The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-07-17
An Earthly Paradise.

"A large number of men spend their
lives in seeking for an earthly paradise,
or IN other words men travel all over the
globe striving to find a place where all
the conditions of climate, soil. produc-
tlons, &c.. are entirely favorable for
health, ease. happiness, and long life.
And do they find such a place. No. In
our view no such earthly paradise exists
upon our planet. Undoubtedly some sec
tions aud some climates are more lavora-
bic for persons not in robust health, and
also there are places where the products
OF the earth are yielded almost spontane-
ously, without toll, where frosts never
chill, and rains never drench; but, are
such places desirable for permanent
residence? Not usually. We have wan
dered considerably in various directions,
within the last quarter of century, and
no fact is more unalterably fixed upon our
mind than this-that earth contains within
her boundaries no place where the con-
ditions are wholly favorable tor ease and
happiness. The law of compensation
holds good everywhere Il VIC cross the
Atlantic ferry to England, we have a
milder climate, short winters, rich soil
In summer the fields revel in rank luxu-
midst of garden filled with a pro-
fusion OF beautiful flowers. But consider
the short days and long, long nights in
winter; the long, long days and short
nights in summer; the fogs, mists, rain,
sleet, mud, in which you live nine months
in the year. One day of our bright
American sunlight is worth q whole month
of the best sunshine they ever experience
in England. If we 90 to France or Italy,
we find what are considered very mild
climates; but if one wants to suffer from
cold, let him spend winter in either of
these countries. With the thermometer
score of degrees below zero, we have
never been so thoroughly chilled in Bos-
ton, as we have in Florence, Rome, or
Naples with the mercury above the lreez-
ing point. Our tight, cosey, comfortable
dwellings, warmed by steam or hol air,
more than compensate for the compare
lively milder temperature of those places,
with their cold. stone houses without suit
able apparatus or fuel to warm them
Go to Florida, that land of orange bios
SONS, beautiful birds, bright suns. and
radiant skies, according to Mrs Stowe
Well, some portions of the winter months
are undoubtedly delightful in Florida but
tor a permanent residence, consider the
terrific heats of summer, the absence of Il
greensward, so pleasant to the eve and
in its place, sand, the glare of which is
binding; consider the insects, the fleas,
mosquitoes, etc, and also the snakes and
ugly reptiles, which abound in the woods
And then those long, trailing masses OF
dark moss, which interlace and cover the
trees; this feature of the scenery to our
eyes is extremely disagreeable Many
profess to admire this funeral moss pen
dant everywhere among the trees, but if
we owned a group of live oaks and q
homestead at the South, we would remove
every trace OF 1t, if possible.
Go to California: there we find mild
climate in winter, and the soil produces
an abundance OF fruits, flowers and
grains. But it must be irrigated, as no
rain falls except in winter The green
earth becomes thoroughly parched in
summer, and instead of clouds holding
moisture, you have clouds of fine dust
which permcates everywhere, rendering
existence at times almost uncomfortable.
The droughts which occur in California.
together with the high winds and sand
storms which prevail in the vicinity of
San Francisco, would deter us from seek
ing q permanent home in that section
Boston Journal of Chemistry.