Evening star., 1896-03-31
A FROZEN BLESSING
Florida Learning the Lesson Of
Stern Necessity.
CALAMITY THAT MEANS COMFORT
Neglected Opportunities That Are
Now Being Utilized.
PROSPERITY PREDICTED

!,
with the result of increased amazement and
admiration for the courageous faith of the
people.
Fifteen months ago Florida bought nearly
everything it cor sumed in the north. Hay,
corn. meat and canned goods were exclu-
sively shipped into the state and sold at
prices necessarily high on account of the
heavy freight rates. All about there was
fertile land, not distinctly agricultural, to
be sure, but easy of cultivation when prop
erly treated. In the orange groves, where
much fertilizer was used, there was luxu-
rious growth of grass, which the growers
would industriOusly plough up or burn
down. The spaces between the trees were
kept clear of all growth of the sort, under
the idea that it would take the Sustenance
from the trees. Thus land full of fecundity,
and which could have been devoted to the
raising of vegetables melons and other nee
essary products that enter into daily con-
sumption, was made a barren waste In or
der to give the orange trees chance. In
awakening the people Of Florida in its most
attractive sections to a realization Of their
past mistakes of this character. the freeze
of 1895 is proving a blessing instead of a
calamity. Within a radius Of fifty miles
around this city is the garden spot of Flor
ida. From this territory at least fouc-ffths
of the oranges were sent to the north, and
nine-tenths of the so-called Indian river
oranges, too, because the orange-growing
strip in the Indian river country is not
more than half mile wide at its broadest.
Former Neglect In Agriculture.
1t is not exaggeration to say that no one
in all this section raised a grain Of corn, a
ton of hay or more than enough vegetables
to meet his daily wants Baled hay from
the west was exclusively used. while the ma
tive growth was pers:stently destroyed or
allowed to go to waste. Cattle, which were
few, were pastured in the woods and the
scrub, and horses We're fed on the imported
hay and oats and corn. The baled hay cost
from $2S to $50 ton, and the man who had
small orange grove of two or three acres
spent more than the profits on his orange
crop feeding the horse that was used in It's
cultivation. A stalk of corn was as much
of a curiosity here as an orange tree would
have been in Kansas. as far as its cultiva ton
as a staple was concerned. and there was
not a grist mill in the country. Oranges
tent. The freeze Of December %, 1904, de-
stroyed crop of 6,OoO,OOU boxes Of oranges.
The freeze Of February g. 1895, destroyed
the trees that bore them. There was sum
of s15,OOO,(O0 owed in the orange part of the
state on mortgages, and men in the north
held them. There was no money anywhere,
for the orange crop was worthless.
Recognized Their Mistakes.
These people then perceived for the first
time that they had been wasting their op-
portunities, and. gritting their teeth, set to
work to take advantage of them. Jerome
Palmer, a livery stable proprietor here,
gave me in few words an excellent Illus
traticn of how things have changed in a
twelvemonth.
"A year ago." he said, IT was paying $50
a ton for baled western hay, and every
man who owned horse in this section was
doing the same thing. This winter there
has not beep a dozen bales of western hay
shipped in. We are paying s. ton for
ne:ghborhood hay and 81 for hauling.
Is being spent for the improvement and ad-
vancement of Florida"
Instances in Point.
At Lakeland, below here, G.OO0 quarts of
Strawberries have been shipped north this
season, for which the growers have re-
ceived an average price at the station of Is
cents quart. Last year not a berry was
shipped Two young Englishmen near
here had their all invested in an orange
grove. The trees were killed to the roots,
and they were ruined. They went to work,
prepared three acres Of land and planted
1t in cabbages. They sold $3.50 worth last
week, and have twice many left, which
are now being shipped. The same amount
Of fertilizer needed to keep orange trees in
good condition has been found sufficient to
grow other products that bring a profit
months a half-dozen grist mills have been
put in operation, and now the corn raised
last year Is being ground into meal at
trifling cost Before the freeze 1t was all
imported from the north at an extravagant
price. Plans are being drawn for an equal
number of canning factories. Go into
grocery or provision store anywhere in
Florida, and you are struck by the appear
arce of the shelves, loaded down with
canned goods. and all put up at the north.
No one down here before the freeze ever
thought Of raising vegetables, except for
the early northern market. They allowed
the surplus to go to waste, being satisfied
with the big prices they received for the
first crops. The freeze taught them that
this was crazy policy, and now they real
ize that they can establish factories to put
up that immense surplus of peas. tomatoes
beans and other vegetables, and supply the
demand in the state at lower prices, be-
cause the freight charges will be elimi-
mated and the profits of two or three sets
of middlemen. These are a few instances
of what is being done all over the state In
various forms.
All Learning the Lesson.
Every section is adapting itself to the
new necessities. and doing SO by availing
itself of opportunities that always existed.
The Georgia watermelon Is not going to
hold it's pre-eminent place without q strug-
gle, either. F1oridians have found they
can raise them of excellent quality at i'm
mense profit, and this season will see large
shipments to the north two or three weeks