The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1910-01-20
I'm CANAAN LAND
Dr.. MCMdSterS Continues to View
the Landscape Ger
MIAMHS A FINE TOWN
Something About the Cost of Par
chasing and Operating a Frsit
farm in Florida

The letter from Dr. j. M. McMas
tiers, printed in the last issue of The
Herald, was very well received by the
public, many of whom expressed Their
pleasure after reading it. The Herald
is glad to present herewith another
letter from the doctors facile pen.
MIAMI, FLORIDA, Jan. 3. Dear
Welles: 1 spoke of writing brief
sketch of Dade county from local
standpoint. AS Miami is the county
seat and only town of Importance, /
will begin there.
Miami is town of 5000 population,
built on both sides of the Miami river
and facing Biscayne bay. On small
scale it resembles Chicago. The bay
is about As miles long from north to
south, and six to eight miles wide.
1t is. filled with shoals, reefs and
sandbars, making navigation, even
fol. small boats, somewhat difficult.
Theeastern shore is a long, narrow
strip of coral rock and sand, covered
with dense growth of tropical vege-
tation, palms, mangrove, bay, sea figs
etc. The city, like all others in
southern Florida, is built on solid
base of white coral rock. The streets,
from First to Twentieth, run parallel
to the bay; the avenues, from A to X,
run transversely. These streets are
chiseled out of the rock to depth of
one foot. leaving shelf on either side
for sidewalks. The surface is dressed
with crushed stone and gone over
with steam rollers. 1t makes a
smooth, compact surface, which does
not wear out, and is better in every
way than asphalt. The country roads
are Of the same character and there
are several hundred miles of them.
This rock when first dug is soft,
hardening rapidly on exposure to the
air. AS the material is always at
hand the best of roads can be built
more cheapiy than in any country 1
know of. When completed they have
the appearance of chalk but are not
so dusty; when wet they are quite
slippery.
, The buildings, and grounds every
where, are suggestive of unlimited
capital. The material is usually
blocks of native rock or of hollow con-
crete. The style is largely colonial
and the interiors are of costly woods,
mahogany prevailing. AS to the
grounds, you may see 100 varieties of
tree and shrub in one block. The
hedges are of hibiscus, double or single,
which bloom all winter, or of box and
priyet, always green. OF the palm
alone there are fifty varieties, of which
the cocoa nut is the most common,
bearing fruit all the year. The royal
is the most beautiful.
There are dozens of good hotels
ranging in price from two to fifty
dollars per day. The Royal Palm
Hotel has frontage of 1000 or 1,500
feet, is five stories above the base
ment, has water front on bay and
river of three quarters of mile and
is surrounded by a beautiful park
which in turn is bordered by century
plants, some in bloom, and the whole
by boulevard 60 to 100 feet wide.
The rare plants in the park are label
ed with botanical names. The he'd
ges of poimsellico and hibiscus, and
oleander in full bloom, are beautiful
beyond description and harmonic
well with the depths of green.
This hotel is only one of number
built by Mr.. Flagler, who seems to be
drawing countless millions in the way
of dividends from the Standard Oil
Co., and is evidently puzzled to know
what to dc with it. Building memori-
al churches is one of his fads, and
whenever his grandmother dies he
builds new one. The Presbyterian
church here in his hotel park is a
beautiful structure of spotless white
concrete, with capacity of about
200. He is rather catholic in his de-
Notions and cares little what denomi-
tion controls the building.
Miami is not only. marye, of
beauty but. is. the best ordered town ].
was ever in. The hackdriyers, the
bootblacks, the newsboys, the huck-
sters, are not allowed to open their
mouths in the way of business; hold
ing up the hand is permitted only,
and the frightful clamor of other
L. L.