•I o 
 
 XO^^. 
 
 .HO, 
 

[n the 
 
 Land of Plowers 
 
 By WALTER N. PIKE. 
 
 Know ye the land of the Cedar and Vine, 
 Whose scented flowers blossom and beams enshrine ; 
 Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppressed with perfume, 
 Wax faint o'er the gardens of beautiful bloom? " 
 
OONTENTS. 
 
 Ho FOR- THF fNNY SOUTH, ....... 3 
 
 The Gardens and Flowers of Jacksonville, . . 3 
 
 The Palms or Palmettoes of Florida, .... 7 
 
 A Trip up the St. John's River, ...... 11 
 
 Wonderful Plant Growths in Florida, .... 15 
 
 Silver Spring and its Romantic Legend, . . .19 
 
 On the Wondrous Ocklawaha, ...... 23 
 
 Way Down on the Indian River, . .27 
 
 Oranges and Other Citrus Fruits, ..... 31 
 
 St. Augustine and the Gardens of the Ponce de Leon, 35 
 
 The Garden and Flowers of the Tampa Bay Hotel, . 39 
 
 Where May and December are Wed, . . .43 
 
 Living and Locating in Florida, ..... 47 
 
 Miscellanies, . . . . . . 51-64 
 
^^1^.,^^.^ 
 
 r 
 
 "^M^.ofPyJjL^ 
 
IN THE 
 
 LAND ^FLOWERS 
 
 A SERIES OF REVISED SKETCHES ^ 
 WHICH FIRST APPEARED IN 
 "THE MAYFLOWER." 
 
 WALTER N. PIKE 
 
 11 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 PIKE & ELLSWORTEfr'^^^^f . ^, . 
 
 JESSAMINE, FLA. 
 
 PRICE lO CENTS. 
 
 Copyright, 1895, by Walter N. Pike. 
 
 /^ 
 

 Ho for the Sunny South I 
 
 Away from stern Wlnter^s dommions, 
 
 His cold, chilling mantle of snow; 
 The flowers struck dead by his visage. 
 
 His winds chanting dirges of woe. 
 
 Then away to the far sunny Southland, 
 
 To traverse those regions so fair. 
 Where the Summer ne'er ceaseth to linger, 
 
 And the Orange bloom perfumes the air. 
 
 Where the glittering Rose in December 
 Spreads its dazzling hues to the light. 
 
 And the Lily, so pure and so fragrant. 
 Displays its fair blossoms so bright. 
 
 Where the Pine, fidl of years and of honors— 
 
 A huge, stately pillar— dotli rise ; 
 Its roots firmly fixed in their places, 
 
 Its top reared aloft in the skies. 
 
 Where the Liveoak, so tall and so spreading, 
 
 Dispenses its generous shade; 
 And ivaveth the Cabbage Palmetto, 
 
 In tropical grandeur arrayed. 
 
 Where the dense, tangled growth of the forest 
 
 A fabric fantastical weaves. 
 And twinkle the radiant sunbeams 
 
 Through quivering branches and leaves. 
 
 There, safe from the Ice King's rude fetters. 
 With hearts full of lightness and glee. 
 
 We will fill up our life's happy measure 
 And learn to be joyous and free. 
 
 — Joshua Morris. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 The Gardens and Flowers of Jacksonville. 
 
 " Oh! Florida, romantic land. 
 Enraptured I thy praises sing, 
 For nature smiles on every hand. 
 And Winter is as fair as Spring." 
 
 — Mrs. Jennie S. PerMns. 
 
 O State in all this vast Union possesses a more romantic, 
 interesting and diversified history than Florida. From 
 its discovery, early in the sixteenth century, by Juan 
 Ponce de Leon, a romantic soldier noble of Spain, in 
 his vain search for the chimerical "Fountain of Youth," its his- 
 tory has been a continuous chapter of romantic occurrences, in 
 which mystery and tragedy play not the least important parts. 
 However, it is not my allotted task to trace its fascinating history, 
 but to describe some of its most beautiful natural features, famous 
 gardens and rare flora, both native and introduced, found within its 
 ^borders, for the benefit of my readers. 
 
 The pleasing and very appropriate appellations of "The Land 
 of Flowers" and "The Italy of America" have been applied to the 
 State, and long since became synonymous with its name. Florida 
 itself .is euphonious, and even to those having no idea of its deriva- 
 tion it possesses a flowery suggestiveness, calling up visions of 
 dreamy, tropical luxuriance, golden sunshine, sparkling, limpid 
 waters, and singing birds. Ponce de Leon named the land Florida 
 after the day of its discovery, which was Fascua Florida, or 
 Flower Sunday. 
 
 The following chapters will deal wholly with the peninsular 
 portion of the State, commonly termed -outh Florida, but for two 
 reasons I shall devote this one to Jacksonville and vicinity ; first, 
 on account of the interesting and beautiful flora existing there, and 
 
secondly, because it is the gateway to the State, through which pass 
 nine-tenths of the people who enter its borders, and, naturally, 
 these people are interested to know what is to be seen in this line at 
 their first stop in this flowery land. 
 
 Anyone expecting to find a city of beautiful gardens and well- 
 kept yards will, with a few notable exceptions, be disappointed in 
 Jacksonville, and a casual observer n\ight even aver that there are 
 no flowers or plants there worthy of note; but let your true flower 
 lover wander leisurely up and down the residence streets of the 
 city, as I have often done, and many beautiful and wonderful plant- 
 growths will be discovered that are a delight to a true lover of 
 nature and a true indication of "what might be" if kindly hands 
 were to plant, weed and cultivate. 
 
 The streets are mostly well shaded, principally by Water Oaks 
 and Live Oaks, with here and there a specimen of that royal denizen 
 of Southern forests, the Magnolia grandiflora, its wealth of burn- 
 ished green foliage contrasting finely with its smooth, ash-gray 
 trunk, and during its flowering season perfuming the surrounding 
 atmosphere with its intoxicating sweetness. Specimens of the appro- 
 priately named Umbrella China tree (Melia Azcdarach umhracuH- 
 formls) are plentiful, holding their marvelously symmetrical heads 
 poised on polished, greenish-brown, columnar trunks. If in the 
 Winter only the bare branches, standing erect like the braces of an 
 umbrella frame, give evidence of its characteristic shape, for it is 
 deciduous; but in Summer it presents a rounded head of deepest 
 green foliage through which the sun cannot cast a solitary ray, and 
 so perfect in form that it is difficult to believe it has not been 
 clipped. In several yards may be seen specimens of the Cabbage 
 Palmetto (Sabal Palmetto) of the South, a majestic fan-leaf Palm 
 which has been likened to a huge feather-duster stood on end. 
 Another plant which is equally distinct in appearance is the Span- 
 ish Dagger or Bayonet {Yucca aloi/oHa,) growing singly or in 
 clumps on the lawns or in the fence corners, and bearing no resem- 
 blance to any growth of Northern climes. Its straight, simple or 
 forked trunk is densely clothed with a mass of dark green, brist- 
 ling, dagger-like leaves which suggest the word tropical more than 
 any other. But if anything is needed to finish the impression, grow- 
 ing close by is a Century Plant (Agave,) the mammoth proportions 
 
of which are at once the envy and despair of tne Northern cultiva- 
 tor, whose specimen of the same species is growing in a six-inch pot 
 or, perhaps, has arrived to the dignity of a keg. He sees before him 
 a plant which five or six years ago was a tiny offset stuck out in the 
 sand aud left to shift for itself, now a gigantic specimen which 
 would require a tub made from a hogshead to hold it. Its ponder- 
 ous leaves, five or six inches in width and weighing several pounds 
 apiece, radiate in all directions in fantastic curves, and the whole 
 plant standing as high as a person. 
 
 Occasionally a house is passed draped from basement to eaves 
 by a curtain of the evergreen Blgnonla picta, which must present 
 a picture of rare loveliness when studded with its large tubular 
 mauve or violet flowers. I very distinctly remember in one yard a 
 large Live Oak, up the body of which had climbed thrifty vines of 
 English Ivy, and then hung in long, pendant streamers from the 
 limbs, oscillating back and forth in every passing breeze. On a porch 
 I noticed, trained up and around it, a plant of Solanum Jasminoides 
 grandiflora, the vine and its branches aggregating many yards in 
 length. Here and there a Date Palm (Phoenix dactyllfera) holds 
 erect its pinnate, bluish leaves in a majestic manner, and specimens 
 of the extremely hardy Sago Palm or Japanese Fern Palm (Cycas 
 revoluta) abound, some of them with stout stems surmounted by 
 noble crowns of scores of leaves— specimens which at the North 
 would command from $50 to $100 each. Of its near congener, the 
 Coontie (Zamia integrifoUa,) a native of South Florida, at least one 
 exceptionally fine specimen exists in the city. It must be an old, 
 large and long-established root, for it supports an oval mound of 
 foliage as large as a good-sized tub, and as an ornamental ranks 
 second only to the Cycas. * 
 
 A very popular plant with the residents, it would seem, is the 
 St. John's Lily {Crinum pedujiculatum,) for it is growing in a large 
 majority of the yards where an attempt is made to cultivate any- 
 thing. This gigantic member of the Amaryllis family attains a 
 height of five or six feet, with a corresponding breadth of magnifi- 
 cent foliage. It is almost constantly in bloom, except when cut 
 down by untimely frosts, sending up stout scapes bearing immense 
 umbels of from twenty to thirty, or more, large and very fragrant 
 pure white flowers having purple anthers. The bulbs are large 
 
and stump-like, from fifteen to twenty inches in circumference at 
 the neck, and often extend into the ground to a depth of from one 
 and one half to two feet. When the bulb has attained a certain size 
 it divides into two, these in turn and time also dividing, thus form- 
 ing clumps of half a dozen or more individual bulbs, supporting an 
 immense spread of foliage, among which there'is almost always at 
 least one head of flowers. 
 
 Several large clumps of these Lilies grace the little square 
 magniloquently termed the City Park. Here, too, are dense clumps 
 of a species of Bamboo — probably Bamhusa Metake — which pre- 
 sents a strange appearance to Northern eyes not accustomed to see- 
 ing grass grow large enough for fishing rods. Palms, Oaks, Sour 
 Oranges, Oleanders, Cedars and Century Plants form the principal 
 growth of this little park, which might be made into a spot of ex- 
 ceptional beauty, 
 
 A very interesting place to visit is the one-time Sub-Tropical b^x- 
 position buildings and grounds. Here, both inside and out, are 
 growing many rare and choice plants, silent but eloquent monu- 
 ments to the revered memory of the lamented P. W. Reasoner, the 
 enthusiastic young horticulturist who had the interests of the State 
 so warmly at heart and labored so assiduously for its horticultural 
 advancement. Among the objects of especial interest here are some 
 enormous specimens of the Century Plant, and a fine example of the 
 Fish-Tail Palm (Caryota urens.) 
 
 Mrs. Mitchell has a beautiful garden in the suburbs, containing 
 many plants noted for their great beauty, rarity or unusual inter- 
 est. Among the latter class are some magnificent specimens of the 
 true Tea Plant (CamcZUa Thea,) which, with their rich evergreen 
 leaves and myriads of single white flowers with numerous yellow 
 stamens, are no less beautiful than interesting. In some Jackson- 
 ville yards the Tea Plant is employed to form a beautiful ornamental 
 hedge, and in the height of the flowering season the intermingling 
 of white, gold and green must be exquisite. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 The Palms or Palmettoes of Florida. 
 
 HE Palms are undoubtedly the most striking objects 
 among the exceptionally varied vegetable productions 
 of the State of Florida. They are highly ornamental as 
 well, and a never failing source of attraction for North- 
 ern eyes. Linnaeus called Palms the "Princes of the Vegetable 
 Kingdom," a designation which no one will venture to dispute, and 
 Charles Kingsley wrote of them as follows: "For it is a joy forever, 
 a sight never to be forgotten, to have once seen Palms breaking 
 through, and, as it were, defying the soft, rounded forms of the 
 broad-leaved vegetation by the stern grace of their simple lines; 
 the immovable pillar-stems looking the more immovable beneath 
 the toss, and lash, and flicker of the long leaves, as they awake out 
 of their sunlit sleep, and rage impatiently for awhile before the 
 mountain gusts, and fall asleep again. Like a Greek statue in a 
 luxurious drawing room, sharp-cut, cold, virginal; shaming by the 
 grandeur of mere form the voluptuousness of mere color, however 
 rich and harmonious; so stands the Palm in the forest — to be wor- 
 shipped rather than to be loved." 
 
 There are at least nine distinct species of Palms, representing 
 six different genera, native of Florida; but of these, five are con- 
 fined to the extreme southern portion of the State. The other four 
 extend to the northern boundary, and beyond, but few tourists see 
 more than two of these, the other two being confined to the swamps 
 and thick hardwood forests termed hammocks, to distinguish them 
 from the open Pine woods which occupy nearly all the rest of the 
 land. 
 
 The most conspicuous and noteworthy of these four is the Cab- 
 bage Palm or Palmetto (Sabal Palmetto,) famous from well-known 
 historical associations, and for the imperishability of its wood 
 
under water, being proof against even that scourge of Southern 
 waters, the teredo. It possesses a subtle mysteriousness which is 
 both awesome and irresistable, and the beholder is reminded more 
 forcibly by it than by any other arborescent vegetation, that he or 
 she has left the region of ice and snow far behind and is fast enter- 
 ing the realm tropical. As it rears aloft its rounded head it in- 
 stantly attracts and holds the attention from its total dissimilarity 
 to the vegetation by which it may be surrounded. It exceptionally, 
 with great age, attains a height of eighty to ninety feet, the rough 
 gray trunk only eight or ten inches in diameter and shooting aloft 
 bare as a ship's mast except for the feather duster-like head of fan- 
 shaped leaves which crowns its apex. Until it reaches ten to twenty 
 feet in height, the bases of the dead leaf stalks remain upon the 
 trunk, forming a unique cheval-de-frise, adding greatly to its pic- 
 turesqueness. These leaf bases are ranged around the trunk with 
 perfect mathematical precision, and as the trunk swells in growth 
 these sheathing bases are split up one half or two-thirds their 
 length, which gives the tree the appearance of being surrounded by 
 an exceedingly curious and highly ornamental lattice-work. This 
 natural trellis is often taken possession of by some aspiring vine 
 which soon mounts to the top of the Palm and weaves for it a 
 mantle of emerald ornamented with flowers of richest hues. Be- 
 tween these persistent leaf-bases and the trunk proper, there is a 
 thick layer of beautiful brown fibre, in which two species of Ferns 
 are often found growing high up above the ground. One of these 
 is Vittaria lineata, a most curious Fern, utterly unlike any north- 
 ern species. The fronds are linear, from a few inches to two feet in 
 length, pendulous, and the plant resembles a tuft of dark green 
 grass hanging from the side of the tree. The other species is Poly- 
 podium aureum, a noble plant with large glaucous fronds. It has 
 a stout root-stalk which runs about in the fibre, and it is not an 
 unusual sight to see the beautiful fronds depending in a circle 
 from beneath the crown of Palm leaves, twenty-five or thirty feet 
 above the ground. Ophioglossmn palmatum, a tropical Fern with 
 curiously forked, fleshy leaves, is rarely found growing in the 
 decaying sheathing bases of the leaves of this Palm. As the tree 
 advances in age its growth is slow, the leaf stalks and fibre rot and 
 fall off, leaving a slim, rough trunk strinkingly like a telegraph 
 
pole. It derives its common name from the fact that the unde- 
 veloped leaf bud in the centre of the crown of the tree, is often 
 cooked and eaten, equaling in flavor the finest Cabbage; but the 
 life of the tree is sacrificed for every bud taken. 
 
 The Saw or Scrub Palmetto (Serenoa serrulata) is the most 
 common Palm in Florida. Often the Pine woods are carpeted with 
 it for miles in every direction, and its very numbers render the 
 scene monotonous. But an individual specimen, considered by 
 itself, is beautiful, and in Europe it is highly valued for pot culture. 
 The leaves are circular in outline, fan-shaped and bright green. 
 The slender leaf-stalks spiny-edged— hence its common name of 
 Saw Palmetto— the trunk creeping and rooting on the underside, 
 rendering it very difficult to remove when clearing the land. When 
 growing in shady hammocks the trunk often assumes an upright 
 position, sometimes eight or ten feet high, and is then a very orna- 
 mental and striking object. 
 
 In rich hammocks is found the beautiful Dwarf Palmetto {Sabal 
 Adansonii,) an extremely hardy Palm, resisting unharmed a tem- 
 perature as low as ten degrees Fahr. The short stem is entirely 
 under ground, the dark, rich green fan shaped leaves are borne on 
 short, smooth-edged stalks, and the graceful flower stalk rises 
 above the leaves to a height of six or seven feet. 
 
