The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1909-02-05

the winter months there. Whitehall,
his residence, is a luxurious palace,
and the grounds which adjoin those
of the Royal Poinciana and the Break
ers, contain every rare plant and
flower that will thrive in the tropics,
and it is, indeed, fairy land.
At Ormond. Miami, Nassau, and at
Knights Key Mr.. Flagler has built his
system of hotels that has now become
famous all over the world. The most
colossal ones are yet to be construct
ed, one at Key West and the other in
| Havana. When those two shall have
| been finished he will then have an
even dozen and they are without
a parallel in the worlds records.
When it is stated that the opening of
these hotels alone costs s25O,O0O, some
/ idea of their grandeur can be ascer-
! tanned
The Extension
When Mr.. Flagler first entered up
on his work of development and be-
gan the erection of his hotels and the
construction of his railroad they we're
! referred to as "Flagler's folly" yet
while still in their infancy, they are
paying dividends on their investment,
and the earning capacity of the road
is but eighty dollars less per mile than
the Atlantic Coast Line, one of the
! oldest established lines in the state.
What will it be when the extension to
Key West is completed and it becomes
the feeder for Panama canal?
Old-timers held up their hands in
horror when it was proposed to bring
the pine lands along this route into
cultivation and proclaimed that they
would not sprout cow-peas, yet they
now present a vision of the finest
pineapple farms that can be found
anywhere. outstripping in size and
quality the far-famed pineapples of
Cuba.
The construction of the Florida
East Coast railway has given a new
/ birth to the tomato and has made it
indeed the king of vegetables, and its
limitations have not yet been reached.
There is one tomato farm on this
route containing one thousand acres,
and the growing Of tomatoes has made
fortunes for many who had the nerve
to take advantage of the early oppor-
tunities that the building of this road
afforded
The orange, the lemon and the lime
thrive well in that region, but it seems
to be particularly adapted to the cul-
tiyatiOn Of the grapefruit. The yield
is large and the fruit bright and lus-
cious, and is without spot or blemish.
/ 1t seems almost miraculous, and yet
| it is true that holes in the rock have
to be dynamited to plant the young
/ trees. yet they grow to perfection and
! stand ihe drouth better than the trees
planted in a sandy or loamy soil.
From Knights Key to Key West the
! distance is forty-fve miles and eighty
! per cent. of the unfinished portion of
the road is already completed. and as
the contractors are now more familiar
( with the work the remainder of the
! construction is regarded as an easy
proposition and in less than two years
this mighty project will have been
| completed.
Key West
The people of the Island City are
looking with longing eyes to the time
when they will hear the whistle of
/ the first locomotive. and no victorious
military chieftain will be covered with
| greater hOnOrs than will the protector
of this great enterprise He viii be
decorated with laureIs and the people
there will rise up as one man and call
| him blessed.
They have felt ali along as though
they have been cut off from the
world and formed a part and parcel
to themselves, having no kinship with
the balance of the state or nation.
| They will then feel that they are bone
of its bone and flesh of its flesh, and
will be in touch with its pulse beats.
Already big things are in anticipa-
ton and big cigar plants are being es-
! tablished Among the most famous
are those of the Ruy Lopez company.
the Havana-American, the Cortez COM
pany, the E. H. Cato Clear company,
! the Ferdinand Hirsch company, and
| the Key Westers say that the Island
City will be the largest cigar man.
ufacturing market in the world.
The building of the Florida East
Coast railway, joining Key West to
the main land opens up untold posi-
! bilities.
In the language of Governor Plox-
ham, "the mind halts at their contem-
plation."