440 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



September 



covered with framework, over which 

 millions of yards of cheese cloth are 

 stretched or miles of narrow slats are 

 laid. The soil must be prepared with 

 the utmost care, and 26 wagon loads of 

 stable manure and i y z tons of cotton- 

 seed meal per acre are thoroughly mixed 

 with it. The plants are grown from the 

 seed, which is usually planted in small 

 clearings in a swamp and under cheese 

 cloth. As soon as they reach the size 

 of young cabbage plants they are trans- 

 planted, and are set about 14 inches 

 apart in rows 2 feet apart. From 10 to 

 14 thousand plants are set to the acre. 

 Many of the fields are equipped with 

 overhead pipe lines, with sprays every 

 33 feet, the water being applied in the 

 evening. 



Where overhead irrigation is not prac- 

 ticed, the fields are divided at regular 

 intervals by wide wooden troughs. 

 These troughs are supplied from reser- 

 voirs above the field, or from pipes di- 

 rectly connected with pumping plants 

 on the streams. As soon as the plants 

 are firmly set a ' ' scooter ' ' is run be- 

 tween the rows, throwing up a flat-bot- 

 tom furrow, through which the water 

 is directed from the troughs. 



In the overhead system, now recog- 

 nized as the most perfect and satisfac- 

 tory method of artificial watering, 2-inch 

 pipes are run over the frames in parallel 

 lines about 40 feet apart and extending 

 all over the fields. At intervals of 40 

 feet a small iron pipe, the upper end of 

 which is closed with a spraying attach- 

 ment, extends upward about 4 feet above 

 the shades. When the water is turned 

 on it comes out of the sprayer in a fine 

 mist and falls like a gentle rain upon 

 the plants. Tobacco grows extremely 

 fast, in some instances attaining 9 feet 

 in 37 days, necessitating support for the 

 plants. A fair yield of Sumatra tobacco 

 in Gadsden county is 1,000 pounds to 

 the acre, although it frequently runs as 

 high as 1,500 pounds. 



The industry requires the investment 

 of large capital, gives employment to a 

 small army of colored laborers, and has 

 become a strong factor in the material 

 development of Gadsden county. At 

 present all the irrigated plantations are 

 controlled by people from the North. 



In the vicinity of Gainesville, where 

 lettuce and cucumbers are the leading 

 products of the truck farms, scientific 

 methods are employed to bring the crop 

 to early maturity. The lettuce is planted 

 in thoroughly moistened seed beds, pro- 

 tected by canvas stretched over frames, 

 and the irrigation in nearly all cases is 

 by means of sprays from overhead stand- 

 pipes. In some cases the sprays are 

 affixed to the ends of movable pipes, 

 which are turned first to one side and 

 then the other, one spray covering 20 

 feet each way. Along the north and west 

 sides of the beds large steam pipes are 

 laid as a protection against cold nights 

 and to force the growth of the plants. 

 As soon as the lettuce has a good start 

 it is heavily irrigated every day. As 

 the lettuce is marketed, cucumber plants 

 are set between the rows, so that when 

 one crop is over another is well along. 



Orange groves are irrigated in various 

 ways. One irrigator in Brevard count}' 

 uses a No. 6 hydraulic ram in a small 

 stream on his place. The stream has a 

 fall of 6 feet, and the ram lifts the water 

 through a 2-inch pipe to ^ reservoir 37 

 feet above and 400 feet from the stream. 

 From the reservoir the water is carried in 

 iron pipes by gravity to a 6-acre orange 

 grove, a small pinery, and garden. Ir- 

 rigation is by hose attached to hydrant 

 connection on main pipes. The expense 

 of operation amounts to very little, and 

 the plant has been a success for several 

 years. Some of the largest groves are 

 piped throughout with cement pipes con- 

 nected with 2-inchhydrants, to which the 

 hose is attached. In others the water is 

 carried to the trees by means of furrows. 

 Trees which are irrigated are said to 

 better hold the fruit, which does not 

 split when the rains set in. 



Irrigation from Artesian Udells. The 

 largest areas in truck irrigated by arte- 

 sian wells are in the hammock lands, 

 the soil of which is black, light, and 

 largely composed of vegetable mold, 

 though seldom very deep. Irrigation 

 has been successful in several sections 

 of pine lands, though these are not, as 

 a rule, as rich as the hard-wood ham- 

 mocks. The initial outlay for irrigation 

 by wells is large, as the land must be 

 cleared, leveled, and ditched before it 



