The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-04-08

WHAT A KENrUcKr EvANGnIIsx sAw AND
II HEARD IN THE LAHD or SLowRna
Rev. Edward o. Gasrrant. the widely
known evangelist, has rscsatly spent
some time ia Orlando, and has written
for the Mt Sterling Gasstts his impress
sions OF Florida:
A further acquaintance with this genial conn
try has uodilaed mary Of my flFsE impressions-
" Live aud learn~ b 3 wiss old saw. have
lived good deal since my last letter, and learned
some things ana n0k know beforA They arc q
your service and any Of my friends. without the
labor and expense they cost me.
was impressed with M great possibilities IT. un-
developed wealth and La brilliant future. Was
surprised to find land there - rich - the blue
grass, with facilities for living and accumulation
unknown even In the Bluegrass"
When the cold wave passed over. the weather
assumed the type ofa Kentucky September;
could not be more. delightful The men were
putting 10 gardens, and the ladies working
among the flowers A winter in Florida 10
beauty and joy 10 . snow-beund, blizzard
blown kcntuckian. l caDnot speak OF tho sum-
mers there from experience, but the almost uni.
versal testimony OF Kentucktans met there tand
there are many living in that coontryl Is that
the summers there are more pleasant than fur
Their North, because of the constant sea-breezes
and daily showers Suustroke, 90 common IN
the North, is unknown in Florida do not re-
member q single resident met land l know
many who went from delightful homes In Ken
tucky,) who wanted to come back; few ever do
Though the State was the first settled by
white men, IL ID comparatively q new country.
Until recently mo railroad penetrated II. and few
emigrants entered Il Ten years ago q gentle
man walked tfom Sanford to Orlando-twenty
miles-for wanssef d better conveyance. Now
three railroads cfnier there. Ten years ago the
site of Eustis vas Government wild land now.
il is thriving town OF some 1900 inhabitants
Ten years ago few invalids sought its sun
shine, daring anything to escape death. since
October $1,000 visitors have registered at the
hotels in Jacksonville alone.
From the beginning ii has been the unwise
custom of the Southern people to rdise eotto" and
buy ecerything else. So ia Florida the rage has
been to raise oranges and buy everything else.
There is no more necessity for 1t in one case
than the other. Some things can not be raised
so far south but am convinced by observation
and the evidence of business men that almost
everything necessary to good living may be
raised IN the State do not know where saw
richer land than the hammocks around Ocala,
and am sure never saw healthier country
or such beautiful lakes as around Umatilla and
that great lake region. An old settler told me
he had lived there eighteen years with q large
family and never paid a doctor a cent for at
tending a case of sickness Indeed believe
there Is no doctor there!
Raising early vegetables is becoming profit
able industry Robert Howe, of Kentucky, told
me he sold $115 worth of tomatoes of Of half an
acre. DR.. Webster near Altoona, gathered over
100 bushels oil strawberries off of less than an
acre, so he publishes in bis paper. He began
gathering in January and continued until June.
Cabbages cucumbers, and melons Of all kinds
grow in greatest abundance on the better pine
lands with fertlizng, and on the hammocks
without il.
The value of lands is constantly and rapidly
increasing. A cousin Of NINE declined to pur-
chase ten acres for $500 ten years ago now il is
valued at $1,000 Another bought at $25 per
acre four years ago, and has sold part OF il at
$500 per acre. Other cases might be given OF
much larger profits; these know.
Since l wrote you, have visited the famous
Silver Spring. probably the largest fountain
in the world. A steamboat runs to it daily from
Palatka. Ii looked large enough for dozen
steamboats, To anchor in. II is one of the main
tributaries of the Ocklawaha river. / never saw
such beautiful water; you could easily see fish
II the depth OF 20 feel, and l believe nickel
could tie seen on the bottom. No rains ever
muddy i, or increase its mighty volume more
than few inches. A splendid hotel is just fin
ished near it to accommodate visitors. A broad
gauge railroad runs TO il from Ocala and Palatka
A few miles from it a new town is laid Out-the
Park, believe it is called, and as yet only q
park.
But l will not weary your patience. To sum
up, as | would say, as the result of my investi-
cations, that l believe Florida good place for
plants; many have gone there and recovered.
VIM ifsdnS pt %sn a8h0@ kRsE IN tennessee
covered in few years. and is now q strong man.
He went there in time. Many do not. They
had better die at home The mild and equable
climate is especially grateful to old people. As
men grow Older they suffer more with cold, and
less able to resist violent diseases of colder
climates. There they may live free from pinch
ing cold and the dread OF pneumonia and other
acute diseases health and outdoor life are syn
onymous terms Here you can live out doors
nearly every day in the year. Prof Gould. q del
icate old gentleman, who once taught school in
Kentucky and left on account of the climate, is
now living at Orlando, past eighty years of age.
A gallant old Colonel from Louisville, who had
vile during the winter. is now working in his
orange grove in his shirt sleeves in January.
He came from brown stone front on Broadway
TO a little cottage in the pine woods, and is
happy. | would recommend this climate to
delicate and old people as their best chance for
long life and health. Besides these, / believe
Florida now offers rare opportunities to active,
perseveriDg, self-denying young men, seeking tn
better their fortunes | find many such here
doing well, and some getting rich. 1t will re-
quire pluck, patience and perseverance, qualities
which win anywhere, but, believe, will get
reward here sooner than in most places.
With all this am loyal TO Kentucky. I be-
lieve it is the garden spot" for well people, and
healthy people. and strong people and well-to-do
people; but a great many people are not well, or
healthy, or strong, or well-tO-do. The country
has great many sick. and old and delicate peo-
pie who own no land in the Bluegrass" For
such believe God made Forida-wih all 9TH
ers who prefer the sand to snow, the sunshine to
20 drgreee below zero.
Those of us who cannot even spend our winters
in Florida must content ourselves with the hope
of reaching the Eternal Florida, forever beyond
the frost line" Of sin and the storms of sorrow.