Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-05
the drainage proceeds. the farmer will
follow to occupy the land.
Ferfi1itv of the Re1ion.

Is It worth while to make this region
fit for human habitation? If any one SO
questions, let him consider for a moment
the benefit it will confer, not only on the
south, but upon the whole country, from
merely one standpoint. There is now i'm
ported into the United States more than
=. 400, 600 tons of foreign sugar, for which
we pay. in duty and to the foreign pro-
dLcer, more than $3.50, OOO.O 900 yearly. Our
total exports per annum of the following
articles corn wheat, flour, beef and ma
val stores combined. amount to but $144,-
100000. In other words. We are paying
for foreign sugar. In American money,
more than the people of foreign countries
pay the people of the United States for all
of the corn, wheat -four, beef and naval
stores shipped them from the United
States. There are in this submerged Flor
ida 5000 900 acres of land suitable for the
cultivation of sugar cane; 3.OOO.OOO acres
of which land are free of trees and shrubs.
containing only grass: 3,0OO.OO0 acres of
from feet at the edges to 20 feet in the
middle. A small portion of the territory,
when reclaimed by private enterprise and
cultivated, some years ago, actually pro-
ground-cane which yielded 1900 pounds.
If even $4,000 acres of this soil were put
into sugar cane 1t would yield more. than
the 100000 tons of sugar now annually
imported from abroad.
In proof of the assertion that southern
Florida affords the site for another great
industry. l will briefly refer to the opin-
ions of DR.. H. w. Wiley, the head of the
United States bureau Of chemistry. who
has analysed samples of sugar cane raised
on land reclaimed from this section. DIR.
Wiley says: .'All of these samples are of
over SO per cent purity and are the most
remarka BILE samples We have ever exam
ined. They contain no glucose IA sign OF
inferiority) whatever when tested"
Mr.. Claus Spreckels, the noted sugar
plant alton owner and refiner, writes as
follows regarding his inspection of these
reclaimed sugar lands: Il take pleasure
in saying that during my recent trip to
inspect your sugar operations my surprise
was great at finding such a country for
the growth of sugar cane. The soil is as
rich as any that l have ever seen. and
with proper cultivation the yield should
be equal to that of any other country on
the face of the globe"
What has been already done in the rails
ing of fruit and vegetables the small
areas of soil which have been drained by
private enterprise shows that such work
will be repaid many fold. Not only is this
part of the state adequate for the produc-
ton of every pound of the nations SUI
gar, but it can be covered with fruit or
chards and vegetable gardens. The 5000
600 acres to which / have referred. how
ever, represent only a small portion of the
swamp land granted to Florida by the
United States. on which millions of people
might find homes and occupations if 1t
were properly drained. which it is possible
to do at a very small expense. considering
the value of this land for settlement.
Examples in Reclamation.
Let me give a few statistics to further
show the extent of this land. now great
waste which might be made of such VAL
ue. 1t covers space equal to the total
area of three states of the Cnion-Con-
necticut, Rhode Island and Delaware