The sun. (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1906-06-09

by the Department of Agriculture, an
nounces some changes in the division of
the State by counties, by which the mum.
Der is increased to five as against four,
the number recognized by the climate
and crop service of the Weather Bureau,
which divides the State into Northern,
Central, Southern and Western; while
Commissioner McLin's five are Northern,
Western, Northeastern, Central and
Southern, with eleven, seven, nine, nine
and ten counties in them in the order
written. There may be some good rea-
son for the change not apparent on the
surface of the bulletins report, but it
would seem as if some confusion would
likely arise because of the non-uniform-
ity of national and State division.
The statistics in connection with the
acreage and condition of crops as COM
pared with those of last year are inter
esting, and can be studied to advantage
by the fruit and vegetable growers, as
they show the sections in which partic-
ular lines of soil products.
Taking the orange as the leading fruit
product, it is to be noticed that, in the
Northern division only one county-that
of Lafayette, bordering on Alachua in
the Northeastern division-reports any
trees. Calhoun County, in the Western
division, is the only one also. In the
Northeastern division Alachua, Clay and
Columbia Counties appear. In passing
it may be stated that in these ,,rop
tables only four counties are set down
though nine are credited to it elsewhere.
In this division are Duval, Nassau, Put
nam, st. Johns and Bradford that do
not seem to grow-or at least report to
the Commissioner any farm, fruit or
vegetables--a condition that would
seem to need some explanation from
some one.
The Central and Southern divisions
are, of course, the citrus sections of
Florida, and there is no county in either
unrepresented, either as to pomelos or
oranges, save Levy, that reports none of
the first named fruit.
In the pineapple line one county, that
of Orange, in the Central division, is
represented, and only one in the South
ern that does not--on the authority of
this bulletin-grow them. According to
it DeSoto County either does not grow
pines, bananas and guavas, or the de-
partment's correspondents do not think
them of sufficient Importance to report
them. How about Punta Gorda, Avon
Park, Pabor Lake, Bowling Green? Pine
apples 60 North every season by the car.
load from the first named town; but, if
one reads Alright the blank space in De-
Soto's place, there are none this year, or
II there are pineries their condition is
not worthy of report.
The same is to be said of st. Lucie
County, where a similar blank is shown
in the table, and yet this is said now to
be the banner county on the east coast
for our delicious open field-grown pine
apple. There may be some good and
sufficient explanation of these vacancies
II so they should have been given in
bracketed or starred paragraphs at the
bottom of the tables. For the general
reader at home or abroad, who gives
careful study to what should be reliable
report, who is familiar with the sections
will wonder why conditions are not re
ported. These comments are made will
no desire to disparage the Commission
er's bulletin, but to call attention, il
behalf of the growers in these counties
to the omission.
AS to conditions as compared will
those existing at similar period las
year-May-in nearly every instance, a!
to the two fruits touched upon in thil
article, there is a high percentage o
betterment reported. There are some
exceptions, however; in oranges, pomelo
and pineapples the range is from Is Il
20 per cent below that of 1905. In Or
ange County, in which Orlando-once
and still, probably-a famous pineapple
district, the percent of condition indi
Gates only half crop this season. II