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POLK COUNTY
FLORIDA
MAP or POLK COUiNT, FLOwDA, SHOWwGo SYrsTM or 289 MILu or SHurr
AsPa.LT ROAMD. (Ree Description on Pae 17.)
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BARTOW
POLK COUNTY
FLORIDA
Where Florida's Citrus Fruits,
Vegetables and Farm Products
are at Their Best j
WHERE IT IS A PLEASURE TO LIVE
ISSUED BY
BARTOW BOARD OF TRADE
BARTOW, FLORIDA
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IARTOW UNION DEPOT
CITY HALL
MUNICIPAL LIGHT AND WATER PLANT SHOWING AUXILIARY WATIt RKESEVOIR
POLK COUNTY COURT-HOUmL RARTwW
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INVITATION
HIS booklet is an invitation from the people of
Bartow, Florida, through its City Council and the
Board of Trade, to the good citizens of America
to come and enjoy with them the blessings of sun-
shine, flowers, health and prosperity; to come to
Bartow, where, during midwinter, when there are
chilling winds, ice, snow, and sleet in most states.
roses, geraniums, nasturtiums, hibisci, poinsettias,
and many other tender flowers are blooming in unprotected places in
the open air, the oaks, palms, eucalypti, and bananas are beautiful in
their verdure of green, and the strawberries, oranges, grapefruit, English
peas, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, string-beans, etc.. are ripen-
ing; where watermelons, cantaloupes, sweet corn, and new potatoes are
being eaten before in many states the overcoat has been put aside; where
every day in the year the motorist may get pleasure from his automobile
on the unsurpassed asphalt road system of Polk County, the angler may
have use for his rod and reel, and the farmer may be growing some crop;
where the sun fails to show his face hardly a dozen days in the year;
where the summer temperatures are not as high as in most northern states;
where noe needs a coverlet nearly every night in the year; where there
are no heat prostrations or sunstrokes; where the energetic, intelligent
grower may be assured of an average annual net return of at least $100
'per acre; where there is a strictly modern, progressive town with good
schools, churches of the principal denominations, many miles of asphaltic
paved streets and granolithic sidewalks, good water, a sanitary sewerage
system, ample transportation facilities, amusements of the proper kind and
a hospitable and moral citizenship.
All these things one finds in or near Bartow. If they appeal to you,
come-for the winter, for the summer, or for all time. Again we say
come
WHAT BARTOW OFFERS
The visitor to Bartow, as he enters the city, is impressed with its
substantialness and beauty. The miles of paved streets, lined with
thousands of massive live and water oaks, the well-kept lawns studded
with tropical foliage, the commodious and elegant residences and the
solidity of the business and public buildings are an assurance that it is
a community of wealth and affluence. If he comes in daylight, he sees
some of the sources of its wealth before he is within the city--the many
... fine truck farms and citrus groves in the contiguous territory. And to
., these may be added the wealth which is being derived from the almost
S inexhaustible deposits of phosphate rock, the turpentine farms, the cattle
ranges, and the thousands of acres of timber, truly a diversity of re-
sources, almost at the city's very door. If he remains a few days, he
will most likely agree with its citizens that Bartow comes nearer com-
bining the progressiveness of the West, the stability of the East, and the
charm and hospitality of the old South than any other place of its size.
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BARTOW-ITS LOCATION
Bartow, with a population of 5,000 people, is the most centrally
located town in Polk County, of which it is the county-seat. At an
elevation of 116 feet above sea-level, it stands at the western edge of a
comparatively narrow stretch of land known as the "ridge" or "back-
bone" of the State, where are some of the highest points in Florida.
This ridge, running about north and south, is almost in the center of the
State, the distance to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean being
only about 50 miles.
Bartow is 45 miles east of Tampa. Florida's greatest seaport and
manufacturing city; 210 south of Jacksonville, the State's largest city,
and 100 miles north of Fort Myers, the most southerly railroad point
on the West Coast of Florida.
RAILROAD CENTER
Bartow is fortunate in being an important railroad center, an idea of
which may be had by turning to the map on the inside cover. It is
served by the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line railroads, both
trunk lines with innumerable branches and connections. The 12 trains
which handle the passenger and express business enter a union station.
The Seaboard, which entered Bartow in 1913, has just completed the
extension of the main line in an easternly direction some 25 miles, and
this opens up and makes easily accessible many thousands of acres of
choice citrus fruit land and virgin timber. Every one is confident that
this extension is the beginning of the Seaboard's line to some point on the
Florida East Coast, in which event Bartow will be the most important
town on that line between Tampa and the Atlantic Ocean. The
Seaboard has also built from Bartow a branch line of 12 milds in a
southernly direction, traversing a rich agricultural section and reaching the
great phosphate district in the vicinity of Fort Meade.
