The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1900-02-13
ENAMORED OF FLORIDA.
Interesting Letter From w. d. Faris.

1 can say of this Southland as the
Queen of Sheba said to Solomen-"Lo,
the half was not told me-" Nearly
every day has been bright. If there
are clouds, they are generlly out of
sight. When | arrived in Gainesville,
my friends were enjoying abundance OF
lettuce and other garden vegetables.
Old friends would almost envy Lee
Robb, as we knew him, if they could
walk into his acre of luxuriant garden.
Lee and his wife are both physicians
with good practice. Lee got team
and drove brother Salmon, another
visitor, a patient, myself and his fam
lily out six miles through the lettuce
beds, where we saw car loads of cotton
cloth spread over these acres of let
tuce. The land about Gainesville is
very productive and with the aid of ir-
rigation they produce lettuce heads al
most like cabbage, and these command
high prices when shipped North.
Gainesville, with its hard pixies, is a
good town, and with its immense truck
ing industry, is independent of the
| freezes that have so hurt the orange
trees.
At Gambler, so miles further south,
found brother Salmon in the midst O.
p eople courageously building their or
ange groves after the freezes of '95 ant
'99. People who never visit the south
have no idea of the attraction there i
in this business. Of course many, i
not all of the growers from the Nortl
came for health, who as a rule mus
/ stay to keep in health. But asid
from that, the business seems to have
wonderful infatuation. The freeze
, since l came took the leaves off an
killed much of the late growth, but th
| cloth, or those under two-acre boar
' roof are as bright as though the the
5 mometer had not dropped to the dal
r ger point of 18 degrees. Some of thes
: tented trees have buds formed and wi
q soon be in bloom.
This is new country. One of tt
t town boys got two shots at bear, thr'
e miles out, few weeks ago. Quite
n number of deer have been killed with
o or miles of town.
u DR.. II. H. George, former preside
of Geneva College at Northwood, wi
s his wife, has been with his brother, I
" visit. All of us, with a neighbo
n went off with three tents, and camp'
@ f)r days at lake Is to Is miles ava
If in what is called here St. Johns Scru
We slept in the tents, ate our mes
y on wagon bed turned upside dow
is out in the air, not in tent, and S
d around the campfire with the sky Ov
US, and had family worship morni
G and evening by that fire. We all we
r fishing, and caught black bass. '
'e ate all we could for 5 days, brought t
L. balance home, gave some away, al
e continued to eat them at home un
Of they were not desirable. We hiret
ID boy with dogs to start up a deer.
h started but the stupid thing went t
Is wrong way.
Four of us, including Jennie Ke
re of Bellefontaine, and Mary Stewart,
/ Knoxville, were in Florida for 0
lie health. There came two slight shove
v during the night, and yet no one of o
party took any cold. There were
10 cots nor bedsteads, simply rubber Gle
y on the ground with mattress for
ladies, and some grass cut on the la
n' shore for the men. 1t would have be
a risky picnic anywhere else, but
10 came home converted to Florida W
70 ter camping. We men must conf
II that one of the girls, Mary Stewa
70 caught the biggest fish; and it wol
'e have been hard to tell whether t
VI girl or the fish was the most tired wh
y, the fish dropped into the fish bt
III Fishing boats here have a, box insi
ie with holes in bottom of the boat to
d fresh water come in and keep the f
10 alive.
IL Tuesday, February THE tn
g mometer has been up to 80 degre
re and tonight we are writing with co
Ii fort with no fire in the house. This
o1 surely land of sunshine and pure a
" w. D. FARIS
~ Chandler, Fla, Feb. 8, 1900.
Mt
al