Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-04-10
SCENES IN FLORIDA.
A Visit to the Orange countrY-Fine
Orange Groves.
MAGNOLIA, Florida, Mar. Is, 1855.

MAGNOLIA, Florida, Mar. %, 1885.
1t is almost impossible for me to re-
allze that this is March. The disagree
able, clustering month that one breads
in Wisconsin more than any other
month in the year. My window is
wide open, the crickets are chirping,
and | can hear all the noises peculiar
to night in midsummer. The scent of
the orange blossoms is everywhere.
For the last few days have been in
the veritable orange country. Orange
blossoms have perfumed my days and
nights; conversation has been confined
to the orange topic; | have wandered
midst orange groves, have seen oranges
by wagon loads. boat loads; in fact l
have been surfeited with oranges.
l wrote you about week ago from
st. Augustine, al which delightful
winter resort spent pleasant week.
Last Saturday l witnessed the annual
regatta, and the accompanying sports,
which consisted of pony races, a tour
nament, sack-race, and the "tug of
war" The sack race was most anus
sing, about dozen young negro boys
cont esting for the prize, and several
hundred friends laughing and shout
ing at their various mishaps as only
negroes can laugh and shout. While
the tug of war was being arranged
l was spectator of an impromptu
contest between two coal black young
negroes, who. taking off their caps,
went humping their heads together
like infurated rams. l can now believe
all that | hear in regard to the hard
ness of negro's skull. The tug of
wal" was between the walters of the
four large notes.-the San Marco, Mag
nolia, st. Augustine and Florida
six walters from each hotel took part,
and the walters from my hotel were
victorious. my own waiter who in
summer is waiter on one of the Hud-
son river boats. being one of the vic
tors.
Last Tuesday morning l started for
Palatka, sorry to leave st. Augustine,
but anxious to see more of Florida.
At Palatka l took the handsome boat
Erred de Barry" and started up the
river, but down the country, to Sanford
/ must class the.St. Johns amongst the
finest rivers have seen, and a trip on
it in one of the fine river steamers is a
trip one is not likely to forget. There
is SO much variety to it. The river is
at times narrow and crooked, and then
widens into Il magnificent lake ten
twelve or fifteen miles in width and
even greater length. There are small
settlements along the banks and many
fine orange groves, but the banks are
for the greater part untouched by man,
and are covered with Il tangle of trop-
ical growth, magnolia, oak, palmetto
and many vines. trees and shrubs I'M
known to me. The banks In no place
rise higher than from twenty to twenty
five feet, and are for the most part
barely higher than the surface of the
water, The charm in the river con-
sists in its varying widths and curves,
the wealth of vegetable growth along
it's shores and the beautiful coloring of
all its surroundings.
We make the run from Palatka to
Sanford about one hundred and twenty
five miles in eleven hours, arriving AZ
Sanford in time to 60 to bed. Coming
down in the morning my first visit was
to the hotel garden which lies between
the hotel and the river and in front of
which is lighted each evening the
pitch-pine beacon which lights the
steamer to the wharf. i had thought
st. Augustine rather tropical in appear
ance with its precious date palms.
but here were a grove of handsome
palmetto trees, bananas in flower and
in fruit, shrubs of hibiscus fifteen feet
high in full bloom, castor oil might
almost with truth say trees, and vari-
Gus other plants and trees of tropical
appearance. not to mention the beauti-
ful roses of all kinds. During the
morning visited the celebrated Speer
Grove, about mile out of Sanford and
the finest grove | have seen. (of course
it is understood that by grove mean
orange grove.) | believe it is some
thirty-five years old, and is about fifteen
acres in extent. 1t is probably the
oldest in Florida and is very well kept.
In the Doyle grove adjoining | had
the proud privilege of picking oranges
from the trees. The entire neighbor-
hood seemed a clustre of fine orange
groves. | discovered in the evening
that the Rev. Lyman Phelps, formerly
Of Mineral Point, was living near
Sanford. He is manager of the
celebrated Belair or Bellarie grove
about three miles from Sanford, has Il
very fine young grove of his own, is
interested in a bank at Sanford, and is
considered one of the shrewdest men
in the neighborhood. He is building
himself one of the finest houses in
that part of Florida, and to quote the
words OF 4 New York orange man who
was telling me about Mr.. Phelps, what
the Rey. Lyman Phelps doesn't know
about the management of orange
groves and the disposal of the fruit
is not worth knowing"
Across Lake Monroe opposite San
which is crowded all winter long. 1t
is situated In the midst of orange and
lemon trees, and is not far from the
the famous De Barry estate with its
wonderful spring and groves of tropic
al fruits. | went over in the little
steamer which plies between the two
places, and visited the celebrated salt
spring near the Brock House. but
owing to the intense heat about SIS in
the shade) had to forego the pleasure
of visiting the De Barry estate. 1t was
a relief to get back to Sanford and
lounge about the hotel and try to keep
cool. That night as the hotel orches-
lrd was playing the Cuban " LA Polo
ma" (How the piece RACES through
all the Florida resorts y and the beacon
of pine knots was throwing into sharp
relief the palmetto tree tops against
the blue black sky, thought | had never
seen anything more picturesque than
the entire scene us viewed from the
lake. The next morning it rained and
had to give up my intended trip to the
De Barry grove, as well as my intended