OJorttcU Unioeraitg Slihrarg 
 
 Strata, ^tvo lottt 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE 
 
 SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 HENRY W. SAGE 
 
 1891 
 
TC 624.F6A88 ""'""""' ""'""'^ 
 ^*'*lllliyi«iiiiiiMiSiii9li'.',!,,S.'lf «nal across th 
 
 3 1924 022 881 555 
 
The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022881555 
 
PrWate attd Qonfid^niial. ") 
 Only 20 C&pies. J 
 
 THE 
 
 THE PENINSULA OF KLORIM^^ 
 
 TMm^^ A jsr T I C p C E A N 
 
 WITH 
 
 THE GREAT TIDE WATER ROUTE, 
 
 FROM 
 
 TBE CITY OF FEMpINA THRJODGE TM PEHINSDU 
 
 ■;' ■ , I ■•' • TO-' 
 
 THE CIT^Y OF KEY WEST AND CUBA. 
 
 JPrice 2 Guineas.} 
 
Privately JPrmted. ) 
 Only 20 Copies. ) 
 
 THE 
 
 ATLANTIC & GULF SHIP CANAL 
 
 ACROSS 
 
 THE PENINSULA OF FLORIDA, 
 
 CONNECTING 
 
 THE ATLANTIC OCEAN 
 
 WITH 
 
 THE GULF OF MEXICO AND CARIBBEAN SEA. 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 THE GREAT TIDE-WATER CANAL ROUTE, 
 
 FEOM 
 
 THE PORT OF FERNANDINA, THROUGH THE PENINSULA 
 
 TO 
 
 THE PORT OF KEY WEST, AND CUBA, 
 
 THEIR 
 
 COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL CHARACTER, AND PROPERTIES. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 1877. 
 
THE ATLANTIC AND GULF SHIP-CANAL 
 
 ACROSS 
 
 THE PENINSULA OF FLOEIDA, 
 
 CONNECTING 
 
 THE ATLANTIC OCEAN 
 
 WITH 
 
 THE GULF OP MEXICO AND CARIBBEAN SEA, 
 
 PAET FIRST. 
 
 The present large commerce of the Atlantic Ocean with, the Pacific Ocean, and both these 
 oceans with the nations and countries contiguous to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean 
 Sea — especially including the vast amount and value of the productions, exports, and imports 
 of the Great Mississippi YaUey, and the Gulf States of the United States of America, 
 interchanged through these Central Seas, and transported over other tributary channels and 
 routes ; also, the great importance, necessity, and incalculable benefits of this grand Maritime 
 Ship Canal to facilitate the interchange of this gigantic amount of international and national 
 commerce and trade — are fully shown from the official reports of the Governments of 
 
 The United States, 
 Great Britain, and 
 Russia — 
 
 Prom Official Reports of States — Reports of the proceedings in Convention of Twenty-seven 
 States — Reports of Boards of Commerce and Trade in Cities in the United States and Canada — 
 and from other high Authorities, Official Surveys, Maps, and Reports therewith connected. 
 
 !From these high authorities the Promoter and Attorney of this Ship-Canal enterprise 
 has compiled and pubHshed an elaborate and complete Report, fully exhibiting the commercial 
 and financial character of this Canal, with a description of it and accompanying maps, cost of 
 construction, earnings ; also, the valuable properties, charters, franchises, rights, and privileges 
 belonging thereto ; also, various other matters of interest bearing upon the same, which Report 
 is herewith submitted. 
 
 In order to form a correct judgment of the merits of the whole enterprise, this Report 
 must be studied. 
 
THE 
 
 ATLANTIC AND GULF SHIP CANAL 
 
 OF 
 
 FLORIDA, 
 
 AND 
 
 GREAT TIDE WATER CANAL ROUTE 
 
 THROUGH 
 
 THE PENINSULA 
 
 SYLLABUS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Commercial Considerations of the Enteepeise. 
 
 Great importance^ necessity, and incalculable benefits 
 of tlds Ship Canal to International - and National Com- 
 merce and Trade, as shown from Official Eeports of 
 the Governments of 
 
 The United States, 
 Great Britain and 
 Russia ; 
 
 from the States of Florida and Alabama; Eeports of 
 the Convention of twenty-seven States ; of Boards of 
 Commerce and Trade of Cities in the United States 
 and Canada, and from other high authorities. Official 
 Surveys, Maps, &c., &c., &c. 
 
 The international character of this Ship Canal is 
 shown from the large number of nations and countries 
 directly engaged in the commerce and trade with the 
 Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea nations (p. 7.) 
 
 The " Straits of Florida," through " Gulf Stream," 
 is the Chief Ocean Eoute for the passage of this com- 
 merce (p. 7.) 
 
 The United States' Government estimated "the 
 amount of commerce compelled to use this passage 
 twenty-five years ago at $420,000,000." The amount 
 now annually obliged to pass through this channel, and 
 over costly' railway transit, is computed at 10,000,000 
 tons net, valued at |1,000,000,000 (p. 7), (and on the 
 opening of the mouth of the Mississippi River, this 
 amount will be more than doubled from the Mississippi 
 Valley). 
 
 The " Straits of Florida " are notoriously known to 
 be the most dangerous ship route to navigate on the 
 earth. The wrecks and losses of ships and cargoes 
 are enormous (pp. 8, 9.) 
 
 The annual loss in ships, cargoes, extra insurance,, 
 extra high freights, &c., &c., consequent upon this com- 
 merce being shipped through this dangerous channel 
 and over costly railway transit, is computed at over 
 $40,000,000, or £8,000,000 (pp. 9, 10). Half of this 
 annual loss will construct the Ship Canal. 
 
 This commerce will and must pass through the Ship 
 Canal, for self-evident reasons: — 1. It will shorten the 
 sailing distance from London, Liverpool, New York, 
 Philadelphia, &c., to New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, 
 Galveston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Ports of Mexico, 
 about 1,100 miles, or 2,200 miles for the out and 
 return voyage. It will save, in sailing time, eight 
 days for steam ships, and twenty -two days for sailing 
 vessels ; also a large pro rata, saving of distance and 
 time to and from other Gulf and the Caribbean sea- 
 ports. It will avoid the dangerous and costly navi- 
 gation of the " Straits of Florida ; will save the extra 
 high insurance and high freights ; it will save the 
 extra wages and supplies now required on the present 
 long voyages ; will save the interest on capital on this 
 commerce and ships, wear and tear of ships ; and ships 
 will be earning new freights, and merchants making 
 profits on their merchandise, during this extra time, 
 for the long voyages now required. In short, this 
 commerce can pay 110,000,000 Canal tolls annually, 
 and then save over $30,000,000 by its shipment 
 through the Canal (pp. 9, 10.) 
 
 The Gulf of Mexico commercially considered. Its 
 rapid increase, and the ultimate amount of commerce 
 of this central sea of the world, are fully shown by 
 Commodore Maury and Dr. Fontaine, which will repay 
 a careful reading (pp. 11, 12.) 
 
 Near causes, which will increase this trade — 1st. 
 From the increase of population of the contiguous 
 foreign nations (p. 12.) 2nd. From the Trans-Conti- 
 nental Railways now being constructed (p. 13.) Brd. 
 
( 2 ) 
 
 From the Darien Ship Canal, with its minimum com- 
 merce, estimated at $450,000,000 per annum, making a 
 saving thereon of $49,000,000. Three-fourths of this 
 commerce must pass through the Florida Ship Canal 
 (pp. 13, 14.) 
 
 The immediate, vast-increasing commerce of the Oulf 
 noio comes, and always must come, from the Mississippi 
 Valley, and the Gulf States which form a portion of 
 that Valley. 
 
 The gigantic commerce which this Valley is now 
 annually producing for export, and is increasing with 
 unparalleled rapidity, will furnish the Florida Ship 
 Canal all the freight, for time to come, to make this 
 Canal the grandest financial success of the world. 
 
 The TJeport, from pages 14 to 31, fully exhibits the 
 area, productions, commerce, and capabilities of this 
 Eoyal Valley. 
 
 The head-notes, page 14, indicate the topics treated 
 off. (Please read them .first). 
 
 Area of this valley, nearly 3,000,000 square miles 
 (p. 14). Its present population is over 27,500,000; 
 many of its states and cities more than double their 
 population and wealth every ten years (p. 15). It 
 possesses the most magnificient river system of the 
 world, affording nearly 50,000 miles in length of river 
 and canal navigation, upon which upwards of 10,000 
 steamers, besides large fleets of auxiliary vessels are 
 engaged in the commerce of these waters (p. 15) . 
 
 The grand railway system of this valley amounts to 
 44,000 miles of completed roads in active operation 
 (p. 15). 
 
 The Annual Peoductions and Commeeoe of this 
 Valley aee simply Colossal. 
 
 40,000,000 tons net, of agricultural, mineral, and 
 other productions are annually transported on those 
 rivers and canals (p. 17). The Lake commerce of 
 1872, mostly from this valley, amounted to the value of 
 $1,000,000,000^ an average of one vessel every nine 
 minutes, day and night, during one whole season, 
 passed Fort Gratiot Lighth ouse^ near Por fc Huron (p . 1 7) . 
 " The value of commodities moved by the railroads in 
 1872 is estimated at over $10,000,000,000, and their 
 gross freight receipts reached the enormous sum of 
 $473,241,055." (Three-fourths of this amount are 
 exports and imports of this valley.) " The commerce 
 of the Ohio River alone (one of the tributaries of the 
 Mississippi) has been carefully estimated at over 
 $1,623,000,000 per annum " (p. 17). 
 
 An immense amount of its products are shipped to 
 the Southern States, also to foreign countries — via the 
 Mississippi River. The coastwise shipping trade of 
 the United States amounts to 61,000,000 tons net 
 annually (pp. 17 and 18). A large portion of this 
 is from the Mississippi Valley, and yet, after supplying 
 all its home consumption, and exporting avast nmount, 
 there is left on the hands of the producers 15,000,000 
 tons of Grain and Meat alone of surplus annual produc- 
 tions for Export from the Mississippi Valley needed in 
 Foreign Markets, but which the Northern Lakes, 
 Canals, and Railways, taxed to their fullest carrying 
 capacity, cannot transport to the Atlantic Seaboard — 
 The annual surplus productions of the Mississippi Valley 
 and Gulf States needed in the markets of the Atlantic 
 Seaboard, in Europe, in South America, the West 
 Indies, Central America, and in Mexico (pp. 18, 19, 
 22, 26, 28.) 
 
 Statistics. — It will be observed that these 15,000,000 ., 
 tons represent only " grain and meat." To this must [ 
 
 be added the long list of other productions, as cotton, 
 tobacco, sugar, rice, hay, butter, cheese, pota.toes, fruit, 
 and other crops, coal, iron, lead, copper, timber, lumber, 
 wool, and numerous other articles, aggregating many 
 times the tonnage of the " Cereals," of which more 
 than 20,000,000 tons could be exported every year to 
 foreign and Atlantic seaboard markets, if there were 
 transportation facilities to do so. (See pp. 16 and 17, 
 and especially read the " Commercial Reports of Great 
 Britain,'^ p. 26.) But none of this surplus of grain, nor 
 much of these other products, can get to the seaboard 
 now. The Northern Lakes, Canals, and Railways 
 carry all they can, and still leave this vast surplus 
 annually in this valley. 
 
 Hence Mr. Kingsford, of Canada, declares : " In 
 many localities the produce is even without value, for 
 it is without a market." " Out of 500,000,000 bushels 
 of Indian corn or maize, not 5 per cent, of this amount 
 finds its way to the seaboard." " That out of 60 
 cents paid in New England for a bushel of corn, only 
 9 cents go to the producer, the remainder being 
 expended in freights and commissions " (p. 20.) Com- 
 modore Maury says : " These figures of the Agricul- 
 tural Bureau in Washington bring out the startling 
 fact that the Western farmer sending his corn to the 
 sea by the present routes, is required to give for 
 freights, canal tolls, insurance commissions, and profits, 
 82 bushels out of every 100 that go forward " (p. 21). 
 The Report of tbe National Board of Trade says : 
 " Even in the State of Illinois, corn — the staff of life — 
 needed at the East to feed hungry mouths, has been 
 burned as fuel " (p. 19) . The fact is notorious that 
 in sundry of the States and territories west of the 
 Mississippi, corn is burned for fuel, cattle slaughtered 
 for their hides and tallow, and so, too, with sheep to 
 a great extent. 
 
 The British Reports on Commerce (p. 26) declare : 
 "As a matter of fact, the country (the Mississippi 
 Valley) presents the anojnalous condition of being the 
 richest in the world in products useful to man, and yet 
 one of the poorest in 'proper facilities of distribution of 
 those products." " That inquiry from season to season 
 only elicits the reply that (the 660,000,000 bushels of 
 swplus grain left in the producers' hands), when not 
 burned, it lies over deteriorating, and is applied to some 
 inferior purpose, or used for manure. Besides these 
 cereal products, there are also 481,531,389 lbs. of meat 
 in excess, and, whether these he in the living or slaugh- 
 tered state, equally a waste." " These products, at the 
 cash prices given in the official returns of the export 
 values, amount to the sum of $517,935,405." This is 
 a practical loss to the farmer per annum. 
 
 The Chamber of Commerce of the State of New 
 York declares, that if only 5,000,000 tons of this 
 surplus grain could be conveyed to the Eastern mar- 
 kets, it would net to the farmers $200,000,u00 a year, 
 to the carriers $200,000,000, and increase the sales at 
 the East, say, chiefly at New York, by $400,000,000 " 
 (p. 19. See also the Report itself.) 
 
 Looh at the possibilities of the amount of wheat 
 production. This valley possesses 3,000,000 square 
 miles area, or 1,920,000,000 acres. Allowing for all 
 waste lands and poor crops, this will yield, at least, 
 10 bushels per acre, or 19,200,000,000 bushels of wheat. 
 Allowing each man, woman, and child to eat 10 bushels 
 a year, this would feed a population of 1,920,000,000 
 souls. If cultivated in Indian corn and barley, it 
 would more than double these figures. Hence all the 
 Reports herein on this subject declare this valley has 
 capabilities of almost an infinite amount of production. 
 The British Report says : " The agricultural resources 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 of these States " (not including the territories equal to 
 all the States) " are all but unlimited. With capital 
 and labour, the present yield of cotton and cereals might 
 be doubled in a few years " (p. 26.) 
 
 The Question Solved. — The Mississippi Eiver and 
 Gulf route declared by the Congress of the United 
 States, and many other deliberative bodies, the 
 cheapest and most feasible route for the shipment of 
 this surplus to the Atlantic Seaboard and to Europe — 
 Late law of Congress making $7,000,000 appropria- 
 tions in money, and directing the Mississippi River 
 and its mouth to be improved, to make this the great 
 commercial artery for the outlet of the productions 
 of the Mississippi Valley (pp. 22, 23.) 
 
 In General Sherman's St. Louis address he declared: 
 — " If as industrious as their fathers, the surplus of food 
 for shipment abroad from this valley will be simply 
 infinite, plenty to give occupation to the Northern lakes 
 and, canals, and every railroad leading Eastward, as 
 well as the vaster amount that must flow down the 
 Mississippi to go to the Ocean Tnarkets " (p. 24.) 
 
 The Times article of September 21, 1875, reviewing 
 the address of the Hon. Jefferson Davis, concludes as 
 follows : — " He then spoTce at considerable length upon 
 the vast agricultu,ral resources of the country, and the 
 futv/re development of the commerce of the Mississippi 
 Valley, and its advantages and importance to the 
 nation, and predicted that the time would soon come 
 when fleets of iron barges would float down the mighty 
 Mississippi bearing a commerce greater than that of the 
 whole world " (p. 24.) 
 
 The British Report on Commerce (pp. 26, 27) shows 
 that a cargo of 336,000 bushels of coal were shipped 
 by a cheap steamboat and her barges down the Ohio 
 and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans, 2,000 miles, 
 for 113,440, considered a remunerative trip. To have 
 shipped the same by railway would have cost $268,000, 
 making a saving of freight on this single cargo of 
 $254,560 by water over railway transport — being a 
 difference in favour of this grand and cheap water-way 
 of over 2,000 per cent., or twenty times cheaper. 
 
 The Russian Goveenment understands this subject 
 quite well. The Report (p. 27) is short, and should 
 be read in full. 
 
 Russia concedes that the United States will supply 
 and control the corn markets of Western Europe. 
 " Hitherto all the North American corn destined 
 for Europe went by rail from Chicago to New York, 
 and the costs of freights to England were so high 
 as to amount to three times the value of the grain at 
 Chicago " (besides twice the value of corn in the farmers' 
 hands west of the Mississippi to get it to Chicago). — 
 On the completion of the improvements of the mouth 
 of the Mississippi River "there will be cheap water 
 carriage the whole way from Chicago to Europe." The 
 Report further concedes that the United States can 
 ship grain in quantity, and so cheap as to " render her 
 absolutely the controller of the prices of the London 
 market; that Russia will be utterly unable to compete 
 with her." 
 
