19- EAST FLORIDA FLATWOODS. 337 



much less improved land than the western; but the explanation is 

 probably that the most fertile soils are too wet to cultivate without 

 artificial drainage, which has not been undertaken very extensively 

 here as yet. 



The leading crops in 19 12, in order of value, were as follows. 

 In the western division, sea-island cotton, strawberries, corn, pea- 

 nuts, beans, sweet potatoes, sugar-cane, velvet beans, (grass) hay, 

 oats, oranges, Irish potatoes, field peas (including hay thereof), mil- 

 let, tomatoes, pecans, upland cotton, peaches, watermelons. In the 

 eastern division, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, oranges, 

 (grass) hay, lettuce, beans, sugar-cane, onions, cabbage, peppers, 

 grapes, tomatoes, peaches, field peas (including hay thereof), pears, 

 watermelons, strawberries, sea-island cotton, figs, oats, pecans, vel- 

 vet beans, cantaloupes, peanuts. 



In this region more than anywhere else in northern Florida is 

 exhibited the tendency — much more pronounced farther south — ^to 

 raise special crops, particularly vegetables, in restricted areas. The 

 order of importance of the several crops is very different in the two 

 divisions, and although soil no doubt has something to do with it, 

 there are also some complex human factors to be taken into con- 

 sideration. It would be rather difficult to explain, for instance, why 

 sea-island cotton ranks first in the western division and 19th in the 

 eastern, strawberries second in the western and i8th in the eastern, 

 and Irish potatoes first in the eastern and 12th in the western. The 

 special vegetable crops bring a much higher return per acre than 

 ordinary field crops, and the total value of agricultural products 

 in the East Florida flatwoods is considerably greater than that of 

 some other regions which have a larger area in cultivation. 



