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.1.:
Where ndusty
is Rewarded
a PPublished by
General Development Departmen
SEABOARD AIR LINE RAILWAYt3MPAN
-NORFOLK VIRGIN
S, YJ. P. DERHAM, Jr.,
ez G(rN. DEVELOPMENT AGENT .. auckso.y ALFa
S AR;ND Y. Jacksonvie, FI.
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A Personal Vord
I NDUSTRY on the farm is rewarded unless where seasons are t( ..,I T.
where lack of rainfall allows crops to dry up, where hot windl
them, where floods wash them away, or where that grown is prod ll
so far from market it cannot be transported profitably,
The conditions surrounding agriculture in Florida are such thlal
practical farmer is safeguarded against all of these. There'is no State % he ni
determination, ambition, courage and hustle on the farm return greater pri
Every kind of fruit, vegetables, live stock or general farming, whrrlthr on
ten, forty, one hundred, five hundred or more acres, to which intellb-enrii
dustry is applied, handsomely rewards the operator.
The photographic reproductions herein are scenes taken in territ.,r. -e 1
by the Seaboard Air Line, and represent, in a small way, some of the l:inr -
activities that yearly take place therein.
An honest effort has been made to set forth conditions that at pr,.enti it
tain, or that can be expected by any wide-awake, active settler. The tI
kind will find things less to their liking in Florida than elsewhere. H,, i r.
it must be confessed that the farming and other work that is done thr..-il. l
the whole year is under conditions that are not far from ideal.
If in doubt as to what steps to take, write the Department f-:ll\ .1%
your conditions, your hopes and plans, and let it advise you. Its repre-e
tives are practical as well as trained men in agriculture, and thoroulhl\ kl
the State of Florida, together with what has been done and what c; n be
there. They also follow up their recommendations by personal visr- t Li
farm, free of cost, whenever desired.
Read every page of this booklet, for it points out the many xe\l r
opportunities in FLORIDA-WHERE INDUSTRY IS REWAR.K ).
jJESSE M. JONES.
General Development Ag,
2 Fbrida, Where Industry is Reawarded
. -r
Ninety miles of grapefruit
Florida
Where Industry is Rewarded
OVER four hundred years ago Ponce DeLeon and his Spaniards on
an Easter day landed for their famous hunt-"the fountain of
youth" and the gold which were never found, although they were
there then as today.
Prolonged youth and wealth are not in the springs of Florida, but in its
soil and climate, from which peace, happiness and prosperity spring forth.
This life is not for the indolent, but for the industrious and thrifty soil-tiller.
The wealth that comes to her farmers every year from oranges, grape-
fruit, vegetables or live-stock is several times the purchase price, $5,000,000,
paid Spain by the United States.
Perhaps no State in the Union is so little known. People have always
looked upon it as a most delightful place to spend the winter season, but have
now found it to be pleasant and satisfactory for permanent residence, and a
country which affords splendid opportunities to the home-seeker; a place for
investment, and for carrying on the various branches of agriculture.
The Vastness of Florida
Few realize its vastness, which equals the combined area of the New
England States, and stretches from north to south over five hundred and
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Florida, Where Industry is Rewaded .
fifty miles, and from east to west four hundred miles. Its more than one
lion people are drawn from every State and from most sections of the wo
These, having initiative, education and character, sought this commonwe
:is i-permanent home, and have built up a citizenship of the very cream of f
rest of the earth.
While there is room for millions more, land. is advancing in value,
that he who. purchases now cannot go wrong. It can be bought surprising
cheap, because there is so much of it. Any farm purchased and prope
handled will not only yield handsome profits, but its value will increase e
year.
Farming in Florida has passed the pioneer, speculative or experiment
stages. The natural resources and opportunities make money-getting, p
perity and advancement faster than almost any place elsewhere for progre
persons with modern methods.
There is But One Florida
Therein, agriculture in its several branches offers to the average man
greatest opportunities for home-making and general well-being. Florida le
all other States in the number of each of the three classes of soil products
sidered essential to the welfare, happiness and prosperity of man. These
First. Thirty distinct kinds of commonly known standard crops used
food for men and feed for live-stock.
Second. Twenty-five varieties of vegetables used by men and domes
animals as food, and as staple commercial products, and always in dema*
Third. More than twenty varieties of fruits, each in demand in i
season in the markets of the world.
Here then are nearly one hundred soil products, which cover the wh
range of food for man and beast. For every item going to make up
of these several classes of products there are many opportunities. Here
the evidence that all are not letting these go idly by.
In 19o1 there were 50,016 farms in the State, and 133,347 in I918,
average size being about 1oo acres.
Florida is Awake All the Year
The farmers are progressive. Their bank deposits show that great s
of "cold cash" come to them. They have strong organizations that secure
highest available market prices for their products and the fast freight and
press services carry them to the markets of the world in the fastest time.
The prosperity of Florida is reflected in its State banks, which h.
grown from sixteen in 1890 to two hundred and two in 1919,
Farmers working the lands to the best advantage secure three crops
year, while four is quite common. The climate and equitable distribution
moisture permit a growing season of practically the entire year. The ran
of crops grown is practically unlimited. Wonderful yields are secured in co
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
oats, rye, rice, peanuts, tobacco, sugar cane, cowpeas, velvet beans, hay, Irish
potatoes, sweet potatoes, melons, berries, all truck crops, citrus, other fruits
and products.
General Climate of Florida
Perhaps the greatest misconception of Florida is with regard to its
climate. Because of its southern location and considering the everglades in
its southern portion, some suppose it to be very unhealthful, and hot in the
summer, but such is not the case.
Florida has thousands of lakes and a greater coast-line than any other
State in the Union. The temperature is modified by the waters thereof, re-
sulting in a favorable all-the-year-round temperature, and a climate one of
the most equable and agreeable on this continent.
In the northern part of the State the temperature sometime during each
winter usually falls below the freezing point, ranging from ninety-five to
twenty-six degrees. Frosts are rarely damaging before the first part of De-
ceriber. The average frostless growing season is approximately eight months.
Occasionally the central portion experiences no frost of any severity
during the entire winter, and it always enjoys a growing season of nine to
ten months. The last of February marks the passing of dangerous cld.
In the southern portion the growing season is eleven to twelve "months
with the usual temperature variations from ninety-five to forty-three degrees.
It is the rule for winter to pass without damaging frost. When light\frosts
occur, it is usually only two or three times during January or February. The
lowest temperatures are only of a few hours' duration.
Rainfall
The distribution and frequency of rainfall are generally quite uniform
from year to year.
In the southern portion the period of greatest rainfall, known as the
"rainy season," begins in June and ends in September. In October the com-
monly called "dry season" sets in, and, with little variation, continues until
May. However, during this period there is sufficient rain for all crops.
The northern section has an average season precipitation as follows:
winter, o1.81 inches; spring, 9.61 inches; summer, 20.83 inches, and autumn,
12.47 inches.
Seventy-five per cent of the rains occur during the day, mostly in the
afternoon as showers. These rarely continue into the night, at the begin-
ning of which the clouds disappear and a temperature of sixty-eight to seventy
degrees follows. Moderate temperatures make out-door life always possible.'
There Are Soils for All Purposes
The soils of Florida are more or less alluvial in their nature, and are
classed as sandy and clay loams. The large number of distinct soil types
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
makes it readily possible to find large bodies of land in every county adap
to many kinds of agricultural pursuits, therefore the necessity for caref
studying any tract in which interested.
