h plenty
of water for the live stock on the land so leased.

There was never any marked development or marked improvement in the live
stock industry in the State of Texas as long as the cattle ranged on the
free grass, but in 1884 the Legislature passed what was known as a Lease
Law. Then it was, gentlemen, that the fencing up of the State of Texas
began in earnest. No man was willing to pay lease on land and let
somebody else's cattle graze on it. And that is the first step needed to
be taken in the evolution of better cattle in Florida. The land owners
should fence up their lands, cut them up in pastures to suit the men who
want to run their cattle on them, making the lands of Florida
revenue-producing, instead of being a liability, and put the cattle of
Florida under fence and under control wherein individual effort may
develop in a desire to excel. I can not stress this proposition too
strongly. I haven't the language to express the importance of putting
the lands of Florida under fence and the cattle under control in order
that better cattle and more cattle may be raised. The most important
step looking to better cattle in Florida has already been taken in the
creation of a Live Stock Sanitary Board and the work incident thereto of
tick eradication. This work and the efforts of the Florida State Live
Stock Sanitary Board will be much more effective and easier of
accomplishment when you get the ranges of Florida fenced and the cattle
under control.

It seems to me that Florida has been overlooked. I am led to the belief
that the Florida cowmen have been lulled to sleep, as it were, by the
fact that they haven't been bothered by any outside influences. In
discussing the breeding up or improving of the cattle with a good many
breeders whom I have met in this State, I find that all voice the
sentiment that they would like to raise better cattle; that the State
ought to produce better cattle; and that it is a good cattle country.

Florida is wasting approximately enough good pasture to produce a meat
supply sufficient to feed several states by confining the quality of the
herds to the little native cattle we saw on the ranges. True, we saw
lots of cattle, more than I supposed existed in the entire State, but
the opportunity before the cattle men is to breed up the quality and
size. That this can be done was demonstrated by some herds we visited,
and the reports on those herds show that this is a better cattle
breedin