop from drought, flood or insect pest. ACREAGE PER MAN EMPLOYED. Twenty acres per hand, with a yield of 20 tons of cane per acre, is not unusual. (With the ~ame amount of fer tilizing and labor as demanded by beets, one man can grow 30 acres, with an average of not less than 25 tons of cane per acre, that will yield in a modern factory 10 per cent of pure granulated sugar per ton of cane, or 5,000 pounds per aere, or 125,000 pounds per hand used in culture.) Understand that while one man can cultivate 20 acres under ordinary conditions ( and 30 if he works as hard and constantly as the beet grower), no one man can harvest such a crop, nor can the beet grower harvest his five acres without help. This cane, delivered at the factory, will furnish practically all the fuel necessary. The beet factory must use coal. This, however, is offset by the value of the beet pulp for feeding purposes; still, the beet factory is, compared to the cane sugar factory of equal capacity, more

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74 costl_y, " l.Jile the process of nu11rnfacture is mor e co mpli cated and expensive. The extraction, clarifying. fi lte1ing and purif,ring of bed . juice, owing to the large amount of impurities, is fur mo1 e difficult than in handling enne juice. Raw beet sugar is not fit for cornrnmp t ion by man or beast. This fact has had much influence on the industry and forced tbe employment of the best and most S (: ientific methods in bL >ct sugnr rnanufadme. Cane sugar, as we all L:now, is a most palat able and nu(ritious food, from tire c-ane itself up through the nuions preparations of ~irup, 1aw sugar , ruolasses candy, to refi :1ed sngar, or ro ck ca ndy. In no r;tage ca n ii he :-aict sugar cane nnd i1s prorlud:are 1101 fit ror food. I have frequently :,;t"atcd, aud again asRert, that first l'!asi;: g-ra11ulated r;ugar can be ma de from Florida ca ne at a Ia1 ge profit when selling the sugar at l eF
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75 packed, i~ in demand at fair prices and will pay fair divi dends on the investment. CENTIL\L FA CTO RIES NEEDED. l i ntil our people are edu ca ted to the necessity and value of ''central fnctoriest wl: ere the farmer may sell his cane direct to th e factory for more than he now gets for his i-irnp, it will be well to encourage th e sirup industry. Pro vided none but the lJest is made, top priees may be ex pected; if th i n . dirty, dreggy slops, packed in a sour keg or dil"ty barrel, is produced, i t is only fit for the pigs and not good for them. 111 m~king sirup ( good s irup), the ol,ject is to produce a 1!1ick , clear liquid, that will not granulate or "sugar off." 1t may be startling to a number of my auditors when I assert that first-c:lat>s sirup contains but comparatively little sugar_ A fir st-c lass sirup, be it made from cane, maple sap, co rn, rice, potatoes, beets, watermelons or other vegetable substance, is hut a solution of glucose, or "invert" sugm', with no npprecialJle quantitJ of :;,ucrose, or sugar; llenc e, to mak e a good, thi c k, heavy, clear sirup, we proceed to change our sugar to glucose, or "invert'' sugar, exactly opposite to tltc desire of the sugar maker. 'l'he sugar maker seeks to 1weYent the "im-ersion" of llis sugar to glucose. and to g-et his sugar to the "grain" asquickly a . -; possible; he desires as little gluem,e a:;, poi-sible, and separates the molasses and glucose from his crJstals as rapidly as possible. Starch, glucose and sugar :ire all closely related, all carbo-hydrates-the basis of fats in animals, which are hydroc arbons. Th e> differenl'e he t ween sugar and glu c ose is but the addition of one molecule of water. Sugar being "C, 2 H 2 ,, 0 11 ," hy adding one molecule of wat e r ("H 2 O") we have glucose-"C 12 , H 211 0 10 .'' By the adition of water,

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76 in the presence of heat, acids or ferments, sugar take8' up a molecule of water and becomes glucose Starch also in the presence of an acid and heat, or a ferment, becomes glu cose. Sugar does not ferment, it must become glucose, "invert'" sugar first; neither does starch ferment, it must alll'o be changed to glucose befo1e it ferments. Another fact to be remembered is that glucose, in the presence of heat and moisture, will attack and convert sugar into glucose; by the action of long-continued beat the whole of the sugar will be converted or "inverted." A quantity of pure sugar, dissolved in pure water , kept simmering on a s-tove for some time, the evaporation supplied will in time become a solution of "invert" sugar, with no sugar (sucrose) in it. If the juice of an apple, orange or a few grapes, or other acid fruit, is added to the vessel the "inversion" will occur more quickly. Cane jui c e is a solution of s-ugar, glucose and other solids and gums. Ripe cane bas but little glucose-frequentily less than 1 per cent, generally 2 to 2 per cent. Unripe cane has a much larger percentage of glucose, sometimes as much as 50 per cent; the immature tops of cane are always high in glucose and poor in sucrose, or s-ugar. Evi dently the starch in the cane ( or what would be starch in corn, rice or potatoes,) is first formed in the immature part of the cane. It is by the subtle chemistry of nature changed into sugar, a c hemical feat the despair of the most eminent scientists_ To change a S"ugar into glucose is a daily performance in the laboratory and factory; to re move the molecule of water and change glucose to sugar has been the dream of the chemists for years; so far it haf.l not been acomplished_ SUGAR MAKING DrnNGU1SHED FROM Srnup MAKING. Knowing now the materials we have to deal with. and their behavior in the presence of acids. heat and ferments, we can proceed to prl)pare the substance we require. If we

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77 want sirup, we do not demand ripe cane, which the sugar maker requires; a quantity of glucose in the unripe tops will do no harm, hence we begin grinding when the canes are ripe from one-half to two-thirds the length of the stalk (say October 15), though ripe cane makes more sirup in proportion than unripe cane. Unripe cane will make good sirup, but not good sugar. Ripe cane, quickly " boiled off," will certainly granulate if boiled to the proper density; unripe cane can hardly be made to granulate by the most expert sugar makers. RIPE CANE FOR SUGAH. To make sugar, use ripe cane, cut off the immature tops, leaving as little unripe cane as possible, clarify and evap orate rapidly, place in coolers of large area to allow quick cooling and granulation. UNRIPE CANJi: MAY HE USED FOR SIRUP. For i,;irup making, use considerable unripe tops; do not hurry the pro c ess at any point; the juice may stand in the tank for some time ( one or two hours), a little ferment will not hurt it; clarify and skim at a moderate beat; evap orate slowly, and skim carefuJly. This slow evaporation will insure a heav.r, non-crystalable sirup. :Mu c h of the excellen c e of Florida sirup depends on the slow evaporation in d e ep kettle s , with great heat long con tinued, the delay in the juice barrel between strikes, and the large amount of ferment necessarily added to the juice by the mill with its wooden frame and the sourness of the various strainers and utensils used. The mill is seldom washed off, and is never "limed" to destroy ferment. The evaporator is never a favorite with sirup makers; they c an't boil thick before the sirup sugars. This is a fact. If, however, l a rger quantities were run at a time, and the fire kept low, equally as good sirup could be made on the evaporator as in the kettle. For practical purposes, on a

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78 fair!J large scale (lU to 20 barrels, or 400 to 800 gallons, per day of sirup), I should advise a separate clarifier and. a partial evaporator, and finish in a separate vessel. 'l'he secret of good sirnp is perfect clarifying and straining. careful and continuous skimming, and plenty of time given to the evaporation, using more or less unripe cane, with some fermentation allowed. Boil your sirup to a uniforrn density of about 33 degrees Beaume, while hot; this will yield a sirup of about :38 degrees Beaume, when cold. These saccharometers eun be purdiased of any instrument dealer, or (an be ordered through an.v druggist. They are abso lntely necessary for uniform work. AJJparatus.--'l'he first prerequisite is a first-class hori zontal mill, well built and exceedingly strong, to extract the juice; suth a mill can only be had from manufacturers who have had long experience in building sugar apparatus. A first-class three-roller mill, pro1icrly set, will extract 60 per cent of the weight of cane in juice, or 70 per cent of the total juice. The clarifiers and ernporators should, if posi,;il,le, be steam-heated, the eoils made of copper, for economical reasons. Copper conducts heat better than iron; while iron pipes will make as good sugar, they will require 40 per cent more fuel to do the same work; a cop per coil will work better with GO pounds of steam than an iron coil with 100 pounds. ADVANTAGES or,' STisAM APPARATUS. The adrnntage of a steam train is ob\"ious; the manipu lator has absolute control of the !teat and ean regulate it as circumstances demand. A fire-heated ernporator ('annot he so perfectly regulated. In either case, steam or fire heated ernporators, I strongl,r advoeate a copper heating surface, on account of fuel economy; the difference in cost will be more than offset during the first season. There are a large number of reliable manufacturers of first class apparatus who can, and will, furnish apparatus at far less than they can be designed and built for locally. A "home made" apparatus is most expensive and unsatisfactory.

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79 C11lt11rc.--It is us ele ss for me to attempt to instruc1 Plorida farmers in cane cu ltur e. Tile method s are fully und ers tood by them. 1 can only say tllat a large p:u-t of the c ul i u1e E hould pre cede tile planting . Tbe bed should be deeply plowed and in perfect tilth before planting. 1 prefer fall planting, parti c ularly in South Florida. Dy h:n-ing 1he ground ready, 11.le planting enn be done at the ti111e of grinding, using th e immature top s for seed. An ane of tops should plant more t han an a cre of new Jana. [n South Florida, cane sho uld yield at least tlu ee good c rop s from one planting; frequently, with proper cnr e, it will last firn or si x years. The c ultur e should be shallow, nt all times working a low ridge around th e cane . For fer tilizin g, notiling is better than co w-penning, which, how eYer, should be re-inforeed l.1,, ltiO to 200 pounds of iligh grade rnl pha te of potash ( 45 to 50 p er cent of potasil) and 500 to 1,000 pounds of 16 per cent acid phosphate. Cane requires potash to matm e its, juices, ns does all fru it or sugar-producing plants. A general fertilizer for cane ,;hould ha, e about th ree proportions: Ammonia 3, phos phoric acid G, potash 4. Cotton seed meal, acid phosphate and kainit mix ed in equal part s and applied, 1000 pounds pPr acre, ,viii gi,c most cxe ell e nt results; tllis will yield the necessary f er tilizing clements in al.Jout the correct pro portion. At pres e nt prices , this fertilizer should not cost to ex ceed $25.0il per ton at seaports. One thousand pounds per acre s lwuld insure a crop of not less titan 20 tons of ca ne per aere, with nn arnrage of 10 per cent sugar, or 4, 000 pounds sugar per acre, or 40 0 to 500 gallons of firstc lass sirup per acre, using a first-class npp nr ntus and exercising due eco nomy. About one-half this amount c an be se('ured with the usual apparatus now generally e mploy e d in this Riate. Varieties of Cane.-'l'here are a number of dilforent canes, probnbJ~seYen ty-fiYe or more known varieties. In many eas es the same cane is known by different local

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80 names. There are not to exceed a dozen kinds that are valuable in Louisiana and Florida, of which probably three distinct kinds are worth considering. The "Crystaline," from which a number of different canes have originated, is generally considered best; the "Red Bibbon" and the "Purple" canes come next. The large white or Hawaiian cane is largely planted in Florida; it is a favorite for chew ing. It is a slow grower, late in starting, and does not rattoon perfectly. The "Crystaline" is considered the best all-around cane. It is known by many local names. It rattoons well, is early in sprouting and ready to "lay by" by May 15; its sugar content is high and impurities small. The "Red Ribbon" is also an excellent cane, and inferior to the "Crystaline" only in the fact that it does not rattoon so perfectly. The "Purple," or Bourbon cane, is a hardy cane, smaller than either of the others named; its sugar content is equal to the "Red Ribbon" or "Crysta line"; it is well adapted to North Florida, and is almost exclusively cultivated in Georgia; it will stand more frost than the "Crystaline" or "Red Ribbon." A new seeding cane, perfected by Dr. William C Stubbs, recently Director of the Louisiana Sugar Experiment Sta tion, known as "Demarrara No. 74," has been largely intro duced into Louisiana. It is a robust, hardy green cane, with a much larger sugar content than the ordinary canes; a heavy producer, with but few impurities. It has not yet been extensively introduced into Florida. Where it has been tried it has been found desirable, being early in ma turity and has a much larger sugar content-10 to 15 per cent more than the ordinary varieties. A variety known as the Japanese cane was introduced from the Louisiana Sugar Experimental Station some fif teen years ago; it rattoons profusely and will grow on high pine land, making heavy crops where ordinary cane would fail to produce profitable crops; it makes first-class sirup,

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81 but is not considered a first-class sugar-producer on ac count of its high percentage of glucose, and solids not sugar. I believe it will be of great value to those situated on high pine ridges, and as it stands frost better than ordi nary cane, it will be an acquisition to North Florida and Georgia. PREPARA'.rION OF Sou..--PLANTING. Soil for cane ( or corn) should be well drained and deeply plowed; not less than six inches-preferably eight or more inches, depending on local conditions. This should be done as early as practical.Jle in the fall, not later than November 15 for spring planting; if for fall planting, in October. The soil should be well harrowed, putting the seed-bed in fhst class tilth. The fertilizer should be spread, or scattered, broadcast, and thoroughly harrowed in before planting. Fall planting should be done in November; spring planting in February or March. Rows should be opened six feet apart, four int'hes deep; the seed canes laid in the furrow, continuously, lapping each cane one or two joints, if the seed is sound and the eyes perfect. In case of damaged seed cane, more is required; frequently "two canes and a lap" are needed; the object being to get one sound eye for every six inche$ of row, to insure a good "stand." Cover fall-planted cane four inches deep, in the spring, when ger mination has begun; remove part of the covering, to allow the heat and air to penetrate the soil. Much cane is lost from too deep planting. For spring planting, cover not more than two inches deep. Germination will frequently begin in North Florida in February; in Middle Florida in January, when part of the covering should be dragged off, to assist in germinating. In tropical Florida below the 28th parallel, cane will sprout and grow at any time, and can be planted whenever convenient.

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Cur:rrvATIO.'.. The culture of cane is exactly similar to the culture of corn; oue of tlle best tools for early cultivatiou isthe •'weeder." It can be used at any time from the planting, and run in any direction-with the rows or across them all(J can be used exclusively until the cane is two feet high, after which a cultivator should be frequently run in the rows. The eulture should at all times be shallow, not to disturb the root ,;ystem. A turn-plow should never be us-ed to cultivate cane. Continue cultivating till the cane com pletely sha{'.es the ground. Allow no weeds to grow in the rows, nor the middles, at any time. ilARVEST. HarYest begins in Louisiana October 15--thougb the cane is far from mature at this date. The large areas, however, demand early hanest. In North Florida, Novem, ber 1 to 15; iu South Florida, December 1; below the 28th parallel, harvest may be d-elayed till January 1, and is fre quently continued till :\larch 15, s-ornetirnes till April 1, the climate being practically similar to Cuba, adding full sixty days' growth and maturity to the crop. That pmtion of the plant which has shed itS' blades or leaves is matme; that pnrt to which the leaves still cling, the tops, is uot fully mature. Generally two-thirds of the stalk is matured by November 1st. \Vlten ready for harvest, the cane s-houlrJ be sfripped of its lemes, to allow the sun to mature the juices-a ln1h is a good tool for this purpose. Enough eane should he stripped at one .time to supply the mill several days. CUTTING CANE FOR SmuP. When cutting cane for sirup, top it high, to leave two or three of the upper, unripe, immature joints; this immature cane juice is largely glucose, or "invert" s-ugar, and tends to prenmt l'rystallization.

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83 ln l:utting cane for sugar-making, top low, using only the fully matured or ripened cane. Cut only what is neces sary to supply the mill each da_y. Only fresh-cut eane should he used for making sugar. FER~IENTATION. A :slight fermeu1ation will not damage cane for sinr waking . adding to tlie '"in\'ert '' sugar (glueose) and allow ing the sirup to be boiled thick without danger of crystal lizing. A Yery 1,wall amount of fermentation will materially darnnge <.:aue for sugar-making, increase the "invert'' sugar -1110l:u,ses, and dee.Tease the crystals of sugar in propor tion to the amount of glucose present. Fermented urne cannot be made into sugar, though with proper care it may be worked into fair sirnp. ExTRAC ' l ' JNG~1ILLI!'.G. Use none lrnt a hc a Y,Y, well-made mill, with large shafh,, requiriILg not less than two good animals to pull it. A stearn-power, horizontal mill should be used when the1e atc more than twenty aCl'es to harYest. 'l'lte pulp ( or bagnsse), when passed throngh the mill, should he broken into short, d ry frngmcuts, apparently free of juice. \\"lien pa:c;f'"iug tlte mill as !lat ri!JIJons, un!Jl'Oken at the joini:-:, it has not b ee n well ground, and still has a large 11<~rcentage of juice left in it. A well-set hors e mill can be 1 :un to extrad GO per cent of the weight of the cane in juic e, le~wing 25 per cent still in the eane ( cane is com posed of SG per cent juice and 15 per cent of dry fibre). Seldom do hol'se mills extract more than 50 per cent of juice. le:iYing 35 per eent in the eane. A well-designed, powerful, six-roller steam-power mill will, when.kept prop erly ser, extract 75 per ce nt , still leaving 10 per cent of

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84 juice in the cane. S ' eldom do steam mill!l' extract more than 75 per cent of the weight of cane in juice. The most powerful steam mills nine rollers, wjth crusher and "saturation" between the last six rolls--aver age not to exceed 80 per cent of the juice, or 93 per cent of the total sugar in the cane. A mill extracting less than 65 per cent of the weight of the cane in juke is not an economical apparatus. A good steam-power mill, with six rolls, will average 75 per cent, a gain of practically 20 per cent in !."irup or sugar. Few cane growers realize the enormous losses they sus tain by using inferior mills. STRAINING AND CLARIFYING. Between the mill and the juice tank, or barrel, a coarse wire strainer should be placed, to remove coarse particles of cane or leaves; under this a gunny-bag strainer; below this a coari;,e muslin or cheesecloth strainer. Needless to say , these strainers must be kept clean and frequently changed. They should be stretched on hoops, like sieves, and a number kept on hand for changing. From the mill to the juice tank, near the clarifier, or evaporator, a pipe should be run-generally below the ground, not to inter fere with the team. At its outlet another strainer of flan nel, or "filter cloth," should be placed. Thorough straining wonderfully reduces the labor of skimming and greatly improve& the quality of the sirup or sugar. The juice tank at the mill need not be of great capacity. It serves only as a funnel for the pipe to the larger juice tank near the clarifier or evaporator. This tank should hold at least sufficient for a charge ( or run) of well-strained juice; it also acts as a settling tank and removes large amounts of heavy impurities that settle to the bottom. It ~hould be cleaned at least once a day, and well washed out.

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85 MILK OF LIME FOR CLARU'YING. 'l'he universally used clarifying agent in all well-con dmted sugar or sirup factories is a mixture of fr es ltiy burned quicklime and icatcr. Air-slaked lime will not amrn-er the purpose, and should not be used. 'fo prepare this '•milk of lime," use on e pound of quicklime to one gal lon of wat er , thus having two ounces of lime to each pint of the mixture. Place 40 pounds of quicklime in a 40 -g allon barrel; slake it with water; when it is thoroughly slaked, add wat erto make 40 gallons (if the water is at all times above the lim e it will keep indefinitely, fit for us e ). Defore dipping out a portion for use, stir t he "milk of lime" thoroughly to get the necessary lime suspended in the portion to be used. It sh ould be about like thick whitewash. :F'or each 50 gallons of r a w, strained jui c e, use one pint of this "milk of lime ." Take one pint of "milk of lime," add one gallon of water; stir it well to suspend the lime; scatter this over the surfa ce of th e jui ce in the evaporator or clarifier; distribute it well and mix it thoroughly with the juice. SKIMl\IING . Bring the juice to a boil quickl y, but do not let it "boil UJJ ;" when the "green blanket" forms and begins to "crack," draw the fires, or turn off the steam. Remove the blanket of green scum quickl y and carefully. Don't let the scum fall back into the juice at any time. After cleaning carefully, renew the fires, or turn on the steam; skim continuously and carefully, while evaporat ing; evaporate with moderate heat for sirup, quickly for sugar. ACIDITY. Normal cane juice is always slightly acid. If cane ha.a been cut some time, or exposed to the sun for some time, 6-Bul

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86 it frequently becomes quite acid (ferments). The lime is to neutralize this acid-coagulate the gums and albumins. Practically all the lime is removed in the scums, or the settlings. CAUTION. 'l'he amount of lime recommended-one pint .:,f "milk of lime," equal to two ounces for each 50 gallons of juice--is but approximate. Very ripe cane, sweet and unfermented, may require less; green or i-:our cane, more than indicated. For sirup-rnaking, tile juice should at all times have a sliglltly acid reaction; for sugar-making, it sllould be neu tral-neither acid nor alkaline. 'l'EST FOR Acrn. A few sheets of Blue Litmus paper should be procured. Cut this into half-inch strips, about four inches long, and keep in a dry bottle. Before liming the juice, dip one of these strips into the juice. 'l'he blue paper will at once be turned pink or red, depending on tire amount of acid pres ent. After liming, dip another strip into the limed juice. It should show but a pale pink. If it remains blue, you have too much lime, and raw juice should be added till you get a faint pink color on the paper. Juice for sirup should alwriys be slightly acid, turning the blue paper a faint pink. BOILING. For SintJJ.-After thorough clarifying and skimming, boil steadily and slowly (skimming all the time) till the sirup makes 33 degrees. For Sugar.-Boil off as quickly as possible, until the saccharometer shows 36 degrees. BEAUME SACCHAROMETER. For uniform sirup or sugar-making, an instrument (a

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87 hydrometer) called a "Beaume Saccharometer" isabSO" lutely necessary. 'l'hese instruments cost 50 cents each, and can be bad of any instl'urnent dealer. Any druggist can order them. In sirup-making, boil till a sample of the hot jui ce sl10ws 33 degr, .:es on the spindle, which will be about 38 degr'zes when cold. l, se :1 glass or tin cylind e r about ten inches long for testing; fill the cylinder full of hot juice and drop ihe spiudle in; it will lloat at Hie poiut of density of the sirup. Sirup r,:lionld show 33 degl'ce s wlten hot; for ,mgar , boil to 3G degl'ees, hot. PACKAGES. The finished sirup should be bottled or canned, wltiie still l10t, in perfectly cleaned and sterili,r,ed bottles or cans 1 and sealed hot. Cans, corks, caps or covers sl.10uld be boiled or steamed to sterili,r,c them. Barrels or other wooden containers cannot be succ ess fully i,terilized, and will certainly ferment in a short time. Any sirup, thick or thin, sealed hot, in sterilized earn; os bottles, will not ferment until exposed to the air and bfr coming infected by the germs of fermentation. No harm less preservative (or anti-ferment) is known. Chemicals: that will prevent fermentation will also prevent digestiOll and are prohibited by good morals, as well as the purl: food laws of the country. CENTRAL FACTORIES. A central f:1ctory for sirnp or s11ga r, with au assmed acreage of from 200 to 500 acres, where f,uwers can fur ni i;: h froJU 10 to 20 aci-es witl:ont too great a haul _ . shoult \ be a most profilnhle invesirn ent. Snch a factory should pur chase cnne on the basi s of one-half the sirup or sugar mad e; the farmer purchasing necessary patlrnges if !Jr, prcf e r f to take Ids share "in kiml,'' rather than accept tlJe nllne of his half at the faeto1y wi U1ont pad;:ages. The amoun-;,

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88 of sirup or sugar in the cane is readily determined by the specific g1avity of the juice at the mill. With a good mill and modern appanrlns) a yield of 30 gallons per ton of average ripe cane of S degrees Beaume urn l.Je expected. ' This sirnp sliould be worth ;w ce nts per gallon :-n tlie fac : orx., l()r $U. OO per ton of cane, of which the farmer should receive $-i.00; at 20 tons per acre his gross yield is $80.00; by proper fertilizing and culture, he can increase both the sugar content and the tonnage; 30 tons are frequently made, while 40 to GO tons have been produced per acre on the rich lia mmoek and muck lauds of the State, when prop erly drained, fertilized and cultirnted. SIR UP p ACKAGES. Packages for sirup should not exceed five gallons each, while one-gallon cans and quart bottles, neatly labeled and sealed hot, to insure t he preservation of tlie aroma and peculiar flavor of well-made can e sirup, are pl'efcrable. A fair price for good sirup in Jhcga llon cans i s from 40 to GO ce nts per gallon, while
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89 station in Florida, along the lines of the Louisiana Sugar Experimental Station, which has added enormous sums to the profits of our Louisimrn sugar planters; ha~ educated numbel's of p rac-t ic-al sugar growers and sugar makers. This siation Wfrnld soon uc a self-supporting and self sustaining institution, nnd should be run on practical , as well as scientific, principl es , and t hus train our young men to "know how ," as ,vell ns to "kno"\\ why," certain pro cesses wili yield certain results. BULLETI~S . D:D LITEIUTURE. I ,..1 mld sug-gest to nll 1h osc in1 erested in sugar cane _ , sirup , rnd sugar-rnnking, to writ e to the Louisiana Sugar Experimental Station, at :Xew Orleans, for a copy of "Sugar Cane," by rrof. ' William C. Stubbs, Director of the Louisiana Sugar Ex1,erimental Station ( enclosing 50 cents for th e same) ; also, to obtain from the United States Agri cultural Department, Farmers ' Bulletins Nos. 90 and 135, '"L'he }[anufacturc of Sorghum Sirup." Tlle apparatus and methods therein recommended are equally applicable to the manufacture of sirup from cane. During recent years experiments under tlle direction of the United Sta te s Agricultural Department have been made in Florida and South Georgia in manufacturing sirup from sugar cane. A report, covering a nnmller of analyses of soils, and a larger number of analyses of cane has be e n published in these bulletins, Nos. 70 and 75, of the Bureau of Chemistry of the United States Ag1icultural Depnrtment. 'fhis report imstains the position assumed by m:,self and others that Floridn and South Georgia pro duce cane equal to any co untry in sugar content, and that the tonnage compares farnrably with more tropical terri tories.

