The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1880-10-13

these lands have a surface soil OF
fair depth, containing large amount
of vegetable matter. Beneath the
surface soil will be found stratum
of loamy sand of variable depth, and,
beneath this, clay In some locali-
ties, the clay is near the surface.
These lands are productive and, with
Southern farming, without manure,
will yield crops tor years, and if they
were deeply plowed and fertilized as
lands are in the North and West,
they would annually improve in pro-
ductiveness and yield remunerative
crops. These lands are eminently
adapted to the cultivation of the or
ange, long and short staple cotton,
sugar cane, corn, potatoes, oats, rye,
turnlps, mangoes, vegetables, aud in
some sections, probably wheat and
barley.
The Lower Pine Lands are not sub
ject to overflow during the rainy sea.
son. One objection to some of them
is the fact that they are encountered
with bushes and saw palmetto, and
difficult to clear. Much really good
land exists in some localities, and ex-
cellent openings can be found for
those who are disposed to engage in
cattle and sheep raising and general
agriculture The lower pine lands
furnish excellent pasturage, and if
farmers would raise root and green
crops, as in the North and England,
keep stock and feed the same at
night, manure could be made in suf.
ficient quantity to render the pine
lands A(high and low) productive to
an extent that would surprise all. If
proper efforts were made in Florida
to save and apply manure, we should
hear less Of wornout laq1 corn nub-
fhiRs. drought, and short props.
I i Prairies. In the central and east
Il ern1 nos,kions sfA Stat0Ma lare
I ipra1rfe exists, uTfilsnfng an GdmIfabf
range for cattle and sheep. At points
near lakes and on the banks o
streams, rich hammock lands are
found furnishing good sites for homes
and agricultural pursuits. If the
Australian mode of sheep husbandry
was adopted, and Merlnos and their
grades kept, wool raising would be
made very profitable. From our ex-
perience and observations in other
lands, we are convinced that the
large prairies between the Kissimme,
Ochechobee and Caloosahatchie
rivers and Peace Creek could be ad.
vantageously utilized for sheep rails.
ing. On this extensive prairie the
pasturage is superior to that of many
of the sheep runs OF Australia The
prairie is studded with islands-that
is to say, patches Of timber, varying
from a few yards to many acres in
extent, furnishing shelter for focks
during the heat of the day. Lakes,
ponds and cypress swamps exist,
where water could be procured for
sheep.
Low Hammocks are distributed
over the State, and are generally
covered with palms, live and ever
green oaks, bays, cedar, etc. They
are difficult to clear, but not more so
than rich, timbered lands of the
North and West. If ditched and
embarked when low or near streams,
TO guard them against extraordinary
floods and rains, they would furnish
for cultivation some OF the richest
lands in the State. In these ham,
mocks is found dark vegetable
mould, from one to two feet in
depth, below which dark sand ex-
lists, gradually becoming paler until
clay or limestone rock is reached.
These hammocks are we'll adapted to
the culture OF corn, cane, vegetables
and semi-tropical fruits.
High Hammocks are found in many
portions of the State, and are gener-
ally covered with a luxurious growth
of magnolia, live and white oak,
hickory and other hardwood trees.
The surface soil in these hammocks
is usually deep, consisting of all inter
mediate grades between light and
rather heavy loan, with subsoil of
sandy loan or terruginous clay. To
the many the word hammock conveys
the idea of low land, but many of the
best hammock lands in the State are
high, as those of Leon, Alachua and
Hernando counties. The Anontalaoa