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THE SOUTHERN WORLD, OCTOBER 1, 1882.
WritMn •p*cltllr (or the Southern World.
HOME LIFE IN FLORIDA,
BY HXLKK HAECOUBT.
Fourth Paper.
•• whet Will It Cost?"
We were talking about hammock lands in
our last paper, and about the relative desir
ability of these, and pine lands.
Undoubtedly, the former are the richer
lands at the start, but their fertility is of a
deceptive sort; that is, as we have already
intimated, it is not lasting.
Trees and vegetables grow finely for sev
eral years, but after that, every year in
creases the need of fertilizing hammock
land, while with pine lands it is just the re
verse; they are poorer at the outset, but
improve steadily with each year's cultiva
tion.
Then, too, as we have also said before,
hammock land is much more expensive than
the pine; where the latter can be bad of
best quality, for from ten to twenty dollars
an acre, the former is held at fifty to seventy-
five or even one hundred dollars.
The expense of clearing the land prepara
tory to cultivation must also be taken into
account.
The hammock is full of underbrush,
young trees, vines, roots and palmetto; all
these must not only be cutdown, and either
burned or piled up to decay and furnish by
and by nourishing food for the future grove,
but the numberless roots must be grubbed
up at no slight expenditure of time, or
money; time, if the settler is a strong man,
able and willing to work ; money, if he has
to hire the clearing done for him.
It does not cost less than thirty dollars,
oftener fifty, to clear an acre of hammock
land, ns it should be cleared ; and for a year
or two afterward the fight against the up-
springing roots must be waged unceasingly
or else the clearing will go back to its origi
nal state, and all the toil and money already
expended be thrown away.
In clearing a piece of hammock for a
grove, it is only the underbusli that should
be got rid of entirely; some of the grand
old oaks should be left standing to flourish
as of old, betore civilization bad dreamed of
intruding upon their time-honored domains;
the growing orange trees will need the pro
tecting shelter of their wide spreading arms
as a shield from high winds; the too great
mid-day heat and from possible frosts; very
few realize the importance of this subject;
we shall have more to say about it here
after, in its proper place.
Two or three years ago pine land could be*
bought in settled localities at from five to
ten dollars an acre, now, they are held at ten
to twenty-five, in the same places and for
the same lands.
There is an important point that should
be borne in mind by every settler coming to
this State, and that is, how he is to get his
fruits and other crops to market, and where
he is to buy the provisions necessary for his
family.
These are questions that cannot be too
carefully considered, for of what use would
the best lands and heaviest crops be to their
owner, if he were compelled to let fruit and
vegetables rot on the ground, because there
was no way of transporting them to a profi
table market?
Or where would be the comfort of a home
if every pound of coflee, tea, sugar and the
host of other things indispensable to the well
being of a civilized family, were only to be
had by hauling them by horse powei, over
rough sandy lands for many weary miles?
And so if good lands, inaccessible to trans
portation lines, either in the present or in
the near future, should be offered to an in
coming stranger at five dollars an acre, we
would say to him, “Refuse the offer, rather
buy less land at quadruple the price; where
the markets for your produce may be easily
reached, where the necessities of life are at
hand, and where you can obtain farming
tools, and fertilizers without ruinous freight
age.
It is a fatal mistake to settle on land mere
ly, because it is nominally cheap; really de
sirable pine lands cannot be bought now-a-
days, as a rule, at least from private owners,
for less than fifteen to twenty dollars per
acre.
There are still some good tracts of land
scattered about to be bought from the State,
or United States Government, for, from one
dollar and a quarter to two dollars and a
half per acre, but these and homestead lands
—for which a five years’ residence entitles
the settler to a warrantee deed—are becom
ing scarcer every day.
In this matter of selecting lands upon
which to make a horns and a grove, too much
care cannot be given.
The class of land which is the most availa
ble and also the most desirable in all respects
is that called “high pine lands" and these
are to be found in every county in the State
except Dade and Monroe.
The growth of ti mber on tbis land is es
pecially, as its name denotes, pine; with
here and there small oaks, shrabs, wild per
simmons, hickory and a few other treeB,
sometimes solitary, but more frequently in
groups, and when the latter occurs it is
called “scrub hammock."
The rule is that when tall, straight pine
trees are found large in size, and about sev
enty to the acre, and no undergrowth but
the famed wire grass, the land is first qual
ity ; where the small oak trees are scattered
thinly about^it is second rate, and where
the oaks surpass the pines in number, the
land is less desirable bplng third rate.
There is something to be said however,
even for the latter class. It is very poor at
first it is true, but it responds very quickly
to fertilizers, and even the poorest of it can
in time, be brought into the highest state of
cultivation and improved year by year.
One does not require as much land for a
farm in Florida, as at the north, for several
crops may be taken from the same acre in
one year; if a moderate sized grove, say of
five acres, is the desideratum of the settler,,
and just enough land besides to raise fodder
for the horse, and vegetables for his family,
ten acres, exclusive of the grove, will be
ample.
There is only one way of clearing ham
mock land, and that we have already men
tioned.
