The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1885-08-27
ritten for the FLoRIDIAN.]
Climaee-NOrth and South.


weather is always in order, and calls forth feel
ings of approval or distrust. Some people are al
ways warm and some are always cold, wherever
they may be, so that neither latitude or the
thermometer have much to do with their per
sonal conclusions on this absorbing topic
We recently traversed seven States in our
journey northward from the Gulf to the Great
Lakes, and the temperature scarcely varied AZ
many degrees on the whole trip, except at night,
while passing that cool retreat, the Mammoth
Cave, we found it quite chilly.
In Florida We left the thermometer in the sew
enties, and it remained there, varying only a few
degrees until we reached Chicago, where it was
decidedly cool. Abundant rains had fallen all
through the South laying the dust, clearing the
atmosphere and reshcning up miles upon miles
of cotton and corn crops.
In the Western States the harvesting of OATS
hay, and wheat was in full progress and the
click OF the Mccormick reaper could be heard
on all sides
The cool breeze which met us from Lake
Michigan was bracing and invigorating, and
soon oxdzed any malarial symptoms lurking
within u.s.
country, with Its many miles Of truck FARMS
was that Of thrift, enterprise and unbounding
activity
During several weeks, since leaving Florida,
the northern sun has neither smitten by day or
the harvest moon by night The air throughout
Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin has been clear,
cool and delightful The weather has been
more like that of October than OF midsummer.
If there has been excessive heat or sunstroke
anywhere, il must have been very remote from
this region.
People here speak of the South and of Flor
ida especially, a very hot place" and have,
on the whole, about as intelligent an idea OF The
character of the climate prevailing there as
their Southern cousins have of the prevailing
northern climate,
Short spells of excessively warm weather may
be experienced here, when the thermometer
rises higher than it does in the South But
these hot waves are never 80 long -coninued, or
80 enervating the uninterrupted heat which
prevails throughout the long sultry days of the
spring and summer months in the "Srnny
South"
Notwithstanding the increasing severity of
northern winters, il is surprising to find how
mucn less The people here appear to dread them
than they do the supposed encrvating effects Of
life in a southern cline. Western people par
tculary regard their characteristic dash, pro-
gressivcness and perseverance as somehow re-
lated to thermometer that will occasionally
drop 10 40 degrees below zero, and stay there
long enough To insure their stirring around
Ia, e
has the air of prepirution Hay is cut and
stacked for winter; crops are harvested for
winter; fuel is hauled for winter the wood
piles are sometimes rs high as The houses they
are intended to supply the coming winter
When you tell these people, who are strug
Cling to face I" the windy storm and tempest, :"
(and temperature, the thought of which would
freeze a Floridian's life bloodJ that there are
balmy skies and blooming flowers in Florida,
when all is ce-bound in the North, they open
their eyes II little but still their faith does not
fater. If they must choose, Tor their means are
such that they cannot come and go at will, J
they prefer The chances of 40 degrees below zero
| to the least touch of "malaria." They would
rather shake and chatter under the reign OF Jack
Frost than under the intermittent reign of the
"chills." On the whole, Gas long as climate is a
choice of evils,) they prefer the bitter cold and
storms of winter in the North, to the cnervatng
heat and midsummer discOmorts of the South ;
and this we believe will Prove the rule with the
majority of Anglo-SaXons everywhere This
also explains why immigration to the United
States always seeks the latitude or climatic con
Giions most similar to the European countries
from which the annual tide OF emigration flows
The vast exlanse of territory heretofore Il
wilderness in the new States of Dakota Ne
braska, Minnesota and the regions further west,
are now peopled with multtudcs who come
from Norway Sweden, Denmark Poland and
North Germany. The races of Northern Eu-
rope are the ones that have the pluck to emil
CRATE, and the energy To develop under the severe
prvatons of frontier life; and usually they Sc
lcct climate similar to the one they left To
one who has not visited the West for several
years, the progress made in population, build
ings, agriculture, manufacture and railway com
municatlOns, is simply astonishing, and the con
tinual question occurring to ones mind is this
eff people can build up n civilization and com
Portable hOme-Me in a country SO rugged, in-
clement and cold as this is during half the year.
why cannot they do the same in the neglected
and fertile wastes throughout the South where
one half the labor and pluck would produce
double the results, and where "A small inv, ST.
ment of capital would Immediately Weld even
greater returns?' Without attempting an AN
swer, we conclude with few remarks ON mi
grafton, leaving the problem of emigration to
solve itself
Ii the means Ot transportation between tile
North and South and the rates of travel were
AS well arranged they are between the Elst
and West, (whcre there more competing
lineS) the influx of Northern visitors seeking
warmer climate would he far greater than il is.
There is M increasingly large class of persons,
mostly in moderate circumstances, who have
desire to go South either to spend The winter OF
from doing so by the conflicting reports they re-
ceive, or by the great expense they imagine
must be incurred.
Ii more rapid. direct and reasonable route
could be assured, we believe it would become
increasingly popular, and palronized by a class
of persons who hardly feel that they can afford
too homes, but would gladly avail themselves
of an occasional trip southwark. NOrthcrncls
would thus see more Of the South, and Snuthcr
would see more of the North and both sec
tons would learn to know and understand each
other better. The birds of the air migrate very
easily, and we do not see why people who really
require change Of climate should not do the
same
At present the tourist, home seeker or health
seeker, who desires to enter leave Middle