The Pensacola journal., 1905-02-12
\ THE EVERGL AIDES CAN BE DRAINED
AND MADE SUITABLE FOR SETTLEMENT
EFOward and Board Of Trustees In
Vesfigating Gigantic Project Which
Means Reclamation OF Over 7,00O,-
600 Acres OF Richest Land
in United States.

and traversing me full length of that
lake, reached Kissimmee Wednesday
night.
They had not seen newspaper and
had heard nothing of the news of the
world since leaving Fort Myers, six
Gays previously. They have marvel
Gus hunting and fishing stories to tell,
and their experience was such that
not one in the party regrets making
the trip.
Worth Many Millions,
Speaking of the fertility of the soil
OF the Everglades, Captain Rose. the
state chemist, who is one of the best
posted men in the country on resourc-
es and possibilities of the Everglades,
said that the muck is from ten to
fifteen feet in depth, and when it is
considered that this muck is worth.
at the very least, SO per ton as ferti-
lizer, some idea may be formed of the
value of that deposit alone. The
muck is rich in ammonia, and would
be in great demand if it could be OBJ
tanned where it could be transported.
Drainage is Practicable.
approximately, 100000 acres can
be drained ana made available for cul-
tivation is a fact of which every mem
her of the party is convinced. They
are also convinced that it would be
the finest kind of an investment for
the state to go into, leaving out all
question as to titles TO the property
being in dispute on account of claims
by various corporations.
Ready to Cultivate.
Even estimating the cost of reclaim
ing the lands at $5 per acre, which is
considered a liberal estimate, Captain
Rose points out that there is no state
in the Union that could produce such
a vast area of such valuable land,
ready for cultivation, for many times
| the cost of reclaiming the Everglades.
He estimates that it costs at least $50
an acre to clear and get ready for the
| plow tracts of heavily timbered land,
\ while in the Everglades, he says,
| there is nothing to do but drain the
lands ana burn off the grass.
Ideal Sugar Lands.
Attorney-General Ellis was impress
|
| what he saw on one of the rivers
emptying into Lake 'Okeechobee. He
! saw a sugarcane field that had been
| planted but once in fifteen years, and
| in which the stalks were fifteen feet
in height as large around as a man S
arm, and each stalk would produce a
gallon or more of juice.
! Great Fisherman
In ALL the party travelled, from Fort
! Myers to Kissimmee, distance OF
someth hing over three hundred miles
| in the launch. State Treasurer Knott
| and Attorney General Ellis broke the
record as fishermen, but they were toe
modest to tell the story themselves
so the state chemist told it, Captain
| Rose says that the two gentlemen
| went ashore and were away from the
! boat less than an hour, and returned
with string of eighteen fine trout
which would weigh from three pounds
up to ten pounOs each.
/ Governor Broward distinguished
himself by shooting all the. "coots'
that came in sight. and now and then
shooting an alligator. The attorney
! general shot an alligator that meas
ured at least ten feet, but the 'gatol
sunk and they could not get him.
Kept Them Guessing.
The object of the visit of the trus
tees of the Internal Improvement
| Fund to the Everglades has been
guessed at by many of the state pa
/ pers. Some of them have said that
Governor ProwarG wishes 10 show the
people that voted for him that he in
tends 70 keep his promise. made be
fore election, in regard to the swamp