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no A VERA GE A~ ALY-SIS OF FLOUIDA CANE. The average from Florida and Georgia shmn;: Sucrose , or pure sugar ................. 12.0S Der cent. Glucose, or reducing sugars ............ 1.32 J_>e r cent. Co-efficient of purity .................. 79.50 per cent. SU~I:\JAR.Y. 1Vhi!e these general rules and directions are given, there nre many "kinks" and conditions arising that re quire experience and skill to succeed in making a really goorl quality of siTnp or sugar. The art of sugar boiling is like all other arts, and requires practice and skill to become an ndept. while it is possible to tell "why" cer tain r esu lts should follow certain processes, one can only learn " bow" by practice. Numerous failures may be ex pect ed . ~ome of the most skillfnl sngnr boiler s are un able to tell "why," but they do know "how" to produce the best results. Tllere arc numbers of chemis1s who, wllile they know "why" certain r es ults are to be expected fr o m given condition s nnd proce sses, have not the skill required 1o boil sirnp or sugar successfully. "Sil'llp boil ing ' ' in all sugar-making counfrics is a distinct art, trade or prof e s1-io11; skillful sngar boilers frer1nently being paid as mnch, or more , 1-linn citlier tile superintendent, man ager , chemist or engineer of a su ; ar faetory. ~E.HOSE. Tallalwssee, Fla., September, 1010. nr:. H. 'IV. 'ITruy'r; Coxcr.usroiSl':l. In eonclnsion, I qnote from Prof. H. W. wiJey, Chief Chemist, United States Agricultural Depnrtment: "The problems connected with the sngar and starch prodncts are four or five in number. "First of all, the soil is to be considered and, therefore, agricultural interests should pay some attention to staple

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91 crops-that is, crops that have a market the year around and can be preserved and marketed at any time. Sugar and starch are types of such crops. These substances tah alJsolutely notliing from the soil; they are fabricated by ilie plant from tlie atmosphere and water; hence, the. sale of such products does not tend to impoverish the soil. "Th e soils of Florida are largely of a sandy nature *** *** "'** Sandy soils are not suitable for producing wheat, for instance , but the y are well adapted for pro ducing sugar and starch. In Florida, it is more a quei tio11 of climate than of soil, since, with a favorable cli mme, scientific agriculture will produce a crop from almost any kind of soil. '"The second problem to be considered is that of fer tilizen;. Perhaps there is no State more favorably situ at e d than Florida in respect of fertilizers. You have here in ex haustible deposits of phosphate. In the leguminous crops which grow here-namel y, peas, beans, alfalfa and beggarweed grass-you have a most valuable means of assimilating nitrogen from the air. In cotton seed, fish scmp and other animal refn se, you have access to large stc,res of nitrogen. Through your Beaports, stores of fer tilizer materials, Buch as nitrate of soda and potm;h salti, can be brought from South America and Germany. It would he lrnrd to find any other portion of onr country wlt ere fertilizers could be so ld more cheaply than in thi11 Stnte. "The third problem is the charncter of the market. This cou n tr.v is the g reatci;;t sugar flJHl starc h consumer in th• w,)rld. we use more th:rn 2 , 000 , 000 tons of icmgar an nnally. Of this quantity, Lefore the Spanish War we made only about 300,000 tons-about one-seventh of all. "Since tlie Spanisli "\Yar w e have acquin•d Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Philippines, all of which gives us large additional quantities of sugar. This year we will produce about 100,000 tons of beet sugar, so that at the present time it may be said that we produce about one

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92 third of all the sugar we consume; but still there is a vast foreign market, which we might supply with a home product. "There is no danger, therefore, of overstocking our own market with increas e d sugar productions , nor is there danger of the beet sugar driving the cane sugar o ut of the market. For many purpose s -as, for instance, the mannf'aeture of sirup lJect sugar is nnsuitable . , and there will always be a demand for all the cane sugar that can be made. "The sugar crop of the whole wol'l
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FUNGICIDES, INSECTICIDES AND SPRAYING CALENDAR. Many of these mixtures can be obtained already pre pared from reliable dealers, which saves nrnch time and trouble in mixing them. 'fhe following precautions l!hould be taken into consideration: 1-Care should be taken to keep all substances em ployed in spraying wh e re they cannot he gotten at and used by mistake. All substances should be correctly labeled. 2-Solutions and mixtures containing copper sulphate, corrosive sublimate and arsenate of lead should be made in wood, glass or earthern vessels. 3-Arsenical solutions should not be applied to fruits, etc., within two weeks of the time they are to be used as food. 4-'l'rees should not be sprayed when they are in blos som, as the bees, which are necessary to fertilize the flowers 1 may be destroyed. 5-Florida growers interested in spraying and other means of checking insect pests, not fully covered in this article, should write the director of the Florida Experi ment Station at Gainesville, for further information. 1 FUNGICIDES. ] lORDEAUX :MIXTUitE. 4 pounds copper sulphate (blue vitro!.) 4 pounds lime (unslaked.) 25-50 gallons water. Dissolve the copper in hot or cold water, using a wooden or earthen vessel. Slake tlle lime in a tub, adding the water cautiously and only in sufficient amount to insure

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94 thorough slaking. After tl1orough slaking, more water can be added and stirred in nntil it uas the con sistency of thick cream. when both are cold, pour the lime into the diluted copper. solution of required strength, straining it through a fine-mesh sieve or a gunny cloth, and thoroughly mix. The standard mixtures are: (a) 25 gallons (full strength solution, or 4-4 25 for mula.) ( b) 50 gallons ( half strength mixture, or 4-4-50 for mula.) It is then ready for use. Considerable trouble has fre quently been experienced in preparing the Bordeaux Mix ture. Care should be taken that the lime is of good quality and well burned, and bas not been air-slaked. where small amounts of lime are slaked: it is advisable to use hot water. The lime should not be allowed to be come dry in slaking, neither should it become entirely submerged in wat e r. Lime slakes best when supplied with just enough water to develop a large amount of heat , which renders the process active. If the amount of lime is im : nflicient, there is dnnger of burning tender foilage. ln order to obviate this, the mixture can be tested with a l.nife hlade or with ferro-cyanide of potas sium (1 oz. io 5 or G ozs. of water). If tl1 e amount of lime is insufficient, coppe1 will be deposited on the knife blade, while a deep brownish-r ed color will he imparted to the mixtme when ferro-cyanide of potassium is added. Lime should be added nntil neiJ her reaction occurs. A slight excess of lime, however, is desirable. The Bordeaux Mixture is best when first prepared. Stock solutions of lime and copper can be made and mixed when required. 2-The following, known as the 6-4-50 formula, is in very general use : 6 pounds copper sulphate. 4 pounds lime. 50 gallons water.

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9u 3. llonoEAUX MixTuRE Fon PEACH FOLIAGE. The Bordeaux Mixture, as ordinarily applied, fre quently injures to some extent the foliage of the peach, etc., causing a shot-hole effect on the leaves. This in jurious effect has been shown to be largely obviated by the nse of the following: 3 pounds copper sulphate. G pounds lime. 50 gallons water. This is known as the 3-6-50 formula. Some experimenters have also recommended the following for peach foliage: (a) 2-2-50 formula (Cornell A.gr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 180.)' (b) 3-9-50 formula. Tlle latter contains tllree times as much lime as copper St:lphate. 4 BORDEAUX RESIN MIXTUHEl, !i pounds resin. 1 pouud potash lime. 1 pint fish oil. 5 gallons water. To make resin solution, place resin and oil in a kettle and bent until resin is disol.ed. Cool slightly nnd then add lye Rlowly nnd r:dir. Again place the kettle oYer the fire, add th e ref]uired amount of water and allow the whole to !.,oil until it will mix with cold water, forming an amber-colored solution. Take 2 gallons of tl.te resin solution and a
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5 SACCHARA'l'E OF COPPER. 4 pounds copper sulphate. 4 pounds lime. 4 pints molasses. 25 gallons water. Slake 4 ponnds of lime and dilute the same with water. Dissolve 4 pints of molasses in a gallon of water and mix with the lime. Stir thoroughly, and let it stand for a few hours. Dissolve 4 pounds of copper in 10 gallons of water and pour it into the lime-molasses solution, while stirring briskly. Allow the mixture to settle. Draw off the clear, greenish solution for use. Recommended in France as a iubstitute for the Bordeaux Mixture. 6 A.ilL\IONICAL COPPER CARBONA'.rE. 5 ounces copper carbonate. 3 pints ammonia (26 Beaume.) 50 gallons water. Dissolve the copper carbonate in ammonia. This may be kept any length of time in a glass-stoppered bottle and diluted to the required strength. The solution loses strength on standing. 7 EA u CELESTE. (Blue Water.) 2 pounds copper sulphate. 1 quart ammonia. 50 gallons water. Dissolve the copper sulphate in 6 or 8 gallons of water; then add the ammonia and dilute to 50 or 60 gallons of water.

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s ;)7 CoPPEn C , urnoNA'l ' I:: MrxTURE. 1 pound copper carbonate. 40 gallons water. Mix the copper carbonate wit!J a small quantity of wa ter to make a paste; then dilute with the required amount of water. For fruit rot of tile peach, etc. (Delaware Agr. Exp. Sta., Bull XXIX.) !) COPPER ACETATE. 6 ounces copper acetate (Diabasic Acetate.) 50 gallons water. First make a paste of the copper acetate by addini water to it _ ; tlten dilute to the required strength. Use finely powdered acetate of copper, not the crystalline form. For the same purpose, and of the same value, al! the preceding forumla. 11 12 COPPER SULPHATE SOLUTION. ( Strong Solution.) 1 pound copper sulphate. 25 gallons water. Applied only on trees without foliage. COPPER SULPFIA'l'E SOLUTION. (Weak Solution.) 2-4 ounces copper sulphate. 50 gallons water. For trees in foliage. POTTASSIUM SULPHATII, 3 ounces potasium sulphate. 10 gallons water. Valuable for gooseberry mildews, etc.

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13 98 POTTASSIUl\I PERMANGANATE. 1 part potassium permanganate. 2 parts soap. 100 parts water. Recommended in France for black rot and mildew ol the grape, etc. 14 lRoN SULPHATE .um SULPHURIC Acm. Water (hot) , 100 parts. Iron Sulphate, as much as will dissolve. Sulphuric Acid, 1 part. Prepare solution just before using. Add the acid to the crystals, and then pour on the water. Valuable for treatment of dormant grape vines affected with anthrac nose, application being made with sponge or brush. 15 CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE. ( For Potato Scab.) 2 ounces corrosive sublimate. 15 gallons water. Dissolve the corrosive sublimate in 2 gallons of hot water; then dilute to 15 gallons, allowing the same to stand 5 or G hours, during which time thoroughly agitate the solution several times. Place the seed potatoes in a sack and immerse in the solution for 1 hours. Corrosive sublimate is very poisonous; consequently, care should be taken in handling it, nor should the treated potatoes be eaten by stock. The solution should not be mad~ in metallic vessels. 16 FOUUALIN, (For Potato Scab.) 8 ounces formalin (40% solution.) 15 gallons water. Used fo1• the same purpose as corrosive sublimate, but not poisonous. Immerse the seed potatoes for two hours.

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17 99 INSECTICIDES. PARIS GREEN-DRY. I pound Paris Green. 20-50 pounds flour. Mix thoroughly and apply evenly, preferably when dew is on the plants. 18 P , u:.rs GREEN-WET, 1 pound Paris Green. pound quicklime. 200 gallons water. Slake the lime in part of the water, sprinkling in the Paris Green gradually; then add the rest of the water. For the peach and other tender-leaved plants, use 300 gallons of water. Keep well stirred while spraying. 19 ARSENITE OF Lnrn. 1 pound of white arsenic. 2 pounds of fresh burned lime. 1 gallon water. Boil together for 45 minutes and keep in a tight vessel. Add 1 quart of this to a barrel ( 50 gallons) of water. for use. Thi s insecti c ide has b e en recommended by a number of Experiment Stations, but has not yet been sufficiently tested at the Massachusetts Station to receive an endorse ment. 20 ARSENATE OF LEAD. 4 ounces arsenate of soda (50 % strength). 11 oun ce s acetate of lead. 150 gallons water. Put the arsenate of soda in 2 quarts of water in a wooden pail, and the a ce tate of lead in 4 quarts of water in another wood e n pail. When both are dissolved, mix with

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100 the rest of the water. Warm water in the pails will hasten the process. For tile Elm-L e af Beetle, mre 25 instead of 150 gallons of water. 21 22 WHAL!, OlL SOAP. 2 pounds potash whale oil soap. 1 gallon hot water. For winter use only. KisROSENE EMULSION. pound llard soap, shaved fine. 1 gallon water. 2 gallons kerosene. Dissolve the soap in tile water, wllich should be boiling; 1emove from the fire and pour it into the kerosene while hot. Churn this with a spray pump till it changes to a creamy , then to a soft butter-like mass. Keep this as a stock, using one part in nine of water for soft-bodied in sects, such as plant lice, or stronger in certain cases. 23 MECHANICAL EMULSION. A subE'titute for the last. Made entirely by the pump, which draws water and keros e ne from separate tanks and mixes tllem in the desired proportion by a mechanical de vice. SeYeral pumps for the purpose are now on the mar ket. 24 RESIN-LIME MIXTURE. 5 pounds pulverized resin. 1 pound concentrated lye. l pint fish or other animal oil. 5 gallons water. Place the oil, resin and 1 gallon of hot water in an iron kettle and heat till the resin softens, then add the lye and mr thoroughly; now add 4 gallons of hot water and boil

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101 till a little will mix with cold water and give a clear, amber-colored liquid; add water to make up 5 gallons. Keep this as a stock s olution. For use, take 1 gallon of stock solution, 1G gallons water, 3 galloni'" milk of lime, J pouud Paris green. The object of this preparation is to obtain an adhesive rnatei-ial, wlJich will cause the poison to adhere to smooth lea re~. It has b ee n highlJ recommended by tile New York ~tah' ( Gen c rn) Experiment Station. Ln.rn , SAL'l' A~D SULPHUR. (Oregon Formula.) jO pound!.' unslaked lime. 50 pounds flowers of sulphur. 50 pounds common salt. t:;lake the lime in enough water to do it thoroughly, add the sulphur and boil for an hour at least, adding water if nel-essary. Then add the salt and boil 15 minutes more. Add water to make 150 gallons , and spray hot through a coarHe nozzle. 2ti 27 Lorn, SAur AND SULPHUR. Mmlatt's F'ornwla (from Smith.) 30 pounds unslaked lime. 30 pounds sulphur. 15 pounds salt. 60 gallons water. Boil with steam for 4 hours, and apply hot. CARBOLIC Acm EMULSION. 1 pound hard soap, shaved fine. 1 gallon water. 1 pint crude carbolic acid. Dissolye the soap in the water, boiling; add the carbolio 7-Bul

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102 acid and churn as for kerosene emulsion. Use 1 part of this with 30 parts of water. 28 1 ounce hellebore. gallon water. HELLEBORE. Steep the hellebme in a pin t of w a ter and gradually add the rest of the water. Hellebore may also be dusted over the pl a nts, either pur e or mixed with flour or plast e r. 2!) lNsEC'.l' PowDEm , PYREJ ' .rHRUM. Mix with half its bulk of flour and keep in a tight can for 24 hours; then dust over the plants. Or, 100 grains insect powd e r . 2 gallons water. Mix together, and spra y . C OMBINED FUNGI C IDES A ND INSECTICIDES . 3 0 BormEAL'X MIXTURE AN D PARIS GREEN. 4 ounces Paris Gr e en. 50 gallons Bordeaux Mixture. 3 1 BormE,\UX MIXTURE A N D ARSENATE OF LEAD. 1 gallon ars e nate o f l ea d ( made by formula Xo :20 ) . 5 0 gallons Bordeaux : M ixture. 3 2 Borm E AUX J\IIX'l'UHE A N D AR S E N ITE OF LBrn. 1 } quarts arsenit e of lime (made by formula Xo . l!l) 50 g-allons Bordean x Mixture.

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33 103 SOAP MIXTURE. (Used for White Fly.) 1 bar soap (10-cent size). 3 gallons water. Apply warm, as it thickens ou rnoling. Recommended for rose mildew, red spider, plant lice, etc. Any COillmon laundry soap, particularly the yellow resin soaps, dissolved 1 pound of soap to 15 or 20 gallons of water, is an etticient application for white fly, red spider, plant lice, etc. The addition of pound of Paris g1ecn to each 50 gallons of soap solution ad
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104 combine, forming a brownish liquid. This may be diluted to make 100 gallons of spray. Almost any of the insecticides with which the sulphur application may be made will kill the leaf or rust mites, but the advantage of the sulphur arises from the fact that it forms an adhering coating on the leaves, which kill:;, the young mites coming from the eggs, which are very resist ant to the action of the insecticides and result in the plants being reinfested unless protected by the sulphur de posit.

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SPRAYING CALENDAR. Plant. 1st Application. 2d Auplicatlon. : 3d Appllcatlon . 4th Application. 6th Application . Asparagus ( Rust.) Use No. 4 on all Arter cutting, ' young beds at in: use No. l b or tervals or 2 to 4'No. 4. ' weeks from May to September, ac' cording t o t h e ' weather. Bean . . . . . . . . . . . When third leaf, 10 days later, ; 14 days (Anthracnose, expands, No. 1-b.':No , 1-b. ,No. 1-b. leaf b1oght.) later, , 14 uays later, 1 No. 1-b . Sprayia 'wlth No. 1-b, af1 ter the pods are one half grown, l wm injure them , for market. Cabbage . . . . . . No. 29, ury for 7-10 days later, 7-10 days later, i Repeat m 10-14 (Worms, club worms. Lime, 35 repeat No. 29 dry. repeat second. j days , if necessary , root.) bu. per acre for 1 second . club root. i Carnatloi:, .. .. .. I No. 1-b, In field (Rust and cther i a t intervals of fungous dis1 rrom 1 to 2 weeks eases . ) 1 according to the 1 ! weather. : ..... 0 C,ll

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SPRAYING CALENDARCoutiuued. Plant . 1st Application. 2d Application. 3d Application. 4th Application. 5th Application . Celery ......... . (Rust and blight.) Spray in seedDlp pla.ats in Use No. 1-b un bed with No . 1-b, No. 1 b befor el t 11 banking be every two weeks. planting. gins e v e r y two weeks. Freedom from disease depends ; largely upon good 1 cultivatlon and an abundance of : plant food in the soil. Grape . . . . . . . . . . In spring, when Just before the When fruit has 2 to 4 weeks , No. 11, as fruit (Fungous d Isbuds swell. Nos.1 flowers u n f o Id, set, No. 30; for later, No. 11. , ts coloring. eases, rose bug, and 14 No. 30. leaf hopper, No. etc., leaf hvp 22, 15 per cent. per.) Nursery ,:jtock... When the first 10-14 days, re10-14 days, (Fungous dis le aves appear, peat; for scale, peat. eases.) . . . . . . No. 1-b a.ad No. treat as for apple. 30 or 31. i re10-14 days re/ 6 7 days later, peat; for scale, 1 repeat. treat as for apple. 1 ' Peach, 1 As the buds are When fruit has When fruit is 5-7 days later ,I 10-14 days J3t e , Apricot, •t s welling, for plum set, Nos. 3 and 31 one half grown, No. 12:!:; for scale , 1 . No. 11 . Nectarine curcullo Nos. 3 for curcullo. No. 3, a or b. treat as for apple. (Rot, mil ew, and 20. ; scab, leaf curl, curcullo.) ----~ ---

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SPRAYING CALENDAR Continued. Pla.nt. 1st Application. 2d Application. 3d Application. 4th Application. 5th Aopllcatton. Pear . . . . . . . . . . ... As the buds are 1 Just before the After blossoms 8-12 days later, 10-20 days later, (Le a f blight, swelling, No. 1-b .. blossoms open, have fallen, if'repeat third; for 1 .No. 11. scab, psylla, !No. 30; when the necessary No. 23.'scale, treat as for! coddling moth, :1eaves open for apple. blister m it e, 1 psylla, No. 23. slug.) Plum •t ........ i When buds are/ When blossoms 10-14 days later, 10-20 days later,i 10-20 days later, (Curcullo, black swelling, No. 1-b; lhave fallen, No.31 No. 31. No. 31; for scale.las fruit Is ripenknot, leaf blight, before the buds treat as for apple. Ing. brown rot, San swell, No. 23 or Jose scale.) 21 for scale. Quince . . . . . . . . . . When blossom When fruit has 10-20 days later, 10-?.0 days later, (Leaf and fruit buds appear, Nus. set, No. 30. No. 1-b. No. 1-b. spot.) .1 and 30. I I Raspberry, } i. Before the buds Just before the (Orange or red Spray after the 10-20 days later, Blackberry, .. break, No. 1-b. blossoms o Pe n, rust I s treated fruit is gathered, repeat Dewberry. , No. 30. best by destroywith No. 1. (Rust, nthrac-! Ing the plants atnose, leaf tacked in Its early blight.) stages.) Rose ........... i 1 No. 33, when(Rose mildew, ever these pests red spider.) 1 appear. '-' 0 -1

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SPRAYIKG CALENDARContinued. Plant. ] 1st Appllcatlon. 2d Appllcation. 3d Appllcatlon. 4th Application. 5th Application. I Strawberry ...... I As soon as the When the first Spray the (Rust, black pa-ig row th begins,, blossoms open, plantation, ria, etc.) 1 with No. 1-b. Div spray both young 1 1-b. pla!!t"' in. No. 1 be1 anri nlil plaltatlon, 1 1 rore setting. No. 30. . " ___ ! new. Repeat third, If N o.lwe!!.t~or is moist. I Tomato ......... ! Soon after the Repeat as soonj Repeat the first Try wei!k solu(Rot, b Ii g h t,lplant!ng_ use No.,as fruit Is form-when necessary. tlon of copper sul. flea beetle.) 1 1-b. .ed; fruit can be! phate as frun be i ' wiped, if disfigur-j gl!!s tn ripen. ed, by No. 1-b. [ Potato .......... Spray with No. Repeat beforej Repeat f o rl (FI ea beetle,130, when abouqnsects become,blight, rot and Colorado b e e-, one• half grown: too numerous. [ insects as pota-1 tie, blight andifor scab, Nos. 15 1toes approach marot, scab.) ;and :!.~. jturity. ! Violet .. .. .. .. .. Use No. 33 on (Spot, red spi-iftrst appearance der.) !of spot or Insects. ---------------------* Paris Green cannot be used on foliage of cherry, peach, Japanese plum, apricot and nectarine without injury t Black knots on plums or cherries shoulcl he cut or burned as soon as discovered. :j: If a pail full of lime wash, well strained, be added to each barrel full of copper solutiou--4 omH:es to 5l• gallons-delicate foliage like that of the peach, etc., will not be injured. C 00

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CORN. BY P.H. ROLFS. Director of the Experiment Station and Superi11te11d e 1tt of Farmers' Institut es . Tile quantity of corn produced in Florida is much greater than is realized even by those who are actively en gaged in farming. According to the Bureau of Statistics of the U. S. Department of .Agriculture, the Florida crop for 1!)09 is 8,379,000 bushels; exceeding the crop of mos by nearly two million bushels. The average yield for 1909 is 12.6 bushels per acre, while for 1908 it was 10.5 bushels. While this increase is creditable_, the average yield is still too lov., as it leaves us at the foot of the column of State yields of corn per acre. For the year 1907-08 the Commissioner of Agriculture rep o i-ted that Florida produced (See Statistic for Yield, 1909), 4,351,000 bushels of corn, valued at $3,409,000; thus exceeding i11 value any other single farm crop. Tim combined crops of Upland and Sea Island cotton exceeded the value of tlw corn produced in 1907 by only $244,000. Ordinarily, mu c h more is thought of the cotton crop in Florida than of the co rn crop. Even the orange crop for the yeai 1907 08 exceeded the corn crop by only $812,000 lcs s than 25 per cent. \Vhile the total amount of corn produced in the State of Florida is very large, the average yield per acre is only 12.6 bushels. This yield is altogether too small for profit. Half a crop of corn leaves little or no profit for the farmer. It can safely be stated that a crop of corn that falls below 15 bushels per acre does not return to the farmer more than the cost of making it. In contradistinction to this very lmv average yield, we have the very large yields that

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110 ha vc been obtained by certain pi-ogressi re far111en: in re tent years in Florida. Eighty bushels per acre have been produced repeatedly. Yields approximating. or even sur passing, the hundred bushel mark, have been pl'Oduced. These, however, are exceptional cases. Nor have these extremely large yields been produced at exorbitant cost. Ju one case where the data were kept, it was found that the corn cost forty-two and a fraction cents per bushel to make. At 42 cents per lmshel, the average crop of corn for Floi-ida should not cost over $5.29 per acre; while as a matte1 of fact it costs us from $8 to $15 per acre to pro dnce a Cl'Op. During the last few years considerable interest and rivalry have occurred in corn production in a number of counties in the State; notably in Walton, Marion and Her nando. The corn exhibited in 1009 at the Tri-county Fair at Pensacola was judged by an Illinois corn expert, and the exhibit that won first prize was marked only GO per cent of the maximum by the score-card method. In the same y e ar the highest award given to any corn exhibited at the Marion County Fair was only G!l per cent. This shows to us that the best corn produced is still open to revolutionary improvement. THE LAND. Choice of Land.-ln choosing land for corn we have considerable latitude as to quality. Ordinarily, land with a clay sulisoil will be found to be better suited for corn production than sandy land without a clay subsoil. So long as cotton was king with our farmers, any sort of land was thought to be all right for corn. "It didn't amount to much, anyhow;" and consequently any land with any kind of preparation was sufficient. All that the farmer wanted was acres of land in corn. Since the ad vent of better work animals, better cattle, better hogs, and the beginning of poultry raising, we have learned, however, that corn is more profitable than almost any

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111 other fanu crop that we can raise, provided we give it the proper attention. The land chosen should have an abun dance of humus, and be snfliciently well drained naturally to 1neven t it from becoming waterlogged during the heavy rains which a!'e like]~ to occnr just at the time the ears arc filling out. Prcparation. Before one can !'aise corn profitably , and in fad before one c an really consider himself a corn famw1. all the stumps must be removed, from the land. It requires only a small number of :,;tnmps per acre to reduce the area J,y ten per cent. Farming stumps never did pay and neYer will. It is mueh easier to eultivate G or 8 hills of com than to plow around a single stump, and with our long winter season, together with an abundance of idle la bor during this time, there is really no good excuse for having stumps in our fields at all. Deep Pl01cing.-To make a maximum crop of corn it i:,; necessary to make a proper beginning. The onl,v proper brginning is to plow the land deeply and early in the year. I>ecember is none too early. If one wishes to get the max imum yield it i s absolutely necessary to have all the vege table matter turned under before tile middle of January. The sections of Florida which are noted for their deep plowing are, at the same time, the lianner crop-producing sections. Near Muscogee a crop of 10!) bushels of corn was produced on land that "\\'US plow e d ten inches deep and subsoiled eight inches below the plow furrow, thus giving a soil deptlJ of eighteen inches. In Gadsden County a num ber of farmers produced 90 bushels of corn per acre. All of these farmers are advocates of deep plowing, and prac tice it regularly. If one puts off plowing for corn until planting time, and then should break up the land deeply, his chanres are about nine out of ten to make a failure of it. If he also waits until late planting time to plow at all, he has about one chance out of twenty of making a good crop. It is , therefol'e. of the utmost importance that we plow deeply

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112 early in the year. Otherwise the raw soil which is turn ed on the top will not have time to become properly oxi dized or aerated so as to make fit plant food. FER'l'ILIZ!XG. Corn may be considered a quick-growing crop, that is it requires the use of the land for only from 120 to 150 days. Yet it is not what we would call one of the :shortest crops, such as lettuce or cucumbers. On account of the length of the season through whieh corn grows, we can use organic materials to a considerable extent for supply ing ammonia. The potash and phosphoric acid may be derived from the ordinary sources. 'l'here seems to be 1 it tle advantage in using one form of fertilizer rather than another, for what corn wants is a large amount constantly on hand. Land well filled with humus and deeply cultivated, will produ c e a good crop with a much larger amount of fer tilizer than is allowable on poor land, not de e ply prepared, and lacking humus. On the ordinary poor land (such as is used for the most part for producing corn, and pre pared about three inches deep) we cannot use successfully more than 400 to 600 pounds of ordinary fertilizer, in fact, during some years 600 pounds will be found excessive. " r hereas, on well prepared soil, containing an abundance of humus, three times this amount will not prove deleter ious to the corn, even during the driest weather that we are likely to have. Fertilizer FormulaAmmonia ........................ 3 per cent. Phosphoric acid .................. 5 per cent. Potash ........................... 4 per een t. Ingredients Needed to Make a Ton of the Formula. Te secure the necessal'y plant food represented in a ton of the above formula, we should use:

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113 Dried blood ................. . :350 pouuds , ur Cottomeed meal, 7 i per cent .... 800 vonnds. Acide 11hosphate, Hi per cent .... GGO pountls . Mmiate of potash ............. lGO pounds, or Kaini t ......... . ............. GGO pounds. ! t is a waste of good money to use cottonseed meal as a fel'lilize1 fo1 farm crops. It should Le first fed to stock, and tlie manure used for fertilizer. Iu this way the fanner will get a donble nilue from the material 1rnr C'ltased. 1f the field iu which corn is to be plant e d was covered with a good crop of velvet beans, cowpeas or beg g;anve e d the year before, the ammonia in the above formu la may be omitted, illus saving about $10 per ton on fer tilizer. Just before the corn is silking, it is frequently profitaLle to applJ broadcast 200 to 300 pounds per acre of uitrate of soda. Tile c-hemicals necessary to make up the foregoing for mula ma~Le purchased from fer t ilizer houses in Gaines ville, Jacksonville, Tampa, and sometimes in Pensacola. it is more economical to have the fertilizers mixed at the fertilizer houses, especially if we purchase in less than five-ton lots. Application of PertUizer.-'fen days or two weeks be fore the corn is to be planted, one-half of the above mate l'ial may be taken and applied broadcast to the field. Im mediately after the fertilizer has Leen applied, we should run over the field with a weeder. This will cause a fair distribution of the fertilizer on the field and a rather ev e n mixing with the surface soil. A second application of the fertilizer may be made about the time the corn is knee high. This assures us that the corn will have the fertilizer at the time it needs it. In c:u;e of unseasonable rains, a large amount of the fer tilizer would be lost if it were all put on in one applica tion. Less trouble is experienced from this source in the clal soils than in the loose, sandy ones; and less loss

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114 occurs in lands well filled with humus than in those that are rather sterile. PLAN'.rING. The only correct way to plant corn . , when one is really a corn farmer, is to use the planter. The one-horse planter, somewhat similar to the cotton planter, will be found a useful implement. 'fhis drops the corn and covers it, all in one operation. One man and a mule can easily plant eight or ten acres a day, and do the work better than can be done by any number of hand-dropping and hoe-covering laborers. Where one has a small area of one or a few acres, it may be advisable to drop the corn by hand; but if one has as much as twenty ac1es to plant, it will certainly not be profitable to do the work by hand. In this case, the corn planter will pay for its cost in the first year's ,vork. Frequently these one-row corn planters have attached to them a fertilizer distributer. It is a mistake, however, to apply the fertilizer at the same time that the corn is being planted. For the most part our fertilizers of the present day are so concentrated that they are likely to injure the young sprouts as the corn is coming up. The fertilizer should have been applied two ,veeks before planting. CUL'_rIV.\'l'ION . When the land on which the corn is planted has beell prepared early and plowed deeply tllere is little need of deep cultirntion. As a matter of fact, with the seed-bed prop e rly prepared , one is fortified against the driest weather that has been experienced in the State, and all that is needed is to destroy the few weeds that come up . and to keep a dust mulch on the surface to prevent evapor ation. During the year 1908, a number of farmers in the State made a demonstration for the U. S. Department of Agriculture. showing that a good crop of corn could be

