The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1892-03-16

were most pleasantly surprised to meet
Mr. and Mrs. VIM. Stanton, whose
home is southeast of LawtOn. Mrs.
Stanton is related by marriage to DR..
Inman, and it is here they have been
spending the winter. Here, too, in one
corner of the grounds, | looked upon
the last resting place of my old class
mate, Chas. Robinson, a graduate from
our school in '73, and victim of that
dread disease, consumption. Thus it is
that we often find traces of familiar
friends in unexpected and unfamiliar
places.
Fires were sparkling i'm the CRATES of
this luxurious home, flowers decked man
ties and tables, and the latter fairly
groaned under load of delicious re-
freshments, among which were luscious
strawberries just picked from the vines,
with liberal covering of sweet Jersey
cream. Think of it on the twenty
seventh of January, and you will not
wonder that, as they melted rapidly
away, we almost wished we might stay
forever. Some complimentary remarks
by Perry Powers of Cadillac, were aptly
responded to by DR.. Inman. and we
tore ourselves reluctantly away from
our new. made friends who seemed so
glad to see us and made us SO heartily
| welcome.
At Barlow junction we made short
stop at their noted phosphate mines,
where they scoop up the earth of this
great antediluvian sepulchre" with "a
steam dredge and, after washing it un-
til nothing remains but the small peb-
bles that are practically petrified bones
and richly impregnated with the phos-
phoric acid, ship it away to be treated
with sulphuric acid, when it is said to
be fine fertilizer. There are various
other phosphate beds recently dIscov-
cred i'm the state, and undoubtedly the
southern portion will yet develop
many more Since every acre of
Florida land must be fertilized each
year, it can easily be seen what mine
of riches these beds will be, in case the
fertilizer proves of as good quality as is
expected. We were told that as yet
only the Barlow mines had been .suffi-
GENTLY tested to be at all reliable.
At the junction of several branches of
the South Florida X. r., on the direct
line to the great tarpon fishing grounds
of Punta Gorda, we stopped at Lake
land, charming little town of about
| 800 people, mostly Northerners. In
deed, Florida seems to contain n larger
percentage of Northern people than any
other Southern state. Lakeland is well
named, as it is surrounded by nine
lakes; and, being situated on the high
est point of the backbone of Florida, it
boasts of the highest hills, best roads,
most salubrious breezes, purest water,
and finest scenery in the state. AS we
did not arrive here until after dark and
left that night, we cannot vouch for this
ourselves; but, judging from our recep-
ton at the fremont House, we are full
ly prepared to believe it all. This hotel
is fine one, with all the modern inn
provements, and had been lavishly dec
Grated with fruit and flowers for this
occasion. The dining room was pic
ture, with its ornamentations of trail
ing vines and palmetto leaves, its man
tel banked with fruit and flowers, and
in the center of the room an immense
pyramid, with grape fruit at the base,
then oranges, next lemons surmounted
by tangerines, and last as well as least,
tiny variety of orange whose name
sounded like "cumquat," though we'll
! not vouch for the accuracy of our spell