"You have a sheep country as good as exists, and a goat country better than any other. It is too bad that you do not raise more sheep on your ranges, for they do not hurt the cattle pastures, eating only the tender blades down under the more mature grass. We run thousands of sheep on our cattle ranges in Texas. The goats will be a distinct benefit to the Florida ranges, as they do not eat much grass when they can get underbrush, briars and weeds. By having those cleaned out of the pastures the grass will have a better chance to grow.
"I am informed that Florida does not have to combat coyotes, which are our worst sheep enemies, so you really have no serious losses to anticipate on your sheep investments. And yet there are very few sheep on the ranges we have visited. It is to be hoped that your cattlemen will use more sheep on the ranges.
"The range country should become the calf incubator for the Southeastern States, the offspring being sold at weaning time or as yearlings. That will give your ranges a larger carrying capacity for breeding stock and let the grain-producing sections do the finishing."—From the Manufacturers' Record, Sept. 13, 1917.
CATTLE RAISING IN FLORIDA.
As I Saw it on a Thousand-mile Tour of the Central Part of the State.
By A. C. Williams.
Wasn't it Saul who went out in search of asses and found a kingdom? You men who are familiar with the Bible can answer that. But I can testify that I, while not in search of asses, duplicated Saul's experience during the past month, when, in company with M. Sansom, W. N. Waddell, Caesar Kleberg and Tom T. East of Texas, Dr. L. J. Allen of Oklahoma, Geo. M. Rommel of Washington, P. L. Sutherland, C. L. Gaines and J. G. Boyd of Florida, I had the pleasure of a thousand-mile trip through the central part of the State of Florida.
Nature has been very kind to Florida, providing delightful climate, fertile lands and adequate rainfall for farming purposes; broad prairies, carpeted with succulent grasses and watered by running streams for live stock raising; timber galore for sawmills, and countless beauty spots beckoning to tourists. But the citizens of that State have been slow to take advantage of their opportunities. Agriculture in many sections has been a neglected art. Practically all of the foodstuffs, including grain, meat, butter and eggs, have been produced outside the State. Colonization companies have devoted their energies to boosting orange orchards and truck gardens (the "poker game of agriculture"), and little organized effort has been made to attract farmers and stockmen of tireless energy—the backbone of any community.