The National tribune., 1909-05-27

gentle depressions of from one to 81!
or eight feet below the general ieVei
Most of these are now dry and are the
| savannas before spoken Of A few ol
them still contain water, but 1t is abso'
lutely unlike the water that we find ir
the ponds in the North. The sandy
beach slopes gradually down to the
water without any of the rank weeds
| and mud that is usually seen about such
/ pools, and the water is clear and drink
able The people roundabout drink
the water and use it for all purposes
In nearly all of these little lakes there
are fish and many of them the choicest
varieties.
The Townsite.
The townsite of st. Cloud, which i:
now being surveyed, is at the most
southern quadrant of the circular lake
There is now growing on much of il
the sparsely-standing long-leaved pines
with some live and water oaks. Many
of these will be left to furnish shade
The streets will run nearly with the
points of the compass, bringing the
principal ones at right angles to the
lake and affording sweep for the cool
ing breezes which during the day play
over its surface. When the town plat
is filled, as it will be, with neat little
cottages under the shade of the great
pines and surrounded by flowers and
fruit trees and in the foreground the
waters of the lake dancing in the sun
SHINE, 1t -sill make picture of surpass-
ing beauty. 1t is the intention to build
a pier out into the lake, with a light
house upon it, and it is expected that
the surface will be all the time diversi-
fed with swiftly flying launches and
gently gliding sailboats. adding much to
the fascination of the outlook.
Men of every trade and profession
are going down there TO make the place
their homes, and in a very short time
there will arise not only scores of COM
Portable and picturesque cottages, but
the town Will have drug stores. gro
ceres, dry goods stores. blacksmith
shops, school houses, churches and
every appurtenance and advantage of
the older towns in the North
| Ihe wide plain of the site needs lit
tie preparation in grading and filling
IN, and no more engineering work than
TO lay out the streets and round them
| up TO make crown to carry off the
water. Therefore, the labor of develop.
ing the townsite will be reduced to a
minimum. Many of the streets and
alleys Will require no other labor than
1 THIS rounding up. Others, where the
travel Is heavier, may be quickly made
INTO excellent highways by a top dress
ing of clay This is a practice followed
| Tic SouiiLy TOduS, ana WnerG
the surface is so dressed the roadway
is equal to the best found anywhere and
much superior to gravel and limestone
Fertility of the Soil.
Everywhere both in the colony site
and around It, were abundant demon
strations of the richness of the soil,
geniality Of the climate and the readi-
ness with which the earth responds to
the husbandman's toll.
| The orange groves seem much more
thrifty than in the other parts Of Flor
ida that l have visited. Lines, lemons
and grapefruit Were the same. / ate
delicious ripe peaches. They were a
peculiar kind of a peach, with a flavor
distinct from thatiof our Northern trees
7 but very palatable. / was told that the
Shakers. mile or two from the colony
property. had made great success in
raising pineappies. and their products
were unsurpassed for richness of flavor
Cabbages, turnips. potatoes, onions
beans and sugarcane were seen grow
ing in striking luxuriance. All these
were Winter crops, planted in the Fall
| and now just reaching their perfection
was quite interested in the garden of
an Italian rot far from ST Cloud He was
one of those Old World peasants who
believe that successful farming requires
endless hard work. A couple of years
| ago he bought two acres of land. for
which he had promised to pay 500 an
acre. and had since not only paid for
his land, but had built him a nice farm
house out of his celery crops. His was
muck land. He had actually spaded II
UP to a depth of IA or 16 inches, turn
ing over every particle of the soil with
his thoro and unsparing spade, and this
| process had been repeated time ana
again, until every particle of the soil
70
rain and had mellowed into plant food.
What puzzled me most, however, was
that he had growing together and most
Iluxurlantiy potatoes, tomatoes corn
watermelons and cabbages. How in
the world he was going to ever olsen
tagle these various crops from each
other and bring about the DEVELOPMENT
OF all OF them was and remains beyond
my comprehension. 1 tried to have him
explain it, but he did not know enough
English or i enough Italian to arrive
at an understanding. His neighbors
who had been watching him for two
years. assured me, however, that he
, would ind some way in which to get
full crops of each product
An Englishman's Home.
Around the borders of Lake East To-
hopekaliga, in the neighborhood of the
colony, are a number of Interesting
homes and interesting people, who in
some way have been attracted there by
the charm of the sun and the soil One
of these which we visited was the home
of Col. Chapman, a retired officer of the
British army. He is tall. slender.
alert man, showing in every word and
gesture the refinement and cultivation
of an English gentleman and officer.
His wife, lady of patrician face and
the sweet voice of culture of English
womanhood, is suitable partner. and
they have one son with them quite of
the same pattern as his parents. All
three are highly Intelligent deeply in
terested IN the country, and enterpris-
ing IN developing Its possibilities Among
other Things they had some magnificent
gate PAINS Whicn are Just now coming
into bearing. < These were exceedingly
curious trees. with the male flower AL
most as big as sheaf of oats. 1t is
made up of spikes about six inches long.
thickly covered with fiorets. The mass
Is of a yellowishswhite and a most dis
turbing odor. nThese date palms are of
the highest interest in Florida. Sue
cessful acclimatization of them In Flor
ida will meapdan immense addition to
the resources of the State. In North
Africa, Asia Minor and India the date
palm is one of the great sources of the
peoples wealth.
The Cattle Center,
We have heard so much of the great
cattle industries'iof the West that We
nave lost slght OF the immensity of the
same interest in Florida II is not cat
tie upon a thousand hills. but cattle
upon thousand lsavannas. which were
once the bottoms of l;ttIa Iot,oo U,o.;ao