The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1883-04-18
APRIL Is.
The Florida Land Boom.
From the ORANGE Coasnty Reporte,..

IRON the Orange County Reporter.
1t is stated that unimproved orr
ange lands in Italy are worth thous-
and dollars per acre. while the orange
lands in California are rapidly APP
preaching that figure. These facts
are not generally known in Florida,
or are lost. sight of by the doubling,
and timid ones who seem to fear
collapse of present prices. 1t is true
that as compared with the value of
Agricultural lands the lands of Flor.
ida which are adapted to orange cul>
ture are high. But as compared with
the unimproved lands of other orange
growing regions, they have just be.
gun to be appreciated and will quad
ripple their present value within the
next decade. For some reasons the
lands of Florida ought to command
a better price than the same grade OF
lands in either California or Italy.
Florida is nearer to the point of con
sumption and already possesses an
advantage in transportation facilities.
This fact if there was no advantage
in her favor in the quality of fruits,
would make orange growing more
profitable here than in either of the
regions named. In California irriga.
ton is relied upon, and nothing can
be done without it, Lands so situa~
ted that irrigation is possible are very
productive and valuable, while cons
tiguous lands not susceptible of iris
cation on account of the confgura
ton of the country are practically
worthless. In California as in Flor~
ida, the orange industry is in its in
fancy, and efforts are being directed
to the available means of overcoming
the obstacles in the way. These ct
forts are meeting with a gratifying
degree Of success, and new areas are
being brought into cultivation as
these efforts are pushed. There, ow
ing to the expense of engineering and
constructing canals, little can be &C
complished except through comb.
nation of capital. After canals are
constructed and lands thus fitted for
planting are open to purchase and
Improvement by individual effort,
they are necessarily expensive and
only open to the man OF liberal means.
With Florida it is different. No
irrigation is required. If the lands
are adapted to the growing of or
anges and other citrous fruits, the
3 I,
and blowing, the same as would be
required in preparing wild land Tor
other crops All the expense of irri-
cation and water rates is avoided,
and the individual can accomplish as
much for himself by his own efforts
as would be possible in combination
with others. The matter of trans
poItation is another and very import.
ant advantage in Florida's favor. She
can avoid the long trans>c ontinental
railway from California as well as
the longer bat less expensive sea
transit to which the foreign fruit is
subjected. This will enable the Flor
ida grower to realize better profit
on his fruit, and give him percent>
age over his less favored competitors.
The quality of the fruit is already
settled beyond all cavil in favor OF
the Florida orange, which, added to
the others gives us three very import
ant items of advantage over any 9TH
er orange producing region of the
world. This, of course, presuming
the United States to be the market.
it is to purely home market that
we must and properly should look
for long time. At present ten or>
anges are imported into the United
States TO every one grown in our
own territory. Population and wealth
are rapidly accumulatIng, and the de-
mand will more than keep pace with
the production for all time to come.
True, the present boom will increase
the production very rapidly during
the next twenty years, but after that
there will be little territory to add
to the orange growing region. There
are no new continents to discover,
and the Great West, With all its de-
velopment, will not produce oranges.
1t will only add to the demand.
For these reasons it seems safe to
predict that the unimproved lands OF
Florida which are adapted to the
growth of the orange have but just
begun to attract attention and will
continue to increase in value until
two hundred to five hundred dollars
per acre will be regarded as low
price. Possibly some holders are
asking all that lanos are worth to-
day, but with next year the present
,1rioaS Will ha IouhIad IF 0fforad