The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1897-07-14
Outlook Frightening.

are feeling more hopeful. There is a
continually increasing confidence in
the orange, pineapple and other indus
tries and activity is noticed all along
the lines that are affected directly or
indirectly by them. No time since the
freeze have we received so many re-
newals and new subscribers as since
the first of July, and no time have our
subscribers spoken so hopefully of the
future. True, number have written
of the hard times they are still expert
encing and the scarcity of money in
their section, but through it all there
is "a vein of hope and a feeling OF
thankfulness that everything is COM
ing out much better than was expect
ed. Out of all the letters received,
only one or two thought that they,
the country, the orange business and
everything else in the state was bust
ed. Some of them certainly have
hard time of it and we cannot blame
them for feeling discouraged, espec-
tally as some of the laws of our state
are against them and keeping them
back instead of being help. One
subscriber writes:
"Talk about times improving, they have been
growing worse with When [ lost my
crop of oranges and grove by the freeze | had
nothing to fall back on to make money to pay
for box stuff already bought, the fertilizer ap-
piled two weeks previous, the last three
months grocery bill. 1 thought I could earn
a living and something more by cutting cross
ties for the railroad. I found it pretty hard
work and could not make over 90 cents to ST
per day and furnish the timber. After the
first weeks work falling limb broke my
Had to quit tie making. Between my wife and
little boy and one arm we managed to put in
three acres of sweet potatoes. They were
doing nicely. My neighbours CD hogs found
them and because l could not make hog
proof fence with one arm, lost my potatoes, as
my neighbor informed me hit would be right
smart trouble to keep his hogs up L planted
some watermelons in the grove where the fer
tilizer had been applied and they grew finely
and had fine lot of melons, Wife, boy and
myself took turns in keeping the hogs out. I
shipped two cars; one brought me $1o3.4o and
the second $446 The RAILROAD got over $500 to
the car and the commission merchant the bal
ance After my arm got well L concluded to
put in some cotton. | raised fine crop but
did not know what to do with it after it
raised as [ had gin nor is there one for
miles around. [ stored it in the barn, the rats
found it and carried it all over the premises
and ate the seed so that there was cotton
everywhere and not bit to spin. All of this
comes in the way of experience. We liv-
ing however, and have prospect of about
fifty boxes of oranges this year. If the rabbits
don't all die and the fish continue to bite I
hope to keep body and soul together till
Legislature passes law that will compel
man who keeps $3.50 hog that will destroy
$3.50 worth of farm products, in pen or make
him responsible for the damages done. Then
man would have showing to raise some
thing to eat and get ahead. I'd like to con-
tinue the Agriculturst which has been great
help to us but unless you can take your pay in
gophers, rabbits fish, we we will have to
forego its welcome visits. I'm busted, the
orange business for a time is busted, farming
is busted without fence law, and if the legis-
lators could have held little longer the state
would have been busted
Rather hard lines and we regret his
misfortune. We know only too well
that a part of it is due to our obnox-
Gus hog law, or rather the lack of
fence law that would compel the own
ers of raZorbacks to keep them in