The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-07-29
Solve the Problem.

solve the IrODlem.
PALATKA, July q,
Editor Palatka News;
In your issue of Sunday, July eth,
your correspondent Rustic" asks very
important and pertinent question; one
which should engage the earnest
thought and attention of every one who
wishes TO succeed in Florida, or who has
the general success of the state at heart;
''What shall We do for living in
Florida" We cannot, If course, sue
coed on our agriculture. for that is really
the base of success AMI progress Of the
entire world.
In the course Of his article he makes
comparison with California, ami init
mates that her success lies in the fact
that her agriculturists have organized
and secured cheaper rates Of trahsporta-
ton. That is an important item, and
must receive It's due consideration. But
that. in my mind, is not the starting
point. We must first property prepare
tflt iuhu IdtSt rouIht ItduN
for shipment, before We are ready to
command the services Of the transpOr.
tatiOn companies or any other aid. Cali,
fOrnia raises and ships sounder, more
healthy vegetables than Florida, because
her agriculturists irrigate with pure wa
ter. You cannot expect to raise healthy,
sound vegetable land people should tat
no other on land rendered sour AMI I'M
wholesome by stagnant water. Ship
such vegetables to the northern market,
and il they do not spoil in transit, they
soon commence to decay. and when the
commission merchant reports: Received
in bad order" and asks you for money
to pay the freight, il 1t his faultt You
thought you shipped them in good order,
and they probably seemed So, apparently,
but the germ Of decay Was there, trans
mitted to them by the unhealthy condi.
ton Of the soil in which they were raised.
California's soil and products ars rcn.
dered more healthy by her system of
pure irrigation, with crystal water from
her running mount ,in streams. II We
would compete with her, We must render
our soil pure ami our vegetables whole.
some. We must commence in the right
place, and not think the place to b4gin
IL with tho commission men and tho
transportation companies. They are Il
blame for enough Of our disaster, but dl
not heap upon them the faults which
should le laid Mt our own doors.
Illinois ascertained years ago that
much Of her sOil was thus impure. an,
net about purifying il. not by irrigation,
for she has no mountain streams tn turn
to account, but by Undertaking
Thousands OF acres Of her soil which
twenty years agU was considered worth
less, IL now the hsst and most pruluc
tive Of that state. Florida resembles n
linOis in many respects, and we must r.
sort to the same plan to render our Ian,
more reliably productive, and our pro
ducts more wholesome.
Look at our prosl,lcts in the markets
today. They are all in a decaying con
dition. You can hardly find any thin,
which is not. This should not la so.
must, however, te 80 as long ~ the sol
II full OF impure water. Let commission
men and transportation companies
alone for a few years, and plucl
the bean out Of your own ey
before you say too much to the damag
Of your neighbor by referring to tn
mote in his optic.
Some people fear that under drainin,
will deprive the surface Of moisture dur
ing drouth. On the contrary, that
where the beauty Of the system comes in
A man who has drains. three feet dee
and % feet apart. run through his Ian,
need never fear the worst drouth whic
ever visited any land. Actua! expert
ence verifies this statement. It Is n
myth, no guess work. Il il not mcr
THEORY, although the theory il goo
one.
1t il also just as reliable against o.
cessively wet weather, for the surplu
water soon finds its way to tho drair
: and the farmer. or gardener, can 20 |
cultivating his land as soon as the raj
ceases to pour, and successfully emplo
his time, while his ncighbor must sit o
, the fence and wait for his land to becon
= dry enough to work. A.