There arc, however, several ways of pre
paring pine land for cultivation.
Oue way is to girdle the trees, which dead
en them, and puts an immediate stop to the
great drain their wide spreading roots make
upon the plant food contained in the soil.
The trees are left standing and then the
land is ready for fencing and ploughing; in
a few months the decaying bark and limbs
begin to fall upon the ground, and continue
so for several years, and the branches must
either be carried away from time to time,
or else become an eyesore, and a constant
annoyance in cultivation.
The first cost of this method of "clearing”
is very little, only about two dollars an acre,
or even less, but it is very likely to cost
more in the end than it saved in the begin
ning.
After a few years time, when the orange
grove is fairly under way, the deadened
trees will begin to fall after heavy wind,
or a soaking rain, down they crash, now
here, now there, and as they are not noted
for judgment they are just as likely as not
to comedown on an orange tree, and put it
beyond the pale of recognition.
And then, it must be chopped up, and
either hauled away or burned ; the expense
and trouble of doing which are just as great
as they would have been at first, plus the
loss of some of your best orange trees.
The claim made that the dropping sap,
bark and branches of the pine trees left to
decay on the ground, furnished a valuable
fertilizer, is a specious one, and even if one
is willing to have his grove strewn over with
branches that trips up his horse, and inter
fere with the plough, the amount of nutri
ment thus given to the soil is so small that
a few cart loads of rotten sap and grass
hauled from outside and spread around the
orange trees would far surpass it altogether.
We don’t consider the gain even considering
the small first cost, at all compensates for the
after-clap of falling pine trees, and crushed
orange trees.
Another and a better way is to cut down
the trees, chop them up in convenient
lengths, pile and burn them. Tbis method
costa from twelve to eighteen dollars per
acre, according to the number of trees to be
disposed of, and of the amount of “small
deer" in the shape of bushes and young
oaks to be grubbed up by the roots.
But then, the stumps of the pine trees are
left in the ground, and it is a sad mistake
to leave them there as so many do. They
are not only a constant eyesore—that is the
least of it—but no matter how often and
how completely the field is cultivated, these
stumps scattered all over the grove will har
bor ants and weeds, especially that curse of
cultivated fields iu the South, called maiden
cane grass. It is almost impossible to erad
icate that grass where it becomes establish
ed. Its roots penetrate the ground to the
depth of several feet and every joint makes
a new plant. For this enemy, the pine
stumps afford a strong rallying point, and it
is simply impossible to destroy it while the
stumps remain.
Even if the maiden cane can be kept at
bay, as the orange trees grow, the stumps
interfere with their proper cultivation.
When the orange trees become large the
stumps cannot well be burned out on ac
count of damage to the trees. They must
be removed by cutting out, which is very
laborious and expensive.
Better by far to burn them out before the
trees are planted, and have your land clear
and smooth and no broken lines in your av
enues of orange trees. Stumps often stand
just where you want to plant a tree, there
fore, it is always best to have a clear course.
It will cost from fifteen to twenty cents
each, to get out the stumps, but it is cheaper
in the end.
Another plan of removing tiees which
costs less, and is quite effectual as the other,
is to attack the tree at once at the root A
hole is dug on one side of the tree embrac
ing about one half its circumference. The
roots on that side are all cut off, fire is then
applied and when the tap root is burned off
the tree topples over dragging out the roots
on the opposite side. So here are tree,
stump and roots got rid of all at one opera
tion. It remains then to burn up the tree,
fill up the hole and the land is ready for the
plough for all time to come, no more falling
branches, no trees, no stumps.
This process costs from twenty to thirty
dollars per acre, not more, not so much in
deed, as first cutting and burning the trees,
and then digging out and burning the
stumps.
The land cleared, plowing comes next in
order. This can be done for three dollars
per acre, not a high charge for breaking up
new land, as it is no easy or quick work even
in our light Florida soil.
Rails for fencing are split from the pine
trees, at a cost of one dollar per hundred.
It is well to have the rails split before the
trees are burned, as, among the trees cut
down there will be found many fit for split
ting. No matter how plentiful wood may
be for the time being, it is not wise to waste
wbat will be needed later on. Another
thing we would note in this connection;
among the fallen pines will be found many
logs suitable for household fuel, and these
should be stacked up for future use.
Hauling the rails and building the fence
will cost fifty cents per hundred. The total
cost of fencing one acre is sixteen dollars
and fifty cents.
And now, having answered the question of
“what, will It cost" to clear and fence one
acre—let us look at the next query. What
will it cost to build a house? This is a
question difficult to answer for the same
reason that it is difficult to give the exact
size of the proverbial "piece of chalk."
A poor man, one who is actually pressed
by poverty, can do as many of our now
wealthy settlers did—live in a tent, which
can be done in this genial climate, or build
a log house. No matter where, or what
land you may select, there is sure to be
plenty of timber growing on it.