 In the same locations, and in wet swamps, the Blue Palmetto or 
 Needle Palm {RhapldophyUum hystrix) abounds. It is an extremely 
 beautiful species, and listed in European catalogues at very high 
 prices, owing to its comparative scarcity. The leaves are very beau- 
 tiful, shining green above and silvery gray below, deeply slit into 
 narrow ribbons and borne on slender, graceful stems. Around the 
 bases of these stems bristle numerous slender, keenly-pointed 
 brown spines about fifteen inches long, mingled with a quantity of 
 hairy fibres. These spines are undoubtedly a wise provision of nature 
 to preserve from harm the flower-bud, which resembles a large 
 snowy white egg nestling among the fibres, and which but for this 
 protection would probably be eaten by animals. 
 
 The Royal Palm (Oreodoxa regla,^ the " Glory of the Moun- 
 tains," and the Falma real of the Spanish West Indies, one of the 
 grandest of pinnate-leaved Palms, is native in several localities of 
 extreme South Florida. Capt. Mayne Reid gives the following 
 
graphic pen picture of this Palm: "Close by the Cotton-tree stood 
 another giant of the forest— rivaling the former in height, but 
 differing from it as an arrow from its bow. Straight as a lance, it 
 rose to the height of an hundred feet. It was branchless — as a col- 
 umn of polished malachite or marble — up to its high summit, 
 where its green, feather-like fronds, radiating outward, drooped 
 gracefully over, like a circlet of reflexed ostrich plumes. The noble 
 ' Mountain Cabbage' of Jamaica, the kingly Oreodoxa." Three noble 
 specimens of this Palm once stood on Cape Sable and were visible 
 eighteen miles out at sea. They were destroyed by the gale of 
 1872. 
 
 Perhaps the rarest Palm known to cultivation is Florida's re- 
 cently discovered PseudopJioenix Sargenti. It was discovered in 
 the Summer of 1886, on Elliott's Key, by Prof. A. H. Curtiss and 
 Prof. C. S. Sargent. As it was sufficiently distinct to constitute 
 both a new species and a new genus, it was given the above name 
 by Prof. Wendland of Germany, the specific name being in honor 
 of Prof. Sargent. It is a half dwarf species, never exceeding 
 twenty feet in height, is pinnate-leaved, and somewliat resembles 
 some species of Phoenix. The leaf-stalks drop off as soon as the 
 leaves die, leaving a free, clean-looking trunk, the upper part 
 marked with alternate rings of green and brown. It is known no- 
 where else in the world, and in but two small groves on the Keys 
 (islands)— containing in all not over two hundred specimens. 
 Several were destroyed by land clearers who were ignorant of its 
 rarity. 
 
 The genus Thrinax is represented by at least three beautiful 
 species, all confined to the coast or Keys of extreme South Florida, 
 far below the lines of travel frequented by most tourists. The 
 Prickly Thatch {Thrinax parvijtora) is a most beautiful fan Palm, 
 with slender, graceful stem and leaves, and attains a final height of 
 thirty feet. The Silver Thatch (T. argentca) is of final greater size 
 as respects stem and leaves, and the latter are silvery white on the 
 under side. The third species is T. cxcelsa, with very large fan- 
 shaped leaves, four to five feet long, and about the same in diame- 
 ter, light green above and hoary glaucous beneath. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 A Trip Up the St. John's River. 
 
 " ' By St. John's romantic river,' 
 
 Orange, Palms and Live Oaks grow. 
 And cast down their fair reflections 
 
 In the amber waves below ; 
 And the Moonflower weaves around them 
 
 Her green canopy of vines 
 That are starred with snow-white flowers 
 
 When the summer moonlight shines." 
 
 TRIP to Florida, or a residence in this State, without 
 a trip up or down that grand, sub-tropical river, the 
 St. John's, is, to make use of an old and familiar com- 
 parison, like the play of Hamlet with Hamlet left 
 out. Nowhere in all tbis broad Union — north, south, east or west 
 —may a more delightful trip be taken, or one which will leave a 
 more pleasant and indelible impression upon the memory. True, 
 there are more awe-inspiring scenes and greater height, breadth 
 and depth in the views found in mountain regions; but the same 
 are duplicated in many and widely separated sections of our vast 
 domain, while there is but one Florida, and nothing resembling the 
 St. John's is found outside its borders. 
 
 On the first day of May, 1562, Jean Ribaut crossed the St. John's 
 bar and named the stream within in honor of that day, "La Riviere 
 de Mai." This name the Spaniards changed into San Mateo, but 
 the river is now known as the St. John's. Taking its rise among 
 the springs of southern Florida, it flows north for a distance, in all 
 its twists and turns, of more than four hundred miles, to Jackson- 
 ville, where it turns eastward and empties into the Atlantic Ocean, 
 twenty-five miles from that city; and for the greater part of this 
 distance its banks are lined with a luxuriant sub tropical vegeta- 
 tion, mingled with some familiar growths of temperate climes. 
 
J^roni its mouth to the city of Sanford it forms a liquid highway 
 some two hundred and eighteen miles in length, navigable for large 
 steamers, and its banks dotted at intervals by picturesque cities and 
 villages, Orange groves and solitary residences. Near the sea it is 
 a broad, majestic stream winding amongst marshes dotted with 
 island-like mounds of higher ground clothed with Pines, Live 
 Oaks and a variety of lower-growing vegetation, spots of deepest 
 interest to the botanist. 
 
 Nearing Jacksonville the banks grow higher, rising in many 
 places into bold bluffs crowned with residences and an occasional 
 Orange grove. But thus far there is little suggestive of the tropics, 
 except the deliciously soft, balmy air, the rounded heads of the 
 Cabbage Palms, and the long gray moss festooning the limbs of 
 the giant Live Oaks. 
 
 Although from Jacksonville to Sanford the distance on an air 
 line is only a trifle over one hundred miles,— and by rail is only one 
 hundred and twenty-five miles — by the river, owing to its innumer- 
 able windings, one hundred and ninety-three miles must be trav- 
 ersed. After rounding Grassy Point oft" Jacksonville, the average 
 width of this grand stream for a distance of seventy-five miles 
 south is more than three miles, widening at Green Cove Springs to 
 five miles. Numerous small villages dot either side, and one — 
 Mandarin — on the east bank, possesses special interest. Here, near 
 the landing, and almost hidden among fine old Oaks and Orange 
 trees, is the home of the celebrated authoress of "Uncle Tom's 
 Cabin," Mrs. H. B. Stowe. Thirty miles from Jacksonville is Green 
 Cove Springs, noted for its magnificent sulphur spring. It is 
 located in u wooded and picturesque hollow, and gushes forth 
 3,000 gallons of water per minute, clear and pure as crystal. 
 
 As the steamer glides on over the placid water the scenery be- 
 comes more varied. Orange groves appear in greater numbers, and 
 as these are approached the golden, sunlit air pulsates with the 
 wondrous song of that "winged mimic of the woods," the mock- 
 ing bird. The river gradually narrows, vegetation grows thicker 
 and more tropical, the scenery is wilder, and cranes, from snowy 
 white to the common blue, as well as numerous other aquatic birds, 
 are seen in the tall grasses along the shore, or running about on 
 the Lily pads. 
 
At last the boat enters what is called the Upper St. John's ; and 
 here the scene becomes weird, beautiful and picturesque beyond 
 description. In many places the river narrows to a width of only 
 one hundred feet and winds and turns and curves like a gigantic 
 serpent. The banks are lined with vegetation of the greatest luxu- 
 riance, and almost every individual growth is unfamiliar to the 
 Northern eye. The Cabbage Palm, in every stage of its growth, 
 rears aloft its noble form, growing down to the water's edge, some- 
 times singly, sometimes in groups, and sometimes in groves, to the 
 exclusion of everything else ; the lordly Magnolia towers aloft in 
 all its majesty of russet brown and emerald green, while the gentle 
 zephyrs disclose in silver ripples the abiding places of the Sweet 
 Bay; the wet places are occupied by colonies of the funereal Cypress, 
 with huge buttressed trunks and attendant swarms of curiosity- 
 provoking "knees," the plumy boughs, so high aloft, silhouetted 
 against a sky as deeply and intensely blue as the waters beneath are 
 dark ; vines of many genera and species run riot, binding bush to 
 bush and tree to tree in an inextricable tangle, from which peeps 
 forth, here and there, a brilliant blossom gleaming like the flash of 
 the wing of some gorgeous feathered songster of the tropics ; long 
 silvery strands and waving banners of Spanish Moss are draped 
 from every limb with a prodigal profuseness afforded only by a 
 nature whose resources are inexhaustible, and, while strongly em- 
 phasizing the weirdness and unique beauty of the scene, tends to 
 vary and lighten the mass of vegetation which at times becomes 
 oppressive from its very density and luxuriance. Mrs. Jennie S. 
 Perkins, in her beautiful poem, "Summer on the St. John's," the 
 first verse of which heads this article, draws the following exqui- 
 site picture of the scene : 
 
 " Moss-veiled trees, like nuns enshrouded. 
 
 All in grey in silence stand ; 
 Through the boughs the golden sunbeams 
 
 Drop their crosses on the sand. 
 Stealing through the solemn stillness 
 
 Gentle murmurs fill the air, 
 Like the penitential sighing 
 
 Of the holy monks at prayer." 
 
 Anon the boat glides past the mouth of some little tributary 
 stream flowing through a perfect archway of never-fading green, 
 up which maybe caught a momentary flash of the flaming blossoms 
 
of Hibiscus coccinea. The northern Lobelia cardinalis mingles 
 its glowing wands with the white Lily-like umbels of Crinum 
 americanum, while the delicious sweetness of innumerable Spider 
 Lilies rises like incense upon an already perfume-laden atmosphere. 
 And so the scene continues until the steamer emerges into Lake 
 Monroe, every bend and curve revealing new beauties and new com- 
 binations, the whole forming a picture the impression of which will 
 never fade from the mind's eye. 
 
 Nothing can be conceived of more beautiful and soul-inspiring 
 than the St. John's by moonlight. Nowhere have I seen Luna 
 shine with such clearness and brilliancy as in this fair clime, there- 
 by greatly intensifying all shadows and producing exceptionally 
 weird and beautiful effects. Shining upon the rippling waters of 
 this glorious stream, the steamer seems to be gliding along a path- 
 way of moulten silver, between walls of verdure sparkling with the 
 frost-white blossoms of the Moonflower. Gen. Grant, at the close 
 of a day and moonlight night on this river, said: "In all my jour- 
 ney round the world I have seen nothing to equal this trip." 
 
 But if the river is transcendently beautiful by moonlight, it is 
 inexpressibly weird and grand on a dark night, when the search- 
 light is brought into play to light up the steamer's course. The 
 transformation is as marvelous as though produced by a magician's 
 wand. The banks on either hand, and the water beneath seem to 
 be gliding swiftly past, while every tree, shrub, vine and flower 
 within a certain distance from the shore line, is thrown into start- 
 ling relief upon a pall-like background of seemingly impenetrable 
 darkness, and the curious floating Water Lettuce appears like 
 lovely, snow-white Water-Lily blossoms drifting in a sea of ink. 
 
 I cannot close this feeble attempt at describing this beautiful 
 river in a more fitting manner than by quoting the closing stanza 
 of Mrs. Perkins' poem: 
 
 " Dark and shadowed are the forests, 
 Weird and tropic is the gloom, 
 All above is dreamy splendor. 
 All below is scent and bloom. 
 ' Where St. John's romantic river ' 
 Rolls in grandeur silently. 
 Nature plants her fairy gardens 
 From his sources to the sea." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 Wonderful Plant Growths in Florida. 
 
 " There is continual spring and harvest there, 
 For all the plants do scented blossoms bear; 
 Among the shady leaves, their sweet delight 
 Throw forth such dainty odors day and night." 
 
 EW objects impress the tourist or newcomer to Florida 
 with more amazement and delight than the great size 
 attained here in the open ground by m.-iny of their 
 favorite pot plants of the North. Very many plants 
 which, under pot culture, give no indications of being other than 
 dwarfs by nature, are, in reality, quite the opposite when sur- 
 rounded by environments conducive to their full development. 
 Many of the most treasured pets of the northern conservatory or 
 window garden find in a Florida ji^carden perfect congeniality of soil 
 and temperature, and rapidly assume proportions which seem 
 almost incredible to a Northern flower lover and cultivator. 
 
 A striking illustration is furnished by many varieties of Roses. 
 Here the Everblooming sorts are as hardy as the Hybrid Perpetuals 
 or Mosses at the North, and if given a little attention annually in 
 the way of fertilizing, pruning and cultivating, they soon attain 
 enormous proportions, and literally load themselves with flowers. 
 Safrano, Isabella Sprunt, La France, Catherine Mermet, etc., eight 
 feet high and equally as broad, bending under a combined weight 
 of hundreds of buds and blossoms, are not unusual and are not the 
 largest sizes attained by any means. The old Agrippina and Pink 
 Daily Roses are very common in this state, and one or both are 
 to be found in the yard of almost every native Floridian. They are 
 everblooming in every sense of the word, never being without flow- 
 ers, though produced in greater profusion at certain seasons. I 
 know of a specimen of each of these Roses, growing in the same 
 
yard, which have attained unusual size and are really wonderful 
 objects to behold. The Agrippina has a stem twenty-four inches in 
 circumference, is nine and one-half feet high, and the entire bush 
 fifty-four feet in circumference. It is of regular oval shape, and 
 when I saw it a bushel of Roses could have been cut from it and not 
 been missed. The Pink Daily has a tree-like stem nearly six inches 
 in diameter, but the bush is not so regular in shape as the Agrip- 
 pina. Another party has a Tea Rose (probably Phoenix,) which is 
 eight and one-half feet high and fourteen feet wide. 
 
 But Marechal Niel, when budded or grafted on some strong- 
 growing sort, makes a growth which casts all the above quite into 
 the shade. When the stock is a congenial one, this exquisite Rose 
 will run like a grapevine, soon clambering to the ridge-pole of a 
 two-story building and producing bushels of its golden globes of 
 exquisite perfume and often of immense size. While the flowers 
 are slow to develop, they are very persistent, remaining in good 
 form for a long time, often until they wear out. A neighbor pos- 
 sesses a remarkably fine specimen of this Rose. Is is five years old, 
 the main stem is seven inches in circumference, and the plant covers 
 about thirty feet square, but would have covered at least fifty feet 
 square had it not been kept cut back. The owner is sure that if 
 let grow, and a trellis made for it, in three years it would cover 
 one-half acre of ground. It blooms more or less every month in the 
 year, but in February, March and April it bears a full crop of fiow- 
 ers, having as many as three hundred Roses at one time. 
 
 Those familiar with the Lantana as a pot plant only can hardly 
 conceive of the wonderful proportions to which it attains here in 
 the open ground, its marvelous rapidity of growth and prodigal 
 profusion of bloom. A small plant set out in the poorest soil will 
 attain a height of four or five feet, with a spread of ten feet, inside 
 of a year, and be completely covered with flowers nearly all the 
 time. If cut down by frost it soon sprouts up stronger than ever, 
 and goes on increasing in size from year to year. We have a row 
 of these plants which have developed into an unbroken hedge ten 
 feet wide and six feet high. When in bloom, butterflies constantly 
 hover about, and the blue-black berries are as eagerly sought and 
 devoured by the mocking-birds. One of my correspondents in this 
 State has a Lantana bush ten feet high, with a spread of thirty-one 
 
feet ! How would some of our Northern sister flower lovers fancy 
 the task of lifting and potting such a giant ? 
 
 This same correspondent possesses a remarkably fine plant of 
 the Malayan Jessamine (Rhyncospermum Jasminoides,) a choice 
 evergreen climber often cultivated in pots at the North. It was set 
 out fifteen years ago, and is trained up a stout lightwood pole ten 
 inches in diameter and twenty-two feet high, stuck full of pegs two 
 feet long. The main stem is now ten and one-fourth inches in cir- 
 cumference, and it covers the pole entirely with a mass of stems and 
 its beautiful glossy foliage, from six to ten feet in diameter, and 
 for weeks in the Spring the whole plant is a cloud of lovely white 
 flowers, which fills the house and grounds with delightful fra- 
 grance. 
 
 Russelia juncea, or Coral Plant, as some call it, which has 
 recently been brought prominently before the public, is another 
 plant which makes a remarkable growth in this State and flowers 
 almost the year round. An established plant is constantly sending 
 up stout canes six or eight feet high, clothed with peculiar Rush-like 
 branches and myriads of tubular, coral red flowers. Many of the 
 canes are simply great plumes or ropes of flowers, bending and 
 swaying under their own weight of loveliness. When allowed its 
 own sweet will the branches droop until their tips touch the earth, 
 into which they quickly root and send up fresh shoots, these in turn 
 taking root and the plants spreading over a considerable space of 
 ground. I have been told of a specimen which, left unmolested for 
 some years, attained a height of twelve or fifteen feet and covered a 
 space twice as large as the ground floor of a good-sized dwelling 
 house. 
 
