2 l6 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
only a plow to break it up to render it 
ready for cultivation.” 
“As before stated, last August, Hast¬ 
ings was not, but soon after he put in an 
appearance, and judging from what lie 
has accomplished, we should say a good 
deal of Hastings has been done.” 
“He built his house and barns among 
the pines and used the prairie land for his 
garden, and as we walk around the prem¬ 
ises and see the tomato plants loaded 
with fruit, some growing, too, on a land 
that has never felt a plow; cucumber vines 
that are about through bearing, yet still 
boast of ‘cukes’ over two feet in length, 
cabbage in huge piles that is being fed to 
‘razor backs' instead of being shipped to 
fill the coffers of the railroads and com¬ 
mission merchants, we can’t help but won¬ 
der, how did he do it all.” 
“We soon dicovered the great factor of 
it all in a four-inch artesian well. This 
well is but 250 feet deep, yet the volume 
that arises is enormous and with such 
force that no pumps are needed to elevate 
the water to any part of the house or 
barn. The temperature of the water re¬ 
mains at about the same (79 degrees) the 
year around, which is a great advantage 
in gardening during the winter season. 
“Close to the well the ‘cuke’ house is 
built, being 156x22, containing four beds 
which run the whole length. This house 
is covered with glass and built similar to 
greenhouses North, only that it does not 
have to be so strongly protected against 
cold and has no steam heating apparatus. 
The heating of this house during the cold 
spells that occur during December, Jan¬ 
uary and February is quite novel as well 
as original, and we venture the assertion 
that nowhere in the world is it done the 
same way. When the ‘signs’ indicate that 
a cold night is approaching, the well is 
opened, and the stream of water is con- 
% 
ducted to the ‘cuke’ house where it flows 
under the beds in a stream from three to 
six inches deep. This current of water 
keeps the temperature at an average of 60 
degrees on cold nights, frequently making 
a difference of from 20 to 30 degrees be¬ 
tween inside and outside.” 
>!< ij< 
“Here we saw the finest potatoes that 
we have ever seen growing in the State. 
Large size, smooth skin and thoroughly 
ripe. All this was done with the aid of 
irrigation, the artesian well furnishing the 
supply, although nearly half a mile off. 
Irrigation is done by means of ditches 
dug along one side of the field. When c 
certain piece of land is needing water, the 
trenches on both sides of it are dammed 
up and the water is allowed to fill the in¬ 
tervening trenches till level with the sur¬ 
face, and is then dammed in and left to 
percolate through the soil, which it will 
do in a very short time.” 
“Wle have reserved to the last one 
grand feature of the irrigated land and 
one which will, we believe, ere long*, bring 
many a dollar to our borders. This is 
raising rice. After vegetables are all har¬ 
vested, and the land plowed, it is planted 
to rice and the water turned on. In a 
great deal shorter time than one would 
think, the ground is thoroughly saturated 
and the rice soon sprouts and a good 
stand is the result. Thus tlie land can be 
kept in continued use the year round. All 
