Milford chronicle., 1920-02-27
The EVERGLADES OF FLORIDA

some oil my friends in Sussex Couh-
~. delaware, may De interested as "
now a tr4p IN the Evergiade county
-, K4orluA, impressed Delaware eaA'
ior everything was wonderfully 4ntSI
ssLiug 10 me-especlalIy the usfe4OP
mems and Lne surprising producls u
me Iaua alter being DrougnL INTO cur
.lYauOn. ,o,o 90
rroio Miami TO Fort Lauderdale oc-
enpleu Dut snort time OF ohe morn
ug. and from there up 10 Ne" RiFeI'
n,tsslng taru the new drainage cahdI
-u.t. Nv the state, to near Lake OAacA-
once. wuere we stopped Tor the AlsnI
al "A comfortable motel, Occup4eu al
of one gay. Ine following uay Was
devoted 10 looking over the Iand' see
lug .Wnat was grown, taking 70 VHe
tarmers, and nuaIly viewing the great
lake on our return TO tne motel COM
iorts OIL the night before, where our
second night was passed.
Iue tnird day was devoted TO seeing
the Everglades and the work mat mas
yeeu accomplished in making lne
country uaDlLaDle for man. ne Ever
g.ades are purely agricultural, ana
we are impressed tnat these 4aAus
will De wonderfully valuable Tor agrl-
cultural production, when the dram
age system is nnaAy completed.
The land is fertile ana adapted TO
production OF many kinds Oh crops,
and being immune from all frosts the
truck grower has little TO lear from
cold weather.
The Upper Everglades" where ma
ture has formed a soil said TO be ten
feet deep, all kinds OF crops are
grown without fertilizer, and usually
three crops are taken each year from
the same ground. A forage grass
grows well here, and this provides for
the growth and breeding OF cattle, and
especially for the growth of hogs.
These upper everglades extend a few
miles back from the southern glades,
are decidedly higher than the Lower
glades. and being at the top OF the
slope from the lake, they are not IN
voIved in the drainage problem at TINS
time.
Many have settled in the upper
glades and they have comfortable
homes, and the land is ready for the
plow.
Some Of the crops grown success
fully are tomatoes, potatoes, peppers
beans. egg plants, cabbage cucum-
bers. radishes, beets, lettuce, straw
berries, etc. All for the northern
markets. Other crops grown are pea
nuts, dasheens, sweet potatoes, navy
beans and in a limited way cotton.
The dasheen is Of the family of Ell
ephant Ear, and it is known in the
Hawaiian Island as Poi" and in the
Bahamas as "Eddies," and it is a sub
stitute for the irish or white potatoe
About 400 bushels are grown to the
acre here, and it takes about eight
months to mature the crop.
The following fruits are grown:
bananas, papaua, lines, lemons, or
anges, grape fruit and the dewberry
Southern Florida is developing more
rapidly than the northern part, and
the drainage work will soon open
very rich section for fruit and vege-
table culture.
Sugar cane require a long growing
season without frost, and it thriyes
best in a climate where there is an an
nual rainfall of about forty inches or
more, and grows most rapid in the hot
season. The abundant rainfall and
tropical conditions of Florida are fav-
Orable to the growth of this crop. 1t
is said that Florida is the only state
where sugar cane natures sufficiently
/ to produce seed heads, and it is not
unusual to find sugar cane in bloom
| in Southern Florida on January 18th.
There is probably 100000 acres of
soil especially suited for the growth
of sugar cane. At St. Cloud Florida,
over 5000 pounds of sugar was grown
on one acre of this land.
Lake Okachobee is the centre of this
rich district, and the limits of future
agricultural possibilities for this coun-
| try is beyond the limits of prophecy.
j. H. Carey, Miami, Florida.