 Nearly all members of the Amaryllis family grow to perfection 
 in this State, requiring little or no care after planting out, and 
 some species of Crinum attain a great size, and produce an immense 
 number of flowers. On our grounds there is a fine specimen of 
 Crinuifn augustum, or "Grandolia,"' as it is called in some local- 
 ities, which would astonish the cultivator of ordinary Amaryllis. 
 The neck of the bulb is twenty-seven inches in circumference at the 
 surface of the ground, and extends below the surface at least two 
 feet. From this bulb there radiates upward and outward thirty- 
 three luxuriant leaves, the longest ones measuring five feet and ten 
 
 ^7 
 
inches from base to tip, and seven and one-half inches wide at the 
 broadest part. The ends of these leaves droop downward in a very 
 graceful and symmetrical manner, and as the plant stands, without 
 straightening up the ends of the leaves, it measures five feet and 
 three inches in height, and six feet and three inches through the top 
 or spread of leaves. It is almost constantly in bloom, and the 
 umbels of buds and open flowers are often larger than a half bushel 
 measure. But this bulb has been planted only about three years. 
 An old and long-established bulb has produced an umbel of flowers 
 so large that when carried in a covered buggy it completely hid the 
 person in the scat. 
 
 Space will not admit of descriptions of all the plants which at- 
 tain to unusual proportions in Florida, and I can only briefly men- 
 tion a few more of the most notable examples. Oleanders thrive 
 like weeds, and quickly attain to the dimensions of respectable sized 
 trees. Specimens, with trunks two feet in circumference, twenty- 
 five or thirty feet high, and even forty feet through the top, are not 
 unusual. The Chinese Hibiscus is equally at home here, though 
 more susceptible to frost, and frequently attains a height of 
 twelve or fifteen feet with a spread of ten or twelve feet. Begonia 
 rubra has been trained over the front door of a house, and even 
 along the ceiling of the veranda, producing clusters of fiowers as 
 large as a child's head, and hanging on the plant for six months. 
 Solanum J asminoides grandiflora will completely cover a whole 
 veranda, and be white as snow with flowers; the Rose Geranium 
 grows six or eight feet high, and ten or more feet across; a plant of 
 Justicia coccinea has attained a width of nine and one-half feet 
 and seven and one- fourth feet high, and the Plumbagos grow ten 
 feet high and wide. All of these plants produce flowers in quite 
 as wonderful profusion as the size they attain to ; but the blue rib- 
 bon must be awarded to an Allamanda Hcndersonii, which dur- 
 ing a season of five months produced a total of about twelve 
 thousand flowers, there being from two to three hundred open 
 every day. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 Silver Spring and its Romantic Legend. 
 
 I'l'HIN the borders of Florida are found many remarkable 
 and beautiful springs, but the most wondrous and 
 world-famed of them all is Silver Spring, located in 
 Marion county, about five miles east of the city of 
 Ocala. This spring, like some others in the State, is remarkable 
 for its great size and depth and the immense volume of water which 
 it constantly discharges, forming a navigable river up which good- 
 sized steamers ply into the spring itself. In or connected with this 
 spring are several deep basins or pools known locally as the 
 "Head," "Bridal Chamber," "Bone Yard," etc., and the combined 
 waters of these forms Silver Spring Run, which extends between 
 wooded banks for a distance of six miles, when it mingles with the 
 dark waters of the Ocklawaha river, a tributary of the St. John's. 
 
 But the most remarkable phenomenon connected with Silver 
 Spring is the marvelous transparency of the water, surpassing the 
 wildest flights of the imagination and quite beyond the belief of 
 those who have never visited the place. Although the maximum 
 depth of the water in the "head spring" or "pool" and adjacent 
 springs is from sixty to ninety feet, every feature and configuration 
 of the bottom is as distinctly visible as though gazing through a 
 clear atmosphere instead of water. In some places the bottom is 
 covered with a luxuriant growth of fresh water Algae, while in 
 others it is wholly clear of vegetation and is composed of limestone 
 and white sand. Here are fissures in the limestone through which 
 the water is seen boiling up. These fissures are filled with sand 
 and comminuted limestone, and the agitation thereof by the as- 
 cending currents of water produces a milk-white appearance about 
 the crevices. 
 
 Craving into the depths below from the side of a boat floating 
 
 *9 
 
over the surface, on a clear and calm sunny day, one seems sus- 
 pended in mid-air, viewing beneath an ever-changing panorama of 
 darting fish, subaqueous vegetation waving to and fro, boiling 
 springs, swaying Algae, etc., beautiful beyond description and mak- 
 ing a powerful and lasting impression upon the imagination. The 
 sunlight tinges each object with prismatic hues, and by some 
 strange, weird, magnifying property of the waters, objects are en- 
 larged and seem so near as to render it difficult to realize the actual 
 depth of the water. Fish which seem within easy reach are, in 
 reality, resting safe far below the range of a long-handled spear, 
 and if a dime or other bright object be dropped in, it may be 
 watched slowly settling in the depths, with prismatic changes and 
 flashings of light, and seemingly growing larger as it sinlis. I 
 know it will seem impossible to my readers when I state that a tiny 
 piece of white paper the size of a silver three cent piece or even 
 smaller, lying at the bottom of the spring is as distinguishable as 
 though within a foot of the eye, and even the V on a nickel five 
 cent piece is plainly discernable, but it is true. An ordinary store 
 sign has been sunk in the spring and lies on the bottom face up. 
 From the deck of the steamer, as it moved across the surface of the 
 spring, I read the name on the sign as easily as though it lay on the 
 deck at my feet instead of under more than sixty feet of water 
 clearer than air. Although the sign is one of the most ordinary 
 cheap affairs, such as appear on small country stores, the wondrous 
 powers of the water renders it positively beautiful, for the letters 
 and the board on which they are painted, are bordered or edged 
 with prismatic hues like miniature rainbows. And every blade of 
 grass or other object in the spring, is bordered with the same ex- 
 quisite colors and tints. 
 
 When the steamers enter the spring after nightfall they carry 
 lighted torches, which produces an effect more weird and wonder- 
 ful than the most vivid imagination is able to picture. Mrs. Har- , 
 riet Beecher Stowe paints the following vivid pen picture of such 
 an entrance: "We seemed floating through an immense catliedral, 
 where white marble columns meet in vast arches overhead and are 
 reflected in the grassy depths below. The dusky plumes of the 
 Palmetto waving above, lit by torchlight, looked like fine tracery 
 of a wondrous sculptured roof. The brilliant underwhite of th^ 
 
Bay leaves, the transparent red of the Water Maple, and the soft 
 velvet feathers of the Cypress, had a magical brilliancy as our boat 
 passed through the wooded isles. The reflected fire-light gave the 
 most peculiar effect. The gray moss that streamed down seemed 
 like draping veils of silver and was of wonderful profusion. Clouds 
 of fragrance were wafted to us from Orange groves along the shore; 
 and the transparent depth of the water gave the impression that 
 our boat was moving through the air. Every pebble aod aquatic 
 plant we glided over seemed, in the torcblight, invested with prism- 
 atic brightness. What a sight was that! There is nothing on earth 
 comparable to it!" 
 
 Like most places of unusual natural beauty and interest. Silver 
 Spring has its Indian legend. In substance it is as follows: Oka- 
 humkee, who was king over the tribes of Indians who roamed and 
 hunted about the northwestern lakes, had a daughter called We- 
 nonah, who was the pride of his life. She possessed rare beauty, 
 and had a wealth of raven tresses which fell about her beauteous 
 form like a silken robe, reflecting back the sunlight with wondrous 
 effect. Chiefs and warriors vied with each other in the perform- 
 ance of brave feats, in the hope of winning the hand of this forest 
 belle; but Wenonah had, in the meantime, seen and loved Chuleo- 
 tah, a renowned chief of the tribe which, dwelt among the wild 
 groves of Silver Spring. Small wonder that Chuleotah stirred the 
 depths of dusky Wenonah's heart, for he was not only a famous 
 chief, but a magnificent type of physical manhood and possessed 
 of unusual intelligence and bravery. 
 
 But between the tribes of Okahumkee and Chuleotah there ex- 
 isted a deadly feud, and no sooner did the former learn of his 
 daughter's love for the hated chief, than he gathered his warriors 
 and marched forth to give him battle. In the fight which followed 
 Chuleotah was slain by Okahumkee. As soon as Wenonah learned 
 that her lover was dead she flew to the Crystal Fountain, which had 
 been a favorite trysting place, and upon its still bosom beheld the 
 pale spirit of Chule ..tah beckoning to her. With this cry upon her 
 lips: "Yes, my own, my loved one, I come !" she plunged into 
 the crystal waters and joined her lover in the happy hunting 
 grounds. The long, green filaments of moss and fresh water Al- 
 gae growing from the white sands in the bottom of the spring, 
 
moving to and fro in the sunlight which they reflect in many 
 bright hues, are the loosened braids of Wenonah's hair, from 
 which the beauteous reflections of sun and moonlight are the chief 
 glory of the spring. 
 
 While gazing into its crystal depths and musing on the roman- 
 tic legend connected with it, comes the thought whether tiiis may 
 not be the spring the gallant old Spaniard, Ponce de Leon, heard 
 of; the magical Fountain of Youth which he searched Florida in 
 vain to discover. It may be that it was the fame of this identical 
 spring which reached his ears, leading to one of the most romantic 
 episodes in the early history of this country. 
 
 The water in Silver Spring Run, from its source to where it 
 joins the black flood of the Ocklawaha, is nearly as transparent as 
 in the spring, and a boat ride up or down its length is a charming 
 experience. In some places it is shallow and the bottom thickly 
 covered with aquatic vegetation; in others the current has scooped 
 out great pools, twenty, thirty, even fifty feet in depth— though the 
 inexperienced would guess the water not over six to ten feet deep — 
 the bottom covered with white sand which, however, looks bluish 
 through the water. Great fish lie or glide about in these pools, pay- 
 ing not the slightest attention to boat or steamer, thougli they seem 
 as though within two or three feet of the surface. Along the banks 
 Lobelia cardinalls mingles its fiery bloom with the snowy white- 
 ness and sweetness of Grlniun americanum and other wild flow- 
 ers, and if the day is a warm one, an alligator may very likely be 
 surprised taking his sun-bath on an old log. 
 
 There are two ways of reaching this famous spring. One is by 
 steamer from Palatka via the St. Jolin's and Ocklawaha rivers, a 
 marvelous trip described in the following chapter; the other by the 
 Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad, the great trunk line of 
 Florida. The depot is built over the edge of the spring, and the 
 north and south bound trains meet here at noon and stop nearly 
 a half hour for dinner and a view of this interesting wonder; but 
 one may profitably spend hours, or even days, here in examining 
 and admiring this remarkable phenomenon of nature. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 On the Wondrous Ocklawaha. 
 
 HE most singular stream of water in the United States is 
 undoubtedly the Ocklawaha river. Such a combination 
 of weirdness, beauty and enchantment, oftimes combined 
 with utter desolation, as exists between the mouth of 
 this river and Silver Spring, cannot be found in any other part of 
 the United States. A tributary of the St. John's, all the beauty and 
 fascination of that romantic river is here reproduced and intensi- 
 fied tenfold, and a trip up or down the Ocklawaha is an experience 
 the memory of which will never be effaced from the mind that is at 
 all impressional. 
 
 Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe in writing of a trip up this stream, 
 rightly termed it "a visit to Fairy Land," and of her fellow passen- 
 gers she said: "They returned from their trip fairly inebriated 
 with enthusiasm and wild with inherent raptures. They had seen 
 Europe, Italy, Naples and the Blue Grotto, but never, never had 
 they in their lives seen aught so entrancing as this. It was a spec- 
 tacle weird, wondrous, magical— to be remembered as one of the 
 things of a lifetime." Of her own impressions of the Ocklawaha, 
 she continues in her graphic style: "The boat glides on from hour 
 to hour as the river winds and turns and doubles upon itself, with 
 still the same flowery solitudes, reverberating with the same wild 
 cries of birds, glittering with slanting sunbeams, festooned with 
 waving garlands that hang from tree to tree. " 
 
 This river has its source in the great Lake Apopka, and flows 
 through Lakes Harris, Eustis, Griffin, etc., being navigable a dis- 
 tance of two hundred and forty-one miles. The Indian, with his 
 characteristic fondness for the use of descriptive appellatives, gave 
 it the musical and very appropriate name of Ocklawaha, meaning 
 winding water. The significance of the name is fully appreciated 
 
by the voyager on its dark waters, for between its mouth and the 
 point where it is joined by the crystal flood of Silver Spring Run, a 
 distance of about one hundred and ten miles, there are no less than 
 nine hundred and seventj'^-six bends — the most of them very abrupt 
 ones which the steamers round with some difficulty. Added to its 
 tortuousness the channel is so narrow that the steamers plying on 
 its surface are built in stories, one deck above another, looking like 
 very narrow houses perched on a tug-boat with a big paddle wheel 
 at the stern. 
 
 These steamers start from Palatka, on the St. John's river, and 
 run to Silver Spring, a trip alone worth going any distance to take. 
 Although Palatka and Silver Spring are only a trifle over fifty 
 miles apart on an air line, by water the distance is one hundred and 
 thirty-six miles, and it takes tweutj'-four hours to make the trip. 
 The first twenty-six miles is on the bosom of the noble St. John's, 
 between banks lined with beautiful Orange groves or clothed with 
 Oaks, Pines, Magnolias, Water Maples, etc., every bay and cove 
 filled with Water Lilies interspersed with the curious Water Let- 
 tuce, and the still more curious and beautiful Water Hyacinth 
 which has become thoroughly naturalized and is constantly met 
 serenely sailing about, as blown by the breeze, sometimes singly 
 and sometimes in groups. 
 
 Presently the steamer's bow is headed for the seemingly^ un- 
 broken line of the shore, but a slight opening in the solid wall of 
 verdure appears, through which the steamer glides and enters 
 the mystic Ocklawaha. 
 
 " Over our heads the towering, tenebrous bouglis of the cypress 
 Met iu a dusky arch, and trailing mosses in mid-air 
 Waved like banners that hang on the walls of ancient cathedrals; 
 Death-like the silence seemed, and unbroken, save by the herons. 
 Home to their roosts in the cedar trees returning at sunset. 
 Or by the owl, as he greeted the moon with demoniac laughter." 
 
 At once begins a series of twists and turns that extend without 
 interruption to the end of the journey, and at no time is the man at 
 the wheel — iu the pilot-house perched on the upper deck — motion- 
 less many moments in succession, for no sooner has the steamer 
 labored around a sharp curve to the right, than the wheel must be 
 reversed in order to make an equally abrupt turn to the left, and 
 
 24 
 
this goes on unceasingly. On either hand the verdure is so neal* 
 that it may be almost reached from the deck rail, and while round- 
 ing many of the bends of the river the branches of the trees brush 
 the sides of the boat. At one point called Cypress Gate, formerly 
 stood two immense Cypress trees growing exactly opposite each 
 other on either bank, with just room enough between them for the 
 steamer to pass through. One of them has been cut down, but the 
 stump remains. 
 
 On top of the pilot-house is a large iron cage, and as night comes 
 on this is filled with pine knots and set on fire to furnish light to 
 steer by; and then what a scene is revealed and what a transforma- 
 tion! The flaring light casts a glow ahead and upon either hand, 
 while in the darkness behind trails a comet-like tail of smoke and 
 glittering sparks. By the artificial light the white trunks of the 
 Magnolias look like polished columns of silver, the moss-draped 
 crowns of the towering Cypress appear as if enshrouded in exqui- 
 site bridal veils, and the umbrageous Palms, feathery Ferns, trail- 
 ing vines, lance-like reeds and waving water grasses combine to 
 form silhouettes of wondrous designs and infinite variety. 
 
 A faint glow appearing on the distant sky and gradually draw- 
 ing nearer, indicates that a down-stream steamer is approaching, 
 and at the first convenient widening in the river-bed our boat is 
 crowded close up to the bank, and fastened there, to await the arri- 
 val and passing of the other; and now occurs a magic scene, one 
 impossible to fully describe. Nearer and nearer comes the ap- 
 proaching steamer, a line of fire among the tree tops marking her 
 erratic course. Although but a short distance away on a direct 
 line, the serpentine course of the river multiplies it many times. 
 Like a demon spouting fire from its nostrils, the steamer labors 
 through the intricacies of the labyrinth she is threading. Her illu- 
 minated form is now partially visible through the trees and every 
 moment it seems as if she must burst into full view and pass, but 
 as often is her bow suddenly turned from us and she plunges into 
 the darkness of a piece of thick, intervening forest, to shortly reap- 
 pear at a nearer point, but only to repeat this interesting game of 
 hide-and-seek. 
 
 Finally she sweeps around the last bend of the stream and 
 comes into full view, lights flashing from every door and window. 
 
