The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-04-17
ON TIL. RIVER,
Giimpse- orFruitland. Georgetow IA
Drayt1n Island. Etc. Brief
hE the MaNsile.

--Ftt Ia GRE I ni.'ienge IaGtA2 -EN~.
DRAYTON ISLAM. ApIil u. lee6.
There is no river like the =. Johns
here river like observers. there lake,
and again an inland ,ea-wIth It's thriv-
Ing little towns dotted along it, shores
and It's orange groves, vegetable farms,
Its mills, and other and varied INDUS
tries, all going 10 make It Il stream o;
Importance commercially; it IS certainly
one Of rare beauty naturally. Little ln-
deed is the wonder that the people of the
north. east and ives, come by the thous-
ands 70 see Florida anil SPEND the winter
months. But 10 speak II the subjects Of
the caption hereof.
fruitland is situated ia the midst Of
what Is soon 10 be one Of the prosperous
and thriving orange sections Of Florida.
Tie place does not boast that il is cont
mercial center, but surrounding il are
some productive lands. much OF which
Is set 10 Grange trees, the greater num-
Der Of the groves being IRON four to ten
years old, while the settings rf the past
year are quite extensive. ard the same
l. true of the country surrounding
Georgetown. To the east Of these places
Is TO In found some beautiful groves,
notably those Of Mr.. &. VI. Hatch. Mr..
W. \. Pine. Mr.. JOS. Hicks, Mr. T. NJ.
Eeeys, Mr.. j. II. Green and Others, while
just below-as the river tiows-are the
Narnum and other groves of some note.
Much attention is being paid to the cul.
tiyatiOn of vegetables III this section, and
the crop. though late, looks well and
thrifty, and viii doubtless yield good
returns. Fru,land and Georcetown
have their stores AMI the latter has quite
an extensive lumber mill owned and OPP
eratel by Mr. X. \. I.ahree.
But Drayton Island is tie enchanted
spot, so to speak, o. this section. II is
what the stranger would conceive Elorl.
ia to DO. Pardon-no long and tedious
description of the island will lie written
by this correspondent. hut resistance Is
difficult. The orange trees here are in
better condition than in many parts of
the state, and the young fruit On the ma.
jority of the trees is quite abundant.
( enough SO to set aside the often expires
seI idea that no crop would BE- realized
this year. True, the crop may not lie
full. but Drayton Island oranges will lie
( in the market in good season and in no
small quantity. Mr. w. p. Wright's
old grove, the first, perhaps planted on
b the island, and one Of the oldcs, in the
state, suffered greatly by the freeze, but
with this exception. little damage was
done the trees by the cold. The nursery
stock here is all in excellent condition
,.,,I l,n, hgn,, up1 al ln,pyv L.
ped to several parts Of tie state.
Talk about vegetables here they are
to be found in abundancS-whyt there
are more beets and cabbage heads literal
IL on the south side of Drayton Island
than are to be found iiguratively in Pa
latka or even jacksonville. Perhaps
this may be taken as u Joke, but it il a
fact that can be demonstrated beyond all
doubling. DIR. Petit, the JOyial and
companionablc gentleman. has acres Of
these useful articles, while his neighbors
are almost as well supplied. And beans,
and potatoes, and squashes are planted
by the acre. These people have rrepar.
I'd for business. and their land, which
seems naturally rich, has been made
more productive bv fertilization. and the
best Of cultivation has evidently been be-
slowed hy each and every grower. The
islanders are an industrious people, ,ic'
ing with each other in friendly rivalry
in the methods of superior cultivation
and endeavoring to excel in quantity
and quality of production.
My fingers arc eager to run over few
Of these spotless pages in an attempt &c
tell Of the natural beauties OF this island
and the pretty homes here; Of the Great
Lake George my first experience OF rid
ing the great waves in u fowboat, and
how our little boat. frail and fragile.
seem, at play with tie breakers "a w
crossed the lake, now upnow DOWN.
between the waves. thrilling me Will
that enthusiasm of the amateur who
has perfect trust in the man at the helm
rather oars--a little anxious when too
much water comes into tho boat, but
sorry when the shore was'at last reached
and to tell of the excellent people-theiI
social qualities and the exquisite music
SO rare in beauty and It's skilful rendi
ton but forbear.
hand YOU a list of names uf many %
the people who want TIM NEWS. BIZ
sure they are sent promptly aud well
Permit me to make period here.
W. u. Il.