I have perhaps dwelt on this subject more than it was necessary I should have done; but so many misapprehensions exist, so many false reports (no doubt ignorantly) circulated concerning Southern travel, that I have thought it well to give my slight experience on the subject, and I am sure my testimony will be supported by all who have followed or may follow in my footsteps. Of course, in the great army of tourists there is always a contingent of native-born grumblers who are never satisfied, and wander through the sullen groves of discontent and fret the very air with their endless complaining; and even when they enter the gates of heaven they will complain, like the dissatisfied cherub, that “their halo doesn’t fit.”
CHAPTER VIII.
En route for Jacksonville.—A few words about Florida.—Its climate.—Its folk.—Its productions.
When the associated Southern railways cease to exist the Florida Transit takes up the matter, and conveys you with equal comfort to some of the most attractive points of the state.
We are soon en route for Florida, which is the kind of Mecca of our hearts’ desires. Florida! The very name is suggestive of sunshine and flowers, orange groves, and the sweet-scented air of “Araby the blest.” I have but little time and little space to devote to this varied and beautiful land, and fear that my brief sketch will convey but a faint idea of the country; though it may perhaps serve to waken the interest and induce some few to follow in my footsteps, or rather to make a visit of inspection on their own account and see and judge for themselves. If they go from mere curiosity only they will find plenty to gratify it, and if with any idea of settling there the field is so wide, the attractions so varied, they will find no difficulty in settling according to their hearts’ desires; whatever they seek in the way of climate or of soil they will surely find there if they give themselves time and trouble to seek it out.
This being one of the younger children of the state, having been born into it indeed only in 1845, its progress has been slow—much slower than that of many of the other states in this “go-ahead” land, many of which have grown to maturity at a single bound, like the magic tree the Indian jugglers show us, which is planted, grows, bears buds, flowers, and fruits in the very hour of its birth. Although the natural advantages of Florida are unequalled, its development has been very gradual, and its population, scanty and scattered, is much smaller in proportion than that of any other state in the Union. We may, perhaps, except Nevada and Colorado, both of which are mountainous, rocky regions, whereas Florida is a level land, its highest elevation being about 500 feet above the sea, and very rarely attaining to that. There is, however, a constant tide of immigration flowing into the state, and the increase of the population during the last dozen years is surprising. Still some of the finest portions of the state are yet unpenetrated—luxuriant wildernesses left in a state of nature; but these are being rapidly cleared, and there is room enough for another million of workers and a promising field for their speculations. Let the settlers flock in as fast as they may, provided they come with an adequate supply of patience, industry, and discrimination in their choice of a settlement, a prosperous career may be assured to them; for Florida has a soil fitted for the production of every possible kind of fruit, flowers, vegetables, and forest produce that can be cultivated in any part of the temperate or semi-tropical world.
Many of us have heard (and regarded as fabulous) of its growth of oranges and lemons, but these marvellous accounts are in no way exaggerated. Some orange groves have produced for their owners from 300 to 3,000 dollars an acre, and a single acre of pines has produced as much as 1,200 dollars in one season! Such prolific productions and large profits are by no means uncommon, especially when there is a railway depot near at hand which renders the transport easy.
It is not uncommon to see wide stretches of wheat fields ripening in January. Sugar cane and pines are largely cultivated in the semi-tropical portions of the state, which yield an immense profit; and of garden vegetables, sometimes, nay often, two or three abundant crops are produced from the same tract of land within the year. Common vegetables as well as dainty fruits grow abundantly, and peach trees attain to a prodigious size; the largest known grows in Volusia County, its branches spreading nearly eighty feet in diameter! Everything grows with a spontaneity that is surprising—fruits and flowers everywhere in the woods and wildernesses in wild luxuriance. The very nature of things seems to be reversed; pears grow on graceful vines, peas on stately trees, and some things (as witness the air plant) grow on nothing at all. But in spite of the richness of the soil, the geniality of the climate, Florida is not exactly a paradise; here as elsewhere man must carry out the great law, and labour for his daily bread. Nature is prolific, and yields her treasures ungrudgingly, but she demands something in return. Men must come to her with a strong arm and patient brain, bring their intelligence to the fore, learn to watch her varying moods and seasons, and prune and train and use her after her own fashion; all this has to be learned by a new comer, for the agricultural process and the treatment of fruits and flowers is quite different from that which is necessary in their culture elsewhere; but given a certain amount of prudence and knowledge, and more comfort with less labour may be obtained here than in any other part of the world, for it is rarely too hot, rarely too cold. Frost is never an expected visitor, though in certain years it has been a most unwelcome guest, and amply revenged itself for its general expulsion from the soil. The winter of 1880 was exceptionally severe; it girded on its frosted garments and travelled southward, sweeping through the northern part of Florida and laying its icy hand upon orange and lemon groves, freezing the fruit upon the trees, working sad havoc wherever it took its frozen way, causing great loss to all, ruin to some; but this visitation was confined to a very small portion of the state. In the larger and more numerous districts frost is simply unknown, and its advent would cause as much wonderment as a snowstorm in Calcutta. The truth is, there is trinity and unity in the state, three Floridas in one, which may be thus classified—the tropical, semi-tropical, and temperate or northern Florida. The latter, northern Florida, is a land of wheat, corn, cotton, rice, apples, grapes, etc.—indeed, all cereals, fruits, or vegetables that are cultivated in the northern provinces may be grown here, as well as some few of the hardier Southern products. Slight frosts and cold snaps are not of infrequent occurrence, and the scenery is the most picturesque of all the state, being varied by grand rolling forests, grey, rugged rocks, and beautiful winding streams, where fish and wild fowl of all kinds are most abundant. The temperature is delightful all the year round, and it is in this region the finest live stock is raised.
In middle or semi-tropical Florida the soil is of a sandy character, the country flat and uninteresting, unvaried by streams or rivers; it is only in the orange lake region that a fair extensive lake may here and there be found, hidden away in some wooded tract of uncultivated land. Here many of the products of the temperate or tropical regions, such as lemons, figs, guava, and citron trees, may be found growing side by side, all the year round; and delicious vegetables, tomatoes, beets, lettuce, cucumbers, and fine marrowfat peas, are shipped daily in large quantities, and despatched northward during the months of January, February, and March. Strawberries, too, are largely cultivated, and yield an immense profit.
Strangers are daily flocking into this district from all points of the states. Many prefer this to the more southern parts of Florida, and large settlements are growing rapidly everywhere, especially along the line of the Transit Railway, which runs between Cedar Keys and Fernandina. Almost fabulous quantities of the hardier fruits and vegetables are produced here, and as the facilities of transportation lie near at hand, they are at once placed in the hands of the consumer, and with the slightest expense to the grower. This region is, however, always liable to frost, which may be looked for any time during the winter months, but may not appear for many years; but when it does come, the crops are ruined for that season.