The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-11-08
PORT ORANGE, Nolusia county,
October Doth 1879

Ohl oIAN'h, OluSld COUNTY. Z
/ October Goth. 1879. )
DEAR WHIG:-I suppose that, whils
/ politics are &C ,yarlp in your part Of tho
the country. your readers will be pieaseG
munication from this quiet out-of-the
way So..,s" Of onr country. | have not
been visited at my home by aEy card:
/ dates as yet. and as far as my informa-
! ton goes there is to be no sqUabble here
/ in the near future between the Gins =
and ''outs" for the einoluments or hon
ors Of Office. So those politicians, who
have no present tastes for The rural anG
things pertainin. to home life in Florida
may lay this letter aside until after the
election, when it may serve purpose in
diyclting their minds from the sad effects
of disappointed ambition.
The thermometer to-day (i1 A. NJ.
stands at Sc with pleasant breeze
from? the ocean that renders it perfectly
delightful in the shade. The range OF
the thermometer is from 30 at night &c
the above noted height in the shade II
the middle Of the day, and you could
only appreciate how pleasant the days
and nights are now, except by actual ex-
periense. sAd- pow that the STtit;.sl.ncr 10
ut an end. am free to say that the heat
has not
BEEN AS OPPRESSIVE
as | remember to have experienced north
in Maryland The highest record of tho
thermometer here Cat my home) was 9S0.
and a, the highest relcftled heat iii III;
shade could always find relief from The
discomfort Of perSpiration. But we had
some discomforts from other sources, one
of which (and the grcatest) was mus
Quitos. For full six weeks the pests
were Our tormsuters. when not barred
out or driven off by slnudging that
is smoking. The oldest inhabitant says
that they were more plentiful this yoa-
than for eighteen years past. Well, lhey
were bad enough, surely, but | have seen
them much worse down the Eastern
Shore, at Salisbury, and at Milford, Della
ware. For numbers and voracity, they
far exceeded any thing | ever saw any
where al.e. Twas often fGrceu tbs sam
mer to call TO mind the inevitable annoy
snces OF life =. the north-the dust, mud,
slush. the lH;rroW-frecZin. storms. the
dies, hugs. etc in short all the annoy
ances ana lncon@encneeS tnaG we ale e.
tirely exempt from here. and by striking
a balance we could endure with fortitule
the pressing attentions of our tormcntors.
We have had our experience. which to
new corners in Florida seems inevitable,
THE SHARES,
fever ard aguc, effects OF maiar:,, &c.
Only three of our family have been free
entirely from its attacks or effects, and
here again We would endcavor to draw
oc4sola:ion from what we conceived TO be
Tie fac; lhay fever ana a.ne vas not rs
dangerous IS scarlet fever Or dirhthe,ia.
OF sunsroke. or breaking our necks on
the ice, and a great many other things
that might happeh To as ii up :InrtE,
and to which we are not liable III our part
of Florida. At this writing, our 'chills'
are about over, having yielded to simple
remedies.
The mosquitoes are gone. the weather
perfectly G-Egr..E,l. end for nine or ten
months TO come, He anticipate. from our
experience Of nearly year in Florida, a
continuance of pleasant weather and
freedom from mosquitoes and ague and
fever. Our longest storm of rain and
wind this season >as about thirty sly
lltuIS III anu W - ouiS NtL tbp
uiudy not chilly. For some weeks past
we have had very frequent showers, and
iii Cn,isc,,u.,..:,. :;0n;G iccclities have more
surface water than is quite desirable, but
oar immediate neighborhood along Spruce
creek is entirely exempt from inconve-
nicnces caused by high tides or water
gaahelpd On the surface of the land
May. June. July and August were very
i +l,a,, &c ,,,Il
shower per month. and in consequence
vegetables not planted in low hammocks
amounted &c nothing. 1t is now about
the season to plant
WINTER VEGETABLES.
cabbage, beets, radishes, turnips, onions,
lettuce, &c, and hope to be able to en-
Joy these freshly grown when you and
your readers are using the contents Of
YOU. air tight jars,
I Last April, cut from an OrleanurI q
number of pieces a foot or eighteen
inches, varying from half an inch to an
inch and half in diameter and stuck
then. into he around where | thought an
Orleander would look nscs. ing only q.
the aforesaid cuttings showed any appear
ance of growth this Summer and it is
now about four feet high. The others
uppeurfd dead and withered until about
! three weeks ago, when the dead-lookino
sticks hegan TO show signs Of life and
now several of rheni .,IS g:cwin" finely.
thus exhibiting endurance that TO nle is
surprising. The tree was in full bloom
when made the cuttings. The orlcan-
der i a very ornamental outdoor tree
here ard !troNgS twenty-five feet high.
thai have scGn; A0v mach higher, do
not know. The biu3!ns :lre ElEch larger
ami more abundant than OH the house
plants North with YOU, and they remain
much longer i'll bloom.
While on the subject of flowers it may
be interesting to notice some other ones.
Some Of your rcatcrs may not have seen
n .Uu.. spari:.,en Of magnolia. oi the
Grlnd:iiOra Na!!CtI. \ hoy ,.tt+,Ii,. n
bloom.to our house that | measured ana
I across the extended pet>ls it measured
almost twelve incheS and was as fragrant
and beautiful iii preparation a, the smaller
v.ri,t., that grew in the swamps near
klktci.. TIE Passion flower grows
wild here. and though tsn,iiiaf .:i.' III;
name. had never until saw it here.
seen one. | will not attempt a descrip-
/ ton of the flower, as no description
rould give would give al adequate idea
OF lis h4alsly Tie plant is vine and
found some Of them over tncn4y list
long There are number Of
SIGHTS AND SoUSES
that serve to remind us Of the fact that
we are not in Old Maryland. Tie sounds
Of the flos aud ,iz2srds il the marshes
arc entirely different from the Maryland
varieties. and along our creek the marsh
hens ca species of heroD remind us
sometimes of the discordant sounds pro
d,lo..l /. guinea fowl. and the gruntin@
or groaning OF to- .p5si c"nntendacfo
alligator reminds us of nothing ia ouI
previous experience. In the woods, too,
sounds arc very different from those with
y4u. Many of the binds seem the samc
in appearance. bat Nag il i;n;;Gs are differ
ext, The whip Q2will ACCENTS his dc
mands very differently and it sound
quite odd to our ears. Owls are numer
Gus and in variety. One ma;;es a crJ
like the whine Of do. that is expec,ant