 And the Report concludes : — 
 
 " The following will be the result : ' The corn trade 
 of Odessa and of Russia generally will share the fate of 
 our wool trade. As Australia, South Africa, and 
 South America ha.ve driven our wool from the markets of 
 Western Europe, so will the United States drive from 
 them our corn trade.' Other competitors are compara- 
 t.irely unimportant." 
 
 The Atlantic and Gulf Ship Canal across the 
 Peninsula of Florida, the "short-cut" to the At- 
 lantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico for this 
 commerce. The Mississippi River, Gulf, and Florida 
 Ship Canal, the cheapest and shortest possible water 
 route from the centre of the Mississippi Valley to 
 Liverpool and other European ports on the Atlantic — 
 Steam Ships can sail from Europe and New York 
 direct to the City of St. Louis, in the heart of the 
 Great Mississippi Valley — ^Navigation on the routes by 
 the Northern Lakes and Canals through the United 
 States and Canada is stopped and closed by Ice an 
 average of six months each year — This Ship Canal and 
 the Mississippi River route open to Navigation all the 
 year, and never obstructed or closed by ice — This 
 route will go far towards promoting direct trade 
 between England and the Mississippi Valley — The 
 Mississippi Valley and Gulf States, through this cheap 
 transportation route, can supply Western Europe with 
 bread, meat, cotton, &c., of first-class quality, cheaper 
 than any other country on the globe." 
 
 Summary of Conclusions on the Mississippi Valley 
 Commerce, and the Advantages of the Mississippi 
 River, Gulf, and Florida Ship Canal Route, over the 
 Northern Lakes, Canals, and Railway Routes, all com- 
 bined. These conclusions contain all the material 
 facts in the premises (pp. 28, 29.) 
 
 The amount of merchandise ready to pass through 
 this Canal, on its completion, will be safe to estimate 
 at 25,000,000 tons net. Compare this with the results 
 of the Suez Canal (pp. 30 and 53.) 
 
 Reasons assigned why a large number of foreign 
 ships now running to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, 
 Baltimore, and Canada, should be put on this New 
 Orleans Route (p. 30.) 
 
 New Orleans, before the war, was the largest ex- 
 porting port of the United States, excepting New 
 York. It must become so again ; and wUl, no doubt, 
 in course of time, far exceed New York. 
 
 Three-fourths of the tonnage and value of the 
 entire annual exports from the United States to 
 foreign markets is the production of the Mississippi 
 Valley and the Gulf States (p. 18.) 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Atlantic and Gulf Ship Canal, and the Geeat 
 Tide Water Canal Route. 
 
 Maps designated, showing the Peninsula, location 
 of Canals, surrounding Waters, and Countries, also a 
 description of the Canals. 
 
 The East portion of the Ship Canal, running through 
 the St. John's River, and inside Tide Waters, with their 
 connecting Canal, and thence through the Harbour and 
 Channel of Fernandianainto the Atlantic Ocean, together 
 with the great Tide Water Canal Route, is designated 
 the " East Division." That portion of the Ship Canal 
 running West from the St. John's into the Gulf of 
 
 A 2 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 Mexico, the " West Division." — No engineering' diffi- 
 culties to encounter in construction. — Capacity of Ship 
 Canal sufficient for all classes of Ocean Steam Ships 
 and Sailing Vessels ' to pass through. — The only pos- 
 sible outlet for a Ship Canal into the Atlantic Ocean. 
 — Costs of entire construction estimated at £4,000,000 
 (Cost of Suez Canal, £19,000,000).— Balance to com- 
 plete "East Division." — Amount of Work done on 
 " East Division." — Large traffic and earnings of " Bast 
 Division" before construction of "West Division." — 
 Legislative acts, charters, and rights secured to the 
 Company. — They are liberal and complete. — No com- 
 peting Ship Canal across the Peninsula possible, and 
 in this respect it possesses as absolute a monopoly as 
 the Suez Canal. 
 
 Interesting chain of Navigable Eivers, Lakes, 
 Sounds, Lagoons, Bays and Harbours, aggregating 
 1,500 miles, connected and utilized by these Canals, 
 and made tributary to the Company's Canal earnings. 
 (See full chapter, pp. 31 — 36). 
 
 The commercial importance of the Tide Water 
 Canal Route is fully detailed in the Report, (p. 35.) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Company's Pbopeett and Secueities. 
 
 Amount of Share Capital and Bonds proposed to be 
 issued shaE be sufficient to cover construction costs, 
 equipment, purchase of real estate, erection of wharves, 
 docks, and warehouses, improvement of real estate, 
 construction of steamers, barges, tow boats, &c., &o. 
 Proposed share capital, £8,000,000; Bonded Mortgage 
 Debt. £5,000,000 (p. 36). 
 
 The canals and earnings will constitute a solid pro- 
 perty and guarantee to make the Share Capital and 
 Bonded Debt safe and desirable investment securities 
 (p. 36). 
 
 But the real estate and timber resources thereon, 
 without the canals and their earnings, will repay every 
 share of stock and the Bonded Debt, and will make 
 these the most valuable and desirable Land Grant 
 Bonds known in the markets (p. 36) . 
 
 The value of Land Grants in aid of canal and rail- 
 way construction practically shown. The average 
 price of all the land grant lands sold to 1872 was $7 
 per acre. The' Illinois Central Railroad had about 
 2,500,000 acres, and realized 130,000,000 from the sale 
 of its lands (p. 36). 
 
 The Company owns, by grants and perfect fee simple 
 titles, 2,300,000 acres, and is in position to acquire by 
 grants and purchase a further amount of 6,000,000 
 acres which, at the above minimum sale price, should 
 realize $58,100,000 to the Company (p. 37). 
 
 Accurate official surveys of these lands, with maps, 
 also Topographical Reports, describing the soil, forests, 
 timber, and other resources thereon, have been made 
 by the United States' Government and published 
 annually. These Reports contain rehable information, 
 by which alone the Government disposes of her lands. 
 The United States' Official Agricultural Reports and 
 Florida Land Office Reports furnish cumulative evi- 
 
 dence. The Company possesses all these Reports, and 
 they contain conclusive evidence of the great value of 
 the Company's lands (p. 37). 
 
 Forests. — Florida is the best timbered State in the 
 Union (p. 40.) The Land Office Report of the United 
 States for the year 1870 contains an interesting descrip- 
 tion of the lands, soils, forests, and other resources of 
 the State of Florida. On page 45 it says : " Four- 
 fifths of the entire State is covered with heavy forests, 
 consisting of yeUow and pitch pine, live and water oak, 
 cypress, hickory, ash, birch, cedar, magnolia, mahogany, 
 and other timber. The yellow and pitch pine attain 
 great size, and furnish the finest quality of pine timber." 
 This timber is fully described (pp.40 — 41). It com- 
 mands a premium in the New York market of 10 per 
 cent., an account of its superior quality (p. 41). The 
 large quantity per acre, and especially its superior 
 quality for naval construction and buildinp; materials 
 caused the United States' Government to select and set 
 aside nearly all her forest lands from the State of 
 Florida required by the Government. The present 
 timber production from Florida amounts to $25,000,000 
 per annum (p. 40). In 1869 the timber product was 
 $10,000,000 (p. 40). 
 
 Official (Government) estimates are made of the 
 quantity of timber, lumber, ship spars, &c., per acre. 
 Please read Mr. Judah's Report, adopted by the United 
 States' and State Governments as correct (p. 41 — 42). 
 Gross value of timber and lumber on the Company's 
 8,300,000 acres is computed at $228,000,000; net 
 value on the $ 1 14,000,000 ; net value on the Company's 
 2,300,000 acres, $16,000,000 (p. 42.) 
 
 Location of the Company's 2,300,000 acres in the 
 St. John's and Indian River Valleys is on the Great 
 Tide Water Canal Route and on the Atlantic Coast^ 
 the most advantageous location for the shipment of its 
 timber, agricultural, and horticultural productions of 
 any lands in the United States — -practically , all right 
 on the seaboard. 
 
 The agricultural and horticultural capabilities and 
 productions of the Florida lands, including those of 
 the Company, are fully described herein from the 
 Government Official and other Reports, and forms a 
 most interesting topic for close perusal to all interested 
 in such industries (pp. 38, 39, 40, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 
 50, and 56 to 61). 
 
 From these reports, quoted and named, the facts are 
 established — that the long, or Sea Island Ootton, the 
 most valuable fabric the soil can grow, and ranking 
 next to silk in value — grows all over the State of 
 Florida, and can be made to supply the markets of the 
 world in this article (p. 39, and U.S. Land Office 
 Reports) ; that her sugar lands grow double the quan- 
 tity of sugar per acre that can be grown on the rich 
 sugar lands of Louisiana and Texas, and, consequently, 
 double the profits per acre (see U.S. Land Office Re- 
 ports 1868, 1869, and 1870 ; also Florida Land Office 
 Reports) ; that the costly Cuban tobacco is grown 
 there successfully, and at larger profits per acre than 
 in Cuba (see same authorities last quoted) ; that all 
 the vegetable productions of the torrid and temperate 
 zones successfully grow, winter and summer, in Florida, 
 and can be supplied in the markets of the Northern 
 States and Cities during the five winter months, when 
 no other State in the Federal Union can do this 
 (pp. 39, 44, 60, &c.) ; that all the fruits of both the 
 torrid and temperate zones are cultivated and pro- 
 duced there with great success and in great perfection, 
 and at immense profits on capital and labour (see all the 
 Reports -quoted above on Florida productions) ; and 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 that in the culture of these fruits^ and the growth of 
 the garden vegetable during the winter months, 
 Florida enjoys an absolute monopoly of the markets, 
 and can supply much of the fruits and vegetables con- 
 sumed in the Northern cities alone, computed at 
 $200,000,000 per annum (p. 40, 47, 48, 51). 
 
 The immense profits per acre in this fruit culture 
 has no parallel in any other portion of North America. 
 " Oranges, lemons, pine-apples, bananas, and various 
 other tropical fruits raised in Florida, will yield an 
 average profit of about $1 ,000 per acre yearly " (p. 40) . 
 The Times of June 23, 1 876, in one of its leaders, in 
 speaking of the profits of orange culture in Florida, in 
 the St. .lohn's River Valley, in the very centre of the 
 Company's grants, of 2,300,000 acres, says : "Florida, 
 as a fruit-inoducing country, has not a rival in the 
 world." " The Orange groves of Florida are in them- 
 selves sources of wealth as rich as the most famous lodes 
 of Nevada" (meaning the silver mines of Nevada, 
 which are producing their tens of millions of dollars 
 annually), "and yield in full bearing from 1,000 to 
 2,500 per cent, per acre to the oivner at present prices, 
 amd with hut trifling labour." A large tract was 
 purchased on the St. John's River fin Orange County) 
 eight years ago at about one dollar 'per acre, and has 
 lately been re-sold for Orange planting at prices varying 
 from 50 dollars to 120 dollars, while other estates, 
 bought some four or five years ago at 125 per acre, and 
 planted with Orange trees, brought a couple of years 
 since not less than 1,000 dollars an acre " (p. 47). 
 
 The British Official Report on Commerce and Trade, 
 No. 6, for 1875, through the British Legation Office, 
 of Washington, says of the St. John's Valley : " Flo- 
 rida loould, like Texas, appear especially to have been 
 favoured in rapid development of its resources and 
 increase of ivealth." "The almost fabulons returns 
 (from horticidturej are attracting crowd?:, wJin are 
 thrown out of employment by the crisis of tic 
 North." " Amongst other things that might he cited 
 as instances of the latent wealth of this favoured 
 region may be especially mentioned Oranges — njJiich 
 are cultivated as easily, and produce as quickly as the 
 apple, and yield, in full bearing from 1,000 to 2,500 
 per cent, per acre to the owner on the ground at present 
 prices, and with but trifling labour." Then, in .speak- 
 ing of the Sanford Grant in Orange Clonnty, of twenty- 
 five miles square, which was purchased in 1868 at 
 about one dollar per acre, " Lanas for Orange culture 
 upon it have been sold in the past year at an average of 
 50 dollars and tip to 150 dollars per acre." "Lands 
 there purchased four years ago at 25 dollars an acre, 
 and planted in Orange trees, have been sold three years 
 later at 1,000 dollars per acre, and its neighbourhood in 
 Orange County abounds in similar instances" (pp. 47, 48) . 
 
 The Value of the Company's Lands per Acee. 
 
 The heavy immigration into Florida is chiefly into 
 the St. John's and Indian River Valleys. The agri- 
 cultural and horticultural developments, rapid improve- 
 ments, and great rise in the price of lands are going 
 on in these localities, and immediately about the 
 Company's grants (pp. 45, 47-51 .) In these valleys 
 along on the Company's Tide Water Canal Route, the 
 visiting population spend their winter months. At 
 the numerous water-places on this route, life and gaiety 
 rules the hour (pp. 44, 47-51, 58.) 
 
 The Indian River Valley — in history, demonstrated 
 
 by late experience, is the most celebrated region for 
 tropical fruit culture — ^far superior to the St. John's 
 Valley. The richest sugar and cotton lands of the 
 State lie in the Indian River Valley. Frost never 
 touches the most delicate fruits, plants, or sugar-cane 
 in this Royal Valley, and the fruits grown here 
 command a premium in the markets over the St. 
 John's fruits, on account of their superior quality 
 (pp. 44, 48—51). 
 
 About 1,000,000 acres of the Company's lands are 
 situated in the Indian River Valley. The residue and 
 much the largest portion in the Valleys of the St. John's 
 and Halifax Rivers. The Halifax is in all respects like 
 the Indian River Valley. (Land Office Reports of 
 Florida). 
 
 The Governor of Florida and his cabinet officers sche- 
 duled and valued the Company's lands in the Trust Deed 
 at $10 average per acre (p. 46). The United States' 
 land surveyors who had surveyed and selected these 
 lands, valued them in 1S70 at from $8 to •'525 per acre, 
 &c. (pp. 44, 45). 
 
 A highly respectable firm of London Solicitors 
 compiled the official evidence from the Tjnited States' 
 Land Office and Agricultural Reports, also from the 
 Florida Land Office Reports, and exhibit at a 
 glance the value per acre of the Company's lands in 
 the different counties. This evidence is official and 
 entitled to the highest consideration. This firm came 
 to the conclusion, after long and careful search, that 
 the Company's lands are worth, and will sell in the 
 markets now, at from $5 to |100 per acre. Please 
 read this report fully (pp. 43 — 46). 
 
 Upon the completion of the short canal connecting 
 Lake Washington with Indian River, the Company 
 will possess about 450,000 acres of the richest sugar 
 and cotton lands on the American continent, every 
 acre thoroughly drained ofi", and in excellent condition 
 for agriculture, and for fruit and garden vegetable 
 productions. These lands will then rent readily at $10 
 per acre. Good sugar and cotton lands do so now in 
 other States. The time will soon come, by holding on 
 to these lands, when the Company will realize an 
 annual ground rent therefrom of over $4,000,000 
 (p. 43). 
 
 Then, too, town and village sites will be located at 
 every five to ten miles along the Company's canal 
 routes on the Company's Lands. Wharves will be 
 constructed at these points, and population will settle 
 rapidly at these locations, and will purchase and im- 
 prove town lots. Railway and canal companies have 
 done so in other instances, and have from this source 
 realized large incomes (p. 43). 
 
 A clear summary of conclusions upon the Company's 
 real estate, its great value, with estimates of annual 
 incomes therefrom, is found on page 51. 
 
 It is reasonable to estimate the value of their lands 
 now at §30,000,000, and that the incomes from the 
 sales of agricultural lands, town lots, ground and other 
 rents, sale of timber, &c., when the Company's im- 
 provements shall be in fuU operation, will be safe to 
 estimate at from $3,000,000 to 85,000,000 per annum. 
 
 An interesting communication from Haarlem is 
 published in the Daily News, London, October 30th, 
 1876, on the construction of The Noeth Sea Canal 
 in Holland. 
 
 On "Next Wednesday, the 1st of November, it wiU 
 be opened by the King of Holland, in person," and an 
 interesting fact is disclosed which will be worthy of 
 mention here. 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 " That the land on each side of the canal has been 
 re-claimed, and has fetched enormously high ^prices, 
 amounting in some cases to £120 an acre. There are 
 nearly 12,000 acres of reclaimed land, and hy the con- 
 cession they become the property of the Compamy." 
 
