The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1910-05-26
From Florida.
Sweetwater, Fla. May is, 10

/ have received a number of let
tiers from friends in Tishomingo
county inquiring about this cou n
try and most of them are readers
of the VIDETTE. So if Bro. Dud-
ley will be SO kind as to publish
this answer / will all at one time.
We are located about five miles
from Buchanan on the Atlantic
c )ast Line r. and about 40
miles from the Gulf of Mexico in
DeSoto county one OF the. large st
counties in the state.
We came down here last No
vember having made two visits to
this country before welded to
buy land, and | think [ am in po-
sition to tell you something about
the country. While I am we'll
pleased with the country, under
stand am not cond GINNING old
Tishomingo. You have some Of
the good things up there. l will
now tell you something of the eli
mate. DeSoto county, unlike
many places that have been extern
sively dvertised, is neither Eden
nor an Elysium nor the only place
to live but whatever may be said
of it, this county has a climate
which it is believed is scarcely
equalled on the continent outside
of Florida. This statement is
made aGvisedly and with the
knowledge that persons who have
not tested it will have difficulty in
believing it. They cannot under
stand that the most southern state
in the Union should suffer less
from heat of summer than those
farther north. Yet persons WHO
read the papers do not need to be
told that Florida suffers less in
this respect during the heated
term than any state east of the
Rocky Mountains with the single
exception perhaps of Maine. Not
a single unquestioned case of death
from sunstroke has ever been
known in Florida. As to the win
ter climate no one is SO unenlight-
ened as not to concede to Florida
every advantage in this respect
over the other states. Pulmonary
trouble finds a natural anti dote
here. Sol and price of land. The
lands of this county are class
ed as high and low hammock,
high pine, fatwoods, sand scrub,
etc. and is suited to fruit growing.
general truck growing and farm
ing, but it must not be assumed
that the same acre will produce
everything with equal facility.
Corn, oats, millet, potatoes, sugar
cane, rice chufa, cassava, arrow
root, peas, and peanuts are the
main crops. Sweet.potatoes grow
the year around. Hogs are fatten-
ed on chufa and peanuts, princi-
pally. They rarely ever give their
pork hogs corn. From 10 to Is
bushels of corn per acre is about
an average for this part If the
country, though some make 40
bushels per acre. The people are
as sociable and hospitable as can
be found in any country.
| am informed by fruit dealer
that this county produced o9o,/OV
boxes of oranges and 100,315 box
es of grape fruit, in other word S
DeSoto county furnished five pei
cent of the entire crop of the state.
and 10 per cent of the crop is ship
ped from Arcadia, the county site.
Orange land can be purchased at
from $40 to $25 per acre. | am
informed by one Of our county OF
ficials, that there has been more
than 200 families located in this
county in the past 6 months com
ing from Ca, Ala. Miss, Ark,
Tenn. and Mo. My letter is get
ting too long so | close with best
wishes for the VIDETTE and my
many friends in Tishomingo.