A dusky form casts an armful of pine knots into the blazing cage 
 and ten thousand sparks shoot heavenward, rivaling in brilliancy 
 the pyrotechnic display of a northern Fourth of July; the steamers 
 salute, the ear-splitting blasts dying away in the distant solitudes 
 of the primeval forest; the decks are crowded with enraptured 
 tourists, and on the lower forward deck a group of darkies, with 
 banjos, are singing, with the matchless melody of their race, "Way 
 Down in Dixie." Only a moment the dazzling vision lasts ere it 
 sweeps around the next bend, the lines of our own craft are cast off 
 and the engine set in motion once more. So fascinating and unique 
 is the ever-chauging panorama of light and shadow effects that it 
 is nearly midnight before the desire to sleep asserts itself. 
 
 In the early morning light much of the weirdness of the night 
 scene is transformed into pictures of magic beauty. Sitting on the 
 deck, a hundred strange forms of vegetation present themselves on 
 every hand and every curvein the river reveals new beauties. Sud- 
 denly the moss veiled crowns of the towering Cypresses assume a 
 roseate tinge that betokens the advent of sunrise. Rapidly it de- 
 scends those immense trunks and presently, through the curtains 
 of branch and leafage, the golden beams fall athwart the deck. 
 Now they are shining from the right ; a sudden curve in the river 
 and they fall from straight ahead; another bend, and the sunshines 
 from the left, and yet another curve and its rays fall from behind. 
 Thus in half an hour's time the steamer's bow has indicated the 
 four points of the compass. 
 
 Palms abound on every hand, holding their noble crowns aloft 
 like the royal princes of the vegetable kingdom that they are, or be- 
 neath the shade of more aspiring growths hide the rich mold with 
 myriads of cool green fans which are waved only by the winds of 
 heaven. Trees, shrubs and vines, strange to Northern eyes, are on 
 every side, forced into the greatest luxuriance possible by a soil of 
 wonderful fertility. Thousands of Crinum amerlcanum line the 
 banks, thrusting above their lush, green foliage umbels of pure 
 white, Lily-like flowers of exquisite beauty and fragrance. And so 
 it continues. No pen can describe it, no imagination can picture it. 
 It must be seen to be appreciated, and once seen it will live in the 
 memory as long as memory itself endures. 
 
 26 
 
 / 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 Way Down on the Indian River. 
 
 Thousands of flowers there are beaming, 
 
 The verdure smiling, and the hushed waves dreaming; 
 
 Each flower is still a brighter hue assuming, 
 
 Each a fair league, the love-sick air perfuming." 
 
 QUALLY as iuteresting, wonderful and beautiful as the 
 Ocklawaha — described in the preceding chapter — but in a 
 different way, is the famous Indian River called by the 
 Seminole Indian, in his liquid language, " Tsetsa-ta- 
 hatchec.''^ It is a broad, beautiful stream that extends for one hun- 
 dred and fifty miles along the eastern coast of South Florida, and 
 in reality is more of a sound than a river, for it is an arm of the sea 
 fed through narrow inlets, rising and falling with the tides and par- 
 taking of the bj-ine and marine life of the great outlying ocean. 
 With a channel two miles in width, it stretches 
 "Like a broad blue ribbon lying" 
 for a distance of one hundred miles without a curve, separated from 
 the Atlantic by a narrow sand dune. 
 
 This long, straight stretch is the direct opposite extreme of the 
 "winding water" of the Ocklawaha, but at a point known as the 
 "Narrows," there are windings of the river bed, with curves and 
 turns innumerable, duplicating the tortuousness of the latter 
 stream, the banks clothed with a tropical tangle of Mangroves and 
 vines — a jungle almost impenetrable, but beautiful and fascinating 
 to look upon. The river is shallow, and the clean, sandy bottom 
 visible through the clear water that is amber when looked through 
 but beautifully blue when looked upon ; and all along the shores 
 are bordered with a stratum of soft, yellowish rock, a curious con- 
 glomeration of small shells, known as coquina. 
 
 Where the banks have not been denuded of their natural 
 growth, they are clothed with a rich tropical forest of Palms, 
 
Cypress, Oaks, twines, numerous under shrubs and vines; and the 
 alternating: and intermingling of these with the never-fading green 
 of the Orange, Lemon and Lime groves, the extensive Pineapple 
 plantations and numerous residences and hotels, surrounded by 
 strange tropical and semi-tropical fruits and brilliant flowering 
 plants and shrubs, forms a rare scenic panorama of never-ending 
 beauty and interest. 
 
 At some points there are whole forests of the lordly Cabbage 
 Palm or Palmetto, lending a strange and truly tropical aspect to 
 the landscape. All sizes and ages are represented, from the tiny 
 seedling just sending its first bciby leaf above the fostering mold, to 
 the grand old specimens aged beyond the knowledge of man, with 
 lithe, smooth boles shooting far up into space and ending in a 
 feathery, rounded crown clearly outlined against the soft blue sky. 
 One wanders beneath their shade awed by their majesty and 
 grandeur, and strangely impressed by the mystic whispering of 
 their rustling leav s and the evident strength of their slim, supple 
 trunks which have successfully defied the sea winds for an untold 
 age. 
 
 The surface of the stream is relieved, in places, by small islands 
 — suggesting the "summer isles of Eden lying in the dark purple 
 spheres of sea" — little green gems that have been styled "emerald 
 globes in a fairy lake." Surrounded by Mangroves and crowned by 
 a few waving Palms, these rocky islets afford a welcome retreat 
 and nesting-places to the numerous sea birds that frequent the 
 river. Here, too, may be seen the strange anomaly of oysters 
 growing on trees, a statement that sounds ridiculous, but is, never- 
 theless, true. When the tide recedes, the luscious bivalves are 
 exposed adhering to the curious stilt-like and much forked aerial 
 roots of the Mangroves, and they may be gathered into a basket 
 much the same as fruit is gathered from bushes or trees. 
 
 In the vicinity of the shores of the river there are many ancient 
 shell mounds, mute reminders of a departed people, which doubt- 
 less contain relics of much value and absorbing interest to the 
 archaeologist ; and the out-cropping, wave-washed stratum of 
 coquina stands ready to yield up, under the stroke of the geologist's 
 hammer, its quota of the history of the rise of this fair land above 
 the blue waters of the surrounding ocean and Gulf. 
 
Only from three to five miles west of this river winds the 
 waters of the upper St. John's, and probably nowhere else in the 
 known world is this curious phenomenon duplicated — two rivers in 
 such close oroximity, the one flowing north, the other south, one 
 fresh, the other salt, and both finding an outlet on the same coast 
 and into the same ocean, but at points more than two hundred 
 miles apart. Until the winter of 1893-4, the waters of^ the Indian 
 River formed the only highway to the region through which it 
 runs and to the tropical wonders and beauties of the famous Lake 
 Worth region, where the Cocoanut Palm grows in all its beauty 
 and the Banyan-like Florida Rubber-tree astonishes all beholders 
 by its eccentric growth. 
 
 The Indian River region has always been famous for its fine 
 fruits. Around the upper part of the river are some of the oldest 
 and finest Orange groves in the State, and Lemons, Limes, Citron 
 and Grape Fruit abound in perfection. Besides these, there are 
 grown in more limited quantities semi-tropical and tropical fruits 
 that are rarely, if ever, seen in Northern markets. Most plentiful 
 is the Guava, with its musky scented and flavored fruit, so delicious 
 to all who acquire a taste for it. The Sapodilla or Naseberry 
 (Achras savota,) a tree with beautiful broad, glossy leaves, ripens 
 its fruit, which may be compared to a Russet Apple, with the taste 
 of a rich, sweet, juicy Pear, with granulated pulp. Another 
 delicious fruit grown is the Sugar Apple or Sweet Sop {Anona 
 squamosa.) The fruit resembles an inverted cone, or a small Pine- 
 apple minus t e crown, is of a yellowish green color when ripe, 
 the pulp very sweet and of the consistency of soft butter. The 
 Mango {Mangtfera Indica) and the Alligator or Avocado Pear (Per- 
 sea gratissima) form large trees of striking aspect and great 
 beauty, and produce fruit of much value. 
 
 But the chief fruit of this region, and the one for which it is 
 becoming the most famous, is the Pineapple, the raising of which 
 is becoming a business of great magnitude, and yearly bringing 
 thousands of dollars into the State. Until within the past three or 
 four years, Florida Pineapples were hardly a factor in the North- 
 ern markets; but last year the crop amounted to 50,000 or perhaps 
 60,000 cases, a case holding as much as a small barrel. The variety 
 paostly raised for shipment is the Red Spanish or Strawberry, s\, 
 
 ?9 
 
variety that stands transportation the best of any. When it is 
 allowed to ripen on the plant it is a very fine fruit, but for shipping 
 it is picked while yet hard and green, and ripens up in transit or 
 after reaching market. Those who have eaten only such fruit have 
 not the slightest conception of what the finer varieties, ripened 
 on the plants, taste like. A well ripened specimen of the Egyptian 
 Queen, Sugar Loaf or Porto Rico varieties will scent a whole field, 
 and in flavor will bear out ihe assertion made by Jean de Lery, a 
 Huguenot priest, more than three hundred years ago, as being of 
 such excellence that the gods might luxuriate upon it, and that it 
 should only be gathered by the hand of Venus. 
 
 Although rarely more than two sorts are ever seen in Northern 
 markets, there are quite a large number of varieties differing in 
 points of size, appearance and flavor. The Porto Rico, a very dis 
 tinct sort and the largest of all, has been grown in Florida to 
 weigh as much as sixteen or eighteen pounds, and other varieties 
 not infrequently attain a weight of eight or ten pounds. The flesh 
 of such Pineapples melt in the mouth, there being no core nor 
 strings to reject, and no sugar is needed with them. 
 
 Pineapple plantations are abundant along the river, presenting 
 every stage of growth, from the newly set plants to those bearing 
 fruit, and the sight is an interesting one and would be decidedly 
 nt)vel to the resident of a colder clime. A plantation is made from 
 ''suckers," "slips" or "crowns." Suckers are vigorous young 
 plants which come up from the root of the old plant, either before 
 or while it is fruiting, and they will bear fruit in from one year to 
 eighteen months after setting out. Slips come from under the base 
 of the "apple" — as often seen on the fruit in market — and produce 
 fruit in from eighteen months to two years. The crown, which is 
 the growth on the top of the "apple," will fruit in about two years. 
 Only one fruit is produced by a plant, which then dies and is re- 
 placed by the suckers springing from its root. Usually but one of 
 these suckers is allowed to remain, the others being removed and 
 set out to form individual plants. Little cultivation is given excep- 
 to keep free of weeds. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 Oranges and Other Citrus Fruits. 
 
 " The Orange flower perfumes the bower. 
 Breeze, bird and flower confess the hour."— Scott. 
 
 " Odors of Orange flower and spice 
 
 Reached them from time to time. 
 Like airs that breathe from paradise 
 Upon a world of crime.''''— Longfellow. 
 
 HERE is no product of the soil for which Florida is so 
 justly noted as the Orange, and her extensive groves are 
 far-famed for their thriftiness and beauty and for pro- 
 ducing the most deliciously flavored Oranges which 
 reach the markets of the world. There exists in the minds of the 
 majority, a world of romance and poetry in connection with Orange 
 growing, and there is no other one tree or fruit possessing so all-ab- 
 sorbing an interest for the cultivator. It is not at all to be won 
 dered at that all that is romantic or poetic in one's nature is stirred 
 by this queen of fruit trees, for an Orange tree is intrinsically 
 beautiful at all times. Its form of growth is symmetry perfected, 
 and its crown of never fading verdure is of a dark, deep, rich green. 
 If the tree never blossomed or bore fruit it would still be second in 
 beauty to none; but when a sea of foamy white, deliciously fragrant 
 blossoms breaks forth and bespangles every twig and leaf, like a 
 fall of virgin snow, or when, later on, these flowers have been re- 
 placed by globes of shining gold glenming, singly and in clusters, 
 amid the dark green foliage, no more exquisitely beautiful an ob- 
 ject ever gladdened mortal eyes. 
 
 From the fact that wild or sour Orange groves and single trees 
 have been discovered in Florida, many believe them a natural, spon- 
 taneous production of the soil of the State. But this is a mistake, 
 for nowhere is the Orange a native of the New World, and only 
 
 3* 
 
where the early Spanish or Portuguese landed and penetrated into 
 the countryis the Orange to be found growing wild in America. To 
 the successors of Ponce de Leon, and to the French colony, mas- 
 sacred by Menendez, is undoubtedly due the credit of introducing 
 the Orange to the coast country of Florida, and the Indians spread 
 it through the interior. 
 
 With the exception of two or three Australian and one Japan- 
 ese species, there is little doubt but the two or three parent types 
 from which havesprung the different varieties of Oranges, Lemons, 
 Limes, Citrons and Shaddocks, are of Asiatic origin; but the early 
 history of this fruit is so buried in antiquity as to be almost com- 
 pletely lost. Galessio, an earnest naturalist, was the first one to 
 trace its history with any degree of authenticity. The Arabs, ac 
 cording to this author, penetrating further into the interior of 
 India than any foreign nation had done before, discovered the 
 Orange family flourishing there, and they carried the sweet variety 
 into Persia and Syria; and the bitter sort found its way into Arabia, 
 Egypt, the North of Africa and Spain. From these points the fruit 
 gradually spread to the various parts of the earth where it is now 
 cultivated. The Orange was not known to the ancients either in 
 Europe or Syria, and to the Arabians, whose anxiety, it is said, for 
 the extension of medical and agricultural knowledge was almost 
 equal to their zeal for the propagation of the Koran, must be 
 given the credit of its introduction to the world. 
 
 Comparatively few people are aware of the host of forms of the 
 Orange family (Citrus) that exists. Some idea of the number of 
 the cultivated varieties, ana the range of differences in size, form, 
 color and taste of the fruits, is conveyed by the statement that in 
 the '' Histoire Naturelle des Orangers," a folio work by Risso and 
 Poiteau (1818,) there are no less than one hundred and nine plates. 
 
 The Orange is noted both for its enormous bearing qualities and 
 for its remarkable longevity. Wallace mentions a tree in St. 
 Michael's that bore twenty thousand fruits in one crop; and in 
 Florida, where the oldest trees are but the veriest babies, as it were, 
 the famous "Big Tree" oftentimes has ten thousand Oranges at 
 once. At Versailles a tree known as the "Grand Bourbon " is still 
 growing, though planted in 1421, and the famous tree in the Con- 
 Y^nt of St. Sabina, at Rome, is said to be more than six hundred 
 
 32 
 
years old, while, according to the Treasury of Botany, "In Cordova, 
 the noted seat of Moorish grandeur and luxury, in Spain, there are 
 Orange trees still remaining which are considered to be six hund- 
 red or seven hundred years old." Even in England, at Hampton 
 Court, where the trees are grown under glass, there are several 
 which are over three hundred years old. 
 
 Citrus aurantium, is the type of the Sweet Orange, and from it 
 have sprung an ever increasing number of more or less distinct 
 varieties varying in size, appearance, flavor and time of ripening. 
 The Sour and Bitter-Sweet Oranges are included under C. auran- 
 tlum Bigaradia. The Sour is very sour, and makes a delicious 
 ade; the Bitter-Sweet is, as its name implies, bitter and sweet com- 
 bined, and is very refreshing in summer. Its flowers also furnish 
 the Neroli oil, which is so delicious and costly as a perfume. C. 
 aurantium nobilis furnishes the variety known variously as Man- 
 darin, Tangerine (having a deep, Tomato-colored rind,) Willow- 
 leaved and Kid-glove. The latter name is given because the skin is 
 so loose that it may be removed and the Orange eaten without soil- 
 ing one's gloves. The trees are dwarf, with small. Willow-like 
 leaves, and are exceedingly ornamental. C aurantium Bergamium 
 is the true Bergamot. From the rind of its fruit the fragrant Oil 
 of Bergamot is obtained, and the flowers also yield oil. C. decu- 
 mana is represented by the Shaddocks and Grape Fruit. The fruit 
 of the former grow to an immense size, often ten to fourteen 
 pounds in weight, and is watery and rather insipid in flavor. The 
 Grape Fruit or Pomelo, is smaller fruited — but two or three times 
 the size of an Orange — and greatly relished by all who learn how to' 
 properly eat it. At present it is a much better paying crop than 
 the Orange. C. medlca cedra is the Citron of commerce. In Flori- 
 da it is grown only as a curiosity, despite the fact that no known 
 reason exists why good citron cannot be grown and prepared here, 
 and that 2,000,000 pounds of it are annually imported into the 
 United States. C. medica Limetta furnishes the Limes, of which 
 there are a number of varieties, and C. Livfionlum the numerous 
 Lemons. C Japonica, the Kumquat or Kin Kan, is a delightful 
 little dwarf sort, much cultivated in China and Japan, producing 
 fruits about the size of the first joint of the thumb, which are eaten 
 rind and all, and made into sweetmeats by preserving in sugar. 
 
