The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1888-03-08
Special correspondence of the VIRGINIAN.
Facts fir Flowery Florida.

OCOEE, Fla, %, 1888.
Thousand Of people are docking to Flor
ida. Every State and Territory has repre-
sensations here by the hundred. Some
come to escape the rigors of the win
ter, some are here seeking permanent
homes, some are on the lookout for
speculatioEs in lands, while many thou
sands afflicted with lung diseases have, as
a last resort. sought the balmy atmosphere
of this perpetual summer time. OF chs
latter class l have seen hundreds who
came here a year OF more ago in the last
stages of consumption. There are not a
few who were brought upon beds and in a
few months were able to go about. Many
having been healed from diseases Of the
lungs are now making hands on farms
they have purchased since getting we'll.
There is a young man living the lone
life of a bachelor ON his farm, but few
hundred rods from where l now am. He
four years ago, was so low from consump
ton as to barely have life left. Now he is
at work every day on his market farm, and
is getting rich at rapid rate.
Orange county is almost in the centre
of Florida. 1t has much finer facilities
for shipping the products of the soil than
any county in Virginia, with which am
acquainted. From Ocoee to New Y osk
the freight upon single box of oranges is
but 50 cents. All other fruits and yegeta.
bles go at equally reasonably low rates
The time occupied by freights in reaching
New York is but3 days,
There are but few of the vegetable pro.
ducts ofEany State that do not grow in
Orange county in the greatest abundance.
1t is now midwinter in Virginia, yet
many orange trees here are bending be-
meath their. load of ripe fruit. While others
are white with blossom. Oranges hang
upon the trees in Florida the year round,
if not disturbed. There are cabbage fields
of hundreds of acres in extent, and the
plants range in size from those just set, to
large firm heads ready for shipment. To-
matO vines stood through the whole win
ter, and i'll many places you find that veg
etable on the table taken from the last
years vine. There is more trucking done
in Orange county than in Anne Arundel,
Nd. have seen fields of ten acres in the
latter county in tomatoes or peas or cab.
bage, but in Orange county there are
farms of 100 acres in each of these vegeta-
bles. Strawberries have been ripening
since the 18th of January, and have sold
for from SO cents to 81 per quart in New
York.
passed through several sweet potato
fields Oh Sunday evening, and saw lying on
the ground many bushels of the culls left
over from last season. Most of these,
though discarded by the trucker here,
would pass as Il No. | with US. In one
place the hills had not been opened Yet
Withstandng the fact that this is win
ter, and months after sweet potato time
with us, the potatoes, both in and out of
ground, are i'll as fine condition as the best
we ever get on our market
On farm one mile from Ocoee, pulled
Japan pums from the tree yesterday, the
3lst, and they were just in their prime.
Lemon growing is a success in this and
all other peninsula co..nties of Florida.
They grow to an enormous size here, and
among other uses to which they are put by
the people. is that Of substitute for
cream of tartar, in preparing bread for
baking