The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-05-13
WHAT A MICHIGAN MAN
LEARNED IN POLK COUNTY

Mich. who has spent the winter Al
crooked Lake in this county, and
from whose letters to his home pa
Ler. the JACKSON Patriot, we nave
heretofore quoted, continues to fur
Lisn me best and lairest view OF
Florida to northern readers We nave
seen from any source. On the eve
Oh leaving Tor his northern home re-
Gently he wrote a very lengthy let
ter Tor the Patriot, from which we
quote the following. What he says
with reference to the bugbear Of our
dreaded summer climate is especial
iy interesting Just now:
Florida has a longer coast line
than any other State in the Union.
We are in the latitude OF Tampa,
south of the 2Sth parallel. Florida }
temperature, winter and summer, IL
modified by the water OF the Gulf
and the tlantic, making it's climate
eQuable the year round. Official re-
ports show that, in the vicinity OF
Tampa, the average for the year q
70 degrees, an average maximum OF
81 degrees, but never having reached
100 degrees-96 the highest-since
weather observations commenced. Its
admirable climate has made Florida
the winter garden of the country. A
northern man, who lives In Tampa
andh as been there for three years,
told MIR. yelling last week that he
likes the summers there better than
he does those of Wisconsin, the State
he came from.
Much of the Florida land in
sandy; some Of it ID very poor,
worthless; many purchasers Of that
which Is worthless have been badly
'stung; but a great deal 10 very
productive. The State ships annually.
with less than two million acres un-
der cultivation, round hundred
thousand car loads of fruits and
vegetables annually to northern and
western markets; 1t produces 40 per
cent of the sea island or long-stapie
cotton OF the United States; it raises
from 200 to 800 bushels Of sweet
potatoes to the acre, and from 100 to
800 bushels of Irish potatoes; from
400 to 500 crates of vegetables; froul
500 to 800 quarts Of Strawberries;
several hundred boxes of oranges
and grapefruit; from one to three
tons of pineapples; large yields Of
sugar cane; one-half of the phos-
pilates of the United States and one
third Of the phosph&tes of the world,
Polk county leading in this pro luc-
ton; and the lumber. naval stores
and fisheries are of great value. The
oranges and grapefruit of this coun-
ty are among the very best grown. A
poor specimen of these leading mar
let fruits we have not seen this sea-
son.
Naturally the eyes of the world
are upon Florida. At the beginning
OF November the summer ends and
citrus fruits commence to ripen.
Next there are seven months Of
mostly delightful weather--cool
spells only following the severest
northern blizzards-and April and
May are two of the pleasantest
months Of the year. Many northern
settlers say the summer months,
when there is the least work to be
done, are not uncomfortably hot.
Those who imagine that Florida Is a
land Of sitting heat are far from the
truth. Through the summer months,
beginning with June, breezes fan the
State from the Atlantic or the Gulf,
and frequent showers, which set in
as the weather warns, help to bring
comfort for this latitude during the
summer season."
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