The Fort Worth gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-189?, 1891-04-09
IRRIGATION IN FLORIDA. Ell

IRFIGAFEbN IN FLORIDA. Ell.
The state OF Florida lies within North
Americas regions OF heaviest annual rain
fall, and yet the Floridi;ns are finding
that irrigation in agriculture pays hand
sOnely for Florida. a @oodly number of
irrigated farms and orange groves are al
ready under the system, and so well do
they pan out 10 the arrangement that al
most everybody there is talking up irri-
cation in way that will very soon vastly
increase the area of the state under arti-
fetal water supply. Those Florida people
are L progressive lot, therefore when they
see a really good thing they are not slow to
adopt it, They well know that they have
all the rainfall needed for crops did it in
variably come exactly as wanted, but
therein lies the rub Crops TO DO their best
must never pass a day without full sup
ply Of needed moisture in the soil, Il fact
the Fl0ridians have discovered, and hence
their general uprising, as it We're, in favor
Of irrigation.
II is passing strange, under the circum-
stances. that Texas. should, TO any great
extent, conclude that Texas, with her much
lighter rainfall, would not be particularly
benefited by irrigation. IT'S ever thus,
however. Great movements invariably
start slowly. The Texans viii fully get
into the spirit of the thing after awhile,
however, and then VIII come a revolution
in Texas agriculture not SO much as
dreamed of ny her masses at this particu-
lar time.
Most of the irrigation in Florida is done
with water from artesian wells. The wa
ter presents no kind OF advantage over wa
ter flowing from artesian wells in Texas.
We have heard the idea advanced that our
artesian water was too highly mincralizcd
for successful employment in watering
crops, but the operations in Florida COM
pletely upset that theory, Tor The artesim
water there is much more highly mineral
lied than the artesian water here
There has been for about two years a
large irrigated truck farm in the neighbor-
hood of St. Augustine, Fla, giving i'm
menSe satisfaction, and now comes late
issue of the ST. Augustine News telling all
about new one just getting under way
sixteen miles from the town. On the first
Of August 1890, the locality was simply
broad stretch Of level and poor pincy woods
land lying along the Jacksonville and St.
Augustine railway. y Mr.. Hastings, con-
GLIDING that it might be converted into
fine irrigated farm, bought it al low figures
He ct once put down an artesian well which
cave him fair flow through four inch
n rot ,intll T-op !, IN
-vcstncnt al as early a day as possible, he
set large force OF men AT work preparing
his land for culture, opening irrigation
bitches and building an extensive ''cucum-
Der house, Some weeks ago he began
putting upon the market an assortment OF
the finest vegetables, rs cucumber, peas,
onions, water cress, bccts, lettuce,
parsley and radishes. Some Of his cucum-
bers measured twelve inches in length.
The cucumber house and its management
would doubtless be something new TO most
Texans, and therefore would seem to merit
description here. 1t is u building twenty
two feet wide BY $50 feet long, and stands
| near the artesian well. In its construction
posts were set in the ground to act rs up
rights or studding, and rough boards nailed
upon them outside as the interior of the
wall On the outside Of these boards was
tackled two thicknesses of roofing felt or
thick tarred paper, and over this felt was
nailed ordinary Notwithstanding in the
usual way. An absolutely air tight wall
was thus made. Nothing was said of the
height Of the walls, but the presumption is
that they were about the usual height
characterizing our nursery greenhouses.
The top OF the structure is covered with
| sash and glass on the greenhouse plan.
Within this structure the tender plants
flourish and fruit throughout the winter.
They are grown in boxes filed with soil
and running the long way OF the house,
Just as one often sees them for growing
| tender plants in the nursery greenhouse,