Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1909-06-03
Audubon, Iowa, June l, 100

S1oAuOou, LOW uac w
To the editor:-According to an un-
derstanding will give you a few
lines about my trip to thessss "Ever-
glades' of Florida. AS it is well
known to most people / went down to
that country for the purposegof inves-
tigating the proposition OF the Florida
Fruit Land Company and to say that
I was we'll pleased with conditions
and with the future prospects of that
country is putting it mildly.
The Everglades" properly speak
ing, are not a swamp, but are over
flowed lands, caused by the overflow,
flake Okeechobee above. The State
of Florida in pursuance of an Act of
the Legislature of that state passed by
said body some years ago isl.now UNI
dertaking the drainage or reclamation
of this overlooked "Evergladen coun-
try. The work is being done at the
expense of the state. This law created
state board of drainage commission
ers who are to be supervisors of the
drainage word. This board employed
competent engineers who made sur
veys and reported plan of drainage,
which plan was approved by said
board, This plan is to construct four
large canals go fl. wide and from 10 to
Is feet deep leading from Lake Okee-
chobee to the Atlantic Ocean, oae of
same size leading from Lake Okeecho.
bee to the Gulf of Mexico. By means
of these canals it is said that tine wa
ter level in said lake win be lowered
from 5 to feet, and thus prevent any
possibility of q future overflow of said
lake.
The work of drainage in accordance
with said plan Is well in progress.
dredges are now at work, night and
day draining this land. The canal
from the Lake TO the Calf aof Mexico
is now practically completed. Two OF
| the canals from the Lake to the Allan
tic are completed for q distance of -
miles, and a third one of the canals
| from the lake to the Atlanticj is com
| pleted for distance of 5 miles. 1t is
one of the largest and most 9stupen-
dous drainage propositions ever taken
by man or nation. 1t is estimated that
the drainage of the Everglades as a
whole will DE completed within the
next 2 cara.
| spent three days in the 'Glades.
Part of said time | was on board the
State dredges; part of the time talking
with the truck gardeners of that por-
ton of the Everglades which had been
drained, and part of the time wadine
raw stuff" The amount of produce
that can be taken from all acre OF thif
reclaimed land is almost incredible.
| Yet any one that is familiar with the
geological history of the Everg ladies'
knows, that for richness and fertility
it is second to none in the United
States. The manager of the expert
ment station at Miami told me tina
the soil would raise practically every
kind of vegetables and fruit known t.
civilization. But personally, | think
that the cultivation of sugar cane will
in time be the leading industry of thu
'Glades.
While in Miami met people from
the states of Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin
y. Carolina, and Col orado who were
there for the purpose of investigating
the drainage of the Everglades 1t il
well worth the necessary time and
money OF any one to go and zee thai
section of the country.
Very Truly Yours,
CIIAS. S. VIII TIE.
Women Who Are Envied
| rII