The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1909-12-17

Deds thrown up like sweet potato rows
IN fiorlda, about five feet apart and
planted IN single rows one foot anart
on 6edS nearly one hundred PAGES lonq
ms Is called the "Cantero" system
ana IRON observations in different SEQ.
tiohS IN experiments by Americans the
.Oahtefo system IS the only practical
way to grow pines in Cuba, as il on.
apleS mem to keep out the grass and
keep art around the suckers SO thew
can take fresh root each season. They
pant between seven and eight thon.
sahd pants per acre by using this svs.
TEN 50 chat it takes two acres there r.
make one it Florida. The actual cost
OF blowing, buying of plants and set.
ing Is about fifty dollars per acre, the
price paid IN contracts the past season
About three years is the average life
OF a field, the third crop very often
beng, very small apples unless the field
is well kept.
Some are using fertilizer as an ex-
pertinent but it does not seem neces.
sary nor profitable. All the growers
claim they can and do replant their
ground again and again, some claim
with better results.
The new section around Artemsa
was visited which is about fifty miles
west of Havana. From this station,
will be shipped probably one half the
island pine crop during the coming sea-
son. There are Some extensive pine
fields at this point, the pineapples are
large in size mostly lSs and 24s.
From the facts ascertained from vari-
Gus growers the cost of producing
crate in Cuba, ready for shipment is
about eighty and eighty-fve cents as
against one dollar in Florida.
In conversing with large and small
growers they claimed to have averaged
from eighty,five to one dollar and ten
cents the past season. The average
price realized seemed to be one dollar
A great many were sold in the field at
from fifteen to twenty-five cents per
dozen according to size, distance from
packing house and whether cut by
owner or buyer, realizing about fifty
cents per crate from such sales. The
growers who did this feel like the fel-
low who sold for one dollar and a half
f. o. b. in Florida. The best infOrma-
ton seems to be there will be no radi-
cal increase in the island output this
coming year but will he about the same
as the past season-One million three
thousand crates.
The trial shipments over the Florida
East Coast railroad the past season
were very satisfactory and the percen-
tage damaged greatly reduced, as they
normally expect ten or twenty-five
per cent en- route by steamer The
loss has been reduced to less than five
per cent by the Florida East Coast
route, and it looks like a very serious
matter to Floridians already, much
more so when the extension is compile
ted and in operation.
The gentlemen are more firm in their
belief than ever that equal rates are
necessary with the Cuban grower IN
order to compete with them, by beng
yiven those rates there will still be
money in the production OF pines for
the Florida grower.
The pine crop in Cuba is grown,
packed and shipped by Cuhans. Amer
cans did not ship 80, 600 crates the past
season prospects for not over oo. ooW
rates the coming season for various
reasons they cannot meet the CUBAN
there,
If the American grower in Cuba was
hi there was to fear, the FIorldaagrow-
,rs prospects would be brig ut, but the
.uban understands his branch of trade.