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115 matured with no other cultivation than such as may be given with the garden rake. As soon as the corn has been planted, we prefer to use a one or two-horse weeder to go all over the ground. 'l'his implement works over the surface of the ground, giving us a perfect blanket of dust mulch; and thus conserves every bit of moisture there is in the soil. 'l'he weeder may be used for cultivating the corn until it has reached the height of ten to twelve inches. J111plemcnts.-'l'he best implement for cultivating coru in Florida is the ricling cultivator. Such an implement will pay for its cost tile first year one owns it. By using two medium-sized mules, ten or bvelve acres of corn can r ea dily be cultivat e d in a day. 'l'his impl e ment has the advantage of working on both sides of the row at once, thus enabling the laborer to kill any weeds that may have sprung up without injuring the corn in the least. We pref e r to use a riding cultivator with six or eight small 11hovC'ls , and one that does not go deeper than about three inches in to the so il. "\Yhen the com is lieginning to make joints, or when it becom es about shoulder high , it should receive its la st cul tivation, not because it would be unprofitable to c ontinue plowing, but because our implem ents are likely to break down t he stalks. Shallow-working implements might be kept going with advantage until the summer rains begiu. Just after the last plowing it will be found advantageous. in almost all cases, to plant a row of co wpeas between the row s of com. During the s umm er an abundance of rain is pre1 ty sure to o cc ur to give plenty of moisture for ma turing a c rop of cowpeas. Then after the crop of corn has lJeen harvested, a crop of cowpea hay may be obtained, leaving the land much more fertile than would have been the case if the crop of cow peas had not been pl anted. Velvet, Beans.-The most profitable crop that we can plant in a corn field for the second crop after corn is a crop of velvet beans. These are planted in several differ

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ll(j en t way!:i. Some fal'me1s prefer to plant the ve I v e t beaus after the corn I.ins c ome up, directly in the row. The vel vet bean is a fropi c al plant and so mak es a rnth e r slow growth until warm immmer weather comes on. It inter feres very little with the corn during the time the lattei makes its root growth, and after the corn has matured, t he velvet beau makes a vigorous growth and produces a lieavy crop, using the c orn stalks to climb upon. Some farmers prefer, howev e r, to plant the veln ~ t bean later in the y ear and put it between the rows of corn. They plant their com rows farther apart so as to m a ke it possi ble to cultivate between the rows of velvet beans and the , ows of corn. This usuall y reduces the amount of c orn produced per a c re. HARVESTING. 'l'o g et the maximum profit out of a crop of corn it is necessary to cut the stalks and keep them for winter for a ge. The time for shocking corn is just after the ears have fully matured and before the leaves have become dry. The size of s ho c k varies considerably with different farm ers, running all the way from 150 to 500 stalks to the shock. 'l'he latter number is rather unusual. The great o bjection to pr e serving corn in this wa y is that the fodder molds in the shock. 1Ve have, however, a considerable number of farmers in the State who have overcome this difliculty. They do this by tying the top of their shock so tightly that the rain cannot enter the middle of the shock. To tie the heads of the shocks firmly they have a rather unique device. A stick about five feet long sharpened at one end has a cross-bar nailed to it about eighteen inches long and ten inches from the large end. This has attached to it a half-inch rope long enough to go around the shock. This rope is thrown around the top of the shock and at tached to a device in such a way that by twisting the stick the rope is wound around it and the top of the shock squeezed together very firmly. After this pres1mre has

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117 been bl'ought on the top of the shock it is held in place by tyiug with ordinary binder twine. The device for tightening tlle top of the sliock is tlten removed and used on the next one. As a further precaution against rnin getting iu to the top of the sl.Jock, fertilizer or feed bags tllat I.Jave been ripped open on one side ate stre tche d over tlte sltock in such a way as to form a cover. Few corn farmers r ea lize, I.Jowever, llow mucl.J valuable material is being wasted on the farm annually by allow ing the corn stover to go to waste in the field. Its fertil i z ing value is not to be considered as compared witlt it.a feeding ,aluc. S/wcki11g.-Ordinarily the ears are removed from the field and stored with the shucks on them, the general belief being that the shucks prevent weevil attack. '!'his, how e,er, is mol'e imaginary than real. \Ve like to make our selves believe that ihe easiest way of doing om work, even tlwugh it is a sort of slipshod way, is the best, and we illvent nll sorts of ai uruents to convince ourselvelil. \Yhere the corn is shucked clean and the ears placed in the crib without foe shuck s, it will be found that it is not any more attacked by " eevil and vermin than whe1e the ear• h:wc Leen left in the slluck. If we prepare our store-rooma ns we ougllt for treating our corn with carbon bisulphide, there ceriainly is no good reason for putting the corn in the crib unshncked. where velvet beans have been planted among the corn, it becomes impracticable to harvest it until late in Decem ber or about the beginning of January. At first this would appear to be a very serious drawback. Scores of farmers~ howeyer, have learned from practi<'al experience that the corn left in tltc field under vel1'ct beans is rarely ever at tacked by weevils, and such a small amount of corn is lost from molding or rotting that this is practically a negli gible quantity. The weevil and moth seem to be unable to find the corn in the dense velvet bean field, and during December nod ,January these little pests are hibernating S-llul

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118 and consequently the corn gets into the crib without be ing infested. STORING. In the matter of storing corn we still have many im provements to make. Ordinarily we think that any place that may be called a bin or crib is all right for com. Such a bin is frequently without a floor, and often the roof is leaky. Both of these conditions are such as no reasonable man should permit for a single day. 'fhere is no sense in working hard all spring and summer to make a crop, and then trying to store it on a dirt floor and under a leaky roof. The annual loss to the State from weevils and moths in feed corn is probably not less than $300,000. At least 90 per cent. of this loss is preventable at a small cost. The right kind of a bin in which to store corn is one that has a tight roof, a tight floor, tight sides and a tight door. The corn when it is thoroughly dry can be placed in this bin, and if attacked by vermin or insect!'! the bin may be fumigated by the use of carbon bisulphide. If the sides, top, and bottom of the bin are rea:-onahly tight, that is, if they have been made from ordinary No. 2 flooring, we can fumigate about 500 bushels of corn with six pounds of carbon bisulpbide. This usually retails at thirty cents a pound, but in large quantities it can be had at a mucll lower rate. One fumigation a year is usuall,Y sufficient. Tllis, of course, would depend very much on the tiglltness of the bin and on the length of time the corn was in the bin. where the corn is stored in the shuck we waste much of the chemical, from the fact that the shucks take up so large a space, and the work cannot be done so thoroughly because the shuck frequently encloses the ear very tightly, thus in a measure preventing the fumes from entering the shucks and getting at the weevils. . SEED SELECTING. Too frequently our corn farmers forget all about that

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11!) they are going to plant corn until planting time arrives. Then a hasty visit is made to the corn crib, and the best ears that have not been fed out are quickly selected and used for seed. Or a man may do worse than this. He may feed out all his corn and then depend on the merchants in tlle neighboring town to provide him with seed-corn, whieh may or may not be adapt e d to his particular sec tion. It may, perhaps , germinate well, but it is more like ly that a large pereeutage of it will be dead l>Cfore it is planted. Tile time to select seed-corn, if one ltas not al ready done so in the field, is when one has a full crib. Ordiuai il,r a ci-ib of 500 bushels would not yield more than ten bushels of good seed-corn. Of course, if we are contented with raising 12.G bushels of com to the acre; . " ' hich was the average for l!JO!), there is no need of wor rying about selecting seed-corn. Almost any sort of corn, . a i wo-thirds stand, and any careless way of taking care of it, will probably give us that much of a crop . But there is no operation iu the whole line of corn farming that pays better for the time expended and money invested than the careful selection and careful keeping of seed-corn , In selecting seed-corn from the crib we should always be careful 1 o select the finest ears, taking only those tha t have a symmetrical outline, whose tips ate "ell filled, whose b "c 1tts are also well filletl, and whose butts have their gr[:ins reg ularly set on them. An car of corn that is mtH.:h larger in diameter at the butt' than one-third of the leng1h is not a good ear to select for seed. If'.icld Selection.-The proper way to select seed-eorn however, is to do this work in the field before the crop has been gathered, tlie ideal time being wllen the ears haw hardened, or about the time when the com onght to be cut for shocking. At this time one can not only select the best ears, but can also select ears from the best stnllrn, In selecting corn at this time one will at once recognize that there are many stalks in the field which have rnatnrccl only one ear. These ears are usually the largest; but by

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120 weighing one of tllese large ears and then comparing the com with thnt from a stalk that has produced two , tllree or four ears , one will find at on c e that the stalks which are prolific, mat i s , those which have produc e d more iltau one ea r, I.Jave given a la r ger _y ield o f c orn. One will a lso find pretty soon that those stalks tllat set an extra large munbcr of ears will mature only a portion of them. So t hat as a rule one finds tltat the stalks which b e ar two and i:hree cars p1 oduce a larger amount of corn than those which hear only one ear or than those which bear four or five ears each. TESTIXG SEED CORN. Af t er the seed-corn has been selected and has passed all of the inspections which show that it is perfect to the eye, a further inspection is n e cessary for germinating quality. 'fhis can he don e only by using a seed te s ter. Such and implement can be readily made by anyone on t he farm. The simplest fo1 m consists of a large soup plate filled with w e t sand covered with ordinary mu s lin. Fitted over this should be a smaller soup plate. This is to pre vent evaporation of moisture. An ordinary cigar box, about ri by 7 inch es , with two inches o f sand in it, will ulso make an excellent se e d-te s ter. \\'hen we are r e ady for te s ting the seed -c orn , t lte sand in the c igar box should be thoroughly wetted, enough water b e ing us e d to cover the s a nd. The box is th e n tipped on one ed g e to drain off th e surplus wat e r. Ilold it in this po s ition four or five minutes, then wet the muslin rag, and we are ready to set in pla c e the kemels to be tested. For this purpose we must number every ear. ~'his can be easily done by taking numbered st rips of paper and tying them with ordinary twine to the e ars. After t he ears have all been numb e red, we may begin with No. 1, and remove one kernel about two i nch e s from the tip , and another kernel about two inch e s from the butt; th e n by sticking them in pr.it's in t o 1he s and, we will have this ear ready for testing. Follow the

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121 same method with the second ear, and so on, until the ker nels from ten ears are placed in the first row. The num ber of ears that can be tested will depend largely on the size of the box. An ordinary 100-cigar box will hold at least five rows, with ten pairs in each row. The rows will then be numbered so as to enable us to find the ears whose kernels failed to germinate. By counting down the rows, and noting the kernels that have failed to germinate, we will have no difficulty in loc:ati11g the bad ears. After the seed-tester !ms received all the kernels tlrnt can be planted tonveniently, place over the kernels the wetted muslin rag, then close the cover and place on it a weight to keep mice out. '!.'his seed-tester should then be placed in the kitchen or any other warm situation. It should be examinPd ever~' dny to see that the sand and cloth are moist. In the course of a week or ten dnys about all of the co1n that is sound will have germinated. BUYING SEED ConN. Over nine-tenths of the corn crop in l"lorida is planted from purchased seed; either of a local variety, or from some out-of-State seed house. In buying seed, one should always give preference to the local varieties. Bily Seed Corn in the Ea1.-If it is necessary for a farmer to buy seed-corn, he should always demand that this seed -corn be delivered to him in the ear. This prac tice is, unfortunately, not at all general. Less than one bushel out of a hundred is bought in this way, and yet this is one of the most important considerations in buying seed-corn. When one buys kernels that are already shelled for seed, it is impossible to reject the dead grains; and testing shelled seed-corn gives us only an imperfect idea as to its vitality. Such a practice leads to considerable an noyance after planting has been
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122 when the ordinary feed corn is selling for a dollar a bush el. As a bushel of seed-corn will plant from six to teu acres of corn, we can r e adily see that $ 5.00 a bushel for perfect seed-com would be a small price to pay compared with other seed-corn which would have in it ten to twenty per cent d e ad seed. Our home-grown seed-corn frequently has as h i gh as twenty five per cent of dead corn in it. We would make at least 500 per cent o n our investment if we bought perfect seed corn at $5.00 per bushel. So high a price is almost nevet charged; cons e quently we can see the extravagance of paying $2.00 a b11shel for poor seed, when we can nearly always get seed corn that is nearly perfect, in the ear, for about $3.00 a bushel. KEE P ING SEED CORN. After th e seed has been tested and all of the ears re jected from which the s eed failed to germinate, the corn may be placed in a tight barrel, a large box, or a ceiled bin. A large, well-made drygoods box is a convenient re ceptacle. 'l'his should be papered inside to prevent the fumes of carbon bisnlphide from leaking out too rapidly. For every cubic foot of space in the box allow one tea spoonful of carbon bisulphide, to kill weevils. This car bon bisulphide should be placed on top of the corn in a shallow s a ucer. After the saucer is in place, the box may be carefully nailed up; taking care not to upset the saucer ~ ontaining the carbon bilusphide, as the liquid coming in contact with the seed might destroy its vitality. As a further precautionary measure, to repel insects that might gnaw through the paper and infest the corn, it may be well to place a considerable number of naphthaline or moth balls in the box, usiug four or five for every cubic foot. If these are scattered somewhat regularly through the corn, they will prove very effective in keeping out insect pests.

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123 CONCLUSION. By p1 opcr preparation of the land, that is, removing the s t umps, d e ep plowing early in the y e ar, turning un der t he ,egetable matter and allowing this to decay to form hT1mn s, and shallow cultivation, we will be able to incr e ase our corn production at least fifty per cent. By prop e r and c areful seed selection and testing every ear before it is planted, we will be able to increase our corn production immediatel y at least fifty per cent over what it is at present. 1Ve have corn farmers in Florida who have carried out both these recommendations thoroughly and who are now producing on the average over two hun dred per cent more corn per acre than the average for the whole State. They are the farmers who can make corn much more cheaply than they can buy it. But few of these farmers have any corn for sale. They, however, keep plenty of live stock, and have the finished product from the farm for sale. They are satisfied and well-to-do farmers of Florida.

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COTTON. DY P. lI. ROLFS. Director Experiment Station and Superintendent Farmers' Institutes. The cotton crop of Florida holds oue of tile most impor tant places in tbe agri c ulture of tlle State. It llns been tile money crop for the farmer from tile time of the fil'st settle ment. The quantity produced has g1eatly increasetl, some times slowly and. at other times somewhat rapidly. Our earliest statistics go back about as far as 1s:rn. In 1839 the cotton crop of the State, measur ed in bales, was exactly one-half of what was produced. in 190!), se\'enty yeal'S later. The banner year for cotton production, in number of bales, was in 1904, ,vhen SD,U00 bales of 4 00 pounds each were produced, valued at ~5,4 44,000. 'l'his cotton was grown on an area of 2G7,000 acres. The cotton crop of 1!)0!) was 62,D00 bales, valued at f5,760,000, 1'aching the highest figure in point of value ever produced. This cotton was grown. o~ 2,66,000 acres. In 1907 the average production of cotton per acre fell lower than it has fallen in any other year within the last decade. In 1!)04 the highest average production per acre was reached. It will be noticed that the average produc tion per acre fell off in 1D09, when it was only seventy pe1 cent of the amount produced in 1904. The reasons for this falling off were various . In a large measure the climatic conditions of 1!)09 were responsible for the low average production per acre. Anthracnosc, a disease which attacks botll tile plant and the bolls, caused. a very large loss. Careless methods of preparation of the soil and of cultiva tion also had their influence on the reduction of the crop.

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12G PnEPA.RATION OF THE SOIL. Deep Plow ing.-In prepariug the soil for cotton it shoulu be kept in mind constantly that the plowing or breaking in the winter or early spring is the most impor tant operation of the entire ;rear. Some of the other def e ds may be conerted. but if this one operation is nc ,; le c: ted w2 arc ne a rly ce!tain to renp a small crop, no matter wlrnt our later \York may be. The land should be brok<:n eal'ly in the yenr. December or the first two weeks in ~f:munr.r arc the most farnrable periods of the yenr. It sho : 1ld b e broken deeply if a considerable amount of vege tabl e matter oc:c:ms in tlte tielt1. Ten to twelve inches will no t b-~ too deep. If, on t!Je other hand, the soil has been cultirnted for mauy ye : 1rs and contains only ;1 small arno110t of yegetablc rnatter, it may be advisable to break the land no more than two or th rec inches deeper than it was broken np the year before. The ueep breaking early in tlie ,year proviues ample sva c e for storing up moisture. Tlle particles of soil are separated by this tillage, allowing the ui1 and the moisture to cireulate freely through that portion of the soil which is to becom e a seed-bed later in the year. If the soil is broken early in the year it catches the winter rainfall and stor e s it np fol' spring :rnd early summer use. Huving broken up the soil thorougllly in the spring, and pulverized it well, the loose soil forms a blanket which prevents the escape of moisture from the soil. The capillary moisture rises upward, but the surface blanket stops its rise and so prevents it from evarorating into the air . .tleration of Soil.-Another important point tllat is usually entil'el.r overlooked is that by tllorough plowing tlle lower portion of tl!e soil is brought near the surface am] tlle surface soil is turned down deeper. This bringS' a large portion of the soil near the surface where it can be aerated, and where tlle oxygen of tlle air can get to tlle soil particl es and put them in condition to furnish the plant

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]26 food for the co ming crop. This is forcibly illustrated by nrnn.r instances. ,ve h av e frequently noticed that when a w e ll is dug on a farm, the earth thrown out from the bot tom of the well is usually a dead mas~, on which for the fir s t six months hardly an y weeus will grow. We may think that this is due to the want of weed seeds in it. 'l'his, howe,er , is not tl1e case, for plenty of weed seeds are blown or oth e rwis e distributed through it. It is simply too low in available plant food to allow any of the weed seedlings to grow. After this earthy matter has been aerated for a few month s, ho,vever, we find the tallest and rankest weeds springing up in this soil whicll was formerly deep down in the earth. The same conditions occur when we break up our land. If we break it up deeply and tllen plant our seed immediately we will certainly be di sappoi nted , unless the land has also been broken up deeply and the surface soil aerated in previous years. By breaking up the soil d ee ply in the late fall or early winter, en ough time elapses before the cotton has to be planted to let this soil become thoroughly aerated, and then we have a fresh, vigorous soil. In a large measure this soil is like newly broken land. Soil that has been deeply broken, especially if it is twelve to fourte e n, or eighteen in c hes deep, makes an ex cellent seed-bed, in which rapid growth of plants is greatly promoted. Cotton is no exception to this rule. Anyone doubting this assertion can readily prove it for himself if he will simply take the trouble to dig out a dozen of the best cotton plants from deeply prepared soil and then dig out a dozen cotton plants from soil that has been prepared in the ordinary haphazard way. The roots of the cotton plants that have been dug from the deep soil will be found to be much more abundant, much more vigorous, and deeper in the soil than those from the land that has been prepared only three or four inches deep. Deep Soil and F'ertilfr :er .-Even if the important reasons for deep plowing just given were not considered sufficient, there is still another reason that makes deep plowing a

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e1 necessity. Land deeply prepared has a much greater ca pac ity for holding fertilizer than land that has been only indi!Iercntl.v prepared. Usually it is thought that the quanti ty of cotton produced on th e acre will rnry directly in proportion to the amount of fertilizer that one c1n aliunl to apply. Definit e tests have Leen made l>y the Experiment 8tatiou whi c h show that this is altogether a mistake. Au acl'e of land prepareu in the ordinary way and of only onlinar., fertility cannot make use of more than about six humhed pounds of fertilizer of ordinary concen tration, such as is given in the formula below. In our experiments we found that the amount of cotton produceu from different applications of 200, 400, and 600 pounds, increased rapidly and gave handsome additional returns for the larger amounts. In fact, in many cases it will be found that an application of 400 pounds of fertilizer to the acre will double the amount of cotton produced by an application of 200 pounds of fertilizer, thus making as much cotton on one acre as otherwise would have been made on two. Our experiments showed that 600 pounds of fertilizer was the maximum amount that could be applied profitably on ordinary land. ,vhen 800 pounds was ap plied there was actually a decreas e in the total amount of seed cotton produced as compared with 600 pounds of fertiliz e r. The l::md, however, was prep:ued in an ordi nary indifferent way. Turning Und e r Vegetable illattcr.-For years past, and for generations, our forefathers lrnve made it a practice to wait until about time to plant co tton, and then to turn into the old cotton field and l>urn off the vegetable matter. A man , who in this da~ and age will burn off the vegetable matter in the s ame manner .u; was done by onr forefathers is no thi ng but an agricultural criminal. He is taking com fort and pleasure away from his family, requiring them to liYc in wretched surroundings and leaving himself a miser able liYing. Our criminal laws punish any one who sets fire to any b'\Jilding; but the farmer, who intentionally and

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128 by design sets fire to and burns up his vegetable matter, harms himself and his family more than he would if he were to set fire to his stables; for it not only impoverishes the soil for that year, but continues to have its detrimental effr.::t lvr years to come. JJnst Plow Early.-Plowing under vegetable matter must b e lfone early in the year. 1t cannot be put off until cotton-planting time. 'l'lle earlie1 in 11te ye a r tl1is can be done the b e tter. It should not, however, be delayed longer than the middle of ,Jnnuar.r. H1t1111ts.-Plowing under Ute vc g et::hle matter gives tlie irnportant and 11ecessmy element tu Lil e soii ,vhiclt we ordi narily know as humus. Humus is not vegetalJIC matter, nor is it soi!. It is tile intcrrneiliate stage between vege table matter and so il. All veg e table matter when it dccnys goes througl1 rnnclt the same chemical process as ,vhen the chemi s t ignites it in the crucible and reduces it to earthy matter, the differ e nce beingthat tile sun and air act more slowly than fire, and nature takes her time to do this work. The burning process, or oxidizing process as the chemist cdls it, goes on, howe v er, just as certainly as if it were in the chemist's laboratory. '.l'he vegetable matter in the soil, as mere vegetable matter, is of uo value to us, uor is the vegetable matter of much concern or value to us after it has reached its ultimate redu c tion and has returned again to soil. It is on its transition from the vegetable matter tow:uds earthy matter that it is of greatest importance to us from an agricultural standpoint. In this transition period, that is, after the vegetable matter has been thor oughly broken down and no longer has any semblance to the plants from which it was derived, and before it has taken on the condition of enrthy matter, this once organic mMerial is what we call humus: . . \ soil abundantly supplied ,vith humus has n very largely incrensed wnter-holding power. Th e lnm1us in the soil rniglit be lik e ned to myriads of small sponges di~trib utet1 through the soil. The se :mrnll sponge s will soak np

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120 the water and hold i t and gi,e it up s lowly to the soil. Our chem i st in his laboratory has found tlmt soil ri ch in lrnmm; hm, a e:1padt;r for holdin g at leas t n ilun dl'ed per cent more moisture than soil whi c h is devoi d of humus. \\ ' hen so il is 1.:ornpletely made up of hu111u s nud , gclallle J1Jaiter it is usually spoken of as muck soil. \\''.i e r~ i !Je ,egeh ,lil e matL e 1 is not fnlly di s integrated and is st ill ui a fiiJrous diaracl(ir it is u s ually spoken of as pea t. '\Yl1ere the vent or muck is pme the water-holding c apacity of the !:Oil is many hundred per ceut greater than that of soil entirely dernid of humus. Any c ondition of the soil whi c h enables it to hold mois tme aim increases the fertilir. erholding power. Randy ,;oil ltn,; so little wat erl10lding capacity tbnt we usually :,pea k of it ns I r.ac hy soil. \Yhen fertilizer is placed in :-mch a soil t!H! Drst rnin th at co mes w nf::lle s it l1 e low into tlie s nb1':'0il. J n the presence of humus, however, the fertilizer is i-etar clc d or entirely stopped on the way down, and so the 1 '1ants are enabled, later in th e ir period of growth, to absorb this f e rtilizer from the humus. Plo 1cing. -Siuce foe earliest time of cotton planting in Florida it has been the custom to bed up for cotton in t:1e middl es of the sftrne land where tile crop has been grown tile y ea r hdore. In this wny oHly a fraction of th e land is brok en u;J and prepared for the eotton plant. This is a 1uost im1Jerfect ;-,ll< l slore11ly ,my to pre1 1 are a seed -be d. If rhe \\ ather al.1(1 eYetything else is in the far mer's fa,or he may make a crop, bat lie will find that nineteen years out of twenty the weather is against llim rather tllan iu bis favor . He will tbe1efore find that nine tee n tim es o ut of twenty he \ ms lessen ed or ruined his cllauces of rnal-:inga ;rood n-o p brfore lie planted his seed. The only certai n "ay to begin is to hegin ri;rht, and ihe right way to b:cgin ',Yi11i cotto n pl;mting is to br eak all the land; what we ordinai-il.r spe.:l;: of a s bteakin;; broadcast. 'rhis is a little more teu ious than doing it in a s\ oyenl y haphazard -.yny and reqnires more labor and hor se power. If, however-, \Ve

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130 keep it in mind that farming is a business and not a holi day employment, we can readily get plenty of time to pre pare our cotton land. Ordinarily every bit of lint cotton has been taken out of the field by the middle of December. At this time then we can begin breaking up our land for the n e xt yeal'. 'l'his will give us ninety days time in which to prepare our cotto n land. Of course, to begin at this tim e of the year would rnenn tlint we shou ld have to do a little less fishing, and prolrnbly not go hun ti ng quite so frequently. llut to mak e a suecess of anything it is neces sary to giv e pleasure a seeoud place and attend to our business first. FERTILIZER. The cotton plant is not very fastidious about the source from which the fert i lizer is obtained. Of cour se , it has its preferences and dislike s, but as a wliole if a moderate amount of fertilizer composed of the right elements be applied to the soil , we may rea so nabl y expect the cotton plant to make use of it. The cotton plant is not a glutton and does not want a big meal at any time; but it wants good wholesome food ev ery day in the month for about five month s in the year. A fertilizer co mp osed a<:cording to the following formula will be found to b e fairly good on the average, for clay l a nd. By compnring this ,vitlt th e for mula for sandy lands it will be noticed tlrnt the cla y land requires le ss of the element potash than do cs the sa ndy land. FErtTILIZEll FOil CLAY LANDS. Ammonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 per cent. Phosphol'ic Add . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 per cent. Potash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 per cent. The following ingredients will give approximately the amount of plant food required for an acre of cotton accord ing to the above formula:

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131 Cortonsecd meal (7per cent ammonia) ...... 320 pound~ Acid phosphate (lG per cent phosphoric acid) .. 375' pounds M uria te of potash ( 50 per cent potash) ... . . . 48 pounds These ingredients will furnish the amount of plant-food contained in GOO pounds of the foregoing formula. For sandy land, that is, where the clay does not come nearer than within twelve to eighteen inches of the sur face, the follo"ing formula will be found to give good results: FEitTILIZER FOR SAi\"DY LANDS. Ammonia ....................... 3 per cent. Phosphoric acid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 per cent. Potash .......................... 7 per cent. Ingredients needed to supply the plant-food in 600 pounds of the preceding formula for sandy lands: Cottonseed meal (7per cent) ..... . Acid phosphate (16 per cent) ..... . Uuriate of potash ............... . 240 pounds 263 pounds 84 pounds The amount of fertilizer to be applied either to the sandy land or to the clay land will depend largely upon the con dition of tile soil. If the soil has been prepared only three or four inches deep, as is the too frequent custom, 600 pounds of the above formula will be the largest amount that we can safely apply under average conditions. If the land has been deeply prepared and contains a large amount of humus, double the amount of fertilizer can he applied with greater profit. It is a great advantage to us to be able to reduce the acreage without reducing the production as a whole. Consequently it is necessary to increase the humus content, increase the depth of our soil, and improve the grade of the fertilizer we are using.

