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J. ARTHUR PANCOAST
an much
)f Miami A little over three decades ago two After about thirteen years the
men from New Jersey were fired with railroad came. With it the owners
blocks an ambition to plant cocoanuts on were better able to see what their
perhaps the then practically unknown east toils had brought them. On some of
are being coast of Florida. Uncle Sam was will- the wide, fertile keys the cocoanuts
le plansing, and so they planted more than were nearly all gone to the rabbits;
for two forty miles of the romantic coast to only a straggling fringe was left
X25,000 these graceful trees. This was no pie- along the water's edge. Some of
$ 0,000 nic or Arbor Day tree planting;it was these trees grew to be the tall, beau-
ilt. The cruel, hard work. Three sailing ves- tiful, productive trees they should,
's build- sels were chartered to bring the seed; but often the palmetto and other un-
ciuded is this they did to the tune of 334,000 dergrowth choked the little fellows.
will cost nuts. Transportation along the shore So successfully was this done that in
ad other then resolved itself into walking in many places alQng the southeast coast
f)000 the sand at the edge of the sea. Clear- of Florida today the visitor will find,
conspi
0,000.cu- ly, they would have to unload these intermingled with the large trees,
ovements nuts close to the place where they small ones, not more than three or
definitely were to be planted, so the vessels four feet tall. Though both were
mention- were anchored offshore and small planted at the same time, these did
lume of boats used to bring in the nuts. When not grow; they merely existed.
in all the wind blew hard from the east The prospectors began to lose hope.
nced by these Jersey men simply threw the The cost of labor was so high their
amount nuts overboard and let the wind do product could not compete with the
1, being the work of beaching them. imported nuts. The trees had come
f nearly • About two years after these men up so irregularly,a few hundred trees
n deposit started this work they found their on a key, that it would almost have
Nationalcapital fast running out, so they de- taken a flying machine to gather
its build- cided they needed help. The partner- them.
s buil s- ship then grew to a company of seven One after another, the men sold
Bank has men, one of whom was a Jerseyman, their interests in the company; two
Ty bank an extensive fruit grower in his state. of the number, however, bought in all
ar future. The idea of raising tropical fruit ap- of the holdings to which they could
pealed to his imagination and he obtain title. One of these men had
in a short joined interests with the others. The been one of the original planters, the
lk as it fact that there was no railroad or other was the ambitions Jersey fruit
ities for any prospect of one within hundreds grower mentioned before. Any one
.ate of in- of miles of their planting never who chances to read this article will
to readily daunted them in the least; they would do well to watch this Jerseyman in
valuation, manage to market their wonderful the numbers to follow.
will pay plantings some way when they ma- These two finally came into control
le to this tured. They told few of their friends of all the forty odd miles of coast.
over for of their undertakings; those they did The cocoanut business in Florida had
mpressed tell scoffed at them. They made year- been an absolute, heartbreaking fail-
business • ly pilgrimages to the shrine of their ure, but they thought they could see
idence of _ hopes, enduring inconveniences and success in the dim future—a success
land, and often hardships. But, though the co- that loomed up so big and bright that
coanuts grew, many were lost to the it dazzled them.
gave said, t
ad hasten rabbits who fattened on the tender
isiness in young trees, and in some places the Note—The next venture, or how they
ocean took back a few. turned failure into success, will appear in
n
the next number of this magazine.
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