Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1877-04-05
E.eiier from Florida.

ONoRO, ORANGE County, FLA, April l.,
| ISL. 1T is claimed that this is the banner
county ier lnqaiids and settlers, and from the
LARGE ;iuri,t.gr OF the first who spend their vim
| ter, here, with benefit, and the lhckly settled
nci.hb3lEoods that were almost without popu.
| lalion few years ago, ii seems the claim must
| be allowed Mr;l1ngiila is the Oldest settlement
| Of the eouuly, tu. tasks the enterprise Of It's
| rival town, H:.nlnrA, the landing bali mile
below. lis location is much better though be
ing On high bluff perfectly dry 81 all seasons
OF tue year, aud with the game amount Of energy
rs it's nre hbor will hold It's 0wa without trouble.
| 1t has some halt dozen stores, thrt" Or lour bar
rooms one hote! and several boarding houses.
| Sanford Is naEtrl alter General II. 5. SANFORD,
the owner Of twenty five thousand acre grant.
on which, The town Is situated, who has spent,
and is still cXpendlng IN improvements very
| large amount 81 money. The buildings arc all
| attractive looking; almost every trade Is rep
resented. or tulldi0gs are gong mp Ter them.
| II has . furnishing weekly, the South Florida
| JonlnaI, drug and other stores, dentist, tn
shop, carriage factory, bakery, two hotels the
3antnrd House, arlclly first class, can accom-
mediate now 10 gue5ts add 500 when compIet-
ed, aud th, Monroe House banking Office,
lawyers IN abundance, bat not one bar. The
future Of !hs young town looks encouraging.
Mr.. J.. Pearson, the representative OF Gen.
Sanford, keeps everything moving with will,
aud the prosperity Of the town is largely due TO
his efficient management. Fort Reed, two
miles from Sanford and Mellonville, is thirty
Ing village, though much scattered. Maitland,
eighteen miles back from these landings, aud
uine miles from Lake )cssup, IS going ahead
very much AZ Sanford, from the same Cause,
enterprise. They are to have next week q
meeting there of the Orange county Fruit
Growers Association, Of which DR.. w. A.
Spence, of Virginia. is the President. Orlando,
the county seal, is still further inland few
miles. While orange culture Is the engrosslng
thought aud business Of everybody, it is not The
only tropical fruit that flourlshes iu this white
sand. iUr the banana, cltr0n, lime, lemon,
pine apple, Java plum, guaVa. hgs aud dates
all grow here The banana crop was cut OH
entirely by the cold Of the winter. Nothing
else was hurt to any extent except gardens.
Two crops OF tomatoes were destroyed at tins
place, (Onoro) 10 ordinary seasons you can
have them all The year round from the VIne
One peculiarly Of The climate is that meat does
not spoil as 10 Virginia. a family will get
saddle Of yenson, cut off what they want tor
the day. and iosaad Of putting the rest away
to keep il cool, lhcy hang it up in tree, above
where the flies will disturb il, and there
they can keep il almost indefinitely. All the
houses arc raised about two feet six inches above
the rrounl, generally on blocks sometimes on
brick PIERS, though bricks cost so much, that IS
getting them here, Two chimne5s, thirty feet
high, inst Completed on the new Episcopal
rect0ry here, cost Sl22j. pu! up on the most
economical plan. The large lake and river
fronts are noi considered as healthy IN summer
SIS bacl: in the country, and for consumptiVes
two Or three miles into the pines is always ad.
vised by the doctors, while you can speak OF
comparative health anywhere. The medical
profession unite here in saying that II they de,
pended On practice they would starve. One did
tell NE though that he made one hundred dol.
lars 10 February On the arriva! Of native born
FI0rdians fortunate thing that they still come,
for the doctors anyhow. The rainy season te-
gins here about the middle Of July and lasts
generally two months, but not SUCH rains as 10
Virginia. They arc all 10 showers, and that
most every day, but do not make everything
damp. Tie said absorbs The water as last as It
falls, AMI TWO minutes after shower gou could
hardly tell il had been raining. After one
month Of life 10 Florida, aud that March,
conclude il is almost all that could be desired
for invaldS who want to escape winter, with |
all lis discomtGTts TIE summers are very |
warm, bat the evenings and nights are always
cool. 10 these letters | have eDdea7ored 10 |
get at Tie truth, aud have oulY taken state
mant: from persons who Sert competent, IRON
long GcSdcare, to give correct iniormstGn. L
hope your readers hav i5und them Of sufficient