16 HOME LIFE IN FLORIDA. 



it? Is it because in these days of ultra civilization and 

 refinement manual labor lias come to be looked upon as 

 unworthy of a "gentleman"? 



Fie upon it ! If this is the reason of the surplusage of 

 clerks and book-keepers, and the scarcity of young farm- 

 ers and horticulturists and artisans, why then let us hasten 

 back to the good old times of barbarism, and be happy and 

 prosperous because we are not educated above a good, hon- 

 est, hard day's work ! 



''Do ye not perceive," saith the Great Ruler of us all, 

 "that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the 

 man, it can not defile him?" But "that which cometh 

 out of the man, that defileth the man." And so it is not 

 the work that a man does that lowers him, but his manner 

 of doing it. A sturdy, intelligent tiller of the soil, free to 

 come and go, to breathe the pure air and join in the joyous 

 hymns of the birds, doing his work cheerfully, energetic- 

 ally, and in the best manner, is surely the full equal of the 

 salaried book-keeper, sitting at his desk, at the call of 

 another, and liable to be thrown out on the world penni- 

 less after years of steady application to work that is cer- 

 tainly less elevating, free, and manly than that of the 

 farmer or fruit-grower. 



Florida holds forth her hand in hearty welcome, not 

 only to the capitalist and manufacturer, whose gold is a 

 magnet to draw forth yet more of the precious metal from 

 amidst her hidden treasures and mysteries, and to utilize 

 those resources of which we already know. Not only these 

 does Florida welcome, but also, with just as much earnest- 

 ness, the poor, honest man, be he ci-devant clerk, book- 

 keeper, mechanic, artisan, or farmer, who comes to her 

 seeking a comfortable home, and is neither ashamed nor 

 too lazy to work for it. She wants good men and true — 

 men of intelligence, of mind, and of muscle, with willing 



