The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1894-03-09

size as the frozen article here, if left in
the sun, will last only about one half as
long.
Our next stop was at Ybor City (pro-
nounced Ebor, being Spanish, and words
beginning with Y, are the same as y III
Year,. This is the great cigar town and
composed of Cubans and Spaniards, who
do not affiliate however, the Spaniards
considering themselves quite above the
Cubans. Spanish language is spoken
in the main, and the street sign
etc., are hieroglyphics to us. 1t is a
town of 1900 inhabitants, nearly all en-
gagged in cigar making, and is reached by
two steam and one electric road. From
here we next reach Plant City, Lakeland
and Barlow, all enterprising villages.
We had intended going from Barlow
to Avon Park, but railroad jealousy, like
that among villages in Florida, offers
but little pleasure to the traveller, and
we decide to turn our steps to the north
ward, and arrived at Pasadena tired and
dirty, and find awaiting us copies of the
BANNER, looking home. like. We are
wondering, however, if home people be-
lieve us crazy. The type make us sleep
ing under wooden sheds, instead of
woelen sheets, and also find air plants to
be orchards; but we do not blame the
type-setter, for hieroglyphics in English
are as bad to decipher as Spanish; we
have got to quit drinking.
Property is here, as elsewhere in the
State, assessed at Is mills on the dollar
at 40 per cent. valuation, making 1t net
about six mills. This includes all taxes
outside of corporation taxes. Accord
ing to recent law, no man can vote who
cannot read IA wise provision, say we).
A marshal told us how the ignorant
class worked it. The usual eight ballot
boxes are placed in a row. Some friend
who can read, votes, keeping in mind
the boxes as they come in rotation, he
in turn selects the ballots for his less
favored friend, and places them betlceen
tie fingers as they are to be voted. This
worked all right until the watchers
caught on, when they changed the bores
in the presence of the voter, who was
thus at sea, and the expression, if it
could be transmitted to your columns,
would draw tears from the eyes of your
readers.
The fence law reads as follows "Must
erect fence nine rails high, and above
these rails affix others by stake and
rider" This is to keep rowing horses
and cattle from leaping over Then the
base of this fence must be laid in small
rails, so that they may be close enough
to deter 'razor backs" from creeping un-
der. These hogs are queer, black OBJ
jects, long bodied, lean, lank backs that
look like the inverted bottom of a ship,
long, slim legs, sharp and pointed snouts,
bead-like eyes, and less "twist' to time
honored tails than their Northern sisters
and as result 1.-THE railroads not using
them), we find in every station bulletin
boards headed MARKS and Brands"
We give one of the kilograms posted:
lone COW killed near mile post 95,
marked tdescription), brand II, age )
years, color, white, weight 200 pounds,
owner, John Reynolds. (Signed), II. B.
Urban, Sec. Foreman"
One hears few whistles on trains in
Florida, outside of short shrill ones to
alarm cattle and hogs. We also note the
absence of section hands, having seen
but two gangs of section hands since we
entered tine State, but account for it from
the fact that there are few trains run
ming, no frost to contend with, no wash
outs, no grading. The ties are simply
bedded in the sand, rails spiked on, and
there you are.
Speaking of fences calls to mind the
cost. Rails cost one cent each for split
ting, hauling and building 80 cents per
100. Total cost for one acre, 100 rails,
$l650, or Ave acres, $40 to $50. The
first cost of the timber is not taken into
consideration, as it is considered of no
account. Mill men buy the. standing
timber for $1.50 per acre. A large
amount is used for making orange boxes
the heads to which require to be one foot
square. This takes all the large trees,
shippers finding fruit keeps and ships
better with solid ends to boxes, than if
made of two pieces, and one finds acre
after acre of standing timber, but all
small, after the mill owner has done
with it. Fires injure trees less than one
would suppose, but once tree gets well