, 1904-06-08
EDITORIAL.
FROM ISSUE OF AUGUST s, 1885.

Last week we nOIeu SOD1e ldCbS ABOUT
the water that bounds Five Mile Beach.
The island is long and narrow, and
takes its name from it's length. Its
width varies from one and a quarter
miles to one-third of a mile at the mar
rowest point. There is a ridge or belt
of high ground extending the whole
length of the island, covered with a
magnificent growth of forest trees,
oaks, pines and cedars. There are giant
trees of these kinds, but the most Won
derful of all is the growth of the holly
trees. Such hollies were never seen
anywhere else. This tree is of a very
slow growth, and IN most places where
| have seen it it was very small. Here
1t rivals other forest trees. Besides
these, the our gum, magnolia and
willow are at home here, indicating a
moist sub-strata. The surface soil is
thin, with sand underneath, but it
does not dry out and is covered with
rich under growth and fine grass. The
fertility of the soil is astonishing. A
watermelon seed dropped by the side
walk up near the Hollies has attained
a magnificent growth. Tomatoes and
all kinds of vegetables do well, even
celery and cauli1ower. Mrs. Bristol
planted some pie plant here and at
Vineland at the same time, and that
planted here grew the best. An olean-
der which she had for ten years, she
brought here and transplanted it, and
it has had so many blossoms be-
fore. Grape vines attain an immense
size, measuring twelve and eighteen
inches in circumference. There is one
on Mrs. Starts place as thick as a
mans thigh. 1t grows up among the
frahc md hiAdc fHanA-fnnathnr of tulQ
top. The b~lackberries that grow wild
are of the low kind, of a large round
variety akin to the Lawton. The
huckleberries grow on tall bushes.
Latimer Baker told me, the first time
/ came to the island, that they grew
on trees. AS / was an unbeliever, he
took me into the woods and showed
me a tree with a h~uckleberry bush
growing quite a distance from the
ground, where a bird had dropped a
seed into the cleft of the branches.
The persimmon and the beach plum
grow here, and although these are wild
fruits, the cultivated fruits are only
waiting a trial to show what Holly
Beach will do for them. There is a
fortune in store here for the ounce
grower, because both soil and climatic
influence are adapted to this fruit.
Liz uulnCC lONcS salt lOOu anu SAIL all.
Miss Mary Treat, the botanist, and we
know of no better authority on this
point, says: '"There is no place in
Jersey where the wild flowers are so
beautiful, or where the birds sing in
winter, as they do on this island"
Close up to the front, as far as the grass
extends, you can find the Sdbbdt'a
stettdris, a beautiful pink flower with a
little golden star in the centre. 1t was
named after Sabbath, an Italian botan-
list, but it has Sabbath associations for
me, because it shines at my feet as |
walk to and from church. The young
girls wear it for breast knots and belt
punches, and little children trim their
hats with its bloom. The Lobetid
Cardinals, with its scarlet spikes,
makes the woods look gay in the last
of August. There are hibiscus of sew
eral varieties, in August and Septem-
|, Der, red, white and pink; these are as
large as hollyhocks, and Miss Treat
says she measured some of the flowers
that were six inches across. They
grow from four to eight feet high and
are perrennials. There are wild roses
in abundance and ferns in great vari
ETY.. There are magnificent specimens
of the oscar Wilde'' sunf1ower, and
plenty of asters and golden rod, besides
wood anemones and Solomon's seal.
The little partridge vine is here, and
the am%pelopsis Tor Virginia creeper)
is everywhere, growing larger than
) elsewhere. The main stem of one on
Mrs. Starts place is as large as a mans
arm. In the woods there are three
fresh water lakes, or rather "slashes. D
because there is not water in them all
the year. They are called Briar Slash,
Saltpetre Slash and Maple Slash. In
! the summer the mud in these slashes
bakes hard, and the owners of cattle
used to dig holes through the crust to
procure drinking water for them. They
would only have to dig about four feet
to come to water. After the first of
October, they commence to fill with
, water, which remains until the first of
June. Before Holly Beach was settled
these slashes gave drinking water for
the wild ducks. Three gunners killed
1856 ducks in two days here and sent
them to P~hiladqlnhia markat Sinoo