The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1911-12-08

the document came out II was more IA
vorable to the Everglades than 1t ought
to be, and calculated to give an unduly
roseate impression to land buyers.
after the document was put into print
and made available at the Senate doc
un1ent room, the entire edition prompt
~ disappeared, and already It Is prac-
This charge is made by CONGRESSMAN
Bathrick or Ohio, who, In the interest
OF many constituents who have invest
ed In Florida. has been taking a keen
interest In the whole affair. Mr.. Bath
rick. In letter to The Times, declares
all the copies Of the report 'by some
mysterious means disappeared except
one, which was able to obtain"
qulry that will get to the bottom of
this whole matter, and end In a fair.
whole drainage project. The State OF
work. and f Engineer " Wright s f has be-
come its chief engineer In charge. In
his letter to The Times, Mr.. Bathrick
says:
conditions and copies of the original re-
port, imprinted. secured from the de-
partment, offer the following state
ments:
Grass Muck land.
"First-That the Ian of the Everglades
Is known as saw grass muck land.
"Second-It does not contain all the
element Of plant food, and must be fer
tilized.
'Third-Its porosity makes II very
susceptible to drouth. and must be irrL
gated
"Fourth-When extremely dry. being
peat, 1t will burn readily. and the fires
are very difficult to extinguish.
"F1fth-Even when drained those who
have attempted to farm have found II.
In some cases. impossible TO work with
teams because Of the looseness Of the
soil, both planting and gathering of
crops being done by hand. It il stated
That one farmer was wheeling his crop
on of the land with a wheelbarrow upon
boards laid upon the sofa.
Sixth-The fall Is about six inches to
s ne ' fs, IA hity miles which Is very
take the water Off fast enough to save
crops In case Of flood. - -
Seventh-The original report states.
not been made in SUFFICIENT at Getai hat TO
secure the facts that are necessary IN
an intelligent design Of drainage plans
Tor .E shs tESvergi I
and Fort Myers from 1893 to 1905 incin.
sive, shows frost six out of nine wears
at Jupiter. and eight out OF nine years
s az rort Mys ,., I myself saw It q de-
at g degrees. Miami is at the extreme
southern end Of the Everglades
The entire Everglade land IL similar
10 numerous saw.grass ponds in Differ
better drainage facilities than the Ever
glades These saw-grass ponds REQUIRE
not only drainage but irrigation. II IL
almost impossible to irrigate theb even
Of the great depth of the muck and the
extreme absorption. in consequence Of
which the water will not run to any
length across the field. 1t is proposed
10 BACK irr wa.sr p land by holding
ting II out gradually. In other words,
running II OF In the flood seasons hut
holding enough back SO the watar can
6 be run down during the dry seasons. In
Lake Okechobee, 1t b sair, 1t will be
necessary to build a dyke along its
southern boundary. and the report
states that conditions make this cost
g.. As q Florida Farmer.
After nine years Of experience in
Florida as a farmer, am willing to say
that I believe the agricultural posi-
bilities In that State are very promis-
ing. and that money can be made in
farming. but the Northern farmer will
find entirely different conditions from
those with which he hiteherto has dealt,
and he must have more money and more
science to succeed in Florida than in
any other State in the Union.
Notwithstanding this, I believe the
prof1ts per acre In Florida are larger
than any other State in the Union, con-
sidering the application of the average
to large acerages. The climate is mild
and salubrious both in summer and
winter, but with the exception of some
few sections protected by weather con-
but what hmas had ruinous frosts."i