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132 Cuu.rrVATION. Ask a dozen of your neighbors separately what is the objec t of plowing, and eleven out of tlte twelve will t e ll you that it is to kill weeds. A ~reater mistake could not ~ ll be made. Tile killing of weeds is merely an in ci d e nt alon g th e way. We cultivate foe land to improv e tile healfa of the plant we are gl'owing, to increase its vigor, to enabl e it to withstand insect attacks and ravages of disease s s o that it will produce a large crop of c otton. The direct effect of cultivating the soil is to aerate it and to conserve moisture. ,Ve have, therefore, two points to keq1 in mind , primaril y, in plowing the land and culti vating the crop. Fir s t, we must aerate the soil so as to rnakc it a fit place for the habitation of the roots of plants. The 1•oots of these plnnts ne ed nir jns-t as certainly :rn do human beings. They do not need the snme amount, but in the absence of o xy g -rn the roots will be killed and the plants will die. 'l'he best way to g et this nir into tbe soil is to pu t it in before the crop has been planted . This is done hy deep plowing. Second, we consel'\'e tb.e moisture by frequent and sha llow cultiYating. This also helps to aerate the soil when tile smface has b ec ome compacted by hea, •y rains. Where the soil has been prevared only threo or four inches d ee p, it be come s nec es sary to cuJfr.-ate deeJJly in order that a certain portion of the soil at least may be aerated . In doing this work, how e , r, we rnutihlte and kilJ thousands and millions of the roots of the cotton plants. Our best fri e nds nre heing ruthlessly destroyed and slaughtered for the sake of getting a small amount of air into our soil. No wonder that we liaYe to run down one side of the cotton plant one week and tlien wait two weeks before it is prn,sible for ns to run down the other side. If we were to run down both sides of the cotton plnnts nt one time it would unqnestionably rnin thousands of the plants outright. If destroying four-fifths of the roots at one time would

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]33 ruin the plant, how can it be anything else but an injury to the lJlant to Jesiroy one-llalf of tllc roots. 'l'he qu e stiou as to the frequenty of cultivation is often asked. Tile frequency with which we sllould cultivate de pends 11pun the cost of cultivation. lf we have to cultivate " ith one mule ancl a hall(_l it will cost us a gteat deal more per ,h-re rhan when "e cultivate with two mules and a hand. Two mules and a hand n111 do twice as mnch work and better work than one mule and a hand. "rhe more fre quently we can cultivate, tlle gteater amount of moi8ture we cousen e. Consequently the more frequently we can afford to cultirate, the more likel,y are we to llave a good cotton crop. SEED SELEC'l'ION. 'l'he co Hon crop is one of i he oldest, if not the oldest, of the agricultural crops that we are now producing. Yet in the past c omparati, el,r little attention has Leen given to systematic selec:tion and bteeding. Practically nothing in a systematic way had been done up to twent_y year~ ago. E,er,rthing JJrc,ious to tlta t time liad been done in a sort of haphazar
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134 being grown on a rath er voor or m eu ium poor soil, then go through the field and label or tag the best plants by the easiest method at hand. A very simple way is to tie a bit of muslin to the top of the desirable plants. In looking tor desirable plants we should be car ef ul to select those that are very fruitful, tho se whose bolls open well, whose seeds are well covere d wilh cotton, and whose lint is of the cor rett l ength . Five hundred such plants t:an easily he :,;e lected in a day from a five-aere plot. 'l'lle seeds of these plants are th en saveu :,;epara tely, the first picking being taken off befor e the whole cotton field is pick eu, tl.Je second picking is taken before . the second cotton is picked, and so on. 'l'he seed cotto n is th en sav ed separatel y. ginned separately, and store d for next year's planting . 'L'hc select ed seed should be planted by hand to make it go as far as possible. Th e seco nd year we :-:houlu save seed only from the hest plants in the field of se lected eottou.

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CANE GRINDING AND SIR UP MAKING. lh C. K. }IcQU,\RRIE . .ls.~islant Suecrintcndcnt Farmers Institute. The sug:1r < : ane is one of the oldest farm crops in this State of whi
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136 we v1actice, and on what e v e r kind of soil we grow sugar cane, we slrnulu take care that the soil is put i11 the b es t conuii.ion lJo:,;:,;ilJll/ by deqi plowing and thorough puh er i <: tion. 011 old land Hwt ltas b ee u in cultivation for a uumber of years , we should use a subsoiler, in addition to deep plowing lly either a tumiug 01. di~c plow. 'l'his sub soiler should imm e n if sold at ten cents a pound and produ c ing the aver a ge crop of two hun d r e d ;,nd twenty pounds of lint pe1 acre . Tl.le land intended fu1• sugar-can e should be plowed late in the fall, and nil decnyeJ wgetable 111ntter left over from previou s crops plow e d under to form tlw ne ce ssary humus. 'l'his plowing should be complet e d before the fil'st of Janu a1y. If washing rains should oeccur through ,Januar y and February, soil that is deeply lJlo wed will uot be affetted by th e m; but, after th es e rains, if a dr,r pci-iod should c ome, tlte nust on the land should be LI'okeu U) 7 running :t culti vator or weeder over it. so as to form a soil nrnlch and pre vent evaporation of soil moisture, and also to aerate the soil. Som e of our most progressive farmers sow rye on land intended for cane, and this acts as a winter cover

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137 crop. 'l'his prnctit:e is specially recommended wher-e the land is l'O ll i 1t g and subject to washing, as the rye ro ots h e lp to bind the soil, and it i s an easy matter to plow 1 11 th e young rye when cultivati o n of t he cane JJ.egins. FEnTr uzrm . Fertilization is an important point for a succes s r u i crop . The n eeess nr :v pl:mt foods n nu , t he supplied in pro per !H ' po rti on s to get the li cst res u !t:;;. ' l'he analysis of the s u garrn ne erop s h o w s t h a t it i s n he avy feeder o n ammonia and potash. lt do e s n ot require much ph o1-, phori c arid. It is a difficul t mntter to set down a rigi!l fornrnla to be observed in all case s, b ec ause every fau11er's soi l tliffe1s from those of hi s neighbors in so mauy way s . in moi s ture. or in chemicnl anrl physicnl condition,:. tha t cons i:l era hle latitude mnst be allowed. l'nder ordi nar:v con d i tion~,, on soil plowed not l e,:,: than ten inchef d eep , we would apply not l ess than one thousand pounds per nne of a frrtilizer analyzing , 5 per cent ammonia. 4 p Pr ce nt phosphoric acid, and 10 per ce nt potash. In th e applicatioE of this fertilizer care should be exercised to appl_Y it lmiadcast on fr es h!.' worked soil as nniforml,v as possible, and to mix it thoroughly with the soil by harrow , we eder o r cnltivator. 'rhis had b e tter be done a week or so b efo r, ~ plnnting tl1e seed-raues. The composition o f this fei-ti lize r should be along Hi e lin es of slow nvailabil it y, particnlarl_v tile ammonin i n gred ients of it. Iligh grad e cotto n see d men! is r ea ll y the most suitable raw ma terial for the Jmqmse ; becaus e, being an organic fertiliz er , it tak es lon ger in forming the n eeess ar y plant food . and ns th e cane (:r op i s a long s e a son crop t his snits it best . 'l'he sourc e of potash should be tile !su l phate, because the chlor in t ill n1111•; . 1te nnd kninit in j n1 T :s ilt e tla\'or of the sirnJJ to a certain extent. The m et hod , in general use, uf apply ing the fertilizer in the furrow is not to be recommrnde,l; be ca u i;:e in so doing the fertiliz er is all in one plac<', whi c h pr e v e nt " th e henltliy action of the root sy,:tem of the cane.

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138 Om farmer:,; in most cases overlook the fact that the root system of every crop is the foundation on which the crop is made, and if the method of fertilizer application is to wards the retarding of the root system, the results in pro duction will not be so satisfactory as if the fertilizer was broadcasted all over the soil and thoroughly mixed in be fore planting the seed-cane. lVe therefore urge upon farmers the necessity of broadcasting all the fertilizer. PLANTING. When ready to plant the crop, lay off furrows six incllei-; deep, six feet :1p:1l't. In ihe:;;e furrmrn plnut tlte canes., cut in three io four-joint lengths, laying tllern in the fur row so as to lap a few inches. Cover slightly at first, grad ually working soil in to this fnrrow in fmtller cultivation. If the seed-cane is covered deeply at first, as is oflen done. the probability of getting a good staml is lessened; though a deep furrow should be made, Ro as to insure as far a,i possible ille deep rooting of the crop. 'fhis prevents itrs blowing down in wind storms late in the season) when the canes arc heavy and high winds prevail. One of the hes( tools is :! \\"l'eder, run anoss tlle rows, tltns filling in the seed fnnow gradually. In the further cnltivation of the trop, shallow rnnning tools are necessar.v. heranse the roots feed quite close 1o the surface and n deep run ning tool would injure ibcm considerably. In the first stages foe weeder is the hest tool for the pmpose, and if an adj11stablc one is used it can do the work successfully all the way through. If a weeder is not available, a sweep to run ver_v shallow is the next best. After the crop is half-gmwn, a top-dressing of about two hundred pound:,; of nitrate of soda per a(']'e is i-ecommended. This should be mixed wi1h the soil at the time of applieation. to get the best results. STUIPPING. Earl_v in October stripping should begin. All dead

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139 leaves should be removed, so as to admit sunlight to thi> stalks, which helps to sweeten the juice. This can be done at odd times, and so one will be so much work ahead when tile rush of harvesting sets in. 'l'he crop should be allowed to stand as long as possible before cutting , be ca nse immature canes make inferior sirup. CU'l'TING. From 1he middle to the end of November is time enough to harvest the sugar-cane anywhere in the Sta te . In the p1eparation for lian est ing the first consideration is tile to11ping. Th e iwrnature joints contai n mudt glucose. and to prevent sugaring of the sirup we n eed to leave some green joints on the cut cane. About one innnntul'e joint to every eight mature ones is a good proportion to main tain in the topping process. Afier topping, the cane should be cut and windrow ed as soon as possible, and in the event of a cold snap , the canes should be covered with leaves or trash of any kind to protect them from the frost. When vrepariug to grind the crnp, a heavy mill should he us e d; because with a li g ht mill the extr ac t:on will he low. The location of the mill should be wher e the juice can be 1un by gravity to the eva po rator. If' nn inch pipe co nne cts the juice tank with the ev aporator . conside1ahle time and trouble will 1 ,, ,woided when making sirup. The j uice tank demands our close attention, and the st rainin g of tile juice as it runs from the mill nnrnt be done thoroughly. The best juice tank is made from the half of a barrel, set on a platform right below the mill spout. If black moss is available as a filter the tub should be filled with it. On the top of the juic e tub a doubl e layer of

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140 cheese cloth should be placed, h e ld in position by a hoop so as to be easily remov e d for cleaning. Right under the mill spout a piece o f common window wire screen should be placed. T hfr-: will catch the rough tra s h that runs from the mill with the juice , and it can readily be clenned as often as desired. Tn fitting the tube to the bottom of the tub i1' sl.to1 . Ild h e insette
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141 board used like a scraper, and taken off into a gutter fitted for the purpose on to the end of the evaporator. \\ ' hen .this heavy blank et is removed entirely , the juice should be transferred to the middle compartment th ro11gh a gate for that purpose. i\fost of the cvapora tion should be done in the middle com partment, the sirup b e ing only pns se d on to the next wh e n it itets aeal"l.1 read~ to rnn off. The skimming of tile b o il i ug , juice nftcr tlie iii-s t b i anket is removed should be done by a board with a handle to it like a mortarhoard. This board should be of plnne
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14.2 of the plantation or farm. When an article is made that can be guaranteed, there will be no trouble in marketing it. The supply of high-grade Florida sirup is never equal to the demand, and if our farmers will co-operate and build c e ntrnl evaporating plants , tlle industry could be extended until we would have Florida sirup in every mar ket of the world, where the call for it is insistent.

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THE VELVET BEAN. BY JorIN M. Sco'IT. Animal Industrialist and Assistant Director, Experiment Station. HISTORY. Prom the information available, it app(~ars that the relvet bean hns been grown in Florida for more thau tllirty yearn. However, it received little attention prior to 18!!5. Up to tllat date it was used mainly as a covering for trellises, and to screen unsightly places. Since its first trial in 18fJG, it has been grown each year at the Experi ment Station. During the past ten or twelve years it has also been growu on a commercial scale by a goodly number of farmers. Many of the:;;e farmers are now growing the velvet bean on a large area for the feeding of cattle, hogs, and other live stock. The first mention made of velvet beans by the Commis sioner of Agrirnlture was in the statistics for J !)01. He estimated that the area grown that year was 10 , 839 acres. His statistics for 1907-8 gave the area in velvet beans as 22,!l:3!) acres. 'l'his sbows the rapid incremie in area of this rnluable c1:op . The following is a botanical description of the plant by Katherine Stephens Hort, taken from Bulletin 141 of the Bureau of Plant Industry. Stizolobium deeringianmn Bort.-An annual, herbace ous, c l imbing vine sometimes 20 meters in length when growing on supports, and even on the ground attaining a length of from 2 to 6 meters, bearing long, pendent ra

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14'! cemes of purple flowers which produce dark, velvety pods 5 or 6 centimeters long. Stems rathe1 slender, terete, sparsel_y pubescent, with white, appressed hairs, especially on the ridges. Petioles equalling or exceeding the leaflets. puu.csecnt like the stem, and continued for 2 to J centirn e en , beyond the lateral leatlets; stipules suhulate . pu!JE> ;, c e ni , abont 1 centimeter long; stipels similar but small e r: petiolules about 5 m illimeiers long, stoP t, Yciy j;,,:Jc : , c <. : il 1. Leaflets rhomboid-ovate, the lateral ones oblique. rncm brmiaceou s , acuminnte-cus1Jidate, fi to li:i cen ~ inieters 1011 6 , about half as broad, sparcely pubescent above, especially on the veins, more densely pubeseent beneath, the ,Yhite hairs closely appressed. Inflorescence a ;aceme or tllyn,us 15 lo 30 centimeters long, pendent, bearing G to ;rn 11ow ers, usually about 12; rachis like the stem, but ltl(lre pnh escent; flowers lJornc singly or in twos or thr e es on sbnrt lateral branchlets. Brads lanceolai"e snbulatc. very pub escent, early fugacions. Calyx pubef'cent within and with out with short, white, appressed hairi:;, 2-lipped, the upper lip broadly triangulnr, the lower lip 3-deft , the lobes lri angular-subulate, the mitldle one longest; stinging hairs absent. Corolla dark purple, 3 to 4 centimeters long; standard l e ss than half the length of the keel , t1arker than the rest of th e ftow <'i ; \\ings sligh1ly sltorfe1 than the keel , rather broad, ohlnrn:eolate-nb,oug, obtuse; ke e l straight 1-o near the tip, where it cmves sharply upward. the tip fil'm and acute; anthers of t"o sorts alternately longand short, the latter on much broader filaments; ovary lin P ar-. pubescent; style filiform, pubescent nearly to the tip; stig ma small. Pods when mature 5 to 6 centimeters long, 1 Lll' gid, densely covered with a soft, nearly black, velvety pnh escence without stinging hairs: valv e s with 1 or :~ or sonwtinws : . l ob:c,1ne longitudinal ridge~. Reeds 3 to 5 in t'ac-h pod . subglobose, marbled and speckled with btown or black, and sometimes both, on ash gray ground colol' (though pure gray and, it is said, pure black occur 1arely), 1 to 1.5 centimeters in diam, ~ ter. Hih,m white , ohlong cr,1teriform , less than one-half the length of the seed.

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145 'l'he velvet bean may properly be classed as a tropicai plant, and requires a long season to produce its maximum growth of vine and production of seed. The plant will grnw as far nOl'th as tlle central part of Missouri, but at t llat latitude it will not produce seed. It will not yield a profitable crop of seed more than 200 miles north of the Gulf Coast. Its culture is tlrns limited to the southern portion of tlle Gulf States. PLANTING. 'l'ilile of Pla11ti11g.-'l'he time of planting depends large ly upon the purpose for which the crop is grown. lf planted for a cover crop to be plowed under the follo,ving fall and winter, or for a winter pasture for live stock, or for a crop of seed, the velvet bean should be planted early in spring, and not later than ~fay 1, for north central Florida. If the crop is to be used for hay , planting may he done any time from May 20 t o July 1. Planted at this lai c
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146 May 1 gave a good crop of beans. We find that velvei beans planted in the latter part of April will produce three to four times as many beans as those planted later than June 20. SEED. To secure the largest yield of beans it will be found necessary to plant only good sound seed. In this way a better stand will be secured, for the young plants will be stronger and more able to withstand unfavorable con ditions. Some farmers plant the beans in the pod. Before plant ing, the I.Jeans are soaked over night in water to soften the pods and hasten germination. This method is one that should not be encouraged, for the following reasons: (1) When planting pods and all, no method of seed selectiou can be practiced. (2) It requires more seed. This is a point worth considering, for oftentimes seed is not plenti ful and is expensive. (3) "'hen the beans are planted iu the pod it is not possible to plant by machinery, and so the cost of planting is considerably increased. ( 4) It will not be possible to get so good a germination, and an un even stand means an unsatisfactory yield . SEED SELECTION. It is possible to increase the yield of velvet beans by seed selection the same as with any other farm crop. The past year an acre plot was taken on which velvet beans were planted. One-half of this plot was planted with seed just as it came from the huller. The other half was planted with seed that had been selected; that is , all the small, shriveled, and faulty beans were rejected, and only the large. well-developed ones were planted. The selected seed produced 33.79 bushels of shelled beans, while the un selected seed produced only 28.37 bushels per acre; a dif ference of 5.42 bushels in favor of the selected seed. This

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147 increase in yield is equal to an increased gross income of about $10 per acre from the crop. PREPARATION OF SEED-BED. 'rhe preparation of th e seed-bed is too oft e n n eg le c ted by the busy farrn( ! r. One method of preparing the seed-bed that is commonly practiced and one which should be discour aged, is that of plowing two, or possibly four, small fur rows , just enough to cover the beans, and leaving the mid dles to be plowed later or not at all. This is an expensive method of preparing the seed-bed; for, as a rule, not more than half a erop is obtained. Such a method cannot be called good farming. Velvet beans are an easy crop to raise , but they are too valuable a crop to be handled in a slipshod way . It has b e en demonstrated more than once that tl1orougl1 pr e paration of the seed-bed before planting will re duce tlle af t e r cultivation of the crop by one-half. ( This a pp lie: , not only to velvet beans but to all farm crops.) Plow the ground in December or January tlior oughly to a depth of 6 inch es . Harrow each day's plowing in the evening, and use the harrow every ten days thereaf ter, until the beans have been planted. 'l'his harrowing will tend to conserve the soil moisture . Farmers who practice this m e thod of soil preparation experien c e little difficulty in co nservin : '1,' sufficient soil moistur e to insure good ger mination. METHOD OF PLANTING. The beans may be broadcasted or planted in rows. 'l'he best results., however, will Le obtained if the beans ar e plant e d in rows four f eet apal't; or, whid1 is still better, in l'OWS six or eight feet apart witll :i 1,v of corn lletween . If planted ia rows four feet apart and from ten to fifteen inches in the drill, one bushel of good seed will plant four acres. When the velvet beans are planted alone, they make such a dense growth that they smother one another , and so do not produce the maximum yield of seed. This

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l48 difficulty can he overcome, to a larg-e extent, hy planting alternate rows with corn or sorghum. During the season of Hl07 a comparison of yields was made between velvet beans grown alone, and tltose planted in alternate rows with corn. The yield of beans when plani:ed alone in rows four feet apart, was 2,258 pounds of beans in the pod, or 22.5 bushels of shelled beans per acre. The yield when planted in alternate rows with corn, the rows of beans be ing eight feet apart with a row of corn between, was 2,035 pounds of beans in the pod, or 20.3 bushels of shelled beans per acre. 'rllis shows only a difference of 2.2 bush els of shelled beans per acre. No account was kept of the yield of corn secured from this acre, but is was perhaps five to ten bushels. CULTIVA'.rION. When the Yelvet beans are planted in rows, the land admits of cultivation until the plants have attained a con siderable growth and have begun to form long vines. Thill cultivation keeps the soil in good condition by admitting more heat and air, ,vhich stimulate growth. It alRo keeps down objectionable weeds. After the velvet beans have made a good growth, they cover the ground so completely that all weeds and grass are crowded out. For this rea son they are an excellent cover crop for land that is badly infested with weeds. FERTILIZER. All of our experiments so far indicate that the velvet bean is a crop that does not require the application of any fertilizer. An increai;;ed yield may sometimes be obtained, but it costs more than it is worth. The following table shows the results of a fertilizer test conducted during the season of 1907 :

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Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 149 TABLE XVIII. Fertilizer Test of V e lvet Beans. AMOUNTS OF E'ERTILIZ ! m PEil A C RE. ------Dried 1 1 Acid ! 1\Iuriate Blood Phosphate\of Pot a sh Pounds. I Po~m _ d ~ _ \ _!'ou~d _ s. _ 50 50 50 50 75 100 180 180 180 180 270 3GO 40 40 40 40 60 so YIELD OF S!IELLEU BE AN S PEil ACl!E. P o unds. \ Bushels ~;7~ I ;;~ 1161 1311 1278 1278 1236 1275 1150 1254 1569 19.4 21.9 21.3 21.3 20.6 21.3 1!).2 20.9 26.2 Plot 10, which received most fertilizer, showed an in 1 creased yield, but the value of the increase in yield wu not sufficient to pay for the additional fertilizer. HARVESTING. The time of harvesting this crop may be left to tile pleasure of the farmer. The beans may be left in the field all winter, and the loss from decay will be small. Hence if grown for winter pasture they may be pastured any time from December to March. If the crop is grown for seed, it would be advisable to harvest as early in Decem ber or January as possible, so that the seed may be hulled and put on the market before spring planting However, it is not advisable to harvest until the vinea have been killed by a frost. If grown as a soil renovator, and not intended for winter pasture, they should be plowed under in December if possible, so as to give the leavu and vines a longer time to decay and rot before sprin1 10-Bul

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150 planting begins. If the crop is to be used for hay, cutting should be done when the young pods are well formed. USES, There are few other crops that can be put to so many uses and give such satisfactory results. This plant was first used and is still used for growing on trellises and 11creens for covering unsightly places. For this purpose it is excellent, as it mak e s a quick rank growth. It is also grown as a cover crop. Here again it is excellent. How e v e r, like every crop, it has its p e culiar drawbacks. In citrus groves it is obje c tionable from its method of growth. The vines grow so rampantly that if not kept under con trol they will in a short time completely cover the citrus trees, the result of which is that they cut otl' the li g ht and starve the trees, by shading them. Then, too, the Tines are much in the way when gatllering the fruit. It is when used as a cover crop on bare land, that the best results are obtained. Th e shelled beans have been used by some as human food, but tllis use is limited. 'J'lle most important uses for the velvet bean are as a soil renova t or, and as feed for the production of meat and dairy produ c ts. As A Sorr, RENov AT o n. A soil renovator may b e d e fined a s a crop thnt will r e new or improve a soil that c eases to be productive. a nd will even increase the productive powers of some virgin soils. Soils that have be e n c ropped continuously fo r a number of years by one crop become unproductive, or cease to produc e their maximum y ields. Virgin soils may not always produce satisfactory yields of certain crops , for n e w soil s may some t imes be raw and unprodu c tive. For the purpose of assisting in correcting these unfavorable conditions, the velvet bean has been found of great use . Plants belonging to the order of legume-bearers, or pod bearers, such as cowpeas, beggarweed, and velvet beans,

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151 may be considered as soil improvers. This is because the plants belonging to this order are capable of abstracting nitrogen from the atmosphere. The nitrogen thus obtained from the air is deposited in the root-tubercles of the plants in such a form that it is quickly available to the growing plant. Some of it remains in the soil to be used by the succeeding crop. 'l'he presence of the ammonia in the roots of these plants is made known by the nodules which are found on the roots. 'l'hese nodules vary in size from a mere E>peck to the size of a pecan. It is in these nodules that the ammonia is stored. When the growing plant matures, the nodules decompose and the unused part of the ammonia is left in the soil to be taken up by the succeeding crop. All of the ammonia taken up by the roots is not stored in these nodules for it is distributed to all parts of the plant. In fact the greater part is found in the vines, leaves, and seeds. 'fhe amount of nitrogen left in soil by the roots only is worth considering. If on the other hand, velvet beans are grown, and the entire crop, when matured, plowed under as a fertilizer, the amount of ammonia added to the soil is equal to an application of about 1900 pounds per acre of cottonseed meal, analyzing 7. 5 per cent ammonia. Muell the same is true of other leguminous plants. How ever, the amount of ammonia that may be left in the soil by any leguminous plant depends largely upon the amount of growth the crop makes. The larger the growth of vines, the more ammonia and humus are added to the soil. There is quite a long list of leguminous plants which are found in Florida. Out of this number there are perhaps only three that are employed to any large extent as soil improvers. These are of importance in the order named: Velvet beans, cowpeas, and beggarweed. 'l'he advantages of velvet beans over cowpeas are: (1) Velvet beans are not attacked by the nematode which causes root-knot; (2) velvet beans generally make a heavier growth of vines, and so add more ammonia and humus to the soil; (3) when velvet beans are killed by frost the vines and leaves go down on the ground

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152 together, and the mass of vines tends to hold the leaves in place until they are plowed under. With the cowpeas, only the leaves fall when killed by frost; the vines remain in an upright position, and the wind tends to scatter the leaves. It is not uncommon, where cowpea s Lave been grown as a soil improver, to see larg e areas of the field blown bare. The yield that may be secured from beggarweed is consid erably below the yield of velvet beans or cowpeas. How ever, ton for ton, these three crops are about equal as a source of ammonia and humus. One advantage beggar weed has over cowpcas, is that it is not attacked by the nematode which causes root-knot. TABLE XIX. The Value of Velvet Beams as a Soil Improver in Florida. (From Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 60.) weight of gr e en material from an acre ......... . v-, r eight of dried material from an acre ......... . weight of dried roots from an acre ............ . \Veight of nitrogen in vines from an acre ....... . Weight of nitrogen in roots from an acre ..... . 'l'otal nitrogen in crop from an acre ......... . Pounds. 21132 5!)53 690 131.5 9.7 141.2 ~fost of the nodules had already decomposed, and the nitrogen from these was not included. Bulletin 95 of the Alabama Experiment Station gives some valuable information as to the use of the , elvet bean r :i:. s a soil improver. 'fl.le following table is taken from that bulletin:

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153 TABLE xx. -Yield of Oats (],r01mi After Coicpeas, Velvet Beans, Crab Grass and Millet. Yield Per Acre. Grain Straw Bushels. Pounds. Av. after velvet bean vines and stubble. 33. 6 1439 Av. after cowpea vines and stubble.... 31.6 1738 Av. after crabgrass and millet stubble.. 8.4 296 'I'his table shows the a,erage results of plots on one of which only the stubble and on the other the vines were plowed under as a fertilizer. The above table shows conclusively the value of the vel vet bean as a source of ammonia for fertilizing. Ammonia is the most expensive fertilizing element we have to buy, and if we can produce it on the farm by growing these leguminous plants it will cost only half as much a8' it would if bought in the form of cottonseed meal or dried blood. Aside from the ammonia obtained by growing vel vet beans, there is another very important fact that must be considered, that is, the large amount of humus that can be added to our soils by growing velvet beans and plowing: under the dried vines. Humus is usually formed from decayed vegetable matter; such as decayed corn or cotton stalks, roots of all kinds, grass, weeds, and vines of all kinds. When these plants .decay and become a part of the soil, the light yellow or gray sandy soil is changed to a dark or even black color. The more decayed organic ma terial (humus) in the soil, the darker the color. The humus in the soil does not add fertility to the soil, apart from tire plant-food in the vegetable &ubstan("es from which it is formed; but it aids plants in obtaining more fertility from the soil. As we increase the percentage of humus in the soil, we at the same time increase the water and fertilizer-holding capacity of the soil. All plant-food

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154 must be in solution before it can be taken np and used by the plant. Hence humus increases the plant-food-holding capacity of the soil Humus furnishes food for the growth and development of useful micro -orga nisms. 'rhese micro -o rganisms assist in changing tbe unavailable forms of plant-food into available forms. Humus also improves the mechanical condition of the soil. Hard tenacious soils ar e made loose and mellow hy the addition of humus. Tire greatest la c k of our soils, other than that of plant-food, is humus. Many of our soils are sandy, with little or no humus. These soils generally are the most prodnctiYe which contain a large percentage of humus. As ForUGI,J. Perhaps the velvet bean is the best l eg ume for Florida. It without doubt provides the best and cheapest protein that we can secure from any winter forage crop that we can grow. Although the velvet bean does not furnish a gr ee n pastur e at any season of the year, yet it supplies good prot e in foraging from December or January until grass comes in the spring. The yield per acre varies according to conditions, but from one ton to one ton and a half of beans in the pod is not too mu ch to expect. One hundred pounds of beans in the pod will shell out sixty pounds of beans ( one bushel). It is usually estimated that one acre to one acre and a half of velvet beans will be e nough to fatten one ::rnimal. Cattle do not eat m ore than fifty per cent of the leaves and vines and none of the roots; therefore, there is a large am o unt of fertility left in the soil for the succeeding erop. As FEED. Up to ilie present time there have been but few feeding exp e riments conducted in which velrnt beans have been used. Hm, ew i-, all ex perim ents indi ca te that the yelvet

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155 beau is a valuable meat and milk product. More than that. it is among the cheapest, if not the very cheapegt, of the protein feeds that the Florida farmer can produce on the farm. The farmer can always, under ordinary conditions) pro duce feed on the farm ch e aper than he can purchase it on the market. It is also g e nerally true that the farmer can se c ure a larger profit from his crops by feeding th e m to liYe stock on the farm and selling tile meat and dairy produ c ts, than h,r selling the crops direct. FOR PORK PRODUCTION. The writer has no definite information of any feeding experiment having been conducted with velvet beans for pork production. However, numerous farmers throughout the State have used them extensively for this purpose. The almost unanimous opinion of these men is that velvet beans are a good pork produc e r so far a s in c rease in weight is concerned. The fat produced, however, has a dark, dirty appearance, with a disagreable odor and taste. This diffi culty may perhaps be overcome by usin g the velvet beans in combination with other f e eds, such as corn, cassava, sweet pot a to e s, or Japanese cane. It is well known that peanuts, wh e n fe
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156 beginning, and every thirty days until the end of the ex periment. The weighings were all done in the morning, after feeding hay and grain, but before watering. The weights given are averages of three weighings on three con ftCUtive days. The weights were all taken on a pair of wagon scales, which were located near the feed-lots. A chute connected the yard with the sicales. The feeding yard for each lot of steers wa s 75 by 100 feet. The cr a b-gras s hay, velvet beans, Ull(l sorghum silage W!ed in this feeding test were grown on th e station farm, and for the experiment were estimated at $4.00, $6.00 , and '3.00 per ton, r es pe c tiv e ly-which is about the actual cost of production. 'l'he corn, co tton se ed meal, a nd cottonseed hull~ were purchased on the market, and when delivered at the railroad station cost: corn, $1.58; cottonseed meal, fl.50; and cotto~seed hulls, $0.73 per hundred. TABLE XXI, Rations Per Thousand Pounds Live Weight. I Lot I \ L ot II l Lot III i . LOT rv• Po unds P ounds I Pounds I Pounds Corn ............ 10.5 6.0 8.0 . ....... Cottonseed meal . . 3.75 5.0 ........ 6.5 Crabgrass hay .... 13.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... Sorghum silage .. . . . . . . . . 20.0 . ....... . . . . . . . . Cottonseed hulls .. . . . . . . . . 14.0 10.0 25.0 Velvet beans in pod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.0 ........ Nutritive ratio I 1.6 1.6 1.6.5 1.4.8 *On February 16 the feed of this l ot was changed to one pound of meal to three pounds of hulls. This was done because the steers did not eat their feed well, antl appeared to have too much roughage for the amount of concentrate they were getting.