Lands are locally called "pine land," "flatwoods," "prairie" and "h
hock," which terms apply to different natural soil types, dependent prim
upon character of timber and plant growth, soil and drainage conditi
"Flatwoods" applies to those low-lying, generally poorly drained lands
porting a shorter growth of long-leaf pine with an undergrowth of
palmetto, gall-berry and myrtle. These lands are usually underlaid at
depth of one to two feet with a harder stratum of very fine sand, toget
with organic matter and iron compounds. "Prairies" are open land-
normally covered with water-loving grasses and without trees, for the r
they are subject to overflow during the normal rainy season.' The "h
mock" lands support hardwood growth, and often pines, cabbage palm
and palms, especially in the southern portions. As a rule, they are under
with clay, marl, limestone oi shell, or combinations of these.
"Pine lands" are covered with growths of long-leaf yellow pine, the
and number on a given area usually depending upon the soil fertility
water supply. The undergrowth in the northern portion is wire grass;,,
the south is approached it usually gives place, more or less, to palmetto.
[I~BL~`,IY
x. Hammock land found in Central and South Florida
a. Flat woods land found in Central and South Florida
3. Pine land in North Florida along the Seaboard Air Line
4. Prairie land found in Central and South Florida
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
2. Felvet beans on new land
used as temporary pasture
Florida-It's Divisions
FOR ccnvenier.ce of description and for purposes ot general location,
Florida is subdivided into West Florida, Northern Florida, Central
Florida, South Florida and East Coast. Of these Northern, Central and
South Florida are traversed by the Seaboard Air Line.
Northern Florida
Northern Florida counties traversed by the Seaboard are: Nassau,
Duval, Clay, Baker, Bradford, Alachua, Columbia, Suwannee, Madison,
Jefferson, Leon, Wakulla and Gadsder. In the western portion of this
division the lands have formerly been in cultivation, and large areas are free
of stumps ard timber and ready for farming. Most of the soils are sandy
loams underlaid with a clay sub-soil. The topography is gently rolling, but
going east and south it becomes more nearly level, although there is usually
abundance of drainage. Near the coast large drainage systems carry off
surplus water.
Large lerds of beef cattle and sheep have lately been brought in and
some of the largest herds of pure-bred hogs and dairy cattle are found here.
The principal products are cattle, hogs, sheep, corn, hay, cowpeas, pea-
nuts, velvet beans, soy beans, sugar cane, tobacco, sweet potatoes, water-
melons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, cabbage, strawberries, sorghum, oats, Japanese
cane, pecans, Irish potatoes, peaches, Satsuma oranges, also some lumber and
naval stores.
Lime and phosphate are produced in Alachua County and Fuller's earth in
Gadsden County.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Central Florida
Central Florida includes Levy, Marion, Citrus, Sumter, Lake, Or e,
Hernando and Pasco counties served by the Seaboard. These have a sdy
loam soil, much of which is underlaid with a good clay sub-soil. There a
large amount of rolling land, and some of the counties have a great nu r
of fresh-water lakes, which adequately serve its broad acres of vegetables d
citrus fruits. Large beds of muck and areas of prairie, hammock and e
have been put into cultivation. New areas are constantly being added. T re
are large tracts fenced for cattle, and here are found some of the very -t
and most extensive stock farms of the State. Citrus fruits, cane, et
potatoes, cattle and hogs are the principal products, with dairying -
coming more prominent. In addition this section produces cabbage, cu -
bers, lettuce, celery, beans, eggplant, peppers and strawberries. Hard p -
phate and lime are shipped out in large amounts. Lumber and naval es
are not so prominent as formerly.
South Florida
South Florida counties along the Seaboard are: Pinellas, Hills o,
Polk, DeSoto, Maratee and Lee. Of the large variety of soils, sandy loam e-
dominates, this being mostly underlaid with clay and sandy clay sub-soil.t re
are large bodies of hammock and muck. Considerable cut-over pine land iJ
prairie is used for grazing purposes, with areas fast being fenced for imp ed
cattle raising and some drained for cultivation.
Citrus fruits and truck are the principal crops. Some of the oldest o ge
groves of the State are here. Beef and dairy cattle, and hogs, especially d
ones, are fast increasing.
This section has the mildest climate and best water protection; t e-
fore can produce earliest vegetables, also the tropical fruits of the Statel A
wide variety of other crops is produced, including all those of other par of
the State. Much of the phosphate and fuller's earth now being mined in he
United States is in this section.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Citrus Growing
Florida is Universally Known for It's Oranges and Grapefruit
T HE average person rarely thinks of, or mentions, Florida without im-
diately recalling its fine climate, golden oranges and splendid grapefruit.
The growing of these fruits may be called the safe industry of the State.
There has been in it almost a sure fortune for the industrious man, and in
recent years fortunes have been made from comparatively small investments.
The growing of oranges or grapefruit is one of the most fascinating of
all agricultural pursuits. The industry, while large, is in its infancy in the
State, and offers greater opportunities for achievement than ever before.
A Long and Profitable Life
One of the beauties of the Florida citrus-fruit tree, grapefruit or orange,
is that it produces more fruit of even quality each succeeding year, when
planted on soil adapted to its culture in the favored localities, and given
proper care and attention. In respect to length of life, no fruit trees compare
with the orange and grapefruit. If an apple tree reaches the age of fifty
Orange and grapefruit grown on the Seaboard Air Line
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded 9
years it is a notable event; but in Florida there are numbers of citrus s,
of both kinds, that are seventy-five years old, and yet bearing. There re
many groves fifty years old that are still profitable.
A National Reputation-Due to Superiority
Florida has the advantage over other parts of the United States of n ral
climate, shorter shipping distance and higher quality fruit, which is h er.
juicier and more highly flavored. This is proved by analysis, as well i by
palatability. The Florida orange is noted for its sweetness, and the r-
state Commerce Commission has declared in written opinion that F da
grapefruit, as to its quality, is entirely in a class to itself, and for this n
it was unable to look upon other grapefruit as constituting competition in
the ordinary meaning of the word.
In addition to this, when people from coast to coast will pay twen to
one hundred and forty per cent more for Florida oranges and grapefr in
preference to those from other sections of the country offered for sale at he
same time and place, there is no gainsaying their superiority. This they re
doing year after year.
Florida's Citrus Belt
In establishing, or buying, a grove, the first consideration should be at
of frost protection. The commercial citrus fruit belt commences some re
above a line east and west through Cedar Keys and from thence south d.
North of this are many large and profitable groves of long standing. he
advantages of altitude, or natural water protection of the Gulf of M 0o,
its bays and inlets, of rivers and fresh-water lakes, are such as cannot be r-
looked from a commercial grapefruit or orange standpoint. These are d
over large areas south of the line mentioned.
A Grove Can Be Depended Upon
The citrus grove can be depended upon, and is more certain than st
fruit crops, if the grower has a thorough knowledge of its culture. Its
ing and handling is an intensive business, and whoever intends to make a
sole occupation must master the fundamental principles. Citrus fruits ay
be grown as a principal cash crop on any farm that has suitable soil and I a-
tion, but if there is no other source of income the grove must be large e h
to pay overhead and other expenses and furnish sufficient surplus to care r
the family in years of lighter production.
