The Pensacola journal., 1910-06-09
FARMERS AROUND GRAND
RIDGE ARE BUSY PEOPLE
Special 70 the Journal.

SpeCiai TO the JOURNAL
Grand Ridge, June S.-This place is
by no means dead, though no word
from here has appeared in The Jour
nal for some time past. The fact is,
everybody, including your correspond
ent, is too busy cultivating the soil to
go a-fishing, and this is no joke. For
a score of years ago, most farmers
would quit their fields when the
ground became somewhat dry, and &C.
tually fish and hunt until 1t would
rain, but all that is changed and
everybody has learned that the drier
the ground the more need of cultiva.
tion, and with such cultivation and i'm.
proved machinery, the acreage is per-
haps ten fold that of a score of years
ago, and the yield of all farm crops
more than doubled, and we are willing
to claim that the farmers, as a class,
tributary to this place, have made as
much progress socially, financially and
Intellectually as any point in West
Florida.
The cleaning out Of stumps, squarfng
of fields, and the building of woven
wire fencing has transformed the
whole country, and the log cabin" is
thing of the past There are fewer
large saw mills than a decade ago, but
more small ones, and farmers are ex.
changing logs that were not salable
few years ago, for timber, and frame
buildings are now the order, and the
home life of our people is greatly i'm.
proved.
Grand -.-dge still leads in sugar
cane and water melons Planters ex
pected to increase their acreage OF
sugar cane full fifty per cent, but the
damage to the seed cane in banks
during the fall and winter was such
that, with the extreme dry weather
there may be even a shortage.
Water melons are very much later
than ordinary, because of the extreme
drouth, which prevented the seed from
terminating and caused a great deal
Of replanting.
Oats are being harvested, and are
surprising good crop, notwithstand-
ing the drouth. And, speaking of the
drouth leads us to say that we have
lived in five states and travelled con-
siderably, and know of no other soil
that could, or would have produced
anything with the small rainfall that
we have had this season in West
Florida.
Gardening is another feature Of this
S~SSANA "hISh Ano SISdLiy GuduSGu
Some years ago a garden meant a COW
pen of turnip green's and a small
patch of collards. Now Irish potatoes
and English peas are planted in Jan.
uary, and eaten in April and May
Cabbage, late and early, and all other
vegetables found anywhere, including
celery, which is grown here success
fully. In fact, our own good wife, with
but one guest besides Der husband,
served one day seven products of our
garden, good roast of mutton from
our flock, and cream and butter from
our Jerseys. This is not boasting, but
sample of the way we live in this
best part of "old Jackson county
Since this place furnished the chair
man of the board of county commits
sioners, We have secured several new
public roads, one east and west,
prallel with the railroad and connect
ing us with Sneads on the east, and
Cypress on the west And the extend.
ing of Porter avenue directly north
your and quarter miles, which now
makes that avenue five miles and a
half, directly straight north and south,
and which is quite likely to be built up
more or less in the near future.