The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1919-01-30
fine ANSWER GIVEN
NINCOMPOOP WRITER
IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Making Disparaging Statement
About Florida
Prof. Rolls of the State Expert
ment Station, Makes Succinct
Statement of Indisputable Facts
Florida Feeds the Nation.

Florida Feeds the Nation.
1t seems that one Charles Lath-
rop Pack of the National War
Garden Commission, has publish
ed in some northern newspaper
the ridiculous assertion that only
canned vegetables can be found
in the markets of Tampa. A citi-
zen of New Orlean s, having read
Packs piece, clipped it out and
Nsent it to the Florida Grove,
which paper handed it to Prof. P.
Fl. Rolls of the State Experiment
Station, for consideration.
That well known authority
makes such an indisputable, COM
prehensive and yet succinct re-
view of conditions in Florida that
we take pleasure in publishing it..
We commend it to. all our readers
both at home and abroad as some
thing they can implicitly rely up
on.
"It is entirely incomprehensible
to me-" says Prof. Rolls, chow
any body who has a sufficient a.
mount of education to write an
article of that kind could be so
willfully stupid as to make the
statements contained in the clip
ping. | have been in Alabama re-
peatedly during the last twenty
five years and | know that the
state of Alabama grows a fine lot
of foodstuffs and other agricultur-
al materials. Of course, Alabama
does not produce everything that
the population needs for it's COM
forts, neither does any other state
in the Union for that matter, nor
any nation in the world. In the
south here we have the state of
Iowa held up to us as the model
and ideal agricultural state and
yet Iowa does not produce enough
wool and other abric-producing
material to keep their bodies from
freezing. The people Of Iowa
would be unable to even blow
their noses on a frosty morning if |
it were not for the cotton that is
in the South and, as for
fax, they did not even produce
enough to supply our aeroplanes.
These DEFICIENCIES do not in any
way condemn Iowa as an agricul-
tural stare.
| note another statement that a
certain family in Tampa had to
i've from tin cans. That certain
y was their own business if they
to live from tin cans they
nave a perfect right to do so in
his democratic country. There is
4 certain little school girl over in
Manatee county, who by herself
put up over 1000 cans of vegeta-
oles last year, and I hope it was
his family that helped to consume
he vegetables that one school
girl put up. The good women of
put up over 100000 cans
# fruits and vegetables last year
md this was all done under the
direction of the home demonstra-
ion agents. There were several
lines as many put up in the state
III told.
"Florida certainly grows more
vegetables per capita than any
ther state in the Union. Last
ear we grew so many of them
hat train loads of them rotted in
he field because we could not get
he labor to harvest these crops
or the trains to move them. Even [
4 Hillsborough county enough
resh vegetables went to waste to ,
upply a considerable number of ,
antilles. The critics would prob II
bly, want the vegetable raisers i
D grow stuff, crate it and carry it |
, the kitchen. 1t reminds me of !
he story of the LATEST man in the ,
Concluded on page 81 II