 The construction costs do not fall "fcvr short of two- 
 and-a-half million sterling," 
 
 Hence this little body of reclaimed swamp-land, at 
 this rate, paid nearly three-fifths of the entire con- 
 struction costs. Another circumstance worthy of note 
 is the important fact — so often illustrated in the 
 United States, that lands through which canals and 
 railways are constructed, always rise rapidly in price, 
 and at central points to enormous values. 
 
 Apply this rule to the Company's 2,300,000 acres 
 now in hand, lying along the great Ship Canal and 
 Tide Water Canal Routes, and who can compute their 
 value? They have already doubled in price several 
 times since the Company owns them ; and they will do 
 so again on the completion of their canal improvements. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Canal Peopbeties Consideeed Financially. 
 
 Their net earnings are more certain and greater in 
 proportion to construction costs than Railway or other 
 internal improvements, and they afford the cheapest 
 freights of all artificial improvements (p. 52) . 
 
 The Erie Gonial of New YorTo is a horse canal of 363 
 miles long, open to navigation about six months each 
 year. Its total earnings in twenty-five years amounted 
 to $81,952,010 ; costs for operating $22,075,570, audits 
 net incomes were $59,876,440, or 73 per cent, of the 
 gross incomes during that period. The net annual 
 profits realised amounted to $2,302,940 (p. 52). 
 
 The Suez Universal Canal is a grand Ship Canal 
 success. 
 
 The amount of its Share Capital is . . . £8,000,000 
 Total costs of construction £19,000,000 
 
 Amount of net tonnage through in 1875, 2,009,984 
 tons. It earned a dividend on its share capital in 
 1875-6, over all costs for operating and preferential 
 charges, of about 6^ per cent. Its future commercial 
 and financial results are unquestionable. The Economist 
 compares its future exhibits and the larger returns to 
 the stock in the New River Company of North London 
 (pp. 52 and 53). 
 
 The Butch Canals of Holland amount to 400 miles 
 in length, and earn net profits of £625 per mile per 
 annum. This challenges the Railway system of any 
 States, while canal freights are from 300 to 500 per 
 cent, cheaper than Railway freights (pp. 53 and 54). 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Recapitulation. 
 
 Estimates of the Gross and Net Earnings of the Ship 
 Canal and the Tide Water Canal. 
 
 Ship Canal net . . . 
 
 Tide Water Canal „ ... 
 
 ... $21,250,000 
 ... 3,400,000 
 
 Total net 2-i,650,000 
 
 Forest Products, net 1,000,000 
 
 Land Sales, Rents, Issues, and Profits, 
 
 net 2,550,000 
 
 Total net Incomes ...$28,200,000 
 
 The above estimate of freights is based at less than 
 one half the rate of the Suez Canal. At one-fourth 
 the rate of the Suez Canal, the construction costs would 
 be repaid within two years. 
 
 These stupendous results can only be appreciated and 
 reconciled from the fact that the commerce which must 
 pass through this Canal exists now, ready to go 
 through it from its opening. The Government Reports 
 on Commerce and Trade, quoted, leave no room for 
 doubt. 
 
 The only point to determine is how high or low the 
 tariff shall be. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Note " A." — Capt. Townsend, of 2nd Life Guards, 
 of London, gives an interesting history of the settle- 
 ment and changes in Florida (p. 56.) 
 
 Finest climate in the world (pp. 56, 57.) 
 
 As respects health the climate of Florida stands pre- 
 eminent, and exhibits the best health-bill of any coun- 
 try in the world (p. 57.) 
 
 50,000 people visit the State annually, and spend 
 their winters in Florida for health and pleasure, and to 
 avoid the rigours of the Northern winters (p. 58.) 
 
 Interesting notes on Agriculture and Horticulture of 
 Florida, and large profits in tropical Fruit Culture 
 (pp. 58—61.) 
 
 Note "B." — ^Mr. Little's statement to London 
 timber importers on the consumption and exhaustion 
 of timber supplies of North America. Interesting 
 details (pp. 61, 63). 
 
 Report of United States' Congress on Forestry — 
 evidence quoted, showing the consumption of timber 
 products in the United States amounts annually to 
 about $1,000,000,000, and also showing the increasing 
 demand for timber. Here is a home market for all 
 the Company's timber products (pp. 63, 64). 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 International Character or the Atlantic 
 AND Gulp Ship Canal, shown bt the 
 Nations directly engaged in the Com- 
 merce op the North Atlantic Ocean 
 with the gule op mexico and caribbean 
 Sea now obliged to Pass and Eepass 
 
 THROUGH THE StRAITS OP FLORIDA. 
 
 These Nortli Atlantic nations and countries 
 .^re the 
 
 United States, 
 
 Canada, 
 
 Great Britain, 
 
 France, 
 
 Prussia, 
 
 Holland, 
 
 Belgium, 
 
 Spain, and other nations. 
 
 The countries on the Gulf of Mexico and 
 Caribbean Sea embrace the 
 
 United States on the Gulf, and the great 
 
 Mississippi Valley, 
 
 Mexico, 
 
 The West Indies, 
 
 Central America, and portions of 
 
 South America and 
 
 Pacific Regions. 
 
 Amount op Commerce, Foreign and Coast- 
 wise, between THE Atlantic and Southern 
 Countries above-named, annually Trans- 
 ported through the "Florida Pass." 
 
 The Federal Government estimated "the 
 amount of Commerce compelled to use this 
 passage twenty-five years ago at $420,000,000 
 per annum." 
 
 From the Official Statistics on Commerce and 
 Navigation for the year 1871, issued by the 
 United States, Great Britain, and other 
 Countries interested in this trade, it appears 
 that the Foreign and United States Coastwise 
 Trade amounted to 9,180,287 tons, valued at 
 1100 per ton (part gold) $918,028,700. 
 
 Add to this the Gulf trade, passing over the 
 railway from Cedar Keys to Fernandina, which 
 
 is all Ocean Commerce, and we have an annual 
 aggregate of commerce and trade of about 
 10,000,000 tons, valued at $1,000,000,000, now 
 passing around and through the Peninsula of 
 Florida. 
 
 The increased commerce of the Gulf of 
 Mexico wiU exceed 20,000,000 tonsj as herein- 
 after detailed from authorities and statistics 
 published by the United States' and British 
 Governments, &c. 
 
 THE PENINSULA OF FLORIDA, 
 
 As shown upon any correct geographical map 
 of the Western Continent, extends south nearly 
 to Cuba ; and, with its surrounding " keys," 
 " coral reefs," shoals, rocks, and insidious cur- 
 rents, runs through more than 8^ degrees of 
 north latitude, and possesses an average breadth 
 of over 120 miles. 
 
 The official Land Office Report of the United 
 States' Government for the year 1870 says : — 
 
 " The Islands of Cuba and San Domingo may 
 be regarded as a prolongation of the Florida 
 Peninsula, from which they are separated only 
 by narrow and comparatively shallow channels. 
 
 " The Peninsula separates the waters of the 
 Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico, and 
 lies directly across the liue of a short ship route 
 from the North Atlantic Ocean into the Gulf 
 of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. 
 
 " The Gulf Stream passes around the Penin- 
 sula of Florida, and runs northerly between the 
 Bahama Islands and banks, and the Atlantic 
 coast of Florida. This passage constitutes the 
 Straits of Florida. " 
 
 Dangerous Navigation through the Straits 
 OP Florida. Immense Annual Loss to 
 the Commercial World consequent upon 
 this Navigation, which the Florida Ship 
 Canal will save. 
 
 The accumulated evidence from history, com- 
 mercial and official sources, would fiU volumes, 
 detailing the dangers, casualties, and heavy 
 losses of ships and commerce consequent upon 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 the navigation of the Straits of Florida and 
 passage around this Peninsula. 
 
 The United States' Land Oflfice Eeport for 
 1869 says : — 
 
 " South of Cape Canaveral, and extending 
 from Cape Florida on the Peninsula, a series of 
 sandbanks, islands, and reefs, or keys, attached 
 andbelonging to the State of Florida, extend east 
 and south-westward a distance of 220 miles, in 
 a curve terminating in a cluster of sandbanks 
 and rocks, inside the entrance of the Gulf. 
 These keys are separated from the mainland by 
 Florida Bay, Bay Biscayne, Carp's Sound and 
 Barn's Sound. South of this series of keys 
 lie the Florida reefs, being narrow coral reefs, 
 here constituting the left bank of Gulf Stream." 
 
 The United States' Senate Report of 1874, in 
 answer to a Special Message from the President 
 of the United States on Transportation Routes 
 to the seaboard, report the evidence, that — 
 
 " The immense extent of the actual risks in- 
 curred and heavy commercial losses sustained 
 will be better appreciated by a knowledge of 
 the number of vessels partially wrecked in the 
 Florida Straits and Channel (south of Cape 
 Canaveral) from 1848 to 1859 inclusive, with 
 the values of the vessels and cargoes, adjudi- 
 cated in the courts at Key West, upon which 
 salvage was allowed, and aggregate as follows: — 
 
 " Number of vessels, 618 ; salvage and ex- 
 penses allowed, $4,261,489 ; value of cargoes, 
 $23,043,327 ; and the total wrecks and losses 
 south of Cape Canaveral unadjudicated," during 
 the same period " foot up an equal amount in 
 number and losses," or about 600 vessels and 
 cargoes, valued at $23,000,000, wholly ,lost ; 
 aggregating total number of vessels wrecked, 
 1,218, with cargoes valued at $46,043,327. 
 
 Estimated annual loss in ships and cargoes 
 over $2,500,000. 
 
 This is an annual loss of 120 ships for a series 
 - of years. 
 
 The Report further says : — 
 
 " In a national point of view the importance 
 of the Florida Ship Canal cannot be overrated. 
 The passage around the southerly point of 
 Florida, which vessels engaged in the North 
 Atlantic trade, entering and leaving the Gulf, 
 are compelled to make for about 500 miles, is 
 narrow, subject to tornadoes, and is beset with 
 concealed reefs, upon which a rapid current has 
 a tendency to carry vessels. The consequent 
 dangers are such that it costs on an average one 
 and three-eighths per cent, more to insure for a 
 Gulf than for an Atlantic port." 
 
 " Twenty-five years ago the Acting- Secretary 
 of the United States' Treasury estimated the 
 amount of commerce then compelled to use this 
 passage at $420,000,000 per annum, on which 
 the sum of $2,376,000, as the increased amount 
 
 of insurance, was paid annually on account of 
 the dangers of the Straits of Florida." 
 
 The memorial and resolution from the Legis- 
 lature and Governor Hart, of Florida, addressed 
 to the Coui-ress of the United States in 1873, 
 asking "Land Grant," or "a loan of the 
 National Credit," in aid of the construction 
 of the Florida Ship Canal, declares " the losses 
 by shipwreck upon the Florida Coast within 
 the last year alone are credibly estimated at 
 $5,000,000." 
 
 The Official Guide of Florida for the year 
 1873 says :— 
 
 " Key West is the principal rendezvous of 
 the wreckers along the Florida reefs (east from 
 Key West), and the fact that during the past 
 year (1873) 700 cases have been heard and 
 decided in the Salvage Court, presided over by 
 Judge Locke, shows the extensive character of 
 the business. 
 
 The Official Statistical Register of Alabama 
 for 1871, p. 49, says : — 
 
 " The rates of insurance from New York to> 
 Fernandina are five-eighths per cent., and to 
 New Orleans or MobUe, around the Florida 
 Peninsula, one and five-eighths per cent. 
 
 The extra insurance now amounts annually, 
 from the most reliable estimates, to $3,000,000. 
 
 " Rather than risk the dangers of the Florida 
 Pass, shippers in Mobile now prefer 160 miles 
 of rail, from Cedar Keys to Fernandina, in 
 Florida, with a delay of several days, and aU 
 the expenses, loss, and inconvenience involved 
 in two transhipments, one from ship to rail, the 
 other from rail to ship." 
 
 A leader in the Daily Telegraph says — 
 
 " It has long been notorious that the naviga- 
 tion of the Straits of Florida is fraught with 
 no ordinary peril. The Florida reefs and keys 
 enjoy the reputation of having wrecked more 
 vessels than any other coast upon earth." 
 
 In a book just published in London by 
 Captain Townsend, of the 2nd Life Guards, 
 
 he says : — 
 
 " Wrecking is one of the regular industries of 
 the inhabitants in Southern Florida; and so 
 numerous are the vessels annually cast away 
 on the reefs and keys, owing to the dangerous 
 character of the navigation of those seas, and 
 the terrific hurricanes to which they are liable, 
 that a profitable business is done by the 
 wreckers." 
 
 Commodore Mathew F. Maury, LL.D., 
 quoted by the United States' and British Govern- 
 ments as good authority on commerce and 
 navigation. Heisauthorof "Physical Geography 
 of the Seas," a book for " Sailing Directions," 
 and author of a ISeries of Civil Geographies used 
 in Schools and Colleges, all held in high esti- 
 mation ; has written fully on the dangers and 
 commercial losses in navigating the Florida 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 Straits. The extracts are made from his works. 
 His " Manual of Geography," p. 51, says of 
 the dangers of the Straits of Florida : — 
 
 " The Gulf Stream sweeps around this State 
 and separates it from the Great Bahama hanks 
 and islands, which are also of coral, making 
 navigation dangerous ; Key West is a famous 
 wrecking station, where the property secured 
 from shipwreck is brought to be disposed of." 
 
 In his Special Report on the " Florida Pass," 
 he says : — 
 
 " And rather than incur the risks of that 
 dangerous navigation, four times the equivalent 
 of railway transportation, with the delays and 
 expenses of two transhipments, are preferred 
 across the Feninsula.'" 
 
 Again, "How much commerce has been 
 paying on account of the dangers of the Florida 
 Keys and Bahama Banks, which would have 
 been saved by a practical Ship Canal across the 
 Peninsula, is diflicult to ascertain. But the 
 losses entailed by wrecks and disasters, and the 
 sums paid for extra insurance, on account of the 
 dangers of that Pass, foot up many hundreds 
 of milHons of dollars. Notwithstanding the 
 perfection of charts, the erection of light-houses, 
 the knowledge acquired concerniag the winds 
 and currents of the sea, &c., insurances on 
 voyages using the Pass still range as high as 2^ 
 per cent, upon the value of ship and cargo." 
 
 " As an evidence of the dangers of this Pass, 
 it may be mentioned that wrecking is the chief 
 business of Key West. There it is a regular 
 occupation, and there the United States have 
 established a Court of Admiralty especially 
 for the adjudication of Salvage." 
 
 " The Dangers of the Plorida Pass are what 
 in Navigation are called hidden dangers. They 
 lurk there in the shape of insidious currents, 
 sunken rocks, reefs, and shoals. There is nothing 
 in the surface to mark their existence. The 
 water looks open and the way all clear, but an 
 error in the reckoning of a minute, or even less, 
 is often fatal to the ship and cargo, if not the 
 crew." 
 
 " To sailing vessels the calms that prevail 
 there at certain seasons increase the dangers, 
 for in them vessels are often silently swept hy 
 the currents and stranded with total loss." 
 
 " Added to these are the storms and hurri- 
 canes." 
 
 " They, alternating with the most vexatious 
 calms, rage from the middle of July tUl the 
 middle of March. During these eight months 
 the dangers increase, and the rates of insurance 
 go up, for the dangers to a vessel are greatly 
 aggravated when she is overtaken by storms in 
 this crooked and narrow passage-way. Scenes 
 the most awfully grand and sublime that are 
 known at sea, sometimes take place in the 
 hurricanes and tornadoes that prevail here, in 
 
 them the waters are piled up ; the Gulf Stream 
 is tiu'ned back, or forced over reefs with a 
 violence that no skill can countervail — no ship 
 withstand." 
 
 " Maury's Physical Geography of the Sea," 
 and " Maury's Sailing Directions " (Large 
 Volume) cite extraordinary cases of these 
 wrecks. 
 
 " To avoid such dangers, cotton is now 
 shipped from Mountgomery, 382 miles by rail 
 to Savannah, and thence bv sea to New York, 
 at $7.50 per bale of 5001bs!', or $30 per ton of 
 2,0001bs. Mobile shippers avoid these rates 
 and shun this Pass by fetching their cotton to 
 Mountgomery by river, transhipping it and 
 forwarding it thence to Cedar Keys by sea. 
 Here it is transhipped again, and sent 160 miles 
 by raU to Pernandina, to undergo another ship- 
 ment, and be forwarded thence to New York 
 by steamer, all for $6 per bale." 
 
 '•' But it costs one per cent., or §2 a bale 
 additional, to insure by this route, making a 
 total charge of $28 per ton by weight on this 
 light and bulky article." 
 
 " Notwithstanding all these transhipments, 
 forwarders find it cheaper and better to send 
 by this route than to encounter the dangers of 
 the Plorida Pass and the high risks that way." 
 
