The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-01-19
LETTER From FLORIDA.

LETTER FROM FLORIDA.
Mr.. ]. w Russell has received the
following letter from H. E. Gump, OF
Barlow, Polk county, Florida, which
tells something of the land Of flow.
ers. The letter follows:
Perhaps you would be interested
in hearing about the land Of sunshine
andflowers and l will tell you some
thing about this part OF Florida.
] am In Barlow, a progressive town
of about 5000, said to be the richest
per capita in Florida. 1t must be SO,
for the evidences are here-including
$50 automobiles.
Barlow is well designated "the city
of oaks, home of good folks" for her
wide w%ell-payed streets are lined
with massive oaks evergreen, and the
people are truly hospitable. a sys.
tenn OF hard roads, spreading to the
principal sections OF the county,
makes motoring enjoyable. Every
leading denomination has a church.
a theatre, good picture shows, lyceum
course, Chautauqua are provided for
the entertainment of the people. Ban.
tow is the county seat Of Polk county,
the third in wealth in the state, sur
passed only by Hillsboro and Duyal,
which contain Tampa and jackson.
vile, respectively. That you may not
get the idea that Polk iis merely q
sea with a few islands awheniI tell
you that there are 900 lakes within
its borders, ranging in width from
one hundred feet to Smiles or more,
Il will say that it contains more land
than the state Of Delaware.
Polk contains the richest phosphate
deposits in the world. mining 4s per
cent. Of the worlds output. Millions
OF dollars are invested in mining
plantss
Polk ranks third In production Of
orange and crepe fruit, and the same
is probably true as to trucks. Among
many largo truck farms near Barlow
is one containing $50 acres, 100 be.
ing under irrigation. The average
gross receipts from this farm are
saidto be between $4,000 and $780,.
900 annually. Among other things
the owner grows about eight mil.
lion sweet potato plants annually.
shipping same all over the United
States. Hundreds Of carloads OF let;
tuce, cabbage, celery, cucumbers,
peppers, tomatoes, squash, Irish and
sweet potatoes, onions, etc., are ship:
ped from Barlow every season. The
average return per acre ranges from
500 to $500. depending upon the
crop. AS a general rule the Florida
farmer will not plant a crop which
will net less than 500 per acre. Judg.
ing from what / have been told and
seen, almost any crop, except wheat
and apples, grown in the temperate
zone will do well here. Sugar cane
produces from 800 to 500 gallons Of
syrup per acre. Talk about straw.
berries! About half a million CHARTS
are shipped from thiscounty between
December apd June, the average net
being about 20 cents. When the price
gets to 10 cents {. o. b. depot, the
growers stop picking. plow under the
vines and plant something else.
Strawberry plants set in September
are bearing in December.
You must know that It requires 0
mighty fine climate to grow during
the winter and spring the many crops
I have mentioned. Truly the climate
Is wonderful! Imagine roses. ger.
aniums, the hybiscus, oleander and
other flowers growing out doors in
mid.winter! It is certainly the life
worth living to bask in the golden
sunshine Of this section, and it's
mostly sunshine, for It rains not more
frequently than four or i've times q
month during the winter season. II
Nature had withheld from Florida
everything else, her wonderful eli
mate would still make her one Of the
greatest sections. And ift1 happen to
say that with such fine winters the
summers must be very warm, I am
quickly reminded the U. s. Weather
Bureau figures prove II to be cooler
here In srmmerEt than even in the far
north. sunstrokes and heat pros
trations are unknown and one sleeps
under coYeriet the year round.
Plenty of sport in the way Of shoot
ing and fishing.
I've not told all about Barlow, but
viii write more about 1t II I can find
time.
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