The crown made one brief foray into agricultural production in Florida. In 1650 Governor Salazar Vallecilla’s experimental wheat farm had been in operation for five years. Six square leagues were under cultivation; buildings granaries, and corral were complete; and the property inventory included two experienced slaves, eight horses and mules, eleven yokes of draft oxen, and the necessary plows and harrows. The governor had even sent to the Canaries for millstones and a miller. Accountant Nicolas Ponce de Leon thought that in New Spain such an hacienda would be worth over 20,000 pesos. Unfortunately Governor Salazar Vallecilla died in the epidemic of 1649-50. When his son Luis, anxious to leave Florida, tried to sell the wheat farm, either no one wanted it or no one could afford it. Ponce de Leon, as interim governor, bought the hacienda for the crown at a cost of 4,259 pesos in libranzas that he estimated to be worth 1/3 less. He predicted that the farm would pay for itself within three years. The fiscal of the Council of the Indies, reading of the purchase, noted that even if the hacienda took longer than that to show a profit it would be valuable if it encouraged the production of flour in Florida. The Council sent word for the royal officials to administer this royal property without intervention from governors, making yearly reports on its progress. [Note 30: Int. Gov. Nicolas Ponce de Leon 9/20/1651, with comment by the fiscal 8/26/1653, and cedula to Gov. Rebolledo 8/15/1653; contract for sale of the Salazar Vallecilla estate 10/16/1651] (Bushnell KC)