The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1918-02-14
BEST CATTLE STATE
IN NORTH AMERICA
Experienced Stock Raisers De-
clare in Favor of Florida
FINE BREEDS INTRODUCED
Testimony of a Chicago Breeder.
Climate Ideal for Stock Rails
ing.-Mrs. Potter Palmer's Sue
cess in Manatee County Should
be an Inspiration

be an Inspiration
Chicago, Feb. THAT Florida
as beef producing section of the
United States has the biggest fu-
ture Immediately ahead of it is the
contention of NJ. A. Judy, field
representative of the American
Aberdeen-Angus Breeders Asso-
citation, who returned to Chicago
yesterday. Mr.. Judy returned af-
ter holding a sale at Jacksonville
last week, where he placed as
good a load of bulls as ever sold
in the South, he declared.
Mr.. Judy bases his judgment on
Florida's future in beef produc-
ton from the following: An all
year grazing climate, which gives
Florida cattle twelve months of
outdoor grazing in the lower half
of the State, and at least ten
months in the northern half; Ar
mour's modern packing plant at
Jacksonville gives Florida pro-
ducers a closer market for their
cattle than has Iowa, the greatest
live stock State of all /; the move
ment to eliminate the tick from ev-
cry inch Of territory in the south
is spreading fast since Mississippi
cleaned it's map completely and
Arkansas has followed with a law
aimed to Immediately duplicate
the feat, other legislatures getting
in line for similar laws; the Aber-
deen-Angus bulls taken to Florida
for the recent sale were a revela-
tion to the farmers there, being
the first real beef animals they had
seen.
In addition to the above, The
Herald reproduces from the Tam
pa Times the following interesting
article, which includes convincing
statements from Patsey McCaf-
frey, an employee on the big
ranch Of Mrs. Potter Palmer on
the Myakka river:
The story in The Times describ-
ing the projected ranch and live
stock company of the Kissimmee
valley might appear misleading to
those unacquainted with the status
of the livestock industry in Flori-
da. To such it might be well to
say that this work has long since
passed the experimental stage and
in many instances in this state the
breeding and growing of cattle
hogs, horses and mules are carried
on with the same exactitude and
care, and what is more important,
with greater profit on the capital
invested, than in most any of the
old cattle-growing states. Of
course, these instances so far are
the exception, but are gaining in
number every year.
Notable among those that have
passed this experimental stage is
the beautiful ranch of Mrs. Potter
Palmer on the Myakka river,
where all the methods and machin-
cry Of modern agriculture are
found in profitable operation. The
ranch consists of about 10000 a.
cres of land under fence, and the
cattle originally number about
1000 head of the native or "piney
woods" type, and as no new blood
had been infused since the origi-
nal importations from Spain, a
bout 300 years ago, and were al
lowed to roam about at will and
unrestrained, the natural result of
the incestuous inbreeding was
large majority of cripples and
dwarfs, and the never-failing con-
sequence that outraged nature re-
fused to reproduce and the fe-
males were nearly all barren.
But the new owner soon
changed this, and new bulls of
Hereford, Angus, Durham and