The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-10-05

dreds of well improved farms, and a
town that expects to ship at least eight
hundred carloads of farm products this
year is the brief seven year history Of
this immediate section. And what fits
this section in varying degrees fits the
other sections of South Baldwin, to-
day one of the greatest sweet potato
producing sections in the patton.
Babies and Potato Crops
When 1 arrived here the prevailing
supposition was that sweet potatoes
and babies were the only things that
throve here, but it has since been
proven that even these tw0 necessities
were not doing their best as both
have been improved in quality and
quantity, and there are now many
other crops thriving to keep them from
being lonesome.
When the northern and western
farmers first began coming here, the
supposition was that the proper things
to grow were tender crops, such as to-
matoes. cantaloupes, water melons,
snap beans, and while these grew all
right it was soon found that it was
more question of markets and trans
portation than of what crops would
grow that was to settle the farmers
welfare here; so the tendency since
as could be shipped in car lots and
to cut out express shipments as much
as possible. Irish and sweet potatoes
and cucumbers are now the prevailing
money crops, with Satsuma oranges
and pecans coming on.
Foley this year has shipped 33 cars
of Irish potatoes and 20 cars Of Gu
cumbers, and expects to ship about 500
cars of sweet potatoes car lot ship
ments of which began Immediately
after July 4. 1t also expects to ship
several cars of Satsuma oranges and
some pecans this fall, only a few Of
the many orchards set yet being in
bearing.
The entire Foley branch has ship
ped about so cars of Irish potatoes,
12O cars of cucumbers and will ship
1000 cars Of sweet potatoes and about
u cars of Satsuma oranges and Pc
cans.
Population Varies.
The population in and around Fo-
ley, SuEmerdale, Robertsdale, Loxley,
Magnolia Springs, Orange Beach, Ros-
coe, Fairhope. Seminole, Rosington,
etc, are mostly Americans or Ameri-
cam born citizens from the middle
western states, while the population
around Alberta, Lillian and Mif1in are
mostly Germans or Hungarians or of
those descents, while around Silver
Hill Scandinavians predominant.
With the exception of some special
izing in high grade tobacco around
Summerdale and RobertsdaIe, the
money crops of South Baldwin are
Irish and sweet potatoes and cucum-
bers, with general tendency to run
into horticulture and dairying.
Among the notable horticultural eff
forts might be mentioned the 20-acre |
Satsuma orange grove of DR.. Judge |
wig northwest of town, said to be the |
finest grove of it's age on the gulf /
coast; near it Otto Rudert also has 20 |
acres. South of town the Bay La
Launch Orchard Company is setting /
several hundreds of acres, which are !
being sold to purchasers in five and |
ten-acre tracts. At Magnolia Springs, |
F. H BRUNEI has 106 acres set in pc
cans and M. Frank is setting $50 acres
Of Satsuma oranges and pecans. At |
Perdido Beach, Harry Wilcox has a /
47-acre pecan grove At Robertsdale
Is the largest grove in the county, be-
longing to T. A. Banning and compris-
ing 120 acres, many of which are in
bearing, besides the Bannings have
several acres of Satsumas. Colonel
Ellis Mumma and Harvey & Co, near
have several acres each
Of Satsumas coming into bearing. At
Silver Hill the Southern Plantation