Ll c r itry ~r


Vol. XXVIII, No. 3.


 Lire 8ck for the South.
 Rditor Florda Agriculturist:
 Hon. James M. Wilson, secretary of
 agriculture, seems to understand his
 business. In an address to Southern
 farmers he advised them to quit rais-
 Ing wheat and to raise saddle horses.
 which the South would better raise
 and train than any other part of the
 country. Just how it is in most South-
 ern states I do not know, but I do
 know that Secretary Wilson's advice is
 proper for Florida, as I live among the
 farmers of the southern part of that
 state, and have daily illustrations of
 the fact that the South Florida farm-
 er is skilled with the saddle horse. It
 is true that in this part of Florida
 wheat is not grown, but one can see
 that the advice of Secretary Wilson
 meant that the farmers of the South
 should get out of the old, well-worn
 paths, the old .4nts as it .w. and,
 dhbeld produ' snemithing that the
 world needs, of which there is not a
 vast surplus; and one of those things
 which the world demands sb good
 horses, not saddle horses especially,
 but good horses and this part of the
 South, and the farmers here are espe-
 clally adapted to the production and
 training of good horses.
 "Another thing that I would advise
 you to turn your attention to," con-
 tinued Mr. Wilson, "is cattle and sheep
 raising. I have never seen as many
 natural conditions combined together
 to make a paradise of this industry
 as here."
 Along further in his speech, he said,
 "Up In Iowa, where I live, we are com-
 pelled to find our animals half of the
 year and sometimes more. We have
 to put up feed enough during the sum-
 mer to feed during 6 long months. You
 have a warm climate, numerous for-
 ests to shelter your stock, and the
 problem of feed Is not as great with
 you as it is with us in Iowa."
 The Secretary is right; the feed ques-
 tion is not so great a problem in the
 South as in the North. Just about one-
 half of the summer's work of the
.Northern farmer is to accumulate food
of some kind for his domestic animals,
but here in the extreme South the cat-
tle, sheep.and hogs are in pasture the
whole year. Plenty of grasses grow
here for pasture. Thus the pasture is
the range of the whole forests or the
rich prairies of the public domain. The
herds are not restrained by fences. The
owner has his own mark and brand up-
en his stock. This mark and brand
Is his individual property, and he owns
all stock, whether It be cattle, hogs
or sheep, under his mark and brand.
This method of marking stock Is pro-
tected by the laws of the state. One
who follows the live stock business
correctly, that is, a stockman that
understands his business, becomes rich.
 Many of the stockmen have orange
groves, which add quite rapidly to
their accumulation of wealth. The
stoekmen, or cow boys, as some call
them, are expert horsemen. They un-
derstand a horse and know how to


Jacksonville and DeLand, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 1901.


train it for the saddle or wagon. The
stockmen in looking after their cattle,
hogs and sleep are much in the saddle.
Their attention is turned to the raising
and training of horses. The live stock
business ill Southern Florida is not
only caring for cattle, hogs and sheep,
liut it is also the rearing and training
of good horses. You can hunt deer and
other game with the South Florida
horse, and when you see the game, it
is not necessary to dismount, as yon
can do your shooting while in the sad-
dle. There are but few of the well-
trained saddle horses in the North Eidft
will stand still, and permit you to
shoot a gun while upon their backs,
but the Florida horse lias no fear of
the gun. Mr. Wilson knew what he
was talking about when he advised the
Southerners to turn their attention to
saddle horses, and to other live stock,
as a prosperous live stock business in
'ourth Fierida means the, eariag-m
training of good horses. There is a
demand for fat cattle, hogs and sheep,
and also a demand for good, well-
trained horses. The Southern farmer
should get out of the old rut in which
he has traveled for years, and above
all things should not pattern after the
farmer of the North, who to a large ex-
tent is compelled to travel in the well
worn road in which he adil his fore-
fathers have traveled for many years.
 The feed question is easily solved in
 South Florida. Usually the stock be-
 comes fat on the range. Sometimes a
 buyer may want some extra fat cattle,
 and when that occurs, cassava, the
 cowpea and velvet bean are easily
 grown and there are no foods that
 make fat flesh more quickly. All of
these things, that is, cassava, cowpeas,
and velvet beans are cheaply produc-
ed.
 Secretary Wilson said: "There is
great demand for the cattle markets
and the factory. All along the line that
demand is growing." It is evident that
the Secretary sees a great future for
the South. As proof of his idea of a
great Southern future, here is some
more of his thought:
 "The world's opportunity has come
 to you-such opportunity as very few
 sections of the world have ever enjoy-
ed. You have got everything down
here. You have the minerals in your
hills, the ores you have got, and the
coal, while the nations of the Old
World are wondering what they are go-
ing to do for fuel, and you have the
woods. If I owned a piece of poor
land, I would let the woods grow on
it, and I would graze it with animals,
and they will bring it up. I would
cultivate the very best pieces of land,
and I would increase the number of
domesticated animals.
 It Is evident that Secretary Wilson
has well studied the needs of the South
and knows that there is a great future
for it. It should be desired that future
Secretaries of Agriculture, and In fact,
that all persons who may hold public
office will not alone look to the honor
of their position for self-exaltation and


