_En route_ for Jacksonville.--A few words about Florida.--Its
climate.--Its folk.--Its productions.
When the associated Southern railways cease to exist the Florida Transit
takes up the matter, and conveys you with equal comfort to some of the
most attractive points of the state.
We are soon _en route_ for Florida, which is the kind of Mecca of our
hearts’ desires. Florida! The very name is suggestive of sunshine and
flowers, orange groves, and the sweet-scented air of “Araby the blest.”
I have but little time and little space to devote to this varied and
beautiful land, and fear that my brief sketch will convey but a faint
idea of the country; though it may perhaps serve to waken the interest
and induce some few to follow in my footsteps, or rather to make a visit
of inspection on their own account and see and judge for themselves. If
they go from mere curiosity only they will find plenty to gratify it,
and if with any idea of settling there the field is so wide, the
attractions so varied, they will find no difficulty in settling
according to their hearts’ desires; whatever they seek in the way of
climate or of soil they will surely find there if they give themselves
time and trouble to seek it out.
This being one of the younger children of the state, having been born
into it indeed only in 1845, its progress has been slow--much slower
than that of many of the other states in this “go-ahead” land, many of
which have grown to maturity at a single bound, like the magic tree the
Indian jugglers show us, which is planted, grows, bears buds, flowers,
and fruits in the very hour of its birth. Although the natural
advantages of Florida are unequalled, its development has been very
gradual, and its population, scanty and scattered, is much smaller in
proportion than that of any other state in the Union. We may, perhaps,
except Nevada and Colorado, both of which are mountainous, rocky
regions, whereas Florida is a level land, its highest elevation being
about 500 feet above the sea, and very rarely attaining to that. There
is, however, a constant tide of immigration flowing into the state, and
the increase of the population during the last dozen years is
surprising. Still some of the finest portions of the state are yet
unpenetrated--luxuriant wildernesses left in a state of nature; but
these are being rapidly cleared, and there is room enough for another
million of workers and a promising field for their speculations. Let
the settlers flock in as fast as they may, provided they come with an
adequate supply of patience, industry, and discrimination in their
choice of a settlement, a prosperous career may be assured to them; for
Florida has a soil fitted for the production of every possible kind of
fruit, flowers, vegetables, and forest produce that can be cultivated in
any part of the temperate or semi-tropical world.
Many of us have heard (and regarded as fabulous) of its growth of
oranges and lemons, but these marvellous accounts are in no way
exaggerated. Some orange groves have produced for their owners from 300
to 3,000 dollars an acre, and a single acre of pines has produced as
much as 1,200 dollars in one season! Such prolific productions and large
profits are by no means uncommon, especially when there is a railway
depot near at hand which renders the transport easy.
It is not uncommon to see wide stretches of wheat fields ripening in
January. Sugar cane and pines are largely cultivated in the
semi-tropical portions of the state, which yield an immense profit; and
of garden vegetables, sometimes, nay often, two or three abundant crops
are produced from the same tract of land within the year. Common
vegetables as well as dainty fruits grow abundantly, and peach trees
attain to a prodigious size; the largest known grows in Volusia County,
its branches spreading nearly eighty feet in diameter! Everything grows
with a spontaneity that is surprising--fruits and flowers everywhere in
the woods and wildernesses in wild luxuriance. The very nature of things
seems to be reversed; pears grow on graceful vines, peas on stately
trees, and some things (as witness the air plant) grow on nothing at
all. But in spite of the richness of the soil, the geniality of the
climate, Florida is not exactly a paradise; here as elsewhere man must
carry out the great law, and labour for his daily bread. Nature is
prolific, and yields her treasures ungrudgingly, but she demands
something in return. Men must come to her with a strong arm and patient
brain, bring their intelligence to the fore, learn to watch her varying
moods and seasons, and prune and train and use her after her own
fashion; all this has to be learned by a new comer, for the agricultural
process and the treatment of fruits and flowers is quite different from
that which is necessary in their culture elsewhere; but given a certain
amount of prudence and knowledge, and more comfort with less labour may
be obtained here than in any other part of the world, for it is rarely
too hot, rarely too cold. Frost is never an expected visitor, though in
certain years it has been a most unwelcome guest, and amply revenged
itself for its general expulsion from the soil. The winter of 1880 was
exceptionally severe; it girded on its frosted garments and travelled
southward, sweeping through the northern part of Florida and laying its
icy hand upon orange and lemon groves, freezing the fruit upon the
trees, working sad havoc wherever it took its frozen way, causing great
loss to all, ruin to some; but this visitation was confined to a very
small portion of the state. In the larger and more numerous districts
frost is simply unknown, and its advent would cause as much wonderment
as a snowstorm in Calcutta. The truth is, there is trinity and unity in
the state, three Floridas in one, which may be thus classified--the
tropical, semi-tropical, and temperate or northern Florida. The latter,
northern Florida, is a land of wheat, corn, cotton, rice, apples,
grapes, etc.--indeed, all cereals, fruits, or vegetables that are
cultivated in the northern provinces may be grown here, as well as some
few of the hardier Southern products. Slight frosts and cold snaps are
not of infrequent occurrence, and the scenery is the most picturesque of
all the state, being varied by grand rolling forests, grey, rugged
rocks, and beautiful winding streams, where fish and wild fowl of all
kinds are most abundant. The temperature is delightful all the year
round, and it is in this region the finest live stock is raised.
