The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1883-09-11

| vi
| them baking. Except about one-fourth at NJ
area of The county OF Leon, lying towards tHs
| southwest and constituting the "pBey woOdss ?
part of The county, the balance il admirAb;y
adapted 70. and has for years been profitabiy ai.
piled TO the production of corn, hay, oats, rysa
rice, potatoes, cotton and sugar-cane, pastarag,.
| etc. Cotton aud sugar have been the principSl
crops made for market while the corn, grain ard
| graas has been used for home consumption AMI
the raising Of good live stock. 4
| CorToN is still a staple crop, from which mo!st
| ct the money of the farmers comes The county
| produces about 12 600 bales, worth about half 4
| million dollars This crop IL susceptible of h9j
| ing made many fold more profitable than 81
present. even should general prices decline, ard
! we apprehend it will always hold q promnest
| place in the productions OF the county. Il
CORN is easily and cheaply made. and Of Il
very superior quality oi,en weighing 81 pounds ID
the bushel Twenty five t' thirty bushels per acid
on the best lands, bui without fertilizing, is con!
sidered an excellent yield; and the greater pat
Of the open lands Ia the county will. with goat
work. perhaps average f1aeen bushels withouC
the use of fertilizers hut il is also trte that tka
| corn crop Of the county. one year with anothec,
| does not average over twelve bushels 10 tt.a
acre. Some farmers who rotate crops, appfsi
fertilizers and exercise skill and Judgment ii
their operations, triple this average. and beg
sides. haviog bacon, lard and hams to sell every
year. also, have thousands of surplus bushels OF
during the year. Forty cente per 6ushel Ia sbost
the average price for corn in the county. j
OATS are reliable and important crop it
Leon county, and are coming more extensively
into use among the farmers each year. FrOta
twenty to thirty bushels per acre is cOnsi,ieret
fair crop on old land without fertiizing; but thu
application of fifty bushels of rotted cotton see1
per acre, costing about $5, puts the yield mp rs
forty to sixty bushels At this time oats ar4
worth thirty TO thiriy-fve cents per bushel;
during the winter they &c, up 10 so cents.
RYE is made use of extensively by farmers az
winter pas:urage for stock. For this purpose i
is a cheap and reliable crop, and after being
kept nnder foot all winter, if the stock are re-:
moved in March. pretty fair crop Of eight III
ten bushels can still he cut per acre. To thi.
keeper of live stock. whether OF horses, beet
cattle, dairy COWS or even hogs, the possessions
of few acres in rye, for green winter feed is (:
great item Of economy, and saves much money.
RICE is a profitable crop on every farm Then:
are generally an acre or two of meadow land 'h'sX
can always be made IN nay han3."meiy IN riccxx
P.vru rUity IN seventy bushels is a good crOIk
and this commands generally 81 per busbcl. il
the hull or rough !:
WHEAT is not among the commodities
commonly grown in Leon county irony
no inability TO produce it proftably. however,
for during the civil war, when -four could not bA
had from other quarters, some planters grew
wheat very successfully, and male about -four !
teen TO eighteen bushels per acre. {.
BARLEY grows well and is very cheap ans
sure crop.
GERMAN MILLET AND HUNGARIAN GMAs3
both are grown very prot,aby for forage csopSS
PEARL MILLET. or Cat Tale" IS an indiai
pensable crop to the owner OF live stock, esptS
cially dairymen, who use it for soiling. A very
small piece If ground furnishes vast amour! /!
OF green stuff, which can be cut four Of five
times
SORGHUM OF many varieties is "a popular an$
profitable CROP and few acres to be handled In
summer when there is little else 10 do on th$
farm nsures handsome profit in syrup and suy
gar. =
GRASS is certain and abundant crop. q,
many valuable varieties. None of the pOpnlas
Northern grasses, snch as orchard grass, blura
grass, red-top, timothy, &c, have been cultiva
ted extensively in Leon county Experimcnf
has demonstrated that the two first do admirable
in our climate and soil, and since few iarmer*
have led off in that direction there is reason Is
expect a more general adoption of these grasse>
IN a few years. But we have 10 Leon several e%<
ceIlent hay grasses indigenous. that only require
the ground 10 be broken and narrowed to prtE
duce abundant crops, that can be cut twice;
yielding from two to three tons Of sweet nutr.z
tous hay that all our stock prefer to any We csrs
procure from the North The Bermuda graST
fiourshes in Leon Of late years it is rapidly as:
suming supremacy as a permanent pas,urt!
grass. and where desirable is made into hay ~
cured hay per acre at a cutting. This BermudE;
hay commands 25 per GEN.. more in the Sayan:
nah market than the best Northern hay. !.
ALFALFA or " California Glover" seems spcs
cially adapted TO the climate and soil OF Leony
AS yet it is not being generally planted, but il,
such cases as it has been tried has given moss
unqualified satisfaction. During the present
year the writer has cut four crops of Alfalfa from
the same ground, between January 1st and j unG
lst. and the fifth crop is now in bloom. rhit
fact of itself makes the matter of fat stock and
cheap meat practical reality with every iarmes :
in this section :.
SWEET POTATOES are in Leon county farrt
economy what beans are in the army-a sort os
standby. Everything eats them, and iattens
on them. They can be planted any time. froE.
April until August, and whenever there is nOtfs
ing else to do on a farm, slap in more potay
toes" The cost of making them is very insi&
nfcant and the yield is about 300 bushels pei
acre as an average-Often 500 One of the besj
farmers in Leon was heard to remark that hS
"could make money here producing sweet pots.
toes at Is cents per bushel. The varieties o.
this plant most popular in Florida do not seen,
to suit the taste Of Northern consumers, wig
prefer dry, meay root to the buttery sugary sOr;
But as the Jersey and MancimOn do quite as well
here as our native varieties they will probably,
in time. supersede the yams and thus add AMI
other name to our already long list Of trucR
crops for shipment North. =.
county, and are grown for stock Il:
CAssAvA is another root rapidly coming int )
notice and favor. There is no question about
the rrOhabeness of producing cassava on LeO!
county lands Tor the manufacture of starch an3
glucose, but cassava will grow on sandS
land profabiy and few other things will, it n
probable that the settlers on the pine lands GI
East and South Florida will engage extensively
in its cultivation, and it would be "sorter means
not to allow Them to monopolize it.
SUGARCANE is sure and profitable crop iii
Leon county, and every farmer grows somS
About ten barrels of syrup, or six barrels Of su
gar per acre is good crop, and few acres OF
each farm are not in the way of other things
and bring in ready money, and gives the thrifty.
provident farmer many tons of bdgasse or refus>,
stalk, that are rich in both nitrogen and pOtaslb
and are valuable addition TO the compost heatSl
TOBACCO has always been very profitable anS
favorite crop in Leon Since the war it has beet
neglected, but is again coming into favor. Thu
Cuba seed are generally preferred, producing !
hne-havored article that commands top prices.
The recent establishment of a cigar factory il.
Tallahassee, which is already over-stocked With
orders from st. Louis and Chicago has given i
new start to tobacco planting. About 900 to 7CC
pounds is considered fair crop Der acre a;
Cuba tobacco. worth about fifty cents per pound
in this market. :.
Cow PEAS are another very general crop ii
Leon county, and while their chief use is to plow
under as fertilizer, still they will stand PICKING
first, and yield about 10 TO 12 bushels per achs
Dwarf or bush varieties more) and are wortys
81 per bushel. The pea vine cures we'll and nj,
better winter forage can be had for stock cattlS
as they eat up the vines clean, and fattcn readily
on them. A new variety recently introduced
called the "Conch" " will produce and matut,