Groves on general farms can be handled more cheaply, for cover ps
of beggar-weed and other legumes in older groves may be advantage sl
pastured off by hogs, poultry run among the trees, and farm manure d,
thus reducing the amount of fertilizer purchased, or making it more profi t.
Waste products can be better utilized, and in case of crop failure, the ve
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Need not be neglected because of insufficient funds. Irrigation, if used on a
general farm, can also be used in the grove to good advantage, although this
is not necessary.
Not all groves are run profitably, due to undesirable location or planting
of wrong trees, but most frequently because of improper care. If a grower
is not equipped financially, or with necessary practical information for the
development of a grove, it is generally best not to go into the business; or,
in case of lack of money, to reduce the size of the grove for the time being.
For him who is properly equipped, and is industrious, citrus growing alone,
or preferably in connection with some other lines of farming, offers wonder-
ful opportunity for making a handsome living, or making money. Many join
truck raising with citrus growing, and on the same ground while the trees are
being developed. In this way earlier returns are received than where only
the trees are depended upon.
Four years is the earliest profitable returns can be expected from grape-
fruit trees, and at the fifth, or perhaps the sixth year, in the case of oranges.
Many receive princely profits, amounting to at least $I,ooo or more per
acre, in favorable years, when the trees are ten years old. Established groves
usually sell from $I,000 to $2,500 an acre.
Markets Are Firmly Established
This industry has been on a commercial basis so long that the producers
have been able to well organize the gathering, packing and shipping of this
fruit, and the marketing is being well taken care of.
The orange and grapefruit business in Florida has undergone a steady
and healthy growth from the first. Its most satisfactory development dates
fiom the beginning of co-operative marketing, something over ten years ago.
This agency, The Florida Citrus Exchange, which sells under the trade-
mark "Sealdsweet," handles the fruit of many thousand members, and main-
tains a chain of modern packing houses to help in properly preparing the
fruit for market. It has representatives in all trade centers, who are in close
touch with the marketing situation to aid in its operations.
Most of the fruit not handled by the Exchange is sold to buyers for com-
mission merchants before being shipped, which is now satisfactory. Some
large grove-owners have their own brand and a selling organization which
handles their output.
Artesian well used.by truck farmers for irrigation
Truck Growing
Florida-America's Greenhouse
F LORIDA is the winter greenhouse of America. Within it the tender
of vegetables are produced out of doors during the coldest months of
year. This, coupled with the quality grown, has made her especially nota
With the rapid railway service and the refrigeration the Seaboard mainta
these vegetables can be delivered to the consumer in as fresh a condition as f
they came from a much nearer market. Trucking is most attractive emp -
ment for the small landholder, as it requires only a small area, and six month
at the longest, covers the time from planting in the field until the crop
harvested. Many crops are marketed within ninety to a hundred days.
makes it possible to realize rather promptly on labor and capital invest
Truck Lands
No county has a monopoly on the truck lands, but some naturally ha
a larger amount of it than others. The soils used vary greatly, success
pending most largely upon the man who is handling them. Under pro'
arrangements a rather wide variation of soil may be adapted to the needs'
particular crops.
Irrigation
Ordinarily the rainfall is rather limited during the truck-growing ast
so that even the drained lands sometimes become dry enough to justify i
nation.
Florida, Where Industry is Reewarded
Fortunately water is so prevalent that by sinking a well an abundant
supply is procured. Artesian water is obtained in all parts of the State, but
only in certain areas do the wells overflow. Overhead irrigation, while ex-
tensively used, is not so common in some locations as formerly; however, it
can be employed on all kinds of land.
Surface irrigation can be practiced only on such lands as have a gentle
slope-four or five inches to the hundred feet.
In regions where truck lands are the most valuable the fields are under-
laid with lines of drain til e These are connected with a large water-main
which supplies the water when it is desirable to irrigate the land. This
system is practical only when the field is underlaid with a harder stratum to
keep the water from sinking down too rapidly. In wet weather this system
is used for drainage purposes.
Always Settle in Trucking Communities
A good trucking community has more to do with success than particu-
larly good soil, the character of which can be changed.
Trucking requires an immense amount of hand labor for only a short
period of the year. It would be very inadvisable to attempt to start truck-
growing far removed from the trucking centers or from rapid transportation.
Thousands have tried it and later moved to communities where truck-growing
was made the principal employment and where transportation was certain
and rapid.
Tomatoes
The tomato is the king truck-crop of the State. In southern Florida the
crop is planted out so as to mature for midwinter delivery, working gradually
Tomato field-grown in Seaboard territory
Florida, Where Industry is Rewsarded 3
Celery field along Seaboard Air Line
northward, so that by April and May they are going forward from the ce I
portion. It is the one crop that almost every truck-grower can raise, d
more people are employed in its production than in any other of the t k
crops. It is a versatile or adaptive crop. The man who chooses the t
kind of land and takes the proper care of his crop is certain to make m y
out of it. As nearly all of the tomatoes are grown for northern mar
varieties are selected that ripen evenly and well in transit.
Celery
While celery may be grown in all parts, the industry is centralized a
few sections. Celery growing is a high-priced line of agriculture, and is
not an uncommon thing to make a profit of $500 to $2,00o per acre. Gro s
are among those who have to pay excess profit tax. It should not be -
sumed, however, that all celery growers make so handsome a profit.
Expert labor is needed from the time the seed-bed is started until. e
crate is placed in the car. Without this nol grower need expect to prod e
the maximum crop or place it in the car in the best shape. Even the sm t
fields require a large amount of labor during the rush season. At shi g
time it is not uncommon for a whole train-load of celery to go forward a
single day. As a money-maker, the crop when taken as a whole, rivals t
of Irish potatoes.
Naturally celery soil is of the finest type and is worth from $5 o
$I,500 per acre when developed. These fields receive more thorough p -
ration than is given to any other crop.
The Florida celery comes onto the market fresh from the field aftet I
the northern stock has been consumed, consequently it is much more deli s,
and being grown under the most intensive methods is crisp, nutty and y
digested.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Irish Potatoes
Irish potatoes in Florida are classed among the fancy vegetables and
almost every year are very profitable indeed. Practically every county has
soil adapted to this crop and has produced them for northern markets. It
takes only ninety to one hundred days from the time of planting for the ma-
turity of the crop.
They do not require such expert labor as celery, lettuce, eggplants and
peppers. Ordinary good, intelligent laborers can soon be taught to perform
practically all necessary operations.
Soil preparation varies with the different localities and character of the
land. Provision is usually made both for irrigation and for drainage.
Labor-saving machinery can be used in planting, cultivating, digging and
grading, and motor trucks for transportation. Digging is done early, before
full maturity, therefore the largest yields are not secured, but this is made
up by the higher prices received.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are so generally grown that they are really looked upon
as a field crop and only the early production, such as may be marketed in July
and August, have been finding their way to the northern markets. With
Irish potato field of 400 acres along line of the Seaboard
Florida, Where Industry is Rewoarded 5
Sweet potatoes are a profitable crop
the curing houses, which are now being erected, the late crop can be hei or
the high winter and spring markets, thus making them still more profit le.
The crop is a sure one. Records on hundreds of acres average over two n-
dred bushels and many fields yfeld more than three hundred.
Beans
Beans are easily raised and handled. About all that it needs is good an
land. Fifty to sixty days covers the time from sowing the crop to the m et-
ing. No expert preparation is required in cultivation, packing, or t9 ut
them on the market properly. It is, therefore, a more strictly one-man p-
sition than almost any other crop. Snaps begin to go forward in O er
and November and continue all winter through until during May.