CITY GOVERNMENT
Bartow is a well-governed city-by a mayor and council. The
gentlemen who have filled and are filling these positions have labored in-
S cessantly to provide all the municipal improvements and conveniences
which so to make a modem city. Two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars have been spent for bitulithic and asphaltic-concrete streets, a
$17,500 city hall is a token of Bartow's progressiveness (the ground
floor of which is occupied by the Board of Trade), and extensions, cost-
ing $40,000, to the electric light and water systems, in which the city
had previously invested $75,000, were completed not long ago. While
water and lights are furnished at rates lower than charged by private
companies in most cities, these utilities are annually adding thousands of
A T TOW P L 0JU
dollars to the city's treasury, thus keeping down the tax rate. Pure water
comes from an artesian well, 726 feet deep, completely cased to prevent
contamination. Wastes and surplus rainfall are carried off by the septic
tank sanitary and storm sewer systems, costing $95,000. A motor-
driven American-LaFrance fire engine is an important feature of the fire-
fighting equipment, in charge of a paid driver and a volunteer fire com-
pany. An $8,000 library building, the gift of Mr. Andrew Carnegie,
is well stocked with an excellent selection of books.
So orderly is Bartow that a marshal and night-watchman are ample
for its protection and the enforcement of its ordinances. The colored
people are well behaved and seldom is one in the mayor's court. They
live entirely in their own section and their homes do not hobnob with those
of the white people.
The county has replaced the old jail building with a modern $60,000
structure. The $100,000 county court-house is perhaps the finest in
Florida. This building was erected without a bond issue.
The new $60,000 post-office building occupies a square in the center
of the city, together with the City Hall. Improvements on this square,
with foliage and flowers, will make this a remarkable beauty spot for
Bartow.
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A FEW RESIDENCES
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BARTOW PUBLIC LIBRARY
HEALTH
First-class sanitary conditions, good water, and a climate which per-
mits the maximum of outdoor life are responsible for the excellent health
of our people. A visit to the public schools will convince any one that
not only is there not much race suicide here, but this section is especially
adapted to raising healthy children. It is seldom that a child dies, and
nearly all deaths among the whites, numbering about 70 per cent of the
total population, are of very elderly people. Our death rate has been
established at less than six per thousand inhabitants, a rate which will
compare favorably with any place in the United States. While most of
the people who come to Florida for their health are benefited. many are
too far gone to get relief, die in the State, and thus make the death rate
of every community larger than it properly should be.
CLIMATE
The first summer in this section to the man from the North or West is
an agreeable surprise. Instead of weather that is unbearable or injurious
to one's health, he notes that from the middle of June to the middle of
September the maximum temperature figures are usually lower than those
in the place from which he came. Because it gets very warm in the
S North and West during the summer, he had supposed that it must be
S correspondingly warmer in Florida, noted everywhere for its delightful
winters.
The same causes that modify the winter cold contribute to temper the
heat of summer. For nearly 500 miles Florida juts into the sea, and
at Bartow the distance between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of
Metico is just a little more than 100 miles. The result is that almost
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incessantly Bartow is having a breeze, made even more delightful by
passing over the many lakes in this and adjoining counties, from one or
S the other of these great bodies of water.
i, The temperature is also materially reduced and the atmosphere
S freshened by the rains, averaging about 45 minutes per day, usually
occurring in the afternoon, which begin in June and continue almost
daily for about three months. Even when the sun shines with great
power almost immediately after one of these showers, there is an absence
of the closeness of the atmosphere, found in most sections under like
conditions. It may interest the reader to know that the character of a
large proportion of the soil in this section is such that no water is stand-
ing, and there are few evidences of mud, within an hour after the rain
has ceased.
The evenings are always delightful, very similar to those in the
Appalachian mountain resorts, and seldom it is that one does not sleep
under coverlet.
Many of the dailies include Jacksonville and Tampa in their weather
reports. Any day between the middle of June and the middle of
September notice your paper and see if the maximum temperatures of
these cities are not lower than of your own or nearest large city. And
if you still have doubt, visit our town during the summer. You will then
be convinced.
As to the mildness of our winters, it is only necessary to call attention
to the fact that Bartow's output of winter-grown vegetables is among the
largest in Florida. Most of these products are shipped during the months
of January, February, March, and April.