 The British Beport on Commerce and Trade 
 of Her Majesty's Vice-Consul at Key West, 
 for the year 1874, published by the Govern- 
 ment, pages 294! and 295, fully corroborates 
 the foregoing statements, and concludes by 
 saying : — " The wrecking vessels of Key West 
 are not allowed to pursue their calling on the 
 Bahama Banks, neither are the Bahama 
 wreckers on the American Coast. A District 
 Admiralty Court of the United States was 
 established at Key West in 1847. At. the 
 present time seventy two vessels are licensed by 
 the Judge of the Court as wreckers.'" 
 
 Another authority says : — " On the Bahama 
 side a larger number of vessels are licensed for 
 the same purpose, which alone shows the very 
 extensive number of ships wrecked, and the 
 consequent large loss of cargoes." 
 
 TOTAL LOSS ACCOUNT. 
 
 In consequence of the great southerly pro- 
 jection of the Florida Peninsula, the coast line 
 of Plorida, commencing at Pernandina, and 
 which runs south on the Atlantic side, around 
 the southerly point, and up the Gulf coast to 
 •Pensacola, is estimated (see United States' 
 Land Ofl&ce Reports) at over 1,200 miles long ; 
 hence ships sailing from the North Atlantic to 
 the Gulf and Caribbean Sea ports, through the 
 " Plorida Pass," and keeping well in the 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 channel from tlie keys, reefs, rocks, and sand- 
 hanks on the Atlantic side, are obliged to sail 
 an immense irregular circle of extra distance 
 in douhling the Peninsula, and require from 
 6 to 32 days extra time to sail these extra 
 distances. Hence the annual losses, con- 
 sequent upon the navigation of this dangerous, 
 " Mnrida Pass," in ships and cargoes — in extra 
 insurance on account of extra risks — in extra 
 time required to sail the long circuitous route 
 around the Peninsula, requiring additional coal, 
 and other supplies, wages, interest on capital 
 employed /or the extra time, also use of ships, 
 and wear and tear of machinery, and, ahove 
 all, increased rates of freight on account of 
 these losses, dangers, and extra time, &c., 
 all aggregate a total annual loss of over 
 $40,000,000, or £8,000,000, to the commercial 
 world. 
 
 This large amount, less canal tolls, will he 
 practically saved annually upon the completion 
 of this " Short-cut " Ship Canal, and internal 
 steam line, connecting the Atlantic Ocean with 
 the Gulf of Mexico, .therehy making the 
 shortest possible and only practicable ship 
 route (being almost a straight line) from Liver- 
 pool and New York City into the Gulf, and 
 thence continuing on the straight route through 
 the Channel of Yucatan, into the Caribbean 
 Sea. See full report. 
 
 Atlantic and Gulp Ship Canal- — the 
 ONLY DiREcr Route — avoids all dangers 
 Of" THE Straits op Plorida — Immense Sav- 
 ing OF Distance, Time, and Money. — This 
 Commerce must Pass through the Canal. 
 
 The ofl&cial survey and map of the Peninsula, 
 and the Plorida Ship Canal route, made by the 
 United States' Government in 1856, and re- 
 affirmed by the Government in 1873, shows 
 this is the shortest possible ship route across 
 the narrowest part of the Peninsula. 
 
 The United States' Senate Report, on " Trans- 
 portation Routes to ttie Seaboard," contains a 
 portion of these Survey Reports, and also other 
 Survey Reports, as well as very voluminous 
 evidence, all showing the international and 
 national importance of this Ship Canal, from 
 Avhich the following extracts are made : — 
 
 " The object of a Ship Canal across the 
 Peninsula of Plorida is too obvious to need 
 more than a passing notice." 
 
 Attention has been turned to this subject 
 since 1824, and examinations of different routes 
 made. The interest which such an improve- 
 ment possesses to the whole commercial world 
 increases from year to year, as the vast com- 
 merce passing through Ihe Straits of Plorida 
 increases, and accidents attending that naviga- 
 tion become more frequent and more generally 
 known. 
 
 ". It involves the interest of the whole Gulf, 
 and the greater portion of the commerce of the 
 Caribbean Sea with the North Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 "It Mail shorten the sailing distance for all 
 the North Atlantic commerce now obliged to 
 go through the Plorida Pass to and from the 
 United States' Gulf Ports, and the Gulf com- 
 merce from the Mississippi Valley and Mexico, 
 1,100 miles each voyage, or 2,200 miles for the 
 outward and return voyage, and for all the 
 commerce of the Caribbean Sea, passing both 
 ways, through the Channel of Yucatan and the 
 Plorida Pass, it will prove another saving of 
 500 miles on each voyage, 1,000 miles for the 
 round voyage. 
 
 . " Then there is the consequent correspond- 
 ing saving of time from 6 to 10 days for steam- 
 ships, and from 8 to 22 days for sailing vessels, 
 in making these voyages. 
 
 " It will avoid the dangerous and expensive 
 navigation around the Plorida Capes, and avoid 
 the great loss of ships and cargoes. 
 
 " It will greatly reduce the costs of freights 
 and the millions of extra insurance' of cargoes 
 and ships — items of vast importance. 
 
 " It wiU save the extra wages, extra supphes, 
 and other costs, in the difference of time, 
 between these long and short-time voyages. 
 
 " It will save the interest on the capital 
 employed, and the wear and tear of ships for 
 this extra time, and ships wUl be earning new 
 freights, and merchants making profits in this 
 commerce during this extra time." 
 
 But the question may be asked. What as- 
 surance is there that this commerce will pass 
 through the Plorida Ship Canal ? 
 
 The answer is self-evident from the facts 
 already stated. 
 
 Suppose 25 per cent, of the present loss 
 (or $10,000,000) be deducted annually from 
 the total loss account for canal tolls, this sum, 
 in connection with the local earnings of the 
 Canal, and the great through route to Cuba, 
 together with the incomes from the Company's 
 vast amount of real estate and timber thereon, 
 will make this Ship Canal Company enterprise 
 a great financial success. This would leave an 
 annual saving of $30,000,000 in money, which 
 is now lost as above detailed. 
 
 Now, then, will this commerce stiU continue 
 to go through the most dangerous ship passage 
 on the globe ? stUl navigate this extra distance 
 of 1,100 to 2,200 miles, still lose from 6 to 22 
 days extra time to run this extra distance, and 
 still lose annually $30,000,000 cash, which will 
 all be saved by its passing through the Plorida 
 Ship Canal ? But the amount of commerce 
 already stated, awaiting the completion of this 
 Ship Canal, is a small fraction only of that vast 
 and rapidly increasing commerce from and to 
 the Gulf and Caribbean Sea, which is now 
 increasing with astonishing rapidity. 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 The Gulp op Mexico the centke op a vast 
 expanding oommekoe, the gbeatek part 
 
 OP WHICH MUST PASS THROUGH THE PlOBIDA . 
 
 Ship Canal. 
 
 Commodore M. P. Maury, L.L.D., on "The 
 Future Importance and Commerce of the Gulf 
 of Mexico" (see 'Alabama Official Register') 
 thus : — 
 
 "A sea is important for commerce in pro- 
 portion to the length of the rivers that empty 
 into it, and to the extent and fertility of the 
 river basins that are drained by it. The 
 quantity and value of the staples that are 
 brought down to market depend upon these. 
 The E,ed Sea is in a riverless district. Few 
 are the people and small are the towns along 
 its coast. Its shores are without valleys, not 
 a river emptying into it, for there is no basin 
 for it to drain. Commercially speaking, what 
 are its staples, in comparison to those of the 
 Mediterranean, which gives outlet to rivers 
 that drain and fertilize basins containing not 
 less than three million and a quarter square 
 miles of fruitful lands ? Commercial cities 
 have never existed on the shores of the E-ed 
 Sea. Commerce loves the sea, but it depends 
 for life and health upon the land. It derives 
 its sustenance from the rivers and the basins 
 which they drain, and increases the opulence 
 of nations in proportion to the facility of 
 intercourse which these nations have with the 
 •outlets of such basins. 
 
 "The river basins drained into the GuK and 
 Caribbean Sea greatly exceed in extent of area 
 and capacity of production the river basins of 
 the Mediterranean. The countries in Africa, 
 Asia, and Europe, which comprise the river 
 basins of the Mediterranean are, in superjBicial 
 extent, but little more than one-fourth the size 
 of those which are drained by this sea in our 
 midst. It is the Mediterranean of the New 
 World, and Nature has laid it out on a scale 
 for commerce far more grand than its type in 
 the Old — that is, about forty-five degrees of 
 longitude in length, by an average of seven 
 degrees of latitude in breadth. Ours is broader, 
 but not so long ; it is therefore more compact. 
 Ships can sail to and fro across it in much less 
 time, and gather its articles of commerce at 
 much less cost. 
 
 " Had it been left to man to plan the form 
 of a basin for commerce on a large scale — a 
 basin for the waters of our rivers and the pro- 
 ducts of our lands — he could not have drawn 
 the figure of one better adapted for it than that 
 of the Gulf, nor placed it in a position half so 
 admirable. The Mississippi and the Amazon 
 are the two great commercial arteries of the 
 continent. They are fed by tributaries with 
 navigable length of channel more than enough 
 to encircle the globe. 
 
 " The products of the basin of the Mississippi, 
 when they arrive at Balize, may in a few days 
 be landed on the banks of the Orinoco and 
 Amazon. Thus, in our favoured position here 
 in the New World, we have, at a distance of 
 only a few days' sail, an extent of fruitful 
 basins for commercial intercourse which they 
 of the Old World have to compass sea and land, 
 and to sail the world around, to reach. 
 
 " On this Continent Nature has beenprodigal 
 of her bounties. Sere, upon this central sea, 
 she has, with a lavish hand, grouped and 
 arranged in juxtaposition all those physical 
 circumstances which make nations truly great. 
 Sere she has laid the foundation for a com- 
 merce the most magnificent the world ever 
 saiv. Sere she has brought within the distance 
 of a few days the mouths of her two greatest 
 rivers. Sere she has placed in close proximity 
 the natural outlets of her grandest river basins. 
 With unheard-of powers of production, these 
 valleys rcmge through all the producing lati- 
 tudes of the earth. They embrace every 
 agricultural cliuiate under the sun; they ore 
 capable of all varieties of productions which the 
 whole world besides can afford. On their green 
 bosom rests the throne of the vegetable king- 
 dom. Sere commerce, too, in time to come, will 
 hold its Court. 
 
 "The three great outlets of commerce — the 
 Delta of the Mississippi, the mouths of the 
 Hudson and Amazon, are all within two 
 thousand miles (6 days' sail) of Darien. It is 
 a barrier that separates us from the markets of 
 six hundred millions of people, ihree-fourths of 
 the population of the earth. Break it down by 
 the construction of the Central American Ship 
 Canal, therefore, and this country is placed 
 midway between Europe and Asia; this sea 
 becomes the centre of the world and the focus 
 of the world's commerce. This is a highway 
 that will give vent to commerce, scope to 
 energy, and range to enterprise ; which, in a 
 few years hence, will make gay with steam and 
 canvas parts of the ocean that are now un- 
 frequented and almost unknown. Old channels 
 of trade will be broken up and new ones opened. 
 We desire to see our own country the standard- 
 bearer in this great work." 
 
 Professor Edward Eontaine, in an address 
 before the Chicago Chamber of Commerce, said : 
 
 " Look to the South ! There are the Indies, 
 whose imperial treasures enriched old Spain; 
 and there is the source from which England 
 stiU obtains her "\realth. That nation, or city, 
 whatever it may be, will be the wealthiest and 
 most prosperous whose manufacturers and 
 merchants supply most extensively the demands 
 of this El Dorado of the New World." 
 
 "The gateways of the West, the most 
 practicable ports of the Gulf, look out upon 
 the India of Columbus. New Orleans, Mobile, 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 and Pensacola invite the tropical productions 
 of the Caribbean Sea to exchange with the 
 cereals of the West. Tlie Central American 
 States and Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, and the 
 West Indies possess all the articles of commerce 
 which the Western States need, and which 
 they cannot produce ; while they cannot make 
 flour or bacon, and are destitute of iron, lead, 
 and hardware, cutlery, arms, ammunition, 
 agricultural implements, and the hundreds of 
 various kinds of Western -produce and manu- 
 factures which they require. The Amazon 
 empties directly with one great mouth into the 
 equatorial current which flows against the 
 whole eastern coast of the Western Hemisphere 
 in its northern course, and touches the shores 
 of Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela, New 
 Granada, Costa Bica, Guatemala, Honduras, 
 Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana; and T)ears so 
 strongly against the mouth of the Mississippi 
 that it erodes the bottom of the ocean to the 
 depth of more than 7,000 feet at that point. 
 A vessel can start from the mouth of the 
 Amazon, and without unfurling a saU, can 
 steer along this strong current which forms the 
 Gulf Stream, ' with bare pole,' directly to the 
 mouth of South-west Pass. Bottles thrown 
 out at the mouth of the Amazon are always 
 stranded by this current on Galveston Island, 
 Terrebone parish, or some other parts of the 
 coast of Texas or Louisiana. It receives the 
 mouths of the Amazon , Orinoco, Magdalena, 
 Bio Grande, Brazos, and Mississippi, indicating 
 the natural course of the tropical trade, and 
 proving that the great Creator intended that 
 the valleys of these rivers should interchange 
 their products by their mouths, which he has 
 singularly linked together." 
 
 " In the whiter of 1868-9 cargoes of coffee 
 from Bio Janeiro were received at Mobile, 
 shipped over the long line of the Mobile and 
 Ohio Bailroad, to St. Louis, and sold there for 
 less than they could have been laid down at 
 the same point by way of Baltimore, and the 
 lines connecting Baltimore with the West. 
 The same result would hold true of all other 
 South American and West Indian products." 
 
 " Not only do the ports of Gulf States look 
 out upon the India of Columbus, but they 
 also look out upon the India which Columbus 
 sought." 
 
 "They look across the Isthmus of Darien 
 toward the commerce of the Pacific. The 
 Western Continent is a repetition of the 
 Eastern. To the one the Gulf of Mexico is 
 what the Mediterranean is to the other. The 
 Isthmus of Darien bears the same relation to 
 the New World which the Isthmus of Suez 
 bears to the Old. Across both lies the road to 
 the Indies. When the caravans which followed 
 the route marked out by the Crusaders, greeted 
 the products of Europe with the riches of the 
 Orient upon the shores of the Mediterranean, 
 
 the cities of that genial inland sea rose into 
 beauty and magnificence. They gave arts and 
 sciences to mankind, and broke with a rising 
 sun through the gloom of the mediaeval ages." 
 
 " The discovery of the Cape of Good Hope 
 gave a cheap water route to India, and des- 
 troyed the commerce of the Mediterranean 
 
 cities." 
 
 " Now, the Isthmus of Suez is cut by a ship 
 canal, and the wealth of India will again flow 
 through the Italian cities, if they wiU only 
 stretch out their hands to grasp it. Now, also, 
 the mission of Mr. Gushing to the Columbian 
 Government determines the cutting of the 
 Isthmus of Darien, and the opening of India to 
 the commerce of the Gulf." 
 
 Causes and Improvements which abe 
 bound to increase the commerce op 
 THE Gulp op Mexico to an immense 
 
 EXTENT, THE GREATER PORTION OP WHICH 
 MUST PASS THROUGH THE ElORIDA ShIP 
 
 Canal. 
 
 EiRST. — From the rapid increase of Popu- 
 lation, and subsequent enlarged Commerce of 
 the Countries bounded upon and contributory to 
 the Gulf and Caribbean Sea. United States' 
 Senate^s Transportation Report (p. 195, 
 VOL. I.,) says: — 
 
 " Some idea of the possible development of 
 Trade with the following-named countries and 
 islands may be formed by referring to the 
 statistics of their population — our commerce 
 with them, and their total commerce with all 
 foreign countries : — 
 
 Population. 
 
 Mexico ... 
 Central America 
 South America... 
 West Indies 
 
 Total 
 
 9,175,000 
 
 2,665,000 
 
 26,259,000 
 
 4,000,000 
 
 42,099,000 ' 
 
 " Statement showing the value of commerce 
 of Great Britain with Mexico, Central America, 
 West Indies, and South America, during the 
 year 1872 :— 
 
 Total Value of Imports into 
 
 Great Britain $189,612,344 
 
 Total Value of Exports from 
 
 Great -Britain 163,774,597 
 
 Total Imports and Exports $353,886,941 
 
 " The total value of the commerce of these 
 southern countries and colonies, and the value 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 of their commerce with. Great Britain and the 
 United States, may he stated as follows : — 
 
 Commerce with Great Britain $397,560,308 
 Commerce with the United 
 
 States 272,279,162 
 
 Commerce with all other , 
 
 countries ... ... ... 66,660,530 
 
 $736,500,000." 
 
 Second. — Erom the Texas Pacieic Bail- 
 WAT (running from San Diego to Shreveport, 
 and thence to New Orleans, hy the Trunk Line 
 of the New Orleans, Baton Bouge, and Shreve- 
 port Boad). 
 
