Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1882-03-06
FLORIDA.
Editor Of the Monitor:

terested in a. short sketch of Florida,
/ send you this letter. Capt. II. K.
Ide of ST. Johnsbury and myself left
Vermont January 23d, passing through
Washington, Gordonsville, Green's
boro, Charlotte, Columbia, Charles
ton and Savannah, and arriving in
Jacksonville the 9th. Florida is
truly Gland Of flowers" and it can
boast of having the oldest city on the
continent. In 1864 party of French
Huguenots left their homes on ac-
count of their being prosecuted for
their religious belief, and formed a |
settlement on the ST. Johns river,
and the following year they were ut
terly massacred by the Spanish, who
founded the city of ST. Augustine.
SO you will see that it is ffty-fve
years older than the landing of the
Pilgrim Fathers on Plymouth Rock.
This state was ceded by Spain to the
United States in 1921 and was adj
mitted as a state in 1915, and it has
territory nearly six times larger
than the state of Vermont, and it has
a population in 1880 of 271, 1864 in
habitants, 1887 white and 127, 1897
colored, having increased nearly one
third within the last ten years. The
climate in winter is delightful and
pleasant the winters are not freez-
ING cold, but 'Ecool and bracing.'
You could sit out doors in the shade
and read with comfort during the day,
the thermometer ranging from 90 to
Is in the shade, and seldom goes be-
low 80 degrees in winter and rarely
above 80 degrees in the summer.
People from New Hampshire and
New York said that they had suffered
more with the heat in those states
than they ever did in Florida. In
the summer they do not have those
days of ''sultry" and oppressive heat
! which are so common in the northern
states, and that there was always a
cool breeze during the day; this is
owing to its peninsular shape, and
the ocean and gulf breezes are con-
stantly passing over it. The ''rainy
season" begins in July and lasts into
September, raining some each day,
often lasting only for few minutes
and sometimes for a few hours. But
the ''rainy season. is not always an
annual occurrence, and they say there
never was a case known of sunstroke
or pneumonia in the state. The eli
mate is adapted to the growing of all
tropical fruits, such as oranges, lem
ons, lines, bananas, pineapple, qua
va, etc. Strawberries were in full
bloom when | reached there, roses in
full bloom in the garden, everything
green and growing. The soil is a
fine sandy loan, underlaid with soft
decomposed limestone; this soil i'm
proves with working and cultivating,
and is slightly rolling, covered with a
growth of yellow and pitch pine, while
l1o L., -,
cypress, cedar and other timber and
called Glow hummock land" The
, cypress grows to a great size and
makes excellent shingles. The ce-
e dar is used in making lead pencils.
e The pines grow straight and tall with
, out limb till nearly to the top; the
ground in these pine forests is cover
ed with a rank growth of wild grass.
y which is burnt off each winter; the
e fire passing through the forest does
d not seem to injure the pines in the
:, least. Any one can drive through
these woods in any direction with s
team, never needing to 60 aroun(
u only for small lakes and streams
. The soil is very easily cultivated, be
ing entirely free from stones and th'
= cost of clearing this pine land is abou
$15 per acre, and after the timber il
is taken off it is not as difficult to ploy
lie through these pine stumps as to ploy
i amongst the stones of Vermont, ant
" in few years you can set fire t
IS these stumps, and they will general
burn up entirely, being so full o
As pitch. The U. S. Government ha
Il, 16,000,000 acres of land in this state
+" and the cost of entering a homestea
!" of 100 acres of land is $14, with
10 residence of five years, soldier
time being less his time in the SCI
s. vice; for instance, if soldier serve
ar three years, he would get a title i
e. two years. There is also for sale Il
UUU,UUO acres OIL SUdUe 1duU, WulC
- = can be bought at reasonable prices
according to location, the gener;
IN price being $1.25 per acre-none less
n: Also there has been several grants
:" different companies for the purpos
IN of building railroads these lands al
ur for sale mostly at $1.25 per acr
~ with free transportation over the
railroad. A word about the peopl
# This state is being rapidly settle
ed with northern people. and even tt
ne native is glad to see you, and ye
MT will find kindness and hospitalit
10 among them. There is feeliI
10 among northern people that a ''sout
erner' is ready to fight whenever yc
choose to disagree with him, and tn
ed ,a he always carries revolver and boy
of lie knife. ] will say, in all my ira
,h- h els through the southern states, ! sa
nj no man have either a revolver
% .. knife of any kind, and | never saw
IS: drunken person but once, and th