The morning news., 1894-11-22
a PROSPEROUS FLORIDA FARMER
He Devotes His Attention to Food
Crops and Lets Cotton Alone.

he Devotes His Attention to Food
Crops and Lets Cotton Alone.
Tallahassee, Fla, Nov 2l-Mnes H.
johnson of Leon county has been grad
ually changing from the old style of
farming in Florida to the new order of
agricultural development and progress.
He now has on his plantation of 1000
acres, in successful operation, as perfect
steam creamery as there is in the United
States. He is using the milk from fifty
four Jersey cows, and his plant has a ca
pactty for ten times that number of
mixers. The milk from every COW is
tested by a Babcock tester. A ram brings
an ample supply of water from nearby
spring, and hot and cold water abounds
throughout the premises. Your CORE
spondent saw $50 pounds of choice but
ter taken out of the churn in less than
two minutes after the cream was trans
1erred from the vat to the churn. Such
butter as is made in no other Florida
county. Butter equal in color, flavor and
texture TO the best made anywhere. One
peculiar feature of the entire process is
that neither the milk, cream nor butter
is ever touched by human hands.
AS at present managed the revenue
from the creamery is 1850 a year but as
the milk that produces 80 cents worth
Of butter viii yield 3S cents worth of full
cream cheese, Mr.. Johnson will reduce
his butter output, and manufacture cheese
for which he has all the appliances
and which his manager understands thor
oughly. This will increase the income
from this industry to nearly $1,000 a year,
more than one-third of which will be
clear profit He is now making over
800 pounds of butter a week, most of
which is shipped to different points in
the state, and ners 30 cents a pound
Mr.. Johnson raises his own stock food,
such as corn, oats, hay, peas, turnips.
sweet potatoes, etc, and is preparing to
grow clover.
He will make seventy-five barrels of
syrup from six acres of cane, and his
mill is now turning out seven barrels
per day.
A 25-horse power engine runs his
grist mill, gin and cane mill all at the same
time. His gin house is three-story
building. The seed cotton Is placed in the
third story, from which it passes through
the gin, lint room and press, and is rolled
out on to scales, where each bale is
weighed and marked ready to be shipped
Next year he will make syrup by steam
process, which viii give uniformity in
quality improve the grade and yield and
| lessen the cost of manufacturing at least
| fifty per cent.
/ This season he has harvested twenty
/ five bushels of oats and ten bushels of
/ peas per acre from the same land. and
| then pastured his cows thereon for sew
| eral weeks, with an increased yield of
/ milk.
/ He cuts three tons of hay to the acre.
Has orange and lemon trees in full bear
! ing
/ He has recently purchased for his herd,
/ Jersey male calf, in Kentucky, only two
/ days old, at a cost of $50
A pair of Poland-China pigs has Just
arrived for him, costing $50 His milch
cows are housed every night and their
/ food accurately measured and weighed
/ Mr.. Johnson buys no stock feed, on the
/ contrary, he has an abundance to sell
/ This is his last year for cotton-growing
/ He will have no tenants in future. He will
hereafter hire labor and devote all his
/ farming operations to raising food crops.
/ There are number of prosperous dairy
farmers in Leon county and there will be
/ more in the near future.