The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-05-13
FARM LANDS IN FLORIDA
PLENTY OF THE BEST AND MOST
EASY TO CULTIVATE
ONLY Necessary To Re Careful and see
Before BuNing to Avoid
the BAD

The following article from the
Country Gentleman" is SO well writ
ten and truthful. and so nearly applies
10 much land in Marion county that
the star takes the liberty Of reproduc
ing it:
There is an old bucket-shop saying
.-hat runs something like this: There's
Ia sucker born every minute who will
bite al some kind of bait" and it
doesn't seem very far from the truth,
either If YOU don't believe il 90 TO
Florida Don't 20 down through Pea
cock Alley" among the Palm Beachers.
Knock around a bit through the in
terror of this wonderful country, stop
! ping now and then 10 look and to lis
| ten. for you might as we'll attempt 10
get correct idea of it from the moon
| as TO Judge it from the windows of the
railway train, even though they do not
run a mile a minute.
You may not discover a bucket-shop
| in the whole state: but you may see
and also hear tell of the victims of a
Ecertain class of land sharks who in
Ifest the state, besides whom the most
lconscienceless she'll game operator is
an angel from heaven.
\ few weeks ago I saw one of these
lSuckers-verily they are nothing else
turn the street corner in a town not
liar from The lake region, His outht
was the sorrfest thing Imaginable, con-
Isisting of a small, ramshackle wagon
Idrawn by a pair of spawned horses
|that looked as though they might fall
Idown if taken from the harness. Thru
1.-The hood were thrust the heads OF tour
IchiIdren-au under twelve years or age
Looking at the sights, \ woman with
a fifth child in her arms sat at the
lopening in the rear, while a couple oi
llean hound dogs nosed along under the
IvehicIe.> The proprietor of this outh'
was walking along beside his team
land he was headed northwest by north
The story of "a Man Who Bit.
T sauntercd along behind and waited
until he was about half a mile from
town before accosting him. To say tn
least he was non communicative unit
assured that he was talking to
stranger in a strange land. Then n
IoDened up with a story-and there ar
lmany like it-which is briefly this: II
lis or was a tenant farmer from one o
the Middle Western states who bougn
with his savings forty acres in a col
y
lonization scheme at fifty dollars a
acre. paying for it on the installmen
ipIan.
"When | got down here with my fur
niture. half ear load of farm imple
ments and two mules that cost me tx
hundred dollars each" he said. Il foun
that most of the land l had been pay
ing for is what they call 'blackJacI
lland-the only thing you can raise Q
il is disturbance-and the rest of
flat as your hand, full of stumps an
saw palmetto and partly under water
DO you mean YOU bought this lar
without seeing it? "
He never saw anybody who he
seen it," his wife broke IN.
IT'S this way" he went on, mo"lr
some distance off They sent me Ie
rers and statements from people WI
were making anywhere from $50 TO o
an acre on land within mile or II
And they told me that l could nave u
money back any time within two yea
If I wanted it. l didn't have TO q
Them any reason for changing I
mind-an | had to do was to ask 1
it. That sounded pretty good ana L
enough to me- though l do rememt
that this offer was made after l t'
them that | didn't intend TO so 10 Il
ida until was bit better hNed' we
I'm fixed all right. y few or Us
together and tried to drain TINS la
but after spending a lot OF money
it we found ii needed under-dralha
lthat would cost seventy-fVe or NJ
1rad dollars an acre. That was af
we tackled the blackjack land. :
now am beating it out Of this coun
dead broke. as fast as this pair
scrubs will take me-.