The Newtown bee., 1895-03-22
The NeWtoWn Bee
 FRIDAY. MARCH ss. 1895.
 CIRCULAEiON. LAST WEEK. . @ . saoo
Litcbield County News.
WASHINGTON.
TIDINGs FROM FLORIDA.

 Mir Editor: It seems to be the style for
 travellers, especially if they hail from i'd New England, to send an occasional let ter to the local papers at home. It is
 said that one might as we'll be out of the
 world as out of the fashion, so I will let
 that be my excuse for joining the list of letter writing absentees. Orange City is 116 miles south of Jacksonville, and is | situated in what is known as ssthe orange
 bel5," tract of high, rolling pine land, 30 miles long by 10 miles wide. The land
 was bought and the town laid out by five
 men from Eau Clair, Wis, in 1875, but
 the first good house here was "Pioneer
 Cottage" built in 1876 by Woolsey Leav
 itt, originally from Washington, Conn.
 That was the foundation of what has
 long been known as "Connecticut Cor
 her," and the beginning of the still grow ing Connecticut colony. Among the names familiar to many of your readers
 are the following: Mrs Abby I. Gum,
 ''the mother of the Gunnery," Mrs Vaille,
 Thomas Smaes, MT and Mrs E. s. Leav- itt and Mrs w. W. Leavitt, all of Wash ington: MT and Mrs F. D. McNeil of Litchfield; MT and Mrs N. B. Strong of Warren and Isaac Bockee and family, formerly of the same town; B. G. Pratt of Kent; Mr and Mrs G. $. Lyman and
 daughter and Miss Julia Averill of New Preston; H. P. Averill and Miss Jennie Averill of Brooklyn; Robbins Bockee, | who moved to Oregon in 1893, has recent | ly nov ed back.
 The one topic of conversation in Flor | ida, this winter, universaland a1l-absorb- | ing, is the weather. That is supposed to | be time-worn subject, resorted to only
 in the direst extremity, but this winter is | showing more revolutions in Florida weather than the Hawaiian Islands can show in their government. The tex | tremity'' is 'sdire." We feel like saying
 "Poor thing!" to every denuded orange | tree, and every rose bush full of frozen ! buds. But this strange country abounds
 in hope as perpetual and delightful as it's 1 flowers and sunshine; and lovers of Flor | ida in her beauty, cannot lose faith in her | ability to renew her strength and stand | forth in few short weeks clad in new
 robes, and crowned with the bridal or
 ange bloom. In the mean time, howev-
 CT, the groves look very forlorn. Fine, l bearing groves are being cut back ruth | essly. Only the trunks of the trees and | the stumps of the large branches are left, l every small branch and every twig being | removed. To stranger, the outlook is
 most discouraging, but they who are best | acquainted with the rapid growth of the tropics and sub tropics assure us that | Florida sand and sunshine, with judic- | ious addition of fertilizer from the north | will soon cover the skeletons with new growth. We are having ''real Florida | weather now; the roses are sprouting l again and the fragrant yellow iessamine | is in bloom. The thermometer has rang
 ed from 72 in the morning to S6 in the af- l ternoon for several days. A soft breeze
 makes the temperature not only endur
 able but delightful, while the mocking birds cheer and charm us from earliest
 dawn till the sun is setting. Florida, al | though truly 'under the weather" still yields subtle fascination over the tran | sient sojourner within her borders. We
 are glad we are here, and heartily wish
 the grip-stricken ''Nutmeg State" would ! greatly enlarge the Connecticut colony
 n Orange City during the treacherous
 months of March and April. Very truly
 rs,-TJ. A., Orange City, Fla.