The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1881-04-20
The CaIOOsahatchie Country.


From the Tampa Tribune.
We had occasion to visit Fort
Myers last month and spent about
ten days at that place; and during
our stay availed ourselves OF every
opportunity to gather information
about that truly tropical portion Of
Florida.
The Caloosahatchie river has its
origin in some lakes near the great
interior lake Okeechobee, and in
time of high water this latter lake
finds an eutlet for its waters in the
same stream. The general course OF
the river is west, south west, and
empties into the lower end OF Char
lotte Harbor. For some twenty
miles from it's mouth it bears rather
the character OF an estuary than a
river, being from one to two miles in
width. At this distance from the
Cult it is dotted with numerous is>
lands for some three miles farther,
and then contracts into deep mar
row channel of from seVenty>five 20
100 yards width between bluff levee
banks from four to ten feet above the
stream. The levee is from one to
three feet above the adjacent lands
bordering the river. Quite a num-
Der OF small streams on both sides of
the river empty into it, thus afford.
ing drainage for large scope of
country.
THE LANDS
along the broad portion OF the Ca.
loosahatchie are mostly pine on both
sides, and possess no very great hat
ural fertility but along the stream
higher up where it becomes compress
sed into narrow limits, it is bordered
with an abundance OF rich hammock
lands whose growth is principally
cabbage palmetto, oaks and hickory.
These lands are extremely fertile,
possessing an inexhaustible soil of
several feet in depth on hard pan
aof clay marl. f..se sane 'characser 81
lands are also found on some of the
smaller streams emptying into the
Caloosahatchie, notably on Twelve
Mile creek, twelve miles above Fort
Myers. These hammock lands along
the river and Twelve Mile creek, are
unquestiouably the finest sugar lands
in the State, as has been abundantly
demonstrated within the last few
years by actual experiment on con.
siderable scale In that region the
cane appears to be really perennial
and we were much surprised 10 learn
that, at the time OF our visit, cane
still standing in the field continued
to grow and not mature, as indicated
by tasselling as is so common higher
up the peninsula. Stalks OF cane
weighing twelve pounds, and fifteen
feet long were, we were informed, no
unusual thing. Considering the
great natural fertility OF the soil and
the truly tropical climate, along the
Caloosahatchie is certainly bound 10
be al no distant day noted for its ex
tenslve production OF sugar. Twice
within the last three Years these rich
lands have been inundated by an ex.
cessive rise in the Caloosahatchie
owing to the overflow OF lake Okee
chobee, and the farms along the
river and Twelve Mile creek sub
merged to the extent OF completely
covering the tops OF the cane from
six to eight feet high, but without
the slightest damage to the growing
cane and considerable benefit in the
destruction OF grass and weeds. So
tar as the cane crop is concerned this
overflow of the waters is deemed
rather beneficial than otherwise and
coming as it does, when it occurs at
all, towards the end o! the season
when other crops are gathered the
farmers are disposed to be little con-
ceIned about it. OF course it proves
detrimental and generally destruc-
tive to orange and other fruit trees,
and quite number OF young groves
well advanced have been completely
destroyed by it. However, it is con-
fdently expected that should the
project OF draining Lake Okeechobee
prove successful, there will be no re
currence of these overfows, and in
that opinion we fully concur.
THE CLIMATE
is equitable and pleasant. with
mean temperature OF S2o (Faht., for