 Also the Honduras and Tehuantepec 
 Railways projected. 
 
 The Texas Pacific Boad is now heing rapidly 
 constructed, and its completion can he cal- 
 culated upon as certain. 
 
 The earnings of the Union Pacific Bailway 
 for 1874 were : — 
 
 Gross earnings 
 Net earnings . . 
 
 $24,137,192 
 13,504,838 
 
 The freights which must pass over the Texas 
 Pacific will greatly exceed that of the Union 
 Pacific. 
 
 A large portion of the through traffic of these 
 three trans-continental railways will he ocean 
 commerce, and must pass through the Gulf of 
 Mexico and the Plorida Ship Canal as the 
 quickest, cheapest, and most practicable route. 
 
 Third. — From the Atlantic and Pacific 
 Ship Canal through the Isthmus of Cen- 
 tral America. 
 
 The construction of this great international 
 ship-passage connecting the two great oceans 
 may now be reckoned upon as a foregone con- 
 clusion. Its construction has long since been 
 contemplated, and the Old and New Worlds 
 are now taking steps for its consummation. 
 The saving in time and money to the com- 
 mercial world demand its immediate con- 
 struction. Look at a few facts. 
 
 Immense Saving, of Time and Distance. 
 
 The time and distance saved to England, 
 Erance, and Germany, Holland, Belgium, and 
 other European countries to and from the 
 Pacific Coast of the United States and Terri- 
 tories, the British Possessions, Mexico, Central 
 America, South America, and also to the Sand- 
 wich Islands, Australia, New Zealand, and 
 other Pacific countries is very great. 
 
 As, for instance, the saving of distance, from 
 Liverpool and New York to San Erancisco by 
 way of this canal is 14,000 miles, and from all 
 to aU the other countries named in proportion. 
 
 But this not all the distance saved. 
 
 Nearly all the commerce which will pass 
 through the Darien Ship Canal must also pass 
 through, the Elorida Ship Canal, and thereby 
 save 500 miles more, and twice this distance, or 
 1,000 miles, for the out and return voyage. 
 An examination of any correct map of ocean 
 routes and distances proves this fact. 
 
 Upon the completion of these canals, then, 
 the distances saved from Liverpool to Sydney 
 will be 2,820 miles, and from New York and 
 England to San Erancisco 14,500 miles, and to 
 the other countries proportionately as great. 
 
 The saving of time is fi'om 18 to 129 days, 
 each voyage. 
 
 Estimated Value of Commerce which 
 
 WILL ULTIMATELY PASS THROUGH THE DaRIEN 
 
 Ship Canal, to wit : — 
 
 United States 
 
 England 
 
 Erance 
 
 Other countries 
 
 Total 
 
 The data are from Mr. 
 statements. 
 
 $238,682,220 
 
 300,000,000 
 
 90,000,000 
 
 100,000,000 
 
 $728,682,220 
 
 Stone's commercial 
 
 The Committee of the United States' Senate 
 in 1874, took evidence relating to the im- 
 portance of this Isthmus Ship Canal, and its 
 bearings on the commerce of the Gulf (see 
 "Transportation Boutes to the Seaboard"), 
 and says : — 
 
 '•' The Inter-oceanic Canal across the Isthmus 
 of Darien will have a minimum trade whose 
 annual value is about $450,000,000, and it is 
 claimed^ and no doubt correctly, that it will 
 save annually some $49,000,000." 
 
 Compare these facts, and add this to the 
 commerce which ■ now passes through the 
 Straits of Elorida, exceeding $900,000,000, sus- 
 taining an annual loss (which will be saved by 
 its passage through the Elorida Ship Canal) 
 amounting to about $40,000,000, and the com- 
 mercial necessity for the immediate construc- 
 tion of these two great international highways 
 seem self-evident to any business mind. 
 
 The United States' Senate Beport on Cheap 
 Transportation Boutes, vol. I., page 92, says : — 
 
 " The tonnage that passed through the Suez 
 Canal in both directions in 1871 was 761,367 
 tons." 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 The commerce, which must pass through the 
 Florida Ship Canal will always be several times 
 greater than thejoint amount of both the JDarien 
 and Suez Canals together. The statistical facts 
 already stated prove this point. The geogra- 
 phical location of the ^Florida Ship Canal pro- 
 duces this result : — 
 
 1st. The commerce between Europe and the 
 Atlantic siie of the Western Continent will 
 always be greater than the commerce of the 
 Pacific can ever become. A large portion of 
 this will pass through the Florida Canal, and. 
 not through either of the others. 
 
 2nd. The coastwise trade between the United 
 States, Atlantic, and Gulf ports, must all pass 
 through the Florida Canal, and wUl exceed the 
 amount that will pass through the other canals. 
 Nearly all that immense amount of the surplus 
 productions of the Great Mississippi Valley, as 
 we shall presently see, will pass through the 
 Florida Ship Canal. 
 
 3rd. "While it is also quite true that fully 
 three-fourths or more of the commerce which 
 will pass through the Darien Ship Canal, will 
 also pass through the Florida Ship Canal, and 
 thence go to the North American Atlantic Sea- 
 board, and to the markets of Europe. 
 
 These facts cannot be successfully con- 
 troverted. 
 
 The Darien Canal is the gateway for the 
 interchange of commerce between the two 
 great Oceans. The United States' Govern- 
 ment has just completed the survey for this 
 Canal, and has found a practicable ship-route. 
 
 We now come to the great Mississippi Yalley 
 and the Gulf States, which properly form a 
 part of this Valley. 
 
 The gigantic commerce which this Valley is 
 now annually producing for export, and is in- 
 creasing with unparalleled rapidity, will furnish 
 the Florida Ship Canal all the freight, for time 
 to come, to make this Canal the grandest 
 financial success of the world. 
 
 The full Eeport, from page 12 to 28, gives a 
 practical insight of the wealth and unlimited 
 capabilities of this great region of the earth, 
 and. is treated of under the following heads : — 
 
 Uh. The Great Mississippi Valley — An 
 JEnqyire in area — Ser remarkable Bivers and 
 Bailroad Sij stems — Large Population and in- 
 creasing rapidly— The greatest agricultural, 
 horticultural, and stock-raising country on the 
 globe — Cheap bread and cheap meat for the 
 millions in foreign countries — Immense annual 
 surplus productions of the " cereals," meat, 
 cotton, 8fC., SfC. — The lakes, canals, and rail- 
 ways taxed to their fullest capacity are incapable 
 
 to transpai-t half of this surplus to the At- 
 lantic Seaboard — General demand for cheaper 
 transportation and sufficient facilities to move 
 this surplus and increasing production — The 
 President of the United States and Congress, 
 27 States i/)i Convention, the Boards of Com- 
 merce and Trade of the Atlantic and Western 
 Cities, and the merchants, farmers, and planters 
 all taking action to promote this object — The 
 Mississippi Biver, Gulf of Mexico, and Florida 
 Ship Canal declared the cheapest and best 
 route to the Atlantic Seaboard and to Europe 
 — United States' Senate Beport in favour of 
 the Mississippi Biver Boute' as the cheapest 
 and best possible — The Congress of the United 
 States have just passed " an Act," with 
 $7,000,000 appropriations to remove obstruc- 
 tions in the Mississippi Biver, and improve 
 the Bar at its mouth, to permit all classes of 
 ocean vessels to enter the port of New Orleans 
 — Then this great untaxed highway tvill " let 
 out" to the Gulf and Atlantic direct the vast 
 surplus products of the Mississippi Valley and 
 Gulf States — This will tend to establish " direct 
 trade" between the Mississippi Valley and 
 England — This Boute will save 1,500 miles 
 costly railway transport from the Mississippi 
 Valley to New York — The routes by the 
 northern lakes and canals to New York and 
 through Canada, closed by ice over five m,onths 
 each year — The Mississippi route open all the 
 year round — The surplus products west of the 
 Mississippi Biver, and for some distance east 
 of it, and all south of the mouth of the Ohio 
 Biver, can be delivei^ed over 200 per cent, 
 cheaper at the port of New Orleans than at 
 Chicago — From Chicago and New Orleans to 
 Liverpool, New Orleans has full 200 per cent, 
 the advantage. The following exhibit shows 
 the different routes to the Atlatitic Seaboard, 
 establishes the foregoing facts, and that the 
 leading commerce of the Giilf of Mexico is 
 from the Mississippi Valley, and will so continue. 
 
 The area of this agricultural Empire is 
 nearly 3,000,000 square miles, or larger than 
 all Europe, excepting less than one half of 
 iiussia in Europe from the calculation. (P. 12.) 
 
 The unsurpassed fertility and productive- 
 ness of this Valley and the Gulf States, and 
 enormous yields of agricultural and horticultu- 
 ral crops, are elaborately treated of in history, 
 geography, agricultural reports published by 
 the United States' Government, census sta- 
 tistics, &c. 
 
 It is suflB.cient to say that this Valley can 
 support a population of 200,000,000 people, and 
 then export bread-stufi's and meat sufficient to 
 supply the deficiency of the markets of the 
 world besides; while her cotton and other 
 staple productions, and her coal and iron 
 minerals are practically Avithout limit in 
 amount, and of the finest quality. 
 
 But a few years ago this vast region was a 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 wilderness ; now it has a population of over 
 27,500,000. Many of its States, cities, and 
 towns have doubled their population and 
 wealth each decade. History furnishes no 
 parallel of such rapid growth in population and 
 wealth. (P. 12). 
 
 Gen. Palmer, who is good authority, says : 
 
 "The growth of the West is measured by the 
 increase in population of its cities and towns." 
 
 An English Report, on The Resources of 
 Missouri says : — 
 
 " St. Louis, the capital of Missoiiri, has 
 become, to use the words of Horace Greely, 
 ' the seat of an immense industry, and the 
 home of a far-reaching, ever-expanding com- 
 merce.' ' She advances surely and steadily to 
 her predestined station of first inland city of 
 the globe.' In the year 1800 there were less 
 than a thousand inhabitants of St. Louis ; in 
 1830 her citizens reached 5,852 ; in 1840, 
 16,469; in 1850, 74,439; in 1860, 160,000; 
 in 1870 (despite the Civil War) no less than 
 312,980 (and in 1875, 550,000!) This mar- 
 vellous increase no doubt arises mainly from 
 the position of St. Louis. The city is, and 
 must be, the very centre of the commerce of 
 America. The Mississippi, on which St. Louis 
 is placed (about 20 miles below the junction 
 with the river Missouri), has an unbroken 
 navigation, from New Orleans to Canada, of 
 no less than 2,131 miles. In connection with 
 its tributaries, it affords 20,000 miles of inland 
 navigation, more than three-fourths of which 
 bear directly on the interests of St. Louis. 
 Upwards of 10,000 steamers are actiA^ely en- 
 gaged in the commerce of these waters, besides 
 large fleets of auxihary vessels. 
 
 " Whilst St. Louis is thus the centre of the 
 whole river-commerce of America, she is also 
 the very central point of the railway com- 
 munications between the Atlantic and Pacific 
 Oceans. The railroad system of the United 
 States comprehends, at tlie present time, about 
 72,000 miles of road. Of these railways no 
 less than 18 distinct trunk raih'oads centre at 
 St. Louis, besides five more in construction, 
 and four projected. By means of this grand 
 system, St. Louis is, at the present time, only 
 distant four days from San Prancisco. and less 
 than two days from New York or New Orleans." 
 
 INCREASE OF POPULATION OF MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 
 
 Cities. 
 
 1830. 
 
 1840. 
 
 1850. 
 
 I860. 
 
 1870. 
 
 1874 
 
 Chicago 
 
 70 
 
 4,853 
 
 23,047 
 
 120,000 
 
 298,977 
 
 500,000 
 
 Cincinnati . . . 
 
 52,000 
 
 80,145 
 
 156,844 
 
 216,000 
 
 268,000 
 
 325,000 
 
 Pittsburg . . . 
 
 50,000 
 
 81,235 
 
 138,290 
 
 178,831 
 
 262,200 
 
 310,000 
 
 Cleaveland ... 
 
 10,000 
 
 26,500 
 
 48,099 
 
 78,033 
 
 132,010 
 
 165,000 
 
 Detroit 
 
 6,000 
 
 24,173 
 
 42,760 
 
 75,547 
 
 119,038 
 
 140,000 
 
 Indianopolis.. 
 
 r,ioo 
 
 16,080 
 
 24,103 
 
 39,855 
 
 71.939 
 
 89,000 
 
 Omaha 
 
 None. 
 
 None. 
 
 None. 
 
 4,328 
 
 19,982 
 
 40,000 
 
 Kansas City... 
 
 2,000 
 
 7,600 
 
 14,000 
 
 23,000 
 
 55,0 a 
 
 71,200 
 
 Grand Rivee, System of the Mississippi 
 Valley and Gulf States. 
 
 The Mississippi River and 
 its immense tributaries 
 and sub-tributaries afford 
 steam navigation for an 
 aggregate distance of 
 
 And the rivers of the Gulf 
 States over 
 
 Total 
 
 Miles. 
 
 20,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 25,000 
 
 The National Board of Trade Report says : — 
 
 " The branches of these great Rivers with 
 slack-water and canal improvements will 
 swell the grand total of this inland navigation 
 to at least 50,000 miles. 
 
 This vast system of magnificent rivers per- 
 meates all portions of the Mississippi Valley 
 and Gulf States like a net- work, affording the 
 most complete water facilities for internal 
 commerce, and for the transportation of the 
 surplus productions to the Gulf of Mexico, 
 from the Gulf States, and from this largest 
 and most productive valley in the world, at the 
 cheapest rates of freight possible; thence, by 
 far the larger portion, to be transhipped to 
 the markets of foreign countries, and to the 
 Atlantic seaports, through the Florida Ship 
 Canal. 
 
 Railway System of the Mississippi Valley 
 AND Gulf States. 
 
 Number of mUes completed and 
 in operation in the Western 
 States in the year 1873 is ... 33,906 
 
 Number of miles in the Gulf 
 
 States 9,706 
 
 Total 43,612 
 
 Miles of Railways in the Southern 
 
 States (1873) 15,316 
 
 The system of railways in the South gene- 
 rally runs north and south, connecting the 
 cities of the Gulf — viz., New Orleans, Gal- 
 veston, Mobile, Pensacola, Jacksonville, and 
 Fernandina, with the immense railway system 
 of the Avhole Mississippi Valley, and, therefore, 
 constitute so many additional transportation 
 feeders to the commerce of the Gulf and 
 ilorida Ship Canal. 
 
 While this unparalleled system of rivers and 
 railways furnishes the cheapest and quickest 
 outlet of the exports of the Mississippi Valley 
 and the Gulf States, it also furnishes the 
 quickest, best, and cheapest transportation for 
 the imports into the Gulf States and the 
 Mississippi Valley. (P. 14) 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 STATISTICS. 
 
 The Annual Eeport of the Chamber of Com- 
 merce of the City and State of New York for 
 ' 1874 shows :— 
 
 " That the Total Products of ' Cereals ' 
 (consisting of wheat, Indian corn, oats, rye, 
 buckwheat, and barley) in all the States and 
 territories of the United States, amounted, in 
 the year 
 
 1840 615,535,077 bushels 
 
 1850 867,454,032 
 
 1860 1,238,138,947 
 
 1870 1,857,230,096 
 
 " The aggregate cereal product of all the 
 nations of Europe, in 1868, with a total popu- 
 lation of 296,128,293, was reported to the 
 International Statistical Congress at the Hague, 
 in 1869, to be 4,754,516,604 bushels, being 16 
 bushels to the head. The product in the United 
 States, in 1870, of 1,357,230,096 bushels, with 
 a population of 38,558,371, was 35 bushels 
 to the head. 
 
 " That the cereal products of the interior 
 States north of the Ohio River, embracing the 
 present States of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, 
 Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, 
 Kansas, and Nebraska were, in the year 
 
 1840 
 1850 
 1860 
 1870 
 
 166,204,201 bushels. 
 311,581,066 
 577,255,715 
 812,055,564 
 
 The Board of Commerce and Trade of St. 
 Louis report the grain raised in the Mississippi, 
 in 1871, was 1,035,094,584 bushels. 
 
 Official Statistics from the National 
 Bureau of Agriculture, showing Total 
 Cereal Productions for the Year 1872, 
 viz. : — 
 
 United States and Bushels. 
 
 Territories ..". 1,656,19^,100 
 
 MississippiValley and 
 
 Gulf States named 1,304,129,500 
 
 The ten North- 
 western States... 1,038,987,300 
 
 Mr. Ruggles, who is considered high autho- 
 rity by the New York Chamber of Commerce, 
 in a speech before that body, declared " that 
 the ten interior States north of the Ohio Eiver 
 and on the upper Lakes and upper Mississippi 
 and Missouri, produced in the year 1870, 
 amounting in round numbers to 21,000,000 
 tons of cereals avoirdupois surplus for export. 
 