Cabbage
The winter-grown Florida cabbage is sweet,,rich and crisp. This op
is grown in most of the truck districts; however, there are certain pl in
each section where it is especially prominent. Like other special crop the
right seed has much to do with success, as do time of planting and fe za-
tion. Beginners do well to inquire carefully of several successful pl ers
in the vicinity as to methods of production. Rightly grown and ed
cabbage usually is a paying crop.
Lettuce
Sometimes two crops are grown on the same land in one season, b fre-
quently one is grown before a crop of celery. It makes very quickly and ds
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
experienced handling early in its growth. Next to celery, it is perhaps the
most exacting truck crop grown. With cool weather, rich, thoroughly pre-
pared soil, abundance of fertilizer and careful cultivation, large solid heads
with large, creamy, white leaves are returned, which abundantly reward the
producer. The central and southern sections are noted for the quantity and
quality of this crop.
Other Crops
Eggplant, sweet peppers, cauliflower, beets, okra, squash, early corn
and other truck crops are successfully and profitably grown each year in
several areas. This by no means ends the list, but does cover those most
largely produced.
Watermelons
The south is the recognized home of melons. They do best on rich,
sandy loam soil with plenty of sunshine and moisture. This kind of soil pre-
dominates in Florida, and no State has more sunshine. Melons of all kinds
are or can be raised, very successfully, in nearly all parts of the State, but
only in the southern portion can they be grown with real success during the
winter months. In the northern and central sections, from which the great-
Five acres of cabbage from which seven cars were shipped. Central Florida
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
est numbers are shipped, first plantings are made in January, February
March, according to the section, and from then until May. Several hund
solid train-loads go out bringing fancy prices. Farmers find it a quick, a
cash crop that can be followed by cowpeas, velvet beans, beggar-weed, i
nuts, corn or sorghum. The Monticello section is the largest watermn
seed center in the United States, and many are engaged in this industry.
Wdtermelons grown in North Florida
I7
IU I
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Cantaloupes
The genuine Rocky Ford cantaloupe is the standard variety planted and
makes to perfection. The acreage is growing each year, Some planters make
well over one hundred crates an acre and clear around $200, and make a ton
or more of hay afterward.
The most successful growers pack their products in a first-class manner,
plant enough of one kind to be able to ship in car-lots, as they can nearly
always be disposed of f. o. b. their station. If it is impossible for one farmer
to ship in car-lots, then they combine with a number of others to obtain car-
lot benefits.
Cucumbers
"Cukes," they are called for short, make one hundred to two hundred
crates per acre. In some sections hundreds of acres are devoted to raising this
early delicacy, and at big profits. With only four months from planting to
harvest it gives cash at the season of the year much needed for general farm-
ing. They are not grown for pickling, but for northern markets to be sliced
and eaten with salad dressing. The southern and central sections of the State
cater most largely to this trade.
Strawberries
Think of setting strawberry plants in October and gathering berries by
Christmas time; yet this is done each year in the southern and the lower
edge of the northern sections.
Cucumbers growing in Central Florida along
the Seaboard Air Line
Florida, Where -Industry is Rewarded
Picking strawberries in January along the
Seaboard Air Line
By planting a succession, strawberries of the very best quality can be d
for both foreign and domestic markets, or home consumption, from D n-
ber to June.
The hard, sound, well-colored ones that ship will bring from 75 ts
to $I at the beginning of the season and gradually fall to 25 cents a qu t,
when picking usually stops. This spring many in Hillsboro and o
counties sold over $2,500 from an acre. The price was unusually id
through the season, but half that is the usual return. $400 to $1,200 pI fit
is expected. Bradford County is also noted for large and profitable s v-
berry production. After picking is finished the plants are plowed up d
corn, tomatoes or some other crop grown on the same land the same r.
Some Peaches Are Grown
In the lower half of the central section peaches are often planted as f :rs
for citrus groves until grapefruit or orange trees are in bearing. These l]p
with the expenses-in fact, often pay the cost of the citrus grove. Here p h
trees bear heavily within sixteen to eighteen months from planting. Fac er
north in the State, out of the citrus belt, they are grown alone. Flol da
peaches command excellent prices on the hungry markets of the State as i 11
as farther north.
Limes, guavas, kumquats, loquats, Japanese persimmons, other i-
tropical fruits, figs, grapes, plums, dewberries and blackberries are g n.
Pecans, while grown in all sections, are most extensively planted in he
northern tier of counties where there are large and profitable orchards.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
General Farming in Florida
Live Stock, Grains, Forage, Pastures and Sugar Cane
PEOPLE not posted on the possibilities of Florida soil doubt whether
what is known as general farming can be profitably conducted in the
State. Florida is as well adapted to produce staple crops as any other section
of the country. It is true, much of its soil is somewhat of a sandy nature, and'
in some sections very much so, but even the sandiest soils can, by proper
methods of farm management and rotation of crops, be brought to the point
of satisfactory production. The sandy soil is its salvation, in that drainage is
generally good, and the heavy rains that sometimes fall do not tend to pro-
duce unhealthy conditions that are associated in the northern mind with
tropical or sub-tropical locations.
The long season enables one to work a diversified crop-production system
that is not possible anywhere -else. There is nominally the whole year to
grow in, so the farmer that studies his soil, location and the markets he should
cater to, has no difficulty whatever in making general farming and the pro-
duction of live-stock a success.
In case one crop is a failure another can be started immediately, which
is reasonably sure of being a success.
Live-stock is generally associated with general farming, and rightly so,
because without live-stock on the farm the ideal conditions cannot exist. All
prosperous nations find this industry is the rock-bottom foundation of their
prosperity, which holds true in Florida.
There is no better part of the world for the dairy cow. All the con-
centrates, hay and pasture necessary for production of high-grade milk can be
grown right on the Florida farm.
The hog is at home, and is raised economically.
Sheep are healthy, prolific, and profitable. The warm climate permits
lambs to be safely dropped at any season of the year.
All the staple crops, such as corn, small grain, forage and pasture can
be grown satisfactorily.
Most truck crops are planted in late winter or early spring, and har-
vested in time to allow a succeeding crop, such as corn, velvet beans, cowpeas,
or other crops on the same land that same season.
All standard breeds of poultry do remarkably well, and the average
rural family can have an abundance of eggs and table poultry at all seasons
of the year, with ready markets for all the surplus.
The kitchen garden is of equal importance with the family cow and
flock of poultry. These three work together in perfect unison.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Corn
Corn may be planted in February and harvested in May, or if plante
April, harvested in September. This enables the grower to mature and
vest two crops each year, which is a very great advantage to econos
feeding.
With each of these corn crops cowpeas can be grown, which ma
pastured after the corn is harvested. Peanuts and velvet beans are
grown and used in a similar manner. In this way ten to thirty bush
grain, in addition to the corn, is often secured. Beggar-weed grows v
teer in the corn, and with many or all of these crops, and may be past
with the same results as cowpeas or velvet beans.
The yield of corn varies in proportion to the experience of the gr
the time of planting and the soil. Without fertilizer it produces from
bushels on sandy land to thirty to fifty bushels on hammock land, and se
five to one hundred and fifty bushels on muck lands. A common prac
to follow vegetables with corn, and without additional fertilizer
thirty to seventy bushels per acre.
