The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1895-02-15
Florida Letter.
Glenn Mt, Fla, Jan. %, ls9

CLERM Mt, Fla, Jan. %, 1895
EDITOR OwOssO PREss:-
"How is it IN Florida with you this cold
snap2' L hear YOU say Well, | must ray
We are Ia a statr of dubi"usne-s, a. the
man said, just at present. Our orange
and all fruit trees present golden and
russell color of all their tops, oranges all
spoilt and unfit to ship. But all trees are
not dead, we calculate. TIE lemons are
totally killed and we are cutting til, IN
down. The giavas are all killed, aid
tomorrow l am going to take my axe al d
level them to the ground. They may
spring up from the roots again. there
were many fields of tomatoes that we've
about ready t. pick, and all were LOST, as
well as the late ones uf a few imh-
growth. All this has happened in this
ClerInont region, which We had fondly
imagined was proof against all frost We
hat always calculated ON a perfect immu-
nifty from freez ny. But w the weather
is tair again, with no more freezing since
that fatal 2Sh day of December, every
body is boosting up spirits and planting
over again. OF course there are excep-
tions. Some are too disappointed and
some tho poor to want to try again."
The new tomators were slow in com
ing up, and sOme have even had to take
some of the earth off the hills, having
planted the second GRIP too d, eply; but
everything looks as if we shall be bUom-
ing again. This cold snap appears to
have been universal, and when read of
the freezings of the north and then look
at our state-children and babies playing
barefooted in the sand-I cannot cease
to wonder at the contrast and feel sort
of resignation.
Feb. 4th, '94.
My letter did not get of when written
InOw write to say thar {. IN es. SOU shes,
etc are all up and booming. The great
trouble with poor men is to get fertilizers
They are expensive, and some failures
make 1t hard tOget credit. man wants
some money to start trucking. The land
is nothing but sand and everything has
to be made with fertilizers. One thing
is remarkable here-the number of babies
born in and about Clermont. was jok-
ing with doctor the other day who was
telling of fifteen cases an future that he
had on hand, that we raised babies in
Florida If nothing else. Just four years
ago l married a young cracker girl, and
the result is two children, one three years
old and the other about week.
WIS interested IN reading ADner
SCOTS resume of "Gute's Hip il being
the scene OF some lucubrations, erstwhile
OF my own. Oh, "Juncturius," go softly.
and do not say anything in your critiques
that could possibly operate to crowd bud
ding genius or retard the full flow of his
rhetorical if not ponderousical figures of
speech with metonymy in the ascendant.
Remember it is eloquence not knowledge
we are admiring; phantasical expression
not understanding we are after; and then
gently let down, o Iuncturius, upon Abb
II r. who is himself, like all great authors,
little given to original apothegms and
unique methods of speech, with paradox
treading the heels of paradox.
1t is not so gloomy with us as in the
II 'rthwest, because nobody can freeze to
death here and fuel is plenty and costs
nothing. The woods abound with spine
knot scattered all over besides. But the
land generally is sand, and only occa.
sionally are there places where they keep
cows. / have to buy ut the store every
thing L eat, and consequently its costs
money to live So does every one ex-
cept the crackers, and they generally set
tic on or near hummock lands and raise
all they need. III w. BECKER.