Middletown transcript., 1893-06-03
COMPARED WITH THE GLORIOUS
CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA"
BY THE BALDHEADED EDITOR
who says the ..Exoeptional'' weather
of the Latter was the Cause of His
seeking a Home Elsewhere-A
Very Good Reason for Mans Desire
far a warm Cllmate-How the ALI
gator Behaves Under the Gaze of
Northern Tourlst-The Garden Spot
of south FIorIda-Tho Fraits of
Lake worth.

-.
A good many questions have been as e
me about the South East Coast of Florids
where l spen the late but not laniente'
winter, some Of which l would like Z
answer in the columns of the TRANscRlRI
| will say in the beginning, however, tina
/ do not wish to be understood as trying L
persuade people to move from this PENN
sula to Florida. The Peninsula is a might,
good piece Of country, Its people enjoy III
about as much as the people of any othel
region and can keep our of Jail or the legis
lature, if they want to, about as well as
folks can elsewhere; its fried chicken and
canvas back duck have never been equalled,
and its stewed terrapin is poem.
And. besides, person who cannot make
a living in Delaware or ON the Eastern
Shore of Maryland is likely 10 fail any
where else.
But there are persons who do not flourish
in the winter time of northern iatitudesi
who long for summer skies in January aud
despise the song of the six tons OF coal
Csc. 80 toni sliding into the cellar.
Nan was created in warm climate. The
historical data we have about his first out.
III of summer clothes is evidence enough of
that. and some writer tells us that this old
hereditary longing for strawberries in Janu-
ary and his irrepressibe hatred Of cellar
furnace come of this cause.
There are people, however, who like
winter, who consider zero weather a fine
..tonic," who can flourish on the cooked
air of d cellar furnace, and who believe
cold il good thing because it kills tue
microbes They have thus far neglected.
10 explain why such diseases as smallpox,
tvphtls fever, measles and diphtheria are
generally epidemic III cold weather
South East Florida is good place for
those who are accustomed OF winner nights
TO 20 to bed in company with fifteen Or
twenty hot bricks. X is also good place
for the woman who in her earlier married
life has not persuaded her husband that il
is a mans duty 70 get out first Of cold
morning and start The fire
Winter has never dealt kindly with me,
and years ago / used to think, during
frulicsome cold wave when would be try
ing 10 stuff bed quilt between the back
door ana door casing, to keep out some OF
the coarsest of the cold. that made great
mistake by not being bJrn ip more trUpi
cal climate.
Ii was then too late to mend the mistake,
but did the next best thing. went off
hunting warmer climate.
Everybody in California said the climate
there had been mild until came. Then il
8 lddenly got exceptional and continued to
grow more so. There was only half an
inch. nf ice the first winter. That was the
winter following the bad fall, when my
hired man, who was cultivating my hill
side fl uit ranch, fell off the orchard into.
the adj, lining election district anil hurt him
self
The next winter all my water pires froze
30 hard that they burst, and the plumber
had harvest He was tie only Califor-
nian n. uiu I.ot try 10 apologize for tie
weather. | suspected that he Thought it was
ii suri IF humorous occurrence, and When
| saw his bill | knew IT, But he had all The
lun out Of 1t.
Fearing that might have TO call in this
plumber again. professionally, and the
walking being exceedingly bad between
California and the East, and getting worse,
] lett there iast fall.
Down in Dade County, Florida, found
country s,metliirg like Adam discovered
when he first woke up and found himself
alive and not eiutliing store i'll the
county.
Dade County is good deal bigger than
Delaware aud, though it califlut approach
the latter i'll ti.e quality OF its siewed terra
pin and ice cream, it is going TO be great
country. Itis r,ch in climate and possibili-
ties. II is also rich in alligators, but since
the heavy tout ist travel set i'll. they have
taken to The back county. They, the alli-
gators, were shot at, stared at aud kodaked
until life came to be burden, and only
two or three have had the courage to re-
main and see it ont.
The alligator has never yet been known
to eat too inquisiiive northern tourist
but he is in other ways very useful crea-
ture He is fond Of the Florida razor.
back" hog, and should therefore be ell
couraged. But the ..razorback" does not
flourish in Dade County.
The alligator is really a much less HARM
full creature han is generally supposed by
those who have zen only his photograph,
taken by an amatuer. He is not usually
aggi essiye, and yau might walk by him,
wIIuln ufew feet OF his nose without at
tracing from him more than mere glance,
He is usually sleepy and good humored
and readily becomes accustomed to the
gaze Oh northern tourist, il it is respect
ful and not too fixed.
Of curse, ii you are total stranger 10
the alligator. you don't want to go right
u to him and look in his mouth to see how
o 4 lie is. l think he wou d resent this un
less he ere feeling unusually well at the
momtnt.
The Lake Worth region is a garden spot
of Dade County. Here the Gulf Stream
washes the shores of Florida, varying in
temperature only three or four degrees in
v ar. and helps serve out an atmosphere
that exhilarates and braces but never chills.
During move than three-fourths of the
wear the winds come fresh and bracing, but
balmy, rom this wonderful ocean river.
bringing comfort and health upon their
wings. There are no foes, no wind, no
dust. The air is like champagne, but a
good deal cheaper, end ones feels that
life is worth living just for an opportunity
to breathe it.
Lake Worth is t~ eniy-two miles long
and about "a mile wide 1t is salt, having
an inlet from the oceai, ind alb, undsln fish,
turtles, aud other brain toUd.
The lake lies parallel with the ocean and
the scrip of land between the two is less
than tiiree-fourths of a mile wide at the
widest point. Along the ocean side for its
entire length there is on this strip OF land
a magnificent belt of beautiful tropical
timber, which the axe OF man should never
lie permitted to mar.
The Lake Worth country is the land OF
tile 6. coanut, the pineapple. the mango. the
guava. the orange, the lemon. the cltron,
The lime, the sapodilla, the anona, the
the banana and many other
tropical aud sub. rupical fruits. Coffee has
been also successfully grown there. and ex
periments are being made with the bread
fruit. the nutmeg and several rare and
delicious fruits brought from India BY the
Department at Washington,
notably the Mangosiepns which is
thus described -The fruit is round, the
size oi medium orange The shell u like
that OF pomegranate the inside OF 9 rose
color deyided BY thin partitions, as in the
orange. in which the seeds are lodged, sur
rounded by soft juicy pulp of delicious
flavor, partAking Of the strawberry and
grape, and il esteemed one Of The richest
fruits iii. the world.
The Monstera pelicicsa,9 Or cerimans q