The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1916-06-22
FORGING AHEAD
OF CALIFORNIA
Natural Conditions that Are Fav-
orable to Florida
COMPARATIVE STATEMENTS
The Citrus Fruit Growing, Truck
ing and General Farming In
dustries, Ages of the Two States
and Prices of Land Discussed.

. As to soil conditions, they diff
} fer vastly in these states. 1t is
generally conceded by those who
nave studied the merits and de-
merits of the soil that of Florida
is better adapted to citrus fruit
raising. The Florida and Cali
fornia soils are both fertile for
truck farming, but in California
the business is carried on at a
great expense on account OF its
dependence on the irrigation sys-
TEN, while in Florida irrigation
is not necessary, except in case
of long drought.
Unless | am greatly mistaken,
cotton, corn and other general
crops are not grown in California,
and the culture of California s
fancy or staple products may be
attempted here. In fact, Florida
can produce almost everything
and its diversity Of products is
attributed to the productivity of
tsoil and the number of growing
+ days which ranges from 300 to
1305. In deciduous fruits, hay
grain and nuts, California leads,
but as we have just stated, hers
rmay be ours for the effort.
Florida is 402 years old in
! white settlement and is the
Youngest of all the states in
point Of development, and has
.bnly one-tenth of its 35,000,000
acres Of land under cultivation.
awhile land sells cheap, values
ssteadily advance from year to
! year. Citrus fruit land in Flori-
da, well located, sells for from
$50 to $3.50 per acre, whereas the
same character of soil in Califor-
MIA, similarly located and with or
without water rights, sells for
from $1,000 to $1,000 per acre.
Hereto are appended few of
ethe testimonies of those who ac-
@1ually saw, sampled and investi-
gated the character of land in
California and Florida:
"My experience in Southern
California and here satisfies me
that this is far better citrus
country than California The soil
is better adapted to citrus fruit
growing, 1t costs less to clear
and prepare the land for plant
ing, fruit can be successfully |
grown without irrigation, the
fruit is of better quality and we
are closer to market. John f. |
Greene, of Tarpon Springs, Fla, |
formerly a lawyer living in Los
Angeles, Cal, and owner of one of !
the most productive groves of
the Monrovia district.
81 have never seen nor would
| have believed citrus fruit would
grow as it does here. You people
are not raising fruit, it is simply
growing because you permit it to
do so and nature favors its grow
ing here more than any other
place | have ever seen. George
W.. Kern, also of Tarpon Springs,
who formerly was one Of the
largest growers of the Redland
section of California.
California soil will not pro-
duce as much citrus fruit per
acre as Florida soil, nor as good. ,"
Hon. Peter o. knight, of Tam
pa, who went to California in
1912 and investigated conditions.
"We hear much of the Red
River Valley, the Riverside dis
trict, the Redlands and Pomona.
They are truly great But in the
prediction of citrus fruit / know 4.
from first hand information that !
Florida has all these outclassed.
Several men have frankly stated !
to me that it is only question of
time until Florida would have no
in California. u. +.
Schumann of Orlando, back from l
a trip to Los Angeles.
"Their soil conditions are much
different from ours. We have an v
open, porous, sandy soil, into 7
which the heat penetrates rapidly 4
and it is easily warmed up so that e
our trees never become as thor |
oughIy dormant as theirs do. \
Their soil, on the contrary, is I
heavy, with quite an admixture S
Of clay, and it takes a long time n