The following study of Bartow's climatic conditions is taken from a
bulletin issued by the U. S. Weather Bureau:
Mean Maximum Mean Minimum Rainfall
Temperature for Temperature for (in inches)
Twenty Years Twenty Years for 1914
January ................................. 71.4 48.4 3.85
February ................................ 73.9 50.2 3.13
M arch .................................... 81.0 55.5 1.32
April ...................................... 842 58.1 2.56
M ay ........................................ 89.3 65.1 1.15
June ........................................ 91.0 70.2 4.44
S July ..................................... 91.3 71.9 5.14
August ................................. 912 72.3 9.55
SSeptember ............................ 89.1 71.1 9.20
October .................................. 83.7 64.7 6.50
November ............................. 77.6 55.7 1.59
S December ............................. 722 49.3 3.88
Total ........... ........ ........................ ..................... .... 52.31
Average annual rainfall, 52.45 inches.
SIGHT
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EPISCOPAL PRESBYTERIAN
BAPTIST
ASSO. REFORMED
PRESBYTERIAN
METHODIST
MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CITY
Bartow is a good place in which to live, and it will make a strong
appeal to those who have children. It has had no saloons for about
twenty-five years-there are none in Polk County--and dives are not
tolerated. It is populated with a thoroughly moral, God-fearing, broad-
minded, hospitable, progressive people. Many are natives of this county
or State, but more were born in other states and foreign countries. A
welcome is extended to every newcomer, and merit rather than money is
the price of admission to the society of our people.
The Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Associate Reformed Pres-
byterians, Episcopalians, Christians. Adventists, and Roman Catholics
have substantial churches.
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HIGH SCHOOL PUBLIC SCHOOL GYMNASIUM
SCHOOLS
Bartow's public schools are among the best in the South. From
college- and university-trained teachers, holding professional and first-
grade certificates, the faculty is chosen.' The commodious brick build-
ings, costing about $60,000, are equipped with the latest school ap-
pliances. The second floor of the grammar school building is a well-
equipped auditorium with a seating capacity of 700. In the grammar
school are eight grades, in the high school four, and graduates of the
latter are admitted upon certificate to the University of Florida, the
Florida Woman's College, and nearly every other college and university
in the country.
Three separate, substantial brick buildings house the Bartow public
schools-one each for the primary and grammar grades and one for
the high school These are set about a delightful campus, on which is a
modern gymnasium building.
In the country districts are the eighth grade grammar schools.
Tuition is free to all white children in the county.
GRAMMAR SCHOOL
PRIMAY SCHOOL
.A C.O W FL. L o ID
ATTRACTIONS FOR THE TOURIST
Though Bartow makes no pretension of being a tourist resort, its
visitors during the winter season number about 5,000. It does, however,
appeal to those who desire rest and recreation with the opportunity of
being much in the open air; those who desire to be where they may
participate in or omit all social functions, but may occasionally attend
a good show, an opera, lyceum or Chautauqua numbers, or, at will, the
"movies"; those who desire to fish and hunt-in the near-by lakes.
fields, and woods; those who desire to spend much time in their auto-
mobile-on the hard roads in this and adjoining counties, and those
who desire a town where living expenses are reasonable. Bartow has
six hotels, and a number of restaurants and boarding houses. During
the winter months in many of the nice residences rooms are rented, both
for lodging and light housekeeping. At the Tillis and McRory. family
hotels, the rates are from $1.50 to $2 per day; at the Commercial,
$2 to $2.50; at the Wright House. $2.50; at the Nacirema
(European), $1 and up; and at the Oaks. a strictly modern hotel,
$2.50 and up. The boarding houses charge from $6 to $8 per week.
Rooms for lodging are from $8 to $15 per month; rooms for light
housekeeping, from $15 to $25 per month per suite.
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OAKS HOTIL POLK LAKE
PRACE RIVER STAR LAKE
TWIRTEN
A .KT O W FLOPJD
HUNTING, FISHING, AMUSEMENTS, SOCIAL
LIFE, ETC.
There is considerable game in this section of Polk County. Quail is
plentiful and is found nearly everywhere. There are some deer, bears,
and turkeys, but it is necessary to travel to the unsettled portions of the
county to find them. State laws permit only the bucks to be killed, and
not more than three a season. The open season for all game not wholly
protected is from November 20th to February 20th. Every hunter
must take out a license.
Almost every lake and river in Polk County teems with fish, and the
angler may get plenty of sport in the near-by lakes.
Kissingen spring, about five miles from Bartow, is a magnificent pool
thoroughly impregnated with sulphur and magnesia. Kissingen is a
favorite resort for picnics and camping parties.
