The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1878-10-25
FLORIDA
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sswrees, Ls~ser, 0rssse ersres.
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81 the Fesfsswi~r state.

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81 the Fesfsswfsr state.
loorre.ronaence Of the ISrEs'oR JovRssL.l
CEDAR KEYS, Fla, Oct. i0.-Af
ter reading one Of those beautiful and
highly colored sketches Of Florida,
from the pen Of some CITED CORES.
pendent Of Northern newspapers, one
is ready 10 exclam, eureka, the foun.
tain Of health, youth and beauty, has
been discovered; that the land sought
after by the old mariner, Ponce de
Leon, in the which, there existed a
fountain whose waters could restore
youth to palsied age, and beauty to
efisce the marks Of time, really exist.
ed here. Although We may spoil
some Of the romance Of those sketches,
and the current nonsense about Or
ange gpves, in this State; il becomes
a duty we owe to the writers Of many
letters to ns, and the public, to give
the facts. 900. .uH
Alter reading one Of these articles
written by one who. perhaps, has
never trol upon Florida's sandy soil
it is natural for the reader to become
impressed with the desire to obtain an
orange grove. and many, without
stopping to count the costs, have pull
ed up stakes, leaving home and friends,
aud reached here in a destitute and
almost starving condition, TO find that
an orange grove on paper, and gen.
uine orange grove in Florida, are
two different things. , Tins Is not sur.
prisiug when 30 many glowing NC.
counts Of orange bowers have been
sent broadcast over the land 10 capt..
vate the old as well as the young with
vision, Of great groves, laden with the
golden fruit. We say oil as well as
the young, are deceived. A case that
came under the writer's immediate OBJ
servation serves as an illustration.
An old man, 81 years of age, ac.
compsnied by a family, consisting of
father, mother and four children, ar.
rived here, at this port, from Wiscon.
sin, in June last. When their house
hold goods we're landed. ON the wharf,
two dollars was all the money the
party had. The old man being de-
ceived by the reading Of the glowing
description Of Florida, written by
these hired correspondents, had left
good farm in Wisconsin, unsold, to
seek here, an orange grove; the foun-
tain Of youth, and another wife. He
is now petitioning his Wisconsin
friends for money to get back home
with. This is no isolated case. The
great mistake made by nearly all who
seek a home in this genial cline, is
their eagerness to possess am orange
grove. It must be borne in mind that
the orange is of very slow growth;
that the poor man cannot afford to
wait eight or ten years TO receive the
fruits of his labor. The man of mon.
ey may secure . bearing grove if he
can find one FOR sale, South Of the frost
line, and enjoy at once, what other.
wise would require years of toll and
waiting to produce; or he may start
grove from seedlings or by grating
the sweet hid on the trunk Of the
wild orange, and live on in ease and
comfort, enjoying this health-giving
climate until his grove is productive. |
The poor man. dependent upon his
daily labor for subsistence. cannot do |
this. Alter a few years of privaticn |
and semistarvation, he is compelled |
10 abandon his enterprise, sell out il
he can TO some new conner, and give
up the business as too slow to secure
The necessaries of life, much less an
independence. II requires money, and
no small amount OF il, to secure an
IN orange grove worth having, any
way you may figure il.
It ia true that Florida has induce.
nents superior to other Southern
States, her orange groves. great as
hey may be. cannot be made to ex.
'el her other advantages of climate
Ind productions. Her great ham.
nocks contain Immense quantities OF
ive-oak and pine timber, IN which
here is mtiipps Of wealth. This
and when cleared produces in paying
Quantities, cotton. sugarcane, corn,
ice, sweet and irish. potatoes, tobacco,
md all kinds Of vegetables, together
nth many tropical and sul-tropical
ruits. All that Is required of the
is little skill, and all the
idustry and money be eau command