The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-06-24
New Orleans Times Democrat
A Blessing in Disguise.

When cruel Jack Frost struck our sister Stale
of Florida last winter with apparently pinchine
vindictIvcness the idea got abroad that the
boom of the great orange country had been
effectively knocked in the head. This view of the
matter was religiously fostered and promulgated
by those shrewd and experienced people, the
Western and Northwestern railway land and i'm
migration agents, and for a while the Land OF
Flowers received black eye. The Witty para
graph fiends of many OF our Northern esteemed
contemporaries received the tip with satisiac-
ton, and suspended their chesnuiny expeditions
for a time to pitch into Florida and the funny
segment OF the unterrfed press, lei by Puck,
the funniest OF its opponents, lampooned our
chilled and disconsolate neghbOrs as only Puck
knows how 10 do that same.
Since the boys have had their iltle joke, and
careful investigation shows that the damage
even TO the orange crop, was not as great Is at
first appeared, ii begins to dawn upon the people
of Florida, and The rest of America, that the
widespread freezing may not have been such
bad thing for the State, but, on the contrary
may eventually appear to have been the best
thing that could have happened Those who
remember the settled portions ol Florida before
the war know that in former days the State was
fiji for good many things besides the produc-
ton of single fruit crop. The latter develop
ment has been for the greater part in
the line Of orange production, and with
the speculation in land based on that
special interest, many other things have
been lost sight of In Western Florida, for in
stance, there was once one of the most fertile and
prosperous districts Of the South, peopled by
sterling immigrants from Scotland, who built up
a wealthy and cultivated community of planters,
living like princes with their rich fields and
herds. With them oranges were small cnnsid-
Grafton, and yet on the whole continent there
could not he found any who followed agriculture
or stock raising who were more successful than
the Scotch settlers of the Pensacola region.
Probably the fact will he news to many of our
Northern readers that Florida beet kept The Con
federacy going for the last year and II half of its
existence, and that, after the war, tor some time
the State kept itself above water by shipments ot
beet To the West ndies-amountng II as much
as $4,000 head per month. Later. The stock men
OF Texas came over and pretty well cleaned up
the district. The first business done by the Pen.
sacola and Atlantic Railway WAS in shipping
Florida beeves to Texas
Within short time the tide has turned again,
and practical men from Colorado and Montana
are going into Western Florida and are building
up large stock ranches. Many considerations
are leading to the new growth OF this industry,
and of the sheep industry as well. Florida cat
tie and sheep are exempt from the diseases that
infiIct those animals ct the West, and Western
Florida offers even better advantages than the
West for the production OF cheap beef, mutton,
wool, hides and tailow. There is always plenty
oi water. and II is unnecessary Ia feed or house
any kind OF stock III any part of the year. Ii
has been found too, that IA cross between the ma
live kline and some imported varieties, notably,
The Jersey, gives remarkably fine results, and a
good deal of progress is being made in that di-
rcction. The country tributary To the Louis
vile and Nashville and Pensacola and Atlantic
systems affords almost endless opportunities for
the establishment OF cattle and sheep ranges I'M
der The most favorable conditions. while The
chances for such enterprises as tanneries, wooden
inctqflcs and so on, are many and good. There
10 not An establishment OF any OF The sorts men
toned in the whole region. But Western Flor
ida has capabilities other than stock raising md
manufacturing products of that industry. There
are forty five varieties of valuable native wood,
not a furniture factory. wide area OF farm
ing country is splcnddy adapted To the growth of
early fruits and vegetables, and the fisheries
rs valuable as any on the Gulf. With all these
resources and direct access to home and foreign
markets by rail ana sea- our sister Florida has
glorious material future in spite of the worst old
Fahrenheit Can do for her The visit of Jack
Frost last winter, was blessing in disguise, in
that 1t served to call attention to interests and
opportunities not heretofore recognized