The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1911-01-06
A VERMONT WINTER
Compared With That Enjoyed by Cen
trail Florida.

Orlando, Fla.-Leaving Brattleborc
with temperature several degrees be
low zero, and stepping from Pullman
40 hours later into orange groves laden
with delicious fruit, in a temperature
of about 20 degrees in the shade, is
certainly rare treat. yet but few OF
us in the north choose this time for
an outing and witness this TRANSITIONAL.
ton.
series of special Florida parties
makes it possible for these comfort
| able, enjoyable party trips from New
York to all parts of Florida without
change of cars, if so desired. and Jolly
party il was, of about 80. that arrived
| at Jacksonville, Fla, few days ago.
! The party, alighting from the train
| into real summer breezes, were escort.
ed about the city of Jacksonville,
| which boasts a population of $4,000,
| with 80 churches, ~ factories, II no.
tells of good standing, and 30 public
schools and colleges.
Continuing the trip down the state
l52 miles, we passed through the city
| of Sanford, the celery belt so-called
where acres of celery are now growing,
and arrived at Orlando. beautiful
city of Orange county, and the party Is
destination for two weeks. No one of
the party ever having visited Florida
before is reason sufficient perhaps to
cause many questions, and we found
in Mr.. G. G. Hall of Orlando and Pine
Castle. a former New Hampshire resi-
dent but now a prominent business
man and orange grove owner, a WILLING
informant and guide. He showed the
party the many groves of oranges and
grape fruit now being gathered, and
pointed out the lakes of water dotted
here and there, many several miles in
length and breadth. There are 1,457
lakes in Orange county, not counting
what are known as ponds.
What seems to be of great impor
lance to northerners is whether Florida
does actually enjoy summer weather in
the winter months The party from
the cold cline could see and feel that
the temperature in the past several
days had been Go to so degrees through
the day and not below so degrees dur
ing the night and morning. We could
see potatoes being dug and potatoes
lust coming out of the ground for an
other crop; we could see garden truck
growing as in the north in June: we
could see people bathing in some of
the fresh water lakes; we could feel
thing through the day, with possibly |
light wraps in some of the evenings, as
is necessary during some of our summer
evenings in the north. So we all see, |
feel and know that even Central Florida |
is like summer in winter time, and that |
vegetation and flowers and sunshine |
are here and now. The only exception, |
as our informant told us, and as we
have read in the daily papers, is that |
at times like we of the north often |
experience in May and June) a slight |
frost is sometimes very disastrous, and |
in years past has been known to even
freeze sufficiently to rum orange groves
as far south as Orange county. But |
these cold waves are of rare occurrence.
We remember the disastrous freeze in
1S94-5 when people gave ND their hold
ings, for little or nothing, so discour-
aged they were. Not since then has
any frost of note occurred, and today
all is thriving as never before, and
those who bought in the pancky freeze
for few hundred dollars are now sell
ing their property for a few thousand
dollars. 1t is estimated that the popu-
atlon of Florida and its property value
will double in the next 10 years, pro-
Viding freeze like that of 1S94-5 is
not repeated
However, we tourists think of the
snow and cold 40 hours north and then
smile at the glorious warmth here, and !
out a small portion of Florida have we
yet seen.
PedRle of this state have just awak- !
'ned - the fact that almost anything !
n tn vegetable kingdom can be sue ~