Whole No. 1407


I


self-advancement, but will try to ad- lie left a road wide enough to permit
vance tile condition of the people with passage of a wagon for the purpose of
whom they come in contact. harvesting the beans. In the South, In
 One great trouble with the Northern- rich lands, where the plants grow
 er who comes South for a home is, he large, tile hills may be six or seven feet
 brings his Northern ideas with him apart. Planting s.houl be done in the
 and expects to put them in force; he spring as early as possible, making
 fails to realize his changed position. allowance for frosts, to which the cas
 and the change of surroundings. The tor bean is very susceptible. The land
 apple tree must grow where the orange should be kept free from weeds and
and pineapple do. If a Floridian the crop grown much as corn or beans
should enter New York or any North- and on similar soil. The castor bean
ern state for a home. he would be plant is a gross feeder and heavy ap-
thought a fool if he planted an orange plications of a fertilizer containing
grove or made a pineapple plantation, three per cent. nitrogen, ten per cent.
He would also be considered a fool if phosphoric acid and eight per cent.
he marked,and branded his live stock potash will be found profitable.
and turned them upon the commons to In harvesting, the fruiting branches
graze. It would be wisdom to use the should he cut off as soon as the pods
mark and brand, and the commons or begin to pop open. which is in July
public pastures of South Florida, and in tile West Indies; in Florida, August
idiotic to attempt to enclose by fence and Septemlbr. This process must be
hundreds or perhaps thousands of acres repeated at least once or twice a week,
for, hil pastures. The stockman of as fast as the4 beam rtipef p~b. a
Southern Florida, if he is a farmer, will fall on the ground and be lost. The
should have a farm of proper acreage, branches are spread out to dry, eith.
for a home, for his grove and different er on the floor of a barn or other close
fruits and vegetables. but he needs no room or in a "dry yard." built near
immense area for his stock. The tie castor bean field. This yard is
stockman, so far his land is con- imalo l.y cutting away the sod. rolling
cerned, need not be an imperialist, and the ground hard and building an eight
pay taxes upon a vast territory which board fence around it, to prevent the
he does not need and can not utilize. Ibens from scattering, as they pop and
 Secretary Wilson's advice was right, fly about. It is better to make a board
The South should supply the cattle floor for the dry yard, which should be
market and have the factory. It should in a sunny place sloping to the south.
have tile canning factory for the can- The branches are turned over occasion,
ning of its own meat, grown and fatted ally and kept protected from moisture.
upon its broad and rich acres of public After tie beans have popped out they
land. It is those acres and the cattle are separated from the pods with a
upon them that have made the men of colinlon farming-mill.
wealth, tile barons that today may ie Tie castor bean has been cultivated
found in Southern Florida. Many of to some extent in this country for over
these wealthy men came from the twelve years. According to Simonds,
North, and readily adapted themselves Kansas in 185) produced 361,385 bush-
to tie changed conditions which they els from 24.145. nearly fifteen bushels
found in the South. per acre. the beans weighing 46 pounds
 Hon. James Wilson, though of Iowa, to the bushel. In Iowa the yield is fif-
has been and is a true friend of the teen to twenty-fve bushels per ae*.
South. In closing his address to the In the Southern states with a hotter
Southern farmers lie said this, and he climate and rich soil forty-five or fifty
meant what he said: bushels per acre can be raised.
 "I enjoy being down here very much. The pomnace is valuable for lertiliz-
and shall bear you in mind, and when ing purposes. The castor bean would
I go back home anything I can do for do in the South. but it is a gross feed-
the farmers of tihe South, I will do it er and must have fertile soil. It would
most gladly." not be profitable to plant It on pine
 Peter Prindle. hind; it would require so much fertllig
 Avon Park, Fla. ing as to consume the profits, but on
 rich hammocks it would probably pay.
 The Castor Bean. In South Florida its perennial growing
l ditor Florida Agriculturist: twenty-five to thirty feet high with
 The castor bean thrives in the sand-' a trunk as large as a man's body. Fur
lest soil and its culture is very simple. other North if dies down under the
The seeds germinate with difficulty, frost
owing to their thick and impervious The castor bean is inodorous and has
coating; hence nearly boiling water at first a sweetish taste, becoming
should be poured over them before sharp afterwards. lThe shells amount
planting, and they should remain in to twenty or twenty-five per cent of
this for twenty-four hours, the temper- the entire seed. The kernels contain
ature of the water in the meantime from fifty to sixty per cent. of oil
gradually lowering to that of the at- which is a higher percentage than is
mosphere. They should be planted in yiel ded y most other seeds. The best
hills two inches deep, eight or ten kinds of castor oil are produced in It-
seeds to a hill, and afterward be thin. ily; the American ranks second, and
ned out to one or at most two stalks after these in quality come the impor-
to a hill. The rows are 5 to 6 feet apart Iation from India. which, in 1894-&
with the hills two or three feet apart. miniounted to 2,679.23. gallons. In In
Between every 6th and 7th row should dia the shell is removed from the MaM