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157 TABLE XXII. Feeds Consumed. I Lot I ! Lot II Lot III [ Lot IV Pounds . Pounds. Pounds. 1Pounds. Corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3314 1880 2528 Cottom ; eed meal . . . . . . . . . 1179 1576. 5 . . . . . . 1963 Crabgrass hay . . . . . . . . . . . 4370 Sorghum silage ......... . Cotton se ed hulls ........ . Velvet beans in pod ...... . 6288 4408 .... .. [ ...... 314 4 6174 3760 ..... . Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S863 14152.5 9432 8137 Average daily roughage ------per head ............. 13.00 31.83 13.8 3 18.37 TABLE XXIII. Weights and Gains by Periods. j Lot I ] Lot II Lot II I Lot IV : Pound s .Wounds. Pounds. Pounds. January 15-Beginning . . . . 2920 2891 2818 2869 February 14-Thirty days . . 3218 3128 3106 3010 March 15-Sixty days . . . . 3481 3427 3415 3166 April 8-Eighty-four days. 3788 3782 3800 3490 Lbs. gained in 30 days. . . . Lbs. gained a,econ
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158 TABLE XXIV. Gains and Costs. Lot I , Lot II\ Lot III ! Lot IV Pounds.I Pounds. Pounds.] Pounds. Weight at beginning of test 2920 2891 2818 2869 Weight at end of test ..... 3788 3782 3800 3490 Total gains .............. 868 891 982 621 Average gain per head ..... 217 225.25 245.5 155.25 Average daily gain per head 2.58 2.68 2.92 1.85 Average daily gain per 1000 lbs. live weight ......... 3.54 3.71 4.15 2.58 Pounds feed for one pound of gain ................ 10.2 15.9 9.6 13.1 --------Cost of one pound of gain .. $. 0907 $ .1065 $. 0755 $ .1200 Table XXIV shows the )"eights and gains per lot and per head, the average daily gain, the pounds of food re quired to make one pound of gain, and the cost of one pound of gain. A glance at this table shows that the steers in Lot III not only made the best gains, but the cost per pound of gain was considerably less than for the other lots of steers. It will be noticed that the cost of one pound of gain decreases when the average daily gain in creases. 'rhe amount of feed consumed does not wholly determine the average daily gain or the cost per pound of gain. But the nutritive ratio of the rations fed, as is seen in the case of Lot IV, to a large extent controls the average daily gain, and the cost per pound of gain. The nearer a balanced ration is fed (nutritive ratio 1 :6 or 1 :7), the larger average daily gain may be expected, and the cheaper will be the gain per pound. It will be seen that the steers in Lot IV, on cottonseed meal and cotton seed hulls, made only an average daily gain of 1.85 pounds.

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159 Foa MILK PRODUCTION. During the winter of 1908-9 a test of feeds for milk pro duction was conducted at this Station. The feeds tested were, velvet beans in the pod, wheat bran, and sorghum silage, compared with cottonseed meal (7.5 per cent. am monia), wheat bran, and sorghum silage. 'l'his test in dicates that 2.83 pounds of velvet beans in the pod are equal to one pound of cottonseed meal, analyzing 7.5 per cent ammonia. One ton of cottonseed meal costs on the market five times what it costs the farmer to raise one ton of velvet beans in the pod. The results of this test show that in feeding value, for milk production, 2,000 pounds of cottonseed meal are equal to 5,660 pounds of velvet beans in the pod. But 2,000 pounds cottonseed meal cost .......... $30. 00 5,660 pounds velvet beans in pod can be grown by the farmer for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16. 98 A saving in favor of velvet beans of ... $13. 02 'l'he cost of planting and cultivating velvet beans is es timated at $6.00 per acre, the yield being taken as 2,000 pounds per acre. This is a liberal allowance for the cost of producing an acre, and the estimated yield is what would be considered only a fair crop. The following table gives the results of the milk test in detail. TABLE XXV. A_mounts of Seed Consumed and MUk Produced. First Period-January 20 to February 9, 1909. Lot I. Pounds. Ye I vet Beans in pod .. .. .. .. .. . . .. . .. 267. 75 -wheat bran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G30

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Sorghum silage Milk produced 160 Cottonseed Meal ..•................. Wheat bran ...................... . Sorghum silage ......•.......•..... Milk produced ................... . 2142 1069.3 Lot II. Pounds. 94.5 630 154'.3. 5 S7H.2 Second Period-Feb. 17 to Mch. 9, 1!)0!). Cottonseed meal .................. . Wheat bran ........................ . Lot I. Pounds. 94.G 680 Sorghum silage ..................... 154:3. 5 Milk produced .................... 1077 .3 Velvet beans in pod ................ . Wheat bran ........................ . Lot IL Pounds. 267.75 680 Sorghum silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2142 Milk produced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 858. 3 Third Period-Mar. 17 to Apr. 6, 190D. Velvet beans in pods ................. . Wheat bran ........................ . Lot I. Pounds. 267.75 680 Sorghum silage ...................... 2142 Milk produced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 952.5 Cottonseed meal .................... . Wheat bran ......................... . Lot II. Pounds. 94.5 630 Sorghum silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1543. 5 Milk produced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714. 7

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161 Lbs. of Milk. On the arnrage 267.75 pounds of velvet beans in pod, fed with br an and silage produced .............. 934.6 And 94.5 pounds of cottonseed meal, fed with bran a nd less silage, produced. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 937 .1 RA'l'IONS FED PER DIEM. Pounds. Velvet beans in pods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 25 vVheat bran ............................ 10 Sorglrnm silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Pounds. Cottonseed meal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 5 n,heat br a n ............................ 10 Sorghum silage ........................ 24.5 OBJ E CTIONS 'l'O VELVET BEA.NS AS FEED. There bave been some reports from stockmen in the State to the effect that velvet beans sometimes cause abor tion among both cattle and hogs, and also blind staggers in horses. YVhen we consider the large number of animal• fed entirely or partially on velvet beans, th e percentage of these adverse reports is small. The velvet bean is a highly nitrogenous feed, and like other :mch feeds, care and judgment must be used in itil feeding. Any highly nitrogenous feed, whether velvet beans, cottonseed meal, oil-meal, or peanuts, when fed alone or in large amounts is likely to cause various intea tinal troubles. It may even go further than that, and cause abortion among all classes of live stock. However, these troubles may be avoided by feeding velvet beans in moderate amounts and in combination with other fooda. It will be found that the velvet-bean hay when fed ex clusively to horses is likely to cause kidney trouble. Thia, however, can be overcome by feeding a smaller quantity of , l.vet-bean hay together with some crab-grass bay. Equal parts of each will give good results.

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162 INSECT ENEMIES. The velvet bean has but few insect enemies. The only one causing serious injury is the caterpillar of A.nticarsia gemmatil-is. This caterpillar does not usually attack the growing crop until about the time the velvet beans are beginning to bloom. The first appearnce of the insect is marked by the small holes eaten in the leaves. As the larvae increase in size and number th ey continue to devour the leaves until there is nothing left of the plants but the bare stems. The following account is taken from Bulletin 5J of the Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agr., pp. 77 and 78: "The caterpillar of this species is long and sl e nder, cylindrical, the last pair of legs proje c ting backward and spreading. The body is spars e ly coated with rather stiff black hairs which arise from small white button-like tubercles. The h e ad is large, a little wider and higher th a n tile body, rounded, and with a slight notch in the middle. 'l'he head i s orange yellow or greenisil yellow with a f e w small blackish dots. The general color of the body varies from dull green to olive brown, whicil becomes yellow in inflated spe c im e n s . It ha s a number of fine white lines, one dorsal, two l a teral-separated by a blackish shade and a distinct y e llow and white pair along the stigmata or breathing holes, with a little dark edging below. It has eight pairs of legs. The mature larva measures about one and one-half inches in length, and one sixth inch in width. "The moth is also ornamental in spite of its some_what somber colors-dull brownish gray with darker brown shades. The body is stout and narrowed to the apex. The expanse of the fore-wings is about one and one half inches. "Blackbirds and rice b i rds eat them, but the insects are often too nimble for the more clumsy birds, and many es cape. When, however, tbe birds are in large flo c ks, as frequently happens, they must undoub t edly be of service. The 'greensparrow' was said to be the most active as well

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163 u 1mccessful enemy of the larvae. These birds, however, do not occur in great numbers, but one of them would get in under a vine and pick off larva after larva. The larvae remain on the under sides of the leaves." REMEDY. Paris green applied as a dust spray has been found effec tive in destroying these caterpillars. Apply at the rate of 1 to 3 pounds of Paris green per acre. Mix the Paris green with air-slaked lime in the proportion of one pound of Paris green to three pounds of air-slaked lime See that the lime and Paris green are evenly mixed. 'l'h~ mixture can be easily and cheaply applied. It is placed in a sack made of any loosely woven material. A bran sack will be found good. Atta c h two sacks of this kind to the end of a board. Balance the board on a mule's back. Haye a boy ride the mule up and down the rows of velvet beans. The continued motion of tlte mule will dust sufficient Paris gren upon the foliage to poison the caterpillars. If the motion of the mule fails to dust sufficient Paris green upon the foliage, have the boy hit the board gently with his hand. The length of the board will depend upon the width of the rows of velvet beans. 'l'he board should extend far enough on each side of the mule to cover one row. If the rows are four feet apart the board should be about six feet long. There need be no fear of loss of life among live stock pasturing velvet beans that have been sprayed with Paris green. The amount of Paris green used is too small to in jure cattle, and the rains soon wash it off the foliage and it disappears in the soil. IMPORTANT FACTS. 1. An acre of velvet bean vines, when plowed under, will add as much ammonia to the soil as will an applica tion of 1,900 pounds of cottonseed meal.

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164 2. The velvet bean is an important protein feed for the production of meat and dairy products, and furnishes excellent winter foraging for cattle and hogs. 3. 'l'he velvet bean is a highly nitrogenous feed; hence care and judgment must be exercised in feeding it, or re sults may prove unsatisfactory. 4. A yield of twenty to thirty bushels of shelled be&uil per acre is not too much to expect, while a much larger yield of beans may be secured when planted with corD or sorghum. 5. Three pounds of velvet beans in the pod will be found equal for milk production to one pound of cotton5eed meal, analyzing 7.5 per cent ammonia.

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CELERY GROWING IN FLORIDA. Celery has for many years been recognized as one of th e gr e at e st luxuries o f the garden and while there are no special difficulties in the way of its cultivation, it is grown b y comparatively very few. The plant is a native of England, where it grows in a wild state in favorable localiti e s. It is also a native of and occurs in s everal lo calities in Florida in its wild state, though in this con dition it is not fit to eat except by wild water fowl, as it contains a poisonous principle making it dangerous as human food. Although it has been grown for market in various sec tions of the country in a comparatively small way for many years, it is really little mote than ten years since it became one of the most important commercial vegetable crops. The first experiments in its cultivation were not without failure by any means, for they were many, but gradually success was generally the rule, and with well defined methods , the growing of celery became a eommer cial success. C e lery requires in both its early and late stages of growth a co o l, moist atmosphere, and consequ e ntly does not do well under extremes of heat or drought. Tn Flor ida the seeds are sown in the open generally, prote c tion b e ing rar e ly necessary. The soil must he a rich loam, or other soil and means added to obtain the same eba1acter as n e arly as possible, but it should be loose and ri c h , soil that llas been previously cultivated and manur e d h e avily being considered the very best. The seed bed may b~ any length desired , but from three to five feet is the best wid t h, mo8t growers use three feet widths. Seed beds are prepared generally in August and Septem ber. The most successful celery growers in Florida pre pare their seed beds some two to three weeks before time 11-Bul

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166 for planting the seed, the bed having previously been weJI manured, thus time enough is allowed to elapse for the manure to become thoroughly assimilated. The seed be ing very small must not be too deeply covered. Germi nation of the seed may be hastened by packing the soil over the seed immediat e ly after sowing by means of a smooth board six or eight inches wide and three or more feet Jong, as may be necessary. Mark off th e rows for planting the seed across the beds in the following man ner. "'fake a five-inch plank, three feet long; nail a lath on each edge, projecting one-fourth of an inch on one side. With this make marks across the beds by pressing it down on the heds. Scatter or sprinkle in the seeds thinly and cover by spl"inkling or sifting light soil or sand over the rows. A good idea is to cover the beds with old gunny sacks, Spanish moss or by laying a corn stalk along each side of the drill, but not directly over it and keep f_airly wet till the seeds sprout, which, under favor able conditions, will be in from eight to twelve days. As soon as the s e eds are well sprouted and show that the y are coming up it is best to cover them as a protection against both hot sun and heav y rains, removing the cover in the e vening till next morning. Each day as the plant~ grow stronger , a little more s unlight can be given them till in a few days they will, under ordinary circumstances, be a!Jle to 1emain uncovered all day. Keep the beds moist, not letting them be c ome dry at any time. When the plants are well above ground, say about an inch high , it is a good plan to put a little fertiliz e r between the rows and either stir into the surface gently or let it be dis 1ributed by a gentle sprinkling of water , either or both is good. Gentle working of the surface to keep down the weeds should be given once every few days. When plants are two or thr e e inches high they are about ready to trans plant to other beds though some growers prefer to wait till the plants are larger, and some do not transplant hut once and that direct from the original bed to the field8.

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lu7 None but the best stocky plants should be used, as svind ling plants rarely develop into profitable growth. Celery has been and can be grown on almost all of the soils of Florida, the best soil, however, being the low hammock lands when well drained, but any soil loose in texture and containing a good supply of humus will, under proper managemeu t produce fine crops. As before stated , a soil of 11. cool nature should be selected if obtainable, as the plant develops better and is less liable to attacks of injurious diseases. Folowing in concise form are the methods used in South Florida in connection with the sys tem of irrigation practiced in Orange County. "The plot to be planted should he well supplied with water either from artesian wells, steam pumps or natural ionrres. )Jany of the most successful growers are tile draining their lands, the tiles being placed from a foot and a half to two feet under ground. The joints are covered with cinders , sawdust or even moss, to keep the sand out and let the water pass in or out as necessary. These drains are placed about twenty five feet apart, and are so arranged that they can be us e d to drain the land during heavy rains or to irrigate it when it is dry. After the draining and irrigating system is completed, no pains should be spared, or labor omitted to reduce the soil to perfed tilth so that the innumerable fin e feeding roots of the plant rnn penetrate the soil in ever y direction." In sections where overhead or sprinkling and s nrf'ace systems of irrigation are practiced the same principle~ will :,.pply, a nd can be adapted to suit conditions, but one thing must be remembered, the plants whether in b e d or field must not be permitted to suffer from lack of water any more than they must be over watered. All manures applied to the soil should be in the most perfect condition --soluble and available-whether it he in the form of com mercial or barnyard manure; the latter should be thor oughly decomposed, evenly distributed broadcast anrl harrowed in well. At this stage, the general custom is

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ms to also apply about a ton of first-class commercial fertil izer to the land and harrow till thoroughly incorporated into the soil. A well known authority on this subject says: ''When plants are ready for transplanting take great eare to have these in each row of uniform size. 'l'o acomplish this, put the large and small plants in alternate rows, as the larger ones will often be ready for market from ten days to two weeks prior to the smaller ones. 'l'hcre is no use setting celery plants in dry soil. If there has been lack of rain as is often the case in October and November in Florida, then tum on the irrigating plant till the land is thoroughly moist, and then water the plants freely. In setting the plants remember the rows must be absolutely straight. Use a line as a guide and run a cleated roller over the ground to mark the place for each plant. Setting in double rows is seldom practiced, and the rule now is to set plants four inches apart in single rows twenty-eight to thirty inches in width. giving about G0,000 plants to the acre. Droppe1s immediately preceding the plant setter, place the plants at the marks along the line. 'l'he plants are quickly placed in the holes made hy a round dihble or garden trowel the depth of the center or heart leaf and the soil placed firmly along side of the plant over the roots by pushing the dibble to the depth of the root and bearing towards the plant, after wards closing up the depression made by the
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169 2 250 Ills Nitrate of Soda . . ... , 600 11.Js Drletl Blood ....... . i '> . , A I 850 lbs Acid Phos., 13 pr. c:t. , ;; ll'.• ct. mmon a . 300 lbs Muriate Potash ..... i )ields ~,) PL ct. '\vail. phos. acid __ I , .S pr. ct. I otash 2,000 lbs. 1 During the growtll of tile crop from one to two tons per acr e of the above may be applied between the tows, anti from two to four hundred pounds of nitrate of soda per acre as a top dressing in four equal applications at about four different times. To make the cultivation of celery a success it must be worked often, in fact, it is not too much to say that the oftener it is worked the better , just so it is not disturbed or handled while the plant is wet with dew or rain, or while the soil is wet, or it will cause rust to the plant and pack the soil. The best implements for use near the plants when small are the hand cultivators with wheel hoes and small blades , while the middles can be worked out well with horse lloes on similar, larger implements. \\'hen the weather is cool during the winter months, be very careful not to apply too much water, as it may make your soil soggy and check the growth of the plants. Blanching is done almost entirely with twelve-inch boards placed close alongside the rows of plants. It is found to be much better, takes much less time to blanche, and avoids the danger of the loose soil falling in to the crown of the plants, as was the case when blanching wm; done by drawing the earth up against the plant. It re quires only from twelve to fifteen days to blanche the plants to the creamy yellow color so desirable in celery, where boards are used. The above suggestions are appli cable to celery growing in all sections of the State by simply observing and adapting them to the prevailing cli matic conditions and seasons. Four ounces of seed is sufficient to plant an acre. Crates of standard size can readily be obtained from any onP of the numerous crate manufacturers throughout the State.

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COMMERCIAL LETTUCE GROWING IN FLORIDA. This plant has Leen cultivated for more titan twenty centuries, and apparently contiues to increase in popu larity every year with all <:lasses of people. Few plants are more easily grown, and yet with tile enormous demand for it it is still a luxury on most tables, merely because so coruparatiYely few gardeners take the 1rouble to grow it at the i-:eason of the yea1 when it is most appreciated. 'fhe best varieties are to a great degree intolerant of hot sun ;;hine, but thriYe well with but very little protection from either hot sun or eohl snaps, from October to the firi;,t of .June. The quality of the lettuce c rop is more or less influenced by the kind of soil upon which it is grown, and while some soils arc inferior for the work, their character may be ehanged to such a degree, by careful management, as to give satisfactory results. 'l'he soils may be divided into three clasia-es-light soils, heavy soils (those containing a good deal of clay), and medium soils, ns the rnrious grades of loamy soils,-clay loam, fine sandy loam and san
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171 ing a soil for lettuce growing, or, in fact for any truck crop, it is best to look carefully into the character and position of the subsoil. Lettuce thrive best on a very rich, loamy, moist soil, well drained so th e re will be no water-sogging after rains, and in common with all quick-growing c rops, requires a large amount of humus in th e soil. Barnyard manure is one of the best and surest means of adding humus to the soil, but be ca use of its sC'arc:ity it is not always available , so the next b est and c hcavest source of organic matter is by the use of cc n-er C l'Ops of the legume order. Lettuce growers should sec to it tllat whenevee their lettuce soils arc not under cro p tlley s ll'Ould be storing humus and nitrogen from a c rop of some legmne; cow pens 01 velv et beans are b c8t . 'ro mak e lettuce growing a suc cess, humus must be supplied, and it mny ns well be set down as an incontro rnrtilile fact. 1bnt wheee th e re is no humus in the soil tller-e wi 11 b e no lettuce. A rich soil is absolutely neces snry. If yon hav en' t got it and are not willing to bear the expense of making it, don ' t plant lettuce. Prepare th e land by plowing deeply; scatter broadcast stable manure or well-rotted compost, and harrow in well till i he soil is in finest tilth and the manure thoroughly in co rporated with the soil seven days, or even two weeks, before the time for setting out the plants; it is also a good plan to apply before harrowing from one thousand to one thousand five hundred pounds per acre of a high-grade commercial fertilizer, as an adjunct to the stable manure, etc. , and that it may be well assimilated by the soil before time for setting. Plants are ready for setting at from four to six weeks after sowing the seed, at which time they should be from three to five inches high. Set only vigorous plants, or they will likeiy be stunted and run to seed instead of heading. 'l'be varieties most preferred and apparently most in de rnand bv consumers are the Big Boston and the California Cream Butter.

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172 Preparation of the seed-bed does not materially differ from that of the celery, and the same methods are applica ble to a great degree. Select for this purpose a piece of new, rich land, prefer ably hammock, for new land is not subject to the root knot plague which sometimes troubles roots. Clear the soil of all trash, plow or spade it deep and rake very fine and mellow, scattering on hardwood ashes or air-slaked lime two weeks beforel1and to neutralize tile sourness. Sow in drills as you would turnip seed, very shallow, and rake in. Pinn the soil. Beat down the earth witll the back of the hoe or lay down boards and walk along them. If planted before October, it is well to sllade the beds lightly for seven or eight hours during the middle of the day. Sprinkle night and morning with a fine spray, so as not to pack the land. Watch sharply for ants; they may carry off every seed in forty-eight hours. Apply toliacco dust liberally; if they still persist , give them a tobacco solution, strong; also, as a further preventative, sow grits over the bed. The ants will take this in preference to the seeds, and while they are carrying it away the lettuce will have sprouted and L-e out of danger. When the plants are to be transplanted, weed out rigidly and throw away the diseased and feeble plants. A small strawberry plant, by diligent eare, can be fed up to be nearly as good as a large one; but not so with a lettuce plant . With a lettuce, it is a head or it is nothing; unless it heads it is valueless. We repeat, it is not worth while to attempt to grow let tuce commercially for profit unle~-s you have made up your mine to , 1tilize liberally, nnstintedl y . Lettuce is largely a luxury of the rich, used for garnishing meats in splendid dinner services, and small leaves, though they may be just as crisp and high-flavored, are not wanted, because they lack in spectacular qualities. A single large, rich, creamy white leaf or head is worth a dozen smaller ones. Fully four-fifths of the failures in lettuce culture in

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173 Florida are chargeable to the stinting hallit in the applica tion of fertilizer. In s-ome localities hundreds of dollars worth of fertilizer per acre is applied. with large profits as a reirnlt. One to two tons of ashes per acre, specially on medium to heavy soils, while preparing the land will be worth many times t heir crn~t. It will make the soil loose, friable and sweet. The truck e rs of Central Florida begin to plant seed the latter part of August and continue to plant until the first of January. 'fhose who plant prior to the middle of Sep tember seldom succeed in securing a satisfactory stand of plants. Lettuce is a cool weather plant; it germinates poorly in hot weather. The few, however, who do succeed by shading and watering in securing a good stand of these extra early plants, and who bring them on to a handsome and solid maturity, generally reap a rich reward, as this early lettuce commands a fine price. It is a good plan to make repeat e d sowings, from August 25th to January 1st. It is an advantage to select a field on the south side of a forest, as a screen against wind. A covering of cotton cloth often pays heavy dividends on the investment. Let tuce, when in heading, is greatly injured by a temperature of 25 degrees; but when not heading it will often withstand 20 degrees without serious injury. The cloth is carried on short stakes , c are being e xercised to bring the edges well down to prevent the wind from g-etting under. If the field is not protected lly a cloth cover, cut all the heads that will do to ship, when yon se e that there will be a killing frost, and ship them to market next day. Following are two good formulas for fertilizing lettuce. Use the one which seems to suit your soil and general con dition best; or if preferred, use some other approximating them: 1. Ammonia, 5 to G per cent Available phosphoric acid, 7 to 9 per cent. Potash. 8 to 10 per cent.

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174 2. Ammonia , 6 to 7 per cent. Availabl e phosphori c acid, 6 to 7 per ce nt Potash, G to 7 per c ent. Apply from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds per acre, and while the c rop is growing top dress with about 150 to 200 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre. It requires ab o ut three pounds of seed to sow an acre, or one ounce to every 250 feet of drill. Baskets for shipping can b e obtain e d from th e v egetble cr a te manufacturers in any s e c tion of the State.

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PART II. CROP ACREAGES AND CONDITIONS.

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DIVISION Of THE STAU BY COUNTIES. Following aee the divisions of the State, and the coun ties contained in each : Northern Division. Franklin, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jeff e rson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla.-11. Western Division. Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Santa Rosa, tValton, Washington.-7. Northeastern Division. Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Nassau, Putnam, St. J ohns.-9 Central Division. Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy, Marion, Orange, Pasco, Sumter, Volusia.-9. Southern Division . Brevard, Dade , DeSoto, Hillsborough, Lee, l\Ianatee, Monroe, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, St. Lucie.-11.

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE B. E. McLIN, Commissioner. H. S. ELLIOT, Chief Clerk CONDENSED NOTES OF CORRESPONDENTS. BY DIVISIONS. NORTHERN D1VISJON.-The unprecedented drought in all the counties of this division has made preparations for crop planting very backward. The county reports state, in man y instances , that no plowing of any consequence has b ee n done, and that where it has been and planting has begun, it is on a limited scale. Many complain that they do not know until it rains what to plant and how mm:h. They seem to be simply waiting. Preparations are m ade for considerable increase in all the standaru crops and, should iain come within a reasonabl e tim e, a much hu ge r acreage will be planted to corn, and also cotton, than lnst year. 'l'lte early vegetables planted in this district were se verel y damaged by the cold in February and th e continued dry w e ath er to dat e has preven te d the replnuting of :wy of th e m. It is s tated that it is likely the majorit y of lhe crops of corn nud cotton will be plan te d at tllc same time when i-ain b eg ins , something Hwt ha s nev e iocu1ned b efo re to anv extent in the ltistorv of this se(' t ion. How evei, it is be.li cve d by most of the 0 farmer s that should ti.le s e asons change and b e come favorable, not mu c h will be lost, if anything , ns the dange r of cold having passed longcontinned warm w e ath e r will make up :for any lost time . It will be observed that the planting of toba cco in this distri ct ltas practically been abandoned. ,VESTER:\' lhYISTO!\". Ilut fo1' the ,lronght , whicl1 has continned in this dis1Tict sinre last Derem'i1er , crop plant in" would have begun much Pai ' lier than 11snnl nnkss. of co~rse. th e cold int e rfr1 rl, hut it has been mild and noth

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180 ing of tllat sort has occurred. The late spring and later planting than ever known before is chargeable directly and solely to the ex1reme and long continued dry weather. As it is, very little corn has been planted and no cotton re ported as being planted to date, but preparations that will add considerably to the acreage of both cotton and corn are being grad11ally made in anticipation of rains which are daily expected. Under the present conditions, of course, all crops will be late. There will be no help for it. There is some scarcity of labor complained of, but no suggestions as to how the situation can he remedied in that respect. It appears io he a matter of adjustment. only by repbcing labor with more efficient farm imple ments in the field. The early vegetable ciops in this section were consider ably damaged by the cold in February and, owing to the dry weather, little planting has been done and many of them have been abandoned and other things planted in their places. The fruit seems to have escaped the cold anfl the crop will be of fafr proportions. NoRTFIEAS'l'ERN 1 >rns10x.-In this district there is also an increase in the acreage of all crops planted and to be planted, bnt , as in the preceding districts, the serious drought has interfered very much with their growth and their condition is poor compared with what they would have been under ordinary circmnstances. :!\lan:v of the ten der vegetnule crops were retarded by the cold in I<'cbruary and some damaged, bnt the damage li)' cold was nothing as compared with dl'onght. In this district small fruits and other fruit crops will have ueen planted to inerem;ed acre age, but like the veg;etnbles, are in poor general condition for the want of rain. " ' here irrigation has hccn available, crops have been in good condition. In other loealities in this particulm section, the stands are very good and the condition good. It is better considerably, in a genel'al way, than in the northern and western sections of the Rtate. It is generally believed, however, with regnrd to the drought, it being so universal :rnd so extensive , that with rains. should they come within a reasonable time, crops will be almost as profitable as under seasonable condi• tions.

