The National tribune., 1909-07-15
snprec;ates Florida and Saws So.

Editor National tribune: L went TO
zee Florida in the Summer time, and
was agreeably surprised. / had heard
p good deal about the heat and accom-
panying discomforts. The heat was
bearable-as much so as on hot days in
the North. We were not annoyed by
" nosketos. We did not have sultry
night while there, ard were told that
they were practically unknown, and no
one we talked with ever heard of a case
Of sunstroke in the State. 1t was hot in
the direct rays of the sun, but so il is
In the North. The only thing is the
warm season is longer, but it is not as
extreme as the shorter hot term in the
North. 1t is always comfortable in the
shade. During nearly all of the day
and night pleasant winds blow from
either the gulf or ocean. And we were
told that there were no cyclones-the
dangerous twisters common to the Mis-
sissippi Valley region-and we did not
see any evidences of severe winds in
prostrated trees in the forests. The
most abundant rains are in the Summer
in lively downpours, with occasional
thunder, and lightning is not dreaded,
as We saw very few rods on buildings.
As far as we could learn from hearsay
Florida has practically a shirt-waist and
short-sleeve climate 29 days out of each
80 in the year. The advantages OK a
Colony in Florida are many. At St.
Cloud 1t will bring together in quiet and
comfortable homes as productive cit-
gems many of those who years ago went
South on another mission. They are
now met in a different spirit, and all
have common purpose, the building
of a greater and more perfect union of
States and hearts.
Florida is the Winter pleasure ground
Of the United States, and the annual
Increase of visitors is large. For eight
months in the year there is a home
market for vegetables, fruits, eggs and
poultry at hotels and boarding houses,
besides the great demand in the North,
reached by car and boat shipping facili-
ties. And Florida is favored as com
pared with the American west and
Canadian northwest in nearness to mar
ket, and in having water as well as
'ail transportation.
mo man liveth unto himself" the
=. Bible tells us, and if that is true in the
moral sphere il is eminently true IN the
world of business. All modern business
o "interdepeadent." There was a time
N our history when Independence"
vas a great word. 1t was on every lip
Ind uppermost In the thought and de-
hre of our forefathers; but now there
s another word of vast Importance to
ihe Nation. but it is not clear in the
mind of everyone. That word is Inter
dependence" When that word is bet
,er understood by the various sections
md classes of this great American peo-
pie the unrest that is the chief charac-
jeristic of the hour will give place to
Ihe peace and contentment which ought
10 follow our unrivaled prosperity.
When the "interdependence" of tho city
Ind the farm, of the manufacturer and
The consumer, of the railroad and the
bhipper, of the capitalist and the labor
. sr, is better understood and more fully
recognized. it will be a happy day for
the country. The farm is the founda-
uon of the superstructure of our great
ness. But the city is a necessity, and
there should be harmony between them,
for one is necessary to the other; there
In is the interdependence. One cannot
products of the farm the city could not
exist. Without the city there would be
little value to farm products.
The founders OF st. Cloud have made
splendid start, and If we all do our
part it cannot help becoming a COM
munity of which its citizens can well
be proud. 1t has fine situation on the
border of a clean and slightly lake, while
the colony lands border other pretty
lakes. Evidences of fertility and pro-
ductiveness were seen in every direction.
We talked with old-timers, who seemed
after many years to have awakened to
the possibilities of the soil and climate,
and were getting surprising results from
q few acres.
The secret of success on the Florida
farm is in the intelligent and careful
ullage of the land. By the proper use
of fertilizers wonderful results are pos
sible. Fertilizing is simply feeding the
plants. just as the successful stock rails
er feeds his animals. BY doing this the
Florida farm, like Tennyson's brook
VIII so on and on. The soil nowhere in