The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-02-01

lrtt "l'it' the -oll ptlnS muckS auG mixed
with very small shells and sand; the sur
face level beng about three feet lower than
the pine land level. This sar1nHa is GOV.
er,d by growth nf rush-s and coarse
grass. Beyond this savanna land is the
" BIrt HfmmocL " about three quarters Of
a mile wide THIS >oil ia appearance l.
Rack aud Jeeis greasy, and il doubtless com
pn>.'i "' muck Ini sand The growth IL
hdrd r01i trees and cabbage palmetto, the
undcrsrowth bring principally aud almost
wholly CONFUSED "f g"HHg hard wood trees
and young cabbage palmetto, and in among
the other growth and often overtapped 10y
them. scattered here and there. is fourd
,cI'i, soTr and bitter sweet
ORANGE GROVES.
These wild trees. when taken up and
cut oil within two or three feet of the
ground and trauspiauted, serve as siocks
tU cugTait S'rtst buds sciuuS upon, for
the formation at orange groves quickly:
braring trees being obtained sometimes IN
three aud four years from thu time the
CRAFTS are inserted. Il requires at last ten
years To IA !se a tree from the seed that viii
produce oranges. These sour stumps.
as they are called, vary from one or two
inches IN diameter to SIX or eight inches
" hen larger than the sizes last mentioned
iIfs iiNtIN u slaun the slilCk pf
iransplantlng and prove III vigorous growth
FOR st"-As | have visited but one grove II,
bearing, near here. that was made from
- SOM srumps aud II was made by simply
sawiug oil The tIces in the hid grove where
they stood and grating them without
tianspantlng at all. OF course. they are
not IN regular lines aud ia many places
they are entirely too close together for the
best results and yet 1t was sight To see
and 10 be remembered. calculated 10 give a
person the "rthye gr0rt fsrcr very badly
Many of the cabbage paimrt;os are left
growing in the orange groves | have s;Sli
ed, their tail, bare trunks not MATERIAL,
I:luIiug Inc growth Of the orange Trees
and 10y their singular appearances adding to
the beauty of a bearing grove. Imagine a
grove 81 orange trees, with its wealth at
dark, glossy, srsr green foliage, loaded with
golden f!uit, anu here and there, twenty
tn sixty feet dJprc the tops of the orange
tree. the bare trunk of the cabbage palm:
and Al their top, the stems of the iedces
from six 10 ten feet long, the leaves being
ttrcs ar folF fret III length and width the
whole dropping gracefully. From these
leaves, taken before they have fully tx
panded, and prepared 10y bleaching and
then splitting them into proper widths,
THE PALMETTO HAT
is ms.ie. The strd5cs are plated into strips
of sufficient length aud then sewcd together
to form hat. am wearing one thus
made and am quite proud of IT, a. we made
II ourselves, and we expect soon all OF us
male aud female, tn be equipped with hats
al our own mauui iCtuTe, :" tit To wear Ia
meeting. or anywhere else ! am not
well enough TeTsed IN the names of ariI.
cles 4" please the fancy or for utility that
sta made of this blcAch-d palmetto To re
member all their names. Sufficient TO say
on that subject that lady IN our own
neghburhood, who Is endowed with more
than ordinary good taste aud mechanical
ingenuity. sends north large numbers If
articles of Ter otra MANUFACTURE, made from.
palmetto. | have no; seen thcs. palms III
bloom, but the blooms no donbt add to
their gracs and beauty. as the blossom
stems same fret long. now loaded with
palmetto berries. When the stems o.
trunks Of these pl!mc;tos are cut oil at a
certain point among the leaf stems. whcth
- The trees b. young or old. short or lorg
there may lie obtained from the center Of
the stem what il here called the cabbHcs
hence the name of cdjbIgs palmetto.
this cabbage being the tender growth ftotn
which comes the whole head ar top Of the
tree. II is used as food aud thought To re-
semblc Flat Dutch in flavor by some i'm
agiBatIve Eropl. ami is indeed quite palat
able, whethcr cooked and treated like cab
nagc is with You Is a salad eaten raw
When these trees first spring from the
earth uuthing IL srcn but their leaves aud
leaf stems. When they attain i height nf
few feet the lytc,sf leaf stems begin to
lose their vIgor and soon break off = foot
~ more from the trunk aud this gives the
Tree the appearance at short dIstaEru Of
being Mtckiy studded with stOHt pegs
These prgs ~ the tree grows from a point
few feet below tn. living head, gradually
IN turn decay and fall OH, leaving the barc
trunks, from eight In ten inches in diane
ter to As much sometimes as sixteen or
eighteen inches in diameter. the tIee main
tanning almost the same diameter through
.is whole height, whether it be twenty Ut
eighty FEET
| intended to say that beyond
the RACK HAMMOCK.
that have attempted description, and of
which | shall have more to saw III future
letters To- your readers, there is again pine
land similar tr that mentioned heretofore
III this letter. How tar Il extends have
not the means of learning, AT present, and
have not had time TO explore ii, but believe
there is succession of pin. land. hard
wood hammock, aud savanna land similar
I" those | have herein attempted To de
scribe, from the point mentioned above
across To the st Johns, aud from there to
the gulf coast, with a sprukling here and
thrIu of bog and lake
From the center of the Bldkc tract there
extends back Ia the back hammock from
the river shore, ddrh, wide aud deep
enough tn carry III all surplus water, which
would, III rainy weather. hood much of the
iaEd with water. y trail along this ditch
serves IS 4 road on which fostncu pass To
aud from the hammock had intended IL
say something Of the people aud their ways
IN life aud matters kindred. but will defer
them until my next
Gungs Truly, Il T. l.