ECONOMIC SURVEYS OF COUNTY HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. 85) 
$15,000, or about $517 per acre. <A brick road is to be built by this_ 
place. 
A tract of 40 acres one-fourth mile off Manatee-Sarasota Road (see 
Pl. XXXIV, fig. 2), 6 miles north of Sarasota, which was unsalable 
before the roads were improved, recently sold for $2,600, or $65 per 
acre. : 
Between Sarasota and Fruitville, along the improved road, a 10- 
acre tract was being held for $2,500, or $250 per acre. 
On Manatee-Sarasota Road, about 2 miles south of Manatee, 15 
acres of uncleared land was offered in 1913 for $2,500, or $166 per 
acre. | | 
Another tract of 55 acres, 44 miles out of Bradentown, on the 
Palma Sola Road, which sold at the time of completion of the road 
for $20 per acre, was again sold 2 years later without additional 
improvements for $50 per acre. On the Palma Sola Road, about 54 
miles from Bradentown, a tract containing 160 acres was originally 
set to grapefruit. When the road was improved the owner sold 40 
acres for $1,000, and this has since been subdivided and resold for 
over $6,000. 
A tract of a little more than 400 acres along the road from Kenton 
to Parrish, about 2 miles above Ellenton and 14 miles off the road, 
recently sold for $20 per acre. The same land was offered 2 years ago 
for $10 per acre, but a purchaser could not be found. | 
Additional examples of the increased land values might be given, 
but the foregoing statements are sufficient to show that the increases 
have been remarkable and that the improvement of the roads has 
probably done more to bring this about than any other factor. 
From all of the information available it appears that there have been 
added from 50 to 100 per cent or at least $15 per acre to the selling 
price of all lands within one-half mile of the new roads, a total of 
approximately $611,000, which is more than twice the value of the 
bonds issued. | 
- EFFECT OF ROAD IMPROVEMENT ON TRAFFIC. 
To ascertain the volume of traffic on the improved roads and the 
relative cost of hauiing before and after the roads were improved, 
information was obtained as to the farm production durig the years 
1912 and 1913. It was found that in 1912, 3,720 acres of land were 
devoted to the raising of vegetables and 4,950 acres were devoted to 
eroves of citrus fruit in bearing. In 1913, while there had been no 
material increase in the citrus-fruit acreage, the area devoted to 
vegetables had increased to 5,195 acres. The yield of tomatoes alone 
during the season of 1913-14 was 450,000 crates or 11,250 tons. 
The yield of cabbage was 128,000 crates or 6,400 tons. Celery 
comprised 336,000 crates or 13,440 tons, and citrus fruits yielded a 