In middle or semi-tropical Florida the soil is of a sandy character, the
country flat and uninteresting, unvaried by streams or rivers; it is
only in the orange lake region that a fair extensive lake may here and
there be found, hidden away in some wooded tract of uncultivated land.
Here many of the products of the temperate or tropical regions, such as
lemons, figs, guava, and citron trees, may be found growing side by
side, all the year round; and delicious vegetables, tomatoes, beets,
lettuce, cucumbers, and fine marrowfat peas, are shipped daily in large
quantities, and despatched northward during the months of January,
February, and March. Strawberries, too, are largely cultivated, and
yield an immense profit.
Strangers are daily flocking into this district from all points of the
states. Many prefer this to the more southern parts of Florida, and
large settlements are growing rapidly everywhere, especially along the
line of the Transit Railway, which runs between Cedar Keys and
Fernandina. Almost fabulous quantities of the hardier fruits and
vegetables are produced here, and as the facilities of transportation
lie near at hand, they are at once placed in the hands of the consumer,
and with the slightest expense to the grower. This region is, however,
always liable to frost, which may be looked for any time during the
winter months, but may not appear for many years; but when it does come,
the crops are ruined for that season.
Southern Florida is really the tropical region, the Egypt of the United
States, where frosts are unknown, and every fruit or flower, or forest
product, which grows in the most tropical quarters of the world, is or
may be cultivated with complete success. Pine-apples, bananas, cocoanut,
guava, almonds, olives and figs, with a long list of other tropical
fruits, are produced in luxuriant abundance, but we no longer wander
through groves of orange or lemon trees. Of scenery in these parts there
is nothing to speak of; in the interior it is made up of sunshine,
fruits and flowers. The land is level and uninteresting till you reach
the coast line, where all along the Atlantic shore you have fine
picturesque ranks of bold rocky landscape, flanked by the glorious old
sea. For 1,150 miles the sea washes the shores of Florida, and yet
throughout this long stretch of seaboard there are but a very few good
harbours, and these are chiefly on the Atlantic coast.
All along this coast line the country is very prolific, and in the
woods, in the air, in the lakes, and in the rivers, fish, flesh and
fowl--especially oysters and turtles--are most abundant. This is a
delightful region wherein to enjoy a perfect summer climate during the
winter months; but at the midsummer time, gnats, flies, and mosquitoes
are swarming, and become a perfect scourge. Here, too, at the
furthermost southern point, jutting out between the Atlantic Ocean and
the Gulf of Mexico, are the celebrated “Everglades”--an immense tract of
country consisting of many thousands of square miles of flat prairie
land, completely covered with fresh sweet water, clear as crystal, and
varying from six inches to six feet deep. This in turn is studded with
islands which bear an immense growth of oak, hickory, palmetto, pine,
cedar, and other valuable timbers, and here in these peculiar wilds
dwell the remnant of the Seminole Indians, once the most powerful of all
the Indian tribes which formerly inhabited those isolated regions. It
needs not be said that no white folk are dwellers herein, though
occasionally a bold party of hunters will penetrate these desolate
regions; and on their return to the civilised world they bring a
pleasant account of the simple hospitality and kindly spirit of the
inhabitants.
