The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-06-29
Letter from Florida.
Correspondence of the Democratic Advocate.
LAKEvIEw, ORANGE COUNTY,
.Inna 18th. 1873.

Correspondence of the Democratic Advocate.
LAKEvIEw, ORANGE COUNTY,
June 18th, 1873.
Messrs Editors Having been request
ed by many of my Maryland friends to give
them description of Florida, or at least that
part in which I am located, l concluded
the best way would be through your col
umns, if you will spare me the space.
The impression that Florida is regular
Bonanza" and all you have to do is to
get there and you can live at your ease is
a prevalent idea generally among north
erners who have not been here to see for
themselves, and that fortune can be made
without hard work, and SO it can, if they
have sufficient capital to start on to have
their work done for them. For Florida
is like any other State, you must work for
what you get, and the harder you work the
more you get in return. The climate, as
shown by Government reports and statis-
tics, is one of the most healthy of any
State in the union, and some say in the
world. There is but little variation in the
temperature for nine months in the year,
the thermometer averaging seventy degrees,
rarely ever standing above ninety, and
seldom below sixty-fye for the three re-
naming months, and will average sixty
FIVE. This is the report of Orange county;
of course the farther south you go the
warmer it is. December is the only month
we have any frost, and then it is very
slight Ofdiseases, we have but few native
ones, the worst of which is mild kind of
dysentery, though 1 suppose there are
more sick here than in any other State
according to the population, for Florida is
a hospital for all northern States. Every
year sees hundreds come here from the
north to escape the rigor of the northern
winters. The surface of Orange county is
divided into three classes, "Flat Woods,
"High Pine lands and Hammocks." The
fat woods are low level praries lying next
to the st. Johns river and covered with
sparce growth of pine and dense under
growth of palmetto. The High Pine lands
commence about five miles from the river
and run back to the centre of the State;
these are covered for the most part with a
heavy growth of pine intersected with
ridges of stunted black jack Gas we call it
here.) The Hammocks are belts Of land
lying on each side of the small creeks and
rivers. They are covered mostly with i'm
mense cypress and cedar trees, interspers-
ed with palms and magnolias. They are
mostly covered with water and have to be
drained before they are used. The soil
of Orange county, and in fact all of Flori-
da that [ have seen is poor. 1t consists
of sandy loan, ranging from to 20 feet
deep, with clay bottom. In the "Flat
Woods" the sand is white, in the "High
Pine lands" it is dark blue, and in the
"Hammocks" rich dark brown. The
pine lands are the best for tropical fruit,
as the most of them require soil that will
not retain the moisture long at time.
But the Hammocks are the best for vege-
tables and farming in general. The cost
of clearing these Hammocks is about dou-
BILE that of the pine lands, and as they will
not do for orange trees, and very few men
here have time or money for any thing else
but fruits there is not much done to them.
Orange county is situated near the CEN
tire of what is known as the Lake region,
and it has hundreds of lakes within its
borders In fact you cannot start from
any given point and walk in any one di-
rection without finding one. The most
of them are small, not exceeding ten acres
in extent and from three to ten feet in depth;
but some of them are quite large, being
from two to three miles in diameter, and
from ten to fifty feet deep. One curious
thing about these lakes is, they have no
outlet except the natural drainage of the
SOIL This being the case we are subject
to frequent changes, excessive rains or a
protracted drouth as the case may be.
The population of Orange county is about
ten thousand, and the greater part are en-
gagged in fruit growing, and as a rule have
been very successful. Orlando, the coun-
ty seat, is thriving place and is great
resort for norther visitors. 1t has at pres
ent about five hundred inhabitants. San
ford, situated on the St. Johns river, and
Mellonville, also on the river, are both
thriving places, and are building up very
fast. Between Sanford and Mellonville,
near a small place known as Fort Reed,
are situated some of the finest orange groves
in Florida. One grove alone of six hun
bred trees bore last year three hundred
and twenty-five thousand oranges, and the
crop was not considered full on account of
a late frost the year before which dam
aged it to certain extent. | will close
this time and save something for the next,
in which l may say something about my
own location and how pleasantly | am
situated in Bachelors Hall.
My P. Q. address is Longwood.
Very Respectfully,
JOHN p. SHRINER.