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181 CENTRAL Dn ' ISION.-In this district, our reports indi cate the same conditions, practically, as in the foregoing ones, only that complaint in some sections is made that there has been an actual loss in vegetables and that crops are not only in bad condition but, in many instances, the seed has failed to germinate. As in the foregoing sections, wherever irrigation is available, there is little complaint, in fact, none of consequence, all of which would indicate that wherever it is possible to obtain irrigation, a combina tion of tlte farmers or others should be formed to secure it. Very little damage has been done by cold to vegetables and nothing to the fruit. The orange trees in some in stances are losing their leaves, and some a few of the blooms. ,vith rain all of this will cease in a short time. Soi:vrmm:--1 D1v1swx.-Iu this division conditions seem to be better than in an,v o1 her portion of the State, exeept iu a few localities where the citrm, fruit tree~ have suffered considerably by droppin~ of the leaves :11l(l the blooms because of long continued drought. In some parts of this section there has been no rain since Octob(\1 last and is the longest dr011g-J1t known, so our correspondents 1 eport. Some of the yegetables are doing well and espe cially tlioia:e controlled by irrigation. In this section irrigation is obtained and in nse to a far g1eater extent titan in any otller portion of the State and, in the 1m ~ ced iug sections where this is the case, conditions mC' much hette1. lll this i-Petion all of the acreages planted 1o the Yarions crops have been inneased to a considernble degree as will appear b;v l"eading the fig11res further on in this report. Nenrly all of the crops have bee11 increased from 100 to BOO per cent in acreage. NOTE. Since the compilation of this report copious rains hav~ fallen generally throughout the State, in consequence of which recovery in crop conditions will rapidly take place, speeially under the influence of advanced seasonable con ditions. and beyond being two to three weeks late the yield 12-Dul

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182 in vegetable crops will not be reduced to a greate1 extern than about one-third. As the truck growing districts north of F'lorida have also suffered from the same eause it is not probable there will be a much shorter season than usual for marketing crnps. '!.'he effect on standard field erops will only be in lateness of maturity to a small de gree.

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REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITIO N PER CENT OF CR O P S PLA N TED AND BEING PLANTED FO R T HE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 31, 1911. COU;\"TIES . North ern D i vis i on . Upl a nd Cott er. . Acreage. _ .. : _ --... . .. _, -_ Sea Island C o tt o n. Ac r eage . C o r n. .._t \.. cr e age. Fi all klin : .. . -. ~ .. . : . ." . . 11,11 1 Gads d en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 0 200 10,_1 Ha m ilto n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 l\JU J e!'fe r ,on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 00 1 :!0 100 La f a yett e . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 100 10(1 Le on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12G 10 0 12~; Ma di son ... .. . .. ....... I S G lUO 110 T ay l o r ... .. . . ....... ... I 1 10 100 wak u lla ... . ..... . . . .... J __ 1 ,.., 0"0 ;----,c----,;-;\J .,,. o __ _ , __ .,,_1 ,,..uo .,--Dh . Av, i rag-e p er cent ... J 1~2 1 15 lil I \,vesterr , Divisicn . Calho u n..... . ..... . ... . 10 0 1~5 Bsca m bia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 0 l2 C, Ho lm es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 00 75 :11 . 1 Ja ckson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 0 1.11 , . , Sa n:a Rosa ..... .... . . .. ; 95 1115 vVa lt o n .. ....... . . .... . . 1 105 105 was!J i ngto n . . . . . . . . . . . . ___ 1.,,, 1 .,. 0 ____ ----= 7 , ,..... " --+----, 1 00 Di v. Average per ce n t. .. J 97 v 101 -Ncrthe as tern Division. A l a c hua .. . . ... ..... . . . . Baker ........ . . . .. .... . Bradford . . . ... . . .. .. . . . C l a y ...... ...... . . . ... . St . Jo h n s ............. . D i v . A verage p er ce nt .. , I Central Division . so 8 0 11 0 10 0 100 11 0 10 5 lt(J 1 00 105 100 100., 1 05 Herna 1 ,do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 50 1i5 Ornn :,;E .. .. .. . . . .. . . . . . . 1 00 P asco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 1 00 S nm ter . .. .. . . .. .. . . . . . . 100 95 95 Y o lu sia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 00 D : v. Average per cent . .. i --,;lf"'JO ~--t---a-l,;-1 5"" ----1----.10'4 -So.;tr, "" rn Division . B r e a r d . . . .. . . .... . . .. . Da d e . . .. . ..... . ..... . . . H ill sbo r ough ....... . . . . L ee . .... . . ... ... . . .... . I vlana tf e . ....... ... .... . Os ce cl a .... .. .. .. . .... . Pa l m Beach . .. ...... .. . St. Lu cie .... .. .... .. .. . . Di v . Av e rage p er cent. .. G rand S t ate Av. ])e r cent. --fOO 102 90 ](10 [l O l( l fl ] 011 125 101 ]0 4

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184 :REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-Continued. I __ _ c_OUNT~~~~ -____ I Oats. I i Sugar Cane. Northern Division. I Acre ag e. Acreage. Franklin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 25 Gad s den . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 125 , Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 70 :Jefferson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 100 Lafayette . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 75 Leon..... .... .... .... .. 110 1 2 5 Madison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 100 Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 100 W a kulla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 90 Tobacco Open Fi e ld Acrea ~e. Div. Aver age per c e nt. .. 1------a,9.,.,.9--+---.1-co"'"1---,-----,~,.,, 5 -Western Division. al oun.. . ........ .. . . . 100 1 25 Escambia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 100 1110 H o lmes ... ....... . ... I 50 J ac k s on . .. .... . .. ... .. I 9 0 1 0 0 Walton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 !)0 Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 f•O Sau ta Ro sa ... ...... . . 1 100 1 0 0 Di v. Avera g e per cent. .. f --..-l""O : "'" i --+----,,-!,.-4--+--..,..1""0""0-Northeastern Division. Ala c lllla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 B a k e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 100 Bradford .. . . . .... . ..... \ 7 5 100 St . J ohn s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 5 Cl :ty .... .. .. .. ..... . .. . , l 0 0 100 D iv. Avera ge per c e n t . . . I --gg ,--t-----,10 ' "3:--t-----Central Division. H e rnando .......... . .. . O ra n ge ... .. ........... . P as co . . .. . . .. .. . . . .. . . . Sumter ............... .. Volusia .. .. ......... .. .. Div . Avera g e per cen t. . . 1 Southern Division. 90 100 90 8 0 9U 125 100 !J5 !)0 100 102 J:l re vard .... . ....... . ... j 75 D a de . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Hillsborough . . . . . . . . . . . 100 100 Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Manatee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Osc e ola . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . SO Palm Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 St. Lucie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 I IOU 100 Div. Average per c e nt .. 1 lUU _ __,c--~l~.U~ 0 l __ ,__ __ 0 ~ -Granil Stat e Av. per c e nt. J ---96 100 7 5

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lSG REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-Continued. C'Oli.'\'l'IES. Tobacco l Un. Shade) i Rye. Rice. ---Northern Division. Franklin Gad sde n HamilLOII Je fferso 1 L afayer:,, ......... . . .. . L eo n .... . ... ... .. ..... . Madison . .. ....... . ... . Taylor .. . . .. .......... . v.:akulla ............. .. . Div. A vu-age p e r cent .. I Western Division. Calhoun ............ .... : Escambi1 .............. : Holm , ' S ................ ' Jack so n ....... . ....... . San t a Hosa .... . ... . ... . Walton ............... . ,V ashington ........... . Div. Average J) C' r cent.. I Northeastern Division. Alachua . ... .. . . ....... -I Bak e ! ................. / Bracltonl ......... . ..... , Clay .... .. . ....... .. .... 1 Acr eage. Acreage. I 100 100 GO 118 70 lOG 100 125 50 Acreag e. 100 100 75 1()0 100 100 St. Johns ............ I-----..---=-,.,--..;.--....,..,., Div. Av Qrage per cent ... ! 50 1110 Central Division. H e rnando .............. i 100 Oran ge .. ............... ! P asco ........... ....... 1 100 Sumter ............... --1 Volu s ia . .............. . Div . Average p e r cent.. I --Hii J Southern Division. Br e vard ............... . Dade ..... ....... .. .... . Hillsborough .. ... . ..... . Lee ... .. .. . ..... ...... . Man a t ee .. .. .......... •. Palm Beach ........... . 100 .s o 90 140 140 100 150 100 Osceola .. .... . ..... . .. 1 St. Lu c ic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -----+------+---,,-,,.,.-Div. Av e rage per cent.. -I --~---+----,""'"---;---.,10G Grand S t ate Av. per cent.I 90 n 10"::::-

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REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-Continu er \ . COUNTIES. Sweet Field Pear.uts. Potatce c. Peas. Nortl ,e rn Division. ..: \. c re~ p.-e . A c r e :ige. ~ \ cn : •t\g e. Franl ,l in ......... ... . . . , 1 00 io o Chu\ c: tlen ....... . .. . .... . 100 12:; 1:!:i Hamilt o n ........ .. ... .. 1110 120 .J e !'f e r :e r c : n r .. .:..i ___ _ 111 : is Wes t ern Division. Calil (lllll ... ... ... --~ fiii) 1n r1 f~G-Escambia . . ...... .. . . . . ] so l ~G ],)0 Hol mes .. . .. ...... . . . . . so G?i 80 .'J acks :: ,1 .... . ... ... .. .. . JO O 1 no i; : r , E;; )nt:1. R JSCl 10: 1 JI)() I fl 0 '\ \':i lt ( •.1.1 ......... . 1!)!} 110 JOO \'. :1s l_1 1!: -~ t on ' . . . . ! i 11:i 1no 1(1() 111 : l !IO 11 :: . : Northeastern Division . Alachu a ......... .. -.. . . -. --i111 100 --iii-,;B :>ker . . .. ...... . . ..... . ! 100 100 1nn Bntclf o r d ......... . . ... . : 10() 10() J IL-, Clay .. ...... . ..... ..... . ! 1 on 100 1nn St. Jo lrns .. .. ... .. .. .... 1 12:; 1. : : 0 DiY. A .. vP rag f\ per cpn 1 : . .. \ 1 6:1 \ 1 , ,v j 1 ( 1 ~ Central Division. H er n a ndo .... .... .. . . .. , l., !'i Oran g e ..... . . . .. . . . . ... j 100 1 " _ ., Pa sco ............ .. . ... J 100 J 01) 0:, Sun 1t e r .... . ...... .. . ... ! !)5 95 95 Volu sia .... ... .. .... . .. ! 100 100 1 00 Div. Ave ra ge per c e n t .. I ___ 1_1~ , ,----1 u~ a --1-----,G "-Southern Division, Hr eva ! 'd .. . . . . .... ... . .. I 10 0 Dad e . . . .. .. . .. . ... . . . . . I 100 100 Hill sboro u g h ...... ... .. i 90 110 Lee .. ...... ... . ... .. .. , I 125 150 Manai. ee . . .. .... . . . ... . I J 20 110 Osc eo!a . .. ......... . ... ! 100 100 Palm Be ach . . ..... . .... I 100 100 110 100 St. Lucie ............... I __ ,..12 S"C5 c---+-----, 1 ,_,o,..,o,_ __ -+--~ Di v . Ave ra ge per c e nt .. , I __ ~l~O~ S --1----1 1 _ ~1 0 0~ 5 ---1 ___ 1 _ 0~ -Grand State Av. p er cent .I 107 D

PAGE 187

187 HEPORT OF ACREAGE AN D CO:--.DITION-Continued. COUNTIE S. Nortr . ern Division. i<'rai1J:Ji11 ....... .. ...... . . .. . .. .. : . . Gadsd e n ........... . ....... . .... ... . Hamilton ........... . . . . ...... . ..... . Jefff'l'SOll .. .... , ... . .. .......... . ... . ! Lafa_\('lt e .......... ... ..... . .. . ..... i Leon . . . .. .......................... . i :\Iadi ,;o n ........... . . . . .... .... . . . .. I I Velvet Cassava. 1 Beans. Acreage. Acreage. fi'io __ _ 125 100 150 110 Taylor .... ... . . ........ . .. ... ..... . \ ,Vaknlla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D5 Div . Av e r::i ge J)Pr Cint .. . . . .... ...... _+ , ------+---,1-=-1'"'~ -W estern Division. Callll)ttn_ .............. . ............. \ ::1, Esraml11a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 1:,0 Ho1rn es .. .. ...... . ... . . ... . ....... . I 70 Jack,on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sil S,rnt '.t Ro s a .. . .. .. .......... . ..... I 105 Walt on ........... .................. I 105 Was ! 1ing-ton ................... . . . ... J 1 35 Di\ .. .\ v, rn . ge p er cent.. ____ : _ . . _ . _ . _ . -'___ 1_ 0-0~~~~-=~~~ ~-l _ i _ ~ ==-= Nort heaG te r n Division . A1 ::w lrna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:; B;1k1 r .............. . ...... .. . .. . .. . Jfl() Bradon] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Cay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 St. .Toh ns ............... . .. ..... ..... ,__ ____ _:,... __ 100 D iv. A \erage per cent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . llll Cent ra l Division. He1 --, i a i1do-.-.-. -. .. -.-.-..-. -. .. .. ...... :. -. -: : ----1--170-0rang-e .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. . .. .... .. .. .. . JOO Pasco . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I 100 Sumt e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . (10 Volnsia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 80 Div. A ve rag e per cc-nt. .. ......... . . .. 7:---1~ 0~0 --.1 -1 -11~ -Southern Division. .brevard . . .... . ..... . . ..... .... . ... . JO() Dad e ........... . .. ...... .. 100 !l5 Hillsborough ...... . ....... . .. . .. ... . 100 JOO Le e ...... ....... .. .. ... . 103 Manat ee .......................... . . ] Of) Osceola ..................... ... .. . . . 100 120 Palm Beach ............ .. .. ........ . 100 St. Lucie .................... . .... . . . ----,-.,,.,,.---+--..,..,,...--Div. Average per cent ....... ..... .... ._,--~---------Grnnrl State Av. per cent. ........... I 150 100 IO~ 100 111

PAGE 188

188 REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-Continued. COUNTIES. I . ! Cabbage. Nor the rn-Di~isio; I Acreage. C ondl tion. Fra . nklin . . . . . . . . . . . 100 I 100 Gadsd e n ... . . .... . . Hamilton ... .... .. . Jeff erno n ... .... ... . Lafayett e ..... . .. . . L eon ..... . .... ... . 1 Madi so n .......... . Taylor .. ..... ...... 1 Irish Potatoes. Acreage. '. Condition. 100 90 100 8 0 Wakulla ...... . .... i 100 /10 Div. Av. p<'l cent . . ;---""1""0-,---+-~1..,,oAo--+--~1'"'0'"'0,---+---:s7-Western Division, Calnoun_ ....... . .. I Esc ambia ..... ... .. I Holmes .... ..... ... Ja ckson ... ... ... . . Sant a Rosa ... . .... Walton ............ Wa shington ........ Div. Av. ])Pl' cent. I Northea stern Division. Alacllua ........... I Bak e r ... ... ..... .. Clay ......... ... ... St. Johns .... ..... . 100 65 35 5 0 5 0 100 50 10::i 48 1''" ~-> so 8 0 100 100 1 0 0 125 100 50 80 100 90 75 60 75 75 71) 80 90 100 90 125 100 Bra dford ... . . . ..... , Div. Av. per cent. . I JI)'/ 95 ,------,=-,,----,,-~-----,~=7~-+-------mrCentral Division. Hernando .......... 150 (j(J 150 75 Oran ge .. .. ... ... .. 80 75 100 75 Pasco . .... ........ 80 90 90 100 Sum ter ........ .. .. 100 60 70 70 Volusia ..... .... ... 100 60 100 60 DiY. Av. per c0nt. .. 102 69 102 7G Southern D : vision. Brevard .... ...... j . '' . .. . . . I ... Dad e ........ . . .... 150 90 130 ](HI Hillsborough .... ... 100 so 100 \iO Lee ....... . ..... .. 150 100 300 100 Manat ee ....... ' ... 120 100 120 100 Os ceola ... ,., ... ... 100 I! 100 400 .1() Palm Beach . . . .. . . . . . ... 100 75 St . Lucie .... ' ..... 110 85 130 85 Div. Av. per cent. .. 1:::2 9i! 1~3 , ~V Gr'd State Av. p. ct. 107 81 113 : 81

PAGE 189

189 REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-Continued. COUNTIES. Tomatoes. Cucumbers. -------------Northern Division. Acreage. Conuition. Acreage. 1 Condition. Franklin ........... 100 90 100 60 Gadsden ........... Hamilton ..... . . . .. Jefferson ........... Lafayette . . . . . . . . . . Leon .............. 1(10 75 Madison ... . ....... Taylor ............. Wakulla ........... Div. Av. per cent ... 100 83 100 G Western Division. Calhoun ........... Escambia .......... 150 125 Holmes ............ 50 75 40 40 Jaclrnon ........... Santa Rosa ........ Walton ............ was!Jington ........ Div. Av. per cent ... 100 75 8'' " U Northeastern Division. Alachua ........... 90 80 75 I 90 BakEr ............. Bradforu .......... Cla:v ............... 100 80 St. Johns .......... Div. Av. per cent ... [ ~u 80 1'7 I 8b Central Division. Hernando ......... 125 100 100 JOO Orange ............ 100 90 Pasco ............. 80 100 75 60 Sumter ............ 100 75 100 55 Volusia ............ 100 50 100 50 Div. Av. per cent ... 101 83 94 G6 Southern Division, Brevard ........... . . . . . . . .. . .. Dacle .............. ! 130 75 100 100 Hillsborough ....... 1 "BO 70 75 70 Lee ................ 100 100 5() 10 Manatee ........... 120 100 120 100 O8<'eola ............ 125 60 100 90 Palm Beach ' ...... 100 80 . . . ... St. Lucie . ......... 90 90 100 so Div. Av. per cent. .. 106 82 91 75 Gr'd State Av. ]). ct. 99 81 91 65

PAGE 190

19(} REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-Continued. COUNTIES. English Peas. Beans. Northern Division. , Acreage. /Condition.I Acreage. 1 1 Con
PAGE 191

101 REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-Continu e d . COUNTI ES . Lettuce. I I Egg Plant. Northern Division. .A~ r ~ ;g~ . . c:ondition. = {~;~~g~: l c;; 1 ~((jt i~r{: Frat.klin . .... .... . . I 100 . 100 ioo ~0 -Gadsden ..... ... . . . Hamilton .. .. . .. . . . .J effE I SOn .... ' Lafnyette ... . .. . .. . Le on ..... .... .. . . . 100 Madison .. ........ . T ay lor .. . . ....... . . : vVaknlla ... . . .. .. .. : 1 --=--1o""os----+---,1 ""0""'( , --+---,1'"' o ""0:--;----.,, ;1 "" 1 Div. Av. p er cent ... I v Western Division. Cainoun . ....... ... l Esc an1~)i a .... . . .... 1 H ri'mes ..... ....... : Jackson .... .... . .. 1 Santa Ro s a ..... . .. [ w~dton ..... ... .... ' W:,~hin,:,;ton .. . .... ' Ill() 50 Di: . A,-. per cen t ... 1-----r,crNortheastern Division. Alachua ..... . . ... J Bnkor ....... . .... . Brndfonl .... .. . .... , so Clay .... ..... . ..... ) SL .Tolln s . ........ i Div. Av. per cen t. .. :"' 80 Central Divi sion . Fe rnando ..... ... ! 8() Orange .... . . ... ... I 11 ( 1 Pasco . . . ........ . 1 70 Sum te r ........ .. . . 100 Volusia ...... .. . ... 1 0 0 Div, Av. ] 101' ce nt .. -1 [J:l Couthern Division. so 80 I ;Jo I 90 I 'i5 50 50 I 6: 3 I 3revard .. .... .. ... 1 t _ ~ 1~ !b~;.~;1gh . . :: ::1 100 90 I Manatee . . . .. . . . . . . 125 100 Osceola . . .... ... ... ! 30 0 50 Palm Bea ch .... ... I 10() 100 . . . ... . . . 'iO 100 8G 100 200 1 00 100 '' . ' .. ... 50 fi() ,)I) 70 100 100 50 Le e . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 200 100 l L1ci e .... .. t ... ,..I ---,,-1,..,---+-----,,,.. 5 -~1~ 2 ~5----s=o 0 ~G~;d s~~t!e~ i.e~~t .... l _...,,.1 ... 06""' -+-----..g"'z--+-1 ---,.,10"' :, .,.., --+----.'1;

PAGE 192

REPORT OF AC RE AGE AND CONDI TIO N-C ontinued . COUNTIES. Celery. Beets. Northern Division. Acr eage. , Condition.' Acr ea ge. Condition. Fra.111cl fn : ... . . ~ : . . 100 Gadsden . . . . . . . . . . . Hamilton ...... . .. . Jefferson .. . . .. . . . . Lafayette .. . .. . . . . . Leon ... ..... .. ... . Madiso n . .... . .. . . . T ay lor .... ........ . Waku ll a ........ .. . Div. Av. p e r ce nt. . . -llii) Western Divis i on. Ca lhoun _ _ . .. . . .. ... 1 E . , camb1a ......... . Holmes .... .... ... . Jackson .......... . Santa Ro s a . .. .. .. . 60 1 I) 1:,11 45 'Walton . . . . . . . 1 , '\ 'n sh in gton ..... . . -----; ------;---"' 97 c;--+I---Di\. Av. per cent. .. Northeastern D i vision. A achna . ... . . .... . Baker . ............ i Bradford ... . .. . .. \ Clay ...... .... . .. . . St. Johns .. ... .... . +I ----+----+---------Div. Av. p er cent. .. Central Division. Herniiido ...... .... J Orang-e . . . . . . . . . . . . 110_L80 Pasco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Sumt e r . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 100 Volusia . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 70 Div . Av. p er cen t. .. J--lTO ~f3 Southern Division. Brevar d .. .. ... .. .. I Dad e . .. .. ........ . ' Hillsboroug!1 .. .. . .. L ee . .. ......... . . . Man atee . . .... . . .. . Osceol a .. .... . ... . Pa lm Bea ch .. .. . . . St. Lucie ......... . 20(1 125 300 100 100 100 1011 7f. inn 92 10 0 200 120 100 Div . AV . per ce nt ... 1--.,,,2=os ' s---~1~0=0---+-----,.,~l ~O Gr' d State Av. p. ct. j 1 :rn 81 10 5 so :, 1) 50 (i() 100 ]Oil 1 00 100 100 87

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REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-ContinuPd. COUNTIES. Watermelons. Northern Division. Acreage . I Condition . ; -------Franklin ... .... .... 100 60 Gadsden ..... . . . . .. Hamilton . ......... 100 Jefferson .. ' . .. . ... llO 5 0 Lafayett e ... .. . ... . Leon .. ..... . ...... 1 00 50 MaU 100 100 100 70 40 80 155 . .. . .. . .. . .. 100 80 100 10 120 100 200 20 . .. . .. ... . .. 130 92

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1!)4 REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-Continued. COUN'l'IES. Northern Division. F'ranklin ......... . Gadsden .......... . Hamilton ........ . Jefferson ......... . Strawberries. Orange : Lemon Trees. I Trees. A~;~;g~.Co~clition~ 1c~nditi~;_7c~~diti~; 166 I 95II 90 I I I I t~~~Y~~t_e __ _..._-:::: --~i ... i 7;; Madison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I . . . . . . Taylor . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Wakulla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I . . . Div. Av. per cent. .. r--rtiO !10 -,--s::7--.-.Western Division. Calhoun ........... I 1~5 Escambia .......... 100 Holmes ..... .. 60 40 Jackson ........... I I Santa Rosa ........ hi I \Valton ............ \~:a8hington ........ 100 mv. Av. per cent. .. 87 40 I Northeastern Division. Alachua ..... lUO 90 100 Baker ............. 100 100 Bradford ......... . 100 Clay ............... 100 St. Johns .......... 125 100 125 Div. Av. per cent. .. 108 ::!5 106 1@Central Division. Hernando .......... 200 IOU 100 IOU Orange .... . .. . .. 100 . .. Pasco ............. 100 95 100 . .. Sumter ............ 100 100 85 95 Volusia ............ 100 81) GO . .. Div. Av. per cent. .. 120 94 91 9'1 southern Division. Brevard ........... 20 75 100 90 Dade .............. 150 100 75 75 Hillsborough ....... 100 75 100 100 Lee ............... 500 100 100 100 Manatee ........... 150 100 100 100 Osceola ............ 100 100 100 103 Palm Beach . .. . . . . . .. ... 100 90 St. Lucie . . . .. . . . . . .... . .. 60 60 Div. Av. per cent. .. 170 92 n 89 Gr'd State Av. p. ct. 118 s2-1--rno 9r.

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1U3 REPORT OF ACREAGE AND CONDITION-Continu e d . COUNTIES. Lime Trees. Grape I Fruit , Bananas. Trees. I Pin e apples. Northern Divis io n. : Condition . : Condition. , Condition. I Condition. Franklin . ... .. ... . 1 90 ~-T i. Gadsden ...... . . . . . Hamilton ... . . . _.. . 1 ! Jefferson . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 L afa yette . . . . . . . . . . I I L eo n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i 80 1 Madison . . . . . . . . . . . I , T aylor . . . . . . . .. . . . . I \ Wakulla . . ..... . . .. , . , Div. Av. per cent . . . 85 Western Division. Calhoun .......... . Escam bia . .. .... .. . Holnws ...... ..... . Jac~son ......... . . 150 I S a 11ta Rosa ... . .. . . 'iValton ........... . Washington ....... +------+----,..,,.,.,--+-----+----Div . .\.v. per cent. .. lbO Northeastern Division. A l ach ua ..... .. . .. . 100 Bak e r .... .. ... . .. . 100 Bradford . ... . ... . . C l ay .... . ... ... .. . St. Johns .... . .... . 1'1 ' ~[) Div. Av. per cent ... :-----+----,,.,.,,,,.--,-----+----1U8 Central Division. H er nando .... ... . . lOU lOU Orange ....... . ... . 100 Pasco . . . .. ..... . . . 100 Sumter .... . ... ... . 90 90 75 Volusia ... ........ . 60 Div. Av. per c e nt. .. 1---~"' , r.. -+-----,,.,---1'----=,---+---90 75 Southern Division. revard . . . . . . . . . . . G 10 1( Dacie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 80 100 ~o Hillsborough . . . . . . . 100 100 90 L en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 1 00 100 100 Manatee . . . . . . . . . . . 100 100 100 l()(J Osceo la . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 100 30 10(1 Palm Beach . . . . . . . 90 100 100 60 40 2 ~~/1~~e P ~ ~. t: : : : ----, 6""0 ,_--+--=s--+---,,-,---1----,,,,,.....Gr' d State Av. p. ct.

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REPORT OF ACREAG E A ND CO N DITION-Continued . COU NT IES . I \ Guavas. \ ~e~ches. \ Pears. Norther~ D i~ is i ~ ~--; co ndition. ' coa"di tion. !Co nditl on.fcicimtitl o~--Fr a n k lin . . . . . . . . . . . 9 0 1 01) Ga d s d e n . ..... . ... . H a milt o n . . .. . .. . . . 8 0 J e ff e r so n . . . . . . . . . . 80 Lafay e tt e ... . . .. . . . Leon . . .... .. . ..... 50 50 Madison .. . . . . .... . T a ylor ..... ... .. .. . Wa ku lla . . .... . ... . Di v. Av. p e r ce n t. . . t------+------1------,",--,--..,. . , .,....... , 73 Western D i vision. C alhoun . . . .. ..... . Escambi a . . ....... . 50 5 0 Holmes ...... ..... . J a ck s on ....... . . . . 25 S a n ta Rosa . . . . . . . . 25 1 00 Wa l to n . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Was h ington ..... . .. 1-------+------1------,,,.,,.---,---l=l,J ~ Di v . Av . per ce n t. . . " 75 6 3 Northeaste r n Division. 100 10 0 A lachu a . . ...... .. / Bake r ..... . ... . . . . B r a d fo rd ... . .... . I 60 1 25 96 Clay .. . . . . . ...... . \ St. J ohns .. .. .. . . . . Div. A v . pe r ce n t. .. I ;------+-----+---, i.;entral Division. 10 0 90 Hvrnand o . . . . . . . . . . 1 1~ 175 1 0 0 O ran ge . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 90 6 0 Pasco . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 30 S um te r . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 40 90 8 1 Vol u s i a .. . ... . . ... -I 1----+-----,_-,,---,,-.---=,--+--.,,4 6 0 7 =-_ Di v . A v. pe r ce nt. .. Southern D i vision. B revard .. . . . . . ... . Dade H illsborou g h . . . .. . . L ee ... . . . . .. .. . .. . Ma n atee ... .. . . . . . . O s ceol a . .. . . ..... . P a lm B eac h . ..... . 100 100 100 10 0 9 90 100 110 90 80 100 1 0 0 100 20 1 2 0 1 0 0 85 6 0 S a 100 St. Luci e .. . ....... ,---l! ""' t, """ --,----,,.,.,--:---,,..,,.,.--+--,,,. 9 ,,__ ~ ~;d ~ ;~t~e ~; _e ~\t _ ,.. 1 ____ ..;...._--.....-__,--~~-+----8 3

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rn B ul PART III. Fertilizers, Feed Stuffs, and Foods and Drugs.

