JANUARY 15, 1915 



85 



winter months, and that possibly you have some 

 knowledge of that State, I would ask: 



Would you advise a young man to go to Florida 

 to spend the winter i 



Which part of the State is best as regards climate! 

 Are the people Christians? Is there any work! 



About what would it cost to go and spend a winter 

 there! 



I will give you in short some information as to 

 myself. I am twenty-three years old ; was raised on 

 the farm, free from any appetite for liquor or tobacco, 

 and can give reference as to my character, such as 

 The Farmers and Merchants Bank, Winchester, Ind., 

 and as many more as you would want. 



Winchester, Ind. Alva O. Weimer. 



I would not on general principles advise a young 

 man to come to Florida now, with a view of getting 

 work. The war has hurt us in two ways — cut off 

 potash for fertilizer, and cut off the market for cot- 

 ton. The climate is desirable here because there is 

 seldom any killing frost. There is also a large body 

 of nice Christian people here. A trip here and 

 back would cost you toward $50.00, and board to- 

 ward $1.00 a day. You can, however, rent a room, 

 or even live in a tent, and save a lot. If you have 

 no trouble in getting work where you are, you might 

 be able to find a job here. Handy skilled men are 

 always wanted almost everywhere. A. I. Root. 



In answerinsT the above I realize most 



vividly how hai'd i( is (o give advice to one 

 we do not know. One who is never at a loss 

 for something to do, and one who delights 

 in helping the %vorld along, will find great 

 opportunities here in Florida; but one who 

 deju'iids on some one else to find him a job, 

 and who is for the most part planning only 

 for self, had better not come here, or, I 

 almost said, go anywhere. He had better 

 stay where his neighbors and relations can 

 look after him. One who is expert in mak- 

 ing things grow, and who can, by watching 

 experts, learn to get like results, will find 

 this a grand place to work and study. I 

 would, however, advise such a one to have 

 a little money ahead, for he may have to 

 take time and expense before he begins to 

 get returns. Go over my talks in this de- 

 partment for the last four or five yeai-s 

 before you start out and you will find it a 

 good investment. 



MIGE=PME§§UME (CAEDEMNG 



CASSAVA ; NOT ONLY GOOD FOR " CHICKENS '' 

 BUT ALSO FOR FOLKS. 



A year ago, when we reached our Florida 

 home about Nov. 1, I mentioned asking 

 Wesley how those big spreading trees came 

 right in a prominent place in our garden; 

 and when he replied it was the cassava I 

 could hardly believe all that growth had 

 come from the little sprouts just peeping 

 out of the ground six months before. Well, 

 after giving some of the roots to the chick- 

 ens I became so enthused that we used all 

 our spare wood for making cuttings; and 

 when we left Florida, the last of April, we 

 had planted two beds, perhaps 200 feet long 

 by about 10 feet wide. I have told you how 

 we sawed up the branches into pieces about 

 as long as corncobs, and placed them close 

 together in a " cutting-bed " until they 

 started to grow. When each one had sent 

 up a little shoot they were i)lanted in the 

 long beds four feet apart, making three 

 rows — one down the middle and one on 

 each side. Well, when we got liere again in 

 the fall I had another " happy surpri.«ie " — 

 two beautiful groves of bright-green tlu'ifty- 

 looking trees with scarcely a failure. One 

 of these beds was on the poorest dry sandy 

 spot we have on the premises, and I told 

 Wesley I felt sure the cassava wouldn't 

 amount to any thing, as we had tried differ- 

 ent stuff, and every year it was " no good." 

 He declared, however, cassava did best on 

 poor sandy land, well drained, and there 

 was a deep ditch right close to the fence, for 



carrying off the storm water. Before set- 

 ting the plants we did give the bed a little 

 poultry manure and some fertilizer right in 

 the furrow when the cuttings were planted. 

 The little trees soon shaded the ground so 

 that vei-y little cultivation was needed. 



About the middle of December I decided 

 to use the bed whei'e my first cassava-trees 

 grew — the ones that had been growing two 

 summers, and told Wesley to give the roots 

 to the chickens and forgot all about it. As 

 he started home at night he was eating 

 something that looked like a big peeled 

 turnip. It was a slice from one of the 

 cassava roots. 



" Why, Wesley, is that good to eat raw ? " 



" Sure ! and it is good to eat baked, just 

 as you bake potatoes. Try some and see." 



Now, the government bulletin says that, 

 while the two-year-old roots are much larg- 

 er, they are not as sweet and tender for 

 stock as those of only one summer's growth. 

 I went and looked at the root where Wesley 

 got his "slice," and it was bigger and longer 

 tlian my leg. I got the ax and supposed it 

 would take quite a blow to sever the root; 

 but the ax went through and down into the 

 giound, as the tuber was so tender and 

 brittle. It took quite a while to bake; but 

 1 was i-ejoiced to find it a nutritious and 

 quite delicious food. Mrs. Root, however, 

 doesn't quite agree with me. She says I 

 always like any thing new; and jierhaps it 

 is true that I always rejoice in finding some- 

 thing I had never come across before in the 



