The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1882-01-18
Mrs. III. L. BucknOr Has the
Floor.
Editor of The Florida Agriculturist;

Editor Of The Florida AgriculturiSt:
Like Oliver Twist, I come asking
for more space in your good paper.
Without any disposition to be crit>
ical, l must notice one statement of
"Northerner," in late issue. She
says: "Never attempt to make gar
den on new land-plant cow-peas
first, and turn them UNDER" &c.
Now, with all respect for her opin-
ion, | beg, for the benefit of those
who are coming here to cultivate and
try to get living out OF our appa
rently sterile SOIL most emphatically
to disprove this from our own expe-
rience this year in our own garden.
know her advice to be the greatest
error into which she could lead peo-
pie coming here, knowing moth
ing of our lands. AS | have stated
before, in the middle of July last we
had one acre'of green wire grass pine
land broken up-left the large pine
trees standing; plowed, narrowed
bad most of the grass sods taken off
and thrown in the stable on a CONS
post heap-sowed broadcast eight
barrels OF oyster, shell lime, and from
that time until now have used five
hundred pounds Of Mapes' manure
for light soils, and instead of a "tew
onions and radishes that we had to
water through the drouth," we have
today oeets as large as a teacs;a WIN WIN.
heavy, y,tender tops; aaecond and third
later planting coming on notwith-
standing the drouth. Our cabbages,o on
rather high slope, are beginning to
head well, besides several hundred
that will head in February all looking
Awell; only small part Of the acre is
IN vegetables ready for use; yet we
have, from a comparatively small
space Of beets and turnips alone,
sold twenty-five dollars worth,
enough to pay for time and fertilizers
for all that we had planted, besides
the beers and turnips, which are on
ions, English peas, cabbages, auli-
flowers, and four thousand strawber-
ry plants, and small patch Of cram
berries. Now, this has been accom-
plished on land that had not a sod
turned six months ago; yet the piece
is not OF wonderfully rich land, lying
close to our prosperous little town" ="
but in the midst OF what our north
ern poetical brethren cali "pine
barren" The old exploded idea of
turning under cow-peas, was of
course not adopted. Lime disinte>
CRATES the soil, and puts it into work
ing condition tar more rapidly and
thoroughly, than turning under any
green crop.
1 am not acquainted personally
with Myrtle" but how gladly 1
would shake hands with her over the
graves OF those hogs that destroyed
her potatoes; none know so well as
those who have tried chasing them
across plowed field on a hot day.
This hog business is at once tough
and tender subject, It is against the
law to ihjure one of them even for
your own protection, and what
earthly benefit they are to any one
have yet to discern. They are hard
to tatten, and if by labor or accident
one should succeed in doing it, those
who eat them have my sympathy, for
the meat is as hard and unyieldIng as
the law that protects them; the APP
pearance OF one would hardly per
suade the hungriest Jew to become a
christian. They are marvelously
strong in hide and heels; a neighbol
once said 10 my good man, II don't
see, Frank, how the creaturs are able
TO worry thro' a fence, Tor do be-
lieve could read a chapter in the
New Testament through one Of them
without spectacles." II, as Darwin
says, the whole creation is big me-
nagerie,I would like to know what per
suasion of animal he thinks the Fla
hog belongs. do not know that
am politically inclined, yet there have
been times when l have wanted tc
vote on this very question. l think
if we could help to make the laws