The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-02-26
For THE FLORIDA AGRICULTURIsT.
Drouth Effects on Vegetables.

The visitation now upon us makes q
| few reflections on the above heading
timely if not entertaining and instruc-
tive.
OF course the effects of drouths on all
kinds of vegetables If not sustained by
irrigation, natural or artificial ARE always
hurtful. The quality of a few vegetables
is enhanced by moderate drouth, but
drouths such as the one we are now hav-
ing must always prove hurtful to both
quality and quantity of any and every
vegetable.
The harder, long growing sorts of
crops, such as cabbage, egg-plants, okra,
corn, carrots, beets and some kinds of
turnips pull through, and either make a
meagre crop or wait for showers and
come in later But it is next to impossi-
BILE to realize paying crops from short
lived and succulent plants, such as peas,
lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, squash, to-
matOes and Irish potatoes. 1t is now
nearly four months since we had enough
rain to thoroughly wet the soil. A great
number of our paying vegetables should
grow and mature in that time. Indeed,
| feel confident that were we to take full
advantage of our most excellent climate
and water facilities, almost any crop
that we now raise could be brought into
market in less than four months time
from planting. But the stubborn iact
still stares us in the face. Nature cannot
supply every want to any locality. And
while Florida has the finest climate in
the world for growing vegetables, and
gives to her thirsty soil more rain fail in
the year than any State in the Union,
the fact still remains that the modus
Operandi don't fit us. If we could just
scatter those delightful summer showers
on through the fall, winter and spring
we should feel so ''pig as a parrel all re
Dimes" But we can't unless we rob our
lakes, and that is just what we must
come to. But many of us can't irrigate
just now, so what shall we do? | answer
choose a moist location and thoroughly
prepare the soil. Vegetables stand
drOuth in Florida better than in any To-
cality North or South that | am &C
quainted with, and our soil, as general
thing, gets less thorough preparation.
We must cultivate less and prepare bet
ter. Any of our moderately lOw-lying
! lands thoroughly sweetened and worked
eighteen inches deep with all roots,
stones, ETC., removed # properly fertil-
lied, will make good heavy crop of veg
etables OF any kind in just such a drouth
as the present. But we must remember
| that the sub-sOil oflOw-lying land is near
ly always sour. This, as we'll as the top
soil must be sweetened, or the plants in
stead of getting good, wholesome water
to drink will be poisoned by tonic acid or
| some other obnoxious substance. There
is always plenty of moisture in these sub
soils in low-lying Florida land, but it is
poisoned. Sweeten it by blowing deep,
| and growing cow peas on it and you need
not fear drouth. 1t is true the yield
will not be quite so heavy but it will pay.
But while this plan is confidently pre-
sented as an alienation of the effects of
! drouth upon vegetables, it is not the re-
! sort that fully satisfied all expectations.
| We should be satisfied only by that plan
| which pives NOT On1V the hest results huti