Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1922-10-17
With Other Editors
NOT MUCH LAND LEFT

-
so many vast stretches Of land ap-
parently available for farms, the
conQuering Of the open spaces has
been so rapid, that the people, gen.
orally. have acquired the idea that
the land resources Of the United
States are absolutely inexhaustible,
and that no matter how many immi-
grants we may receive, nor how vast
ly the population may increase, there
will always be room for all who may
come.
1t will, therefore, be of deepest in
terest for the people to learn that at
the present time there is about one
sixth of the available farm lands of
the entire country not taken up. Only
one-sixth of the vast domain of a
century ago is left for farming.
The census report of 1920 gave the
number of acres of land of all kinds
in the United States as 1903 mil
lions. Of this 500 million acres can
not be used for farms, leaving a
maximum of acres which can be put
into farms of LOO millions, $50 mil
lions of which are now in use as
farms, leaving IA millions Of acres
yet available.
With a smaller populatio nthan we
now have this country averaged ter
millions of acres in new farms every
year for a matter of seventy years
If that rate of increase in farms i:
kept up the last available farm lane
will be taken up in the next twelve
years.
/ Florida, it has often been said, il
the last pioneer state Of the union
This state has thirty-five million
/ acres of land, of which twenty-five,
millions are potential farm area. APP
proximately six million acres Of liant
are now under cultivation in thi
state. This leaves US seventeen mil
lions Of acres that can be brought IN
der cultivation or almost one-seventl
of the farm area not yet in use in tn
entire United States.
But if the pressure of population
and the increasing demands for foo
shall require, within a dozen years O
more, the entire available farm Ian
Of the country, Florida's arabic Ian
will all be under cultivation With
the next ten or fifteen years.
These figures are given for tn
purpose of impressing upon the min
the actual prospects for development
in Florida. The land, every availabl
! acre Of it, is to be required to hel
sustain the people of the Unite
States, the population of which fiji
teen years from now will be in eXces
Of one hundred and thirty millions
1 1t means that land values in Floridi
as elsewhere, are to increase rapid.
I 1t means also a wonderful develop
ment of the whole state.
We may assume that the creates
development will take place in sout
Florida, where there is still much ST
called vacant land. The system thu
still prevails in some counties of II
northern part of the state of retain
3 ing large acreage in the individui
plantation and the reluctance Of Il
! owners to part with their holding
. or to divide them up, will retard Il
e development of that part Of the sta
= and south Florida will reap the a.
vantage of more rapid growth.
The inevitable settling Of the sta
q will have its reflex action upon Il
cities Of Florida and we may eXpe
must expect-within the next fl
teen years tremendous growth in u
e ban population and the creation
e many large cities. Among them, v
S are confident, Miami will always r
tain a very prominent place,-Miar
G Herald