The Florida agriculturist., 1884-12-03
Holmes County, Fla.

Holmes County is the fourth from the
western boundary Of the State, and lies
Immediately adjoining the south Ala
bama line. tits divided into two nearly
equal parts by the Ehoctawhatchee Riv-
er, which is navigable for small steam
boats from the bay Of the same name to
Geneva, Ala. Along the banks of this
stream lie some ct the best hummock
and swamp lands in the State, covered
for the most part with dense forests of
cypress, beech, gum, hickory, oak, ash
and other woods too numerous to men
ton. This land produces from one-half
to a bale of cotton to the acre, ten to
twenty bushels of corn, and the finest of
rice and cane. The Choctawhatchee
river is famous for the number and size
of the fish it contains; in this respect it
cannot be surpassed. The woods along
the river and adjacent streams are alive
with sqirrels, and in the proper season
turkey and duck are abundant, making
this country the sportsmen's paradise
for those whose ambition does not rise
to antsers or bearskin as tokens of their
prowess.
The pine lands adjoining the river bot
toms are generally level without being
low, and with proper cultivation pro-
duce fine crops of cotton, corn, oats, rice,
potatoes, cane, peas, peanuts, melons,
tobacco, and all kinds OF garden vegeta-
bles. To the farmer who wishes to live
at home and board at the same place,
no country offers greater inducements
than this. Add to the variety of its pro-
ductiolsS the. fessi 5-sslao~ease
with which it is. cultivated, the amount
and convenience of its building and fenc
ing timber, the mildness of its climate
and manner in which stock thrive with
little or no attention, and the mind can
hardly conceive of a country better
adapted to that class who ''drive their
teams afeld.' Cattle and sheep do well
on the range the year round, and hogs
fatten ready for the winter on the vast
crops Of mast that cover the lowlands.
Bees and domestic fowls do we'll, and
altogether it seems as if Nature had des-
tined this country to be the home of the
small farmer, although there are miles
of fertile lands for those who desire to
plant on a larger scale.
All kinds of fruit grown in Southern
latitudes do well, and we believe the
soil and climate to be especially adapted
to small fruits grapes, strawberries,
blackberries, etc. Horticulture has not
heretofore received the attention in this
section it deserves, but we hope, when
our farmers get tired losing time, labor
and money in the cultivation Of cotton,
that this branch OF agriculture will be Il
recognized industry in country so well
adapted to it.
Those who prefer hilly country to
the levels of the river lands, can be well
suited in the western part of the county,
where fertile valleys watered by beauti
ful streams lie nestled in the bosom of
picturesque elevations For persons of
feeble lungs with tendencies to consump-
ton. the high, dry air of these piney
woods is especially valuable. i.
The market facilities of Holmes Coun-
ty are excellent. The Pensacola and
Atlantic Railroad traverses the southern
portion, bringing it within a few hours
Communication Of Pensacola. Mobile and
New Orleans on the West. and Jackson
| vile, Savannah and Charleston on the
East. There are special rates to these
and all Northern cities on melons and
garden truck, and We doubt not that the
business of raising this kind of produce
could be made profitable. 5iai
The county is we'll watered bv the
Choctawhatchee River, Sandy Creek,
the tive Reedys, Big and Pitman's Creeks
besides numerous tributaries. i 0
These streams and a large number of
ponds scattered through the county con-
tain large quantities Of fish and furnish
stock water the whole year. The large
pond at Westville which anywhere else
would be dubbed a flake, y is nearly a
mile long and over sixty feet deep in
some places. 1t contains open. pure
water all the time A peculiar and bean
tiful feature of Florida scenery is the
large springs that burst from the earth
in various localities forming basins of
symmetrical formand vast depth. Clear
as crystal, peopled with innumerable
fish that can be seen fifty feet below the
surface, basking in the sun, they are OBJ
jeets of curiousity and delight to hum
dreds who come from far and near to
visit them. The most noted of these in
Holmes County are the Stanley or
HRluaD S,,rinO leiS niIae Nra.k of Wast-