The Pensacola journal., April 27, 1913, SECTION TWO, Image 9

About The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985

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SECTION TWO
VOL. XVI. NO. 116.
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, SUNDAY MORNING APRIL 27, 1913.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
.Great In ' Extent ' Both
A Day's Drive Through
Fertile Section Furnishes
the Evidence.
T WO TYPI C A L S C ENE S
of Territory and
Resources.
Santa Rosa County Edition
SANTA
F
GARD
SPOT
V' f
PERFECTLY DRAINED BY THE
PUREST OF ' FRESH WATER
STREAMS AND COOLED BY THE
MOST DELIGHTFUL OF SEA
BREEZES RICHEST OF SOIL
WITH THE BE8T OF PASTUR
AGE.
Santa Rosa, county, a miniature state
la area and notable for its stock
raising, naval stores products, timber,
and the success of Its recent agricul
tural pursuits, stands out pre-eminent
ly In West Florida as one of that sec
tion's finest and most promising coun
ties
All Santa Rosa needs is more people-
to develop its remarkable posibilities,
and she offers a good living, aid then
some, to anyone who will but have
confidence and come to settle among
her people.
This county is. bounded on the north
toy the state of Alabama; on the east
by Walton county; on the south by the
Gulf of Mexico, and on the west by
Escambia county, Florida, and Escam
ola. county. Alabama.-
The climate Is beautiful, the water
good, even the creek and branch water
being pure and clear.
Agricultural pursuits have never
been followed to any great extent un
til recently, the timber Industry for
years being the main source of rev
enua, the past ten years, however,
having been remarkable for the steady
and almost unbelievable development
of the land by the .scientific farmer.
The cut-over pine lands have proved
very productive, as the land is level,
easily cultivated, and responds easily
to fertilization,
Almost any soil can be had, from a
very sandy soil to a very a tiff, clay
soil; also a dark gray soil, and a mixed
sandy loam with a clay sub-soU. ,
Corn yields from 20 to 70 bushed
per acre with proper cultivation; sweet
potatoes from 300 to 400 bushels per
acre; sugar cane from 800 to 400 gal
lons per acre; cotton averages one
balf bale to the acre, and rice, peanuts,
peas, field peas, chuffas and velvet
beans grow In abundance.
The climate of Santa Rosa county la
admirable for stock raising, sheep, cat
tle and hogs doirtg well and living off
the range. .-'. ,'
The sheep raising Industry is on ox
which the county may well be proud,
for the fleece Is the beBt unwashed
product that can be bought, the sheep
values of Santa Rosa being estimated
at $150,000.
Yellow pine is produced at the rate
of $75,000,000 feet annually: the naval
stores interests, which are correspond
ingly large form an Important part In
the prosperity of the people.
The process Is to first reap the gol
den yield of the pine lands In their
rosin and their turpentine; in due
time the timber Is eon verted Into lum
ber by the great mills that operate in
almost every locality, when the land
Is finally turned loose to the farmer.
Considerable milling property has been
put on the market of late years, with
the result that Santa Rosa has now
thousands of acres of tilla.ble aolL
Some Intimate Facts.
Santa Rosa county Is under the very
efficient management of a hoard of
county commissioners, of which Peter
Tomasello, a progressive and up-to-date
mill man of Bagdad, la chair
man. Mr. Tomasello and ht board believe
In good roads, strong bridges, and the
greater development of their county in
very way. .
Stores of general merchandise, poet
offices and rural routes, schools,
churches, better roads, tine farms, and
an Improved condition generally have
followed the progressive policy em
ployed by the Santa Rosa commission
ers. Santa Roam la a ewmty wen adapted
for progress along any ona line of her
great resource.
She has a splendid country, good
people, and plenty of opportunities for
the right kind of settlers.
Yellow river. BJackwatee rtrer, and
"Rceambta river are her
principal
streams, while creek and smaller
streams, and innumerable springs lave j
the land m every direction.
oreat arms 01 me wui 01 :
wait to her pleasant and health-giving
eea-breezec.
Santa Roe county hereasd in pop
ulation from 1900 to 19X0, 4,604, which
was 4.47 per cent.
Florida's population increased iur-
tag the same period at the- rate of
524,077. or 42.4 per cent, as ahown In j
the census of 1910.
