Hide Article Text (OCR)
Ancient Book on FloridaIn a book printed by tbe British Government 1769, a copy of which is in possession of the Kev. E. M. CL Dunklin, Baptist City Missionary, Tainpn, one of the first complete descriptions of the state, at that time a British possession, is to be found. Local Weather Forecaster G. B. Wurlz, who has borrowed the book so that he can make a typewritten copy of it, declares it is “Florida’s first real estate ad,” written by JohnBertram, a botanist of Philadelphia, who describes a trip up the St. Johns river from St. Augustine.The book is entitled “Bertram’s East Florida” and is inscribed “To tne most Honorable Cbnrles, Marquis of Rockingham, First Lord of the Treasury,” the treasury department of England having furnished the funds for tbe trip, that country being anxious to ascertain the value of its new possession, only recently seemed from Spain. According to Weather Forecaster Wurlz, the book’s figures on meterology aro suprisingly accurate, when it is considered that the writer spent only a short time in “East Florida,” Statements about the annual rainfall are shown to be cor- . rect by present records.According to the book “East Florida” is described as a land of great agricultural resources and in which the soil was particularly ' adapted to the culture of silk, sugar, indigo, corn, hemp, alligator pears, oranges (of which there were 20,000 acres under . cultivation), and rice, which, the statement was made on the authority of a South Carolinian, that Florida w«9 “fitter for the growing of rice than Carolina.” The writer of the book also stated that deer were abundant, that the flesh of hogs was better than grown in any other section, and there were “fewer insocts, with the exception of the alligator, than in any other part of North America.”Bertram started on bis trip id December, 1765, and in January of 1766 was in Florida when there occurred the first serious cold snap in the rememherance of the oldest residents. He states that the tempeiatnre fell to 26 degrees, that the ground was frozen a foot thick and that lime trees and other tender vegetation was killed. As a general thing, the book bore testimony, the climate* of Florida was such that the Spaniards in St. Augustine bad “neither chimneys to the houses nor glass windows.”In one respect tbe book conveys an important bit of scientific information. The writer states that water hyacinth, the same kind so prevalent now, grew in nearly all of the rivers aud streams, and wus so thick in some places as to effectually obstruct navigation. This puts to rout the theory advanced in recent years that the hyacinth was brought in from tbe West Indian islands or some other sections and is not native to Florida.Some portions of the book are extremely amusing in the light of present day knowledge. For instance, Bertram, iu telling of his visits to mineral springs, since noted for the valuable quulilies of their waters, described tbe wate*9 hs being “exceedingly offensive in odour and taste, like bilge water or the washings of a gun barrel.” -Tampa Tribune.
Newspaper Details
Punta Gorda Herald
Punta Gorda, Florida, US
Thu, Oct 09, 1913
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
FL, USA 01 Jul 2024
Other Publications Near Punta Gorda, Florida
Punta Gorda Herald
