The Florida agriculturist., 1889-01-02
FoR THn FnoRUA AanIcULrunrsr.
Florida.

T.
Truth about 1t is an inexhaustiblesubie
and because there are many inouirers
trying to get at the truth, is why this is
written.
!: am from New York State, and have
lived here continuously for the past nine
Years, and Ought to- know something
about it by this time. TO a stranger, OF
one who has never visited the State. It is
difficult to make them understand the
truth IN regard to it, as we have no other
section to compare it with. In compari-
son with other localities il is q State of
eoHtrarietigs; II fact, almost everything
III nature Is diFestly the OppOsfte Of ali
other countries | have ever visited or
read OF. Iangiving my IMPRESSIONS from
roy 9WH locality, and do not say this as
detrimental to any other portion of the
State, but to be more fully understood.
There is one point, at least; that all,
friends and enemies alike, agree upon,
and that is that her climate ind health
iulIiess are unexcelled. 1t is impossible to
make one who has 1lever visited the State
understand what a mid air Is. Many
and 1iaf1y d time have [ asked visitors
and residents, Wien Speaking Of the
pleasantness OF the day, to suggest an
improvement. The reply has been, eve
cannot; it is simply perfect" And these
Gays are not a1l exception, but continue
day after day and week after week: and
Wilen | tell you that orr thermometers
Will stanf at the s8ftis degree morning
or evening" for days together. and that at
one time the record showed but nineteen
degrees extreme variation in fourteen
weeks, you must know it is neatly perfect.
Inc great majority suppose our Slim
lHerS are almost unbearable from the
heat, bit that is all entire mistake. Our
thermometers hardly ever go above 950,
and from the peculiar formation of the
state we have daily sea breeze, with a
dfy air, and the rapid evaporation of the
moisture Of the body in this dry air low
ers It's temperature ten to twenty degrees
from what the thermometer Indicates Tt
was a mystery to me fora long time, and
is to all visitors, why we should feel this
cool sensation while at rest in the shade
With the Thermometer standing at 90o,
or even 950, did Most attribute it to the
dampness of the air, btlt III that they are
mistaken. A hot, moist air is termed
muggy" and is seldom if ever felt here.
Another fact is, that we donot have the
poisonous insects and reptiles, or the tor
iiadoes and violent thunder-storms that
tropical countries aresupposed to be sub
ject to-. 1t is en- exception to the rule
here to have a rainy day, OF for the wind
to blow when tt rains. Our rainy season
is i'll tile sttfflmer, so that we are not sub
jected to the cold, drizz1y rains in winter,
as that is our dry season and we may be
S6aks without shower. Our rainy sea-
sofi does not consist OF rainy days or
rainy weeks for IT, in reality, is the
season of tie year. 1t seldom
rains before noon; at two o'c1ocE we get
a shower lasting from ten minutes 20
three hours and the business is done for
the day. Our showers come from all oil
fections. as often from the north as the
south. from the east as the west, and 1t is
40 i1fi4sslal thing to see from three to SIX
showers sffsing at the same time
from as many points OF thecOmpass. we
are located less than twenty miles from
the Atlantic. We can hear the roar. OF
the surf and see the storm-cloItsS raging
over it, but the storms seldom reacn rs
(the last one was in 1SS0). but we see uhe
send both from the Atlantic and the Gun
storms fying over us, while at the same
time we have the trade-wind breeze, just
q gentle ripple of the leaves that must be
seen and felt to be appreciated. AS lor
the health of the State, when you take m
to consideration the number OF lnvahds
that visit and settle among us, IL is sig
nifcant to say that the official reports
Mace the death rate at six per thousand
i,er year. 1t is true we have had the yei-
low fever in some localities the past sea-