Market gardening is conducted in many parts of the South in the same systematic and profitable manner in which it is often conducted at the North. Near New Orleans, Major Rountree bought a place in 1870, at that time in bad condition, commenced operations on it the following year, and in 1873 set out the first orange trees, which at present are 7,200 in number, 6,000 of which will be in bearing this year. Besides the ordinary varieties, he has 2,500 mandarin trees. And yet, notwithstanding the extent of the place, and the variety of the products, so admirably is everything arranged and conducted that the entire work is effectually done by a force of not more than twenty or twenty-five colored hands.

Major Rountree generally makes 800 to 900 barrels of cucumbers and 6,000 to 8,000 boxes tomatoes annually. He will make about 170,000 heads of cabbage this year, grown in a plot covering forty acres. Besides these staple products, a considerable portion of ground is devoted to the cultivation of strawberries, cauliflowers, peaches, grapes, etc., for family use. There is also an apiary, with an annual production of eight to ten barrels of honey.

Everything is conducted in the most methodical and economical manner, and yet, withal, imbued by the enterprising and liberal spirit of the proprietor. All of the plants are brought forward under glass, the place having nearly two acres of hot beds. The plants are set in the open ground as soon as the weather will permit, and in that way these large crops are handled like clock-work, and go forward in round lots by the car load, all under the brand which has become a standard one in the markets of the North and West, viz : the letter R, surrounded by a circle. So celebrated has this brand become that the Major's regular consignees, in Chicago and other large markets, accept it as a sufficient guarantee of the good quality of the goods shipped.