Tomato Growing in Dade County. 
BY REV. E. V. BLACKMAN, OF MIAMI. 
The conditions that surround the 
trucker in North Florida, both in soil 
and climate, are very different from 
those confronting men in the same oc¬ 
cupation in the tropical regions of the 
State. It is also evident that those liv¬ 
ing on the West Coast, or in the cen¬ 
tral part of the State, in the same lati¬ 
tude as those living on the East Coast, 
have different soil and climatic condi¬ 
tions to meet, so that it would be im¬ 
possible to cover the entire ground in 
one paper. 
But, fortunately, we have on this com¬ 
mittee Mr. White and Mr. Healy, who 
will represent the northern sections of 
the State. 
The season just passing has been one 
of the most successful since the opening 
of the tropical part of the East Coast, 
by the completion of the Florida East 
Coast Railway to Miami. To say that 
there have been no failures would be a 
misstatement. But when we say that 
there have been fewer failures and 
greater succeses than ever before, we are 
simply stating facts as we find them. 
EXPERIMENTAL. 
Six years ago the lower East Coast 
was a wilderness. The extensive acre¬ 
age of alluvial prairie land lay as it came 
from the hand of the Creator, having lit¬ 
tle or no value, while the forest remain¬ 
ed in its primeval state, except for a set¬ 
tler here and there, who either desired 
to get beyond the pale of civilization, or 
a more daring spirit, who looked forward 
to the time when the lands would be¬ 
come valuable. The first crops of 
vegetables planted were entirely experi¬ 
mental. Some succeeded, others failed. 
There was a sufficient number of suc¬ 
cesses, so that the next year there were 
many hundred acres under cultivation, 
the growers on a whole meeting with 
phenomenal success. Each year since 
the business has increased, until this 
year there will be sent to market in the 
neighborhood of 500,000 crates of to¬ 
matoes, besides Irish potatoes, egg¬ 
plant, peppers, English peas, cabbage, 
etc. Prices have ruled high, as a whole. 
Among the most noted failures with 
which we have met have been those 
made by old vegetable growers, who for 
years had been growing and shipping- 
vegetables from the northern parts of the 
State. Some of the greatest successes 
have been made by those who for the 
first time made battle with mother earth 
for a livelihood. But the day of experi¬ 
ment in a great measure has passed. 
The up-to-date trucker, whether he 
plants on pine, prairie or muck land, 
plants with the assurance that he will 
succeed. In the past five years many 
