The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-09-02

Sub-tropicaI Section Of Ma
tionaI Importance
"Californians will not be inclined
to agree with an estimate of the most
valuable climate in the United
States made by F. Page Wilson in
the Manufacturers Record, (Balti-
more, July 3, 1919)," says the State
Market Bureau.
Mr.. Wilson, Incredible as it may
seem, says nothing about the Pacific
coast, but bids us focus our attention
on the extreme southern tip of Flor
ida, says the Literary Digest, which
ne calls in his title : a unique sub.
tropical section of nation Importance
AS an all-around tropical farming
proposition, Mr.. Wilson asserts, this
peninsular tip presents the nearest
approach to the ideal conditions of
success in agriculture among all those
now to be met on this continent, so
far as nature can provide them. In
these times Of near-famine, Mr. Will
son rightly says, such qualities as
these constitute an asset" Of meal
culable value. At the risk of offend.
ing the citizens of some forty-seven
other states, we quote some of Mr..
Wilson's dithyrambics about the Cape
Sable district. He writes:
Fine object Lesson
That southwark plunge of $50
miles from Fernandina down to the
tip of the peninsula is fine object
lesson in the effect on climate of lati-
tude, assisted in this instance by an
ever increasing insularity Tor should
1t be called "peninsularity)") and by
growing proximity of the warm gulf
stream. Every degree further means
a slightly higher mean temperature
for the year; little warmer in
cold spell, and, strange as it may ap-
pear, little cooler in hot spell. It
also means, with each few miles ira.
versed toward the tropics, slightly
larger number Of growing days within
which 1t is safe to plant crops.
"'All Florida reaps the benefit from
the above conditions, but Cape Sable
is the ne plus ultra. Except the
keys, those sunlit rocky islets which
fringe the peninsula's southern shores
Tor many miles, and which some day
will be the rich mans winter para
disc, the cape is the fGrthest south of
the entire United States. Climatic
ally considered, it is further protected
by being bounded on the north by a
large body of salt water known as
White water bay
Wonderfully Fertile Soil
Geography, however, is not Cape
Sables only claim to uniaueness, it
would appear, for it also has a won.
derfully fertile soil. Surprising as It
may seem to those who only know
Florida by hearsay or from the car
window, the cape land, according to
Mr.. Wilson, possesses not a particle
OF sand. On the other hand, it con.
sists of blackish loan, verging on
muck in some places, and underlaid
throughout by a rich marine mari
There is also considerable area of
deep muck for those who prefer the
Everglade type Of soil. He goes on.
whether this deep mari subsoil
is different from the coral rock,
which has become disintegrated into
smooth, cultivable land, the writer
does not know. But whatever its orr
gin, the result is soil of marvellous
and enduring fertility.
! CA notable feature of Cape Sable
is its evenness, the enormous area of
arabic soil, all largely the same high
quality. There is no sand or rock,
and no pine trees, Such sections as
are too low by nature for safe plant
ing can easily be, or have already
been, made available by simple grayi.
ty drainage. Of the 100000 acres
commonly estimated as it's area, per-
haps one-third or more is high prairie
ready for the play today, while about
one-half consists of tropical ham.
mocks, including such trees as dog.
wood, stopper wood, mahogany and
other hardwoods, besides the black