 " There is not anything like adequate trans- 
 portation at present for these surplus products, 
 to say nothing of the enormous amount of 
 freightage requfred for cattle, hogs, cotton, 
 
 merchandise, and other things. At the monthly 
 meeting of the directors of the New York 
 Cheap Transportation Association, on Tuesday, 
 the question was considered in its different 
 aspects. 
 
 "The National Board of Trade, in session 
 at Baltimore, and the National Cheap Trans- 
 portation Convention, now assembled at Wash- 
 ington, are giving serious attention to the 
 matter of cheap transportation." 
 
 Mr. Ruggles further said : — 
 
 " That these ten States wiU probably produce 
 annually 40,000,000, or, perhaps, 50,000,000 
 tons surplus. It has now become a matter of 
 vital interest, not only to the American Union, 
 but to the common civilisation and welfare of 
 the world, to improve to the utmost all the 
 water ways, natural or artificial, affording cheap 
 transportation from the immense interior of 
 North America to the ocean. The steady pro- 
 gress of agriculture in over-spreading the 
 American Union, from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific, as shown by the tables, with the steps 
 already taken for improving the channels by 
 land and water needed for transporting its pro- 
 ducts to the oceans, furnish a moral and histori- 
 cal element most important and instructive in 
 tracing the evolutions of an empire on a North 
 American continent, as yet vmequalled in the 
 history of the human race." 
 
 By comparison it will be seen that the cereal 
 product of the Mississippi Valley and Gulf 
 States produced in 1872 nearly as much as the 
 whole United States and territories did in 1870. 
 
 Allowing two-fifths for home consumption, 
 then there was left surplus tonnage for ex- 
 port : — 
 
 1870, from ten North- 
 western States ... 11,000,000 tons. 
 
 1871, from Mississippi 
 
 Valley 15,526,500 tons. 
 
 1872, from Mississippi 
 
 VaHey 20,000,000 tons. 
 
 But this was not all the surplus for export. 
 
 The United States' Census for 1870 show the 
 number of horses, mules, asses, cattle, sheep, and 
 swineof this VaUey amounted to 85, 703, 913 head, 
 exclusive of Texas, the greatest cattle-growing 
 State of the world. Add Texas, and the in- 
 crease in 1874, and we have a total of 
 105,703,913 head. The census further shows 
 this Valley produced, in 1870 : — 
 
 Animals slaughtered 
 (cash) 
 
 Raised hogs... 
 
 Produced wool 
 „ Tobacco 
 „ Butter 
 „ Cheese 
 
 $300,369,531 
 23,000,003 head 
 64,000,000 lbs. 
 228,000,000 „ 
 177,932,803 „ 
 53,000,000 „ 
 
( 17 ) 
 
 Add to this the potato and other root crops, 
 hay and grass seeds, flax, hemp, orchard and 
 garden products, small fruits and herries, sugar, 
 
 ^ molasses, rice, cotton, and flax seeds, oil cake, 
 winter yegetahles, and semi-tropical fruits. 
 Also 4,000,000 bales of cotton (of which the 
 Valley Gulf States , produce 3,500,000 bales), 
 with a large list of additional agricultural and 
 horticultaral productions not enumerated. 
 Also an immense amount of live stock, 
 fish, poultry, and eggs. Also the gigantic 
 amounts of timber, lumber, coal, iron, copper, 
 lead, alcohol, oil, and other products, together 
 with the amount of manufactured productions 
 for the home markets and for export, all 
 
 ■ aggregating an annual tonnage many times 
 the annual tonnage of grain product of this 
 Valley already stated. 
 
 And when it is remembered that of these 
 nineteen States and eight Territories, not one 
 acre in every 500 has ever seen a plough, and 
 that for extent of agricultural area, remarkable 
 fertility and productiveness of soils, and variety 
 and salubrity of climates, together with practi- 
 cally unlimited quantities of iron and coal 
 minerals of the best quality abounding there, 
 it must seem self-evident that the Mississippi 
 Valley and Gulf States can have no equal or 
 rival in the two hemispheres, and that this 
 internal and export commerce must ultimately 
 control the markets of the world. (See Census 
 Statistics, Agricultural and Land Ofiice Re- 
 ports of the United States' Government, and 
 British Reports of her Majesty's Secretaries of 
 Embassy and Legation at Washington on the 
 iron and coal industries and wealth of this 
 valley. 
 
 Look at the commerce of this Valley now ? 
 
 The Report of the United States Senate on 
 Transportation Routes, says : — 
 
 " We have no means of measuring accurately 
 the magnitude of internal transportation ; but 
 its colossal proportions may be inferred from 
 two or three known facts. The value of com- 
 modities moved by the railroads in 1872 is 
 estimated at over $10,000,000,000, and their 
 gross freight receipts reached the enormous 
 sum of $473,241,055. (The commerce of the 
 cities of the Ohio River alone has been care- 
 fully estimated at over $1,623,000,000 per 
 annum.) Some conception of the immense 
 trade carried on upon the northern lakes may 
 be formed from the fact that during the entire 
 season of navigation, in 1872, an average of 
 one vessel every nine minutes, day and night, 
 passed Port Gratiot Lighthouse, near Port 
 Huron. The value of our internal commerce 
 is many times greater than our trade with all 
 foreign nations, and the amount annually paid 
 for transportation is more than double the 
 . entire revenues of the Government." 
 
 Prom an English authority — 
 
 "The Lake Commerce in 
 
 1841 was $65,000,000 
 
 " The Lake Commerce in 
 
 1851 was 300,000,000 
 
 " The Lake Commerce in 
 
 1870 was 700,000,000" 
 
 The New York Chamber of Commerce Re- 
 port for 1874 says : — 
 
 " It is diflS.cult to ascertain the actual tonnage 
 of freight which has been carried upon the 
 lakes. The tonnage of the vessels has increased 
 one-half since 1862, and the trade is now 
 valued at $1,000,000,000 (one billion dollars) ." 
 
 Add to all this the commerce of the rivers 
 and canals, amounting to 40,000,000 tons, and 
 the very large commerce of the Gulf from this 
 Valley hereinbefore stated. This indicates the 
 enormous annual tonnage and value of the 
 internal commerce of the States. 
 
 The Coastwise Trade of the United States 
 OP America — Gigantic in Amount. 
 
 _ The Iron Age of April 22nd, 1875, pub- 
 hshed the following article : — 
 
 " In another department the United States 
 compare more favourably with England than 
 is generally supposed. That is in navigation. 
 Most of the ships and steamers of England 
 are engaged in foreign commerce. Her coast- 
 wise commerce is confined within narrow limits 
 by the size of the British Isles ; her voyages 
 become foreign as soon as the vessels cross the 
 narrow seas and touch Erance, Spain, or Ger- 
 many ; while with us the coastwise trade ex- 
 tends from Maine to Texas and Cahfornia. In 
 that trade, which is exclusively our own, the 
 business is conducted with such energy and 
 despatch that, while we are behind Europe in 
 our foreign trade, the entries and clearances of 
 tonnage in our ports exceed those in the ports 
 of Great Britain. This is shown by the follow- 
 ing extracts from a paper recently submitted 
 to the Congress of Statisticians at St. Peters- 
 burg : — 
 
 ■■"■At this time more than three-fourths of the ship- 
 ping of the United States is engaged in the coastwise 
 trade, which is nearly three times as great as the 
 foreign trade, and is wholly under the flag of the 
 United States. It is gigantic in its proportions, com- 
 prising, as it doesj the commerce between all the ports 
 of the United States, from the Bay of Fundy to the 
 Eio Grande, including also voyages of 18,000 miles in 
 length around Cape Horn, between the seaports of our 
 Atlantic coast and those of California, Oregon, and 
 Alaska. The entries and clearances in the ports of the 
 United States for the year ending with January, 1872, 
 exceed the entries and clearances for the same period 
 in the ports of Great Britain. They have been as 
 follows : — 
 
( 18 ) 
 
 Entries and clearances in United States 
 coastwise trade in ports of the United 
 States for the year ending January Tons. 
 31,1872 61,050,287 
 
 In foreign trade of United States in the 
 
 same year 21,402,015 
 
 Total 
 
 82,452,302 
 
 Entries and clearances in ") T-i • , -i ok ^n^; oo^ 
 .i„ , n n , f Foreign trade 35,49o,2d4 
 
 Total 
 
 72,222,534 
 
 " ' Our tonnage in the coastwise trade, which is 
 sedulously guarded by the nation, is nearly three times 
 as great as that in the foreign trade in which the foreign 
 flag has predominated. The movement in the coast- 
 wise trade is remarkable, but there is conclusive evi- 
 dence to show that the movement by our canals and 
 railways is four times as large as that in the coastwise 
 trade. Here we find a vast commerce independent of 
 the sea, and inaccessible to any foe, reaching from gulf 
 to gulf, and ocean to ocean, and radiating from the 
 great centres of production to the centres of consump- 
 tion. This commerce comprises not merely the pro- 
 ducts of agriculture, but the produce of the mechani- 
 cal arts, which the different sections of the Eepublic 
 interchange with each other.' " 
 
 From Harper — 
 
 " The Merchant Eleets op the World. 
 — With, all our talk about the decline of 
 American shipping, our merchant marine 
 stands first in the world in the number of ships, 
 as we learn from the following, clipped from 
 an English paper : ' In appendix to a memo- 
 randum by the German Government upon its 
 navy is the following estimate of the numbers 
 of the merchant ships of the principal Powers 
 in 1869 : United States of America, 26,393 ; 
 Great Britain, 26,367 ; Italy, 18,822 ; France, 
 15,778; Norway, 6,883; Greece, 6,512; Ger- 
 many, 5,510 ; Sweden, 3,257; Austro-Hungary, 
 3,114; Denmark, 2,853 ; Russia, 2,646; Turkey, 
 2,200 ; Spain, 1,414.' The figures since 1869 
 have, if anything, increased in our favour." 
 
 Three-fourths of the tonnage and value of the 
 entire annual exports from the United States 
 to Foreign markets is the production of the 
 Mississippi Valley and Gulf States. {Commo- 
 dore Maury.) 
 
 We now come to the important consideration 
 of this statement. 
 
 A serious drawback and embargo on the 
 surplus productions of this great basin for ex- 
 port to the Atlantic seaboard and to foreign 
 markets exist. 
 
 Not one-half of these surplus productions 
 can now reach the Atlantic seaboard. 
 
 All the Middle States and the Allegheny, 
 Blue Ridge, and Cumberland Mountains inter- 
 vene between this Valley and the Atlantic, and 
 from the centre of this basin to the seaboard 
 ports it is 1,500 miles. 
 
 The only Transportation Routes prom 
 THIS Valley to the Atlantic and 
 Gulp are — 
 
 1st. The Mississippi River. 
 
 2nd. The Northern Lakes and Canals 
 through New York and Canada. 
 
 3rd. The Seven Trunk Railways, 
 
 The Bar in the mouth of the Mississippi, 
 during the late war and since, has formed 
 accretions, so as to measurably suspend export 
 commerce through this untaxed and cheapest 
 transportation route known. The United 
 States' Government is now removing this Bar. 
 
 The Northern lakes and canals are closed by 
 ice, and navigation is entirely suspended on 
 them for more than five n^onths in each year, 
 and frequently for six or seven months. Hence 
 the only facilities for transporting all the year 
 are over the Trunk Railways. Look at the 
 astounding results : — 
 
 The Official Statistical Register of Alabama 
 of 1871 says : 
 
 "The great North-west has outgrown the 
 Northern routes to the Atlantic. The tonnage 
 of Western products in 1860 was 33,000,000. 
 Of this amount 20,000,000 could have been 
 spared for market, as it is estimated that in a 
 fertile country three-fifths of the productions 
 are surplus. Instead of 20,000,000 tons being 
 exported to market in that year, the amount 
 was but 5,500,000. The facilities were not 
 adequate in capacity, nor were the charges of 
 transit sufficiently low to permit so vast an 
 eastward movement of tonnage. In a com- 
 parative sense, the actual movement of tonnage 
 as late as 1862, while the stimulus of war 
 prices was active in bringing it forward, was 
 very meagre." 
 
 " In 1862," says the Report of the Board of 
 Trade and Commerce of Buffalo, 1865, "the 
 surplus prodticts of the West sent eastward 
 {through trade) to the tide-water markets, in- 
 cluding products of wool, agriculture, animals, 
 manufactiu'es, and miscellaneous commodities, 
 was 5,176,499 tons. This includes the east- 
 ward movement of through freight over the 
 four great roads of the United States, and the 
 Grand Trunk and Northern Railways, and the 
 total exports from Buffalo and Oswego by canal. 
 If the way freights received at the Western 
 terminal points of all these railways, and de- 
 livered in the interior, be added to the through 
 freight, it is estimated that the total number of 
 tons moved out of the West during that year 
 exceeded 5,500,000. Of the eastward move- 
 ment in 1862, 2,080,666 were sent from Buffalo, 
 and 638,419 tons from Oswego, making nearly 
 50 per cent, of the total movement by the New 
 York canals, and the remaining portion by the 
 five through lines of "railroad." 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 The annual Report of tlie Chamber of Com- 
 merce of the State of New York for 1874! 
 says : — 
 
 "We have seen that of the surplus grain 
 productions of the -ten North-Western States 
 in 1870, but 7,000,000 tons were transported 
 eastward over all the channels of transport, 
 and hence the ' skeleton in the corn-crib,' the 
 burning of • corn as a cheap fuel ; the costly 
 conversion and necessary condensation of the 
 cereals into animals, their products and liquors. 
 This surplus, which the present channels of 
 transport cannot convey to the Eastern market, 
 would net to the farmers $200,000,000 a year, 
 to the carriers $200,000,000, and increase the 
 sales at the East, say, chiefly at New York, by 
 $400,000,000. 
 
 " The simple annual iacrease of the products 
 of the West exceeds the present capacity of 
 the Trunk Railways. You cannot build rail- 
 ways fast enough to meet this increase. 
 
 " Only one well acquainted with the Western 
 country, and particularly with the extremities 
 of the drainages of trade, ' the frontiers of 
 cereal cultivation,' can appreciate how much 
 of the produce must be withheld from your 
 markets for the waat of transportation. 
 
 " You must go into those extremities of culti- 
 vation to realise the annual loss — ^nay, even the 
 destruction of what would enhance the whole 
 business of New York more than 10 per cent. 
 
 " The population of the ten Western States 
 has increased at the rate of 1 per cent, per 
 annum for each of the last ten years, and of 
 several of them from 5 to 8 per cent, per 
 year, and their agricultural products requiring 
 transport to the Atlantic increase more rapidly 
 than the population, and ten years heneie will 
 be twice as great as now — viz., more than 
 20,000,000 of tons ; and if cheap, rapid, and 
 certain transportation is afforded, this tonnage 
 wUl exceed twenty-five millions." 
 
 The following extract from a Report made 
 in 1869 by a committee of the National Board 
 of Trade, composed of members from all the 
 principal cities and shipping centres of the 
 country, on the subject of increased facilities 
 for transportation between the West and the 
 Eastern markets, conveys in forcible language 
 some of the aspects of this problem : — 
 
 Tkanspobtation to Mauket the GtRBAT 
 Need of the West. 
 
 " The problem now most seriously engrossing 
 the attention of commercial men at the North, 
 at the East, and throughout the West, is that 
 of cheaper inter- communication between the 
 great interior region of our continent and the 
 seaboard. The necessity for its solution is 
 becoming more and more urgent every day. 
 The railroads are overburdened with freight. 
 
 and are inadequate to its transportation, at 
 rates which draw it forth from remote parts of 
 the interior. 
 
 " The question of cheaper transportation is 
 only another form of the question of adequate 
 means of transportation — for the moment that 
 freight prices are so reduced as to permit pro- 
 duce to go to market, from where it is grown 
 in the fertile West at a 2Drofit to the producer, 
 immediately such a volume of it is mobilised 
 as to over-tax the capacity of the avenues of 
 transportation. The problem of cheap carriage 
 is, therefore, no other than that of adequate 
 means of transportation. 
 
 ' ' The productions of the interior are mag- 
 nifying every year. They grow in aggre- 
 gate more rapidly than the means of trans- 
 mitting them to market can be multiplied. 
 Western production is constantly pressing 
 unduly upon the means of transportation. 
 
