The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-30

ties generally prevailing, but also spe- cific advantages now rapidly multi ply, to include in Its. presentation; strawberry culture, developed within i the past two years wherein the high acre returns were at the rate of $739.zo per acre. the average maintain cd, being s416s5; peach growing to which wide areas are now being rapid ly and proftably devoted: beef cattle
 examples of the established breeds of which are now in increasing evidence on every hand. and sugar cane grow Ing on the 'piney woods land of the Gulf coast fringe. where as high as S57 gallons have been harvested from single acre, illustrating the possi- bilities for widening the sugar-produc- ing territory of the United States. The single Finnish colony of tho South is 1 on the line of the Louisville and Nash vile railroad. while numerous German. Swedish and Scandinavian settlements are in prosperous development Be- tween Mobile and New Orleans is the great oyster canning industry of the South, exceeding in volume that of Baltimore and rapidly extending. In- deed. for many years, a considerable part of the Maryland brands have been drawn from this section, the oyster beds of the Gulf coast along the Mis- sissippi and Louisiana borders af- fording an inexhaustible supply.
 The trend of immigration has been for centuries from East to West. but now the West is largely populated, and the South is at the very threshold Of an enormous immigration move | mcnt or even computing approximate ly. the proportions to which it shall have attained within the next half de- cade.S
 The millions of acres of fertile land invite the farmer. the intensive agri- culturist. the orchardist and the stock | raiser to this Central South. These acres are now to be purchased at prices from s5 to $25 per acre. without dread of lack of water" or "blizzard'' or "northers,' where cattle and sheen can and do gather their living through out the entire twelve months of the year without being stable fed
 The farmer of the Northern and Northwestern States is beginning to know that something besides cotton can be raised in the South; and. with ! the pleasant summers. with tho mild and agreeable and short winters, it Is not surprising to see large numbers of well-to-do farmers from these cold cli- mates hocking to the South, the land of sunshine flowers, health and happi- ness.
 Tho wide areas of the lower South formerly timbered with yellow pine, having been denuded by the lumber men. are now being put into stock farms. The native cattle were small. descendants of those brought there by the Spaniard 200 and 300 years ago, as inbreeding and lack of attention had reduced their sizes individually. It has not been long since the general belief was that heavy beef cattle would not thrive as far south as the thirty first degree. Today Herefords, ana Shorthorns. Durhams. Aberdeens and Red Pohed may be seen in every al. rection. Sheep grazing Is becoming extensive and is found immensely prof. itable. Berkshires and Poland China hogs are rapidly displacing the native
 razor-back," so that successful stock raising In the Central South is an es- tablished and indisputable fact.
 The railroads are lending helping hands and exerting every effort in up- building the country. and aside from settling the vacant lands with "tiI- iers Of the soiP' are encouraging. as- sfsting and cooperating in the devel- opment and establishment of indus tries. The iron of Alabama and Ten nessee is now being made into the best of steel. by mills located in those States; the local production of steel Is being followed by the concentration | Of other industries which rely on iron for their products. Thus is seen the l smoke from factories on every hand, turning out the products that but re- gently were supplied from the North.
 What the iron industry has done and Is doing for the South is likewise be- ing done by woodworking factories fha many quarries rich in clay. marble pyrites, graphite and other minerals. | The building of the Panama canal will make the Gulf of Mexico and Car ibbean Sea the chief maritime waters of the world, and the cities of the Gulf coast will face the greatest and busiest water activity the world has ever known. This activity must of necessi- ty affect most fnvorably the North and South railroads. The port cities will thrive and increase. which will infu- ence and cause the interior cities and towns to grow and advance in popu- lation. become sound commercial and
 financial centers.
 Manufacturing is but starting in the South. Industrial development means greater cities. Agriculture Is follow ing rapidly, and finding strong local markets for the products of the field, the pasture. the tree: so 1t cannot he considered extravagant or overenthu- siastic in insisting that the South es- pecially the great Central South is at the beginning of an era of prosperity. development and upbuildinR which nothing can withhold. The Louisville and Nashville Rail- road Company in every wise and req sonable manner is doing It's share and taking the initiative in materially ad- ding to the Southern development fin the wide territory whose rails it pen