The Florida Experiment Station says: "Eighty bushels per acre
been produced repeatedly. Yields approximating, or even surpassing,
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
hundred-bushel mark have been produced. These, however, are exceptional
cases. Nor have these extremely large yields been produced at exorbitant
cost."
Corn is the principal grain crop for the feeding of live-stock, and probably
always will be. Each year the acreage is increasing, and with it the number
and quality of live-stock. This crop is, of course, the standard one for en-
silage, and its relative importance for this is not far different from that of
other States. There is a place for the silo in Florida's live-stock program.
Japanese Cane
Japanese cane is easy to propagate, requires a minimum amount of cul-
tivation, and the yield is from fifteen to thirty tons of feedper acre. It not
only yields more tons than almost any other crop, but is as rich in fat pro-
ducing materials. For forage, it is more valuable than corn and many other
crops. In combination with velvet beans it makes an almost ideal ration for
beef and milk production throughout the fall and winter months. One plant-
ing will continue to reproduce good yields for several years, if rightly handled.
It may be used as silage, winter pasture or dry forage.
Japanese cane was first introduced for the production of syrup, which it
yields varying from one hundred and fifty to five hundred gallons per acre.
The quality is splendid, but the cost of production is higher than for sugar
cane, hence it will never replace that crop. It furnishes good pasturage from
the middle of November to March, with little waste.
Oats
Oats do well in most sections, but are better in the central and northern
parts. They are sown in late October or early November and will usually
furnish good grazing throughout the winter season. Some add rape and
Twelve, acres of Japanese cane on Dixie highway.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
A thirty-five to forty bushels per acre oat crop grown in Northern Florida
vetch, which make more valuable pasture for horses, cattle, hogs and sheq
Harvesting is in May. Cowpeas and velvet beans both do well after oath
also corn and sweet potatoes.
Rye
Rye is one of the most important cover crops grown, being adapted.
almost all well-drained soils. Drained marsh lands and cut-over lands, esp
cially when being brought under cultivation for the first time, are good pla
to sow rye. It may also be sown with success on sandy soils.
Rice
Rice-growing has long been a profitable industry in a small way.
moist lands having considerable humus, where drainage can be control
Rice field in Florida before heading out
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Fifteen acres of sugar cane growing in Florida,
upland rice grows and yields well. While irrigation is good at times, drain-
age is absolutely essential. Rice is best planted from March 15th to May I5th
in thirty to thirty-six-inch drills to allow cultivation. A good average yield
is from twenty-two to thirty-three bushels per acre, while fifty bushels is
frequently made after a truck crop. Some use it extensively as a grain and
hay crop for work stock, and they do extremely well on itb
Sugar Cane
This crop is one of the most important and universally grown in the
State. It is adapted to all sections ard nominally to all soils, but, as with
other crops, the better the soil the larger the yield. Almost every farmer
has his cane patch for making his own syrup and sugar. Some get a nominal
and others a very large yield, but even with the average of three hundred
to three hundred and fifty gallons of syrup from one acre, it is a very profitable
crop. Six hundred gallons and more is common, especially where modern
machinery is used.
Dr. W. C. Stubbs, Director, Sugar Experiment Station, New Orleans,
Louisiana, says: "The climate of Florida cannot be excelled for the fullest
development of cane, and it has been incontestably shown that its soil is
equally adapted to the growing of sugar cane."
Prof. E. T. Stockbridge, Florida Experiment Station, in giving his ex-
perience in analyzing Florida cane says: "Our analyses of Florida cane from
eighteen different localities, covering the entire State, the present season,
show an average of 15.69 per cent of sugar, and an average coefficient of
purity for the juice of 86.30 per cent. The Louisiana comparison is 12 per
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
cent, a difference of 3.69 per cent of sugar and 5.80 per cent of purity in favot
of the Florida product. There is no question of equally heavy crops in out
State, so the superiority of Florida for sugar production can hardly be longer
questioned."
The United States Department of Agriculture, in discussing Floridi
cane, says in part as follows: "In Southern Florida, where the canes continue#
to grow throughout the winter without being frost-bitten, they attain a re
markable degree of sweetness.
Dr. R. E. Rose, Florida State Chemist, writes interestingly in the foi.
lowing manner: "In the cultivation of sugar cane we claim for Florida soil
a superiority over any other section of the United States, even including
Louisiana.
"In Louisiana a matured cane stalk-that is, one in the tassel-is praco
tically unknown. Cutting must commence in October or early November
because to begin later would be to invite a complete destruction of the crop
by freezing."
Florida's climate is certainly superior for sugar-cane growing, because
the season is longer and the rainfall advantageously distributed for the crop.
Its "rainy season" is during the growing months, when water is required.
The dry falls and winters insure the ripeness of the cane and a quick, cheap
Tobacco
S'r
;i- .-tss
Tobacco under shade in Florida.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Peanut field in Peanuts are a valu-
North Florida able money crop.
For forage they
make about twice as
much pork per acre
as corn
harvest. A "killing" frost rarely occurs before January. Grinding never
begins before November 15th in North Florida. In middle Florida killing
.frosts are rarer, and grinding continues from December ist to February. In
South Florida, south of the 28th parallel, frost seldom occurs, so grinding
can begin when the-crop is ready and extend into the next growing season.
The culture of sugar cane is practically similar to that required for
corn. Fall planting-October 15th to December Ist-is preferable to spring
planting.
In Northern and Middle Florida, properly cultivated and protected cane
"stubble" or rattoons, will produce profitable crops for two or more years,
that is, three or more crops from one planting. In South Florida rattoons
properly cared for may be depended on for as many years as in Cuba.
A safe and careful estimate of yield is twenty tons per acre. Sixty-five
tons have been grown on large areas of rich land, and thirty-five tons averaged
on fields of more than 500 acres. By many thirty tons is claimed as a fair
average to expect.
Peanuts
Peanuts are profitable for hay, for grazing and for market, the Spanish
variety being best suited to these purposes. They do best on light, sandy soil
and require no special cultivation except to be kept free from weeds and
the surface mellow.
Peanuts are often planted with corn after the manner of cowpeas or velvet
beans for hog pasture. Peanut factories of the State furnish ready market
for all grown for sale.
Live Stock
Improvement of stock and pastures is the great problem now being
worked out by the cattlemen of the State. In years to come Florida will be
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Stock cattle in Central Florida
among the first of the States in the live-stock industry. With its climate,
plenty of rainfall in both winter and summer, flowing wells and no need
for barns, it must become a great breeding ground for America.
Dr. P. H. Rolfs, Dean and Director of the Agricultural College an
Experiment Station, says: "Florida has more than twelve million five hu-
dred thousand acres of cut-over land. I might add that not more than 5 pe
cent of the State land is under cultivation. Our vacant and cut-over land
can support stock with their natural pasture. We can carry at least one hea
to every ten acres. One trouble is that this land generally is held in eno
mous tracts and the tendency is to sell it out in too small parcels. We ha
at least twenty-five million acres of idle lands with a few cattle roaming ov
this area-land which cannot be utilized for many generations hence, withon
recourse to live-stock-pure-bred live-stock at that. This is my stand as
Florida's program. Of course, we have a lot to do. We have to clean
the cattle tick and gradually eliminate scrub cattle."
.. i
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Active steps are being taken in cattle-tick eradication. Some counties
are free and others are fast becoming so. A few cattle in every county are
being dipped.