PAGE 199

199 SPECIAL SAMPLES. Florida is the only State in the Union that provides for the "special sample," drawn by the consumer or purcha :--e r, under proper rules and regulations fixed by law-tu be sent to tlie State Laboratory for analysis free of cost. Any citizen in the State who has pur c hased fertilizers or feeds for his own use may draw a sample of the s;rnie" a cc ul' di ng to Jaw, and ha\ c the same analysed by the S ink Chemist fr ee of co st. Aud i11 ca,;c of udultera1iu11 oid : fi ciLn 1 y he can, 011 e sta bli s hing the fad, l'Ccci\ e c1rml.Jle the ct,:;;t of p1 ce demanded fol' the goods. Tli e law require8 th e ":c:p cc inl 8nmplcs" to be drawn iu ,,, rnaHnm to prevent th e submission of spurious sampl e s; rull's a nd regulations me published in every Bulleti11 for drnwing arid tramanitting "special samples." '!'his sre ci al sample ltns been n most potent foctm iri eHl',,rd11g foe la\\' and dis co ura gi ng the sale oi' ndul1er ated , n misbranded gnudf'. ::-;p , !.: ial sa111ples of fouus a11Ll L11ugs may also b e sen t 1, the Hate Laboratory for analysis free of cos t, when t ht: sample h; properly drawn according to law. The ne ce saiy instructions and blanks r equ ired to properly dnm and irausmit samples of "food and drngs" will be sen t tn any citizen requesting the same. '"l'HE SPECIAL SA?IIPLE FURNISHES THE CON SUMER Wl'l'Il THE SAME PROTEO'l'JON T>R\fAND ED BY THE ~\fANUFACT U RER , WHO BUYS HlS ~IA TEIUALS ONLY Ul'ON G1L\.RAN'l'EE AND PAYE-: FOH 'l'HE:\f ACCORDING TO . .AN. \.LYRIS, AND JE,; P.\ 11 > FOH DY TTIE CONRC'":\mH OC'l' OF TI-rn FFXTlR nEmVED FROM 'l'HE TNSl'EC'l'ION FEE OF 'f\VKN'l'Y-FlVE CENTS PER TON l' .U D ON FEH. TILIZERS AND FEEDS SOLD IN TErn S'l'A'l'E."

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200 HEGULA'rIONS GOVERNING 'l'HE TAKI}[G ,\:XD _ FORWARDING OF FERTILIZER OR CO}DrER , cIAL FEEDING S'l'UFF SAMPLES TO THE .\I!SSIONER OF AGRICUL'l'URE. SECTION 15 OF THE L.-\ _ WS. Special samples of Fertilizers or Commercial Feeding Stuffs sent in by purchasers, under Section !) of the laws, shall be drawn in the presence of two disinterested wit nesses , from one or more packages, thoroughly mixed , and A FAIIt SAMPLE OF THE SAME OF NOT LESS THAN EIGHT OUNCES ( ONE-HALF POUND) SHALT, f\E PL.\CED ~'-r A CAN OR BOT'l ' LJ,;J SEALED AND S~!NT UY A DISINTERESTED PARTY TO THE COMi\IfSSI'ONER OF AGRICULTURE A'l' 'l'ALLAHASSE:!,l. :XOT LESS THAN EIGHT OUN C ES, IN A TIN CAN OH BOTTLE, WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR ANALYSIS. This rule is adopted to secure fair samples of sufficient size to make the necessal'_v tle terminations and to allow the preservation of a dnpli cate s,1mplc in case of pl'otest or appeal. 'l'his dupl;cntc , ~ample will he preserved for two mon 1hs from the tla t e o f certificate of analysi:-:. The State Chemist is not the proper officer to r et' eive 5pccial samples from the purchaser. The propriety of the method of drawing and sending the samples ns !ixed ov law is obvious. < The drawing and sending of special samples in rare :eases is in compliance with law. Samples are freqn c n ily s e nt in paper packages or paper boxes, badly packed . .nu] ifrequently in very small qnan tity ( less than ounce 1 : fre (Jnently there are no marks, numbers or other means of identification; the postmark in some instances bei11g ahsent. I would cal] the attention of those who desire to av.iii themselves of this privilege to Sections 9 and 10 of ihq Iaw, which are clear and: explicit. Hereafter, strict compliance with a hove regulations will be required. The sa111ple must not be less tha 11. 011P ltalf ponnd, in a can or bottle) sealed and addre.<:sed to tllP Commissioner of Agriculture. The sender)s name a11rl a,1drrss; must also be on the package, this rule applying tn sp e cial sa IIIJ)les of fertiliz e rs or commercial fccdinrt stuff.

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:2U1 A 011e-pun11J baking pcrn der can, properly cleaned. filled with a fnfrly dnrn-n, " ll mixed sample tak e n from sevetal sac-kf:i, is a lHoper :-;muple. It slt o 1tld uc scaled aud acldrc8sccl f,o tlic Cou 11 J1issio!/c r of Agriculture at Tallu liassec. 'l'lt c sc1ul cr s 11u111c a11cl address should also b( < Jllac:cd 011 tl1 c JJa c kuqc. ff 1110n; tlta11 011e samvlc is sent, th e samz1les sl1011ld l1 0 n;11nbcrcd so as to identify th em , A . 71 tl1is s.'rnulcl b e don e in /1,c p1 cs c11 cc of the witness e s 011,l tlte 1 Jacl.-aye 1,wile d rn ea ' J1r csscd by one of the wil11esses. 'l'lH' tais off 1he ,,:wk:-; :-;honld he l'e1ained IJy tll e sender to compnie with ih(' certifica(e of analysi:-; when r ec eived, and not sent in tltiR o fi1ee . '1'71(' da te of Uic clra1cing and sc11di;1,r; of th e sr111:plc. a/1.(l 11a111< ' 8 of tll e 11;it1w.<1scs. should also b e ic/rt/11crl by n, c sender: n ot sent to this office.

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203 I~STRUCTIONS TO l\fANUF ACTURERS AND DEALERS. Each package of Commercial Fertilizer, and each pack age of Commel'cial Feeding Stuff, must have, securely attached thereto, a tag with the guaranteed analysis re quil'ed by law and the stamp showing the payment of the inspector's fee. 'rhis provision of the law, Section 3 of both laws-will be rigidly enforced. Manufacture1s and dealers v,ill he required to properly tag and stamp each package of Commercial Fertilizer or Commercial Feeding Stuff under penalty as fixed in Sec tion G of both laws. Tags shall be attached to the top end of each bag, or head of each barrel. INS'l'RUC'l'IONS TO PURCHASERS. Pnrchasen; are cautioned to purchase no Commercial Fertilizers or Connnercial Feeding Stuff that does not bear on each 71nckar;c an rmalyf"is tag with the guarantee required by law, and lhe stamp showing the payment of the inspector's fee. Goods not having the guarnntce tag and stamp are irregular and fraudulent; the absence of tlw guarantee and stamp being evidence that the mann faetnrer or dealer has not complied with the law. With out the gunrantee 1ag nn,l stamp showing what the goods are gnaranteed lo contain, the purrhaser has no recourse against t-he manufacturer or dealer. Such goods are sold illegally and fraudulently, and are generally of little value. All repntahle mannfaeturers and dealers now comply strictly with the law and regulations by placing the gnarantee tag and stamp on each package. INSTRUCTIONS TO SHERIFFS. The attention of Sheriffs of the various counties is called to Section of both laws. defining their dntiPs. This department expects each Sheriff to assist in main taining the law and protecting the citizens of the State from the imposition of frandulent. inferior or deficient Commercial Fertilizers or Commercial Feeding Stuffs.

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203 l\IAT:KET PRICES OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZ ING MA'rERIALS AT FLORIDA SEA PORTS, JANUARY 1, 1911. Al\IMONIATES. Less than ten tons. Nitrate of Soda, 17 to 19% Ammonia ........ $ 52.00 Sulphate of Ammonia, 25 to 26% Ammonia . . . . 70.00 Dried Blood, 16 to 19% Ammonia . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 .00 Cynanamid, 12 to 13% Ammonia . . . . . . . . . . . 46.00 Dry Fish Scrap, 11 % Ammonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57. 00 POTASHES. Hig:h Grade Sulphate of Potash, 90 to 95% Sulphate, 48 to 50% K 2 0 ...................... $ Low Grade Sulphate of Potash, 48 to 53% Sulphate, 26 to 28% K 2 O .................... . Mmin1e of Potash, 80 to 85%, 48 to 50% K 2 O .. . Nitrate of Potash, imported, 15% Ammonia, 44% potash K 2 O ......................... . ~itratc of Potash, American, 13% Ammonia, 4:Y;o potash K 2 O ......................... . Kainit, 12 to 13% Potash, 12% K 2 O .......... . Canada Hardwood Ashes, in bags, 4 to 6% K 2 O Potash ......•..............•..••.......... Al:!l\IONIA AND PHOSPHORIC A.cm. High Grade Tankage, 10% Ammonia, 5 to 7% Phosphoric Acid ........................ _ .. $ Tankage 8 to 9% Ammonia, 10 to 11 % Phosphoric .A.cid ...•........................... Low Grade Tankage, G-} to 8% A.mmonia, 12 to 14% Phosphoric Acid ..................... . Hotel Tankage, 6 to 7% Ammonia, 7 to 8% Phosphoric Acid ......................•........ Sheep l\Ianure, ground, 3 to 4% Ammonia ..... . Imported Fish Guano, 10% Ammonia, 10% Phosphoric Acid ..........•..... ,. ............. . Pure Fine Steamed Ground Bone, 3 to 4% Ammonia, 22 to 25% Phosphoric Acid ....... . 56.00 32.00 50.00 94.00 84.00 15.00 19.00 4•!.00 40.00 37.00 25.00 24.00 45.00 29.00

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204 Raw Bone, 4 to 5% Ammonia, 22 to 25% Phosphoric .. A.cid ............... . ...... . . . ..... . Ground Castor Pomace , 5% Ammonia, 2 to 6% Phosphoric Acid ......................... . Bright Cotton Seed ";\foal. 7 t o 8% Ammonia .. Dark Cotton Seed ;\foal, 5 t o 7 % Ammonia Pr IOSPHOillC A.cm. High Grade Acid Pl10sphnt e. Hi ',Yo Availnule Phosphori c A('id ......... . .............. . . $ Acid Phosphate, H' io Availabl e Phosphoric .Acid Bone Black , 17 io is r; .. A . vailable Phosphoric A c id ................. . ................ . . . . MISCELLANEOUS. High Grade Ground Tobacco Stems , Z to % Ammonia, S to 10 % Potash ................ i High Grade Ground K e ntucky Tobacco Stems, 2 1 to 3% Ammonia, 10 to 11 % Potash ......... . Tobacco Dust ~o. 1 , 2 to 3 % Ammonia , 2 to :3 % Potash .................................. . Cut Tobacco Stems, in sacks, 2 to 2% Ammonia, 4 to 5 % Potash .. . ....................... . Dark Tobacco Sterns , baled. 2 to 2} % Ammonia, 4 to 5% Potash ........................... . Land Plaster, in sacks ...................... . 34.00 :23.00 :Jl.00 ~7.110 15.00 U.00 22.00 25.00 25.00 20.00 rn.oo 12.00 The charges by reputable mannfacturers for mixing nn
PAGE 205

205 NE'11' YORK \VHOLESALE PRICES, CURREXT JAN. 1, 1911-FERTILIZER MATERIALS. A:1.1 )IONIATES. A ] h t f' . t ct? 8@"'•) !) 9 11 .e1.mmoma, sup a e. ore1gn, promp ••'II'""'• ;.i c,,.,p ... , .. 7 2 futures ..................... 2.87@ 2.90 Ammonia, sulphate, domestic , spot . . . . @ future s ..................... 2. !!5 @ 2.97 Fish Scrap, dl'icd, 11 ?o ammonia and 14 % bone phosphate, f. o. b. fishwol'ks , per unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ "et, acidulated, 6 % ammonia and 8% pllosphoric acid, f. o. b. fisll-,vorks . . . . . . . . . . 2 . 50 & 35 Ground Fish Gnano , imported , 10 and 11 1 )10 ammonia . and 15 and 17% bone phosphate, c. i. f. New York, Baltimore or Philadelphia .............. 3.55 @::).65&10 1-'ankage, 11 % and 15' 7, , f. o. b. Chicago, basis Odob e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 95 & 10 Tankage, 10 7,_ and :20 %, f. o. b. Chicago, gronnd. hasis Octobe1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. rl5 & 10 Tanknge !I ' /, and 20 ~ , ;-, f. o. b. Chicago, grouud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ Tanknge. coue e ntrated, f. o. b. Chicago, 14 to 15% , f. o. b. Chicago .......... 2.80 @ Gal'!iage , tankage , r. o. b. Chicago . . . . . 9. 00 @ Sheep Manure , c-onccntrated. f. o. b. Chicago, per ton ...................... 10. 00 @ HoofmenL f. o. b. Chi cng o, per unit . . . @ Dried l3lood. 13 to 1:3% ammonia, f. o. b. Xe\\ Yol'k .... ............. 3.30 @ 3.35 Chicago, basis Oc1ob er ............. 3.17@ Nitrate of Soda , ! 1 :i %, spot, per 100 lbs. 2.12@ 2.15 futures , ! : ,,'Jo .... : ........... 2.12@ 2.15 PHOSPHA'l'ES. Acid Phosphate, per unit ............ $ .62 Bones, ronp;h. hard, per ton . . . . . . . . . . . 21. 00 soft, steamed, nngronnd . . . . . . 21. 50 ground, steamed, 1:} % ammonia and 60 % bone phosphate 22.50 @$ .65 @ 22.00 @ 22.00 @ 21.50

PAGE 206

206 ditto, 3 and 50% ............ 22.50 @ 23.00 raw ground, 4% ammonia and 50 % bone phosphate ....... 26. 50 @ 27. 50 South Carolina Phosphate Rock, kilndried, f. o. b. Ashley River . . . . . . . . . 3. 50 @ 3. 75 Florida Land Pebble Phosphate Rock, 68%, f. o. b. Port Tampa, Fla . . . . . . 3. 75 @ 4.00 Florida High Grade Phosphate Hard Rock, 77%, f. o. b. Florida ports.... 5.50 @ G.00 Tennesflee Phosphate Rock, f. o. b. Mt. Pleasant, domestic, per ton, 78-80% .. 75% guaranteed ........... . G8-72o/o .................... . PoTAsr-rns. 5.00 @ 5.50 4.75 @ 5.00 4.25 @ 4.50 Mnriate of Potash, 80-85%, basis 80%, in bags ........................... $.35.75 @ Mnriate of Potash, min. 95%, basis 80%, in bags ........................... 37 .25 @ Mnriate of Potash, min. 98%. basis 80%, in bags ........................... 38.00 @ Sulphate of Potash, 90-95%, basis 90%, in hags ........................... 43.50 @ Double l\Ianure Salt, 48-53%, basis 48%, in bags .......................... . Manure Salt, min. 20%, K 2 0, in bulk .. . Hardsalt, min. Hi%, K 2 0, in bulk .... . Kainit, min. 12.4%, K 2 0, in bulk ..... . 22.75 @ 12.25 @ 9.70 @ 7.50 @

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207 STA'E VALUA'rIO:KS. For Available and Insolnhle Phosphoric Acid, . \.mmonia and Pota s h , for the 8ea so n of 1011. Available Pl10sphoric Acid ............ fi c. a p01md Jnsolnhl e Phosphori c Acid ....... . .... 1 c . a pound Ammonia (or its e(Juivalent in nitrogen) .17%c . a pound Potash ( as a ctn al pota s h, KeO) . . . . . . . . 51/: 2 c. a pounrl If ,1lc ulated hy nnit s Availabl e Phosphori c A c id ....... . ...... $ 1.00 per unit Insolnble Plwsphm ir Acid . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 per nnit Ammonia (or its equivalent in nitrogen). :l.50 per nnit Pota s h .......................... . ..... 1. 10 per unit With a uniform allowance of $ 1. 5 0 per ton for mixing and bagging. A unit is twenty vounds, or 1 per cent., in a ton. ',Ve find this to be the easie>t and qui c kest method for calcu lating the ,alue of fert ilizer. To illm:;trate t his, take for c•xample a fertili zer which analyzes as follows: Availabl e Phosphoric Acid.G.22 per ceni.x$1.00-$ Insohbl e Phosphoric Acid.1.50 p e r cent.x .20Ammoni a ................ ~L42 per cent.x 3.50Potrn , h ... . ..... .. ....... 7. 2:3 per cent.x 1. 10Mixiug and Bagging . .... . .... .. . .. ........ .. G.~2 .30 11.!)7 7. !)5 1.50 Comm e rcial value at sea ports ... . ............ $27.!14 Or a fertilizer anal y zing as follows: Available Phosphoric Acid .... 8 per cent.x$1.00-$ 8.00 Ammonia .................. 2 per cent.x 3.507.00 Pot:rnh ..................... 2 per cent.x 1.102.20 Mixing and Bagging ......................... 1.50 Commercial value at sea ports ............... $18. 70 Th e ahove valuations are for cnsh for mat er ials deliv ered at Florida seaports, and th ey can be bought in one ton lots at these prices at the date of issuing this Bulle tin. Where fertilizers are bought at interior points, the additional freight to that point mnst be added.

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If purchased in carload lots for cash, a reduction of ten per cent. can be made in above valuations, i. e.: Available Phosphoric Acid ........... 90 cents per unit Potash (K 2 0) ...................... U9 cents pel' unit Ammonia (or equivalent in nitrogen) .. ~:3.15 per unit 'l'he valuations and market prices in pr ece ding illustra tions are based on market prices fol' one-ton lots. STA . 'l'E VALUES. It is not intended by the "S tat e valuation " to fix tlie price or commercial value of a giv e n brand. 'J.'he ~rate values" are the market pric es for the various approYcd chemicals and materials used in mixing or manufactur ing commercial fertilizers or commercial stock feed at the date of issuing a Bulletin, or the opening or the "season." '!'Ire,' ' may, but seldom do , vary from the mnrket priees, and ai-e nrnde liberal to meet any slight adnrnce or decline. 'l'hey are compiled from price li sts and comme1cia I re ports by reputable dealers and journals. The question is frequently asked: "What is ' Smith's Fruit and Vine' worih per ton?" Such a question cannot be answered categorically. By analysis, the ammonia. available phosphoric acid and potash may be determined, and the inquire1 informed what the cost of the necessary material to compound a ton of goods similar to "Smith':-: Fl'nit and Vine" would be, nsing none but accepted and well known materials of the best quality. State values do not consider "trade secrets," loss on bad bills. cost of advertisements and expenses of colle, tions. The "State value" is simply that price at which the various ingredients necessary to use in compoundin[!'. a fertilizer, or feed, can be 1mrcliascd fo1 cash in to11 lots at Florida seaports. 'J'ltese price lists are published in this report, with the "State values" for 1911 deducted therefrom.

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COMPOSITION OF FEH/l'ILIZER )[A'l'EHI..-\.LS. NITROGENOUS l\IATIGUL\LS. POUNDS PEH HUN llKED Ammonia I Acid Po&ash , Phosphoric I ' Nitrate of Sod a .. .... . .... 1 1 17 toT9, ~ ..... . -.-. -: . .\~ .. . :--... -~ Sulphate of Ammonia..... 21 to 24 ....................... . Dried Blood ........ .. ... I 12 to 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........•. Concentrated T a nkage . . . . 12 to 15 1 to 2 . ..... .... . . Bone Taukage . . . . . . . . . . . 6 to 9 10 , to 15 ........... . Dried Fish Scrap. . . . . . . . . S to 11 (i to 8 ........... . Cotton Seed i\1eal. . . . . . . . 7 to 101 2 to 3 H to 2 Hoof Meal _ _ _ 1 ~3 __ t~ _ _ 17 1 H to ~ I : .:..: l'I-IOSPI-IATE :\I.\TEHI.\LS. POUNDS PER IIU~DRED I A , ailab le I In so luble Ammonia Phos. Acid 1 l'hosvhoric i Acid I I Fl orida Pebble Pho s phate ....... . .. ... ..... .... . . -1 26 to 32 Florida Rock Phosphate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 33 to 35 Flo;ida Super Phosphate.. . . . . . . . . . . .. 14 to 451 1 to 35 Ground Done . . .. _ _ . . . . . . 3 to 6 5 to S 15 to 1 I St e amed Bone . _ ......... : 3 to 4 6 to n 10 to 20 Di ss olved Bon e _ ......... ! 3 to _ 4 _ 1 } to ]-5 1 2 to 3 l'OT ,\S I-I lllATERIALS AND FAR:\I l\I ANUH BS . .Mnriat e or Po tas h . ... . 1 Sulphate of Potash . . .. . I Carbonate of Potash .... 1 Nitrate of Potash ...... . Double SuL of Pot.&Mag. Kainit . . ..... .. ....... . S ylvi nit .. __ .......... . Cotton S ee cl f-'!u ll Ashes. Woocl Ashes, unleached. J Wood Ashes. l e ached ... j Tobac, ro Stems ... .. ... j Cow Manure (fresh) ... 1 H orse :\Ianure (fresh) .. Sheep Manure (fresh) .. Hog ~fanure (fresh) ... . H en Dun g (fr e sh) ..... . Mixed Stahle Manure . . . POUND S l'Elt HU~DRED J -I Actual I . i Phosphoric P o ta s h , Ammonm I Add I ! ' ' Li1ne ' I ' ' 5() 1 ........ I ......... I. ; ---: .-:-. -:-:-: to 52 ... .. .. .. . . ....... ; . ... _ .... " ') ,to GO 1 ............. .•. I ....•.•• 40 to 44 12 to 16 , .....•... I ....... . . 2G to 30 ................•.......... 12 to 12 ... .. ......... . ........... . 16 to 20 ......... ' .. .. _ . . . . . .. .... . . 1 ~ i~ 3 i i: : : : : : : : : I r . . .. .. . 1 to 2 / ....... / 1 to H 35 to 40 5 to 8 2 to 4 . . . . . . . . . 3/; 0.40 Oto 0.41 0.16 0.31 0.53 Oto 0.60 0.28 0.31 0.67 1.00 0 .2J O. o 3 0.60 0.55 0.19 0.08 0.85 2.07 1.54 0.24 0.63 0.76 0. 26 0.70

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210 FACTORS FOR CONVERSION. To convertAmmonia into nitrogen, multiply by ... . ...... . Arnrnonia into protein, multiply by ........... . Nitrogen into ammonia, multiply by .......... . Kitrnte of soda into nitrogen, multiply by .. .. . . Nitrngen i11to prnteiu, multiply by . . . ... . .... . Bone pbosvbate into vl.tosphorie :iciu , multiply b,v Phoc,phmic add iu1o boiw pitosvlw! e , 111u!Uply hy l\fmiate of potash into ac t ual p o tash , multiply hy A.dual potasli iu(o mul'iaie of po ta sh , r•ndtiply hy Sn 1 phate of potash into actual p ui m ; h, urnltiply by Actual potash into : -mlplta1c of po!.1 :, l1 , rnnliiply by Nifrate of 1,otash into nit!'og c n, nrnltip1y lJy . ... Cm onate of potash in(o ;1ctual potash,11rnltip!y hy Ad nal potnsh into catl!lmate of poLl,.lt,lllulfiply by Chlol'iue, iu "k.tini( , ' ' multiply 11oia;;l1 (K/) J hy .. 0.8:!4 G.15 l.~H 0.1G47 (i.:25 u. , l5S ~.vu O.G:t! 1 . G~;t ll.Gll 1.Sti 11.1::1) O. liSl 1. u;G Fur iustam:c, yon buy 9;:; p e 1 cent. of Hitral'e of ,:oda and want to know how mnch nitrogen is i n it, multiply !15 per cent. by 0.lu-!7, yon will get 15.G5 per cent. nitrogen; yon want to know how mu c h ammonia thh; JJil:log eu is equivalent to, then multiply 15.G5 vcr cent, by 1.:!Li nnd you get 18.9!) per cent., the equivalent in amm onia. Or, to convert f.lO per c ent. cnrbonate of potash into actual potash (K,O), multiply !.JO by O.GSl , equals (il.~9 p er cent. actual potash (K 2 0J. COPIES OF 'fHE FEH'l'fLlZEH AND STOCK FEED L},.,\VS. Citizens intei-ested in the forlilizcr find siock feed l;nyr,; of the State, and desiring lo avail themselves of their 111tection, ean obtain copies free of e!inl'ge by sending f'or same to the Commissioner of Agriculture. COPIES OF THE PURE FOOD AND DRUG LAW. Copies of the Pme Food and Drug Law, rules and regu lations, standards, blanks, etc., can be obtained from thf. Commissioner of Agriculture.