The following statistics are taken
from the last three eensue reports,
ty which the relative growth of Santa raising industry may be followed with
Rosa county and Florida may bo read- j no expense whatever, excepting that
lly noted: , j connected with rounding up the ani-
FTorlds. j ma Is once during the year for shear-
Population 1890 $91-492 ing.
Population 1900- ...... ..828,54$ j He will find In his part of the county
Population 1910 ...............753,619. no such conditions as those offered for
Santa Rosa County. chicken raising, the climate, sandy soil.
Population 1890 ................. 7,961 and absence of ordinary chicken de
population 1900 .........10,293 eases making the opportunity for quick
Population 1910 14.897 money making along this line one to
In 1900 the best farming lands in fce considered,
the county (unimproved) could bej Public employment may be found
bought for $2.60 per acre the same readily In the large mills which dot
land is now bringing $15 per acre. i the section; opportunities present
, Land that sold for $3.50 an acre at themselves in the land; the stock rais
that time has since changed hands at , ing situation is one to - be reckoned
$30 per acre. , K ith. and an interesting and all around
Santa Rosa is now a. dry county.! project: the milling and naval sto'-v
and proud and pleased with the re- j interests create a rich and dependable
suits- j ctxnty aJl this for the asking in the
"Does it ray?" I asked; and people! good cvuistar.c-f Santa' Rosa!
lv T- l 4Z A:J?
W .1
4i. .., 4.
'Butchering Day" at C. H. Simpson's
G PROFIT
PEC1CULT1
ISAM:
SOIL AND CLIMATE IS ESPECIAL
LY ADAPTED TO GROWING
TREES FROM WHICH DELICIOUS
AND VALUABLE NUT COMES..
Florida, particularly West Florida, is
a pecan country, and some of the finest
of these delightful nuts are grown in
anta Rosa county. -
In the matter of pecan growing, a
little of your money, an abundance" of
sunshine, a small acreage of soil, a few
years time, create a competence for
later years.
The pecan has been known for many
years in the South in the limited ter
ritory to which it is native or indi
genous, that portion "of the southern
states which border the Gulf of Mex
ico. The pecan has been domesticated
for half a century or more in various
localities, and at Tallahassee, Florida,
there are several giant trees that are
known to be more than eighty years
old. They are bearing as vigorously
as If they were In their prime, and
there is no one to say they have passed
It. Santa Rosa county has many of
these trees that are a half century old.
Previously the quality of the nut,
the thickness of the shell and the
bearing qualities were uncertain, but
all this has been removed by success
fully budding or grafting so that now
the quality, the size of the nut and
the bearing qualities can be foretold
told me that there is more, money in
the banks, better business at . the
stores, and more general prosperity
now that was ever the case when the
county was admittedly "very wet."
Prosperity has come to stay, in
Santa Rosa, and there are plenty of
people who will tell you that prohibi
tion Is one of the very elements that
Is here to make this same prosperity
of a sure and certain quality.
A Groat Opportunity Offered.
One of the greatest opportunities
for the home-seeker awaits the coming
of the right, people in Santa Rosa,
especially along agricultural pursuits
and stock raising.
The northern farmer may raise more
bushels of .corn to the acre with his
expensive black loam, soil, but he will
never be able to raise three and Tour
dlfferent crops to the year, such as the
Ideal climate offered In West Florida
makes It a possible thing to do.
He will never be able to raise stock
with the minimum expense entailed
with cattle, sheep and hog raising in
Santa Rosa, where the velvet . bean.
one of the finest forage plants -to be
found anywhere may be raised with
little or no trouble and almost "be
tween crops," and where the sheep
- ,
. ? i 4 M
5 m
I
i!
1
Arcadia Farms, Santa Roaa County.
with the same degree of certainty as
with the grafted apple or pear or the
budded orange!
The demand for nuts of all kinds in
the United States is Increasing pro
portionately more rapidly than the
population, showing a recognition .of
their value as a food product and for
confectionery manufacture. The Im
portation of nuts into this country In
1900 was $3,484,699; it increased to $9,
573,742 in 1908, almost 175 per cent,
and this in addition to the nuts raised
In this country. These Importations
Included no pecans because they are
grown commercially only in the Unit
ed States, and in only a comparatively
small section cf the United States at
that. Yet, one only needs to know the
pecan to recognize its superiority as
an edible commodity and as a health
ful food over all nuts that are grown
or that enter into commerce. - --
A Hardy Tree. ,
The pecan tree is a hardy, vigorous
grower. It is not injured by cold in
the section where it is indigenous to
soil and climatic conditions, and in
this it has an immense advantage over
other trees. It resists drouth because
its tap root3 reach deep into the soiL
Heavy rain seems to improve it.