Those who wish large areas cannot do better than to purchase and get
the same ready for the large cattle development coming. Anyone starting
now must take present conditions into consideration. The scrub cattle spoken
of are small but of good conformation and just the cattle suited for grading
up. Some larger ranchmen use Brahma bulls to increase size on the range,
but beef bulls in enclosures.
The raising of good beef cattle is increasing and there are many herds
that would do credit to any State or live-stock show.
Florida is adapted to successful and unlimited live-stock growing of all
kinds, because of its unfailing water supply, the short period necessary for
feeding and sheltering and the production of nearly all kinds of grains and
forage crops. Within her borders is the greatest grazing region east of the
Mississippi River.
An idea of the number of the plants used for grazing, forage and hay-
making that are adapted to Florida soils is given by the following list:
Japanese cane, sorghums, millets, rhodes grass, -sudan grass, natal grass,
orchard grass, dallas grass, bermuda grass, carpet grass, para grass, napier
A milk depot on the Seaboard in North Florida
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded '
grass, tall meadow oat grass, mexican clover, johnson grass, crab grass, crow#
foot grass. rape, cowpeas, velvet beans, soy beans, beggar-weed, kudzu, pea-
nuts, crimson clover, bur clover, lespedeza and hairy vetch.
Dairying
There is no better section of the world for the dairy cow. All the con-
centrates, forage and feed necessary for the production of high-grade milk
can be grown cheaply right on the farm. Pastures, both permanent and
temporary, can be maintained the whole year round, and it is never necessary
to give extra food in winter to maintain the body heat of the animal, at
northern farmers have to do.
While grazing is easily provided the entire year, the silo is always a-
visable for two or three months in connection with every large herd. Cost
dairy barns are unnecessary, as shelter is only needed from rain while milkin
and for a few wet, cold days.
There are a goodly number of cows in the State with milk records
eight thousand to ten thousand pounds, and a few with records above thi
The number of high-class dairy cows is increasing constantly and rapidly
Rations for Dairy Cows from Well Known Home
Grown Feeds
In this list no attempt has been made to estimate the cost, as this w
vary according to farm conditions. Certainly they can be grown more chea
than bought on the market.
(s) Velvet beans in the pod ............................ o pounds
Japanese cane, cured in shock ....................... so pounds
Cowpea hay ....................................... pounds
(2) Velvet beans in the pod ............................ o pounds
Cottonseed meal .................................. 2 pounds
Japanese cane ................ ................. pounds
(3) Corn ............... .. ........................ 3 pounds
Velvet beans in the pod ........................... 7 pounds
Cowpea hay ................... .. .......... pounds
Japanese cane silage .............................. pounds
(4) Velvet beans in the pod ............................ 8 pounds
Cowpea hay ..................................... o pounds
Sorghum, green .................................... 2opounds
(5) Velvet beans in the pod ............................ pounds
Cowpea hay ...................................... 8 pounds
Crab-grass hay ................................... 8 pounds
Sweet potatoes (or cassava) ...................... 25 pounds
All hays and like feeds are usually fed in unlimited quantities. T
rations are not iron-clad. Cowpea hay can be replaced by beggar-weed
velvet-bean hay, or any good legume hay, depending upon which may be a
able, or can be grown to the best advantage. All feeds can be reduced wh
or in part where good grazing is provided.
The shipping of whole milk and cream anywhere in Florida is a pro
ing line of dairy work, and is being done by a large number in all secti
Florida, Where Industry is Re-warded
Cowvpea hay on farm in Central Florida
The larger towns make milk production very profitable with a demand far
beyond the supply, especially during the tourist season from September
through May.
Holstein and Guernsey cattle are getting a foothold in some localities,
but most of the dairy cows are Jersey.
Hogs
Hogs live out in the open all year and are healthy. They like variety of
feed-and such a variety of feed! Look at them. The following is a list
of useful forage crops-these and others will give pasture through the entire
year:
CROP CAN BE PASTURED FaOM
Dwarf Essex rape ...........................December to March
Japanese cane .............................. November to March
Rye, oats, barley .............................November to April
Sorghum, millet ................... .......May to November
Chufas .................................... August to December
Sweet potatoes ...............................October to December
Cowpeas and soy beans ......................July to November
Peanuts .................................. September to December
Florida pork can certainly be produced cheaply. The quality of its home-
cured hams and bacon is unsurpassed. Some grain is needed, but fully two-
thirds can be saved by grazing. For a permanent pasture it is doubtful if
there is anything better than bermuda and carpet grass. These do not furnish
pasturage for the entire year, but can be depended upon from early spring
until late fall.
Prize-winners at the International and State Fairs are grown within
the State, which speaks something of the quality of hogs being produced. One
will not go wrong to take up hog-raising, for the market is at hand, and
they can be easily and profitably grown.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded 31
x. Poland China sows ready for sale
along the Seaboard
2. International Grand Champion
Poland China sow at Chicago
Raised in Seaboard territory
3. Grand Champion Duroc Boar at Florida
State Fair, Jacksonville, 19x9
4. Registered Poland China sow and litter.
One boar of this litter sold for $725 when
three weeks old
More attention is now given to hog-raising than in the past because
Florida farmers, in their quest for wealth in fruit and truck, overlooked a
good thing, but have now found it out. More and larger hogs each year go
to the packing plants at Jacksonville and Tampa.
In accordance with laws of Florida, the State Board of Health furnishes;
seven hundred and fifty cubic centimeters of serum at half price. Its agents
administer the serum at a specified cost to the owner. Realizing there are,
farmers who require more than this amount of serum, arrangements have
been made whereby owners can obtain the same, without limit, at cost price.
Sheep
The softness of the climate permits lambs to be dropped at any season,;
and seldom does twelve months pass from birth to birth--often only,
nine months. Ewes will rear more lambs each year than their own number.
Dorset sheep on a Florida farm in Seaboard Air Line territory
- IL Erp~a1
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Beggar-weed, commonly called "Florida Alfalfa." Used both for pasture and hay
A low shed, built on dry ground and opening to the south is sufficient shelter.
Throughout the year temporary or permanent pastures and forage crops best
adapted to sheep-raising can be provided in abundance.
Southdown, Shropshire, Hampshire, Dorset and Cotswold have been
used successfully for many years and have proven to be the best.
There are large herds which begin dropping lambs October x5th and
finish by January Ist, giving lambs which in May average seventy-five pounds.
Many owners allow their flocks to run on open range, giving them little
attention, but results are not so satisfactory as where better care is given.
Permanent Pastures
Florida is a grass country, wherein it is not difficult to secure permanent
pastures of the highest quality, which increase yearly in value and feeding
capacity.
The prairie lands make excellent pastures without plowing. Wet places
planted to water-grasses are especially valuable during winter. Where the
soil is not too light, lespedeza (Japan clover) does well alone, or with
grasses. Carpet grass given a chance quickly takes possession of all but the
lightest soils, is permanent, invaluable, and easily destroyed by plowing.
Bermuda grass will grow on all fields of fair fertility.
On the natural ranges and old fields, cattle make good gains for six
months, about hold their own for three months, and will need feeding during
the other three months to keep them in good conditions. There is urgent
need for permanent pastures.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Carpet, dallas and bermuda grasses, with lespedeza, make the best founda-
tion for most permanent pastures, stand drought well and furnish heavy
grazing from late spring until heavy frost. There are other grasses which
fit into particular situations; among those are para grass, for wet places,
rhodes and natal grass for grazing and hay, and napier for soiling.
