West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1896-03-05

More About Florida, Written I'm
From the Editors Note Book.

Gle Sans domain makes us long
Tor tie balmy breezes Of the Sunny
South. While we are locked i'm the
icy, snow encrusted letters of win
ter. Florida is bathed in food of
golden sunshine and the land ablaze
with howers and fruits. While the
cyclone or blizzard RACES over the
western pairIes, the South lies tran
gully receiving gentle April like
shower. and even when We are
sweltering through dog days, with
the thermometer up to the century
mark i'm the shade, Florida, the
paradise Of this country, IS being
tempered by the sea breeze from
the Gulf of Mexico and Great At
lantlc, that are almost In hailing
distance on either side of the PENN
sula. The west coast of Florida is
colder than the east coast. When
we were at Tampa Bay. on the Gulf
of Mexico. we did not thluk of surf
bathing, but when We got down to
Palm Beach, on the southeast coast,
we went into the surf every day
while we were there. We found veg
etables of all kinds growing in the
gardens, and had them fresh on
the table every day.
The big freeze of last February,
while it killed nearly all the orange
trees ia the State and was terrible
back set for the people. from which
1t will take them years to recover,
will in the long run prove bless
ing to the State. Every cloud has
a silver lining ard many blessings
come in disguise. Everybod was
crazy over orange culture and re.
fused to cultivate anything else, so
that an over production was fast
approaching, and with but the one
crop they had nothing to fall back
on, when it failed. So the frost
was a severe lesson, but it brought
the people to their senses, and now
many other things are beng cult
waited and found to pay equally as
well as the oranges. Gardening and
vegetables are attracting much at.
tentlon, but we believe that the
pineapple industry will pay better
than the oranges even, aud many
people are turning their attention
to 1T now and making money at it.
Coming up from Palm Beach we
stopped at Eden, in the center of
the pineapple plantations, and Wis
tied them. On both sides of the
railroad for miles we passed through
hundreds of acres planted in pine
apples, and thrifty and doing we'll.
The ground is pure white sand
and don't look like anything would
grow in it, but it seems to be just
The thing for pine apples. The
ground is laid out like corn ground
and the pine apple plaats set out
about three feet apart AMI two feet
In the row, in the rainy season in
August, and cultivated like corn,
by blowing and hoeing the first
year. They bloom from January
to March, and after that the plants
have spread and closed up the rows,
so that they can be cultivated by a
little hoeing only and do not re.
qulre much attention. The bear
the second year, one apple to each
plant, which grows right IN the
middle Of the stalks or leaves which
spread out around it. About 10000
to the acre is the rule and average
five cents per apple when pulled
this makes $500 per acre and pays
better, with less cultivation, than
anything that can be raised. The
plants grow about three feet high
and bear for Eve years, when they
are pulled up aud the ground re-
planted. The fruit ripens from
June to August.
Our next stop was at Fort Pierce,
Ia the edge of tho Everg ladies'
and near the Seminole Indian res.
ervatiOn. Our train stopped here a
fow minutes for wood and water,
as there is no coal IN the State, but
plenty OF pine wood, which IS used
for fuel on oil the engines. When
our special train pulled up and
stopped at the water station, We
found two four horse oxen loads OF
the finest oranges we ever saw
drawn up alongside Of the track ia
charge Of several Indians. The