The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-14

British Government erected the new light
house called 1.-THE Bishops light wrecks
are not as frequent. The Bishops light
is by the way the first light sighted by
vessels after leaving New York for South
ampton or London, and Is one of the most
powerful lights on the British cOast-it
may be seen for twenty miles at sea. But
every rock of the Sicily Islands has a
story of a wreck, and the storms Of every
winter strew the shores with wreckage,
some of il over a century old. These ISL
ands no doubt mark the most extensive
marine graveyard In the world, and
when the sea gives up its dead" there
will be hardly standing room on shore
for the thousands who have persisted
there.
These little Islands, although less than,
fifty miles from the mainland, enjoy
climate weeks, and l may say months,
earlier than the mainland. January on
the Settles is quite the same as April in
London. branch of the Gulf Stream,
which separates from the main stream
somewhere in midocean, taking a south
erly course, touches these islands and
transforms them from the temperate to
the semi-tropical zone. This same branch
of the Gulf Stream influences Guernsey
and Jersey in much the same way max
ing the stations there much earlier than
in England only a hundred miles away.
time They also begin cutting flowers for
market about chat time or soon after, and
keep II up until the end of March. The
inhabited islands are given up almost en-
tirely to growing cut howers-damodis
and narcissus. There are between 500 and
900 acres Of these flowers on the island
of st. Marys alone while nearly every
acre of available land on the other in
| habited Islands Is also in flowers. Some
of the largest farmers have from % to
So acres in flowers, but FIVE to seven acres
is about the average. The flowers are
tied in punches of one dozen each and
packed in shipping boxes holding six doz-
en- punches. One hundred and sixty of
these boxes are estimated to weigh a ton,
and 500 tons is about the yearly output.
The past season, however, has been most
unfavorable, less than half of that guam
tity being shipped
The Islands belong to the Crown, and the
revenue goes, l believe, to the Prince of
Wales. julius Smith is the present lord
proprietor or Lord Governor as he is gem
orally called He is not only the proprle-
tor tenant of the Island Of Tresco where
he lives, but he is Governor practically
King) of all the islands Every one in
town and country is tenant under the
Lord Governor. If a person wants to build
house, he submits the plans to Mr..
Smith, who If he feels like it, gives him
a lease of the ground the house is to
stand on for 80 years. at the end of which
time house and all become the property
of the Crown.
OF course the thing to do on arrival at
the Settles is to call on the Lord Governor
providing you have or can invent an ex-
cuse for doing so. He lives on the Island
of Tresco, surrounded by most beautiful
grounds, with avenues Of palms and gar
dens containing trees, shrubs and ferns
collected from tropical countries. After
chat with his lordshp he handed us
over to the head gardener, who showed
us about the grounds, and on our return,
we We're given over to Mr.. Brown, the
farm manager, who showed us over 40 or
SO acres of daffodils and narcissus, con-
tanning all the standard varieties and
many experimental plants of the newer
sorts. The flowers are planted in patches
that seldom exceed a third of an acre
These patches are separated by hedges to
protect the flowers from wind storms
the principal source of failure. The blooms
are all gathered while still in the bud and
are carried into hot houses or a room es-
pecially arranged for the purpose, where
they are set In trays or earthen pots Of
water to open. As they do, boys and girls
gather them into punches and pack them
for shipment. Every grower has his reg
ular customers; while the surplus goes
to Covent Garden, London, and is sold
at auction. The average price is about 65
cents per dozen punches. The money
spent in England daily for cut flowers is
enormus; flowers from the Sicily Islands
alone selling for something like $500, 900
annually lin three months. while Guern-
sey and Jersey supply perhaps half as
much more, the retail price of which must
be at least half million dollars yearly
just for daffodils and narcssus, to say
nothing Of the hundreds Of acres of roses.
ETC., that England grows on her own soil.
The Emperor of Germany has over 200
crosses, stars, badges and other insignia,
the value of which Is $4,000