The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1921-02-18
CALIFORNIA BECOMING JEALOUS
or FLORIDA

The Golden State is becoming
somewhat jealous Of the Land Of
Flowers since President Harding's
sojourn amongst us and the Wanna
makers, the Edisons. the Deerings. the
WATERWAYS. the Ingersolls and any
number of others are buying large
quantities of lands. making extensive
Improvements and paying extrava-
CANT tributes to the beauties and
splendors of our state
Some one has sent to the Panama
City fBa.y County, Beacon Tribune
Los Angeles paper containing
marvellous Munchausen and somewhat
maleyolent story OF our state which
the reading public is now too enlight-
ened to swallow
The following is the article from
the .green-eyed editor across the
continent:
Mr.. Harding Must Face Other Pests
No.
There are some things in connec-
ton with Florida about which kind
friends should tell Mr. Harding IN an
admonitory manner. For instance. the
rattIesnakes which infest so great a
part OF Florida landscape. They are
often six or eight feet long, and their
bite is most annoying. In any we'll
regulated Florida party there should
be abundance of snake bite remedy.
Then there are the red bugs, in
finitesimaI animals that travel in
groups of millions out of the black
soil and up into the wayfarer's leg,
where they burrow under the skin
and smart like the mischief. This can
be ameliorated by rubbing the afflict-
ed parts with a piece of salt bacon
rind.
And the fleas. Florida is noted
for its fleas. 1t is worse in this re-
spect than Mecca or Afghanistan. For
the fleas. kerosene oil anoited on the
body at bedtime is said TO be effective.
..In addition, there are the mosqui-
tees, the~sand flies, the deer flies and
the horse flies to be reckoned with,
according to the region and lateness
OF ones stay A Florida hOrsefly is
about the size of a bumblebee, but its
sting is ten times as poisonous. The
deer fly is not quite so bad If it bites
you on the brow. your throw and face
will only swell up to about eight
times normal proportions, yet without
pain. and the bloating will wear away
within a few hours.
6 THE sand flies are merely a form
OF stocky mosquito, and like the lat
ter can be subdued by smoke screens
and c0pious netting. A shotgun is
great help when they come on in
fIocks, out in the open. Moreover,
there is a grampas, or mule killer.
to be watched out for. This is sort
of crippled tarantula, which is all the
more savage from the deformity The
gramptls has been known to kill a
mule simply by gnawfng at its hoof.
Fortunately it does not roam much
further north than Jupiter
There should also be constant OBJ
against upland and cotton
mouth moccasins and the deadly coral
snake, which hides in old Stumps. The
shorttailed lizards which run so free
" about the domestic premises are
harmless and may be caught in the
hand.
II Mr.. Harding will keep in urban
surroundings he will not be much ex-
posed to these traditional infirmities
of the Florida subtropica1 welcome
Yet should he venture into the coun-
tryside, as he doubtless will. golfing
or hunting for gophers, let the secret
service men or other immunes en-
circle him on every side to bear the
brunt OF verniin attack; otherwise he
is apt to come back looking like a
shipwrecked sailor, who has had to
wander in the Long Island marshes
on an August night