The Press., 1919-01-16
WELLINGTON

and family in New Haven, Miss Thrall i'eing at Three Gables for January.
 Mrs F. w. Pratt is in Willimantic for few days with her son, Robert, whose wife is quite i'll with a nervous Breakdown.
 w. H. Marsh has sold his farm and is soon to move to Mystic. All are very sorry to lose MT and Mrs. Marsh from the church and community life.
 Friday morning we had zero wealth CT, Saturday was 30 degrees warmer and Sunday the mercury had again dropped to zero and below in some To- calities.
 Colds are prevalent coughs very ol stinate to treat, but the general opinion seems to be that there are -,ewer cases of influenza. The doctor, however. is busy continually.
 All were much pleased with the ser non by Rev. MT. Bachelder on Sunday and are glad that they may look for ward to his being here next Sabbath. Conditions Icing favorable he will that lay te accompanied by his wife.
 We are confident that many friends will be glad to share this interesting letter.
 Orlando, Fla, Jan. 6, 1919. Dear Mrs. Preston:
 nOur trip here has proved to be very
 leresting Leaving New York
 Wednesday,. Jan. 1, at 8.25 p. m. we aeer-iia a~t ''anEring in Richmond Va. For the next thousand miles the country is one flat, yellow sand, cov- cred with scrub pines; not hill any where, not even in the dim distance. 1t rained continuously for the two lays and nights of the trip. We passed hundreds of acres of peanut tines stacked around small stakes Irving @ out in the rain. In South Carolina we saw the first cotton field The low stalks, two to four feet high, were d surprise to me. It must be a tacktreaking job to pick cotton all lay. It was planted in rows of single stalks. al out two feet apart in the 'ow. Corn is planted the same way. Nowhere was there hill of corn. The corn stalk is never used, they are left n the field all winter and ploughed under in the spring. I did not see a 1OZen cows out in the fields in a thousand miles; there were more in he first twenty miles below Jackson yille, Fla, than in the whole thousand niles north of it. We passed a cam phor plantation of several hundred acres. The small bushes, two to four .eet high, looked something like scrub hemlocks. It was told that the twigs and leaves were boiled to extract the camphor gum. The extracting of tur- pentine from the pine trees is destroy ing thousands of trees. It is done by 4labting off with an axe a place on -hree or four inches wide, then strik- ng the axe into the wood at the bot ,om of the cut with an upward stroke, making V shaped cut, point down. ward. Into this cut piece of tin is ent to fit, then stuck into the cut. This leads the gummy sap which flows We passed turpentine distillery where this sap was being made into the turpentine of commerce. After reaching Florida the sand changes color; becomes gray on the surface, ut gOphers and salamanders Ga little animal about the size of a rat) dig the pure white underlying sand. Acres of ground look as though few quarts of white sand had been poured n heaps every few feet. Sixty-four miles below Jacksonville we saw the first orange grove. It surely is a eautiful sight, the big red globes con- dark green foliage. Gardens with green peas and lettuce, etc. are com ing into view. Train was two hours late at Orlando, but we found our friend waiting in her beautiful car, at the station and our journey was over. All we'll and send love to you and our good neighbors. Going out now for a motor ride.
 Very truly yours,
 Geo. A. Cosgrove.