The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1879-12-24

required which can be had at so
cents per pound, or $4.00 per acre !;
and even this cost will be vastly re.
duced in the near future. Quite a
difference between that and cane.
Then, again, cane must have rich
soil. Our pine lands would require
to be very heavily manured to pro-
duce even fair crop of that plant.
Not so with sorgum. 1t can be prof
itably grown on our natural pine
lands. Undoubtedly the soil will re.
quire manuring to keep up its fertil-
ity and have no question but that
heavy manuring will increase the
yield. But it is no small advantage to
be able to get a'good, paying crop
first, and then pay back part to the
land. t%'i,fl 7Al t.a' p .'''7 sI
My own limited experience shows
that one acre of unmanured pine
land will produce 600 pounds Of
good, brown sugar, worth, at 8 cents
per pound $48.O0; 42 gallons Of mo-
lasses. worth 40 cents per gallon
SIG. 80; 2 0bushels of seed, worth
(for feed alone) so cents per busnel-
$1,000; and 1000 pounds of forage.
worth $1,000, making an aggregate
of $3.50 per acre, for the first crop,
and then ratoon, giving the same
year another crop worth fully one
half as much as the first. The ba-
gasse, if returned to the soil, will go
far toward restoring its fertility.
1t requires abont the same culture
as corn. The first crop natures in
the month of August and the second
in November /; giving ample time to
raise a crop of rye to turn under and
feed the land, thus leaving it in much
better condition than it vas at first.
Compare these results with that of
any other staple crop. Corn at IS
cents per bushel will not pay, on our
natural land more than $3.50 per
acre, which, with $500 worth of tor
$ge hiaitas grand total of Sc, So nor
acre, or not quite as mIcn as the for
age alone OF the August crop Of sor-
gum. 2. - A''
have no doubt that our pine
lands, we'll fed and properly TILED,
will pay exceedingly well, planted in
cane. 1t will require larger expe-
rience than we have yet had to de-
termine which sugar plant will, in the
long run, prove the most profitable.
But, certainly, sorgum will answer
the present necessities of the most of
us better than any other Of our staple
crops that / am acquainted with If
we wish to 'raise CAIN" in legiti-
mate way, we can start with small
patch, increasing it year by year,
and, in the mean time, produce an
unlimited supply OF sorgum, and then
it is quite possible that sorgum will
prove our main stay.
The following letter, from Mr.. S.
| U. Hammond, Fort Gates, Florida
, was read by the secretary: f9-a.s.
i To the Lake George Frtt Groaoers
: association There is an impression
; prevailing in the northern states and
European countries, that white labor
ers cannot successfully endure the
climate of Florida, and work in the
fields. In order to demonstrate the
truth or talsity of this impression
propose that the statistics of cotton
, sugar, corn and potatoes raised il
| 1879, in Putnam county, be collected
and compiled, and at the same time
ascertain whether they were grown
: by white or colored laborers. 1t i,
, my impression that the facts will
show that fully rs per cent. of all tn,
products of This character, growr
this year in this county was the re
, suit of white labor.
Moreover, I believe that an ex
l hibit OF this kind will be one of tn,
best means Of inducing immigration
to our county and state. To the ex
7 tent that we can demonstrate by sta
7 tistical information that white mel
? can labor successfully in the fields
8 and raise more cotton, sugar, corr
| and other farm products, by thei
own labor, we can invite and will re
4 ceive immigration from the northern
r states and Europe.
: The statistics of these product
~ should be collected any how, in orde
4 to show what progress we have mad
s in these important industries: bu