The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1881-08-17

to give a description o- ''0
nat ot Sumter cUu ". ! sha' h"1
be able to give thorough description
asl have not Travelled ever ali OF thiS
section. and win have to rely mostly
mon statements made by snch set
Hers as have met with and question
ed upon the subject. The land south
Of lake Harris and west OF Apcpka,
IRON, tour to six miles wide, hlgh
rolling ,ane land; fifteen to twenty
miles south, towards Polk county, the
most of which is considered poor
land. with large proportion OF BLACK
lack timber; this land is lntersperseo
with small lakes, some OF which are
bordered with strips of good ham,
mock land, aud enough can be found
IN nlaces to make desirable settle
ment.
AS to this rolling high land, it is
high, dry and slightly, and when once
cleaned will make fine site to build
mon. overlooking the whole N"r>
rounding country, and | think the
day will come when these lands VIII
NOT only be sought after for their
Lealthfulness and picturesque SCENERY
but as the very best lands for tropical
,rnits. after all the supposed bust
orange lands are taken up, then these
,an5s will find a market. With the
advantages that an old settled up
~ ction of country vii give, II VIII
be easy to get fertilizers TO make these
moor SAND nils one vast garden, ana
when once brought to a perfect state
of cultivation, their value VIII Or
.ound out. AS all illustrations, In the
s,a,+ OF New York, the east part OF
Monroe county was what was termed
oak openings, very sparsely 'lmoereo'
Of liuht sandy suil, not unlike these
hills in Sumter county, mderlayed
with a subsoil OF clay from one 1901
TO over twenty feet deep from the
surface, and often mountains oil saho.
TIE ,and hunter PASSED over them
as Worthless, ai.d net tlil all the UNI
bereu tauus we're taken ~ would
settler Office IL, IN, h.L III time Ih'y
" ere riuw y picked up AID rorSht
II to ,llNati"n; at first they lIe'd'd
light hut tie more they We're worked
and ,hurorghiy cultivated, the better
thcv l., came until they outylcIdcd
ali The ,lmb> red land around; manure
ana cu;ln ation improved the lands,
WHINE tie {,mueltd has become WorD
on. Wn,le it may be true that liam
mo, k lands will yield uetl'r at ii st,
the cost OF ci! aring will, II apple d to
the pine land IN fertilizers. make them
lrod.ct equal 80 The hammock; but II
a MAI. i. ln or Ii is hard 10 get start
and tie rock hat he founders on, Is
he tri, : top nuch, having come from
a r..i. tara ing country, he thinks he
nu, put in from 60 to 400 acres To
ma it pay, hen i'll Tact from one
10 i've ac.eo III Florida products Will
keep him and his family well, he has
20 ,1ucl to iearu. an,i unlealn.
TO .yt pack to the subject as you
uayel west from these hills you
strike a more level country and more
ammock land until you reach the
palaliaAaAa creek, along its borders
fine bodies of hammock are found,
and the line land produces nearly as
well. l travelled over a portion lately |
md was surprised that such fine
;. ope OF land still lay vacant, the
creek is very crooked and makes
large AID mall bends, which are /
mostly hammock, or prairie, and at>
ora fine range for stock or hogs
while the pine ridges along the bor>
ders. max tie most desirable places
for :. i,lemtnt, and often half mile
mr. one mi, "t fence will fence in sev
eral hAndred acres, and corn sugar
cane and cotton are as g"oi n can |
he tound M any section, a"d IA !
informed he tarJh, + up the creek YOU |