The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1881-05-18

lumber torfooring and doors. You
may be able to pay for the hauling in
work. If within reasonable distance
of saw mill, and You can afford the
outlay, frame house will be found
more comfortable and can be built
with less labor. Lumber can be had
a. the mill at from IS to SIS per
thousand according to quality A.
The house completed, the settler
is ready to make preparations Tor
raising something to eat. 1t you are
on pine land select the best; cut and
split rails for fencing, clean up the
land by grubbing up bushes, cut and
burn tree tops and girdle the remain
ing trees tor the purpose of killing
them, unless you have time TO cut off
all the TIMBER make your fence and
have your land plowed. Ii you have
no horse, you can get the pIowing
done at cost OF $3.50 to 50 per day.
Upon new pine land you will not
be able to make corn, but you can
raise sweet potatoes. COW pease,
upland rice; arrowroot and cas-.
sava. You can SOW mustard on new
land for greens. After your crop of
sweet potatoes comes off in the fall,
manure In the drill and i'll December
plant Irish potatoes. If you have
any good hammock land, or bay. head,
you can have cabbage and other
vegetables, planting a spring, tall and
winter garden.
To prepare the land for sweet pota-
toes, lay it off in drills. four and one
halt feet apart, and in March sow
these thickly with COW pease and
when well up give them one good
working; by the first OF May they
will have grown between the rows,
pull the vines-putting them in the
turrow- and bed on them: do this
when the ground is wet or the ridges
will continue dry all though tue sea
son. T4 obtain draws. and vines for
planting put out bed OF whole
potatoes and cover them with soil
about five inches thick; should be
done in February. Vines and draws
are preferred, as when cut or whole
potatoes are used they continue to
grow In size, are unfit for food, and
injure the new crop; they are called
Mother potatoes. Any of your
neighbors who know how to make
potatoes will show you how to make
the bed. The draws make the EARL.
est potatoes but vines are preferred
for the main crop. They are cut in
pieces eighteen inches to two feet
long, laid across the ridges and push
ed in heaps with notched stick.
Being on new ground the crop will
require but little work until time TO
dig them In August you can plant
another patch which will be ready
for in the spring, this is called the
stand-over.patch. There is another
plan but not so good as the foregoing,
as the crop is not so large, which is
to lay off the land as above and list
in, with the hoe, the wire grass and
bed on it. Sweet potatoes, either
baked, rosted, boiled or fried, are,
good during their season, ana It is
q longone, a standing dish upon
nearly every Southern table.
Cow pease is another article exten-
sively used in the South as food
plant. Some kinds are ready for use
in six or seven weeks after planting;
they make but little vine, are dwarf
IN their habits, and are not consd,
cred as palatable as other kinds.
Peas succeed on fresh land and are
planted both III drills and broadcast.
il has been well named "the clover
of the South" and is used as reno
vator of land, deing turned under
while green. The conch pea does
not fruit until late in the tall, but
makes a large amount OF vines, is
often cut early in the season aud the
vines cured as hay; it is highly relish
ed by stock. The roots rattoon and
produce a fair crop Of pease. The
pea is small, white, and OF delicate
flavor. There are large variety of
pease from which to make selection;
those termed crowders are pre-
tered tor the table; they are used
while young as snaps and when old
are shelled.
Cassava is valuable root crop
and furnishes many excellent and
appetizing dishes besides being very