The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1882-01-11
The +" Bread Question - Settled.
Editor Of the Florida .Agricrltmist:

comes.' And yet, after all, this is not
so grave question as it appears at first
sight to be. We are poor, extremely
poor, as who would not be who had but
recently come through an experience oil
two years prolonged drouth in west
en- Kansas. Yet, with all its drawbacks,
western Kansas has one great advantage
it is near the cheap food of eastern
Kansas, and hence the money which the
pioneer settler takes with him-he sci.
dom makes any while pioneering-car
he made to last a long time. While
endeavoring to make home on those fal
western plains, we kept strict account
of the cash outlay for food during TWEEN
ty.six months. We settled there in Dec.
At the end of first six months we bal
anced our books and ascertained that
our cash outlay for food, for family
of four, had averaged Is cts. per week.
We had a COW which gave little milk
during that first terrible winter, and
more after grass came in spring, and we
had few eggs. The second period oil
six months covered our first summer,
during which we had little garden, a
good supply of milk and our chickens
supplied some TODD. The outlay footed
up 80 cts. per week, the reduction being
most due to the fact that we had substi-
ted shorts, costing very little over ct.
per lb. for what graham flour we had
luxuriated on at 3 cts. per Id.
The third period of six months COW
cred our second winter and spring,
during which we had milk, eggs, chick
ems, and good supply OF turnips.
During this period we reduced our ex-
penses to A cts. per week.
Our 4th period covered a space of
eight months, and covered our second
summer and well into the winter. We
had good garden early in the season,
until that fearful drouth commenced in
August. 1878, and in spite of drcuth we
had turnips. Corn meal averaged rs
cts. per 100 lbs. and often we were
able to get shorts at IS cts. to 80 cts.
per 100 lbs. This made cheap bread,
and our expenses average 25 cts. per
week.
We came to Florida one year ago de-
termined to have our orange grove if
persevering industry and economy, with
a willingness to endure years of priva~
ton, even with poor health and poorer
finances, could win the prize.
A friend in Florida, had written that
Florida, was the 'spoor mans PARADISE
50 far as supplying himself with the me-
cessaries of life. But we had foreseen
that this was not so when compared
with the far west, and as related to Ve9y
poor men. As compared with the eastern
part of the north. ana az related to per-
sons who generally expsnd severaY times
as much as we feel we can afford, we
suppose they can i've as cheaply here as
there.
During our first year here, with the
greatest possible economy, our expense
has ranged from 50 cts. to II cts. per
week, Tor each one in the family the
average of the year being Sc Gus. Dur
ing the time of lowest expense, we had
an abundant supply of string beans
from our cow-pea patch. We saw that
with good garden we could reduce our
expenses very low. We could almost
live on roast sweet potatoes. They
would come nearest taking the place OF
bread OF any thing we knew. But alas
a little experience showed us that they
were generally productive of Indigestion
(heart-burn) when used in any liberal
quantity. We had never heard of THEN
being used in the composition of bread.
We wanted to dispense with the pur-
chase of so much meal at 4 cts. per h.,
retail. We had planted little patch OF
cassava, being told that it was 'handy
to have around,' like some of the highly
extolled linaments, good for man OF
beast.' (the beast being the much ma
ligned hog that SO many of your cores
pondents swear at when alive, but de-
YOUR when sailed down and shipped
from afar as rusty bacon.) We stewed
it, cut very fine, and putting little
bacon frying in the water, thickened it
as for gravy. This did we'll, but still il
wasn't bread. 1t did we'll as an accom-
paniment for bread, and saved in the
outlay for syrup. Finally we Yentured
a trial with bread. We had been using
the usual ''soured Or sour dough" pro-
cess OF making corn bread. We substi-
uted some grated cassava for portion
OF the meal, finding that Id. or pint,
OF the grated root would take the place
OF pit. or 3 4 ill.,; 8 cents worth OF
meal But with that process we could
not use as large proportion of the root
as we desired. Next we took 2 pints of
grated root and worked in with hands
about all the meal it would take, one
pit. This makes the incest bread we
have used. We used to use about six
lbs. per day of meal or hominy-family
OF four-costing "a cts; now by the use
OF about eight lbs. of cassava root we
have reduced this daily outlay to 6 cts.
SO that the use of the cassava saves us
10 cts. daily. We used to use of meal
IN bread eighteen cts. per day; now by
the use OF four OTIS. or lbs. of the grated
root we reduce our bread expense to
about ten cts. per week per person.
l1EV la Il