"The routes to the many lakes and places of interest are attractive and
the scenery is full of charm to the Northern visitor who has left snow
and ice behind. Traveling over the county's 289 miles of asphalt high-
ways, past many beautiful orange, grapefruit, and tangerine groves,
prolific truck farms where the peas, beans, and other products are in
full growth, through the grand, healthful stretches of forest, silent only
for the gentle stirring of the air in the tree tops, inhaling the pure air,
delighting in the clear sunshine, the fascinations of Polk County are
indeed second to none in the -whole of Florida."
Fraternities are a prominent feature of Bartow's social life. The
Masons and Knights of Pythias have temples. The Masonic order has
the following lodges here: Blue, Chapter, Council, Commandry, and
Eastern Star. The Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World, and Modern
Woodmen also have their branches and meet regularly.
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A STRING OF BASS FROM QUAIL SHOOTING KISSINGUN SPRING
PIACB RIVER
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ASPHALT ROADS CONNECTING THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY WITH BARTOW
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A WONDERFUL ROAD SYSTEM
Bartow is the most central point in Polk County and is the hub of
the county's great, new system of 289 miles of asphalt-surfaced roads.
This road system (a map of which appears on the inside front cover
of this booklet) connects all the important towns of the county and
provides an unrivaled system of communication.
From Bartow there are many wonderful automobile tours in every
direction, over roads of velvet asphalt that give motoring the keenest
delight. There is every variety of scenery and contour, from the level
country in the west of the county, where the great phosphate industry
has its home, to the abrupt hills of the Scenic Highlands on the east.
S where orange and grapefruit groves line the roadsides everywhere.
This great, new system of asphalt-surfaced country roads is without
doubt the greatest public benefit ever undertaken by any wholly rural
S county in America. It is typical of the substance and progressiveness
of Polk County, of which Bartow is the county-seat
Literally, "all roads lead to Bartow," in Polk County, and this
wonderful, new road system must inevitably greatly aid Bartow in be-
coming the trading center of the county, as well as the seat of the county
government.
Bartow is on the Dixie Highway, that great thoroughfare which ex-
tends from Chicago southward to Fort Myers. 100 miles beyond
Bartow, and is on the official Goodrich through route between Jackson-
ville and Tampa.
ASPHALTIC-CONCRTKe PAVID STRET IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT
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AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL
CONDITIONS
That the possibilities of agriculture and kindred industries in Florida
are attracting the attention of people in every state and foreign countries,
is attested by the large number who are moving to the State. The
increase in population from 1900 to 1910 was 42.4 per cent, the largest
per cent increase of any state east of the Mississippi River. Since 1910
more have come each year than the one before.
According to figures published by the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture, the annual average value of farm products in Florida is $109.76
per acre. The same report shows that in the great farming states of
Ohio, Illinois. Iowa, and Missouri the figures are $13.36, $12.48,
$12.22. and $9.28, respectively. These figures give a reason for so
many people moving to Florida; they have also tired of the long winters,
the one-crop system, and the necessity of a large acreage to provide a
living. In Florida, most farming is intensive, and 20 acres generally
bring greater returns than 50 and 75 in many states.
But some ask if it is not true that agriculture and horticulture in
Florida will soon be overdone and the markets glutted. No, is the
answer. The population of the United States is one hundred million
and the increase is more than two million annually. Can two states,
Florida and California, the only ones in which citrus fruits, vegetables,
and strawberries are grown with success in winter, supply the demands
of all these people? A little more than ten years ago oranges were a
luxury in 90 per cent of the American homes; they are fast becoming a
necessity, and the consumption is rapidly increasing. And to a much
greater extent is this true as to grapefruit, which even Californians admit
reaches most perfect development in Florida. Grapefruit was known to
hardly one person in a thousand five years ago; to-day it is enjoyed by
millions, and, at the rate it is increasing in popularity, the demand for it
will in a few years be as great as for oranges.
Many demonstrations have proven that almost every general farm
crop, except wheat, grown in the temperate zone will do well in Florida.
There is great need of men who would be satisfied with somewhat smaller
returns than received from growing citrus fruits, winter vegetables,
strawberries, etc., to grow corn, hay, and other crops suitable for all
kinds of live stock, for all of which there is a ready market at home.
So there will never be a time when agriculture and horticulture will
not be profitable in Florida.
The climate, rainfall, soils, and transportation and marketing facilities .
make Bartow and its rural territory an agricultural and horticultural
section unsurpassed in Florida. That this is being realized by our
own people and those from other states is evidenced by the fact that
within the last two or three years several thousand acres in citrus fruits,
vegetables, etc., have been added to the large number already under
dul~rdtion.
