The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-12-14
NEW FLORIDA.
What the Diversifying of Crops Is Do-
 ing for Her.

ing for Her.
 | Once upon time-so runs the tale | vessel was wrecked off the coast ot
 Florida. The crew and passengers all
 perished, save two alone who rescued | from the ships stores a bag of un-
 known beans They ate of the beans, | and were so invigorated that one of | them climbed a mast forty feet and | discovered Florida. They set sail for it, l but upon landing they were pursued by an alligator, and dropped the beans in the Everglades. Some of them germi-
 mated and grew, and the vines overran everything, and on account of this re-
 markable growth they were called jack beans, and later the velvet bean. And
 the velvet bean has climbed over every
 pole in the state fair and stuck out at
 the top of the tent. This bean and the l managers rendered the fair possible. The management, of course know
 beans when they see thenl--so does the live stock of Florida.
 One of the exhibitors from Columbia
 county stated to the writer that a few days ago he saw in the leading livery
 stable of Lake City, a town of 5000 in
 habitants, eighty bales of beggarweed
 hay, and not a spear of Northern hay,
 or of the old fashioned pulled corn
 blades, or any other forage except the
 above mentioned. The time is evident
 ly coming when Florida can issue for
 age declaration of independence
 There was a director of the old Flori-
 da Fruit Exchange of happy memory,
 who said that, under the former Florida
 dispensation when a grower raised his
 oranges and turned them over at the
 end of the season in payment to the
 merchant for supplies, practically that
 he owned was stencil of the Florida Fruit Exchange. Since the freeze he gone to work to diversity" and he has become, as the patent medicine men say, "a new man,"-he is inde- pendent and happy and has money in his pocket all the year round. He exhi- bited at the fair pyramid of diversi- cation which very properly, had its roots in the ground, potatoes and cassa- va; with cowpeas next, then corn and beans, kaki, and at the apex oranges and pomelos-now the old Floridan will beat his orange, like the African his idol in a rage, then fall down and wor- ship it at last.-and, surmounting all as prophecy and an inspiration, the historic old stencil of the Florida Fruit Exchange.
 In the old halcyon days before the freeze gentleman of leisure in far south Florida, lived in a generous ease in a lovely bungalow, clipped his cop pons toranges). paid his bills with the nrpnppIG GUal u1, Jyltt talented daughter roved in the ham mock shades, padded her canoe on the lake and sung her songs, which often were caught and imprisoned in the cor ners of the Florida newspapers. To- day this citizen has at the fair DOT tentious bank diversity" turnips. car rots, parsnips, beets. lettuce, potatoes and what not, on which he takes a handsome premium. His fourteen acres of strawberries will make him more money than he ever gained in clip ping the golden coupons, the money stays in his pocket, and he enjoys rosy health. The daughter sings her songs no more; she is the wife of prosper ous business man, who is busy in a new and growing community of the new "diversifed' Florida
 Dade county raises melons on trees, guavas on stones and Gmmigration) books in running brooks; then allows a gifted citizen of Volusia to go down there and spill the blood of the gllava by hundreds of tons and manufacture jelly and cheese" He sells 1t the world over. and gains large money, with great glory and a premium for Volusia, both at Buffalo and Jackson vile. Lee county does these things bet Ler-she manufactures her own jelly.
 Even Orange, home of the orange and | the pine, has diversified" with twelve | bales of hay from as many grasses. | Marion shows six, one of them bug | gard" hay
 A farmer who is a tower of strength | .o west Florida has, among other | things, a bale of hay that puzzled the l judges; the finest, prettiest hay in the antire fair. They agreed to call it, | what is it," with strong leaning to- ward paspalum.
 But the geratest diversity" of all is | shown by Pasco county, which has a lew variety of sweet potato named Forty in-the-Hil and all nature in Florida wears a glad heart.-Florida