C. trifoUata, native of Japan, is a very distinct sort, hardy at 
 least as far north as New York City, and of great value for hedges, 
 and to bud or graft and dwarf other sorts on. 
 
 Although the oldest city in the United States is located in Flor- 
 ida, it is only since the close of the civil war that the great Orange 
 producing region of the State began to be settled up, and later still 
 before attention was turned toward Orange growing. In 1885 the 
 whole crop of the State amounted to but six hundred thousand 
 boxes, while the crop of 1893 was five million boxes, and there are 
 groves enough planted to produce in a few years twenty million 
 boxes. Predictions of over-production in the near future are met 
 by the interesting statement that the last crop would only furnish 
 one Orange a month to each inhabitant of the United States, while 
 a crop of twenty million boxes will furnish only one Orange a week 
 to each. 
 
 There are many erroneous impressions concerning the Orange 
 and its growth prevalent among those not familiar with the sub- 
 ject. One of these is that flowers and green and ripe fruit, in all 
 stages of development, may be seen on an Orange tree at one and 
 the same time and at almost any time of the year. Many writers 
 make such statements; but they are not true, at least in Florida. 
 The statement is true, however, of the Citron, Lemon and Lime, as 
 they flower more or less almost every time they make a new growth, 
 which is several times a year; but the Orange has a distinct season, 
 February and March, of blooming, the same as the Apple, and if the 
 crop has not been gathered at that season the trees will show both 
 flowers and ripe fruit. If by some means the first bloom is wholly 
 or partially destroyed, the tree will generally bloom again in June, 
 and if it so chanced that the same tree bloomed the preceding June, 
 It will present flowers and ripe and green fruit, but not otherwise. 
 Another is that the Orange will not bear until budded or grafted. 
 Probably at least two-thirds of the bearing groves in the State are 
 seedlings. Budding insures earlier bearing and perpetuates dis- 
 tinct varieties. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 St. Augustine and the Gardens of the Ponce de Leon. 
 
 LTHOUGH the developments of the State of Florida date 
 almost entirely from since the close of the Civil War, 
 still it contains the oldest city— St. Augustine— by forty 
 years in the United States. This city was founded by 
 Pedro Menendez de Aviles, who took possession of the place in the 
 name of Philip II, King of Spain, on September 8th, 1565. As he 
 had arrived on the coast the 28th day of the preceding month, the 
 day dedicated to Saint Augustine, he called the place Ciudad de 
 San Augustine in honor of that celebrated Latin Father. 
 
 Years ago, Harriet Beecher Stowe, in describing St. Augustine, 
 wrote of it: "If an old, sleepy, narrow-streeted mediaeval town, 
 with balconied houses, inner courts, and tesselated floors, had 
 stranded on a beach of the New World, that town would have been 
 St. Augustine." The description is still a faithful one of the an- 
 cient portions of the town; but much of its quiet and sleepiness has 
 vanished, for within a few years it has developed into a fashionable 
 and famous winter resort. Numerous palatial hotels have sprung 
 up as if by magic, together with scores of modern private winter 
 residences, and the city now boasts a population of nearly ten 
 thousand, with from forty to fifty thousand winter visitors. 
 
 While at once the oldest and the newest, the two ages of its 
 life blend in seemingly perfect harmony, and one may aflBliate him- 
 self or herself with either or both as inclination may dictate. For 
 the essentially fashionable and pleasure-seeking there is the anom- 
 aly of a "season" at its height under skies as fair and amid breezes 
 as balmy as those of June, while the North is clothed with a man- 
 tle of ermine; and for the lover of the antique, the curious and the 
 interesting, there is an exceptionally rich field for research and 
 sight-seeing. The narrow streets, quaint houses, overhanging bal- 
 
 35 
 
conies, ancient ruins and other cobwebs of antiquity, all remain un- 
 disturbed and fascinating as ever. 
 
 The streets in the old portions of the town are very narrow, one 
 of them — Treasury Street— being but seven feet wide. The first 
 story walls of many of the houses are built of coquina (a strange 
 shell conglomeration) and the second of wood. The streets have no 
 sidewalks, and in many instances one steps from the front door 
 directly i7ito the street. Second-story balconies, overhanging the 
 narrow streets, are numerous, and where two are exactly opposite 
 the occupants can almost shake hands across the street. Connected 
 with many of these houses are gardens of which Sidney Lanier 
 gives this tantalizing glimpse: " There are quaint courts enclosed 
 with jealous high coquma-walls, and giving into rich, cool gardens 
 where Lemons, Oranges, Bananas, Japan Plums, Figs, Date Palms 
 and all manner of tropical flowers and greeneries hide from the 
 northeast winds, and sanctify the old Spanish-built homes." 
 
 But it is the gardens of the famous Ponce de Leon Hotel which 
 I particularly wish to describe. Probably every one of my readers 
 has heard of this wonderful structure, the cost of which ran into 
 the millions. It is unexcelled by any hotel in this country or 
 Europe, and was pronounced by the Duke of Newcastle the most 
 magnificent building in the world. To adequately describe it would 
 be impossible, even if I had the space to command. Happily the 
 style of architecture chosen was that of the Spanish Renaissance, 
 so that it harmonizes perfectly with the historical associations of 
 the old town, and its name was equally happily chosen, commemo- 
 rating as it does the memory of the romantic old Spanish knight 
 who discovered Florida. The material from which the vast edifice 
 is constructed is coquina mixed with Portland cement — not put up 
 in blocks but cast in cement, so that the whole structure is without 
 seam. The composite is of a light mother-of-pearl color, contrast- 
 ing with the rich terra-cotta balconies and trimmings of the walls, 
 turrets and towers of the red-tiled roofs. 
 
 The hotel is built around three sides of a courtyard one hun- 
 dred and fifty feet square, the fourth side enclosed by a one-story 
 portico through the centre of which a massive gateway gives en- 
 trance to the courtyard. Inside, the latter is a scene of magic 
 beauty. In the centre is an elaborate fountain, and flagged walks 
 
 36 
 
winding through a maze of Palms and other tropical plants and 
 fruits, lead to the hotel entrance, which is a broad Spanish arch 
 worthy of a king's palace. 
 
 Completely sheltered from the winds by the surrounding walls, 
 everything in the courtyard thrives with tropical luxuriance. Sev- 
 eral species of the Date Palm genus (Phoenix) are represented in 
 noble specimens with spiny fronds several feet in length. To one 
 side of the main walk grows a noble example of the Florida Rubber- 
 tree (Ficus aurea,) twenty or more feet high, with a massive head 
 of the richest green foliage. As a companion on the opposite side 
 is an equally fine Araucaria of striking appearance. A specimen 
 of the Palm Cocos plumosa, fifteen or twenty feet high, spreads 
 out its feathered leaves like giant plumes, and lower-growing fan- 
 leaved Palms are grouped effectively about. Gigantic specimens of 
 the Century Plant {Agave) occupy positions calculated to best dis- 
 play their perfect symmetry of growth, and great clumps of Pam- 
 pas Grass stand like fountains of green ribbon-like leaves, shooting 
 up feathery plumes as beautiful as silvery spray. The Australian 
 Silk Oak (Grevillea rohusta) arrests attention by the exquisite sil- 
 very sheen of the under side of its leaves, which are as finely cut 
 and as beautiful as some of the most delicate Ferns. There are Cat- 
 tley Guavas with dainty waxen fruits shining amid evergreen, 
 Camellia-like foliage, and immense specimens of the strikingly 
 curious and strictly tropical Melon Pawpaw (Carica papaya,) 
 while Poinsettias with gleaming scarlet bracts, Russelia juncea 
 fringed with its coral-drops, the Golden Dewdrop (Duranta Plu- 
 mieri) displaying at one and the same time its racemes of lovely 
 Forget-me-not like blossoms and clusters of beautiful golden ber- 
 ries, Poinciana and Bottle Brush, with their curious and beautiful 
 flowers, help make up this garden which is more Spanish than 
 American. 
 
 Beneath the shade of some of the taller-growing shrubs are 
 plants of the evergreen Pittosporum tobira trained and clipped 
 into the forms of chairs and settees absolutely perfect in outline 
 and naturalness of position. There are also specimens of the hand- 
 some variegated .form of this shrub; and scattered among and be- 
 neath all these trees and shrubs are plants of more humble growth 
 —clumps of Coontie (Zamia integrifolia) in fruit, Spider Lilies, 
 
 37 
 
Sanseviera zealanica. Freesias, Petunias, Phlox, Sweet Alyssum, 
 and many more, familiar or otherwise. 
 
 Along the low parapet and up the columns of the verandas and 
 portico facing the courtyard, are trained the Malayan Jessamine 
 (Rhyncospermum Jasminoides,) Climbing Fern (Lygodium scan- 
 dens) and Lan tanas (trained to climb,) while high up on the pearl- 
 grey walls the South American Bignonia venusta hangs out a 
 crimson banner, and at night the snowy chalices of the Moonflower 
 bid the retiring guest ''Bona-nox.'' 
 
 A lovely scene by day, at night it is one of enchantment. Then 
 every leaf glistens and every shadow is accentuated beneath the 
 glare of the electric lights, while from the mouths of the heroic- 
 sized metal frogs and turtles grouped around the fountain basin, 
 jets of sparkling water fall into the pool below, with a mellow 
 cadence full of unwritten music, and flowers expand 
 
 " That keep 
 
 Their odors to themselves all day. 
 
 But when the sunlight dies away. 
 
 Let the delicious fragrance out 
 
 To every breeze that roams about." 
 
 The grounds surrounding the hotel are arranged and planted in 
 an equally attractive manner. The walks and many of the beds are 
 bordered by low and closely-clipped hedges of the Red Cedar (Juni- 
 perus virginiana.) The lordly Cabbage Palm has been freely 
 planted, together with large quantities of the striking appearing 
 Spanish Dagger, the two lending a decidedly tropical aspect to the 
 scene. There are red-barked Eucalyptus trees, Oleanders in single 
 clumps and dense masses, venerable Red Cedars of uncertain age, 
 and over all the sweet breath of the Opoponax {Acacia Fame- 
 siana.) On the closely cropped lawns fountains send up ceaselessly 
 columns of liquid silver or misty spray, while over all bends a sky 
 as blue as Italy's own, and perpetual summer smiles on this garden 
 of never-fading verdure. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 The Garden and Flowers of the Tampa Bay Hotel. 
 
 " And the Jessamine faint, and pure Tuberose, 
 The sweetest flower for scent that blows ; 
 And all rare blossoms from every clime 
 Make this garden the essence of love sublime !" 
 
 HE Tampa Bay Hotel, at Tampa on the vrest coast of 
 Florida, is in every way as magnificent and interesting 
 as the Ponce de Leon at St. Augustine, and yet as totally 
 unlike it as the imagination can picture — so much so 
 that a visit to either does not render it one whit less desirable to see 
 the other. But to the true flower lover — one interested in trees, 
 shrubbery, vines and plant growth of all kinds— a visit to the 
 Tampa Bay Hotel would be the most interesting, for the grounds 
 are much more extensive than those of the Ponce de Leon, and are 
 beautifully laid out and stocked with rare and beautiful plants 
 from almost every known portion of the globe. A catalogue and 
 manual of the tropical and semi-tropical fruit and flower plants 
 growing in the hotel grounds, shows that of strictly tropical fruits, 
 thirty-four distinct genera are represented, of semi-tropical fruits 
 nineteen, and of ornamentals — trees, shrubs, vines, etc. — one 
 hundred and sixty genera. As many of these genera are repre- 
 sented by a number of species, it makes a list of considerable 
 length. 
 
 The hotel stands on a rise of ground which slopes gently down 
 to the river's edge, but it is quite impossible to convey in words any 
 adequate idea of how the structure looks. Standing on the bridge 
 over the'river which flows between the town and the hotel grounds, 
 one beholds, rising from a mass of brilliant flowering shrubbery, 
 Palms and other trees, along massive pile, fashioned from brick 
 and^iron, which grows to immensity as the eye travels over its out- 
 
lines. From its flat roofs rise numerous immense silvered domes 
 and Moorish minarets topped with the goldeif star and crescent of 
 the Orient, all glistening intensely in the brightness of a semi- 
 tropic sun. Galleries, broad and long enough to furnish a loung- 
 ing-place for quite a multitude, extend along the east and west 
 fronts, the roofs starting over the third story windows, sloping 
 gently to the outer edges, from which drop huge ornaments in the 
 form of arched and hanging pendants ending in brackets at every 
 column and the walls. 
 
 Extending on all sides are the ample grounds where are foun- 
 tains, green lawns, flowerbeds, arbors, and gardens in which flour- 
 ish the flowers and fruits of the tropics in unwonted luxuriance 
 and pro'digal profusion, tlie royal Rose and the poetic Jessamine 
 breathing forth their rich odors in harmonious companionship with 
 the brilliant but more plebian Geranium. Along the galleries rare 
 and beautiful vines have woven curtains and draperies with trace- 
 ries inimitable, and the green lawn is whitened by the falling petals 
 of the Camellia, the only snow that is ever seen in this fair clime. 
 In the centre of the lawn, facing the river, is a miniature fort with 
 mounted cannon, Prickly Pear Cactus plants straggling over the 
 stone-work, and a flagstaff that floats the United States flag by day 
 succeeded by a crescent of electric fire at night, and along the river 
 front a winding path, shaded by Palm trees, leads to a dainty little 
 boathouse where are all sorts of pleasure craft. 
 
 Palms enter largely into the ornamentation of the grounds, 
 particularly the native Cabbage Palm or Palmetto, which has been 
 set out in large numbers and forms a very striking feature in the 
 surroundings. There are walks wholly bordered on both sides with 
 perfect specimens fifteen to twenty feet tall, the trunks rising up 
 like the pillars of some vast corridor, and groups at one of the en- 
 trance gates containing specimens fifty to sixty feet tall and which 
 it required the combined efforts of twelve men to transplant from 
 their native woods. There are Cocoanut Palms, small yet, but ex- 
 ceedingly beautiful, and various species of the Date Palm genus 
 (Phoenix.) One of the most striking objects is a large circular bed 
 with a Date Palm in the centre and the balance filled with Poin- 
 settia pulcherrima. The bluish-green pinnate leaves of the Palm, 
 rising up from and arching over the large terminal bracts of fiery 
 
scarlet leaves of the Poinsettia forms a marvelous picture during 
 the winter months. The Spanish Dagger or Bayonet (Yucca aloi- 
 folia) is another native plant which has been liberally utilized, es- 
 pecially along the river front, and with a striking effect. 
 
 In front of one of the galleries an enormous Live Oak spreads 
 afar its giant arms, and in addition to the lovely silvery-grey Span- 
 ish Moss which hangs in banners and streamers from its venerable 
 head, various Air Plants (Tlllandsias) and Orchids have been at- 
 tached to the limbs and become established. Not far from this Oak 
 is a spring from which a little rill courses through the grounds to 
 the river. The rill banks are clothed with a natural growth of 
 Ferns, Wax Myrtles, Saw Palms, etc., and in addition to these have 
 been added Spanish Dagger, Bananas, Cannas, Caladiums, Butter- 
 fly Lily (Hcdychium, coronarium) and other moisture-loving plants, 
 forming a real tropical jungle along and through which a path 
 winds and crosses. The native Swamp Fern (Acrostichum aureum) 
 is a striking feature in this jungle, and would astonish northern 
 eyes. It is very stately and showy, with large thick fronds six or 
 seven feet in height. Close by is a clump of Bambusa vulgaris, the 
 large unarmed Bamboo of Bengal, towering, like some monster 
 Fern, fifty feet in the air. Every cane with its foliage is like an 
 immense ostrich plume, bending and swaying gracefully in the 
 passing breeze or raging storm. 
 
 On the lawn are large Orange trees clothed in emerald green 
 and ornamented with golden globes of lusciousness, bowers enclos- 
 ing seats and covered with running Roses, Chinese Hibiscus and 
 Poincianas a blaze of flowers, and numerous other shrubs and trees, 
 including Poinsettias, Camellias, the magnificent Royal Poinciana, 
 Roses, Jessamines, Agaves, Rubber-Tree, Acalyphas, Oleanders, 
 Pampas Grass and many more; and in the parterre in winter, may 
 be seen blooming Pinks, in variety, Ageratum, Zinnias, Sweet Alys- 
 sum, Vincas, Phlox Drummondi, Petunias, Pansies, Geraniums, 
 Balsams, Nasturtiums and other favorite garden flowers. Along 
 the main walk the name of the hotel is cut out of the sod of the 
 lawn in large letters, and filled in with flowering plants; and on 
 each side of the steps leading to the main entrance, is growing a 
 fine specimen of the beautiful Australian Silk Oak. 
 