 " The stimulus imparted to production by 
 the railway and navigation systems which have 
 been mentioned, seconded by the unexampled 
 growth of population there going on, is pro- 
 ducing an immense development of export 
 products. In 1860 there were eighteen millions 
 of tons of produce to spare from the West, not 
 one-half of which went off! It failed to go 
 off either from the non-existence of suflS.cient 
 means of transportation, or by reason of the 
 prohibitory cost of freightage over great 
 distances. What the amount of produce 
 now is which could be spared for outside 
 markets from the interior, cannot be stated 
 with authentic accuracy, and the statistics of 
 the forthcoming census must be awaited. But 
 it would be an under^statement to say that it 
 has reached 25,000,000,000 tons. On the other 
 hand, it would be an exaggeration to estimate 
 that twelve and a half millions of these tons 
 now go out to mai'ket over all the existing 
 avenues of transit. 
 
 " And the present tonnage which could be 
 spared by the West, and which could be for- 
 warded to the seaboard markets, if its products 
 were mobilised by cheap carriage, and by ample 
 avenues of transportation, would be 25,000,000 
 tons annually." (See article Hunt's Magazine 
 for August, 1868.) 
 
 " Already very many of the products of the 
 West, wanted at the East, mil not bear trans- 
 portation. Even in the State of Illinois, corn, 
 the staff of life — needed at the East to fill 
 hungry mouths — has been burnt as fuel on the 
 score of economy, and in Dubuque, on the 
 western bank of the Mississippi, Avithin the last 
 five years, corn in the cob has been burnt for 
 domestic purposes as cheaper than other fuel. 
 Insufiiciency in the means pf outlet produces 
 high freight charges, and the remarks of all 
 eminent writers on political economy is true, 
 that impassible mountain chains interpose no 
 greater barriers to trade than high prices of 
 freights." 
 
 c 2 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 Mr. W. Kingsford, C.E., tlie engineer for 
 the Canals of the Dominion of Canada, depicts 
 in vivid colours the value and importance of 
 the Western trade. A few extracts from his 
 Canadian Canals are here introduced : — 
 
 "The commerce of the North-west," he 
 truly says, "is not any fanciful speculation, 
 nor is its magnitude in any way questionable. 
 It is a reality, as inquiry will establish. It has 
 outgrown the Canals and Railways, and the 
 complaint of the West is that thp quantity 
 carried is so immense that carriers can com- 
 mand their own terms. The condition of the 
 producers of the West lias been described 
 without exaggeration as that of a man shut 
 out from the markets of the world, oppressed 
 by the excessive production of their own toil, 
 which remains wasting and worthless upon 
 their hands, depriving labour of half its reward, 
 and paralyzing enterprise 
 
 " In many localities the produce is even 
 without value, for it is without a market. It 
 is estimated that five hundred million bushels 
 of Indian corn or maize are raised iu the North- 
 west, but not five per cent, of this amount 
 finds its way to the seaboard, owing to the 
 expense of getting it there ; and that out of 
 the 60 cents paid in New England for a bushel 
 of com, only 9 cents go to the producer, the 
 remainder being expended in freights and com- 
 mission. It is the sense of inferiority of 
 position which has hitherto led to great dis- 
 content in the West 
 
 " Thus surplusage of grain accounts for the 
 extended pork trade. The hog is, indeed, re- 
 garded as corn in a concentrated (but expensive) 
 form. 
 
 " We can, therefore, readily understand why, 
 in the North-west, public attention has been 
 turned to the Mississippi route. 
 
 " What the State of Illinois asks, is a direct 
 trade between the North-western States and 
 Liverpool, on the plea ' that the • increasing 
 volume of business cannot be maintained 
 without recourse to the natural outlet of the 
 lakes.' If this opportunity be vouchsafed, and 
 the requisite facilities be given, the surplus 
 produce will be increased with a rapidity even 
 beyond that of the past century. It is estimated 
 that from the State of Illinois alone there has 
 been shipped annually for the last ten years a 
 surplus of food sufficient to feed ten milHons 
 of people; and, at the same time, there has been 
 a positive waste, from the inability to bring the 
 crops profitably to market." 
 
 Commodore Maury's Heport says : — 
 
 " The Canadian Government, percsiving how 
 inadequate are the New York routes by rail, 
 lakes, and canals from the North-Avestern Mis- 
 sissippi Valley States to the Sea, have at great 
 labour and expense constructed ship canals 
 around Niagara Tails and other difficult passes 
 
 between the Ealls and the Atlantic, with a view 
 of diverting the Western traffic from New York, 
 and bring it out to the sea through the St. 
 Lawrence River and Gulf. These canals admit 
 a draft of 9 to 10 feet, and engineers are now 
 at work making estimates, &c., for extending 
 and enlarging them so as to pass ships drawing 
 15 feet. 
 
 " ' To deepen these canals and gain this 
 trade,' say the Canadian Government, ' is the 
 policy for us to pursue. If we fail to foUowit, 
 we neglect every advantage — geographical and 
 commercial — which we possess.' 
 
 " As for trade with Liverpool, were there a 
 strait between the Ealls of Niagara and the 
 Gulf of St. Lawrence, as wide, as deep, and as 
 free as the Straits of Gibraltar, the six months' 
 ice and frosts of winter, the icebergs, and the 
 fogs of summer, would make this route alto- 
 gether impracticable. It would be available at 
 best for only a little more than one-half of the 
 year. Por the Trans-Mississippi States, and 
 for the greater part of the other Valley States, 
 it cannot be used at all. 
 
 " The North Atlantic Ocean is the most 
 terhpestuous sea in the world. Cape Horn is 
 nothing to it. The approaches to the mouth of 
 the St. Lawrence lie through the most stormy 
 part of this tempestuous ocean. When not 
 vexed by gales in the winter, this part of it 
 especially is in summer beset by calms, fogs, 
 and ice — flow and drift — and by icebergs. 
 
 " This route is, therefore, obstructed by the 
 physical geography of the sea as well as of the 
 land, and in this fact lies the secret of the 
 failure of the Canadian Canals to get the trade 
 of the West. The Western States want, and 
 must have, a route to the Sea that is never 
 closed a single month by the weather', much 
 less one that is tight frozen regularly for six 
 months every year, and rendered almost im- 
 possible at other times by the dangers of the 
 
 sea. 
 
 " These six months' suspensions of inland 
 navigation in lohiter, loith the storms, fogs, and 
 drifting ice, present insuperable difficulties to 
 this route for all time to come, and which engi- 
 neering skill and capital can never overcome. 
 
 " The effect upon Lake Tramsportation of 
 equinoctial gales and winter storms. 
 
 " At certain seasons of the year, obstacles 
 interposed by the weather to cheap transpor- 
 tation there, which cannot be removed after 
 the middle of September, and annually about 
 the time of the equinoctial storms, the navi- 
 gation of the Lakes becomes more boisterous, 
 and so remains until after November, when the 
 frost-king sets his seal upon them, and closes 
 them up, generally till April, and sometimes 
 till May. 
 
 " The Statistics of the Lake Board of Trade 
 show that, with the commencement of bois- 
 terous navigation, there is a rise in freight, 
 both by lake and raU, on all produce going 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 forward from Chicago to Buffalo, New York, 
 and Boston ; that this equinoctial rise is from 
 50 to 90 per cent, upon all grain, breadstuffs, 
 and provisions seeking transportation at that 
 season; and that these high rates last from 
 the autumnal equinox until the opening of 
 navigation in the spring. 
 
 According to the tariff of railroad freights 
 published by the Chicago Board of Trade, the 
 freight to New York, on flour, in — 
 
 1866. 1867. 
 
 April and May . . . $1.10 at S1.40 per bbl $1.00 at $1.10 
 
 October and February 1.60 at 2.10 1.70 
 
 Pourtb-class articles, ) et ^. ^rn ca j_ cf 
 
 April and May } -55 at .70 .60 at .55 
 
 October and February .10 at 1.05 .85 
 
 PARTLY BY LAKE AND PAETLY BY EAIL — Flour. 
 
 1866. 1867. 
 
 May 75 at .80 per bbl .65 at .70 
 
 Middleof September | ^^_-^q ^^ ^^g^-, 
 
 to NoTember 
 
 ^ 
 
 May 
 
 Middle of September ) 
 
 to NoYember ) 
 
 Provisions per 100 pounds. 
 
 1866 
 .40 at .45 
 
 .75 at .95 
 
 $1.30 at $1.35 
 
 1867 
 .324 at .38 
 
 .621 at .671 
 
 " Thus it appears that in fall, winter, and 
 early spring — the very time the crops are 
 coming forward, and when the farmers stand 
 most in need of cheap transportation — then, 
 that is the time when the lake route is of the 
 least value. At this season — whether they 
 tise lake or rail, or whether the lakes be 
 blocked with ice or vexed by storms, they 
 have to pay from 50 cents to $1 more on 
 every barrel of flom% and from $3 to $3.50 
 more on every 1,000 pounds of provisions that 
 they send to the seaboard, than they do in 
 midsummer, when their water-line is clear. 
 
 "During the two and a-half months of 
 autumnal storms on the lakes, those farmers 
 have also to pay more, by 50 per cent., 
 exclusive of insurance, than they do when the 
 lakes are unvexed. This annual period of 
 high freight commences in September and 
 ends in April. 
 
 " In autumn, the bulk of the crop is gathered; 
 then, and in tvinter, is the time for sendhiy it 
 to market. Sut this is the time of all others 
 when wind and weather conspire to make trans- 
 portation from the Tf^est, by lake and rail, most 
 expensive. 
 
 " Prom the Report of the United States' 
 Agricultural Department for 1866, it appears 
 that the average price of corn in the six great 
 corn-growing States of the West — viz : Ken- 
 tucky, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and 
 Missouri, was 48 cents the bushel, and the 
 average price in the State of New York and 
 the six new England States, was S1.30. 
 These figures of the Agricultural Bureau in 
 Washington bring out the startling fact, that 
 
 the Western farmer in sending corn to the sea 
 by the present routes, is required to give for 
 freights, canal tolls, insurance, commissions 
 and profits, 82 bushels out of every 100 that go 
 forward." 
 
 Of course this is financial death to the 
 producer and consumer. 
 
 " We have seen that the farmers of Iowa 
 and other trans-Mississippi States have to pay 
 68 cents the bushel to get their wheat to the 
 Atlantic seaboard. This is 10 cents the bushel 
 more than the farmers in California loould pay 
 for sending theirs aroiond Cape Sorn to Neio 
 York." 
 
 "Forty cents per bushel for freight and 
 transhipment alone, is as much as Western 
 grain, except at famine prices, can afford to 
 pay for a sea market, this is at $13.20 per ton, 
 but the Trans-Mississippi States must pay 68 
 cents, which is $22,44 the ton including all 
 charges." 
 
 " The Lake trade was carried on in 1866, 
 with 3,000 boats, but common arithmetic 
 shows that 1,700 boats could do all this 
 freighting, if this route were open all the year 
 round." 
 
 Then during the six months of the ice 
 blockade of the lakes and canals, all this vast 
 commerce is thrown upon the railways. 
 
 In speaking of the railway capacity, the 
 Neio Orleans Picayune, February 22, 1872, 
 says : — 
 
 "The blockade of aU the railroads of the 
 country is again repeated this year. Each 
 winter offers more convincing proof that ten 
 times the number of railroads in existence, 
 with their average rolling stock multiplied a 
 score, could not conduct the business of the 
 country. 
 
 " The glut of freight on all the roads 
 running to New York and Philadelphia has 
 never been equalled. It has been impossible 
 to get freight room, either east or west, at any 
 rates. The roads running south have been so 
 completely blocked for some time past that the 
 officers of them, have not been able to keep the 
 run of the freight, and many tons are scattered 
 along at the different stations. 
 
 '■ Notwithstanding the enormous number of 
 miles of railroad already in existence, and the 
 apparently abnormal increase every year, it is 
 evident that the commerce of the country 
 would be in a state of hopeless confusion were 
 it not for the great water-routes that afford 
 avenues for the outlet of so many millions of 
 tons of agricultural and mineral, products. 
 The country never will be toealthy enough to 
 build a sufficient number of railroads to trans- 
 port all the freight to be moved, and loers this 
 done it would be impossible to handle o suffi- 
 cient amount of rolling stock to move the crops 
 to market. 
 
22 ) 
 
 " The progress of our railroad system in the 
 West has been pronounced by some of the 
 ablest men of the day as too rapid to be long 
 sustained. The capital cannot be found for a 
 continuance of such enormous investments as 
 have characterised the past ten years. Yet 
 the resoiu-ces of the interior have been so 
 rapidly developed that the pressure for trans- 
 portation is greater each winter. The farmer 
 is stiU ahead of the track-layer, and the 
 plough and reaper are faster than the locomo- 
 tive. Industry accumulates faster than 
 railways can move ; the cry for more railroads 
 and more rolling stock is louder than it was 
 five years ago." 
 
 See memorial of the merchants to Congress, 
 full report, pp. 17 and 18, corroborating the 
 above statement. The rates of freights are 
 raised extortionately high, while most of the 
 produce offered is refused transportation, 
 " damaging the agricultural, manufacturing, 
 and business interests of the entire country." 
 And the evidence abounds that the produce of 
 the trans-Mississippi States will not bear 
 transportation to the seaboard by the railways, 
 and lakes, and canals mentioned, and the 
 United States' Senate Report, vol. 1st, p. 242, 
 shows that " additional railway lines, under 
 the control of private corporations, will afford 
 no substantial relief, beccmse self-Interest ivill 
 uivariably lead them into combination loith 
 existing lines." 
 
 But all these Northern routes, taxed to their 
 fullest capacity, can only transport 7,000,000 
 tons produce lo sea. Hence about 15,000,000 
 tons of grain and meat have no means of reach- 
 ing the market of the Atlantic, and the lohole 
 country is alive to the question and importance 
 of increasing the transportation facilities. 
 
 An English gentleman, resident of Liverpool, 
 who is thoroughly acquainted with the com- 
 merce of the Mississippi Valley and the present 
 wants of additional transport facilities, has 
 written an able book on " Narrow-gauge 
 Railways," in which he says : — 
 
 "The deep importance of the question of 
 cheap transportation may be inferred by a. 
 consideration of the proposals Avhich have been 
 published and gravely advocated for solving it. 
 Two only need be mentioned here. The first is 
 the maintenance of the navigation of the Erie 
 Canal during the five months it is closed in 
 winter by ice, bymeansof hot-waterpipesextend- 
 ing throu-ghout its entire length of 325 miles. 
 The second is by a double-track freight rail- 
 road of 1,300 miles, from New York to 
 Council Bluffs, Iowa, with branches to Chicago 
 and Saint Louis, at an estimated cost of 
 $225,000,000 or £45,000,000 sterling. Both 
 may be dismissed from consideration ; the 
 first, from its impracticability; the second, 
 from its enormous cost." 
 
 The Question Solved. The Mississippi 
 EiVEE Route declaeed the Best and 
 
 Cheapest. 
 
 The President of the United States in his 
 Message of December, 1872, made the follow- 
 ing recommendation to Congress : — 
 
 " The attention of Congress will be called 
 during its present session to various enter- 
 prises for the more certain and cheaper 
 transportation of the constantly increasing 
 surplus of Western and Southern products to 
 the Atlantic seaboard. The subject is one that 
 will force itself upon the legislative branch of 
 the Government sooner or later, and I suggest, 
 therefore, that immediate steps be taken to 
 gain all available information to ensure equable 
 and just legislation." 
 
 " That production increases more rapidly than 
 the means of transportation, in our country, 
 has been demonstrated by past experience. 
 That the unprecedented growth in population 
 and products of the whole country will 
 require additional facilities, and cheaper ones, 
 for the more bulky articles of commerce 
 to reach the tide water, and a market will be 
 demanded in the near future, is equally 
 demonstrable." 
 
 " I would, therefore, suggest either a 
 committee or commission to be authorised to 
 consider this whole question, and to report to 
 Congress at some future day for its better 
 guidance in legislating on this important 
 subject. 
 
 " Looking to the great future growth of the 
 country and the increasing demands of com- 
 merce, it might be well, while on the subject, 
 not only to have examined and reported upon 
 the various practicable rentes for connecting 
 the Mississippi with tide water on the Atlantic, 
 but the feasibility of an almost continuous 
 land-locked navigation from Maine to the Gulf 
 of Mexico." 
 
 43 Congress — 1 Session. 
 
 United States' Senate Report op the Select 
 Committee on Transportation Routes to 
 the Seaboard, with Evidence and Maps, 
 April 24, 1874, in answer to the Presi- 
 dent's Message. (Contains 1,499 printed 
 pages, with Evidence, and Maps of Elorida 
 Ship Canal.) 
 
 This is one of the ablest and most exhaustive 
 Reports which has ever emanated from a 
 deliberative body. It shows the commerce of 
 the Mississippi Yalley, the present channels of 
 transport, the extortionate rates of freight 
 charged, the incapacity of the present routes 
 to move the large annual surplus of cereals 
 and other productions ; declares water routes 
 afford the cheapest and best known means of 
 
( 23 ) 
 
 transport, and that the Mississippi River is the 
 first and most important route to let out this 
 commerce to the seaboard by way of the Gulf 
 of Mexico. 
 
