Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-04-19
TRUCK FARMERS VEXED.
NATURES CAAPRICES EIPOVER.
IsHING THE.R FORTUNES.

JdHudFE Was suCCeeutu ~ NdfH a. .
season in February. Vegetables see y
TO be doing finely, farmers and garf So
were in fine spirits. sit was ratP NShers
said they, ''but little rain WI ~ Try'
all right and they rejoice .,l.'l1 ni:'Se II
shipments made month ,,o.,sa,. s,,.'lA "A oi
ustIal. But, alas for hun Al, rsIorIa.,I' man
VerAaI February vas snIcood".1, I.S.,ois
frigid, pluvial N .srch. and - "
than one formeIf sanguine trucker iIar
saw his tAnder plants killed
an, ana others - mature growth injured.
Inc long conttn1ed cold Of This month
was y. unptIsce'aented, and stnnted the
SIoMtn % tst@ Vegetables, while 1t blasted
tne mop Is of fVa unusually carly cron-
Nor do We fiMa even this month to ba ne
warm warm as ufs1al. Though we have had
s solle quite warm weather, and ices have
Oeen somewhat in demand, yet today and
yesC tTeay to sit by cracking fire is by
no no tsans uncomfortable. But it is too
t taCe . now for frost i'll this latitude, and
sno lRgh- wraps and fires are at r ssent con-
uu clTe to comfort. it is DOssibleand nroha-
Dl that with the end of the present cool
y F9ll we will have no more cool weather
Fifore next fall,
we still have quite a number of North
ehn visitors in our midst. and the arrivals
az the different hotels compare tavorably
with the nGgmber registered a month or
I Two age Many of them, though not
/ strangers to our State. have visited tbis
4 section for the first time and express
themselves as delighted with the scenery.
Several have invested in real estate. and
\ qulCe Il NUMBER were so pleased that thev
4 have engaged rooms for another winter.
/ The demand for improved city lots has
been greater than l have ever known,
NJ
1 looked upon as good investment One
I gentleman has made several purchases of
1 large tracts of land in this vicinity on
/ Wnlcn ne designs locating several German
4 coIonles. This is the kind of immigration
we need--small farmers. Such a class are
more desirable than those who purchase
10 rent, Tor the former add to the wealth
Vi Ine country by increasing its products,
| Wnlle the latter add scarcely ANYTHING
1t is the small farms and not the large
plantations that build up such country
as tnls, for while the acreage of the former
Is less, yet their yield from skilled labor
: and intensive farming is far greater.
| vegetables and fruits are preferable to
cotton, which is really, under the present
| product.
The murder of the negro woman and
child, on the Chaires plantation, to which
L formerly alluded, is still involved in
| mystery. After a searching investigation
| of nearly two weeks, G. f. Scruggs, the
white man who was charged with the
offense, was held to bail in the sum of one
thousand dollars. The evidence was
circumstantial and conflicting. But.
lnasmuch as it cast a suspicion on him,
the court thought best to bind him over for
his appearance at the fall term of the
Circuit Court to answer any charge
that might be brought against him. An
n ri hnN hoo,
man Young, the husband of the murdered
woman and prosecutor of Scrugg, with the
murder, his case was subsequently, tried.
and after patient investigation of nearly
a week, he, too, was bound over, and not |
being able to give bond is now in Jail,
where he will remain until next Novem- |
Der, unless able to give the required bond |
in the meantime.
The appearance of the smallpox at
Jacksonville created no little excitement |
i'll this community at first, as there was
quite stampede of the colored element |
from that city to this, many of them for !
merly having lived here. But our munich |
pal authorities acted promptly. The de- |
pot is visited every day on the arrival of |
the train, and if there are any passengers /
from Jacksonville who have fever thev |
are not allowed to come within the cor |
porate limits. Vaccine matter has been |
obtained and compulsory vaccination re- |
quired.
From early morn to dewy eve, crowds
of negroes may be seen in front |
of the office of the City Phvsi- |
clans, waiting to be vaccinated,
SO far there has been but one case. a
negro woman from Jacksonville. She |
was taken sick about two weeks ago,
is isolated in a house beyond the cftV |
limits, which is well guarded, and she is
reported to be nearly well. 1t was this
one case that created the scare, but as
precautions were promptly taken, and no |
other case has appeared, the excitement |
has subsided, and our people, satisfied
with the prompt action of the city authori-
ties, are under. no apprehension from
this terrible malady.
The discovery of gold quartz in the |
boring of an artesian well at Gainesville |
reminds me of similar discoveries here in |
former days. A former citizen of this |
place informed me that in digging a we'll !
in the western part of the city he discov-
cred piece of gold quartz about the size |
OF his INST some thirty feet below the sur
face. From this he obtained S. worth of
the precious metal. Detached specimens
have occasionally been plOughed up in |
the fields around here, and occasionally
minute particles have been found in the
beds of small streams. Besides these speci-
mems OF gold, it is well known that there
are rich deposits of galena, iron ore and
4
the last session of the Legislature to get |
through bill looking to a geological sur
vey of the State. But our penny wise and
pound foolish Legislators could not appre-
clate Its Importance, and the bill was de-
feated. From my limited observation | |
am satls1ed that there could not have
been a wiser expenditure of money than
that proposed in the bill. 1t would
have developed hidden resources
Of untold wealth and prove that Florida is !
rich in mineral as well as agricultural |
products. Scientists who have made cur
sorry examinations of the geological strata | ,
Of Florida from time to time have been |
astonished at the discoveries made by
them. Geological works assert that the |
formations here are new, when such is {
not the case. A few months ago DIR. [
kosh, of Michigan, who is a geologist of |
considerable reputation, discovered to his |
surprise chalk formations, which belong '
TO the tertiary stratum. ''If there
must be carboniferouS for, {
nation" The various fossils, too {
that have been from time to time eX- l
lumed, show that Florida is not a new t
formation. In some portions of the State
here are also large phosphate deposits
eovery at Gainesville and other facts, {
may yet induce a future Legislature to !
make an appropriation for developing the 9
hidden wealth that is believed by many {
to exist, and that Florida will no longer 9
be a terra tncOqHitd geologically.
Now that there is q through connection |
here and Pensacola, and the bridge
across the Chattahoochee river COM
pleted, communication between the two
points is more frequent. Not day
passes but what there are arrivals from
west of the Chattahoochee. Tourists, too,
who take that route on their way home q
ward usually stop a day or two in our :
city. The vast pine forests that stretch
are being utilized by enterpris-
ing mill men. All along the road, at I
every station, new buildings are going up, !
and the whole region from the ChattahOo- :
,hee to Escambia Bay has received such |
IN impetus as it never has before. In | :
Jackson county, especially, there are !
some magnificent lands, and the day is !
not far distant when many of the fine old
plantations there will be suhdivided into l
Nell-tilled and productive farms. :
1t is said that the company owning the | l
Leon Hotel contemplate enlarging it the l
coming summer. Many rooms have !
already been engaged for the next season, l
md the lessee says he must have more l
'OOm and as the half Of the old court | :
house square, on which the hotel now =
stands, may be rather contracted after /
such enlargement, rumor says that thev !
Will purchase the other half of the SQUARE. {
IN which that old eye-sore, the iaiI. | '
stands. 1t is to be hoped that sthis con- !
so devoutly to be wished.v | !
nav be made and that the iaiI NOV Ro | I