 But the floral display of this famous hostelry is not confined 
 
 4» 
 
to the outside. Ascend the broad steps, pass through the mas- 
 sive entrance doors which are ot Spanish Mahogany, highly pol- 
 ished and encasing heavy plates of beveled glass, into the rotunda, 
 and a scene of beauty and richness is revealed. It is a grand as- 
 sembly hall seventy-eight feet square and thirty feet from the floor 
 to the ceiling. Thirteen marble columns support a balcony that 
 looks over from the second floor, and grouped about these, in 
 costly jardinieres, are rare and beautiful foliage plants. There are 
 majestic Palms, their feathery fronds arching overhead, gorgeous- 
 leaved Crotons whose tints would put to shame the autumn color- 
 ings of northern forests, filmy Ferns and stately Dragon-trees, 
 among the latter a specimen of Draccena fragrans eight or nine 
 feet tall, and having perfect leaves from the soil up. 
 
 A grand hallway extends from north to south no less than 
 seven hundred feet, passing through the rotunda. Wandering 
 down this hallway one finally comes to the gracefully rounding 
 curve of the solarium leading to the grand dining hall. Here— in 
 the solarium— another delightful scene is revealed. A fiood of soft 
 light falls through scores of windows on either hand, and in front 
 of every window is either an antique and curious little table or an 
 equally curious old chair, holding a jardiniere containing a beauti- 
 ful fiowering or foliage plant. Among them are exquisite Ferns, 
 vari-colored Crotons, Eucharis with snowy chalices, Araucarias, 
 Coleus, Salvias and Sansevieras. At intervals are bays and groups 
 of slender columns supporting the roof, and about these are massed 
 Palms and gorgeous foliage plants, forming fairy-like bowers and 
 charming nooks in which to linger, to rest or read or enjoy an unin- 
 terrupted iete-a-tete. 
 
 In the furnishings of the hotel, antique, curious and historical 
 furniture, rare old cabinets, costly brica-brac and beautiful etch- 
 ings and paintings enter largely— the tout ensemble iorming a truly 
 Alhambric picture in the most romantic section of prosaic America. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 Where May and December are Wed. 
 
 " There are flowers, flowers, flowers. 
 
 Blooming in our woods to-day. 
 In our Florida December 
 
 As they bloom in Northern May; 
 Red for love of a true brother. 
 
 White for lives unstained and true. 
 Blue, true hearts to one another — 
 
 Nation's hues. Red, White and Blue." —Anna Perkins. 
 
 URINGr the vrinter months there are less wild flowers to 
 be seen in Florida than in other seasons of the year, but 
 the true flower lover returning from a stroll through 
 the dry Pines woods, a trip around the lake shores and 
 creek banks or a walk in the densely shaded "hammocks," may 
 bring back a respectable sized bouquet made up of a considerable 
 number of distinct varieties and species of these wildlings. 
 
 Carping critics often cast a slur upon the flowery title of the 
 State and spurn its claim of being "the Land of Flowers." It is 
 true that the State presents no such wide reaches, vast masses and 
 great profusion of brilliant colored flowers as are seen on the Texas 
 prairies and in some portions of California, where often acres upon 
 acres are thickly covered with one species of flower until the eye 
 becomes almost wearied with their brilliancy, and prodigality be- 
 gets indifference. One of the chief charms of the woodland beauties 
 of our Northern States, is their comparative rarity, and it is much 
 the same in this State with the majority of our wildlings. A 
 hurried tour through Florida by boat and rail, especially in winter, 
 will give but a very limited idea of the rich flora and semi-tropical 
 vegetation to be found in the various portions of so extended a 
 country as this. 
 
 There are doubtless less wild flowers here in December than 
 any other month, yet the words of the verse at the head of this 
 chapter are literally true, as I shall endeavor to show; and I think 
 a bouquet may be easily arranged which, in beauty and variety, 
 will rival the best productions of a Northern May. 
 
 43 
 
Of Violets there are four distinct species, blooming not only in 
 December, but through all the winter months. Viola palmata is 
 a beautiful large blue or purple Violet often found growing in 
 high, dry Pine woods, but more often on ground ranging between 
 the high and low. The common blue Violet (V. cucullata,) so uni- 
 versal in the North, is common in "hammock" lands, while V. 
 lancGolata and V. primulcefolia, two white species, are often found 
 growing together and very abundant near streams, lakes or ponds. 
 A peculiarity of the Violets is that they blossom during the warm 
 season without showing any colored petals, but have a green calyx, 
 with stamen and pistils, and perfect their seeds. 
 
 Another flower which is produced throughout the winter 
 months is Oldenlandia rotundifoUa, a Southern cousin of the 
 dainty Northern Bluet or Innocence. It has trailing stems, with 
 small roundish leaves, spreading over the ground like a mat and 
 producing a great many delicate, pure white flowers, with four 
 petals forming a cross about half an inch in diameter. It, too, lays 
 aside its white petals during the w^arm season, producing only 
 inconspicuous green flowers, with the seed capsules mostly under 
 the leaves. The dwarf Butterwort {Pingulcula pumila) appears 
 early in December and is abundant all winter. Its flowers vary 
 from purple to nearly white, from one-half to three-quarters of an 
 inch in diameter, and borne on a scape three to six inches high, 
 ascending from a cluster of leaves. The lower lobe of the corolla 
 has a Violet-like spur near its base. It is abundant in the grass 
 of low Pine woods, especially near streams or ponds. P. elatior is a 
 large purple species, flowers an inch wide, borne on scapes eight to 
 twelve inches high. Still more beautiful is P. lutea. This is some- 
 times called Alligator Lettuce, and the curious tuft of yellow-green 
 leaves resembles some sorts of Lettuce. From the centre shoot up 
 slender scapes six to twelve inches high, each bearing a flower one 
 to one and one-half inches wide, gleaming like burnished gold. 
 
 That strange, almost uncanny plant commonly known as In- 
 dian-pipe {MonotTOipa uniflora,) which at the North blooms in 
 August or September, flowers here in November and December. It 
 is quite common in the "hammocks," growing (parasitically) on 
 roots or decaying vegetable matter. It grows generally in clusters, 
 several stems near together and six to ten inches high. The whole 
 
plant, stems, leaves and flowers, is pure white or pinkish, semi- 
 transparent and fragile appearing, like some species of the Mush- 
 room family. The straight stem bears scale-like leaves and is sur- 
 mounted by a drooping pipe-like head which is a regular flower 
 with calyx, corolla, stamens, pistils and numerous seeds. As the 
 plant becomes older the head rises erect and the whole plant turns 
 black. Near streams and ponds yellow Coreopsis and the blue Lo- 
 belia glandulosa are occasionally found during most of the winter, 
 and Chrysopsis and Hieraciums often linger on the uplands till 
 after the new year commences. 
 
 At this season it is sometimes hard distinguishing which be- 
 longs to the old year and which to the new. Our lovely Yellow 
 Jessamine (Oelsemlum sempervirens,) which is in the full splen- 
 dor of its "golden glory" in the month of February, I have found 
 expanding some of its flowers as early as the eighth of December; 
 but the winter was an unusually warm one. If there has been no 
 untimely frost, a moonlight night or the early morning hours will 
 reveal the curtains of vines, which are looped from tree to tree and 
 bush to bush along the river and lake banks, bespangled with the 
 snowy chalices of the Moonflower (Ipomcea Bona-nox.) Just now, 
 too, the Mistletoe is in full perfection, its milky-white, pearl-like 
 berries gleaming amidst its peculiar yellowish-green foliage; and 
 the coral beads of the Holly burn like fire in their setting of deep- 
 est, darkest green, spiny leaves. Last December a botanist corres- 
 pondent, residing in another portion of the State, observed, besides 
 those I have named, twenty-six other distinct species of wild flow- 
 ers in bloom. This is certainly a very respectable showing for the 
 month when there is the greatest dearth of flowers everywhere. 
 
 Poets are inspired by their surroundings, and the songs they 
 sing are attuned in harmony with what they themselves have seen 
 and know of nature. Therefore northern poets sing of springtime 
 as the season of flowers, of hope and promise, and of the autumn 
 as the season of the sere and yellow leaf. A gifted writer iu this 
 State has said that had Bryant been born and lived in Florida in- 
 stead of Massachusetts, he would never have said of autumn: 
 
 " The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year. 
 Of wailing winds and naked woods and meadows brown and sere." 
 
 43 
 
And that had Thomas Hood been born and lived In Florida instead 
 of the British Isles, he would never have moaned of November like 
 this: 
 
 " No sun, no moon, no morn, no noon. 
 No dawn, no dusk, no proper time of day." 
 
 "When we raise a crop of Florida poets," says the same writer, 
 "their songs of autumn will be songs of joy." 
 
 That future " crop of poets" will not have to depend upon the 
 wild woods alone for inspiration at this season of the year-, for 
 many of the most desirable garden flowers, ornamental trees, 
 shrubs and vines now make a grand show of blossoms and foliage. 
 Tecoma sta7is is in the very zenith of its glory during the first half 
 of December, there are Roses in profusion and perfection, Lantanas 
 and Chinese Hibiscus striving to outdo each other, Oleanders that 
 rival the Roses in form and color, and Jessamines and Honey- 
 suckles shedding their sweetness abroad in the garden. 
 
 I feel that I cannot draw this chapter to a close in a more fitting 
 manner than by quoting the following lines written by a Northern 
 lady while spending her first winter in Florida, and by heartily 
 secondiug the invitation voiced in the closing stanza: 
 
 " Fair Florida ! in Flora's bowers 
 
 Vine covered, bell-like blossoms swing; 
 Sweet is the air with myriad flowers. 
 Sweet is the song the mock-birds sing. 
 
 " Your graceful Palms wave in the air, 
 Flame-tipt your Lilies rare unfold. 
 Your luscious fruits hang tempting, fair, 
 Sun-lit your globes of orange gold. 
 
 " Bananas stately bow their heads 
 To offer fruits without compare; 
 Pineapples from their spiny beds 
 Lift nectar that the gods might share. 
 
 " Come from your northern cities grand. 
 Leave care behind to rest awhile. 
 To dream of heaven in this fair land 
 And bask m nature's loving smile." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 Living and Locating in Florida, 
 
 Who that hath reason and his smell, 
 Would not midst Rose and Jasmine dwell; 
 Encompass'd round with such delight. 
 To ear, nose, touch, the taste and sight." 
 
 —Cowley. 
 
 HAT an eager and growing interest in the South has 
 sprung up among all classes — homeseekers, capitalists, 
 manufacturers, merchants and laborers — throughout 
 the North is apparent to all who have watched the press, 
 particularly during the past year. And no State in the whole South 
 is receiving so large a share of the interest and investigations of 
 earnest homeseekers as is Florida. Indeed, remarkable interest in 
 this State began more than a decade ago, before attention was 
 turned to hardly any other section of the South, and how rapid 
 and remarkable Florida's development has been the last census re- 
 turns show. 
 
 A comparison of this State with Illinois shows the following 
 startling results: Between 1880 and 1890 Florida gained in popula- 
 tion 49 per cent., while Illinois gained but 24 per cent. In wealth, 
 Florida gained 150 per cent., and Illinois lost 8 per cent. The per 
 capita wealth of Florida increased 71 per cent. In Illinois it de- 
 creased 26 per cent. In 1880 the average man in Illinois was worth 
 over twice as much as the average man in Florida; but in 1890 the 
 average Floridian was richer than the average Illinoisian. As far 
 as per centage is concerned the population of Florida is increasing 
 nearly twice as fast as any State east of the Mississippi. 
 
 At the close of the Civil War at least nine-tenths of the area of 
 Florida which is adapted to the production of Oranges and kindred 
 fruits, was an unsettled, undeveloped and almost totally unknown 
 
wilderness, to be reached only by private conveyance. In 1885 the 
 Orange crop of the State amounted to but 600,000 boxes, while the 
 crop of 1894 was at least 5,000,000 boxes. Last year the Florida 
 Pineapple crop amounted to from 50,000 to 60,000 crates, the year 
 before that only 35,000 crates, and in 1892 only 20,000 crates. In one 
 year alone the value of the Pineapple crop increased from $147,000 to 
 $600,000. And Spruce-Pine land, on the Indian River, nearly value- 
 less for other purposes than Pineapple growing, which in 1880 
 could be bought for $1.25 per acre, now commands from $125 to $300, 
 or more, per acre. The development in truck-gardening has been 
 equally great, the growing of Tomatoes alone for Northern markets 
 having assumed tremendous proportions. The production of To- 
 bacco is a lusty "infant industry" which shows every indication of 
 developing gigantic proportions; the discovery of phosphate opened 
 up a mine of untold wealth to the State, while the fish, oyster, tur- 
 tle and sponge industries of the Florida east and west coast an- 
 nually amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and are yet 
 in their infancy. 
 
 As a great natural sanitarium alone, Florida's importance can- 
 not be overestimated, for it is truly 
 
 " The land of the south wind, whose sweet-scented breath 
 Bears freely to thousands long respites from death. " 
 
 Consumption — a disease more deadly than cholera, typhus, 
 smallpox and yellow fever combined — kills 100,000 persons every 
 year in the United States, and it is safe to say that of these at least 
 two-thirds would live out natural lives if they came to this 
 State early enough and remained the year around. But too often 
 the coming is put off until too late, being finally embraqed as a last 
 resort, and in a good many instances life has been lengthened sev- 
 eral years when to have remained at the North would have meant 
 certain death within six months. But this matchless climate 
 cannot make new lungs where none exist, nor build up depleted 
 systems in which all recuperative powers are forever deadened. 
 
 But, despite the fact that so many incurables come here to 
 die, statistics prove that the death rate in Florida is lower, 
 according to population, than in any other State in the Union. It 
 is amusing to have residents of New England anxiously inquire 
 
 48 
 
if Florida isn't dreadfully sickly and the climate fatal, when 
 we find, by turning to the census of 1890, that the death rate 
 for Florida during that year was only 10.60 per thousand, while 
 that of Massachusetts was 20.15, about twice as high. Of the 
 maladies indigenous to the State, nearly all are of malarial 
 origin, and of those the types are exceedingly mild and easily 
 subdued, the pernicious and malignant cases being exceptional 
 and usually easy to trace to a sufficient and preventable cause. 
 Wherever cistern, instead of well, water is used, all mala- 
 rial tendencies disappear if the location is otherwise healthy. So 
 far as fevers are concerned, during the census year of 1890, only 460 
 people died from fever of all kinds in the State. To offset this, the 
 climate is finely adapted to the curing of a number of diseases, par- 
 ticularly those of the nasal cavities, the throat, lungs and heart, 
 also kidney and rheumatic afflictions. 
 
 As for children, from babies up, it is a perfect paradise. There 
 is scarcely a day in the whole year when they may not be in the 
 open air, and very rarely are troubled with colds or coughs. 
 Measles, chicken pox and whooping cough are modified to a degree 
 that renders them quite harmless when they do appear, which is 
 very seldom, while those dread diseases of childhood, diphtheria, 
 scarlet fever and croup, are happily unknown. At least one physi- 
 cian has made the prediction that Florida will become a place of 
 refuge to which parents will bring their children i7i the summer to 
 escape the dangers of cholera infantum, and his opinion is backed 
 up by statistics that none can question. The census of 1890 shows 
 that in proportion to population the mortality among children is 
 26 per cent, higher in Ohio, 40 per cent, higher in Pennsylvania, 60 
 per cent, higher in Illinois, and more than twice as high in New 
 York as in Florida. The climate is equally conducive to longevity 
 among the old, owing to its mildness and equability, which admits 
 of living so much in the open air, and the serenity of a life free from 
 deleterious excitements. 
 
 Life in Florida is unconventional to a degree, and its placidity 
 and freedom thoroughly takes possession of nearly everyone who 
 lives in the State any length of time. The piazza is the sitting- 
 room — and with many families the dining-room also — fully three- 
 fourths of the year, Windows and doors are almost constantly 
 
open, admitting the health-giving air, as it is swept throught the 
 balsamic Pine forests. Few who leave the State are able to re- 
 main away permanently, but eventually wander back. There is a 
 charm or a magic in the atmosphere which is well-nigh irresist- 
 ible, and once felt is never forgotten. 
 
 But I would not be understood as conveying the idea that 
 Florida does not possess drawbacks and disadvantages, for it does. 
 There is no Eden in this world, and the inhabitants of Florida have 
 obstacles to meet and surmount. But to those who wish to 
 make permanent, prosperous homes, I sincerely believe Florida 
 offers greater inducements and less serious obstacles than any State 
 in the Union. Nowhere else can living expenses be reduced to so 
 low a minimum, the soil responds generously to the earnest atten- 
 tion of the husbandman, and the most humble, if industrious, may 
 exclaim with the poet: 
 
 " That hut is mine; that cottage half embower'd 
 With modest Jessamine." 
 
