The Washington herald., 1908-03-03
BIRTHDAY OF FLORIDA
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

Oldest Of the States in point Of con
tact with the Old World and its eiviIiza-
ton. yet one Of the youngest in the de-
velopment OF its natural resources. Flor
ida celebrates to-day the sixty-third an
nivcrsary OF its admission 70 the Union.
Sull resembling that flower garden that
Ponce de Leon saw on Easter Sunday.
15l2. the peninsula holds out many Of its
most beautiful promises still 10 those who
viii follow in the steps OF that gay old
adventurer. The Fountain OF Youth that
lured de Leon many weary miles over
land and sea-whether a myth or a fact
has its answer to-day in this land. which
has become the American Riviera. the
land where health seekers find rest and
restored youth, whether at Jacksonville.
ST. Augustine. OTmond Beach. Miami. or
Key West. De Narvaez and De Soto
dreamed OF pearls and gold and great
riches for their most Catholic majesties. "
They found none Of these, but they did
ind land where lavish nature has put
every opportunity IN the way OF enter
prising man 10 transmute her resources
into gold and silver. Il they only will
A land OF romance and OF song. OF
mysteries. swamps. and island Businesses.
where Indian hunters Still slip noiselessly
/ in canoes through almost impenetrable
everglades, and where the primeval for
est. draped in NOSES centuries old. lends
more mystery aud dignity 10 the scene.
Florida is not without a practical side
that presages much for her future indus
trial prominence. Here are the corn fields
Of Kansas. the cotton fields Of Texas. the
sugar cane Of Louisiana, the oranges and
lemons Of California. the hemp of Ken
lucky. the tobacco Of Virginia, the coffee
OF Brazil the pineapples. bananas. and
grape fruit OF the Indies. the grapes OF
| Delaware. the rice OF Carolina. the pine
forests OF Georgia, the cattle-herding in
dustTy OF the far West. and the ostrich
( farming OF Africa She has New Eng
/ lands fishing grounds without New Eng
lands climate 70 put a barrier Ia the
way OF her work Sponges, torn from
the sea bottom on the coast line, keep a
/ large population busy at Key West and
TarpOn Springs. and reckless. chartless
/ little fishing vessels dart fearlessIy among
the keys and .n and out the shallow
harbOrs in quest OF sea turtles. bluefish
I tarpon, sturgeon, and red snapper. Hel
/ phosphate industry developed since 1SS9
now amounts 10 shipments OF 5000,00
I tons annually.
! Even the geological formation OF the
! country has a certain mysterious aspect
a certain picturesQueness that belongs
/ 10 no other State Throughout the State
there are sudden depressions n the sur
face that reach down 10 the limestone
strata and show underground rivers. OF
4 springs that are bottomless. or rivers thai
pause in small lakes. sparkle a little while
/ in the sun. and sink. 10 reappear and
/ sparkle again The greatest elevation Is
T only about 800 feet. and the State Is natu-
rally divided into high hummock. Low
hummOck. swamp. savanna, and pine. II
/ IS toward the swamps and the savannas
that the eyes Of the practical FIoridiar
and the promoter are now turning. There
are 17.124 40 acres Of swamp lands thai
were given the State by the United States
/ in 1850. they being classed as 'untillablt
wet lands" The State has decided tc
! demonstrate that these acres are not IN
/ tiIlable- Already. by grants TO railroads
and by sales, the amount has been re
duced to Soo.000 in the States own hold
I ingS.
! The lands VIII be reclaimed for agri.
/ cultural uses Swamp lands 70 the valu,
OF millions lie there ready to be reclaimed
at a far less cost than must be expended
on the irrigation problems Of the Erea-
arid West 1T isn't matter Of great
projects that viii lift water to a certain
Z fcN-o to Hr frore -fsaT
and then be distributed over a wide arez
/ Of country" said a man not long ago
one who knew something about the sub
/ ject. "All that our swamp lands need /.
/ bitches. and the water viii run of Of II.
/ own will" OF course the bitches vii
cost. but the profits on the land vii
make the cost il a few years so small
that it viii apologize for merely havinI
/ existed.
It was a cowboy. pushing his Don,
across a swamp in pursuit Of willy. deer
ike COW. who first thought Of the poAsi
bilities in Florida's "untiIlable wet lands.
he let the COW go when the idea strucl
him, sat on a fallen tree. and though
/ the thing out he interested some Nor
thern capitalists in his scheme. ana as
result there is a fine orchard Of grape fruf
trees on a swamp-locked hummock of 80
! acres. far back where roads have neve
been There are lS.0O0 grape fruit tree
on that hummock. and in five years the,
viii produce 10000 boxes a wear. Their
are also oranges, peaches. plums. Japan
ese persimmOns. and roses growing there
and by the time they are ready for mar
ket shipping facilities viii have been mad
ready for them.
Just now the orchard is almost mac
cessible. There is a trip by steamboa
up river, longer trip by a smaue
boat up a bayou. a periIous polins. acros
/ morasses IA dug-outs and canoes. with
portage here and there, and a final Ion,
ride on wagon drawn by wiry littl
/ oxen, so small and active that they fal
into mud holes up TO their neeks an,
/ sldllfUlly scramble out again. But tn,
I men who planted that morasS- locked
ranch believe that the railroad VIII eom'
when the produce is ready 10 be market
/ ed. 1t IS too good a chance 10 be missed
] What the lone cowboy thought out 70
1 his particular Florida hummock is a plal
that is applicable 20 every other bit o
swamp land IN the State. nearly lS,000.oo
acres all told. over 100000 acres lying be
low the frost line. that can be drained
made arabic and habitable IN a Iittl
I time. and offer homes for 100000 or NOR
Il hOmesteaders. who care 20 so IN for frui
I growing fr4lqtxfurr- DofTlfrv raising AM