Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1890-03-27
From the Land Of Flowers.


tell IN Mr.. FOx's favor.
From the Land Of Flowers.
EDITOR ALERr:--I have discovered
that Uncle Sam has quite an extensive
plantation. The Dakotas are his wheat
fields, Kansas his "ornfield, northern
Michigan his wood yard, Texas and Mon
tana his pastures, and this is where he
raises his early vegetables-his garden
patch, as it were. He has several other
pieces of land that are more or less use
full in their way, and very desirable
places for people to live, if they feel so
disposed.
This is certainly very pleasant place
in many ways. There is sunshine
which is about equal to that OF North
Dakota, and that is saying good deal
and a temperature which varies but q
few degrees the year around. Since we
have been here there has been the coldest
weather experienced for several years.
The mercury'reached the surprisingly low
mark Of 36 degrees above zero, and the
highest mark in a Kept record of Is years
is 96 degrees. have been over the state
very little, but understand that in the
interior the temperature is somewhat
lower, and there is little more danger
from frost.
We have been most of the time on
Merrill's island, between Indian river
and Banana river. both of which are
salt water, and are more properly arms of
the ocean, rather than rivers, but some-
what reduced by the fresh water rivers
which empty into them and both, espec-
cially Indian river, are beautiful bodies
of water, full of fish and oysters. Mrs
J. and myself, with a friend and his wife,
have just returned from ten days trip
down the Indian river in q yacht, and
have had g very fine time and an oppor-
tunity to see few of the sights and to
taste a good many Of the products. We
have made several visits to the ocean
beach and picked up shells and gone
barefooted in the sand and sun-burned
our feet till they were no use to us, and
fallen off the boat into the water, clothes
and all, and have had sundry and divers
experiences too numerous to mention.
AS to comparing this country with
North Dakota, it is hard thing to do;
they are SO different. The expense of
living here is very small, but I don't see
as there is any better chance of getting
money here than there. Five or ten
acres is all the land a man needs here,
but it takes lots of work to clear it, and
constant work and attention to get any.
thing off from it. Large returns are often
received from shipping vegetables to
New York IN the dead Of the winter, but
if the season is dry, as it is this year, or
if the frost should MP them just us they
are about ready for market, matters
would turn out about as they have IN
North Dakota for the past few years.
The winter visits OF northerners brings
some money into the country and makes
some demand for home products. Oranges
are the No. hard of Florida, and they
are tolerably sure crop at good price,
but it takes eight or ten years to get a
grove that will pay much, and good bear,
ing groves are not within pocket. book
reach Of ordinary mortals. Pineapples
are standard crop-bear in about eight
cen months and pay we'll with reason
able amount of care. There is an almost
endless list of fruits which can be grown
here, and many Of them are native to the
soil. Some of them come ouly in sum
mer, and of course we have pot seen
those, but we have tasted fresh fruits of
the orange, lemon, liw we,guava,pine-apple,
pomegranate, cocoanut, mulberry, grape,
strawberry. banana and Japan plum varie.
ties and most of the ordinary vegetables.
It seemed strange to us at first to see
tho flowers all in bloom and no one
worrying about them being soon spoiled
by the frost. The lady with whom we
stop has dozen or fifteen varlties of
roses on her lawn, most of which are
more or less in bloom, though this Is a
little out of season, and all sorts of
plants, which are familiar to us as house
plants, grow to be trees out OF doors
here.
Florida is mostly settled up with
northern people, SO that one coming
fron, the north or west need not feel
much of stranger. We are in a COM
munity which is largely from Wisconsin,
but there are representatives of other
places and other countries. As to the
general health, there is one answer to all
my questions. That is, that there is no
country more healthy than the east
coast of Florida, and that is said by men
Of extended travel.
have tried to give you few items as
seen by my eyes and heard by my ears.
but in spite of the festive boomer and
putting behind me the attraction of the
sea and the flowers and the birds and
the fruits and the fish and the game, I
have bought no land and don't expect to-,
but hope to show up about April 7th, to
90 on with my hnsinass in the sama