January, 1911 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



263 



or 6 inches in diameter) is laid along 

 the highest side of the field at a 

 depth of 14 to 20 inches. This main 

 tile is water-tight and has pockets 

 about 20 feet apart. From these pock- 

 ets ordinary three-inch tile are laid 

 across the field and into pockets on 

 the opposite side. 



When you open the pockets in the main 

 the water will flow into any or all the 

 cross tiles. When the water gets to the 

 other side of the field you can close the 

 pockets on that side and the water will 

 enter the soil through the spaces between 

 the tile. If necessary, the land can be 

 flooded so as to destroy nematodes, 

 which are serious enemies in unirrigated 

 soil in the South. 



Yet there is no danger of getting sour 

 soil or bringing harmful salts to the sur- 

 face because the tiling acts also as a 

 drainage system. There is an open 

 ditch along the lower side of the field, 

 or better, a large waste pipe with a cut- 

 off valve or pocket, so that the land can 

 be dried sufficiently for cultivation simply 

 by opening a valve. The rainfall is 

 about 54 inches, and most of this comes 

 within 100 days. In humid regions, 

 it is necessary to guard against flooding, 

 even on land as sandy as that of 

 Florida. 



COST OF A FIVE-ACRE FARM 



You cannot buy drained, sweetened 

 and cultivated land for less than $1,000 an 

 acre, but in three years you can develop a 

 farm from wild land within four miles 

 of the steamer wharf costing $150 an 

 acre. Cleaning, grubbing, plowing and 

 harrowing costs $125 to $150 an acre. 

 Bleaching boards of pecky cypress cost 

 $14 a 1000 and 25,000 to 30,000 feet are 

 necessary to bleach an acre. The boards 

 last about ten years, and therefore 10 

 per cent, or more of their cost should be 

 charged against every celery crop for 

 depreciation. Therefore a man needs 



Wild land wltMn the artesian belt and within four miles of market now costs $150 to $300 an acre and 



the cost of clearing is about $150 



capital enough for building a house, for 

 three years' living expenses and for 



Five acres wild land in artesian belt . . 

 Cleaning, grubbing, plowing, harrowing 



Fencing about 120 rods at 60c 



Irrigation and drainage system complete 

 (Well 1 1 20. Tiling $100 an acre) . . 



$ 7SO 



750 

 72 



620 



52,192 



COST OF PRODUCING CROPS 



It is difficult to separate the expenses 

 of the lettuce and celery crops but the 

 estimates are about as follows, per acre: 



Lettuce Celery 



Fertilizer $ 80 to $100 Fertilizer $100 



Labor 80 to 100 Labor 100 



Harvesting 100 Harvesting 250 



Depreciation 



of boards 40 



to 

 to 



to 



$120 

 ISO 



SO 



Total $260 to $300 Totals I490 



to 



$570 



If you wish to verify these yields and 

 prices see the Tenth Biennial Report of the 

 Commissioners of Agriculture of Florida, 

 page 107, for the year ending April ist, 

 1908. Or see the Florida Quarterly 

 Bulletin for April, 1908, page 129. 



Of course, you cannot expect the whole 

 county to make 422 per cent, every year. 

 Undoubtedly that season was a favorable 

 one for lettuce. Some years the lettuce 

 is frozen, but even if the lettuce crop is 

 a failure the celery crop alone pays 100 

 per cent, to 300 per cent, on the whole 

 investment. 



The man who owns a five-acre celery 

 farm at Sanford is about the most in- 

 dependent creature on earth. His yearly 

 balance sheet is somewhat like this: 



Think of making $1,000 an acre from one crop with 

 three months' work 



Harvesting costs about 25 cents in- 

 cluding the crates, of which 400 are re- 

 quired for the lettuce crop and 1,000 for 

 celery. 



YIELDS AND PRICES 



Here is the record of Orange County 

 (including Sanford) for a single year: 



Lettuce Celery 



Number of acres 139 209 



Number of crates ' 97, 180 209,185 



Value $I32>S87 $402,300 



Crates per acre 699 1,000 



Value per crate 1.36 i . 44 



Value per acre 93S-86 1,924.88 



Just think of a whole county averaging 

 $2,860 an acre from two crops which 

 are planted and harvested in six months. 

 It probably cost $670 an acre to produce 

 these crops, but even if you take my 

 figures (which are the highest I have 

 seen), viz. $870 for producing the two 

 crops, there is a net profit of over $2,000 

 an acre. 



Celery looks mighty good in winter. Hard to re- 

 sist In March 