 Locating in Florida is a matter of serious importance, and on 
 which success or failure may entirely depend. A volume could be 
 written on the subject and yet it may all be expressed in a few 
 words. Select a healthy locality, fertile soil, as good frost protec- 
 tion as possible, and close proximity to transportation. On the first 
 three points, a person not familiar with the peculiar indications of 
 the State, may be "roped in" by unprincipled parties. Speaking 
 from the experience of several years' residence in the State and ex- 
 tensive travel over it, I would not locate near large rivers, on 
 account of the swamps bordering most of them; I would not locate 
 on either coast, for the soil is mostly very poor, at certain seasons 
 the sea winds are high, constant and very disagreeable, and at times 
 the mosquitoes and sand flies are voracious and "numberless as 
 the sands of the seashore" ; I would not locate anywhere in the per- 
 fectly level sections of the State, because I should expect the monot- 
 onous outlook to kill me; but 1 would locate on high, rolling land 
 some miles from the coast, not over two miles from a railroad 
 having good connections North and South and to the coast. In 
 short, if I had it to do over again, I would locate just where I am. 
 
 50 
 
JESSAMINE, PASCO COUNTY, FLORIDA. 
 
 ITS LOCATION, AND SOME OF THE ATTRACTIONS AND ADVANTAGES 
 OF THE REGION FOR INTENDING SETTLERS. 
 
 ASCO is one of the Gulf Counties of South Fiorida, i. e., 
 its western boundary is the Gulf of Mexico. Hernando 
 county bounds it on the north and Hillsborough county 
 on the South. Jessamine is situated in the midst of 
 what is known as the Fort Dade country, a section embracing an 
 area of some ten or twelve miles square in the eastern portion of 
 the county. The topography of this region is greatly diversified, 
 being entirely different from that of almost all other parts of South 
 Florida. It is a country abounding in high hills, rolling lands, 
 bubbling springs, crystal lakes and running brooks. The eye is not 
 wearied by monotonous stretches of low lands covered with nothing 
 but interminable pine forests, and to the flat portions of the State, 
 where deep and glaring sand seriously interferes with pedestrian 
 exercise, and makes driving a task instead of a pleasure, the noble 
 hills crowned with giant trees clad in richest verdure, and the firm, 
 hard roads of this region form a welcome and pleasant contrast. 
 People from hilly or mountainous regions of the North are often 
 rendered homesick and disheartened by the "flat as a pancake" 
 localities of the State, but invariably go into raptures over the pine 
 and oak clad hills and fertile valleys of this section. Visitors from 
 the central and eastern parts of the State cannot get over their 
 astonishment that such a unique and beautiful region exists in the 
 State, while other residents who have not seen for themselves refuse 
 to believe that we have hills 200 and 300 feet in elevation, and crys- 
 tal springs breaking out of steep hillsides, and escaping in singing 
 brooks which go flashing and sparkling over miniature cascades 
 and through edying pools, along ravines and glens of the most 
 romantic beauty, rich with growths of semi-tropical verdure. 
 
One of the most important advantages of this region is the char- 
 acter of the most of the soil, which is not only among the most fer- 
 tile in the State, but of a distinct character for South Florida, be- 
 ing equally adapted for both fruit raising and general farming. 
 In some sections of the State little besides Oranges can be raised, 
 and in others nothing but Pineapples; but in this section one can 
 easily make a good living by general farming, while he is bringing 
 his grove into bearing, an advantage of incalculable value which 
 should not be overlooked. Rye, Oats, Corn, Rice, Sea Island Cot- 
 ton, Peanuts, Tobacco, Irish and Sweet Potatoes, Sugar Cane, Ar- 
 row-Root, Chufas, Cassava, Indigo, Castor Beans, Cow Peas, Millet, 
 Teosinte and other forage, and nearly the entire list of vegetables 
 and various other products, may be successfully grown here, and 
 by the use of less fertilizer than would be required in ninety-nine 
 one-hundredths of the remainder of South Florida. 
 
 No other section of the State offers greater, and few equal, ad- 
 vantages for the culture of Oranges and other Citrus fruits (Lem- 
 ons, Limes, Citrons, Shaddocks and Grape Fruit or Pomelo.) And 
 nowhere in the State can groves be brought into bearing at less ex- 
 pense for fertilizing. Some of the few early settlers of this section 
 selected choice bodies of land on which they reared the finest 
 Orange groves to full bearing without the application of a particle 
 of fertilizer, a fact totally discredited by the majority of the inhab- 
 itants of Florida. Some of these trees are forty and fifty years old, 
 and yearly increase in bearing surface and productiveness. Other 
 fruits which may be successfully raised here are Bananas, Pineap- 
 ples, (under a simple brush shelter,) Guavas, (both the common and 
 Cattley varieties,) Figs, Mulberries, Plums, (native and Japanese,) 
 Peaches, LeConte and Keiffer Pears, Pomegranates, Grapes, Loquat 
 or Japan Medlar, {Eriobotrya Japonica,) Cayenne or Surinam 
 Cherry, (Eugenia Mitchelli,) Downy Myrtle. (Myrtus tomentosa,) 
 Japan and native Persimmons, Dates, Avocado or Alligator Pear, 
 {Persea gratissima,) Pecans, Japan Giant Chestnuts, Olives and 
 Strawberries. Many of the strictly tropical fruits may also be suc- 
 cessfully raised if one will go to the slight trouble of protecting 
 them against occasional frosts which are mostly of a light nature. 
 
 One of the most important considerations when locating in 
 Florida, is immunity from frequent and disastrous frosts. The so- 
 
called "frost-line" is a myth, which exists only in the vocabulary 
 of the wily land agent. There is no habitable portion of the main- 
 land of Florida which is not visited by frost at intervals of greater 
 or less duration; but there are favored localities, where, for some 
 natural reason — water protection or elevation — immunity from 
 damaging frost exists to a marked degree. And this is such a local- 
 ity, owing to its remarkable elevation. It lies just below latitude 
 28M degrees, being farther south than Sanford and Orlando (Orange 
 county,) and Is the highest land on this parallel and gets the full 
 benefit of the Gulf and Ocean breezes crossing from west to east 
 and east to west. It is in reality an area of high table land and 
 hills, from which the water flows in nearly all directions. Owing 
 to this high elevation and the warm character of the soil, frost 
 of a serious nature rarely falls here. Often a sharp frost visits the 
 lower lying lands in the same parallel in the central and eastern 
 parts of the State, when none whatever is seen here; and also on 
 numerous occasions frost has done serious damage fifty, one hun- 
 dred, and even one hundred and fifty miles farther south, but little 
 or none here— all owing to elevation. When a serious freeze (the 
 tail-end of a Dakota blizzard,) like that of '86, or December 29, 18f)4, 
 comes, these favored localities suffer too, though in a less degree. 
 
 Another, and even more important consideration, is that of 
 healthfulness. There is not a healthier location in the State than 
 this one. The reasons for this are simple. The elevation is so great 
 that it may reasonably be said to be above the malarial line. Then 
 there are no swamps, Cypress ponds or sluggish rivers with 
 swampy banks to breed miasma. Instead, the face of the country 
 is made up of high hills and beautifully rolling lands of a sandy, 
 porous nature, with clear, crystal lakes smiling in the valleys. The 
 excellent character of the well water is undoubtedly a potent fac- 
 tor in the healthfulness of this section. The water is clear, pure 
 and delightful, compared with that of most sections of the State. 
 But it is doubtless better to use cistern water everywhere in the 
 South. It is now generally admitted that malarial trouble arises 
 more from water drank than from the miasmatic exhalations in- 
 haled. Exceptionally sickly localities in the South have speedily 
 become exceptionally healthy when spring and well water has been 
 discarded for cistern or artesian. A physician who has resided 
 
 S3 
 
here for over forty years — engaged in Orange culture — has pub- 
 lished a certificate that this region may be said to be almost per- 
 fectly free from malaria. Throat and lung complaints and all 
 specific contagious diseases are unknown, as also are chills and 
 fever. In this climate the liver Is apt to become sluggish at times, 
 resulting in biliousness, which, however, is easily prevented or 
 controlled. This is actually almost the only form of sickness to 
 contend with here. The children here furnish all the proof neces- 
 sary to establish the healthfulness of this locality. They are 
 bright, active, strong and healthy, go bare-footed — and manj' of 
 them bare-headed — almost every day in the year, coming as near 
 to raising themselves as is possible anywhere. 
 
 Still another consideration, and one not suflQciently pondered 
 or understood by the majority of Northerners, and which we have not 
 the space to fully explain, is the very small number of negroes to 
 be found not only in this immediate locality, but in the entire 
 county and surrounding country. What few there are here are 
 mostly of superior character and well behaved, the majority of 
 them owning farms and some of them Orange groves. The race 
 problem is a serious one— ^oiy serious is known only to those who 
 live in sections of the South where the colored people swarm. 
 
 In addition to this being a peculiarly favored section for the 
 prosecution of both agriculture and horticulture, stock does excep- 
 tionally well for Florida. Actual experiments have proved that 
 fine pastures may be made here, and, in consequence, plenty of rich 
 milk and butter produced. As for poultry, there is no spot on the 
 face of the earth where hens, chickens, turkeys and ducks may be 
 more easily and successfully reared. A certain little woman at our 
 elbow points with pardonable pride to her record of one year, which 
 is 100 chickens raised out of 102 hatched. 
 
 To sum up, this section possesses the combined advantages of 
 beautiful and diversified scenery, rich and fertile soil adapted to 
 both agriculture and horticulture, elevation, which is the surest 
 protection for crops against cold, healthfulness, good water and 
 freedom from an objectionable class of people. More than ten 
 years ago the State Bureau of Immigration said of this section that 
 no other in the State "offers greater attraction or variety for a res- 
 idence or advantages for the successful prosecution of agriculture 
 
and horticulture," and that "transportation, enterprise, industry 
 and immigration will soon make it one of the wealthiest, most 
 prosperous and desirable portions of the State." When that was 
 written there was no means of reaching this section except by pri- 
 vate conveyance. Now it may be entered over the lines of three 
 railroads. Many settlers have come in and located after viewing its 
 superior advantages; but it has never been advertised, capital has 
 not yet found it out, and consequently the most peerless section of 
 the State for permanent homes remains comparatively unknown. 
 Had it received one-quarter of the advertising which the Indian 
 River and some other sections of the State have, it would to-day be 
 entirely settled up with a happy, prosperous people. We have been 
 in nearly every part of the State, but have yet to see a section 
 which, in our honest estimation, combines so many attractions and 
 advantages as this. 
 
 Jessamine and its Location. 
 
 As has already been stated, Jessamine is in the midst of this 
 pre-eminently desirable section of Florida. Its location is an ex- 
 ceptionally beautiful and advantageous one for a colony or settle- 
 ment. Mirror Lake, an almost circular sheet of water of mirror- 
 like beauty, and about one hundred acres in extent, forms its "cen- 
 tre." From the shores the land rises beautifully, up through rich 
 hammock to pine land until, at a distance of from 60 to 80 rods 
 from the lake shores, it ends in an undulating plateau elevated from 
 70 to 125 feet higher than the waters of the lake. A street run 
 around the lake on the brow of this encircling plateau would be 
 about three miles in extent, and from almost every rod of its length 
 the surface of the lake could be seen flashing far below. If houses 
 were built on every acre bordering this street, almost every house 
 could be seen from all the others. This conveys an idea of how 
 sightly the situation is, and how elevated the land is above the sur- 
 face of the lake. It is in reality a vast natural amphitheatre, the 
 lake forming the "pit," the sides of which only need the hand of man 
 to be transformed into smiling fruit orchards and luxuriant truck 
 patches. And there are thousands of surrounding acres adapted 
 for the same purposes. 
 
 55 j , , 
 
All about here are locations where the most beautiful homes 
 imaginable may be made. Close by is another and larger lake 
 which may be sufficiently lowered, at a trifling expense, to reclaim 
 many acres of deep, pure muck of inexhaustible fertility— muck 
 which produces such Sugar Cane as the Louisiana planters never 
 dreamed of. Land is still cheap and may be purchased at ridicu- 
 lously low figures in comparison with prices for poorer lands in 
 other portions of the State. There is no better location than this 
 for some capitalist or company of capitalists to invest in and open 
 up to settlers. 
 
 Jessamine— ?-y/iic^ should not he confounded with a little sta- 
 tion of the same name on the South Florida Railroad, in Orange 
 County— is a money order post office and express office, and has 
 mail service twice a day. It is located one and one-half miles from 
 Chipco station on the Sanford & St. Petersburg Railroad. It is 
 only one mile to the nearest point on the railroad, where a depot 
 will be built and named Jessamine. A. wire will also eventually be 
 run to Jessamine proper, giving telegraphic communication. Two 
 saw mills— one a mile and the other a mile and a half distant— fur- 
 nish both rough and dressed lumber at lowest prices. School three- 
 quarters of a mile distant. 
 
 Dade City, the county seat, is six and one-half miles distant, 
 located on two railroads— the Florida Central and Peninsular, the 
 great trunk line of the State, and the South Florida Branch of the 
 Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad. Dade City boasts sev- 
 eral stores, a flourishing bank, court house, jail, a fine graded 
 school and churches. 
 
 The Sanford and St. Petersburg Railroad (formerly known as 
 the Orange Belt,) gives the Jessamine region an outlet north and 
 south. It is about 150 miles in length, Sanford on the St. John's 
 River being its northern terminus, and St. Petersburg, on the Gulf 
 coast, its southern, while Jessamine is almost exactly half way be- 
 tween these termini. No other road in the State makes so many 
 connections with other roads and steamer lines, giving exceptional 
 facilities for reaching any section of the State. At Sanford con- 
 nections are made with the Clyde's St. John's River steamers, the 
 J. T. & K. W. R'y, and the South Florida R'y; at Paola with the 
 Tavares branch of the J. T. & K. W. R'y; at two points with the 
 
 56 
 
Florida Midland R'y; at Toronto with a branch of the F. C. & P. 
 R'y; at two points with the Tavares &Gulf R'y; at Lacoochee, nine 
 miles from Jessamine, with the main line of the Florida Central & 
 Peninsular R'y; at Macon, eight miles from Jessamine, with the 
 South Florida Branch of the S. F. & W. R'y (also a through line to 
 the North,) and at St. Petersburg with steamers for Tampa, Port 
 Tampa, Manatee River points, Key West, Havana, Mobile and New 
 Orleans. 
 
 At Sanford, St. Petersburg and at Tarpon Springs (about half 
 way between Jessamine and St. Petersburg,) are ice factories, which 
 insures getting the luxury of ice at lowest rates because of compe- 
 tition. Delicious fish and oysters are cheaply obtained from St. 
 Petersburg and other Gulf stations along the S. & St. P. Railway. 
 These are luxuries more or less unknown to most interior points, 
 from lack of railway connection. 
 
 From Jessamine to the Gulf of Mexico is about twenty-six 
 miles in an air line, just far enough away to rob the sea winds of 
 their harshness and to impregnate them with the resinous exhala- 
 tions of the intervening Piue forests — just far enough away to miss 
 all the disagreeable features of the coast, which are rife at certain 
 seasons, and yet near enough to visit it in its delightful moods, for 
 rest and recreation. 
 
 One of Jessamine's most valued blessings is remarkable and al- 
 most complete immunity from mosquitoes. We never see one in 
 the daytime, and often not a hundred during a whole season. When 
 there are any nights, they do not swarm, but appear singly or iu 
 twos or threes, and screens will keep them out as at the North. 
 They never interfere with sitting on the piazza nights throughout 
 the summer. This is in marked contrast to many sections of tbe 
 State where Cypress swamps, shallow ponds and ditches offer con- 
 venient breeding places, and on the coast at certain seasons of the 
 year they are simply terrific. Neither do we have sanu flies, which 
 are another coast pest at certain seasons. 
 
 There are no negroes nearer than three miles away, where there 
 is a small settlement of colored people who own their homes and 
 are perfectly peaceable. Not too far away to employ them as 
 laborers, but far enough to escape all the objectionable features 
 connected with them as a people. 
 
Owing to the exceptional elevation and consequent purity of 
 air, no better site for a sanitarium can be found than right here. 
 Such an establishment could be much more economically built and 
 conducted here than in any of the Florida cities, and naturally 
 would be sought by those in search of health and rest instead of 
 social excitement. A small hotel or boarding house would doubt- 
 less do exceedingly well if properly managed and advertised, for 
 thousands yearly visit the State who cannot afford to pay the exor- 
 bitant rates charged for board in the cities and large villages, and 
 are looking for some such quiet retreat. 
 
 Those looking for locations for quiet winter, or all the year 
 around, homes, will do well to investigate our claims for this par- 
 ticular location. Persons in the North earning salaries above 
 actual living expenses, can buy some land here cheap, have it 
 cleared and planted to Oranges, etc., and cared for each year at 
 moderate expense, and not move here until the trees are in bearing, 
 or nearly so. This is much the best plan for those who haven't 
 enough capital to warrant coming and making groves themselves. 
 It is really the most economical and easiest plan in many cases. As 
 in all new and as yet thinly populated countries, the demand for 
 laborers is limited and confined largely to manual work on farms 
 and in Orange groves. 
 
