Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/833

FLORIDA. formation. The underlying strata are mostly limestones deposited during the Upper Eocene age. In the southern part of the peninsula the presence of fossil coral reefs indicates that the land has been built up by successive stages in a process similar to that now going on in the Florida Keys.

. Phosphate rock, the most valuable of the State's mineral resources, occurs along a belt extending from Lake Okeechobee to near Tallahassee. Since the discovery of the deposits in 1888 an important mining industry has been developed. The output increasing steadily up to 1899, when the total was 706,677 long tons, valued at more than $2,500,000. In 1900 the production declined to 642,321 tons, owing to a decrease in the demand. Three grades of material are produced—hard rock, land pebble, and river pebble; the proportion of lime phosphate ranges from 50 per cent. in river pebble to over 80 per cent. in hard rock. Of the latter grade practically the entire output is exported to Europe, where it finds a ready market in spite of the competition of French and Algerian phosphates. The hard-rock and land-pebble deposits are worked either by sinking pits through the light overburden or by hydraulic mining. River pebble occurs in the basins of the Peace, Caloosahatchee, and Alafia rivers, but it is found only along the Peace in deposits of sufficient extent to warrant exploitation. Centrifugal pumps mounted on steam dredges are used for raising the material from the river-bed. Florida also produces most of the domestic supply of fuller's earth from deposits near Quincy. The output in 1900 was 11,813 short tons, valued at $70,565. There are no metallic mines in the State.

. The long coast-line of the State gives the advantage of extensive adjacent fishing waters. And while the fisheries are not fully developed, they are more important than those of any other Gulf State. In 1897 6100 men were engaged in the industry, about four-fifths of them on the Gulf coast, and the product was valued at $1,100,000. Shad and mullet are the east coast product, while sponges constitute nearly one-third of the west coast product. Mullet and turtle are also caught in great numbers on the west coast. Key West is the centre of the sponge fisheries, and in 1897 102 vessels and 184 boats were engaged in this industry. Florida has a monopoly of the sponge fisheries, but returns from this source have fallen off, and the product is of a poorer quality than formerly.

. The equable subtropical climate of Florida determines the nature of its products. Since the end of the Civil War the area of farm land has constantly increased, amounting in 1900 to 12.6 per cent. of the land area of the State, or 4,363,800 acres, of which 34.6 per cent. are improved. During the same period there has been, as a consequence of the change in the industrial system, a remarkable decrease in the average size of farms, the average in 1900—106.9 acres—being less than one-fourth that of 1860. There are twice as many farms operated by white as by colored farmers, and the average size tended by the latter is only 53 acres, as against 133.6 acres for those operated by white farmers. A style of contract is common among the negro farmers which makes classification of tenure difficult, but the census of 1900 reported 40.6 per cent. of the total number of negro farmers as being renters according to the cash-rent system, and 10.2 per cent. as following the share-rent system, the corresponding figures for white farmers being respectively 8.8 per cent. and 5.7 per cent. The negro farmers are centred largely in the cotton-growing counties, and the white landlord still in great part owns the farm implements and working animals used by the negro tenant; but the status of the negro farmer, as indicated by census comparisons, has improved, particularly during the last decade of the century.

Only a small portion of southern Florida, including the (q.v.) region, has as yet been brought under cultivation, but in the light of recent progress and investigation a considerable area is thought to be reclaimable. Along the east coast, in Brevard and Dade counties, over 81 per cent. of the pineapples of the State are grown, constituting a thriving industry, in which Florida enjoys a monopoly among the states. Hillsboro County and other west coast counties to the southward are becoming prominent in the production of oranges, containing in 1899 20.9 per cent. of all the orange-trees of the State, as against only 6.3 per cent. in 1889, while the production in the latter year amounted to 89.8 per cent. of the total for the State. Orange culture became prominent some decades ago in the central section of the state, and previous to the cold wave of the winter of 1894-95, which, with the frosts of 1899, killed about three-quarters of the orange-trees, the annual output approximated $5,000,000 in value. It was in fact the most valuable product of the state. Disastrous frosts are rare, however, and the orange-growing industry is rapidly reviving, the total number of trees in 1900 being 2,552,542, almost as great as in 1890, and amounting to a little less than one half the number of orange-trees in California. Cassava, egg plant, and other subtropical plants flourish in the central section, and tomatoes and various garden products are extensively grown for the early Northern markets. In the northern portion of the State the products are similar to those of the other Gulf States. In amount of acreage corn is in excess of any other crop, but the yield per acre is low. The acreage increased over 50 per cent. in the last decade of the century. Other cereals received but little attention, oats and rice being the only ones worthy of mention. From 1890 to 1900 the acreage of oats increased from 5410 to 31,467, and of rice from 1787 to 5410. Rivaling corn in value of product is cotton, over one-half of the acreage being devoted to the sea-island variety, the State ranking next to Georgia in the acreage devoted to this plant. The total production of cotton, however, is small compared with that of the other southern coast States, and there has been no tendency to increase for a number of years. Tobacco, beans, peas, and peanuts are extensively grown, the last being of greatest importance. The value of the peanut crop has exceeded $900,000 for a year; the area devoted to the nuts in 1899 was two and a half times that of 1889. The sweet potato crop is of about equal value. Peaches, pears, and other fruits of the temperate zone are successfully raised. Hay and sugar-cane are produced in various parts of the state. Besides the Everglades, there is much unreclaimed swamp and pine land scattered over the State, especially in the region south of Alabama. Some irrigation is practiced in connection with