The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-12-19


ests at Pace and Cora; also Of the
groves that are under cultivation in
the neighborhood of Dickerson City
and Gascon Point and on the farms
Of Bagdad Land & Lumber Co, at
Munson.
Not enough Nursery Stock.
Santa Rosa county, however, is la
boring under the same handicap with
which all of the other counties in
Satsumaland are afflicted in the mat
ter of procuring nursery stock suffi-
cient to plant the acreage to Satsumas
next spring as the people of the cOun-
ty would plant. if the nursery stock
were available. Nevertheless, every
Satsuma plant available to Santa
Rosa county growers will be set in
February, and thus the present acre
age being cultivated to the fruit in
the county will be increased by per-
haps fifty per cent. And the follow
ing year. when it is anticipated that
there will be an abundance of nursery
stock. several hundred additional
acres will be set.
Thousands of Acres Satsumas to Be
Set.
1t is the present plan of the Pace
interests to increase their Satsuma
acreage as rapidly as possible to 1000
acres; of Bagdad Land & Lumber
Co, to have no less than the same
acreage within three years; of s. G.
Collins, to place in cultivation as
soon as he can procure the nursery
stock, not less than 100 acres. while
there will be scores of 10 to so acre
groves scattered throughout the
county by April l, 1924
Not NeeIecting Other Development.
Meanwhile, however, old Santa
Rosa isn't sitting idly by waiting for
nursery stock with which to develop
her Satsuma groves and permitting
her other horticultural development to
lag. On the contrary. there isn't a
county in West Florida which is do
ing more in the development of the
sand pear and grape growing indus
tries, and but one, Okaloosa county,
which eXcel1s it in preparations for
the culture of the Rabbit Eye Blue
berry.
Agriculture Not Neglected.
Nor are the agricultural and stock
raising industries which have both
flourished in Santa Rosa county. par
ticularly in the northern section of
the county. being neglected. Thou
from these Industries, and now that
through the genius of the scientists
OF Florida's own plant board. a speci-
fic for the boil wevil, whose raYages
have cost the Southland SO many mil
lions Of dollars, has been discovered.
the marvelously fertile bottom lands
of old Santa Rosa will yield golden
harVests for the cotton planters of the
county; while the hills will be aglow
with the golden fruit of the Satsuma.
And too, her thousands of acres of
coastal plain lands, which have here
tofore been regarded as little short of
worthless. will yield tens of thou
sands, aye, hundreds of thousands
of dollars, to Santa Rosa coun-
tvs Industrious, progressive fruit
growers, cultivated to blueberries,
grapes and pears.
And the whwile that the rural sec
tons of Santa Rosa county are pro-
gressing-being deveioped-as out
lined above, Milton. the largest town
in the county and the county seat, is
going ahead by leaps and bounds,
Milton a Substantial Business Town.
For many years Milton has been re
garded in commercial circles as one of
the most substantial business COM
munities in this section Of Florida
1t is universally remarked Of the
town that its merchants are the best
fixed financially and that there have
been fewer failures there during the
past twenty years than any town of
like size in the South. This, of
course, denotes prosperity in the
ranks of the citizenship of the towns
trade territory, which includes prac-
tically all of Santa Rosa county and
a portion of Okaloosa county. But
aside from the prosperity Of the
farmer folk of Santa Rosa county,
there has always been an industrial
activity in and around Milton which
has added greatly to it's prosperity
There have always been several large
sawmlls within a few miles Of Mil
ton, and still are, the most important
of which is the plant of Ba glad Land
& Lumber Co., which employs a
double shift of operatives year in and
year out. And too, Milton has al
ways been a center of shipbuilding
and ship repair activities. and there
are still two or three shipyards in
operation there, though due to the
depression which has existed during
the past two and a half years in
shipping activities, these shipyards
are not employed full time now. New
ertheless. they are being kept in re-
pair. are fully equipped and when
the industry Of shipping reyives, they
will be in readiness to assume their
old time places in the industrial ac-
Invites Of Milton.
Fine Stores and Banks.
The stores Of Milton are as good as
are to be found in any town of Mil
tons size in the country. Likewise
the towns banking facilities, which
consist Of two banks, one a national
and the other a state chartered in
stitution. are unusually efficient.
Hotel Facilities.
The hotel facilities Of Milton, how
ever, are not as good as they should
he in A town Of Millions Importance.
But this situation IS in the main re-
leved by the delightful little hotel at
Bagdad, Bagdad Inn, which is gem.
The food served at the hotel a Mil
ton is excellent and well served. but
the rooming facilities Of the house are
entirely inadequate. This deficiency,
however, will in all likelihood be rem
edied during the coming year.
In conclusion, I confidently predict
that in ten years when the develop
InA of Santa Rosa county which is
~ under way is in full swing, Milton
will be a city Of fifteen thousand
10 -