 As stated on page 56, there is no better location in the State 
 than this for some capitalist or company of capitalists to invest in 
 and open up to settlers. As a site for a model community, it is an 
 exceptional one. Nature has done more than her share, and man 
 can easily do the rest. 
 
 The undersigned stand ready to give any information in their 
 possession, or to lend any assistance possible to anyone who maybe 
 interested in this location as a place of residence or investment in 
 any way. 
 
 Pike & Ellsworth, 
 
 Jessamine, 
 
 Pasco Co., 
 Florida. 
 
Photographs of Florida Flowers, Fruits and Scenes. 
 
 HILE vivid and truthful descriptions give a more or less 
 real conception of the subjects under consideration, 
 when excellent photographs are combined with the de- 
 scriptions, a more full and certain knowledge is ob- 
 tained than is possible in any other way except by a visit to and 
 a personal inspection of the scenes depicted. All who are in any 
 way interested in Florida will find in good photographs valuable 
 assistance in forming a correct idea of the scenery and products of 
 the State. In the past we have received frequent inquiries for 
 Florida views, and to supply this demand we have employed the 
 services of one of the finest artists in the South, to prepare a series 
 of photos of the most characteristic representatives of Florida 
 flowers, fruits and scenery. These pictures are thoroughly first- 
 class in every respect, representing the highest degree of photo- 
 graphic art. They are the large Boudoir size, mounted on heavy 
 panel cards, gold-edged, with the title printed underneath. Many 
 of them are exquisite subjects for artists to paint from, while all 
 are invaluable in forming an album of Florida views. 
 
 Prices, postpaid, 25 cents each; 6 for $1.35; or 12 for $2.60. 
 
 No. 1. "ViNECLAD, " Jessamine 
 Gardens, Fla.— The first build- 
 ing—a cottage— erected at Jessa- 
 mine. Complet ely embowered in 
 vines and has been pronounced 
 "a veritable artist's dream." A 
 picture which delights everyone. 
 
 No. 2. One of the Approaches 
 TO Jessamine Gardens.— An en- 
 chanting bit of forest road, lined 
 with exceptionally fine specimens 
 of the Saw Palm or Palmetto. 
 Very tropical appearing. 
 
 No. 3. Mirror Lake, Jessamine, 
 Fla.— Showing a charming view 
 of one end of the lake on which 
 Jessamine Gardens are located. 
 In the foreground is shown part 
 
 of a block of 30,000 Trifoliate 
 Orange plants, backed by a row of 
 Cannas taller than a man. 
 
 No. 4. Gathering the Golden 
 Fruit.— View in an Orange grove, 
 showing the trees full of fruit and 
 the pickers busy at work. A very 
 characteristic and interesting 
 scene. 
 
 No. 5. A Bunch of Bananas.— A 
 large clump of Banana plants, in 
 a Lemon grove, from which hangs 
 a bunch of fruit which a man 
 standing beneath is unable to 
 reach. A remarkable sight to 
 Northern eyes. 
 
 No. 6. A Young Orange Grove. 
 — Shows how a young pine-land 
 
 59 
 
Orange grove looks. Residence 
 and lakes showing in the back- 
 ground. 
 
 No. 7. Pineapples.— Shows a field 
 of Pineapples in fruit. 
 
 No. 8. Orange Tree Bending 
 Under its Fruit.— Shows a large 
 Orange tree in a grove, with the 
 centre of the tree parted in the 
 middle and the limbs hanging 
 nearly to the ground, on each side, 
 under the weight of fruit. 
 
 No. 9. A Banana Orchard. — 
 Showing voung and old plants, 
 the latter holding several bunches 
 of fruit and towering far above 
 the heads of two men standing be- 
 neath. 
 
 No. 10. View in an Orange 
 Grove.— A young grove just com- 
 ing into bearing. In one corner a 
 beautiful young Date Palm, and 
 near by the owner leaning on his 
 hoe and holding two Oranges. 
 Residence and Pine trees in the 
 background. 
 
 No. 11. A Florida Cabbage 
 Patch.— A revelation to those 
 who think Florida is all worthless 
 sand. Three men stand in the 
 patch, each holding two cabbages, 
 and the latter pretty thoroughly 
 obscure the men. Very tropical 
 growth in the background. 
 
 No. 12. A Branch of Oranges.— 
 View in an Orange grove, the fore- 
 ground occupied by a branch so 
 laden with fruit that the lower- 
 most rest on the ground. Very 
 striking. 
 
 No. 13. A Banana Bud and 
 Bloom.— Shows the wonderful in- 
 
 florescence of the Banana, and the 
 tiny fruits just formed. 
 
 No. 14. Bloom of the Spanish 
 Bayonet.— Showing on a black 
 background a magnificent cluster 
 of the lovely creamy -white bells 
 of the Spanish Bayonet (Yucca 
 aloifoUa.) 
 
 No. 1.5. The Giant Bamboo.— A 
 grand clump of Bambusa vulgaris, 
 the large unarmed Bamboo of 
 Bengal. Resembles a gigantic 
 Fern and is very striking and 
 unique. 
 
 No. 16. One of the Date Palms. 
 —A view on a fine private place, 
 with a good-sized Phoenix Palm 
 in the foreground. 
 
 No. 17. Pampas Grass and Cen- 
 tury Plants.— An enchanting 
 view on the same private place. 
 Must be seen to be appreciated. 
 
 No. 18. Cabbage Palms. — Shows 
 two large-sized Cabbage Palms 
 or Palmettoes, in the foreground, 
 with the St. John's River in the 
 middle, and a group of Palms in 
 the distance. 
 
 No. 19. A Path Through Flor- 
 ida Woods.— A path through a 
 very heavy piece of " hammock," 
 with very large Live Oaks, hung 
 with Spanish Moss, in the fore 
 and back ground. It is very 
 pretty. 
 
 No. 30. A Rustic Bridge over the 
 Palatlakaha River, with river 
 scenery about it. An exceedingly 
 beautiful scene. 
 
 No. 31. A Tangled Mass of Vine 
 AND Tree.— A very charming and 
 
tropical appearing bit of wood- 
 land, a path disappearing under 
 trees covered with interlacing 
 vines. 
 
 No. 22. An Immense Live Oak on 
 St. Joseph's Island, with people 
 up in the tree. An old fisherman 
 lives on the island and uses the 
 tree as a lookout, a series of lad- 
 ders running to the top. When 
 he wants to fish he goes up to the 
 top of the tree with his telescope 
 and looks off for a spot where the 
 fish are playing and jumping in 
 the water. The waters of the 
 Gulf of Mexico can be seen in the 
 background. 
 
 No. 23. The Silver King or Tar- 
 pon.— Shows a tarpon (fish) about 
 five feet long, with a gentleman 
 standing beside it. 
 
 No. 24. A Gnarled and Twisted 
 Live OAK.—Presents a most gro- 
 tesque and quite indescribable ap- 
 pearance. A Cabbage Palm grows 
 up through the snake-like branch- 
 es, which are hung with streamers 
 of Spanish Moss, and small Palms 
 dot the ground beneath. 
 
 No. 25. The Festive Alligator is 
 shown chasing a little "nigger" 
 around a big stump. Pleases the 
 children immensely. 
 
 No. 26. The Haunted River.— A 
 scene on the Palatlakaha River, 
 showing a bank of wierd-looking 
 Cypress trees, with their reflection 
 in the water, and among these re- 
 flections can be distinctly seen 
 three human faces. 
 
 No. 27. A Florida Home.— A beau- 
 tiful scene, showing the house 
 
 witji piazza completely draped 
 with vines, and the path leading 
 up to it bordered with giant Cacti, 
 Century Plants, clumps of Span- 
 ish Bayonet, Australian Silk Oaks 
 and Palms. Shows the grand pos- 
 sibilities of gardening in Florida. 
 
 No. 28. A Florida Lawn.— In the 
 foreground are two beautiful Date 
 Palms, and between them a man 
 stands beside a Century Plant 
 (Agave) which is taller than he, the 
 shrubbery, etc., showing in the 
 background. 
 
 No. 29. A Florida Cracker and 
 His Team, consisting of three 
 pairs of oxen which are conspic- 
 uous chiefly for their lack of fat, 
 and the brand marks which show 
 very plainly. A beautiful lake 
 forms the background. 
 
 No. 30. Solitude.— Shows a road 
 through a Florida forest— "ham- 
 mock"— with nothing alive in 
 sight. It has an unmistakable 
 look of solitude. 
 
 No. 31. The Old Log School- 
 house, shaded by an immense 
 Live Oak draped with Spanish 
 Mos?. The log school house is one 
 of the features of Florida fast 
 passing away. 
 
 No. 32. Result of a Morning's 
 Hunt is a picture of a "colored 
 gemman" on a mule, both typical 
 and taken in the woods. The dar- 
 key has his rifle, and across the 
 saddle is a deer, and hanging to 
 his back several squirrels. 
 
 No. 33. Crackers and Their 
 Home.— A little log house in the 
 woods, with father, mother,daugh- 
 
ter and son, the latter with his 
 gun, standing outside. Sharp eyes 
 will discover many strange, laugh- 
 able and interesting features in 
 this picture. 
 No. 34. A Drapery of Moss.— A bit 
 of road through a Florida "ham- 
 mock," completely overarched 
 with trees, from the branches of 
 which hang draperies of the beau- 
 tiful silvery Spanish Moss. Two 
 men in a wagon drawn by a mule, 
 gives the needed life to a charm- 
 ing glimpse of nature. 
 
 No. 35. Pine Island, Lake Apop- 
 KA, is a pretty picture, showing 
 Pine Island in the distance, look- 
 ing through Cabbage Palms in the 
 foreground. 
 
 No. 36. Lighthouse, Egmont Key, 
 on the Gulf coast. At the base of 
 the lighthouse are two or three 
 large Cabbage Palms and Sea 
 Grape (a magnificent semi-trop- 
 ical shrub). 
 
 No. 37. On Palatlakaha River, 
 is atypical Florida river scene. 
 
 No. 38. Campers on St. Joseph's 
 Island.— Shows a lot of campers 
 around a fire, with Cabbage Palms 
 and Live Oaks around. A typical 
 outing scene for which Florida is 
 justly famous. 
 
 No. 39. Mouth op the Anclote 
 River.— A lovely scene, quite im- 
 possible to adequately describe. A 
 picture which never fails to elicit 
 exclamations of admiration. 
 
 No. 40. On the Anclote River.— 
 A beautiful view of the river and 
 its banks, on which are growing 
 
 Cabbage Palms, immense Pines 
 and other vegetation. A tiny 
 steamer and its occupants enliven 
 the scene. 
 
 No. 41. The Bayou, Tarpon 
 Springs, taken from ex-Gov. Saf- 
 ford's windmill. 
 
 No. 43. Sponge Schooner at Tar- 
 pon Springs.— A fine *' study" for 
 a painting. 
 
 No. 43. Sponges on the Wharf 
 AT Tarpon Springs.— In addi- 
 tion to the heaps of sponges are 
 shown some of the pretty boat- 
 houses around the spring. (This 
 is one of the Florida springs large 
 enough for small vessels to enter.) 
 
 No. 44. On The St. John's River. 
 —A wild and weird scene. 
 
 No. 45. A Little Pickaninny.— A 
 fat and wrinkled colored baby 
 sitting in a white wash-bowl. The 
 way he "shows the whites of his 
 eyes" would upset the gravity of 
 a judge. 
 
 No. 46. "Aunty," Her Picka- 
 ninnies AND Home at "'Possum 
 Trot" (three miles from Jessa- 
 mine Gardens.) A "colored lady" 
 and her numerous progeny group- 
 ed before a cabin which is "fear- 
 fully and wonderfully made." 
 The "stick and mud" chimney 
 alone is a marvel and worthy the 
 brush of some artist. 
 
 Address orders for photographs to 
 PIKE & ELLSWORTH, 
 Jessamine, 
 Pasco Co., 
 Florida. 
 
 62 
 
The Clyde Steamship Co 
 
 NEW YORK, CHARLESTON, ANI) FLORIDA LINE. 
 
 For CHARLESTON, S. C, the South and Southwest. 
 
 For JACKSONYILLE, FLA., and all Florida Points. 
 
 Appointed Sailing Days from Pier 29, East River, N. Y. 
 
 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 3 p>.na. 
 
 THE ONLY LINE BETWEEN 
 
 NE: W YORK AND JACKSONVILLE, KLA. 
 
 WITHOUT CHANGE. 
 
 Unsurpassed Passenger Accommodations and Cuisine. 
 
 The Fleet is composed of the following elegant steamers : 
 
 ALGONQUIN, SEMINOLE, IROQUOIS, CHEROKEE, YEMAS- 
 SEE, DELAWARE. 
 
 Throngh Tickets, Rates and Bills of Lading for all points South and 
 Southwest via CHARLESTON, and all Florida points via JACKSON- 
 VILLE. 
 
 ST. JOHN'S RIVER STEAMERS (De Bary Line) 
 
 Jacksonville and Sanford, Fla.. and Intermediate Landings on 
 
 the St. John's River. 
 
 Steamers "City of Jacksonville," " F. De Bary," "Everglade," "Welaka," 
 
 Sailing from Jacksonville daily, except Saturday, at 3.30 p. m., making close 
 connection with all railroads at Palatka, Astor, Blue Springs and Sanford. 
 Through Tickets and Bills of Lading at Lowest Rates to all interior points 
 in Florida, For further information apply to 
 
 M. H. CLYDE, A. T. M., A. J. COLE, G. P. A., THEO. G. EGER, T. M., 
 S BOWLING GREEN, NEW YORK. 
 
 WM. P. CLYDE & CO., General Agents, 
 
 5 Bowling Green, 12 South Delaware Avenue, 
 
 NEW YORK. PHILADELPHIA. 
 
Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad. 
 
 SHORT LINE BETWEEN FLORIDA AND ALL NORTHERN POINTS. 
 EVERETT, SAVANNAH, AUGUSTA, GA., COLUMBIA, WASHINGTON, BALTI- 
 MORE, PHILADELPHIA, NEW YORK, BOSTON AND THE EAST. 
 
 Everett, Macon, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati, 
 Chicago. 
 
 Everett, Birmingham, Holly Springs, Memphis, Little Rock, Kansas City, 
 St. Louis, Chicago, Sioux City. 
 
 River Junction, Pensacola, Mobile, New Orleans, Texas, Mexico, Cali- 
 fornia and the Pacific Coast. 
 
 ONLY L,INE WITH THROUGH SLEEPERS BETWEEN JACK- 
 SONVILLE AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 LEAVE JACKSONVILLE TWICE DAILY 
 
 • Via Fla. Central and Peninsular, Southern Ry. and Penna. R. R., 
 With Through Pullman Sleepers for Everett, Savannah, Columbia, Wash- 
 ington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and all Eastern Polr^ts. 
 
 LEAVE JACKSONVILLE DAILY 
 For Lake City, Live Oak, Madison, Monticello, Tallahassee, River Junction, 
 Pensacola, Mobile, New Orleans and the Southwest, Mexico, California 
 and the Pacific coast. Carries Sleeper. 
 
 LEAVE JACKSONVILLE DAILY 
 For Starke, Hawthorne, Silver Spring, Oca! a, Gainesville, Cedar Key, Wild- 
 wood, Leesburg, Tavares, Apopka, Orlando, Lacoochee, Dade City, Plant 
 City, Tampa. 
 
 CINCINNATI AND FLORIDA LIMITED, DAILY 
 Solid Vestibule Train. Time a little over 35 hours to Cincinnati via Macon, 
 Atlanta, Chattanooga. Connects for Nashville, Louisville, Chicago and all 
 points north and west. 
 
 HOLLY SPRINGS ROUTE, DAILY 
 Only Route with Tlirougli Sleepers between Jacksonville and Kansas City, via 
 Macon. Atlanta, Birmingham, Holly Springs, Memphis, Springfield, Kansas 
 City, St. Louis, Chicago. Sioux City. Through Sleepers without change to 
 Kansas City and St. Louis, and only one change to Chicago and Sioux City. 
 WESTERN LOCAL DAILY For Tallahassee and intermediate points. 
 FROM JACKSONVILLE EVERY NIGHT 
 
 For Tampa and intermediate points. Pullman Sleepers. 
 11. OO P. M.— Night Departure, Jacksonville to Cincinnati via Everett, 
 Macon, Atlanta, Chattanooga. Arrives Cincinnati 7.30 a. m. Leaves Cin- 
 cinnati 8.00 p. m. Arrives Jacksonville (5.00 a. m. Sleepers open at Jackson- 
 ville 8.30 p. m. Arriving passengers can remain on sleepers until 7.30 a. ni. 
 
 PULLMAN SLEEPERS ON ALL NIGHT TRAINS. 
 
 Send for Best Indexed Township Map of Florida to 
 
 N. S. PENNINGTON, A. O. MacDONELL, 
 
 Traffic Manager. General Passenger Agent. 
 
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