■4 
Vol. LVII. No. 2547. 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 19, 1898. 
81 PER YEAR. 
WINTER TOMATOES IN FLORIDA. 
HOW THE BUSINESS IS CONDUCTED. 
Is There Any Profit In It ? 
We wish to obtain all the information possible in regard to 
growing Winter tomatoes and cucumbers in southern Florida, 
what kinds to grow, cost of laDd, cultivation, fertilizers, etc., and 
best tomato-growing sections of the State. What is the average 
net profit per acre ? X. b. 
ANSWERED BY PROF. P. H. ROLFS. 
I take it that L. B. means, by southern Florida, all 
of that district lying between a line 
drawn from Tampa to Titusville, and 
will try to make my replies in accord¬ 
ance with this supposition. 
Best Section Last Year. —Last 
year, the vegetable growers of the Mana¬ 
tee section, and the section.about Lemon 
City and southward on the east coast, 
made the greatest amount of money. 
Some sections in the interior, especially 
about Winter Haven and Bartow, were 
also quite successful. As a whole, the 
season was unusually dry, and it was 
necessary to have either an irrigation 
plant or land that was only a few feet 
above constant water level. The latter 
conditions prevailed, especially on the 
east coast. In the Manatee section, the 
growers are well.supplied with artesian 
wells. Had the season been a moist one, 
with plenty of rain at proper intervals, 
these sections would not have flourished 
as much as they did under the circum¬ 
stances. It is fair to presume that all 
years will not prove as dry as last year 
did, thus making vegetable growing in 
all of that section known as south 
Florida fairly remunerative. From this 
it should not be inferred that all land in 
this section will make good vegetable 
land. Some of it is too poor and thirsty 
to grow even oak trees, while every 
county in the State has a considerable 
quantity of land that is rich, and of 
just the right consistency for vegetable 
growing. 
Favorite Varieties. — Among the 
tomatoes that are favorites, we may 
mention Beauty, Stone, Acme and Dwarf 
Champion, varying somewhat with the 
conditions and with the cultivation pur¬ 
sued by the grower. Good tomato land 
can be obtained for a price ranging from 
$10 to $200 per acre. The cost of clear¬ 
ing land will vary considerably, from $20 
to about $80 per acre. Those lands which 
cost most to clear are, of course, the best 
lands. 
Cultivation. —In many of the tomato¬ 
growing sections, the cultivation has 
been most desultory. For example, on 
visiting a field that was affected with 
Tomato rust, a neighbor was found 
planting tomatoes. He had sent his 
laborers into the field, that had not been 
plowed since the previous crop. The 
first man proceeded down an imaginary 
row, ax in hand, whacking it into the 
soil as often as he thought a plant should 
be set. A second man followed with a 
bunch of tomatoes, drawn out leggy, 
about 12 inches long, in his hand, stuck 
one into each hole made by the ax, 
pressed the soil together with his feet, 
and continued. In due course of time, 
these tomatoes were to be plowed, fer¬ 
tilized and marketed. Of course, the 
result was not very satisfactory to the 
tomato grower. On the other- hand, we have some 
tomato growers who give their fields the greatest at¬ 
tention, prune the plants, stake them, and plow as 
often as any one could desire it to be plowed. From 
this you will see that the cost of cultivation varies 
from a few dollars to $20 or $30 per acre. 
Fertilizing'. —The amount of fertilizer required is 
as variable as the amount of labor given to a field. 
Rich, palmetto hammocks will yield an abundant crop 
without the addition of a pound of fertilizer. Indeed, 
they are fertile enough to give the plant all the food 
which it can assimilate profitably. If, however, we 
take a second-grade Florida pine land, it will cost from 
$20 to $80 for fertilizer per acre to raise a good crop. 
Profit. —The net profit is an exceedingly elusive 
thing. One may think that he has it down fine, and 
then the next year, be beaten clear out. While the 
cost of production is as fixed as the cost of production 
in New York, the market price of tomatoes is ex¬ 
ceedingly variable. The amount of tomatoes that can 
be grown on an acre is three or four 
times as much as in New York, because 
we are not limited by frost. We are 
simply limited by the amount of ferti¬ 
lizer that the man can afford to apply, 
and the market price of the tomatoes. 
That is. every tomato grower continues 
to ship his tomatoes as long as they are 
giving him net returns to exceed the cost 
of marketing. This means that he will 
ship as long as the tomatoes of his neigh¬ 
bors 100 or 200 miles north are not in the 
market; but as soon as the latter are in 
the market, the price must go down to 
that for which the northern section can 
afford to sell. 
If the actual figures obtained by the 
tomato growers in southern Florida last 
year should be placed upon paper, it 
would look more like some hyperbolous 
story or the dream of the most visionary 
person. This condition was brought 
about by the fact that, during the latter 
portion of January, a cold wave swept 
across all northern Florida, and killed 
out nearly all of the vegetables, almost 
as far south as Lake Worth. Then, as 
stated above, the dry season followed, 
limiting the acreage greatly, so that, 
during the first and second weeks of 
February, beans were bringing over $10 
net per bushel crate, and the tomatoes 
were bringing $2 a crate after freight 
and commission had been paid. These 
figures continued until the tomatoes and 
beans, which were planted during the 
early part of February, came into bear¬ 
ing, when they declined slightly, but 
continued to be profitable until about 
May 1, giving a shipping season of about 
90 days. But this may not happen again 
in many years. 
It costs no more for labor in raising 
tomatoes than it does in New York, but 
it costs from $20 to $40 per acre for 
freight and commission to put them on 
the market. Some men have made con¬ 
siderable money in vegetable growing in 
Florida, but there is scarcely a line of 
horticulture in which one can sink $50 
per acre in less time if he be thought¬ 
less or indifferent. What has been said 
of tomatoes is true, in a measure, of 
cucumbers, though cucumbers are a little 
harder to bring into a marketable con¬ 
dition. They need heavier soil, a little 
more moisture, and are subject to a num¬ 
ber of insects and diseases that are dif¬ 
ficult to control. 
Florida Agricultural Exp. Station. 
R. N.-Y.—These Florida tomatoes have 
very materially reduced the profit upon 
tomatoes grown under glass in the North. 
They supply the general market in the 
Winter months and are, as a whole, of 
excellent quality. Forced tomat es must 
be of a very high quality and fine ap¬ 
pearance, to be remunerative. 
TWO-YEAR-OLD CHARLTON GRAPE VINE. Fig. 354. 
See Ruralisms, Page 786. 
