22 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
go. We thought of these places, and 
then we said, “We will stay in Florida. 
We will live here together so long as 
God gives'us to live, and when we shall 
cease to live on this earth longer, God 
grant that we may lie down together be- 
‘ neath the pines and sleep until the resur¬ 
rection.’' 
This decision of ours represented a very 
real and profound affection for, and be¬ 
lief in, this state and the people of this 
state. And so, being bidden to give up 
any considerable amount of work, I 
bought a four-thousand-acre ranch, so 
that I might have room enough to lie 
down and rest. Then came a man who 
wanted to know if my orange and grape¬ 
fruit groves were for sale. I put upon 
them a price twice as much as they were 
worth and he turned away. I did not 
want to part with them. 
So I hope you will be hopeful and joy¬ 
ous for the outlook of this State. 
As a part of this message of cheer,;’! 
want to read to you a poem about Florida. 
When we decided we would live here and 
die here, I wrote down on a little card, a 
creed which was printed in the papers. I 
daresay some of you have read it. This 
is the creed of a Floridian, and I hope 
you will join with me, with conviction and 
enthusiasm. 
“I believe in Florida, land of the open 
and fathomless sky, of lambent stars, of 
mountainous opalescent clouds, of soft 
benignant airs, of incessant summer, of 
unstinted and vivifying sunshine, of re¬ 
sponsive and fecund soil. 
“I believe in Florida, laved on every 
hand—cooled and warmed and cleansed 
and fed and decorated—by the azure and 
teeming waters of tropic seas, and by 
countless and sparkling lakes and streams. 
“I believe in Florida, land of wide- 
stretching and open woods, of limitless 
green prairies and glades, of dense and 
vine-hung hammocks, of mysterious bays 
and swamps, all in their various forms 
lovely and fruitful; the land of fragrant 
pine and mourning cypress, of moss-draped 
oak, of waxen magnolia, of comely palm, 
of regal poinciana, of flaming vine and 
of shy and brilliant orchid. 
I believe in Florida, land of the orange 
and pomelo and spicy kumquat, of peach 
and pear and persimmon and loquat, of 
pineapple and guava and mango and avo¬ 
cado ; of corn and cotton and cane and cat¬ 
tle, and of whatever else is anywhere 
borne of trees or grown by the soil of the 
earth. 
I believe in Florida, the home of crea¬ 
tures strange, curious and beautiful—the 
saurian monster, the gliding reptile, the 
darting dainty lizard, and aquatic mana¬ 
tee, the egret in snowy nuptial array, the 
roseate spoonbill, the exuberant mocking¬ 
bird, the flame-like, flute-like cardinal, the 
woodpecker with ivory bill and the hum¬ 
ming-bird with ruby throat, the painted 
butterfly sipping nectar in winter days. 
I believe in Florida, land of romantic 
legend and adventurous history, of towns 
the most ancient and the newest, of swiftly 
growing cities, of farms and orchards, 
and of wide and inviting solitudes still 
awaiting man’s coming. 
I believe in Florida, magnet and meet¬ 
ing place for men and women of the 
North and the South, the East and the 
West, and countries over-sea, Americans 
all, one blended and indissoluble and free 
