The record-union., 1896-02-18

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on the white sand of the once beautiful
groves as emblems Of how fearful was
the breath of death as it blighted the
land February 8, 1895. Harriet Beecher
Stoves Southern country home on the
ST. Johns River like many another
that saw ten years ago, embowered in
green and gold. is to-day a decaying
house amid dead brush Though sad.
it is still a fact that California has no
longer a competitor in Florida, and if
an unwise tariff law had not lowered
| protection, the fruit growers of Cali
fornia would be receiving top notch
prices for their superior fruit day
The northernmost point of Florida is
still south of the southernmost point
of California, and Lancaster is about
on meridian with the southern central
point of North Carolina. Along the
east coast of Florida there extends
railroad to Palm Beach, on Lake Worth,
300 miles south of ST. Augustine. H. M.
Flagler, the Standard Oil magnate. not
only owns and operates this road, but
has a system of hotels at St. Augustine.
Ormond-on-the-H -Halifal and at Palm
Beach, that cost millions and are rovaI
palaces in magnificence.
In each of these hotels the editors
were received and entertained. At the
Royal Ponciana at Palm Beach, in addi-
ton to the regular guests, our party, to
the number of nearly 500, were taken
care of without delay or confusion.
From Palm Beach the steamer runs
in a ten-hour trip to the Bahama
Islands. AS the Gulf stream sweeps up
along this coast the water in the Allan
tic Ocean had a temperature of 72 de-
grees. Taking advantage of this con-
dition of things, a couple of hundred of
us editors took our annual bath, though
it was in January
Lake Worth is a beautiful sheet of
water, forty-four miles long, separated
from the ocean by a narrow peninsula.
Along the banks of this lake. in a
steamer ride from one end to the other,
with frequent stops, 1 noted many new
forms of vegetation and many most de-
! lightful winter homes. AS this section
is so far south, it escaped the injury of
the great freeze.
Here the cocoanut trees grow It is
said that a ship with cocoanuts on was
wrecked here about twenty years ago
and that these cocoanut trees along
Lake Worth have all grown since then.
They, like the palms, are endogenous
and are quite similar to the tall palms
in appearance. A cluster of ten to
twenty cocoanuts grow on a big stem
fifteen or more feet above ground and
coming out among the long fan-like
leaves.
Here also grow the banyan trees of
the tropic orient. The popularity about
this tree is that its limbs stretch far and
wide, and from these limbs come
straight, smooth suckers that also take
root. so the tree has cne big trunk and
lots OF little trunks reaching up to the
branches. Its leaves are like those of
the rubber tree. Here 1 also saw the
traveller tree of India, which, being
pierced, will soon run cocoanut shell
full of cool sap for the thirsty traveller
Perhaps the most interesting, as well
as the most profitable, of all plants
grown in this tropic CLINE are the pine
apples. This is growing into quite an
| industry, and I believe could be carried
on in some parts of California success
fully. Little plants or suckers" are
planted on rich drained bottom land
two feet apart, thus making about TO-
00O per acre. In eighteen months the
plant will have grown about two to
three feet high, had a rich red bloom
in the center of its stiff, radiating leaves
and matured a pineapple by June or
July. The less rain it has had the bet
ter the fruit. These pineappies are
shipped in crates of two to four dozen
in each, and bring the grower from four
to ten cents each. After the first one is
picked, two to five suckers are left on
the stalk, and this number of pineap-
pies are grown in twelve months more
on each stalk. One planting may do for
ten years if the conditions are good. A
pineapple patch is called a pinery. In
1894 Florida raised 10000 crates of
pineapples. Last year none were pro-
duced on account of the freeze. This
year Major Turner estimated there
would be about $4,000 crates to ship.
In the very limited area suitable to
pineappIes it seemed to me that it was
one of the best industries 1 saw in Flor
ida-almost equal to bleeding tourists
and catching suckers!
In 1885, when the fierce Seminole war
was being carried on and most of that
tribe deported to Indian Territory. a
large portion escaped to the everglades
of Okeechobee, where a remnant of
about 500 still live. Some of these dusky
descendants of the great Osceola were
seen in their own primitive lair and
garb. They use native steers for their
mustangs. The men, bare-legged, hunt
wild turkeys, deer, ducks and other
game that abound. The Seminole
women could give Jenness Miller and
other dress reform advocates pointers
about discarding corsets and other un-
healthful garments. The women had
colored beads wrapped around their
necks up to their ears, no bonnets or
hats, a little sack over their shoulders,
then a vacancy as to garb till a short
skirt at the waist extending down to
the knees. 1t will be noticed that this
is more simple than even the most ad-
vanced new woman demands for either
the bicycle or seashore!
A willy old Seminole buck at station
in Southern Florida beat the editors in
great shape While the engine was
taking water ne drove four oxen yoked
to primitive wagon loaded with or
anges up by the train. The oranges
were bright and nice. As all had been
so anxious to get Florida oranges, here
was the chance All rushed out
and the load went like hot cakes at
twenty-five cents a dozen. In the rush
none stopped to taste them, but ere the
train pulled out all found that the or
anges were a bitter wild fruit unfit to
eat.
At last the red man was avenged on
the pale face, and the editors left Flor
ida.
RIFLE PRACTICE.
The National Guard Medal Shoot to be