The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1888-03-01
BARLOW.
Geo. Booker on Tosacco-whar He Thinks Polk
County Can do.


CorfesDonGence OF the Paidfka Nelrs.
BARLOW, FLA, February 27,
If you think am late IN handing in
my long promised letter, / know you
will excuse me when / declare / have
had nothing of interest to write about.
Nothing worthy of occupying space in
THE PALATKA NEWS. L have not been say
ing much and writing nothing this win
ter but have been thinking volumes, on
how much we Floridians have to con-
graduate ourselves on, if nothing but
the climate is to be considered that is
enough, with other conditions about
equal to the other states, to make Flor
ida a desirable place for permanent resi-
dence. This past winter has been per-
feet. not only in the one particular that
there has been no weather cold enough
to injure the most sensitive plants. but
it has rained Just when it has been most
needed. If we had had carte blanche on
the weather clerk we could not have or
dered it to suit our needs better. This
naturally brings US to consider the farm
i:g interest which is fast assuming vast
Proportions in this POLK county. 1t is
supposed that there are at least twenty
acres cultivated this year for every one
of last, which is very long step in the
right direction. Mr.. Reide who deals in
farming implements, told me in re-
cent interview that his sales had in
creased largely beyond his expecta-
tons. He is now building a large brick
house to accommodate the necessary
increase in the stock he has carry to
supply the demand.
Though we are cultivatiug about
twenty acres in vegetables, am person
ally more interested in tobacco than any
other one crop, because / believe it in-
wolves much larger interest to the State
generally, and is destined to become
Florida's staple product. The expert
ment is interesting to he too, because /
was raised on an 1,S00-acre farm in that
most beautiful section of old Virginia;
the valley of the James above Rich
mond, where tobacco, wheat, corn and
hay were the staple crops. ! feel greatly
encouraged by our success so far, we
have sown quite number of plant beds
at different times, the first of 400 square
yards, was sown on the 18th of Decem-
Der, the seed came up about the first of
January, and we are planting from it
now.
/ do not think it would be going at all
beyond the truth to say we can if we
want to, draw 200, 900 plants from it with
in the next ten days. This bed is Big Or
inoko, a favorite Virginia variety, other
beds sown at intervals later are doing
equally well. think we will have plants
enough to set the county. AS to variety
we have the following: Big Orinoko,
Blue Pryor and Gooch Broad Leaf, lead
ing Virginia varieties, Vuelto Abajc,
pure Havana and Sumatra from the de-
partment, and Cuba seed distr. huted by
the Florida Southern Railway.
If the seed are good, do not think it
makes much difference as to the variety.
as tobacco has the unusual quality of
dudpIllfG lISttI 10 TIE SOIL on WHICH 1t Is
grown. If our experiment proves sue
cess we will in future save our own
seed.
As to fertilizers, / regard stable and
barnyard manure applied very heavily
broadcast and plowed in as the very
best, next in my estimation is the Peru
Wan or Pacific guano. l find that hard
burning is equally as essential here as ON
the heavier soil of Virginia, as have
made some experiments in that too.
Fertilizing will not take the place of
burning, as it is absolutely necessary to
burn the land in order to get rid of tie
indigenous grass and weed seeds in it.
that will if not burned crowd out and
smother the plants, especially if the
ground is dry and the tobacco does not
terminate soon after sowing.
III you desire it / viii write more later
about the cultivation in the field, the
cutting, housing and curing.
GEO. BOOKER.