New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1910-05-07
Reprinted from New York Times,
Sunday. April "a. 1910.

must reach the conclusion Una
| many millions of dollars will b
made in Southern real estate il
the next few years. TO lOOl
deeper makes the conclusion IRE
futable.
The vast expenditures of th'
National Government in provid
ing irregation for the arid lands o
the West will affect, according t.
statements of the Reclamation
Service, only 3 per cent. of tn
great stretch Of country whose
forbidding aridity hitherto stoOt
in the way of successful agrlcul
ture. On the other hand, TIN
greater proportion of the million
square miles included in tht
South will be agriculturally prof
table when once the tide of de
velopment sets that way; for no
only is there the best average ant
distributed rainfall of the whole
country, but at many points th'
can be aided by tapping the vas'
subterranaen water resources OF
the South. <4M
Two typical illustrations can bt
found: In such sub-irrigatiOr
work as is carried on at San
ford, Fla, where lands worth less
than $40 ainacre a few years age
are now worth $1,000 an acre
and in Arkansas where prairie
lands, sacrificed less than ten
years ago for taxes. are now un-
der cultivation for rice, by rea-
son of the subterranean water
available. for distribution on the
surface.
There is also in the South an
area still more remarkable in its
agricultural possibilities than any
thing yet brought zroadly under
cultivation in the Unietd States.
That area is in the lands that are
suffering from an excess of mois-
ture, brt whose soil is really the
cream that has been skimmsd Oft
from regions far en route This
chaf8eter of land represents 81,
600. 900 acres; while all irri-
CATION prospects, IN the West up
to December, 1908. represent only
2,373,846 acres. The most signif-
icant portion Of this wet urea is in
the alluyial.lands along the Miss
issippi Valley, beginning with
Sotuheast Missouri and running
10 the coast. There exisfA Also
q vast area too wet for use with
out drainage, stretching clear from
the capes Of Virginia and follow.
ing the coast line to and arodn''
Florida. and so on to Texas. This
land is the result Of the erosion
Of ages aided by the growth and
deca of vegetable matter.
Developing the Wet Lands.
Another type of wet lands can
best be illustrated by referring te
the Everglades of Florida, which
do not represent erosion at ali,
but are the results of accumulated
vegetable meuld in an enclosed
basin. In addition. therefore, to
the general subjugation Of high
lying Southern lands to agricul
ture, the agricultural develop
ment of the South and it's real
estate activities, will. in the neal
future, take into consideration thu
wet lands and their latent riches
Another point ITO consider in
Southern real estate development
il that the activities of the various
State Departments Of Agricul.
ture, and many railroads of th'
South. are directed toward a mor'
intensive use Of the land unde1
cutvation. The effect will be t.
greatly weaken the plantation
system and its tendency to locate
land owners in cities. A new
rural community life will take III
place for intensive agriculture
means small areas handled wisel!
and well, bringing agricultural.
into closer touch with the land
with one another in rural villages
and with the advantage OF better
schools and a truer social life.
This trend Of the South TOWARD
a better use of the land will meal
the throwing Of more land on tn
market, and thus comes into sigh
the impulse toward advertising
The removal Of the forest cove
over barge portions Of the coasta
plain has also produced an adver
tising tendency, for the owner
Of these eutover lands have takel
from them the profit that restet
in timber. and are now willing Z
sell in large and small areas fol
individual and colonization pur
poses. To meet this conditpi
there are now I various large cen
tres, but particularly Chicago. cor
porations that intelligently and &C
lively work to sell these lands t
settlers. The labor Of ahese or
panixations, which may correctl!
be calld foreign. must lead to tn
advertising Of Southern lands b!
Southern real estate men them
selves. for il has become eviden
that il move Of population towart
the South il to be permanent,
valuable the prospective settle1
must, at the very outset. come int
correspondence with local rea
estate men and organizations Wit
prefer that the settler shall know
in advance, nothing but the trutl
about the land he wishes to buy
Buying "sight unseen through
spccious circulars and attractiv'
pictures list may Or may not b
pGlaNnA a ~ nng> az lard 10 !