The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-07-29

Etzler's Florida Fact
Florida has an area or 1926!
square miles.
Florida's acreage is 37,931,521.
Florida's average death rate PEI
1000 is only 1899.
Florida has a greater extent o.
seacoast than any other State
Florida has forty railroads, in.
GLIDING the branch and lumber
roads.
Florida is the only State in the
Union producing sponges; harvest
worth half a million dollars a year
| Florida is less subject to ex.
. tremes of temperature than any
other State in the Union.
The avocado pear is prolific pro-
Queer and brings a bunch of money
to the fortunate possessor of a tree
or two.
When young clerk with less
than 500 in cash comes to Florida
and at the end of few years owns
his farm and an auto, both paid
for and worth $4,000, it looks like
prosperity.
A man can plant ten acres of
sweet potatoes, go hunting and fish
ing until they are read to dig, and
make a fairly decent living for the
year. Florida farmers, however,
have too much pride to be content
with such a living.
Farmer" Etzler says pecans are
one of the coming fortune makers
for Florida land owners. A pecan
/ grove left to ones heirs not only as
sures an Independent income for life
but provides legacy that will be
valuable to future generations.
Farmer Etzler feeds his table
chickens, clabber and nothing else.
Epicureans pronounce them CONNIE
il faut.
Farmer" Etzler is to-day raising
his hay, where two years ago nine
out of ever ten farmers bought pro-
vender for his horses. The potent
ialities were there all the time. 1t
was not the fault of the land that
hay was imported.
Selecting the most remunerative
crop the land will produce we'll is
the secret of great deal of farm
ing success in South Florida. Good
strawberry land used for producing
cassava is like using $5,OOO-a-
Year man for messenger duties.
There are at the present time in
Florida approximately $4,000, 900
worth of horses and mules, Hills
borough county having the largest
number of any one county. The
number in Hillsborough county ex-
coed 1000 worth about one-tenth
the total valuation of the horses and
mules of the State.
The day of the Florida razor
back" is over and in his place is
the fat porker, as we'll proportioned
as his brother of the North and
west. The value of hogs on hand
July list, this year, is estimated in
round number at $1,975,OOO. Far
mer" Etzler says sweet po-
Probably $4,000 crates of guavas
will go out of South Florida this
season, averaging approximately 81
per crate. Guava bushes are one of
the most prolific producers that
grow in this country and an acre or
two of them are good for an income
that will meet all the incidental ex-
penses of the household. A few pre-
serving plants will create a great
market for this fruit.
Farmer" ..tzler >says sweet po-
tatoes are the lazy mans crop in
Florida: Not that ambitious farmers
do not plant them, too, but they are
especially adapted to making a liv-
ing for the one who dislikes work
A crop is practically assured on any
kind of land that is tillable, the
yield being from 100 to $50 bushels
| an acre.
Probably about the time the lands
of Florida have been cleared of prac-
tically all their palmetto uses will
have been found for it hat will
cause it to become valuable crop,
says Farmer" Etzler. ain making
of fans and hats, probably the ral-
metto is put to the most common
use; but the palmetto fiber brushes,
which are being manufactured at
several different places in the State
! are coming into more general use
| and mattresses made from palmetto
leaves are preferred by many Flor
idians to the more expensive cotton
| and felt mattresses.
There are failures every year in
Florida. Not every man is qualified
to be farmer anywhere, calculates
Farmer EtZler. But the percent
age of failures is decidedly small
The man who starts in on his farm
with the idea of doing about ninety
cents worth of work for each dollar
he gets, will be successful. It's the
man who wants profit OF thous-
ard dollars an acre without work.
ing his head and hlh ands for it
that fails.-Tampa Tribune.