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YOUNG ORANGE GROVE-TWO YEARS OLD
CITRUS FRUITS
The highlands and many lakes as well as a river of considerable size
within Bartow's territory have made it one of the best-known citrus fruit
and vegetable sections of Florida. Thus has Nature provided both air
and water drainage, conditions so necessary for the successful growing
of citrus fruits. Two of the largest lakes are within two and one-half
miles of the city. Lake Hancock on the north and Polk Lake on the
east. There are many valuable groves near Bartow and many more
are being planted. Through the Florida Citrus Exchange. which has a
well-equipped packing house here, our fruit brings as good price as that
from other sections of the State. Bartow also has an independent pack-
ing house and one large grove in the vicinity has its own. The two
:' '. near-by nurseries attest the fact that both the soil and climate are adapted
... to citrus fruits.
CITRUS FRUIT NURSERY
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The following figures 'show the approximate cost of a ten-acre grove,
planted to grapefruit and oranges, for the first seven years:
10 acres of land, at $60 ................................. ................... ............... $ 600.00
Clearing, at $25 per acre.............................................. ....... .................... 250.00
Fencing, at $16.50 per acre ........... .................................. ............... 168.00
625 two-year standard trees, half grapefruit, half oranges................ 400.00
S Planting, at 10c. ................. ............... ................. ...... 62.50
Cultivating and fertilizing Ist year at $25 per acre......................... 250.00
2d 28 .............................. 28000
S3d 33 ..... ................. 330.00
S 4th 39 ... .................... 390.00
S5th .............................. 500.00
6th 62 ............................ 620.00
7th 7 70 ..................... 700.00 *
$4,550.50
Fourth year, approximate returns:
Y box of oranges, at $1.00............................................$ 156.00
1 box of grapefruit per tree, at $1.50................................. 469.50
Fifth year, approximate returns:
1 box of oranges per tree, at $1.00................................... 312.00
2 boxes of grapefruit per tree, at $1.50.......................... 939.00
Sixth year, approximate returns:
2 boxes of oranges per tree, at $1.00............................ 624.00
3 boxes of grapefruit per tree, at $1.50................................ 1,407.50
Seventh year, approximate returns:
3 boxes of oranges per tree, at $1.00................................... 936.00
4 boxes of grapefruit per tree, at $1.50................................ 1878.00
$6,722.00
At the end of the seventh year the returns have paid for the grove.
cost of cultivating and fertilizing, and added a profit of $2,171.50.
It is at that time worth at least $8,000. The expenses for the following
years are about the same as the seventh, while there is an increase in
production up to the twelfth year, making the grove more valuable each
year.
These figures are conservative. Sufficient is allowed for the expense,
S. and the yields and prices are not above the average for well-cared-for
S groves, and a good grade of fruit properly packed. Hundreds do
better; some, of course, not so well. We believe any one who will give
his grove careful and intelligent attention may expect as much.
By planting vegetables between the rows of trees the cost of bringing
a grove into bearing may be considerably reduced. If the grove is
planted on high pine land, without irrigation sweet potatoes, tomatoes,
peppers, and watermelons may be grown with success. If on hammock
land these and almost every other vegetable will do well. The soil may
be enriched and a forage crop provided by planting beggar weed. Some
do well with peaches. These trees grow rapidly, come into bearing
early, and, by the time they are in the way of the citrus trees, have
outlived their usefulness.
Guavas are rapidly coming into popular favor. They make one of
the best jellies known and thousands of gallons are put up annually.
TwUTnY-oN
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FLO LoT
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STIlNG-MBANS (top)
TOMATOiS (center)
sQUASH (bottom)
TWNITY-TWO
VEGETABLES
Bartow and vicinity ship nearly 1,500 cars of vegetables annually.
Is this not a good indication that it is a profitable industry? The crops
most successfully grown are lettuce, English peas, cabbage, string-beans,
celery, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, onions, water-
melons. Irish and sweet potatoes.
Bartow boasts of the largest irrigated truck farm in Florida, owned
by Mr. J. R. Davis. About ten years ago Mr. Davis bought 10 acres
of excellent hammock land, in the raw state, about one and one-third
miles north of the court-house. He cleared it and put it in vegetables.
As he prospered he added to his holdings, and as rapidly as possible
put it under cultivation. To-day there are about 230 acres in his place,
140 under cultivation, and more than 100 of the number has the Skinner
system of overhead irrigation. A published letter of his contained the
statement that in one year the irrigated portion had netted him $50,000.
Rumor has it that he declined an offer of $175,000 for the place.
