Litchfield enquirer., 1870-03-17
TRIP TO FLORIDA.-II.

EDITOR ENouIRER:-A cold westerly storm attended our passage up the Savan- nah river. The channel is very narrow, and the water very dirty from recent rains. Fort Pulaski guards the mouth of the riv- CT, and farther up, we pass Fort Jackson, an old Fort now deserted. Various earth. | works have also been built along the banks of the river. 5s
 The banks of the river are mostly low, and covered with tall sedge or rushes. Be- fore the war, these were extensively in rice, but now only partly restored. White | men cannot live there, and the blacks do not like the labor. To reclaim these marsh es, they must be embanked to keep out the tide, and drained. Then their fertility is exhaustless.
 We arrived at Savannah on Wednesday afternoon, having been four days on the passage. The docks are crowded with shipping, mostly English, loading with cotton. This is now the second cotton shipping port in the United States. -
 The docks are covered with super-phos- plates and other fertilizers, brought from Baltimore and other northern ports, and guanos of different brands, pure and ma nipulated. Frauds and impositions in these things will continue till the farmers insist on buying only standard fertilizers, made and sold under guarantee of their composition, by responsible parties. -''@
 Thursday morning opened fair, but still cold; an over-coat was needed for riding, even at midday. Taking horse and bug gy, we drove on the shell road to Thur derbolt, returning by Buenoventura. The distance was about five miles, and the charge about five dollars. Carriage hire for each passenger to any place in the oity is seventy five cents, or five dollars per hour What seem strangest to 9 Northern CT visiting Savannah, are the live oaks coy- cred with hanging moss; but this is seen in greater profusion by taking this drive. The country is lew and sandy; some bush es and brakes and insignificant pines, be- ing the principal natural productions. Here we first saw the palmetto or cabbage palm, the emblem of South Carolina. Bue- noyentura is an odd country. The trees are all covered with moss hanging down two feet or more, producing an effect alto- gether indescribable. We stopped at a cotton. gin, whers they were cleaning the sea-island or long staple cotton. This style of cotton is very low at this time, being worth only 40, to 50 cents per lb. The yield per acre rarely exceeds 100 lbs, and often much less. One man planting fifty acres, has ten bales of $50 lbs. each. Short staple cotton is worth 22 to 24 cents, and will yield three times as much. The worm or caterpillar, in some cases, entirely de- stroys the crop, being worse on the long staple. a. 2sa. ssy.isL3 - "A -e5
 Savannah is handsomely laid out, with wide streets and numerous open squares. l The live oak is a stout-growing, thick fo- liaged tree. with spreading branches, being shaped, when young, much like an apple tree. We saw peas in blossom in the gar.j dens near Savannah, and orange-trees with fruit in some of the yards; but the frostss of this week had singed them somewhat the thermometer having reached 9 e.msQ On Friday, at 10 A. M., we took the steam boat Lizzie Baker, for Jacksonville,I Florida. The time of leaving was g A. M,d and she was to arrive at the same hour the next morningat Jacksonville. We were to 5 keep the inside passage, but the day was so fine and the sea so smooth, that the captain took the outside passage part of the way. rs.lr aa ssfs.s.a aas
 Our first landing was to leave freight and passengers at Safety Island. where northern capitalists have purchased plan-, tation of 1000 acres for $75, ,000, for the purpose of raising cotton, Owing to the ravages of the caterpillar, the enterprise has been unsuccessful. @n @3~
 Most of these coast islands are low, and 7 only covered with sedge. Sapello, Black heads, and some others, are elevated a few,
 Continued on Fourth Page. 3-e"7