There are no serious troubles attend
ing it after it is once firmly rooted in
the earth, and from its longevity and
steady bearing qualities the owner of a
budded pecan grove has the assurance
of a never-failing income which may
be handed down to the second and
third generations as a precious legacy.
Perhaps not one person in ten of the
90.000-000 in this country, not to men- I
MAP OF
1 r' ' - - TP
A xt - Vs
4 , Hx' '''x-l
Oatfiald on the Smithwick & Stephens Farm, Jay, Santa Rosa County, Florida. These bats were cut, oured and
baled, and averaged over 4,700 pounds to the asfta. They would have thrashed 80 to 85 bushels to the aooe.
Santa Rosa Boy Raises
129 Bushels Corn to Acre
. Jacksonville .Times-Union.
Richard Miller, of Baker, Santa Rosa county, has been declared the
champion boy corn grower of Florida for 1912. He produced from his acre
129 1-2 bushels of corn at a cost , of 2C cents per bushel. Hastings Prolific
corn was used for seed. The land was plowed eighteen inches deep, the
rows were forty-two Inches apart, and the stand in the row about ten
inches.
The champion boy corn grower gets a free trip to Washington, through
county contributions, and $50 In cash from the Hastings Seed Company, of
Atlanta, Ga.
If a "boy can harvest 129 bushels of corn on an acre of Santa Roe-a soil,
why can't any man do as well in any county in Florida? If Richard
Miller can make such a crop as that, why should any other Florida boy be
content ,to harvest ten bushels from land as good as any acre in Santa Rosa
was originally? If after Improving his land, Richard's corn cost him 26
cents a bushel, why can't other boys grow corn at a profit when they can't
save anything in town?
Hon the other millions in foreign lands,
has ever seen or tasted a pecan nut.
Not one in twenty ever heard of a
budded pecan, and not one in a hun
dred who eats one of tbese thin-shelled
nuts but wants another, and then
6ome more.
The actual demand for them in- the
commerce of tliis country can not be
satisfied; it Is increasing more rapidly
than the Increasing supply. Far-sighted
manufacturing confectioners dare
not depend upon the open market, but
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Co-it
5 v!f
-.4
arrange months ahead with the grow
ers for their supply. Dealers in fancy
groceries cannot meet the demand of
their trade, even though thi3 demand
at present is limited because the aver
age consumer, even of luxuries, knows
nothing of this particular luxury. The
"pecan habit" makes its own way, and
the market will not be overstocked
within the lifetime of children yet un
born.
The sixth year after setting out the
trees a pecan orchard should pay ten
UNCLE SAM'S FIGURES.
Here are some figures taken from
Uncle Sam's yearly agricultural
average book which prove that
every " acre of cultivated land In
Florida nets a larger return than
any Ftate in the Union:
Average value of all farm products.
Missouri 9.38 per acre
Indiana 12.31 per acre
Iowa 12.42 per acre
Illinois 12.48 per acre
Ohio . '. 13.36 per acre
Florida 109.76 per acre
per cent interest on the investment;
ten years after setting out, fifty per
J cent; fifteen years after setting out.
i 160 per cent. In the meantime one can
plant in between the rows of trees so
tat his land will never be idle will
always be producing something.
All through this section of Florida
the pecan does well, in fact, there is
no place in the country where it does
better than right here.
The pecan grows in oldsters similar
to the chestnut, the hull opening and
the nut when ripe falling to the ground.
No mistake will be made in planting
pcan trees for profit in this section
of Florida. The sooner you get your
trees in the better.
POSTOFFICES IN
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Bagdad
Berrydale
Blackmail
Botts
Brick
Camp Walton
Catawba
Chumuckla
: Cobb
Coldwater
Cora
Corbett
Franklin
Garniers
Gattis
Harold
Harper
Harris
Hester
Hiawatha
Hollev
Holt '
Howell
.Jay
McLellan
Mary Esther
Metts
Milligan
Milton
Mulat
Newell
Oak Grove
Otahite
Pace
Penton
Pinewood
Red Rock
Robinson Point
Sullivan
Wallace
Wright
RICH CHOCOLATE COLORED SOIL
AWAITS ONLY THE PLOW OF
THE FARMER AND THE HAND
OF THE HUSBANDMAN TO MAKE
COUNTY THE MOST PRODUC
TIVE IN THE WORLD.
