SOIL SURVEY OF THE OCALA AREA, FLORIDA. 
205 
Land values during the last few years have been steadily rising. 
New settlers from the North and West are coming in all the time, 
but these have so far only taken small tracts of colonization com¬ 
panies. Ten acres is the usual size. In case of most of the lands to 
be acquired in this way the acreage is too 1 small, especially on the 
light sandy Norfolk soils. On the better hammock lands 10 acres 
will keep the owner employed, with no need for extra labor except 
at harvesting time. In small tracts the lands sell for $20 to $30 an 
acre for the light sandy soils and as high as $50 to $75 for the ham¬ 
mock lands. The latter, however, are not on the market. The pine 
lands are cleared readily, but the hammocks, with a heavy hardwood 
growth, are expensive to clear. Large bodies of rolling sandy pine 
lands and flatwoods with the marketable-size trees removed can be 
procured at a low price—from $3 to $10 an acre. 
The farmers have been realizing good profits the last few sea¬ 
sons and are in a prosperous condition. The banking business in 
this section is increasing all the time, and a large part of the deposit 
comes from the farmers. Indications point to an increased develop¬ 
ment in this section, as the cultivated areas are rapidly being ex¬ 
tended. General farming, with trucking, offers good, substantial 
returns. 
By draining the low-lying lands of some of the flatwoods and 
low hammocks valuable trucking soils would be put in a condition 
for profitable agriculture. The draining of the poorly drained areas 
constitutes an important problem. Some of these may be drained 
easily, but others will require considerable expense. While there are 
plenty of such soils in the area, they lie so low that they are cov¬ 
ered by water much of the time. Their drainage would be a for¬ 
midable undertaking and would necessitate cooperative rather than 
individual effort. The upland soil areas need much improvement. 
Their management includes their enrichment, and this by growing 
those crops that will improve the soil and furnish organic matter, 
in which they are all mostly deficient. The poorer grades of the 
rolling sandy soils can be most advantageously utilized by reforest¬ 
ing them or by using them for stock ranges. More forage crops 
should be grown, the number of stock reduced, and the breeds im¬ 
proved. While progress is being made in most agricultural lines, 
there is still room for improvement. 
