The Lakeland evening telegram., 1914-05-22
AND ITS
MANY ADVANTAGES
MRS. C. A. Cole.)
Continued from Yesterday
MRS. C. A. Cole.)

What we saw here in the way of
attractive homes Is not an uncom-
mon sight through Florida, for, dot
ted intermittently along some of the
| larger lakes and rivers are palatial
homes, with yards running down to
the ater's edge, with private piers
for landing pleasure boats. These
homes are set back perhaps hum
dred yards or more, and with their
green lawns reaching to the river,
they present a most attractive ap-
pearance. These lawns, by the way,
are not set with blue grass, such as
our lawns are up north, which do
not thrive here; instead, they are
planted in Bermuda grass, which
makes a beautiful lawn in it's setting
of flowers and fruits. Some of these
homes are owned by all-the-year-
round residents, while others belong
to persons who come only for the
winter.
From Bradentown we sailed up
the Manatee river and crossed the
bay to St. Petersburg, "The Tour
lists City of Florida F." St. Petersburg
is located on slight bluff overlook
ing Tampa Bay, and its sight is a
beautiful one. Here hundreds of
tourists come as pleasure seekers, to
escape the wintry blasts of the north
and to enjoy this semi-tropical eli
mate.
| One might feel that coming to this
country during the winter months
simply as tourists, with nothing to
do but eat and sleep, would soon par
! take of monotony and become ex-
ceedingly tedious, but nature has
made this paradise for the pleas
ure seeker and affords unusual facil-
tiles for the fisherman, boater and
hunter, so the tourist can find plenty
of diversion. This variety, accom-
panied by good living and unbound
ed hospitality of the Southerner
renders a stay in Florida both de-
lightful and interesting.
From st. Petersburg we crossed
the bag again to Tampa, where we
made a short stay. It is here that
the tourist listens to the romantic
story of Henry B. Plant, the man
who undertook to do for the west
coast of Florida what Henry M.
Flagler has done for the east. He
worked up by the same path as the
original Vanderbilt-the owner of
boats and railways. Then, after he
:, had gathered into his possession a
dozen million or more, he began to
dream of what wonders he might ac-
complish with this immense fortune,
and among other things decided to
build for the tourist and pleasure
seeker such u palace or hotel as
neither Florida nor any other State
in America had ever seen, In the
center of a vast garden, on the
banks Of small stream, he built
this $5,000,000 structure, looking
more like palace than hotel, it is
purely Oriental conception. An i'm
mense building, embroidered with
Ivy, and topped with white towers
and minarets. Inside are rare tapes
tries, rugs, statues. paintings and
antique cabinets.
After the death of Henry B.
Plant, the whole property passed
into the possession of the city of
Tampa. The exclusive garden is now
a park, and both hotel and park
stands as part of Tampas attrac-
tions for the sightseer. Above all
else, Tampa is "City of Cigars -" 1t
is the largest center for the manu-
facture of cigars in the world Ey-
cry week day in the year a million
Havana cigars are rolled into shape
in Tampa's one hundred and fifty
factories and sent out in their cedar
boxes, bringing to their maker more
than a million dollars year, This
industry gives work to nine thou
sand highly paid experts, 1t is one
of the unique sights of Florida to
see a workroom in Tampa factory
where several hundred Cubans sit,
men and women, rolling cigars with
incredible swiftness.
l cannot dwell longer on the in
teresting things of Tampa, or even
of our trip, for already I have con-
sumed too much space and too much
of the readers time.