Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1911-04-20
A Trip Through the South
[Continued From Last Week. I

rated with roses, flowers, and many
varieties of palms. The climate there
during the winter season-with its
bright, warm days and mild nights
makes it delightful place for northern
people to spend few months. The
most of the land around Miami lies
nearly level, and south of the village,
along the coast, it is covered with
thick growth of many varieties of small
timber; but the most of the land in
that part of the state is covered with
pine timber three to ten inches in
diameter
On the morning of the 9Th we left
Miami with a land agent and spent the
forenoon driving through the country
with an automobile and passing smoothly
over the rock roads. These were covered
with sea-shells, making it "a fine auto
drive. We visited several orange and
grapefruit groves, and the trees were
loaded with clusters of the golden fruit,
and under some of these trees the
there and rotting. The agent said the
market was not very good, and they
were going to leave the fruit on the
trees until March, as it would keep
better there than to pick it and place
it in boxes. The most of the land
around Miami is covered with a thick
layer of coral Tor lime) rock, and the
crevices in the rock are filled with
sandy soil.
The fruit-growers in some of the
southern states have many advantages
that farmers in the north do not have.
One thing, they do not have the grass
and weeds to contend with in their
fields; and, with the little soil they have
to fertilize and cultivate, together with
their 80 per cent climate, makes it
very interesting and pleasant place to
spend the winter The agent laid it
was quite lot of work to get the land
cleared and set out to fruit But peo-
pie coming here from the north can
work all the year, and in a few years
could have nice grove, which would
bring them good income, and they
would not be obliged to gather the fruit
in the fall if conditions were not right
to place it on the market; while the
farmers in the north, as soon as their
grain is ripe, have to harvest, thresh
and haul it to market. But, some way,
we do not understand fruit-growing as
we'll as some of the northern farmers,
and we have decided it might be better
for us to continue raising grain.
While we were at Miami, we spent
one afternoon travelling through the
country with sight seeing automo-
bile. In leaving the city we continued
to the south over a shell covered road
winding our way through picturesque
forest of palms, pines and jungle like
places for five miles to Cocoanut Grove.
This little village containing small
store, postoffice and a few cottages,
near here we visited several orange
and grape fruit groves. There We're
most beautiful. The large trees with
their spreading branches were loaded
with their clusters of golden yellow
fruit These grape fruit often grow
in clusters, of two to eight, and many
times dozen can be seen supported by
branch not much larger than lead
pencil. In leaving Cocanut Grove we
continued over rock road to the north
and west through forest of small
pines for ten miles, passing several
small groves of fruit In some of these
were small houses, and in front of
some of them were signs marked
"for sale".
1t seems strange to mSst of the land
seekers to see anything like that, in
travelling through land of flowers and
passing so many of those beautiful
orange groves. In stopping to give it
little thought one realizes, that under
all of our most perfect climate con-
ditions, and with girth of beauty on
every side, there is still growing feel
ing of discomfort And, under such
conditions, it is sad to say. But 1T is
hard to find place that is perfect,
and it is very true, great many peo-
pie make a decided mistake in selling
good home to start travelling in search
of gold and a better location in some
of these lands where orange trees and
flowers are in bloom all the year, or go
to the cities where a good time SEEM
ingly prevails, or even to country
where it has been said that, grain can
be grown in abundance. All of these
places can be made to look very bright,
on paper; but it is not all gold that
glitters, and many of our citizens will
find this to be very true after spending
few months of travel through differ
ent parts of our country.
After spending considerable time in
Florida, we are not in position to say
very much in regards to the everglades
and this is perhaps as much as any one
else knows regarding the value and