Like other growers in this section, Mr. Davis has annually grown from
three to fve crops on the same land. He has given his farm the same
attention that any strictly progressive man would any business, and
unqualified success is the result
PACKING CABBAGI IN FEBRUARY CABBAG
WATERMKIONS
EOGPLANT PACKING CuELRY
TWINTY-THan
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DWATMU.4OW GATEUMNO 131133
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Strawberries of the highest grade are grown at our very doors, and
thousands of acres of land, especially adapted to this crop, may be had
for what in many sections would be considered a very low price.
The Board of Trade has compiled the following table showing the
average yield, price (in normal times), etc., of the vegetable crops grown
in large quantities within a mile or two of Bartow:
0 o 0
CROP U< U r 0.
Lettuce(crates) .......................... 500 $1.00 $35 $75 $5 335
: Cabbage (crates) ...................... 300 1.25 40 60 50 225
Celery (crates) ........................ 600 1.00 75 125 60 340
Cucumbers (crates) .................... 500 1.00 50 65 50 335
Peppers (crates).......................... 300 1.00 40 75 35 150
Tomatoes (crates) ...................... 300 1.25 35 75 40 175
Strawberries (quarts) ................ 3.000 20 16 200 14 370
Irish potatoes (barrels) .............. 60 4.00 35 60 24 121
Sweet potatoes (bushel........ 400 125 40 60 54 346
Onions (bushels).......................... 500 1.00 50 125 55 20
<<
LettSquash (cratbushels)........................ 500 .50 35 75 55 $80
Egplantbbage (crates) ........................ 500 .2 50 65 60 225
Celery (crates)................ 600 1.00 75 125 60 340
Cucumbeanrs (crates).................. 125 1.00 15 35 11 64
English pears (crates)................. 5 3.00 40 35 9 166
Tomatoes (crates).......... 300 125 35 75 40 175
Strawberries (quarts) .......3000 .20 16 200 14 370
Irish potatoes (barrels) ....... 60 4.00 35 60 24 121
*These figures re for sweet potatoes (bushels)marketed in July. If permitted to
grow until winter, the yield will average 7............500 1.00 bushels per acre on irrigated
Squash (bushels)............ 500 .50 35 75 55 80
Eggplant (crates) ................... 500 .90 50 65 60 275
Stnng-beans (crates) .......... 125 1.00 15 35 11 64
English peas (crates)........... 75 3.00 15 35 1 9 166
*These figures are for sweet potatoes marketed in July. If permitted to
grow until winter, the yield will average 700 bushels per acre on irrigated
land, about 400 on unirrigated land, and the price at the latter season
averages about 75 cents per bushel. The yield of July potatoes on unirri-
gated land is so small as to make their growing unprofitable.
The averages above are based on yields and prices year after year,
not any particular one. Yields from both irrigated and unirrigated
lands are combined and averaged. Irrigation always increases the yield,
assuring a full crop. The yield on unirrigated land is naturally less,
Though the tillers say that the average net return per acre per year is about
$100. The figures for fertilizer, seed, labor, etc., are above the average.
TWMRyTT-Rn
*A KTfQW'
Efr LOM
PURE-BRED POLAND CHINAS AT LUNCH
PURE-BED JERSEYS OF ONE OF OUR FARMERS
STOCK RAISING
For more than 50 years vast herds of cattle have roamed at will over
the broad acres of excellent pasture land in Polk County. With the
planting of much of this land to citrus fruits, vegetables, and general
farm products, these great ranges will eventually disappear, but even
then there will be splendid opportunities in this line, for every month in
the year some forage crop may be grown. We have no severe winters
from which to protect or shelter the cattle; there is an abundance of
water, many domestic grasses, and now much natural pasturage, all
inviting to the enterprising and experienced stoik farmer. There is
always a demand for beef, milk, cream, and butter, and dairying, too,
would be very profitable. Hops, sheep, and horses may be raised with
POULTRY
With proper attention, there is a rich harvest in poultry in this section.
The birds and eggs find a ready market in Bartow at good prices. Eggs
are rarely below 25 cents per dozen. The large amount of poultry and
eggs-more than a million dollars' worth annually-exported to Cuba
through Tampa causes a ready demand for these products.
Bees are proftabe. Orange blossoms and palmetto bloom invite the
little fellows to "get busy," and the result is surprising.
mTWBUTr-
.~.
GENERAL FARMING
Ever since the first white men came to Polk County general farm
crops, such as corn, sweet potatoes, oats, rice, etc., have been grown.
and by proper attention the yields are profitable.