BY FRANK L. MAYES.
On a bright, crisp April morning,
when the dew sparkled in the sunlight
and the dogwood blossoms, white and
pure among the green foliage of the
forest, accentuated the advent of
spring, I left with John Smithwick.
Keener Chappelle, and Jim Gertie for
an automobile drive from Milton up
through the pine flats and prosper
ous farms lying between that place and
Jay, twenty-five miles northwest near
the Alabama line.
If anyone whose travel has been
confined to steel rails and whose vision
has been circumscribed by the range
of a Pullman window, should tell you
that Florida is not beautiful, just call
him off to one side and, for his own
good, advise him to be cautious where
and among whom he parades his ig
norance. If anyone should tell you that there
Is nothing but sand in Florida, like
that on the black larlr Hrte-oQ whr
! so many of the railroads elect to build
j their lines, just take him out for a
Rosa county. Get him "on the ground'"
as Senator Vardaman says, "close t
j nature and to nature's God." Let hlnn
breathe the pure air of a spring morn -Ing,
scent the fragrance of the wood
land flowers, drink the cool and crystal
spring water that bubbles out of the
hill-side heads all over this favorel
land, and analyze the chocolate -colored
loam that the plow of the farmer turn
up to the sunlight.
Beauty? why the beauty of a Flor
ida landscape beggars description. No
pen can write it and no paintc-r has
ever portrayed it. The proof is to
It.
Soli the test is what it will pro
duce and the proof of what it v. HI
produce Is seeing the products them
selves. These things are the material pos
sessions of Santa Rosa county ami
particularly of that portion of it which
lies from Milton' north to the Alabama
line. The way to realize them is to
see them for yourself. This it was
my privilege to do, and, while I have
seen some fine sections of country alt
over this rich and beautiful southland
of ours, I have never seen anything
that excels and possibly little that
equals in richness and fertility the
ptretch of territory which lis on each,
side of the route we travelled that
daj'.
There are yet In this great stretch of
country many acres of magnificent
1 pine forests which yet await the hand
' of the woodsman, but they are being
! swept clear year by year and In thft
I future every acre of this virgin soil
I will be open to settlement and cultl
j vatlon. Much of It has already been
cleared, particularly In the section
about Coldwater and again at Jay, and
the thrifty farmer from Alabama,
Georgia, Tennessee, and other states
Is here to build his home and event-
. ually to make his fortune.
j They call this land red. The Redland
Improvement Company takes its name
fr-vm that fact. But I should call it a
chocolate loam built by centuries of
decaying vegetation, upon a red clay
subsoil a combination that .In- thi
semi-tropic climate Is susceptible of
the highest soil production known
to the service of agriculture. And way
down beneath this rich chocolate loam
and Its underlying stratum of clay is
the white, pure sand through which
Is filtered the purest of soft water and
that in well or spring or stream m.kes
for the health as well as the refresh
ment of both man and beast.
I do not believe that any other simi
lar area of the world contains so much
pure water as does Florida, and no
where is It purer or more plentiful than
In West Florida. In It, like the prom
ised land of old, "there are fountain
and depths that spring up out of val
leys and hills;" but, unlike the watpr
of that country to which Moses paid
such glowing tribute, the water of this
Florida land of promise contains no
i'me. and is, next to distilled water
itself, the purest that nature anywhere
provides.
What is known as the Coldwater set
tlement lies In the center of this rich
Redlands district. The place took i:s
name from a small cold water stream,
that, fed by springs and smaller rreekF,
flows unceasingly toward the sea, re
freshing as well 'as draining Che fer
tile land which lies on both sides of it.
This Coldwater section was at one
time heavily timbered with giant pines
which cut from 5.000 to 10,000 feet to
the acre, but which have now been
largely cut off and it is rapidly being
settled and cultivated. The country
rolls sufficiently to afford perfect
drainage, but not enough to endanger
either crop or landa from "washing"
such as Is witnessed In hilly countries
further north during the heavy rains.
These lands produce everything In
digenous to a seml-tronic climate.
Grain, hay, foraee, root and fruit crops
of large yield and bast auality will
grow with less effort on the part of
man than Is the case In any other lati
tude. The Solomon farm where a boy
last year grew ninety-three bushels of
Continued on Next Pas.)