The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1881-05-17
From the Lone Pine Woods Of Wal.
ton County and Beat No. 4.
MAY 5, 1881.

"
Mr.. c. f. Dyke, Dear SIR
While plodding after my pillow this morning
thought came inIo my head that you would
like to hear something from our part of Flor
ida, and as have never seen anything in your
paper relative to Walton, as much fuss - b
made about immigration, but they all say with
one accord, go TO the orange groves, where you
can smell the orange bloom and get plenty Of
oranges to eat. They don't say once go to Wal
ten county, where you can make from 10 to 50
bushels of corn 10 the acre, 81 bale of cotton On
from TO acres, from 10 to 20 barrels of syrup
per acre, and as many Ilish and sweet potatoes
as you want, and where you can raise all the
stock you need. But Notwithstanding all this we
have 10 labor under many disadvantage. Just
imagine for a moment, We are-60 miles from any
telegraph or express Office, miles to the nearest
post-ofce with the very poorest Of mail facilities
our papers all two weeks old when We get
Them, if we get them at all--and then maybe
you will be able to sympathiae little with the
people of Walton county
AS TO our crop prospects, owing 10 the extreme
'ateness of the spring flor We had ice a. late q
The 23rd of February the PEOPLE are all hate
=
rough manner; the consequence il the greatest
complaint is bad stand, which 10 always the
natural result of rough planting for with 50
years experience in farming 4 have found that
when the land is well prepared before planting
good stand is always securd and one third Of
The labor performed to male q crop. This ID
my fourth crop in Florida snd have the best
stand ever had, of everything. and 1 attribute
it all to the preparation of the land before plant
ing. The people of this county are great people
70 complain of hard times, while truly they are
manufacturing their own hard times They are
making cotton notes to buy Kuano with, to make
cotton with, to pay for coin and bacon with,
while they are making their erops-corn at $1@
and bacon at Is cents, and other things in pro-
portion, and that all under paortgage; if that b
not manufacturing hard times want you to tell
me what is, and what an, looking at is the
present prices of cotton. am in my ed year.
have been plew-boy 5Oyyears; lived or re-
sided in 4 different States, have been the father
If % living children, and never have seen COZ
ION as low down in the markets as it is now.
ssk any candid man what iRducement has he to
plant cotions o, that the people would con-
sideri But my old lady siys that times viii
never be better until we can get q railroad
through our county and upiil the Legislature
quits sitting 60 days 10 do nothing but quarrel
over dog laws and temperance and put the re-
tail license up to three hundred dollars 50 she
can't get little whisky TO put in The camphor
bottle to put in her old hollow tooth Why
that's as bad as the Radicals had 1t in their day.
Think of it you plow-boys that love whiskey
The idea of man staying there sixty days at
six dollars per day and mle!ge, with other little
incidental expenses for stationery. books, &C,
to only present two or three little bills to
them TO legislate away the lights OF the people.
for in my opinion it should be the duty Of the
commissioners Of every COUNTY in the State 70
regulate and cotrol the license Of the same It's
also the right OF the peopleto locate its county
size. As 10 the law prohibiting non-residenn
from bringing stock into the State, has not every
citizen Of the United States Nn equal right ION inc
public domain o. Democracy more talked
of than praciiced I am almost ashamed to %
called q Democrat. but mist be. for believein
. government BY the people and not bya
stockholders. If ] was ever to be fool enough
to 90 to the Legislature, I would not fool away
my time talking about dog laws, Temperance, sno
many other things just a. local, but would "a
The law SO that the people could understand II
and abide by it and then let il stand for the nsA'
four years, and wouldn't want but thirty Gays
10 do it in, and I'd knock than license sky-ns.'
for when every man had tarTel OF WhlskeJ =
his smoke house that wanted II, and sold w
,wo hits Quart. there was hot as much drunk
npe,s As there is now. am temperate butg
for the rights of the people. PLow Boy