Middletown transcript., 1895-02-23

o ~ Florida-I m G h t
:: : :: !: :: :
say, considerable
=zzzzzes weather wild teeth |;
- weather with the
43fE@ peculiar aroma of
80 the Arctic Circle.
: E@ Down in this re-
~ gion houses are not
prepared for such things. They are built
for eternal summer, mostly, and are quite
airy. 1t is the design of the architect that
the tropical zephyrs from the Gulf Stream
shall play under and through them, and
that. during the normal cold snaps of this
latitude, pile of pine logs in an open fire.
place, shall furnish sufficient artificial heat
for the comfort of the inmates.
The blizzard that struck you folks up
North shortly after the day on which the
ground hog came out and didn't see his
shadow. had a through ticket for the South
and arrived here also. To be sure, it
brought no snow drifts nine feet high. or
any other sort of snow, but it brought a
temperature of 16 above zero one morning.
and there was considerable ice that didn't
come out of an ice factory. The spell did
MT last long, either. but while it did last it
made some of us lose all fear of any plan
of future punishment by continuous high
and equable temperature.
| The oldest inhabtant-there are a good
many of him in Florida-says there has not
been such another winter down here since
1885. He says / remembers the year dis
tinctly because he married then, and the
weather has been sort of tropical to semi
tropical at his house ever since. The old
inhabitants of Florida are generally spry
and have good recollection of long-past
events. saw one in DeSoto County winter
| before last who was the father of thirty
eight living children. He was doing his
| own farm work with considerable anima
ton, assisted by his eldest son, who was
gray haired grandfather. Both of them
looked as if they might reach real old age
Notwithstanding the malarious tendencies
of the region in which they lived.
The cold snap of 1885, which the old resi- |
dent recalls SO viTidiy, is said to have killed |
everything in Florida but the pine trees and |
the razor-back hogs. However, we are apt |
to exaggerate events that are sometime past. |
and as there were not many thermometers |
in South Florida sixty years ago, it is not /
possible to get reliable data about that /
freeze.
Florida people have enough to consider |
in the two freezes of this winter-the ole
of December and the other of the early /
days of February.
The orange crop on the trees was lost by
done to the trees is a question that can be
settled only by time. 1t is known, how.
ever, thst nearly all trees that have been in
grove less than three years are killed to the
bud, and that old bearing trees will lose
much of their wood. Since the second
freeze Florida has no hope of much of an
orange crop next season, and it will proba-
bly, be several years before she can again
produce such crop of oranges as she was
marketing when struck by the Christmas
cold wave of "a. So you need not hope to
again have cheap oranges for good long
spell. 80
A society of Spiritualists has a winter
camp-meeting near Lake Helen. The
grounds are picturesque and beautifully
located on an elevated ridge. overlooking
pretty lake. The Society has put up SUBJ
stantial buildings and intends to meet here
every winter.
Before the meetings opened walked over
to the grounds with man by the name OF
Smith-John Smith, believe-from out
West. met him casually at the hotel and
trusted him. As we sat on a fallen tree
looking out over the placid lake and listen
ing to the song of the South winds through
the tall pines Smith said he was medium
and would call up spirit if 1 desired to
communicate with one.
1 thought moment and answered that 1
would like to converse with the spirit of
the late Captain William Kydd. who used
to sail, if the spirit aforesaid was not other
wise engaged.
The following conservation occurred be-
tween me and the Spirit, through the me-
dunn.
"Can have the pleasure of interviewing
You OH some vital questions, Captain?"
You can, but cut it Short
How is the weather, down your way?"
"The coolest we have had in the memory
of the oldest inhabitant.''
you don't tell me Captain! Then the
late cold-waye must have reached you?"
II should shiver! !''
"How low did the mercury go2'
"Oh. down to about 4s9 above zero, in
the shade"
"You call that cold, do you Captain?"
"Well, yes, for this climate. Down this
way anything under $50 in the shade is
considered pretty frigid. Butcut it short!"-
"Cut i: short" seemed to be favorite ex-
preston with the Captain-'Tye got an en-
gagement with member of the Florida
Legislature who has just arrived"
well, just one more question, Captain
Where did you bury your money on
Moore's RUM"
That was forbidden question. Smith
said, and broke the connection. The spirit
of Kydd had gone off to meet that of the
Legislator.
found out afterwards that Smith was
not medium at all. but fraud and had
just been fooling me for the vile purpose of
his own personal amusement.
find am too trustful by half and am
every now and then making fool of my
self with great recklessness. The other day
went into drugstore and seeing the jaw
bones of some sort of monster, suspended
over the prescription desk asked the clerk
If it was the head of rattlesnake. had
hardly finished the question when saw l
had made bad break. for the jaws were
about foot and half across. Think of