SOUTHERN HORTICULTURE— II. 



NOT ALL GOLD WORK AND BRAINS AS NECESSARY AS IN THE NORTH CUCUMBERS UNDER GLASS TOMA- 

 TOES UNDER CLOTH IRRIGATION. 



AN ACCOUNT OF AN EDITORIAL JOURNEY. 



^LORIDA, the land of the or- 

 ange and eternal bloom, has 

 been written of until the bud- 

 ding minds of young America 

 have received the impression 

 that the state horticulturally 

 would be of little value with- 

 out these two things. But the 

 Florida of which I write is the state of other fruits 

 and of vegetables grown for home and northern 

 markets. 



Florida is full of promise, and when its inflated land 

 valuations and wonderfully told visions of a land over- 

 flowing with milk and honey, shall have reached their 

 level by the action of common sense, she will rest on a 

 foundation sufficiently strong to hold the weight of a 

 solid and prosperous commonwealth. 



To the mind of the average northern consumer of 

 Floridian products, fruit and vegetable growers in that 

 section are money-kings, and made so by the enormous 

 profits lying between the cost of production and the 

 price to the consumer. But this profit is largely chi- 

 merical, as the grower abundantly testifies. As a matter 

 of fact, the difference of profit between products of 

 Florida (which can be grown north) shipped to northern 

 markets, and those grown north for home markets, is 

 simply the difference which goes with the natural ad- 

 vantages of the section in climate. And, in too many 

 cases, this difference of profit is consumed by rapacious 

 commission men and transportation companies. I was 

 shown several bills of returns for products shipped to 

 New York, of early vegetables, where the grower did 

 not receive the cost of his packages. 



All this goes to show that our brothers of Florida are 

 not able to sit idly by and gather gold. Success then is 

 gained by the same methods as elsewhere, and has for 

 its strongest foundation energy and perseverence. 



I was much interested in the efforts of Thomas H. 

 Hastings, at Merryfield, Florida, some nine miles from 

 St. Augustine, in growing vegetables for both home and 

 northern markets. His success is worthy of record from 

 the fact that he has utilized land generally considered 

 as almost if not quite worthless for gardening. The 

 name given to the area of land operated by Mr. Hast- 

 ings — "Prairie Garden Sub-Irrigating Farm," excites 

 curiosity, and the results of examination shows the 

 correctness of the principle on which the place was es- 

 tablished and is being worked. I regret that owing to 



perverseness of the kodak I am unable to illustrate the 

 many noteworthy things at which I took a "snap-shot." 



Mr. Hastings is making a specialty of cucumbers 

 grown under glass for the half dozen large hotels in 

 St. Augustine. His "cuke" house is 156 feet long by 

 22 feet wide, and the seeds are planted on raised benches. 

 As the vines grow they are trained to wire netting, so 

 that the " cukes " hang down. He had used no artificial 

 heat up to the time I visited him ; the water from his 

 wells supplying the need in the manner described by 

 Mr. Hastings. "If there is a continuous cold spell I 

 flood the basin in the bottom of the house (this basin is 

 about two feet deep and runs under each bench) with 

 water from a four-inch artesian well which runs at a 

 temperature of 79 degrees. I keep this stream running 

 through the house at night, which keeps the house war- 

 mer by 20 degrees than it is outside. The water is four 

 feet below the surface that sustains the vines, and this 

 keeps the earth moist and the air warm." 



English varieties are grown exclusively ; Duke of 

 Edinburgh, Lord Kenyon's Favorite, and Telegraph be- 

 ing the favorite sorts. Last winter the first cucumbers 

 were cut on January 17 and continued till the last of 

 March. The varieties used grow to an enormous length, 

 some of them 30 inches long. I saw three specimens 

 yet on the vines May i, measuring respectively 18, 22 

 and 23 inches. The prices realized range from $6 a 

 dozen early in the season to $2.50 toward the close, and 

 no difficulty is experienced in selling all he can grow. 

 The varieties named are seedless and of most delicious 

 flavor, appealing to the palates of the wealthy people 

 who winter at the palatial St. Augustine hotels. In 

 April the cucumber vines give place to cantaloupes from 

 which a handsome revenue is obtained. 



Tomatoes are another hobby with Mr. Hastings, and 

 he is turning it into money rapidly and apparently 

 with ease. Five rows of frames, five feet high at the 

 highest point and averaging 150 feet in length, yield 

 crops which mean money every time. Of course it 

 would be out of the question to cover this area with 

 glass, so waterproof cloth is used, which, being fasten- 

 ed to immense rollers is rolled down over the plants on 

 frosty nights. At the foundation of these industries 

 and the 40 odd acres in potatoes, cabbages and other 

 vegetables is the system of sub-irrigation. 



In brief, a four-inch artesian well, 239 feet deep and 

 with a volume arising with such force that it is easily 

 carried to the top floors of the house fifty feet distant, 

 is the chief factor in the scheme. The irrigating is done 



