The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1912-07-31
HOME BUILDING IN FLORIDA.
(Starke Telegraph

Reader. has it ever occurred L
YOU that Florida is country read!
made for the settler, or at least
where all kinds of needed raw ma
tcrial for the new farm are within
easy reach, and where climatic con
d;tions make it an ideal home for hi
man of limited means?
When a man goes to start farm
III one of the prairie states OF the
west he must be well supplied Wit
money. The money returns per acre
there are SO small that only by GU
tiyating Il large acreage by means OF
machine tools can farming be madr
t. pay; consequently, 100 acres, 4,
least, of hish-priced land must De
bought. together with costly imple
nicnts and strong teams to pull them
Ike severe winters make good dwell
inss and outbuldings necessary. AMI
where lumber must be ircighted sev-
eral hundred miles this is a costly
item. As no fence posts can be had
for less than 30 cents each, it takes
4 small fortune to fence in the land
:! deep well is another item of OK
pcnse, and ii the settler has a few
cattle he must have wind mill or
some other engine to pump the VIII
ter with. Anywhere east OF the Mis-
scuri river a capaciOus ditch or two.
often 4 couple Of miles long, must b.
dug in order to make parts of the
farm productive. Then the fuel Ques-
ton. If the settler lives far from
= railroad he must spend several days
of each cold season hauling high
priced stone coal, and he is Ofte'
lucky If he can get any at all. Each
particle of wood used in repair Of
buildings. fences or tools must b"
bought.
The Florida settler has an easy
time Of il in comparison Twenty
IL res or less is all he needs and land
is cheap. His dwelling can be bull,
rhcaply Of lumber from a nearby
mill, and the simple Outbuildings
needed may be constructed OF poles
found on the land by DIGGING Il dozen
Feet down he finds il permanent sup
ply OF good water and HE rlav
thrown up in digging the we'll may
b. used for making The chimney for
the dwelling Only Il few acres need
tc tillcl and many a small farmer
does moi even keep Il horse, but finds
cheaper to hire one when needed
The intensive cultivation of straw
berries aud vegetables causes hams
work 10 prcdominatc. bui the returns |
Tor the prodrcts are SO large that |
this is no drawback 30 large per-
aoniasc OF the farm needs to be set |
apart for hay production, for the |
irabgrass and bcggarwrcd grow IN |
spontaneously in the fields after the
'rops are laid by and they make cX-
client hay. I'm the woods pasture
water is found in abundance and |
.ild grasses all the year round, fuel
md material for fencing and build
ing is found anywhere and little
me is lost in bringing il home.
While some of these advantages
re shared by other southern States
~ oi them except Florida and Louis
ana have the disadvantage of being
lily Except for the bottom lands,
'hlth are very costly to clear and
rain the slopes are so steep that in
lew years time after clearing. the
= Ids are dcnudcd of the ton soil ana
must be abandoned. In that il can
"f be washed TO any injurious cx-
eat, and instead Of dctcriorating the
He'd land on account of the fer
iilzlng il receives year after wear
improves as the years roll by.
The above advantages considered
'E"thor with our mild climate. all
nee of storms and floods, natural
'liility of the soil and It's innum-
iabl" products. could more idrai
~ Tor the homns"rkor b. mn
ned?