There is some talk of draining these Everglades; if this idea be carried
out, it will open up millions of acres of valuable cotton and sugar
lands, and will, no doubt, be quickly occupied by an adventurous
multitude.
The first great need here, as in other parts of Florida, is population.
Let a party of pioneers start with pickaxe and shovel, and hew out the
first pathway; one builds the first shanty, a companion follows and
builds another; men are gregarious animals, and the nucleus once formed,
soon gather together. Small storekeepers bring thither the necessities
of life (a saloon and liquor store is among the first erections); then
follows the wholesale dealers, the bankers, and soon solid prosperity is
assured to the little colony. Villages spring up and soon expand into
cities, for wherever labour leads capital quickly follows. There is no
need for labour to languish for want of funds, industry and brains are
more valuable than money in the market; and no matter how poor, even
penniless, a man may be, if he is willing to work and to aid in the
developing another man’s land, he will surely end by cultivating his
own. It is not wealth that has made the first step towards progression
in any land, it is always the poor emigrant, with his rifle and
wheelbarrow, who first penetrates the wilds, turns the first sod, and so
lays the first stone of cities and civilisation.
Nowhere can the capitalist find so large a scope for his speculations,
and nowhere can the poor man find a better market for the labour of his
hand or the fruits of his brain; with industry and prudence he may be
assured of present comfort and future prosperity--limitless prosperity,
provided also that he be energetic and wise.
The development of Florida has generally been carried on by the northern
people. Everywhere throughout the entire state they are planning fresh
improvements: draining swampy lands, fertilising the soil, and
experimentalising with strange crops, building railways, cities, mills,
and churches--in fact, endeavouring to cultivate, and turn to good
account the most neglected and wildest regions; and everywhere their
endeavours are crowned with success, for on every side you find evidence
of northern capital and northern enterprise. No one who thinks of
settling and establishing a permanent residence in this “flowery land,”
can do better than consult Barbour’s _Florida_, from which he can
extract all he desires to know.
Mr. Barbour has visited all parts, and penetrated the remotest recesses
of the state, and has made himself thoroughly acquainted with the
resources of every special district, and has boiled his varied
experiences down, and reproduced them in the aforenamed volume. He gives
no advice, makes no attempt to influence settlers in their choice of a
location; he merely states facts, gives a descriptive account of each
district--its capabilities, its climate, its soil, and gives a list of
such cereals, fruits, flowers, and vegetables, etc. as have been, or may
be, most successfully cultivated in each place; thus imparting most
valuable information to those who most need it, never misleading the
inquiring mind or twisting the imagination awry.
I have no time to consider the subject of Florida so particularly as I
desire to do; I can only generalise, as a rule, and visit such special
places as are easy of access, and are, or are likely to become, places
of popular resort, either for the invalid or pleasure-seeker; my object
is to enjoy the season, and see what there is for other people to enjoy.
Some transient visitors who have eyes yet no eyes, sensibilities without
sense, give a brief but sweeping opinion of Florida, and say--
“It’s a hot, dry, dusty place, nothing in it but oranges and
alligators--good enough in winter for those poor creatures who don’t
care to run the risk of freezing in the north; and that’s all there is
in it.”
Such hastily uttered opinions are no doubt attributable to a bilious
temperament or bad digestion. Every season brings a fresh influx of
visitors, some in search of health, some in search of pleasure; there is
a plentiful supply of both, and each may choose his own fashion of
taking it. Some love to lounge on the wide verandahs looking over the
perfumed garden of fruits and flowers, enjoying in January the soft
balmy breath of June; or they may wander through miles of orange groves,
or row upon the quiet moonlit lakes or rivers, or indulge in fishing
expeditions up the wonderful “St. John’s,” varying that gentle pastime
by shooting wild ducks or alligators.
Those who are inclined to enjoy a pure pleasure trip, a ramble through
the ancient Spanish cities and modern towns, to take a trip up the Royal
St. John’s, or the weird wild Ocklawaha--the most wonderful water-way in
the world--may let loose their imagination and go with me, for I am _en
route_ for Jacksonville.