The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-12-20
BY coNDIcT c. PACKARD

. less extent into the nyabIe territory.
These are not. strictly speaking,
| 'bayous,' but living streams. affected
both by the tides and by the inflow
ing volumes OF water which swell
their shores. From polnI To point
and from end TO end. each and all of
these .'bayous have shores wherein
may rest homes and from which no
faint of malaria arises Indeed, there
! is not foot of stagnant water in the
whole of this region which Is Lower
ance in considering the county as d
A whole.
Agricultural Possibilities.
Time was. and not so many years
ago. when it was Regarded as idle
lvaporings TO speak or write of the ag
ricultural possibilities resting in the
"piney woods" soil which supplies the
acreage of Escanbia county; yet to-
day many a fruitful farm. many a
stately orchard and profitable truck
garden supplies worthy income to
those who have learned the secret of.
treating the soil fairly And scores
of men in the comfy are now welI-to-
do and independent. who have derived
their competence from these once de-
spissd acres. It is. and always has
been. merely matter of adapting eff
fort to the locality. and accepting that
which nature provides. The long
seasons, and the numerous crops
which are possible. some ono of which
may be garnered each month of the
twelve, provides for the tiIler of land
in Escambia county that which few
sections afford; a succession of crops.
and consequent income certain to
yield abundance for whoever will will
lingly and wisely work
The ease with which a mere living
was to be made. was for many genera
lions. serious obstacle to those who
wished for a wider and better develop
ment. Hog and hominyv could al
ways be plentifully produced Corn
can and does, with rational care, pro-
duce, acre for acre in Escambia coun-
~, the equal crop with the famed
black bottoms of lower Illinois or of
redoubtable Kansas itself. In fact,
corn here is a sure and certain crop,
always returning handsomely to the
husbandman and with the slightest
possible amount of care AID cultiya-
ton.
Since this country came under the
pillow of the white man there has new
err yet been failure of the sugar
cane crop. as many as 500 gallons of
syrup having been made from single
acre or cattle pen siand, while zoo
and 300 gallons are regular and adj
mitted.
Thus with corn and mnlasses t9e
Escambia farmer had only 10 grow his
fat meat" and there is no spot In
the world where the hog thriyes more
abundant1y than he does in Escambia
1t is root hog and live everywhere
here: and those who giyx q little heed
to breeding and care find that great,
fat porkers can be brought to the ket-
tie without fall in this region, in
stances of hogs dressing as high as
500 pounds not being out of the rec
ord.
Farmers Were Contensed.
So with an abundance of corn and
sweets and plenty of pork, the farm
-er of Escambia had all his natural
wants easily supplied, and. when one
considers tie equabl> AMI delightful
climate and healthful surrounding it
becomes small wonder that the native
farmer refused to be inoculated with
modern ideas of thrift and progress
and preferred to continue the even
tenor of his way, satisfied that all the
normal wants of man were to be sup
piled in this delectabie region. witt
a limited amount of efforI and with