24 FLORIDA: ITS CLIMATE, SOIL, PRODUCTIONS, 



and Mobile Kailroad, now rapidly progressing, will afford facilities for 

 communication east and west, which cannot fail to render the county 

 attractive for immigrants and capitalists. 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 



Bounded north by Georgia ; east by Madison and Taylor, from which 

 it is separated by the Aucilla Biver; south by Taylor County and the 

 Gulf of Mexico ; west by Wakulla and Leon. Has an area of about 550 

 square miles. It occupies a central portion in the tier of counties 

 known as Middle Florida, and offers many and substantial inducements 

 to immigrants, especially to those who seek homes where they can enjoy 

 all the benefits of civilization and the facilities for easy and cheap com- 

 munication with markets. The face of the county, from the Georgia 

 line south for about 20 miles, is beautifully undulating, intersected 

 throughout with small streams fed by springs, and dotted here and 

 there with beautiful lakes, prominent among which is the Miccosukie, 

 which extends into Leon County and is 15 miles long by from 1 to 4 

 miles wide. The southern portion of the county is mostly flat woods. 

 The soil is varied in the upper and middle are stiff, red lands, with clay 

 subsoil; on the Aucilla River and bordering on the flat woods are rich 

 hammocks. It has a larger proportion of cultivated lauds than other 

 counties, and is among the largest cotton-producing counties. With 

 Madison, Leon, and Gadsden it constitutes what is known as the rich 

 agricultural district of Northern Florida. 



The Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Eailroad crosses the county 

 near the center, with a branch to Monticello, the county seat, one of the 

 most healthy and delightful villages in the State. 



I*EON COUNTY. 



Bounded north by Georgia, east by Jefferson County, south by Wa- 

 kulla County, and west by Liberty and Gadsden Counties, from which it 

 is separated by the Ocklockonnee Eiver. It contains an area of about 

 700 square miles. The surface of the county, like that of the adjoining 

 counties, which constitute what is known as Middle Florida, is varied ; 

 the northern portion uneven, the southern more level and interspersed 

 throughout with clear- water lakes, among which are Lafayette, Jackson, 

 lamonia, Bradford, and the Miccosukie, extending fron Jefferson County, 

 all abounding in fish. The soil is as varied as the surface. In the north- 

 ern half of the county it is rich loam, based upon red clay, very pro- 

 ductive. In the southern portion the soil is lighter, the clay lying deeper 

 and of a pale yellow color. Leon is the center of the rich agricultural 

 counties of Northern Florida, and no district of the same extent in the 

 country can offer superior inducements to cultivators of the soil. Short 

 staple cotton has been the principal source of reliance, but wheat, corn, 

 rice, rye, oats, sugar-cane, tobacco, and all the diversified products of a rich 

 agricultural district are successfully cultivated, and all kinds of stock 