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:.!11 A VERA GE COMPOSI'rION OF COMMERCIAL FEED S'l'UI~FS. 'O ;:: ;. ' I N.:DlE OF FEElJ. 0 .= C: ' o:; , :., ~ ! i ,::, ) d ~ ' .. iii I :, ;. ...., w E i z ...., I --:: ll1~;~l1 t ~0Fu .. 8eey nnrl Oat>-. Cffllal I I I I I parts .. .... ........ I fUOI 12.101 fi4.7!3j 3.401 2.70 _ ___ _ __ __ I _ _ I _ I _ _ _ L ____ I __ _

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212 A. VERA GE COMPOSITION OF COMMERCIAL FEED STUFFS.-( Continued.) ~AME OF FEED. Oats (grain) . . . . . . . . . 9.50 11.80 59 . 70 5.00 3.00 Oat Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.10 16.00 54.90 7.10 3.70 Rice (grain) . . . . . . . . . 0.20 7.40 79.20 0.40 0.40 Rice Bran . . . . . . . . . . . 9.50 12.10 49.90 8.80 10.00 Hi t e Hulls . . . . . . . . . . . 35.70 3.G0 38.60 0.70 18.20 Rye (grain) . . . . . . . . . 1.70 IO.GO 72.50 1.70 1.90 Rye Bran . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.50 14.70 63.80 2.80 3.G0 -n heat (grain) . . . . . . . 1.80 11.90 71.90 :U0 1.SO Cow Pea .. . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10 20.80 55.70 1.40 3.20 Cow Pea Hay . . . . . . . . 20.10 16.60 42.20 2.:W 7.50 Velvet Beans and Hulls 9.20 19.70 51.30 4.50 3)10 Yelvet Bean Hay . . . . 29.70 14.70 41.00 1.70 5.70 Beggarweed Hay . . . . . 24.70 21.70 30.20 2.30 10.fl0 ,Tapanese Kudzu Hay .. Cotton Seed (whole) .. Cotton Seed Hulls ... . Gluten Feed ........ . Beef Scrap ......... . 32.14 17.43 30.20 1.67 6.87 23.20, 18.401 24.70 19.90 3.50 44.401 4.00 36.60 2.00 2.fi0 I 5.301 24.00 51.20 10.60 1.10 I ..... -1 44.70 3.28 14.75 2!1.20 I I

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213 COM'.\IEHCIAL STA'l'E VALUES OF FEED STUFFS FOR lDll. For the sensou of mu the following "State values" are fixed as a guide to pur c hasers. Th ese rniues are hm,ed ou the current prices of corn, which llas been chosen as a standard in fixing the com mercial Yalues; the pri ce of com, to a large extent, gov erni:ig the pric e of other feeds, po1k, beef, etc.: Co:11~.rnRCL\L VALUES Ob' FEED STUFFS FOR mu. Pro , e in , 3~c. per 11ouneoicin .......... . .... . ..... 10.50 x
PAGE 214

214 FORMULAS. There are frequent inquiries for formnlnl" for v;1l'ious crops, and there are hundreds of such formulas published; and, while there are hundreds of "brands," the variation, in these grades are surprisingly little. Dozens of "brands" pnt up by the same manufacturer are idc>ntica1 ~nods, the only difference being in the name printed ou the t,ig or sack. A good general formula for field or garden migl1t be called a "vegetable formula," and would hnve t!1e fol lowing: Ammonia, 3;70; :wnilable phosphoric ncid. Ii%; and potash, 7%'file following formulas will furni;,h rhe neeei-;;,a1y plant food in ahout the above proportion. I have purposely avoided the m:e of any fraction of 100 pounds in these formnlnR to Rimplify them. Vaine:-:. nre taken from price liRtR fnrniRhPd hy the trade. whirlt we puh lished in our Report of .January 1, rnrn. For cotton, corn, Rweet potatoes and vegetables: _\_m monia, 3%; available phosphoric acid, 6%: potash, 7%(A) "VEG:BJTABLE." No. 1. Per Cent. 900 pounds of Cotton Seed Meal (7~-1) ..... 3.25 Ammonia 800 pounds 9f Acid Phosphate (16 per cent) .... 6.40 Available 300 pounds of Muriate(or Sulphate) (50 per cent) 7.50 Potash 2,000 State value mixed and bagged ............. $27.52 Plant Food per ton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 pounds No. 2. Per Cent. 1,000 lbs of Blood and Bone (Gt-8) ............ / 3.25 Arnm,rnia 400 lbs of Acid Phosphate (16 per cent) ...... 1 . 7.00 Available 600 lbs of Low Grade Sulp. Pot. (26 per cent).. 7.SO Potash 2,000 State value mixed and bagged ............ $28.4:i Plant Food per ton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :ic;o pounds

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:..!L:i No.;;. 300 lbs of D ri e d Illood (16 1ier ce n t ) ...... .. .. . 100 ;bs of ;,.;itrate of Soda (17 per cent) ...... . 1 ,0 011 lbs of Acid Phos11lrnt e (16 1 w r cent) .. .. .. . 60\1 IIJs of Low Grall
PAGE 216

ROIL ANALYSIS. \Ve frequently Lav e samples or soil sent in for airnly,is and a 1equest to ad,i se as to ihe l ws t m et hods of fe1 il i;r, ing. .Exeeptin~ in e xtrem e enses, s uch a s H eaY_v CJ:iy,-, Pure S:rnd and 3luck Lan<~s. (ltel"( ~ is bllt liH] e infornia tiou to he d e rfred from a so , il analysis that ,vonld IH• of benefit 1o fm merR. So mud1 dep e nds on tilth , : '. s : o r tll: 11 part ienl:11 soil. 'T h e l >: 11c: inwnt 8 (:1ii<:; 1 .1 u :': -; ;iot nnal.n:e : :: :~m p] ,-; .; of s o il to rn i w, the l't•:ti l;: . .. e tp1i1'e111rnts. 'l'he:-e is no f'lw rnica l rn P ! h n, 1 k110,,.-11 ;lwt will sliow n~Ji:1hlv 1"he av,! i l nh i ity of 1lle plnnt fo(l(l rl<'l!l\ ? ni ,; 1n es 1 11t in th,~ f,:oi l , as ll1is i ,; a nn ia ble for{m•, in 1im ce d J,,v ii1e kind of <,up, the typ: : of soil, ilte c: lirn ate and hiolo _Q: ira l con ditions; IJ eril't' . , r e do not rero mme1H1 tliis m et hod of t est ing :-:oi I." 'l'he rnethod recommendeLl by the Iudiana Station is lhe flel<1 fertili ze r 1 ei-:t or plot Rystem , in whic:h long , nal'l'o,, s trips of th e field to be te s ted :ir e m eas ured off side l,_v side. The crop is plantctl unifonnl,v over ea r h. J >iller e 11t fertilizers nre applied to the di fl'cr e nt plots, every third or fourth one b e ing l e ft unf e rtili ze d. The prndnc e from these plots is hnrvested separately and w e i~;hr11. In 1 his mnnner th e farmer cnn tell what fer tilizer is hest snited for his n ee ds. As climatic conditions ma_v inflnence the yi e ld with different fertilizers , it is b e st to emTv on sneh tests for more than one vear before drawingdefinit e conclusions. There is positiveiy no e asie r or short e r meihod of testing the soil that we feel safe in r.ermnrnending. Boil ea n be greatly improved by an intellig e nt rota

PAGE 217

217 tion of crops, the conservati on of st able manure, and the us1 ) of some kind of commen : ial fertilizer. Farmers need ham no fear that the proper npplication of comm(c-ial fel'iilizer will injure the land. WATER A)IALYSIS. \\'c frequently analyze water for public use , city, t.own a E d nei~l.iborl10od snpplies; s 11rin gs and ar te s i n n wel is in whi c h ih e public i s interested; and fo1 indivitlnals w '!c n some economic qu estio n , l1 o i le1 >, laundry o r other industrial u se is to be d ec id ed . 'XE no N OT AN}.LYhFl "\\',\TEU Fon 1:-;LJI\'IDL\L .\U.'OC'.\T \\'lJFG.l'.[:\' Tille lTCLIC l l3 l\
PAGE 218

21S (2). The locality of the source of the water; town, city 01 village; or the section, township and range. (:3). The proposed use of the water; city supply, do mes! ie use, laundry, boiler, inigation or other indus trial use. (4.) No sample of water will be analyzed unless the name and nddress of tile r-rnller is on the package for identification. ff e reqnire t1co gallo11s of each sample of water, in a new jiig, stov71ecl with a new co rk, and sent by prepctid express. We will not accept any sample of water for analysis not in a new jug. Vessels previously used for other purposes are ne, e r properly cleaned for sending samples of water for anal;n,is. Cmks. once used for other substances 1molasses. vinegnr. whiskey, kerosene, etc.) nrc never properly clcnned. Jn sampling a well water, ilm r,;tng-nant water in the pnmp nrnst first be pumped off. The jug nrnst first he rinsed "ith the water to be sam pl, ~ d. e mpt"ed, nncl ihen fillPd. A sample of i-pring, river or lake wnier is hest iakrn (nft-er rinsing the jug) by nllowing 1hc jug to fill afte1 immersion some distance nnflcr the snrface near the eenter of the hodv of water. :\1'oTrn.-'iVe find 11w wntei ~ of the Rt:it<'--;prings, wells . d1 ivc n wells and artrsian " ll,:-~cnr1 nll., very pure and wholesome, with lrnt little 111i11Pral im1mri1_v and ilwt snelt ns is not harmfnl. Except in cnses of gross care le:;;suess, in allowing snrfncc watc1' to eonraminate the WPll or spring, the watc1's of the Stntc are pnre and wholesome. The deep wells of the Stnte are noted for tlteil' plll'iiy nm1 hPalihfnlncss. ANALY81S OF FOODS . \KD DRUGS. SamplPs of Foods and D1p:s nre drawn under special l'('gnlation:;;. :\pplieation should be made to the Com mi,:sione1' of .\gTicnlture or Stnte Chemist for the necPs Raiy hlnnks. im:frndions. de .. fo1• drawing ano trn11s mitli11g i-amples of foods nn
PAGE 219

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE-DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY. FEHTlLIZER SECTION. R. E. ROSE, State Chemist. SPECIAL 1,'ERTILIZl, 2i I ,.. ..= Qi 1s a El i~~! 'l1 ,O I ij NAME, OR BRAi\'D. ---~--------i:~~m~:~ :::::: : ::::::::::::1 1 ~~~~1 t~61 Fertilizer ................... 2:3n 1 6.6,1 F t 9 7 1er 11zer , .......... .. 0 -I 'I Fertilizer ................... 1 2:393 15.llli Fertilizer No. 1. ............. 2394. ._ 1 Fertilizer No. 2 ...... ,, ...... 2395 ..... . Fertilizer .. , ..... , ......... 12396 7 .131 Fertilizer ................... 2397 7. 72 Fertilizer ...... , ............ I 2398' ...... ' F t '9 9 99 6 er11zer ................... 1 -0 .-,1 Fertilizer No. 1 . ............ . ,2400 ti.70 Fertilizer No. 2 .............. 12401 6.20 Fertilizer No. 3 ...... . ...... 12402 4. 09 Fertilizer No. 4 .............. 2403 4. 76 -----~Phosphoric Acid ci :0 ::i 0 u, 5 oi 0 E--< BY WHO:VI S'i'..:NT. 6.38 4.42\ 10.sn\ 1.65I 12.os:H. A. Perry, Pomona, 1,'la. 7.14 1.46 8.G01 G.lSj :J.,s:s. l\incily, Mi'.lllli, Fla. G.:!:3 O.irn' Z~~i 4.69 •. ~::IH. E. Foy. Ellenton, Fla. 5.0:3 O.S2 0.S.J :LG.:; ~,.so,J. :u. Johnson, J,,Jlenton, Fla. 771 1 1.34 4.11 li.GC. \i.u::(H. \\'. Skinner, St. Leo, Fla. 7:44 0.96 8.411 3.G5 7.GG S. Ninchy, l\liami, Fla. 5.41 0.94 6.35 3.6:i 11.l~ls. Ninchy, j\Ijami, Fla. 7.00 o.~7 z.li~I 4.42• 4.fo:I. S. Coon, 1-cathleen, Fla. G.22 I. ,1 , .9-, 4.34i !1.3l!H. D. Dratldock, Crescent City, Fla. 6.53 0.12 5.!l5I !,li~I 11.4' 1 \V. A. Holierts, Lily. Fla. 8.711 1.53 10.27 1 ,,.6., 1 11.61,Wm. Richman. Braclentown, Fla. 8.23 1.21\ 9.44 ~.G2' ;.91Armom Fetrz. \\"ks., .Jacksonville, Fla. 6.86 1.211 8.07 4.2,1 G.9S'Armour Fetrz. \Vks., Jacksonville, Fla. 4.87 l .30 6.17 5.0~ G.lfArmonr_ Ft'trz. Wks., Jacksonville, Fla. 5.08 __l:.07(_ 6.15 ~0~_ ?.941Armoi:r_!<'_etrz. W_J;.s., Jacksonvi11e, !la.

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SPECIAL FERTILIZER ANALYSES, 1911-Contlnued. -----~------1 '1 i Phosphoric Acid. I-------------------,-.. 0 .. NAME, OR BRAND. .,; a ~I 0 ,.c:I I s u:, d s ,~ I 0 <'!; !l.. BY WHOM SENT. .• ' . 9 11 T I i I Fertilizer -1\o. :, .............. AO-., 5. ~-2~! O.SGi 6.SS 3.21• 6.82 Armour F,trz ';'\'ks., .Jacksonville, Fla. F(•rtilizer ................... 240:i!. ... .. u .. >:): ~.50! 8.35 5.74! 6.4S 1 .J. "Il. 1 i\ 7 illinn1s. Citra. l~la. ,. Fl:,rtilizrr .. . ........... . .... 240fii...... ;j. G1 i 1. 9-1! 5. ;;5 4. 701 G. !l::! 1 r_rJ11:3 Fla. Irrlg;_'Liflcl l~arm Co., _.\.star, Fla, Fertilizer .... .. . . . ..... . .... 2!0'i'...... 6.213, 1.921 8.18 4.,ii 8.S4,C. B. i\Icffan. Crescent City, Fla. Fertilizer ................... 240,q• ...... J0.-141 0.6;:i Ll.07 0.97' 2.0l Farmern' Union \Varehouse Co .. Cot-(, I I I 1.omlale. Fla, o FerUizer ................... 240~:. .. . .. r..,-1: 1.0'.l• ,.83 2.8~ 8.4'l 1 F. TI. \\'ritson. Arc:,dia. Fla. Ashes ...................... 2410 ...... i, ..... I...... . . . . . . . . . . . . 0. W. \V. Cl,welanrl. .Jacfrsonville, Fla. Cyanamid ......... ........ 2411 ...... '... . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 10. 63 ...... E. 0. Painter Fertz Co., .Jacksonville, 1 Fla. Fertilizer No. 2 .............. 2H2 l0.~01 S.~l! ~.3G 11.57 5.~2 n.H,''iYa1trT Cliff, Crescent City. 1"1a. Fi:1rtilizer No. 1 .... . .. . ...... 2413 9.851 G.-1'.)i 1.26 7.45 4.80 10.0f; \\:-n,ltcr Clti'f. Crt:lSC'ent Cit~", Fla. Fertilizer ............ . ...... 2,1J4 14.11 lll.~~! 1.1f, 11.67 2.\1~ 2.07'L. Arlam, 0 Gl,mrlale, Fb. Fertilizer ................... ~415 7.00' 6 ..• ~I 2.l'.' S.51 ;;.111, <'.G71,aton Cliff, CrrJsccnt Cit,. Fla. Fertilizer ......... . ......... ~41C ...... 1 8. 81, 1. 00 9 .81 4 .17 1n. :-l7'.J. E Sanclerson. Lak,,Jancl. Fla. FPrtiliz,-r ................... 241<' 6.71>' G.~n, 0.12 G.42 1.3 S.•l'.;:ia. E. Buliock. Cr,-•,,c,,nt Ciry, 17'la. Ferti1izPr No. 1 .............. 241S 12.83 7.58i 3.CG 11.23 4.1S 11.(,li\T. Fu_c;azzi SC0. Bdlea'r, Fla. Fertilizer No. 2 (Nitrate of 2419 ............ !. .. . . . 15.33 4fi.,W!I.T. Fn;az;:i & Cn .. R,llr•air, Fla. Pnta~h.) I

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I"ertilizer No. 3 (Sulfate of i 2420 . .......... 1 ........ . . .... . .. ! !i0. 72 M. Fugazzf & Co., Belleair, Fla. Po tas h.) I : Fert ili ze r No. 4 .. . . .. . . ..... . [ 2421 10 . 5'.: 8.94 ! 4.82 1 :1.7n ~l'l! ?.'.1'< ~L F ug:i.z ~i & . Co .. Belleair, Fla . F'ertiiizer I~o . 'A t;: 1 "' 1 2422 13.S l -L 75! 0. 92 5.G 7 2 .G li 11.5 6 :L H Po llock L ak e l :m d . Fla. Ferti li zer (Hyd1a rc tl Lime) .. !242:3 . .•... . 1 , ... . .. : .. .. .. T , ace 0 . 2 I : Non,:, lg: . Shelie; C o . . Havana, Fla . 1• e rtiliz e r .... ... . ..... . . . ... ,2424 . . . . . . 5 . 68 i 1.1 7 G. S5 0 . 26 1 12. E>, , J. J. Winn , LakE lan d, Fla . Sulfate of Pot ash ...••....... 2425 .. ... ... . . : .... . .... .. .... . .. i H. H Independent F e rtz. Co., Ja ck so nvill e, . I m~ F e rtili ze r . . ........ .. •.... .. i 2,, 2G 8 . .io ! 7 . 1 1. 1 . 1 4 8. 25 5. 20 1 7 . 97 C . B. Morran, Cn ,sce nt City, Fla . .1 ertilizer No. 1 .. . ..... .. .... 1 '2 427 10.D31 10. 73 r l.4a 11. 22 2.l fil 2 .09 J . W. Bag ;e tt, Holt , Fla. Fertilizer N o. 2 . .... . .. .... . . 2428 13.00 1 B .fi2 0 .41 10.0:! 1.93 ! 2 .02 J. W. Ba ggett , H o lt , Fla . ~~!!iliz e J" ~-3 . ........ ... . . , 2-129 !.i ._(i _ G , 5. 90 ! 1. 14 7. 04 2. 7G! S. SG J. W. B aggett . H olt, Fla.

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE-DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY. FERTILIZER SECTION. R. E. ROSE, State Chemist. OFFlClAL FERTILIZEll A:--JALYSES, 1911. L . HEL\IBU HGER, Asst. Ch e mist. Samples Taken by State Chemist Under Sections 1 and 2, Act Approved May 22, 1905. NA.KE, OR BRAND. t,..: .g,8 a1 a .. ::, _gz j I ~ Sp ecia l I<~ruit and Vine .. . . ) 1612 Guar'.1nt' d Analysis Official AnalysiS ... Orange Tree Grower ...... 1613 Guarant '
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I Germofert Fruit and Vine. ,1618 Guarant'd Analysis Official Analysis . .. 5.ool 2.08' 9.00 ...... I ". '" 9. 63 1;, .c.li Germofert Orange Tree 1619 Guarant'dAnalysis G.00 4.50 3.00 , 1. 21 9.00 .. . .. . Grower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Official Analysis ... Orange Fruiter Special ... . 11620 'Guarant'd Anal y5 i s 8. 00 G. 00 9.21113.42 2 .00 . . ... . I I Official Ana l ysis.... a. a :JI G. 89 2.71 9.GO Germofert H. G. V e getable 1621 Guar:1nt'dAnal_y s 1 s 5.00 :i.1.10 7.0u Official Analysi s .. 5.40! ' ::. 4/ J S. S!J Blood and Bone .......... . 1 11622 Guarant'dAn al ysis l0.o r1 1 ii. O U G.OU I Official Analysi s . . . . ... .. I ..... -1 ..... I I I G e m Potato Manure ... .... 1 1G23 Guarant ' d A n alysis 8 . OO'I 4. 001 1. 00 OfficialAnalysrn . . . li. 82 ,-, .11 0! I. OJ I ! Simon Pure No. 1 . . . 11624 Guarant'd _.\nalysi s i 8. IJO j G. uo O f ficial An a l ys is ... j 7. li~ 7. 47 I Simon Pure Special No. 2 .. 11625 Guarant'd Analysi s Official Analysis . .. I 8 . 00 5.30 r. .o o 6 . 66 . -1 12. ::s i 11.Sli 2. oo/ 12. 00 Tampa F e rtz. Co .. Tam2. 2G\ 13.18 pa, Fla. 4.00 / 5 .00 ! Tampa F e rtz. Co., Tam4.52 G.11 [ pa , Fl a. I I 2.00 j lG.00/T a mpa Fedz. Co .. Tam2.73 1 l G .7 9 pa, Fla . I I 4.001 6.00ITarnpa F e rlz. Cn., Tam3 .9l.l i G.92i pa, Fla . G. 50 II ...... /Independ f' nt F e rtz. Co ., 6. 20 . . . . . . .Tack s onYille, Fla. I I t-:i 4.00 11.00 1 , 1 ~. 0. P a int~r Fertz. Co . , 3.971 12.08 Jacks o uv11le, Fla . I I 4.001 11. 00IJ~. 0. P a in t( 0 r F N tz . Co . , 4.G5 j 12.95[ Jack so n v ille, Fla. I I LOO I 6.00 I B. 0. P rtinte r F e rtz Co., 5.881 7 .72[ J a cks o nville, Fla. I I

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DEPARTl\'.IE:NT OF AGRICULTURE-DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY. FE EDING STTJFJ? SEC'.l.'IOX. R. E. ROSE, State Chemist. SPECIAL FEEDING STUFF ANALYSES, 1911. E. PECK GREENE, Asst.. Chemist. S a mple:s Tak e ll hy I'nrrhnf;er 1uder Section 9, Act Approved May 24. 1905 . .. , ____ __ _ _ ... ----~ ... ----.. . ---------• --NAME, OR BRAND. Fe,d No . 1 . .... . ......... . ..... . ... . Fa n cy 1 V iut e r \Vl iea t ......... . . . ... . 1 Yh :8t Fe ed ............. . .. . .. . ... . J'!:ilillin,;s . .... . ........... . ....... . i) :lisy Dairy Fee r l ................... . ,J:ty No. 1 ................. . ........ . t::.: ! ! ,g I , o "' I c:! I .e .. ~ ; be ~z ~~ J i ~Z i 2 200 00 I P--t { IJ. i.. <:l l ~~ JI r. .45h .l. 71!5:U 1 ! 3 ~ 5 ~ i ~. ~;r:\ rnl e r-,;ac:, :: r m ~r,iln Co .. Tampa, ;1:. . . 1 5 1 ; G.O! I Jl8.4 :li S G_ : ;.; I : ~ !l ;; ! ?. : -: i n. /\ . Ja -:: h s on, S h P riff , Tampa . Fla. J.G::::! 5.~ J0 1 l3. 70\5 7. 7: ~i 0. G :-,! -~ .n 5 ! I-L A . .Jacl ~ sc n. Sheriff., Tan 1 p a, }1,ln. ] .. ,,, 5 r, ' 1 . , o, -, ' 1'. 4 r ' 1 0 \ l 1 . Sl . ff 1' l'l l ~ ;, 1 , ,," ~ : ;_ l ~. ;:: " , 1 1 ; 1 , .. ' !; . .>i , ! . , :, n . . . ,. ,,c , so n. ie r11 , . arn pa, a . . , ~ J ...:. , J/ , f. o : -' . -t 1 .r 2. :. .n ! f ; _ ) ;) : f{. L. f!u kc ... ."D : :.F' 11niak Spring-8 , ..1. .a . l3 f: f l7. 15J l~.5~!:;~ ~Gf 4.:i q1:u . 1i:c ~. ,:_ Mc S . innon, Dd,'nnia,, Springs, Fla. TL,y Xo ~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 15Li 11. f:9 , l e ,. 4.i .,i, . .J( , 1 4. t I 1 3 J . S:,' C. D . l\IcKin non, J.lce F'uniak Sprin:;s. Fla . 1 ~7 ! 1D .2 L37 . 4~ J 3 L7 f. 1 j G.~,o l 5.0 ~ ~ ! ' .i'h <. Fln. j 1 la l\Ianu fact nr l n g Co., l\ladison. Fla.. 158 I 9. 8 3 1 :l,. 'i'G : 30. : : , q 6. 07 I 5. 6:'. ' A. Y-:. Tnrn c r. Ho 0 forcl , Fla . Cotton Se ei .1 ~Teal . .... .. .... . ..... .. . Cotton Se eu M. ea l ......... . ........ . . rotton Se e d l\Iea l ..... . ..... . ... .... . Cotton Se <': <1 Meal. ..... . . ... . ..... . . . (;ott o n Se e cl l\le ;c; J ................. .. . Jfi9 f .. . . . J .43 j ..... J •. f .... , i n. J 1 ' . llo~ t ick , qui nc y , F'la. Hi O ! ... .. 1 a8.6 8i . . .. 1 .... i ) G e n< c va L11muer Co., Eleanor. Fl a . 1611 .... . !35.381, . . [ ... , . _ !• _ T-~ _L izer. quincy, Fla. _ _ _____ _

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE-DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY. FEEDING ST UFF SE CT ION. R. E. ROSE, State Chemist. OFFICIAL FEEDIXG ST !I FF ,\?\' AL YSE S, 1911 . E . PECK, GREENE, Asst. Chemist. Snmples Taken by State Chemist and St .;,te In,,p er;t or V nde!' Se c tions l, 2 and 13, Act Approved May 24, 1906. ; t:, ... ; . 32 NAME, OR BRAND. E El i 0::, .... , ~Z ,a ! ...:i ----~ , -~ .. --, -I ) •l I . 001 ~A'.IIE AND ADDRESS OF MANUFACTURER. 6. 00 ...... Ke e ton-Krueger Co., Al ,ant a, Brand) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Odicia l An a l )s,s .. . 10 .. ,~ Cot.ton Seed Meal (Crownl10G3 G~ rn:-~u t'd An . ~ l7si s1 12.'.:'.~i 27. 1'11 7 .05 6. a 2 Ga. Cotton Seed Meal. ....... 1064 Gu arant'd Analysis I Offi cial An alysi~. . . 11. 2 0 :23 . 0(1 23 .2;] 8 0 ,(;0 1 -15 .81 Cotton Seed Meal. ... .. ... 1065 Guarant ' d Ana l ysis . . . . . . 38 .62 , . . ... . Official An alysi s... 9. n 39 . 35 J 29 . 21 Cotton Seed Meal. ........ 1066 Guarant ' d Analysi s . . . . . . 38 . G2 ... .. . Offici a l An alysis ... 10.:17 36 .3 S 33.39 Cotton Seed Meal. ......• . 1067 Guarant'd Analysis ... ... I 38 . 6 2 ..... . Official Analysis... 12. 74 37. 82 29. 22 4. 50 .. .. .. S out hern Cotton Oil Co.. Sa5. 27 4. 50 vannah, Ga. . . . ... Planters' Oil Co., Albany, Ga. 7.03 6.0 4 . ..... Frederick Heakes & Sons, Mo5. 81 6. 00 bile, Ala. . .. . .. The Laurens Cotton Oil Co ., 5.22 6 .0 2 Dublin, Ga . Cotton Seed M ea l ......... 10 68 Guarant'd Analysis . . . . . . 33 . 62 .................. Thompson Oil Mill Co., HawkOfficial Analysis.. . 9. 53 40. 28 2 8. 27 7 . 16 5 . G2 insvill e, Ga . --------~~--' -------'---~ Ot

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OFFICIAL FEEDING STUFF ANALYSES, 1911-Continu e d NAME, OR BRAND. ..: Q) .0 r;; 'O ~..: d ..c::1 cu 2 2 c 3 .G 3 ) : ; .0: ~r T e nn. I I 4 . 1;11' . ... ! Th P Dunlop Millin g Co. , Cl a rks1. :o I ! : ~.,G I Y i l! P . T e nn. ~ . 0 2 / ... . .. / 'l'Jw C o lumbia Star Milling Co., . 5.lG ! 3 .:l S! C o lumbia, Ill . , 1 . o n/ . . . . . . / Atl an ta l\Iil!in g Co., Atlanta, 4 .07 / 3. 17[ G ~ . I I 4. On / ...... I Dnhnk p -Walker Milling Co., 4.5 3 / 5.S 9 : U nion City, Tenn. 4.no / .. .. .. / n. L. H o llid ay !\'filling Co ., 4.20/ 5.18 / C a iro , Ill.

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Pur e Wheat Bran ........ 1077 J Guarant'd Analysis! !) . 501 14 . 50 53 .221 s. 77 14 . 40 c•> 73 1 1 Offic i al An a lysis . .. , Do . I Bran . .. ... .. . .. . ........ 1078 : Guaran t 'd Analysis 9.20 13 . 10 ,. 'I \ offi c ial Analysis ... 7.88 13.60 5G .~1 Invi ncib l e F ee d I . 8 . 00 15.04 G0.24 . . ........ lO'i!J 1 Guarant'd Analy s i s Official Ana l ysis . . . 7.95 15.16 5S.2S1 Dandy Middlings . . . . . . . . 1080 Guarant'd Analys i s G.00 15.00 55 .00 Official Ana l ysis ... 2.11 15.18 r.:1. 28 Cotton Seed :Mea l. . . .. ... 1081 Guarant'd Analysis . . . . . . 32 . 1 8 Official Ana l ys,s. . . 1 3 .11 33. 56 3 0. 42 Cotton S ee d M e al. . ....... 1082 Guarant'd Analysis 36. 62 Official Analysis.. . 11. 08 37. 52 2S . 4 2 Choice F ee d . ... . .. .... . .. 1083 Guarant'd Ana l ysis 7. 97 1 3 . 00 54. 00 Official Analysis.. . 8 . 85 1 3. 34 58. Hi Globe G lu ten Feed . ... . . . . 1084 Guarant'd Ana l ysis 24.00 5 1.00 Official Ana l ys i s .. . 6 . 78 25 . 32 49. 8 4 Pure Wheat Bran & Shorts 1035 Guarant'd Analysis 7. 65 14. 75 Official Ana l ys i s. . . 6 . 36 14 . 83 Cracker Mu l e Feed .. . . . ... 1086 Gnarant'd Analysis 12. 00 10. 00 Official Analysis.. . 13. 07 12. 2f> I B. & H. S c ratch F r eel. . . ... 1087 Guarant'd An a lv sls 4.00110.00\ Official Analysis.. . 2. 60 11 . 8 5 5 4. 5 0 59.37 I 5 8 .0 01 :'i G. 5 11 I G5.00 I 68.02 1 4. 7 5\ . . .... \Col , umbi a . M\11 and E l evator Co ., 4.39 6 . 41 C olum b ia , renn. I ' 4 . 75\ ... . . . J Char l e ston Milling Co ., Charles 4.:l0 4.72 1 ton, Mo. 4. 30 ... . . . Hopkins Y ill e Milling Co., Hop4.44 2.76 J ; iu s ville, K y_ 4.00 ...... Washb u rn-C r osby Milling Co., 4.0 5 3.48 Louisville, Ky. ..... . ( . . .. . . ! Florida Cotton Oil Co., Jacl,6. !!2 5 . 671 so nvill e , Fla. I I ... .. I . . ... !Bainb r i dge Oil Co., B a inbridg e. to.;> 6. 9 0 6. 0 51 Ga. 2 . 95 . .. . . I Empire Mills Co . , Columbus, 3.26 5.00 1 Ga . 2. 50 . . . . .. !Corn Produc ts R e finin g Co., 2 . 27I 4 . 021 New York , N. Y. 4.501 4.75 1 Barrett, D e nton & Lynn Co. , 3.53j 3.77\ Dalton , Ga . :1. RO 1 ! The Qua k or Oat s Co . , Chicago , 3.68 1 ~.Sll Ill. ! I " 00 1 .. . .. . i Baker & Holn,es Co. , J ackson 3 .2i:il 1.76 1 vill e, Fla.

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NAME, OR BRAND. OFFICIAL FEEDING STUFF .ANALYSES, 1~11-Continued. I >, . ... ... 0