 Real estate companies continued to advertise and sell land along newly dug canals . In April 1912 — the end of the dry season — reporters from all over the U.S. were given a tour of what had recently been drained , and they returned to their papers and raved about the progress . Land developers sold 20 @,@ 000 lots in a few months . But as news about the Wright report continued to be negative , land values plummeted , and sales decreased . Developers were sued and arrested for mail fraud when people who had spent their life savings to buy land arrived in south Florida expecting to find a dry parcel of land to build upon and instead found it completely underwater . Advertisements promised land that would yield crops in eight weeks , but for many it took at least as long just to clear . Some burned off the sawgrass or other vegetation only to discover that the underlying peat continued to burn . Animals and tractors used for plowing got mired in the muck and were useless . When the muck dried , it turned to a fine black powder and created dust storms . Settlers encountered rodents , skinks , and biting insects , and faced dangers from mosquitoes , poisonous snakes and alligators . Though at first crops sprouted quickly and lushly , they just as quickly wilted and died , seemingly without reason . It was discovered later that the peat and muck lacked copper and other trace elements . The USDA released a pamphlet in 1915 that declared land along the New River Canal would be too costly to keep drained and fertilized ; people in Ft . Lauderdale responded by collecting all of the pamphlets and burning them . 
 Real estate companies continued to advertise and sell land along newly dug canals . In April 1912 — the end of the dry season — reporters from all over the U.S. <a href='uninflect' title='1'><mark>were</mark></a> given a tour of what <a href='been_done' title='2'><mark>had</mark></a> recently been drained , and they returned to their papers and raved about the progress . Land developers sold 20 @,@ 000 lots in a few months . But as news about the Wright report continued to be negative , land values plummeted , and sales decreased . Developers <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>were</mark></a> sued and arrested for mail fraud when people <a href='null_relcl' title='4'><mark>who</mark></a><a href='been_done' title='5'><mark>had</mark></a> spent their life savings to buy land arrived in south Florida expecting to find a dry parcel of land to build upon and instead found it completely underwater . Advertisements promised land <a href='null_relcl' title='6'><mark>that</mark></a>would yield crops in eight weeks , but for many it took at least as long just to clear . Some burned off the sawgrass or other vegetation only to discover that the underlying peat continued to burn . Animals and tractors used for plowing got mired in the muck and <a href='uninflect' title='7'><mark>were</mark></a> useless . When the muck dried , it turned to a fine black powder and created dust storms . Settlers encountered rodents , skinks , and biting insects , and faced dangers from mosquitoes , poisonous snakes and alligators . Though at first crops sprouted quickly and lushly , they just as quickly wilted and died , seemingly without reason . It was discovered later that the peat and muck lacked copper and other trace elements . The USDA released a pamphlet in 1915 <a href='null_relcl' title='8'><mark>that</mark></a>declared land along the New River Canal would be too costly to keep drained and fertilized ; people in Ft . Lauderdale responded by collecting all of the pamphlets and burning them . 
Real estate companies continued to advertise and sell land along newly dug canals . In April 1912 — the end of da dry season — reporters from all ova tdaU.S. was given a tour of what done recently been drained , and they returned to their papers and raved about the progress . Land developers sold 20 @,@ 000 lots in a few months . But as news about thdaright report continued to b negative , land values plummeted , and sales decreased . Developers was sued and arrested fir mail fraud when people done spent their life savings to buy land arrived in south Florida expecting to find a dry parcel of land to build upon and instead found it completely underwater . Advertisements promised land would yield crops in eight weeks , but for many it took at least as long just to clear . Some burned offf thedawgrass or other vegetation only to discover that the daerlying peat continued to burn . Animals and tractors used for plowing got mired in the muck and was useless . When the muck dried , it turned to a fine black powder and created dust storms . Settlers encountered rodents , skinks , and bitin insects , and faced dangers from mosquitoes , poisonous snakes and alligators . Though at first crops sprouted quickly and lushly , they jus as quickly wilted and died , seemingly without reason . It was discovered later that the pda and muck lacked copper and other trace elements . The USdareleased a pamphlet in 1915 declared land along the Newdaver Canal would be too costly to keep drained and fertilized ; folks in Ft . Lauderdale responded by collecting alll of the pamphlets and burning them .