The National tribune., 1909-07-22
A Pennsylvania in Florida.

Editor National Tribune: Mr.. White
ley and 1 returned home safe and sound
from our trip to st. Cloud. For my
part I like Florida much better than
/, California One important thing ABOUT
Florida is that it is accessible to the
great markets of the East and North,
both by rail and water, while California
products have 10 pay for a long haui
across dry plains and high mountains.
Florida is just as productive as Call
fornia, and the climate is much better.
We went down to that State with some
misgivings as to the Summer weather,
but found it quite agreeable, and to our
surprise there was a singular eXemp-
ton from mosketos AMI flies. We saw
few of course, as no part OF the eartn
seems to be entirely free from them.
We have 10 of each up here to every
one of either down mere. Feopie b.. !.
ing at Kissimnlee do not consider 1t
necessary TO put mp netting for protec-
tion against them.
The Kissimmee Valley is a very pret-
ty region of fertile lands and fine lakes
and streams of good water. we went
well over the colony property, and IL
the whole of Osceoia County is half as
good there is room in the County for a
large population. 1t is a country where
small farms can be made very profit
able The possibilities in connection
with fruit raising and trucking are
great. There is no need of the stren-
uous life to keep few acres in cultiva-
ton. 1 see in this sort of life what is
really meant by the expression of being
q .'one-horse farmer 1t is not or
should not be a term of reproach. 1t
means that a man is sensibis using one
horse or a mule to intensively cultivate
O. few acres and get more out of 1t than
most men get by using two or three
horses and skimming over large acre
age One acre of ground will contain
so or 100 orange trees, depending upon
the distance apart. This acre, properly
attended, will bring more income than
many a two or four-horse farmer gets
for all of mis- labor on an average North
ern farm. Then take an acre OF peach
or plum trees, or of fig trees, or OF
grapefruit, or Strawberries or blackber-
ries or truck But why enumerate?
There are so many things that can be
grown in Florida that to name them
would be to run down the list o. prod
ucts advertised in a seed or nursery
catalogue.
heard a good deal about the opera
tions of the Disston Company in Flori-
da. st. Cloud was the one particular
spot selected for their sugar business
and for the building up of city. Their
failure was not due to the climate, soil
and situation. They started about the
time of the organization of the sugar
Trust, and were getting into shape to
fight when Hamilton Disston died, and
the estate did not care TO enter into a
contest, and Sd $3.50, ,009 of machinery
was sold for less than 10 per cent of
cost While in operation the planta-
ton produced as high as 80 tons of
sugarcane to the acre, and each ton
averaged about 165 pounds of sugar
Under careful tillage it is claimed that
SO to so tons of cane can be produced
to an acre. This made into sirup will
net a couple OF hundred dollars. This
is what the Shakers do on their land
adjoining st. Cloud. Until every child
in this country can have e 'lasses" on
its bread there is not enough made.
There is certainly an opening for a
sirup factory at st. Clond among the
many things possible of being profit
ably operated.
We saw enough and heard enough
and experienced enough to decide in
favor of Florida as against California
as a country where our last years can
be comfortably spent-David Rich
mond, 1907 Pitt street, Pittsburg, Pa.