The vidette. (Iuka, Tishomingo County, Miss.) 1912-1967, 1918-03-14
Interesting Letter from Hicoria,
DeSoto County, Fla.
Ed. NIDETTE

Ib. lpEl 1E
Almost twenty years of my life
have come and gone since could
call Mississippi and Tishomingo
County my home, and many changes
have taken place. | have changed
from youth to gray headed man
hood, still there is in me the kind
est of feeling for the friends of my
childhood, youth and early man
hood, and | often think of the dear
old country and people of Tisho-
mingo and Prentiss County.
Since coming to Florida | have
received hundreds of letters, asking
about the land of sunshine and flow
ers, and | have tried to answer them
all in a way they could understand
the conditions here, but some seem
to misunderstood me, would like
to say to all the readers Of The vi
dette that | am we'll pleased with
Florida and think we have advan-
tages here that we have in no other
place in the South-we also have
some disadvantages. 1t is a hard
country for a poor man to get a
start, without working for wages for
several years, as the fiat woods pine
land will not produce crops for the
first few years after il is cleared
The sand hill country is good for
nothing but orange trees, peas, vel
vet beans, sweet potatoes, melons,
tomatoes, cassarva, and | believe
ii will make the best of long cotton.
1t you plant orange trees you may
expect no returns in five years.
Good orange land will cost about
$40 per acre in ten acre tracts and
will cost about $50 per acre to clear
the land and set it in trees. SO you
see by the time it is fenced. cleared |
and set in trees it will cost almost
500 per acre, and you will get no
returns in five years. The fifth year
you should get about one box of |
fruit per tree or $50 per acre. In
ten years you should be getting $3.50 |
per acre and the grove could nos be
bought for less than five hundred
dollars per acre. You will see from
this that man with a few dollars
cannot come to Florida and make "A
living out of his land while his
grove is coming into bearing. There
is plenty of land in Florida you can
make living and money besides,
in farming, but such land will not
grow orange trees successfully, and
the orange business is the thing that
wins, in the long run, in Florida.
The man that expects immediate
results from his labor should never
undertake growing oranges, but If
he has little money, considerable
and determination, he will |
be pleased in the fruit business in
DeSota county, Florida.
The great everglade country that
has been considered good for moth
ing but alligators, fish and ducks, is
now one of the most fertile spots in
the South, if not the world. Some
thing near fifty thousand acres of
this land is now under cultivation
and it is producing three and four
crops per year. The U. S. Govern
ment has one thousand acre potato
patch for the boys, On the lend
they grow potatoes (from $50 to 800
bushels per acre., they follow with
corn and get about so bushels per
acre, and plant peanuts between
the corn rows and get about 80
bushels of peanuts, The potatoes
brought about 5000 per acre, corn
about $50, peanuts about $50, and
was all produced, harvested and sold
between February 1st and Novem-
Der 1st, 1917. This land is being
sold at from 500 to $500 per acre.
Farm labor is 1926 per day and
hard to get at that. The water is
bad in all the everglade country,
but health seems to be good for such
country. Plenty of fish in the
lake and river for those who like
the sport of fishing.
Best wishes for Vidette and read
ers. JOHN BAKER PEDEN.
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City Pressing Club.