New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-10-21
THE SUNNY SOUTH.
ABOUT FLORIDA ONCE MORE-ANSwERS TO
INQUIRIES

way, and even shall not attempt reply to any
but few of the most important.
An old acquaintance writes for "yOur counsel
for friend.
In the first place, then, oounsel" no one SICK
or well, to 90 to Florida, or any other Southern
State unless satisfied that it is for his interest lie
must draw his own differences from my statements
Il must tell vou that mn friend is married, and haS
tlCo young children" -,
All the better; there is room in Florida for mil
lion of such. 1t is great State; as large as New
York and as unsettled and uncultivated aSthe ia''er
was hundred years ago
is there much tcltd land ia FlOT1ddT
wild landu Why, man, it is all wild, except here
and there little patches that cultivated. think
that tbree-f ourths of the original forest is still I'M
tonched. Notwithstanding the many men and mills
doing their best to destroy the timber 1t is sad to see
so much of wasted. Vast tracts OF land, once cut
.tivated by the old Spanish or English planters
while those Governments possessed the country have
become covered again with wood Large plantations,
cultivated by slaves, after their owners had rooDeu
Spain of the territory, were destroyed during the
Seminole war, and are now wilderness. MANY
plantations that were hourishing, in the Southern
sense before the Rebellion, will soon return to their
original condition, unless rescued by some other
and greater power than the owners can command
II by "wild land" you mean Government land,'
enswer: There is much of it still subject to entry
owned by the United States. by the State, and by
railroad companies. There are also numerous
tracts known as old Spanish grants" Some of
these have good titles.
Are you acquainted Nth The price Of land at. or IN
The picnitt of Cedar KeVs and FGRdndlnG RGltT0ddI
Yes That road owns large tract of land, as good
30 the average in the State The company has
offered to give small tracts to settlers, and to
sell large tracts at about dollar an acre. IL
il mostly covered with pine timber" long leaf
uiney-pipus paIustris Yellow pine lumber-"GeO
gia pine" is made from this variety
- Are the forest trees generally large in FIOrida|
No. Compared with white pines, such as used to
grow on the Connecticut on the Susquehanna' or
on the Delaware, the yellow pines are small; gen.
orally, good lot of logs will average from is to "a
inches in diameter. 1t is difficult to get long TIM
Der. Fifty-feet sticks are rare.
"Are there any other timber trees than pinef Any
oaksf'
Yes, to both questions The best ship timber that
grows. the live oak, quercus rirens, IS abundant;
it was once protected for Government use, but 1t
has been badly wasted, since; the land is always
rich where it grows. The water oak, Quercas
oouaticq, is nearly allied to live oak, and more
common 1t grows rapidly when transplanted, even
in dry sandy soil The streets of Jacksonville are
lined with these oaks. 1 counted 2l rings upon
stump, about 20 inches diameter from which the
tree was cut last Spring. Blackjack and white OAK
as we'll as MAPLE elm, ash, and hickory trees are
also common. Expresses abound upon all the water
courses. They flourish on overlooked bottoms, and
swampy lands from which it is difficult to get the
timber out, as the green ilogs will not float
and the water does not freeze Upon the
gulf side of the Peninsula there is con-
siderable cedar, valuable wood large quantities Of
which are used by the pencil manufacturers The
Cedar Keys take their name from these trees The
cabbage-tree cabbage palm, palmetto grows along
all the streams in the south part of the State 1t
does not flourish along the St. Johns until you pass
Lake George, 80 miles from the mouth. This tree
is nearly worthless Occasionally it grows thickly
enough to cover the surface, but is generally scat
tered among other timber, the river bank, or
the shores of lakes and not unfrequently solitary
groups upon islands OF savannas The wild orange
hourishes south of Lake George, generally upon
tracts of SHETLAND, which appears to have been
formed entirely Of snail shells, only slightly decOm
posed.
" What are the general cr0psp
Cotton, both upland and Sea Island has ever been
She great commercial crop, and its cultivation is
generally profitable though some Northern men who
have engaged in cotton planting since the war have
suffered seriously in their crops from worms, rust
blight, which often sweep away whole Summers
work like fire. OF late the business has been pre-
cariOus. Corn grows everywhere, but does not yield
abundautly-1Oor Is bushels per acre; it is also
liable to destruction by weevil, in the field crib.
Tobacco good as that produced in Cuba, has been
raised the north part of the State. where the
land is somewhat clayey and surface roll
ing In GadsdOn, Leon, Jefferson, Madison and
Hamilton Counties, its culture has been ex-
ceedingy profitable Sweet potatoes cul-
tivaed with in all parts of the State afording
a great supply of cheap food for and beast.
Hogs and fowls are fattened from them Pea
nuts may be raised everywhere, but never have
been cultivated extensively for export. They
would make a profitable crop. Sugar-cane, of all
the cultivated products of Florida, has probably
given the best returns for the labor and money ex-
pended. 1t is not however much cultivated. do
not know of single great sugar-plantation, like
those of louisiana in the State While the English
held possession. between the years 1762 and 1884,
some extensive sugar-plantatiOns established.
Then it supposed that only drained swamp
lands were favorable for cane During the Seminole
war, 1882, the American sugar estates were all
destroyed. and immense trees grow among the ruins
OF great sugarhOuses. and crumbng masses of
machinery 1t requires less capital and less ex-
perience to establish a tton-plantatOn, and. as
that business has been satisfactorily profitable cot
ton has been the staple, while sugar has been
neglected. More than half the landowners
however. raise cane, and make strip for
their own use and little for the market
There are also few sugar works on a small
SCALE frequently, however, these are not as large
as some maple-sugar works in Vermont AT these
the very best quality of sugar and strip is made and
If may Judge from the following figures, the manu-
faeture is profitable: At Federal Point, on the St.
Johns, below Patka, last year (lSGS one man plant
ed an and three-fourths of cane upon ordinary
pine land, which had been cow is had
Al .loI . a1;oI,t