Temporary Pastures
Wherever it is difficult to secure permanent pastures, or two or more
crops are grown on the same land yearly, temporary pastures will always be
largely used. Fields from which oats, melons, potatoes and other early crops
have been removed make fine pastures from July until into fall.
Cornfields in which cowpeas, beggar-weed and velvet beans have been
planted make the best of fall and early-winter grazing, and with japanese
cane practically finish cattle for market. Oats, rye, rape and vetches make
abundant and nutritious winter- feed. Some successful live-stock producers
use both combinations.
Among the most valuable plants for summer and fall grazing in Florida
are crabgrass, crowfoot, mexican clover and beggar-weed, all of which
make volunteer growths so late in the season as not to interfere with
other crops, and will cover and protect fields which would otherwise be idle.
Crabgrass is abundant everywhere in cultivated land; crowfoot is a close second.:
Beggar-weed grows abundant, if given a chance, and is unexcelled as pasture or
for hay for all kinds of stock.
L JW _M*
t- -s 'tfi : .* P
Improved range cattle in South Florida
I up-
3 -
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Poultry raising in Seaboard territory is a profitable industry
Cowpeas are grown more widely than any other leguminous crop and
should have a place on every farm. No plant grown in Florida fits into all
places so well as this in value for hay and soil improvement, and it makes
good pasture too.
The velvet bean holds first rank as an annual legume. It is one of the
best plants for the production of feed and as a restorative crop in the rotation.
It makes an immense amount of fall and winter grazing, produces seed abund-
antly, a'd leaves the soil in a fine condition for any following crop. On
newly cleared lands its growth is so dense that it smothers all grasses, sprouts
and weeds, and "civilizes" the new soil better than any other crop.
Some plant corn in six-foot rows, and when it is about a foot high plant
beans in it. Planted in this way the corn makes a fair crop and the vines have
abundant support. The yield of seed is from thirty to fifty bushels per acre.
7Vhen the seed has been gathered the vires and immature beans left make rich
grazing, and the fertilizing value of the crop is little reduced.
Grazing usually begins at about the time the leaves begin to fall and
may be continued through the winter, as both vines and beans remain in an
eatable condition. Dairymen find that it gives the greatest stimulus to milk
production when grazed in the fall, while beef-growers value it highly for
winter grazing. Hogs usually find plenty of good feed left by the cattle.
It is undoubtedly the most productive legume.
r
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
A Last Word on Live Stock in Florida
There is no part of this State in which success to a greater or less degree
in live-stock growing cannot be attained. The extent of that success will
depend upon the man. It is advisable to go into live-stock raising by degrees,
taking three years to get well started. A grower of experience may increase
herds and flocks more rapidly.
If improved land for live-stock farming is desired, it can be had in small,
medium or large tracts. There are farms ideally located in every county,,
close to local markets or railway transportation. Impnense areas of cut-over.
lands are yet cheap by comparison and can be purchased at reasonable prices,
in tracts from one acre to thousands.
Poultry Keeping
The rolling lands of the elevated sections and the lighter lands that make.
up much of the State are well suited to poultry-keeping, and within fifty
miles of good markets.
There is no snow, few frosts, rare freezes, and green succulent feeds
are to be had twelve months of the year. The greatest rainfall comes during
the summer, when the showers cool the air and help grow the big farming
crops of the State. Daylight runs from ten hours in the winter to fourteen,
hours in the summer. There is no need for lighting hen-houses in Florida
to get large egg-yields. Absence of stormy weather in winter gives all day
ranging in groves or fields.
There are commercial poultry farms with a long history of successful'
work, and the number is increasing yearly. The real poultryman, who is:
willing to slowly build up a business, need not fear Florida's conditions. It
is usually far better to combine, at first, a few pigs and cows with the poultry
venture.
There is no best breed. It is safe to select any popular breed, as suits
the fancy.
,Early hatching, which is the better time, begins in the southern section
late in December and closes in the northern counties in early May.
All that is required for housing is protection from rains and winds, mak.
ing them dry and comfortable-a watertight roof, a closed wall on the side
of prevailing cold winds, and wire netting to keep out "vermin" of the larger
sort. Seventy-five cents per hen should cover all cost and many flocks have
been housed at even less expense.
Heaviest egg production is in March and April, but the yield is satis-
factory in January and February, as well as from May to August. Well-fed
flocks of several hundred hens have records of an average of over twelve
dozen eggs per hen.
-~~~~~~~ --- r-- s-~r ~ag
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Taking life too easy works against poultry success in Florida, as else-
where. So many things favor this industry that some essentials of good
poultry-keeping are likely to be neglected.
There is no more danger of failure here than in other places. To play
safe, the poultry venture should be made on a small scale, beginning with a
few hens; increase 50 per cent yearly. All in all, conditions are favorable
to profitable poultry-keeping in Florida.
Bee Keeping Possiblities
Few States possess as favorable conditions for bee-keeping and honey
production. The remarkable yields of honey from mangrove, citrus trees,
palmetto, gallberry, and other blooming plants obtainable, have been well
known to the bee-keeping fraternity for years. Frequently northern bee-
keepers ship their apiaries to Florida for the spring honey-flow, and then
north again in time to store honey there.
While bee-keeping here does not offer a way to get rich quickly, on an
extensive scale, it is a highly specialized industry and is a success for those
who have had years of experience at it. As an adjunct to the usual farm
operations, bee-keeping is most important.
The new-comer will find opportunity, in nearly every locality, to engage
in bee-keeping in a small way along with other pursuits, and it will be found
both pleasant and profitable.
The Florida Home Has Ideal Surroundings
Florida is rich in its variety of trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, herbs, sedges,
grasses and mosses. In addition to all these, no State equals it in floral wealth.
Many of these bear flowers glorious in color and fragrance, each month
and season having its share, making a constant procession of floral beauties
along the path of the year.
In the winter season when rivers and lakes of the North are covered
with thick ice and the ground blanketed with snow, the vines clamber over
porches and trees and freight them with masses of pennants bewildering in
number and beauty. And roses, too,.of infinite number, sizes and color bloom
at Christmas time. And it is in winter that the orange and grapefruit trees,
in height of bloom, fill the air with indescribable fragrance.
Florida has over two hundred kinds of deciduous green trees of com-
mercial utility. There are trees growing here not known to botanists any-
where else in the world. Its native flora ranges from lichens to palms, mammoth
cypress and oak trees. These, some of them minute but charming creatures
of Nature, in their struggle to reach out to the skies for "a place in the sun"
and for their share of the air, thrive and silently tempt man to utilize them.
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
HomeGarden and Orchard
If there is a State in the Union where the garden can be made to yield
something for the use of man in every month of the twelve, it is in Florida.
Under average conditions, the rural kitchen garden of one-half acre,
with intensive cultivation, intelligent management, and suitable rotations,
will yield a net annual revenue of at least $500, or at the rate of $S,ooo per
acre. This is only a financial estimate of the value of the garden; whereas, it
would be impossible to compute the true health and happiness-giving value of
this important source of rural contentment.
It is only a question of foresight and judgment No one need depend
on one planting of snap beans, cabbage, radishes, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes,
sweet corn and many others, some unknown to those living in the north and
west; but, by continuing at intervals of several weeks apart, vegetables can
be had fresh, crisp and tender throughout the entire year.