Sugar cane is another of the profitable crops of this section. The
Japanese variety, grown here almost exclusively for forage, will produce
20 tons per acre, worth about $20 per ton. It is necessary to plant
only about once in ten years. From 400 to 500 gallons of fine syrup,
which readily sells from 50 to 75 cents per gallon, may be produced
from an acre of ribbon cane. [Funk Brothers, the largest scientific
farmers east of the Mississippi River, farming 26,000 acres, having
large interests in the vicinity of Bartow, are paying particular attention
to sugar cane, and it seems likely they will erect the first modern sugar
mill in Florida.]
Velvet beans-richer in protein than aalfaa--cowpeas, beggar weed
-soil-enriching legumes-crab, natal and Rhodes grasses, cassava, and
peanuts are easily grown, and produce abundantly, providing feed for
cattle and hogs.
IRRIGATION
Our annual rainfall is about the same-a little more than 50 inches-
as in other eastern states, but its distribution is not equal among the
months, and often is not sufficient for the needs of winter and spring
vegetables. To guarantee a large crop, many of our growers use the
Skinner system of overhead irrigation, which costs to install about $225
per acre on a ten-acre basis. While there is not a total vegetable crop
failure on unirrigated land more than one year in six or seven, irrigation
permits the planting of more seed or plants in a given space, and the
crop is usually about 50 per cent larger than on unirrigated land. The
increased crops during one year often pay the cost of installation. On
almost any ten acres in this section water in sufficient quantities for
irrigation is reached about 200 feet below the surface; pure water for
drinking purposes from 20 to 30 feet.
2
PARTIAL VIEW OF A SWEIT POTATO FILD SHOWING SKINNER SYSTEM
OF OVERHEAD IRRIGATION
TWNITY-SIVNI
GETTING A START IN BARTOW
The two questions most frequently asked are "What is the price of
land per acre?" and "How much money will it require to get a start?"
Neither can be answered definitely.
Just as everywhere else, the location is a prime factor in determining
the price. Land of identically the same soil, if easily accessible to
railroads, hard roads, schools, churches, etc.. is worth a great deal
more than if miles from these necessities and conveniences. High pine
land, especially adapted to the production of citrus fruits, tomatoes, sweet
potatoes, watermelons, and forage crops, is worth from $25 to $150
per acre, and $60 per acre is about the average price if located within
five or six miles of Bartow. Hammock land, fine for all vegetables,
forage, and general farm crops, as well as strawberries and citrus fruits,
sells from $50 to $150 per acre, with $75 per acre as the average.
The average cost of clearing pine land is from $20 to $25 per acre,
while hammock is from $50 to $150. In no section in which there is as
much development may land of as high quality be had at such reasonable
prices as in Bartow's contiguous territory.
As to the second question: Make it at least $1,000, and more if
possible. Unless you buy land under cultivation-and as the owners
of such land are usually receiving big returns from their investment, not
much of it is for sale-remember that it must be cleared and fenced;
that you must provide a place in which to live; also a place for your
live stock, and that you and your family must have food and clothing.'
Therefore, it will be all outgo and no income until your first crop is
on the market. If you go into the truck business, either exclusively or
as a side-line until your citrus trees come into bearing, you will doubtless
receive returns the first year, but if it is an exclusive citrus grove proposi-
tion, it will be from four to five years before the returns will much more
than cover the cost of fertilization, cultivation, etc. As to the cost of
living, it will be about the same as in your section, minus the expense of
fuel, and much of that for winter clothing.
YOUR SUCCESS DEPENDS ON YOU
It is the personal equation that will determine your success or failure.
If you have brains and will use them, are energetic and have enough
money to carry you along until your crops are ready for the market,
you will succed-to a greater degree than you would in almost any
business anywhere else, for the opportunities are great; but if you are a
ne'er-dwell or unwilling to do real work, we say to you, "Keep a~ay
from Bartow." People of the latter class always fail, blaming the
section for conditions which are the result of their laziness or lack of
intelligence or funds.
TWXwTY-IarK
EATING GRAPEFRUIT IN THE GROVE
COMPARE BARTOW WITH CALIFORNIA
Bartow has the following advantages over the vegetable and fruit
sections of California: Our climate is superior. Our land sells for from
$25 to $150 per acre, theirs from $300 to $700 per acre-both in the
raw state. Here irrigation is not necessary for citrus fruits and an
average net return of $100 per acre per year is received by our vegetable
growers who do not use it; there it is necessary for everything. Our
citrus fruits are better, evidenced by the fact that in the open markets
throughout the country the past season they nearly always brought more
money than theirs. California can not successfully grow grapefruit
Bartow (43 hours to New York) is from one to two thousand miles
nearer the great markets of the East and Middle West, which means an
enormous advantage in both freight and refrigeration charges.