With the aid of a negro laborer who can
be hired for fiom seventy-five cents to one
dollar a day, according as he is “found,” or
“finds himself" in food, a strong man can
cut down the logs, "akin," “notch them"
and put up a single room house ready for the
roof in one week. Boards for roofing can
be rived out in two days more, from pine or
cypress logs. The rafters can be made with
young saplings stripped of bark, and the
laths to support the shingling boards from
still smaller saplings. There are a number
of hquses so constructed in this vicinity.
That was before the days of saw mills. The
roofing boards can be held down on the lath
ing by cross pieces fastened by withes, but
nailing is far better. Good riven cypress
shingles, four and a half inches wide and
eighteen inches long, can be bad for four
and a half dollars per thousand, delivered,
within three miles. They make the best
roof and will last a life ti me. Unplaned boards
for flooring can be had at the mill for one
dollai per hundred feet, hauling extra. The
cost for a room sixteen feet square would be
less than three dollars. A chimney can be
put up against the house on the outside. The
cheapest ones are built of sticks about two
inches square and thirty inches long. They
are simply laid across each other forming a
square reaching above the roof, and are
plastered inside and outside with clay or
with mortar. Such a chimney can be built
in one or two days at a cost not exceeding
five collars. Chimneys built of brick cost
about thirty dollars for a one story house.
The preceding description applies to a rude
and cheap house, but hundreds of families
have lived comfortably in such for years
and hundreds are living so now all over the
State.
And now for a better class house. Lum
ber is to be had at the mills for eleven dol
lars per thousand feet The hauling from
three to six dollars per thousand, according
to distance. Doors, sash and blinds can be
got from Jacksonville, Fernandina, Gaines
ville, whichever may be most convenient.
Tbe necessary hardware can generally be
had at tbe nearest cou ntry store. The prices
are about twenty per cent, higberthan those
of Philadelphia or New Yagc.
Carpenters wages by the Way range from
two dollars to two dollars and seventy-five
cents, according to the workman’s skill—but
building is usually done by contract.
It is much the best plan to supply all
your own material and pay your own car
penters only for their work; if you leave
them to fine the building requisites, you will
probably have to pay them a considerable
profit over the cost price of the article used.
Cypress shingles, as we have already said,
are held at four dollars per thousand, deliv
ered on the spot where they are to be used.
House building in such a mild climate as
Florida, is a very different thing from what
it is at the North. Here is no need for the
thick walls and winter-proof dwelling so
necessary there.
A tight roof is needed of course, but
weather proof walls are not indispensable,
although desirable, as it is not always “sum
mer time” in Florida.
There are occasional days in every month
from November to March, when fires morn
ing and night are very comfortable things,
and sometimes there are days when a good
wood fire in the stove or open fire-place is
extremely grateful all day long, and then
one feels a transient wish for a weather
proof house. But it is not often that this
happens; and all the rest of the year, we
want the pure fresh air to have access to
every nook and corner of our semi-tropical
homes.
We have no cellars in Florida, the houses
are set up from the ground, one, two or
three feet, as we may choose, on stout pine
blocks, segments of huge pine trees sawed
off horizontally. There is not enough cold
weather to chill the soil, so a cellar would
not be as cool a place for provisions as is a
closet built of slats, or a wire-net safe, where
tbe breeze has free access at all times and
doing without acellar, makes building much
easier and much cheaper.
We think the best plan for a Florida home
is one that gives a wide hall through the^
center of the house, with rooms opening
into it on either side.
This same plan could be carried out in the
second story, when such is desired, but as a
general thing “Florida” houses are only one
story, as there is always plenty of ground on
which to “spread out” as much as one
chooses and down-stain rooms are the cool
est and pleasantest.
Every house of tbe least pretension to
comfort should have a wide porch on at
least two sides, notably, the south and west
and all the better If the porch be continued
entirely around it. Our idea of what a true
Florida house should be, is that of a broad
brimmed hat, and for the selfsame reasons
that make such a bat desirable in a warm
sunshine day.
It will probably convey to our readen a
clearer idea of the actual cost of erecting a
neat comfortable home in Florida, if we
give here the dimensions of such a house
and its cost.
A "box house” of rough lumber outside,
and planed within, and battened inside and
out, a porch on the east and south sides, a
covered piazza, back, leading to the dining
room and kitchen, which are detached from
the main building, but join each other.
This is the grand sura total of the building
we will describe.
The house is thirty-two feet wide by
twenty-four deep, ceiling twelve feet high,
a ball eight feet wide and twenty-four in
length, runs through the center from front
to back piazza.
Two rooms on eaeh side open in to tbe hall,
the two front apartments are, twelve by
fourteen feet; the two back rooms, ten by
twelve; each apartment has two windows
and two doors, one into the ball, one a com
municating.
From the hall a staircase leads to an un
finished attic, to store away trunks and sur
plus goods, or it may serve for a servants
room, although, when one can afford it a
small outside room is preferable for this
purpose; one measuring ten by twelve, can
be put up for thirty-five dollars.
Connecting the main building with kitch
en and dining-room, is a covered piazza
twelve by fourteen feet, on which is built
the provision closet, as aforesaid, and where
also is the pump, close to the kitchen door.
Housekeepers will appreciate the conven
ience of this arrangement, which should be
mnch mors common than it is. Usually the