Mexico weekly ledger., 1915-02-11

the family q warm
Farmers can make a good living here
and also make big money. Fruits
and vegetables grow fine here, and
can be shipped directly to all big
markets.
The very choicest quality Of grape
fruit and oranges are shipped from
this country. A few miles out from
Sarasota, is located the famous At
wood Grove; consisting Of go
rows Of trees, each row be-
ing n nile ia length, or
80 miles of grapefruit trees. We are
informed that Mr.. Atwood refused
an offer Of 100000 for this grove.
Next in importance, and right in the
sarosata District, comes the Ponder
Grove of 10 acres; Riggin Grove, 80
acres; Becker Grove 60 acres; Black
burn Grove, so acres; Burch Grove,
20 acres, and in fact, the entire dis
triet is dotted with hundreds Of
groves, many of them ranging from
two to ten acres each.
Average price Of grapefruit ship
ped to Eastern markets during the
past i've years is s2.42 per box. A
grapefruit grove should be planted so
to 100 trees to the acre Of choice
budded variety trees, averaging
three-fourths Of an inch in diameter
and two years Of age. All fruit should
be picked and trees should not be al
lowed to bear for Shipping until af-
ter the third year of planting. Scien-
ce and common sense applied should
give results Of one box per tree after
three years old, about the same in
the fourth year, and average from
5th TO 10th year safely from five to
ten boxes per tree. Crops Of ten 20
twenty-five boxes per tree are not
unusual. We are informed up to the
extreme case of so boxes to one tree
in one season.
Several growers have been very
successful raising Strawberries. This
caused the formation of a corporate
body; viz, Sarasota Strawberry Grow
ers Association, with a capital of
$4,000. The association itself cult
Yates fifteen acres for the purpose OF
demonstrating, etc.
The approximate cost Of raising
strawberries per acre is about 5000
and results show $500 to 5000 per acre
profit. Considerable land at low
prices is available for this purpose.
With flowing artesian wells, easy
drainage, immunity from frosts, ETC.,
the inducements to settlers can not
be over estimated.
The chief winter vegetable crop is
celery. This is comparatively an
expensive crop to grow, but the re.
turns are commensurately large. I'm
der proper conditions of drainage
and irrigation on suitable land, celery
can be counted on for a net profit OF
$500 per acre, even in large plant.
ings. It is set out in September tc
November, harvested and shipped
from January LIST to about the mid
die Of March. A natural crop is about
500 crates TO the acre
A very staple crop is lettuce, sowr
in September, transplanted from
October 10 February. IL is n ten OF
eleven-week crop from the seed and
shipped from Thanksgiving to April
Growers usually repeat this crop and
then follow with tomatoes on the
same land. Lettuce is a cheap cror
10 raise, costing about 800 per acre
Tomatoes are safest, surest crop.
Crop is grown in both the fall and
spring. After celery and lettuce crops
are off in the spring, on the same land,
are shipped from April 18th TO june
18th.
Other vegetables and some farm
crops are grown here successfully
Caulitlower, beans, cabbage, egg.
plant, sweet peppers, squash, okra
onions, irish potatoes, corn, velvet
beans, cowpeas, sugar cane and
watermelons.
The farmers here are all strong
for farm advisers and experiment sta
tons. Wherever we go We find all
of the successful farmers favor these
two most important aids to the right
kind Of farming. You can't have an
experiment farm without a farm adj
wiser, and we find that the bankers
and business men of the city are cor
daily cooperative along this line
with the farmers who show their an
probation by participating at all
times with their attendance on all
meetings for the growth of the cities.
Mexico grows and fiourishes when
the farmers of Audrain prosper.
Farm property advances as Mexico
grows. All are interested in the farm
agent and Rusk is one of the very
best. We should have an experiment
farm. That's the way to make good
old Audrain blossom like the rose
R. M. White.
Huntsville Postmaster Held.up.