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FLORIDA. 



required for the education of our large illiterate popu- 

 lation. The right of Congress to contribute to gener- 

 al education in the several States has not been ques- 

 tioned, and it is to be hoped that the General Govern- 

 ment, appreciating the great necessity for such a 

 course, will still further add to the educational re- 

 sources of the country, to be applied through the 

 agency of the various State organizations. 



The following statement shows the number 



of miles of railroad and their value, together 

 with the value of rolling-stock owned by the 

 different companies, as assessed March 1, 1884. 

 RailroadSi In the past four years there have 

 been built and put in operation 776 miles of 

 new road. In addition to this about 224 miles 

 are graded. Some of the best sections of the 

 State are still without railroad facilities. 



* Operated by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company. 



t Operated by the South Florida Railroad Company. 



$ Operated by the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railroad Company ; they made no return of rolling-stock. 



Reclamation of Lands. The Atlantic and Gulf 

 Coast Canal and Okeechobee Company, under 

 their contract with the State for the reclama- 

 tion of lands in the southern portion of the 

 Peninsula, since 1881 have steadily prosecuted 

 the work of constructing drainage-canals, and 

 improving the natural river-system, and have 

 added mechanical appliances by which the 

 completion of the work will be materially has- 

 tened. A brief summary of the operations of 

 this company shows a completed canal for 

 drainage and navigation, connecting the head- 

 waters of the Caloosahatchee and Okeechobee, 

 intercepting in its course Lakes Flirt and 

 Hecppachee, the latter being a fresh-water 

 lake about five miles in diameter, hitherto 

 practically unknown. This canal penetrates a 

 portion of the State hitherto inaccessible and 

 develops a large territory. The ledge of lime- 

 stone through which Caloosahatchee river at 

 Fort Thompson forces its way has been suffi- 

 ciently removed to provide a channel commen- 

 surate with the demands of navigation. The 

 company is engaged in shortening Kissimmee 

 river, much effective work having already been 

 accomplished. In some instances cuts of less 

 than one fourth of a mile reduced the distance 

 by the old river-channel almost three miles. 

 Tiger creek, connecting Lake Kissimmee with 

 Lakes Tiger, Rosalie, and Walk-in- the- Water, 

 on the west, has been shortened, deepened, 

 and improved. The water-shed of the upper 

 system of drainage has been permanently re- 

 lieved by the completion of a canal connecting 



Lake Tohopekaliga with the drainage-system 

 south. This canal is supplementary to the 

 large cut, long since completed in Lake Cy- 

 press, by which the surface-level of Lake To- 

 hopekaliga, an area of 26 square miles, was 

 reduced many feet. The surface of the waters 

 in the valley of this interior tidal and lake 

 system varies from twenty-two feet at Lake 

 Okeechobee to seventy-one feet at Lake To- 

 hopekaliga above river-level, indicating that 

 the most depressed portion of the territory is 

 sufficiently elevated for an efficient drainage of 

 the whole. . The work already accomplished 

 has opened up water-transportation for boats 

 of about 100 feet in length, connecting Punta 

 Kosa, at the mouth of Caloosahatchee river, 

 on the Gulf, with Kissimmee City, a point 

 about centrally located in the peninsular por- 

 tion of the State. Over 40 miles of canal and 

 river improvements have been made, besides 

 the removal of numerous obstructions. The 

 expenditure has aggregated over $250,000. 



The magnitude of this enterprise (says the Gov- 

 ernor) and its destined influence upon the future of 

 the State can scarcely be realized. The reclamation 

 of many millions of acres ; containing some of the 

 most valuable sugar-lands in the United States, with 

 suitable climatic conditions for the successful growth 

 of all tropical fruits, is the harbinger of an era of 

 population, wealth, and prosperity. 



Coast -Line Canal. The Florida Coast-Line 

 Canal and Transportation Company, organized 

 to secure inland water communication from 

 St. Augustine to Biscayne Bay, by connecting 

 Matansas, Halifax, and Indian rivers, on the 





