290 SOUTH-WEST FLORIDA. 



genial climate of Florida. Independent of benefiting 

 themselves, the} 7 would advance the interests of the ten 

 der branches clinging around the parent stem. 



The old Romans used this pregnant expression : 

 Inimicus senilibus liycms &quot; Winter, the foe of the 

 aged.&quot; Modern research proves its correctness. An 

 eminent statistician, calculating from nearly 55,000 cases 

 over 60 years of age, discovered the startling fact that 

 the deaths in January were within a fraction twice as 

 many as in July. Such a statement reminds us of the 

 significant expression of another distinguished observer, 

 who had closely studied the relation of mortality and 

 temperature, and wrote : &quot; Waves of heat arc waves of 

 life ; and waves of cold are waves of death.&quot; 



I am fully prepared to admit that some localities in 

 the State are very unhealthy, and that malarious diseases 

 occur to a great extent in certain portions of the State ; 

 but I likewise contend that certain sections of the State 

 cannot be equalled by any portion of the world for 

 healthfullness ; and some of the latter localities will be 

 found on the south-west coast. 



Army returns are generally the most reliable, and 

 exceedingly important when we came to estimate the 

 sanitary advantages of any given section. During the 

 Florida war the soldiers were exposed at all seasons in 

 various portions of the State, and only those who have 

 visited the peninsula can form any idea of how terribly 

 arduous must be campaigning through the swamps and 

 everglades of the State. Yet, according to the army 

 medical statistics, the yearly mortality from diseases in 

 the army there, was only 20 per 1,000 ; and the average 

 of the army elsewhere was 35 per 1,000 ; while in Texas 

 it rose to 50, and on the lower Mississippi to 44 per 1,000. 