LOW-RATE TICKETS
'-c Homeseekers' tickets (good for 21 days) to Bartow are on sale the
first and third Tuesdays of each month by many of the northern and
western railroads. The rates from Washington, D. C., and Cincinnati
are $25 and $30, respectively. At almost every place of importance
in the United States winter-tourist tickets to Bartow are on sale from
October to April, inclusive, good to return until June. Stop-overs on
these as well as the homeseekers'-tickets may be made at almost any
point in. Florida.
I M t 11 ml
TWIrWTY-MI
A KTOW W FLOI J
POLK COUNTY
The diversity of resources in Polk County is making it the banner
county of Florida. That this statement is believed by thousands from
other sections, as well as the native people, it is only necessary to cite
the facts that the population has increased from less than 25,000, in
1910, to about 37,000, in 1915, and the assessed valuations-about
one-fifth of the real values-from $6,655.929 to $15,000,000 during
the same period. Polk County ranks third in wealth, being surpassed
only by the counties of Duvall and Hillsboro. in which are located the
great cities of Jacksonville and Tampa, respectively.
The development of Polk County is in its infancy; its wonderful
resources have hardly been touched. While the carrying out of the
plans of the residents, and those who have bought land, but have not yet
moved on it, will probably double the acreage under cultivation within
the next five years, the opportunities t6 'get in "on the ground floor"
are by no means past. Not more than 30,000 acres of its one and
one-quarter million, an area larger than Delaware or Rhode Island, are
now being cultivated, and uncleared land, which will produce citrus
fruits and vegetables equal to those of any part of the world, is now
selling in small tracts, from $25 to $200 per acre, depending upon
location as to transportation facilities, hard roads, lake fronts, nearness
to schools, churches, etc.
Polk County prides itself on having several hundred spring-fed, fresh
water lakes, varying from a few hundred feet to five or six miles across;
the highest land in South Florida; the best citrus fruit (oranges, grape-
fruit, tangerines, kumquats, etc.) in the world, and more acres in groves
than any county in Florida; onehalf of the citrus fruit nursery acreage
in this State; of being the stronghold of the Florida Citrus Exchange.
a growers' cooperative marketing organization which has put the citrus
industry on a profitable basis; that its fruits and vegetables are among
the earliest in the Northern markets and bring the highest prices paid in
fancy stores; of possessing untold wealth in timber, turpentine and cattle;
of being the second county in Florida in the amount of railroad mileage;
of mining 40 per cent of the world's output of phosphate; of having
more phosphate plants within its borders than any other county in the
United States as well as the largest individual plant in the world.'and
of having no bonded indebtedness.
A Kt6W L,-P-it`
COME, INVESTIGATE BARTOW!
"That magnetic pull-together spirit which characterizes Bartow is.
perhaps, concentrated in the Board of Trade, an organization having
all the enterprising men of the town on its roll. It is one of the lives.
do-something boards in Florida. It is ever alert to the best interests of
Bartow and to the advance of Polk County-ever sleeping with one eye
open when questions of protecting the interests of both arise.
"The Board of Trade is always ready to advise inquirers; always
ready with all the information at its command for settler, investor, or
tourist; always ready to welcome the stranger within the gates. If
visitors to Bartow will call on the Secretary, they will receive all the
assistance they require.
"This body of Bartow's boosters mants you to call-invites you to
make yourself known-get acquainted with the spirit with which things
are done-the spirit of good-will with which this booklet is sent you in
the hope that you, or some one you know, will be induced to settle
here with us and help us pull for Bigger Bartow-a still more influential
Bartow."
This booklet gives only a general idea of our city and section. Ther,
are hundreds of matters, information concerning which would doubtless
redound to the benefit of this section and prove of interest to every
prospective visitor and homeseeker, which, for lack of space, we are
prevented from mentioning. Every person who wishes detailed infor-
mation about any matter, in any way relating to this section, is urged to
Address
Information Department
BARTOW BOARD OF TRADE
BARTOW, FLORIDA
d .
T~reT-On3
,L 0 ,p'ieQoM'
AWAITING THE SETTLER. NOTE THE SIZE OF THE TREES
It has been the constant aim in the preparation of this booklet to be
most conservative in its statements, not to misrepresent, mislead, or
exagerate, and it is believed that every one who makes a careful investi-
gation of this section will say that the conditions here are more favorable
than has been represented.
TrirMYwo
r-
MAP
OF roTmoN OF
FLORIDA
SHOWING THE LOCATION OF
BARTOW
AND
POLK COUNTY I
M
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