The home orchard should receive the same care as the garden.
Every farm, too, can have a few strawberries, dewberries, raspberries or
blackberries growing. No one need be without a fig tree, a fruit as delicious
and serviceable now as it was in ancient times. Then there are oranges,
grapefruit, grapes, plums, peaches, pears, pecans, guavas, kumquats and dozens
of other fruits, new and old.
A Tried and Tested Rule for Success
After long investigation these recommendations for making a success
have been adopted by the State Agricultural College: "Two milk cows, two
brood sows, seventy-five head of poultry, at least ten hives of bees, not less"
than one-half an acre of a home orchard in mixed fruits, and a quarter of
an acre in home-garden vegetables." A family that is stocked in this way
need not care very much what happens, as they are assured of a livelihood if
a failure occurs in one or more of the farm or cash crops. Practical experience,
of farmers has, times without number, proven this rule to be correct.
The House in Florida
Understand, Florida has an average frostless season of nine to eleven;
months, with very short spells of-cool and cold weather during the remaining
months of the year. Therefore, the average home should be so designed and
constructed as to furnish as perfect ventilation as possible. In every case it
is advisable to have many large windows, which should always be screened;.
The living room should be large and connected with a wide, screened porch;
thus giving the advantage of a room outdoors and half indoors, and, in addi4
tion, protection when necessary. Sleeping porches can be used with comfort
at all times.
~ '"d~c~aB]a~4~ t~
Florida, Where Industry is Rewarded
Health Conditions
Health is probably of the greatest importance to the happiness of rural
home life. It may be stated without fear of contradiction that Florida is
especially favored in these advantages, as it has, without doubt, the most equal
and uniform all-the-year-round climate of any similar area on the American
continent. The State maintains an efficient health department with adequate
police power to enforce its regulations, which gives important protection to
its residents.
Next to climate, sanitary home surroundings are necessary to good rural
health, and are easily provided. Here again the State Health Department
renders valuable assistance through the personal advice of local health officers,
and its many excellent publications.
The water supply of the average rural area is almost invariably abundant,
and, as a rule, extremely potable and wholesome. Even the water from shal-
low wells, if protected, can be safely used for household purposes, although it
is always advisable that water be obtained from deep wells.
In the maintenance of good rural health, the quality and variety of Flori-
da's food play an important part. Due to the very long growing season, an
abundant rainfall with a warm and easily tillable soil, it is always possible for
the rural family to have an abundance of dairy, poultry and pork products,
garden vegetables, and fresh fruits through the entire year at insignificant
personal cost.
Schools and Roads
The most progressive and aggressive Florida counties are taking ad-
vantage of the wise centralized-school laws passed by the State years ago, and
have excellent, well-equipped and properly organized schools. The rural-
school children are given free transportation by the county to and from their
I 1
It. Florida you will find model
schools
Florida, Where Industry is Reowarded
x. Old Spanish Trail, Talla-
hassee, Florida
homes. A large number of counties in Florida are already provided with well-
planned systems of hard roads, and, before many years pass, good roads %wil
be found everywhere in the State.
Steps to Successful Farming
Every new settler should arrange it so that he will be. growing: First,
at all times sufficient food crops that are necessary to supply well his family
and his live-stock; second, a cash crop to be shipped to a market, either nearby
or distant; third, a systematic crop rotation based on the necessity of in-
proving the fertility of the soil right along as the seasons come around o
by one; fourth, plenty of forage, such as hay, sorghum, velvet beans and be
gar-weed; fifth, have sufficient live-stock to consume this rough material
sixth, have properly constructed barns so that the feeding can be done in t
most satisfactory way; seventh, save the manure from live-stock, which is t
best of all, for soil fertility.
New Conditions Demand New Methods
A settler should make up his mind that there are many new things
learn in farming. He may have been an exceptionally good farmer in som
other place, but in coming to Florida he will find it advantageous to for
a good many formerly successful practices, and realize that he has to imbi
some new agricultural education. He may have to pay for this education
some disappointments and some reverses, but anyone with "keep-at-it" spi
provided with sufficient capital to make a start, need not be afraid of maki
farming a success in the State.
Get Started Right
Practically every county maintains county agricultural and home
nomics agents, whose advisory .services are constantly available for the aski
The State, also, maintains an experiment station with several branches wh
Im
FIorida, IW/are Industry iM RetvarIedI
dependable advice can he obtained at any time. The Seaboard Air Line
maintains DIevelopmnent Agents ;t Jacksonville and 1'ampa to aid farmers
freely in ever farm and business activity. The State University at Gaines-
ville and the Department of Agriculture at Tallahassee can give an immense
amount of valuable service to those unfamiliar with agricultural and horti-
cultural corrditic(ns, and can furnish valuable literature on these subjects.
The State BIureau of Markets at Jacksonville aids imnmeasurably in solv-
ing marketing problems.
Antone coming to the State is advised to become a member and attend
the ineetings of the horticultural and live-stock organizations, depending upon
the kind of farming to be followed.
Money Is Needed
"Can a man go to Florida with $13oo and get a start at making a living
on a piece of land ?"
This question is often asked and stands out foremost in the minds of
many who are considering purchasing in the State.
T'o realize upon the opportunities afforded some money is needed. The
necessary amount of actual capital to make a start largely depends upon the
man himself. Many have succeeded who reached the State with only a
hundred dollars, or even less, but rone are advised toi come without ample
funds to carry them through the first, and far better the second, year. Those
with a few thousand dollars, by careful consideration, can secure a fair-sized
farm that \ill keep them busy the year round, which, if efficiently handled,
coupled with good health, good common education and industry, will not
only produce a good living, hut, after well settled, a neat surplus. Along
with money must go determination, willilngness and ability to work.
No S ne should place all of his money in land, but should save a sufficient
amount for equipment and working capital. Those with meager funds who
work hard and live carefully until they get on their feet will prosper, if the
success of men who have been in like positions is a guide. Some men with
little monev work on farms, truck fields and groves in the neighborhood until
they can get a start. Cheaper houses, less clothing, less food to purchase, in
fact, all living expenses on the farm can be reduced, which with the returns
that are possible are greatly in Florida's favor for anyone.
A Word of Caution
Before making any purchase, or even entering into any contract to pur-
chase, pay a visit to Florida to make personal investigation of the lands
offered, or secure information through some undoubted, reliable source. It
is best to do both. There is no scarcity of land in Florida. Unless this course
is pursued there can be no certainty that the interested home-seeker or in-
vestor will get what he wants. Besides, it is due to both buyer and seller
that common-sense methods and proper business precautions be observed.
IMPROVED
Florida Train Service
During Tourist Season
Leaving Jacksonville 10:00 P.M.
Arriving Tampa, Belleair, St. Petersburg, Bradentown
and Sarasota early the following morning; no local stops
Train leaving Jacksonville 10:15 P.M. for Tampa
makes local stops
DOUBLE DAILY DAYLIGHT TRAIN SERVICE'
Including the FLORIDIAN
Between
Jacksonville and Southwest Florida Points
DOUBLE DAILY TRAIN SERVICE
From
New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington
and Richmond
To
Savannah and Jacksonville
With Through Sieeping Car Service to East and West Coast
Florida Points
Alsh de
SEABOARD FLORIDA LIMITED
Operated January to April
CGABEr a ASSIE, Ila.. Primer. RiLhmed. Va.
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