183.5.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



373 



1 proceed westward on my route of observation. 



From the confines of Alachua to the banks ol the 

 Suwanee River, are found the barren wastes, 

 which detract so largely from the otherwise ver- 

 dancy of Florida. The country, for many miles 

 inward front the gulf, is here one continuous, un- 

 varying and steril pine forest: and the traveller 

 leaving the rich alluvials of Alachua, with their 

 varied and umbrageous forests, becomes sadly 

 "outof conceit with thecountry," as, mile af ermiie, 

 he still finds his desolate road extending over an 

 eye-fatiguing flat, whose only growth, as far as 

 sight can reach, is the stiff, branchless, and mo- 

 notonous pine — whilst the earth, a dazzling white 

 sand, is exposed to the clear rays of a tropical sun, 

 without even the protection of grass or shrub. 



This continues with little alleviation or improve- 

 ment, for upwards of 50 miles, to the borders of 

 the Suwanee, when the traveller hails with the fe- 

 verish delight of an Arab, the majestic live oaks, 

 indicating the banks of that long wished for 

 stream. I need not attempt a minute analysis of 

 these purely southern barrens. No one, I appre- 

 hend, will be attracted thither, be the magic of 

 my pen ever so persuasive. It is enough there- 

 fore, to say, that superficially, it is a white gravel- 

 ly sand, which, on deeper examination, is found 

 based on a cold clay of yellowish complexion, so 

 strangely cohesive, as to form an indissoluble and 

 distinct mass between the sand and the substrata 

 of coarse lime shell. This section is almost en- 

 tirely without settlement. Its dwarfish and stint- 

 ed pine sufficiently attest in their ■monopolizing 

 growth, its barrenness — whilst the want of whole- 

 some water, and the absence of all pasturage, 

 have caused even the restless "Squatter" to shun 

 its desolation. 



Before taking leave of the eastern district, hav- 

 ing now reached its western limit, I may with a 

 candid acknowledgement of my superficial know- 

 ledge of the science, express my conviction, that its 

 geological character,especially east of the St. John's 

 River, is entirely of a secondary and transitive for- 

 mation. We find no evidence of a primitive organi- 

 zation, neither silex, quartz, nor any of the combi- 

 nations of mica. Every examination of soils on the 

 other hand, exhibit throughout the peninsula, the 

 unvarying presence — first, of testaceous shells, and 

 sea sand — second,of crustaceousshells,marsh mud, 

 with putrescent saline vegetables — and third, of 

 gravelly earth, with decomposed and fibrous veg- 

 etable matter. The proportion of these organic 

 strata are doubtless variable, creating in their dif- 

 ferent excess, the rich alluvial bottoms, and less 

 fertile uplands — the former indicating a later alien- 

 ation from the sea, and the latter a longer expo- 

 sure to terrestrial vicissitudes. 



The Suwanee is the boundary, dividing the 

 eastern and middle districts; but ere we cross it, 

 let us momentarily admire its bold and picturesque 

 banks — its pellucid waters, so 



"Darkly, deeply, beautifully blue — " 



and its silent, meandering, yet swiftly gliding 

 course. Its tributaries take their rise in the south- 

 ern parts of Georgia, and are many of them of 

 great length: but it is not till after their junction 

 with the soft-named and sombre With-la-cov-chic, 

 that'the Suwanee is every inch the monarch. It 

 is immediately below this "meeting of the wa- 

 ters," that arise the notable "Sulphur Springs," 



and which if Rumour be not false-mouthed, pro- 

 mise to realize, in their efficacy, the long sought 

 for "Fountains of Youth," of *i)e Leon, and De 

 Soto. I have not as yet been credibly informed, 

 that these springs have caused 



"Decrepid age to smooth Ins wrinkled front — " 



but I have witnessed some surprising and perma- 

 nent, efiects upon bed-ridden and deformed crip- 

 ples, who had lor years ne'er trod the earth, until 

 resuscitated by a draught of these magical waters. 

 Obstinate rheumatism, long endured dyspepsia, 

 and affections of the liver, are radically cured, and 

 with astonishing celerity. The magnitude of the 

 spring being sufficiently large to allow crowds to 

 bathe at the same time, and its temperature being 

 delightfully cold, many resort thither merely for 

 amusement. There is little doubt of these springs 

 rising in notoriety. The waters are composed of 

 sulphur, nitre, magnesian earth, and carbonic acid. 

 Buildings are now being erected suitable for the 

 accommodation of invalids and tourists. From 

 the site of the springs, the Suwanee continues, 

 through the centre of Florida, dividing it almost 

 equally, to the gulf, a distance of nearly 100 miles, 

 a broad, expansive, and navigable stream. 



Projects are now in contemplation, with every 

 promise of consummation, to render this hither- 

 to profligate river, subservient to the uses of 

 man. A charter was last year obtained, incorpo- 

 rating a company, to establish, by means of steam 

 boats up the Suwanee, and a rail road across to 

 the St. John's, a line of internal communication, 

 connecting the waters of the gulf and Atlantic: 

 and which, on accomplishment, will not only expe- 

 dite the intercourse between New Orleans and the 

 Atlantic ports, and lessen the present hazardous 

 navigation, but will more immediately benefit Fk- 

 rida, in creating a rise in the value of her widely 

 vacant lands. 



Crossing the Suwanee, we enter upon a part of 

 Hamilton county, and the appearance of thecoun- 

 try is very much of the same character as was 

 described on the eastern bank, the only diflerence 

 being perhaps, a slight improvement in the soil, 

 from the putrescence of a thicker foliage, but ge- 

 nerally, until we approach the " Oscilla flats," a 

 distance of some forty miles, the same sandy level, 

 interspersed with "Byegals," and lime sinks, and 

 covered with gaunt pine trees, which here correct- 

 ly exhibit Euclid's definition of a straight line — as 

 "length without breadth," continue to weary 

 and disappoint the wayfarer. The banks of 

 the Oscilla, however, seem the magic bounda- 

 ry of good and evil — for, whilst on the one side 

 are visible, verdant and diversified hills — on the 

 other the eye is fatigued with the wide spreading 

 flat of branchless pines. I must not here allow 

 myself to be understood as asserting the absence 

 of good lands, throughout the extensive section 

 lying between the rivers Suwanee and Oscilla. In 

 such assertion I should be erroneous. My mean- 

 ing only includes that section of country exposed 

 to the traveller's gaze. To the right and north- 

 ward of this roate, though distant from view, there 

 is an extensive section of some most superior 

 lands; and I little risk contradiction in declaring 

 that, the middle and western portions of the coun- 

 ty of Madison, contain large tracts of land infe- 

 rior in richness and variety to none to be found in 

 the middle district. I allude particularly to the 