 So important is this E/Cport, that the British 
 Legation at Lisbon, March 22, 1876, added a 
 postscript to the Commercial Eeports of the 
 British Government, from the Embassy and 
 Legation Ofi&ce at "Washington, United States, 
 for the year 1875, as follows : — 
 
 " P.S. — I omitted to mention that the entire 
 subject of ' Transportation Routes to the Sea- 
 board' is fully discussed in an exhaustive 
 Report (1874) of the United States' Senate 
 Committee on that subject, as also in various 
 reports by engineer ofl&cers charged with the 
 examination of diiferent routes. These latter 
 are, of course, technical, but all are replete 
 with statistics, and with information on the 
 subject." 
 
 The following conclusions and evidence 
 copied from this Report speak for themselves, 
 viz. : — 
 
 " The United States' Senate Committee's 
 Chief Summary oe Conclusions and 
 Recommendations . 
 
 " Eleventh. The uniform testimony deduced 
 from practical results in this country, and 
 through the commercial world, is, that water 
 routes, when properly located, not only afford 
 the cheapest and best known means of trans- 
 port for all heavy, bulky, and cheap com- 
 modities, but they are also the natural 
 competitors, and most effective regulators, of 
 railway transportation. 
 
 Twelfth. The above facts and conclusions, 
 together with the remarkable physical adapta- 
 tion of our country for cheap and ample water 
 communications, point unerringly to the im- 
 provement of our great natural water-ways, 
 and their connection by canals, or by sliort 
 freight railway portages under control of the 
 Government, as the obvious and certain solu- 
 tion of the problem of cheap transportation. 
 [Canals or railway portages not required for the 
 Mississippi River, but extensively for the Lake 
 and other routes.] 
 
 Thirteenth. After a most careful considera- 
 tion of the merits of various proposed improve- 
 ments, taking into account the cost, practica- 
 bility, and probable advantages of each, the 
 Committee have come to the unanimous con- 
 clusion that the following are the most feasible 
 and advantageous channels of commerce to be 
 created or improved by the national Govern- 
 ment in case Congress shall act upon this 
 subject, viz. : — 
 
 " 1st. The Mississippi River. 
 
 The evidence taken by this Senate Com- 
 mittee (see full Report, pp. 22 — 24), with other 
 
 reliable evidence, shows the fact that wheat 
 can be shipped on this Mississippi River route, 
 by the barge system of transportation, to New 
 Orleans, from the cities of St. Louis, Cin- 
 cinnati, Louisville, and all the numerous 
 smaller cities and towns down the river from 
 these points, at 5 cents the bushel ; and from 
 all points above these cities to the heads of 
 navigation of the numerous tributaries of the 
 Mississippi for 10 cents the bushel, and even 
 less, at a fair profit to the transportation com- 
 panies. These rates are as cheap as the cheapest 
 ocean rates. 
 
 The United States' Congress, at its last 
 Session, passed a law directing the bar in the 
 mouth of the Mississippi to be removed or 
 deepened to 30 feet, so as to allow all classes 
 of ocean steamers and vessels to enter the Port 
 of New Orleans, and thereby to thoroughly 
 re-establish the export and import trade of this 
 most important port in the North American 
 Continent ; and for this purpose appropriated 
 $7,000,000, and by the same law gave the 
 contract to accomplish this great object to 
 Captain Eads, the great American engineer 
 
 and bridge budder: 
 
 Mr. Eads has gone to 
 
 work, and recent reports show that he has 
 already deepened the Channel over this bar to 
 more than 21 feet. Mr. E. J. Read, C.B.M.P., 
 and able engineers of Europe, declare that Mr. 
 Eade will make this a success. Even vigorous 
 dredging will open up this channel. 
 
 In the speech of General Sherman at the 
 Eads Banquet at St. Louis, in honour of his 
 undertaking the improvement of 'the mouth of 
 the Mississippi, the General said : — 
 
 " Mr. Eads has bridged the Mississippi, and 
 he has undertaken to cm^b the mouth of this 
 mighty river to make it fulfil the high office as 
 the carrier of that vast commerce which must 
 thence go to the markets of the world. The 
 citizen of the United States who cultivates his 
 farm on the Upper Alleghany, Wisconsin, or 
 Yellowstone is as much interested as he who 
 cultivates his cotton and rice, or sugar or 
 orange grove in sight of the Balize. 
 
 " I haA^e seen the steppes of Southern Russia, 
 which produce the wheat exported from Odessa 
 and Taganrog, and am satisfied they are iden- 
 tical with the plains of Western Kansas and 
 Nebraska, now lying idle, and fed on by herds 
 of wild buffalo. 
 
 "Let Captain Eads remove the bar at the 
 South Pass even to the depth of 25 feet, so 
 that sea-going vessels may at all times reach 
 New Orleans, and I am certain that England 
 and Ireland alone will give you a certain 
 market for $30,000,000 (£6,000,000), that go 
 now to the Black Sea for wheat alone. Then 
 take the other European countries, BrazU, the 
 West Indies, and other places, that need our 
 cheap grain, and you have a single item of 
 trade that amounts to hundreds of millions 
 annuallv." 
 
( 24 ) 
 
 " The aggregate value of farm products for 
 1870, was $3,447,658,000 ; yet our country is 
 in its infancy, and tlie amount of human food 
 that this valley can produce, is only limited by 
 the demand and the cost of carriage, and we 
 all know that the Mississippi E-iver itself affords 
 the cheapest possible carriage, provided the 
 necessary "ships are ready at its mouth to 
 receive this freight." 
 
 " If as industrious as their fathers, the sur- 
 plus of food for shipment abroad from this 
 valley will he simply infinite — plenty to give 
 occupation to the Northern Lakes and Canals, 
 and every railroad leading eastward, as well as 
 the vaster amount that must fiow down the 
 Mississippi to go to the Ocean markets. 
 
 " And I say to Captain Eads, go in ; ' Work 
 like a beaver ' on your great dams and dykes, 
 and may God spare your life and health to see 
 the Great JEastern steam up to New Orleans 
 for her 25,000 tons of St. Louis superfine flour 
 to carry back to Sheerness for the hungry 
 millions that want it in that human hive — 
 London." 
 
 The Times of Sept. 21, 1875, published a 
 portion of Mr. Jefferson Davis' address de- 
 livered at De Soto, Mississippi, on the 8th inst. 
 He said, "No man, no course of policy, no 
 deep designs of ambitious men, could ever dis- 
 sever the people of the Mississippi Valley, in 
 all the future they will surely stand together. 
 The Great E/iver bound them together by ties 
 stronger than any politics could invent, and 
 from its source to its mouth the people who 
 dwell in the Valley must be united." " He 
 then spohe at considerable length upon the 
 vast agricultural resources of the country, and 
 the future .development of the commerce of the 
 Mississippi Valley, and its advantages and im- 
 portance to the nation, and predicted that the 
 time would soon come when fleets of iron 
 barges would float down the mighty Mississippi 
 bearing a commerce greater than that of the 
 lohole worlds 
 
 Look at the Mississippi Eiver system on the 
 geographical map, and the barge navigation 
 adopted ? 
 
 The Report of the Committee of the National 
 Board of Trade says . — 
 
 "The inland navigation of the West is of 
 immense expansion. Official reports give the 
 aggregate length of steam navigation on the 
 Mississippi and its Tributaries at 16,674 miles. 
 The flat-boat and batteaux navigation of the 
 head waters and branches of these great Elvers 
 increase this navigation more than 10,000 
 mUes ; and in the course of a short time slack 
 water and canal improvements will swell the 
 grand total of Western inland navigation to at 
 least 50,000 miles." 
 
 "Eiver navigation has assumed new im- 
 portance of late by the inauguration of a 
 cheaper and more efficient system of water 
 transportation. On the Western Eivers they 
 have introduced the system of Steam Tugs and 
 Barges on a large scale. 
 
 "The effect is virtually to convert the river 
 channels iato railroads, the steam tugs being 
 locomotives and the barges being freight cars. 
 Incorporated Companies of large capital own 
 the tugs and barges, and run them upon time 
 Schedules, just as railroad companies run their 
 trains — the trains picking up barges as they 
 pass different wharves and leaving others. 
 The expense is but a fraction of railroad trans- 
 portation, and the river channels are prized as 
 Nature's substitutes for long railways." 
 
 "By means of the Barge System, experience 
 shows that it will make the Upper Mississippi, 
 Ohio, and Missouri rivers the most continuous 
 and effective inland water routes accessible to 
 Western products. 
 
 "These steam tow-boats are of immense 
 strength, they carry no freights, but fuel 
 enough for the round trip. The management 
 of barges, like that of freight cars, is in- 
 dependent of the motive power. 
 
 "The tug brings in. a load of barges and 
 without delay takes out another and proceeds. 
 But few men are required, and the cost of 
 transportation does not exceed that of Ocean 
 freights." 
 
 The Convention of buyers and shippers held 
 in St. Louis in 1873 declared the distance from 
 St. Louis to New Orleans was the same as the 
 distance from Chicago by the lakes to Buffalo. 
 That the barge system was used on the Missis- 
 sippi, and propellers on the Lakes, that one tow- 
 boat with barges carries 200,000 bushels of 
 wheat from St. Louis to New Orleans at 5 cents 
 the bushel, with a profit to Transportation Com- 
 pany, and for the same expense that one Pro- 
 peller will carry 4,0,000 bushels from Chicago 
 to Buffalo. That "the tow-boat, moreover, gets 
 sufficient up-cargo to bring for the home-trip, 
 whUe the Propeller cannot." One member in 
 Convention declared " that barge transportation 
 could whip any other mode for cheapness of 
 freights." (pp. 19 and 20.) 
 
 Eeport of the Union Merchants' Exchange 
 OF St. Louis to the Senate Committee. 
 
 " What may be accomplished. 
 
 " The introduction of barges on the Mississippi 
 Eiver from this port to New Orleans reduced 
 the average freight rate at once, as will be seen 
 by reference to the table of averages submitted. 
 Thus, in 1866, the average on cor^i to New 
 Orleans was 23 7-10 cents per bushel. In 1867 
 it was 28f cents. In 1868, the year the barges 
 came in full operation, the average dropped to 
 
25 ) 
 
 10 cents, and tlie lowest rate attained was 
 5 cents per bnshel. 
 
 " The navigable rivers loMch drain the 
 Mississippi Basin are lest fitted for the cheap 
 carriage of its products to the markets of the 
 tcorld. This is the only water route over 
 tohich shipments of these products can be 
 moved to the seaboard during the tointer season 
 . . . . and proceed to their destination by 
 water, either to European ports, the Atlantic 
 coast, Cuba, Mexico, South America, or any 
 other part of the world. Let these improve 
 ments be speedily effected, and the consumers 
 of the Eastern States and of Europe, learning 
 that they can obtain their grain at lower rates 
 by way of New Orleans, will at once provide 
 suitable vessels for moving it from that city, 
 and whatever steamers and barges may be 
 needed to move the surplus of the Mississippi 
 Basin by the river will be quickly supplied. 
 While all other routes will be freely employed, 
 the broad river, the natural and free highway 
 from the interior to the sea, restraining all by 
 its constant competition, and offering cheap 
 transportation for quantities absolutely un- 
 limited, will confer upon the producers of 
 North-west, and the consumers of all other 
 sections, benefits which no human mind can 
 estimate." (P. 25). 
 
 Other important pacts are established by 
 THE Senate E-epgrt. 
 
 Another important fact is established by 
 this Report beyond all controversy, that climate 
 influences are not unfavourable on wheat, flour, 
 Indian corn, and other "cereals" shipped to 
 New York and Liverpool via " the Mississippi 
 and Gulf route." The testimony of shippers 
 and others, supported by numerous exhibits 
 and statistics of actual shipments by this route 
 for a series of years, settle the question that 
 these cargoes arrive in Liverpool in as good con- 
 dition as grain and flour shipped from New 
 York and Canada, and always command as high 
 a price in the markets. As cumulative evidence 
 oa this point, the commerical statistics show 
 that years of actual shipments of wheat and 
 flour from San Erancisco, first down the Pacific 
 Ocean, though the tropics, around Cape Ilorn,* 
 and thence north through the tropics again, on the 
 Atlantic, always arrive in "first-class" condition 
 in Liverpool and New York, and command the 
 HIGHEST prices in those markets ; and the large 
 shipments of grain from Russia to England 
 and other North-Western nations in Europe, by 
 way of the Mediterranean Sea, is a further 
 proof of the facts established. 
 
 " That the cereals and meat of all kinds are 
 produced much cheaper in the Mississippi Valley 
 than in any other portion of the world. With 
 the Mississippi Riverimproved soas to permit un- 
 
 restricted commerce at the cities of New Orleans 
 and St. Louis with the world, and the reduction 
 of the excessive freights on the surplus produc- 
 tions of the Mississippi Valley to a proper paying 
 and uniform standard of rates, this great valley 
 can supply England and other countries with 
 bread and meat cheaper than Russia or any 
 other country. Indeed, through this cheap 
 outlet, the cost of grain and meat will be 
 reduced to a price which will enable the United 
 States to regain and permanently hold the Eng- 
 lish and European markets for her surplus 
 breadstuffs as against any competing nation." 
 
 Erom New Orleans, via the Atlantic and 
 Gulf Ship Canal, wheat can be delivered at 
 New York for 7 to 10 cents per bushel, and in 
 Liverpool at 12 to 15 cents. Erom the Trans- 
 Mississippi States, via the northern routes to 
 New York at 68 cents per bushel, to Liverpool 
 79 cents, and via the Mississippi and Elorida 
 Ship Canal route to New York, and New Eng- 
 land States from 12 to 15 cents, and to Liver- 
 pool from 20 to 25 cents per bushel. Twenty- 
 five cents being equal in value to one English 
 shilling — here is a saving of from 400 to 500 
 per cent, by the Mississippi route, and the time 
 saved by the latter route is from 10 to 15 days. 
 
 The following official Reports on commerce 
 and trade in the United States, from Her 
 Majesty's Secretaries of Embassy and Legation 
 and British Consuls, published by the British 
 Government, fully corroborate the foregoing 
 reports and statistics on the immense agricul- 
 tural capabilities and productions of the 
 Mississippi Valley and the Gulf States ; the 
 large surplus productions that are wasted' ioT 
 want of cheaper freights and adequate Trans- 
 portation Routes, and the very cheap route, 
 the Mississippi River and its tributaries afford 
 for its outlet, &c. 
 
 Commercial Report, No. 13 (1874), part II. 
 From the British Consul at the 'Port of 
 New Orleans, pip- 648-654, says : — 
 
 " The following table presents a complete 
 statement of the number of bushels of corn 
 shipped to Liverpool and Queenstown, from 
 this (New Orleans) port during the present 
 year, 1873, and the names of the vessels. The 
 bulk of the corn arrived a ^ its destination in 
 good condition and obtained good prices. Had 
 tonnage offered, these exjiorts during the past 
 twelvemonths would have perhaps equalled 
 those of 1871-72, as the idea that corn heats 
 in the Gulf of Mexico, and reaches Liverpool 
 in bad order has been exploded. 
 
 " A crucial test was made in the case of the 
 British Steamer ' Memphis,' which, ladened 
 with corn, was detained at the mouth of the 
 Mississijjpi River during the liottest part of 
 May and June for thirty-nine days, and, having 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 broken her screw, was obliged to return and 
 discharge. Her cargo was found to be in better 
 order than when she started. 
 
 " (Here follows the Table.) 
 
 " Statement of grain raised in certain States 
 tributary to the Mississippi River in 1873— 
 aggregatel,069,660,000 bushels (or $26,741,500 
 tons). (This does not include the States of 
 Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, forming a part 
 of the Mississippi Valley, which raise an average 
 of 500,000,000 bushels per annum). 
 
 " It will be observed that these figures 
 represent only bushels of grain. No account 
 is taken of other productions of this wonderful 
 Valley. These yet remain to be added to the 
 •computation : — 
 
 Hay 
 
 Potatoes ... 
 Tobacco ... 
 
 Cotton 
 
 Animal food, sur- 
 plus beef, cattle 
 and hogs 
 
 75,000,000 tons 
 60,000,000 bushels 
 
 300,000 hgds. 
 2,403,000 bales 
 
 5,135,600 heads 
 
 " And still we have made no computation of 
 the crops of hemp, sugar, rice, fruits, and 
 vegetables, nor yet of Mining products, such 
 as lead, iron, copper, coal, and salt, all of which, 
 with innumerable other articles, are to be added 
 with grand totals given above." " The agricul- 
 tural resources of these States are all but im- 
 limited. With capital and labour the present 
 yield of cotton and cereals might be doubled 
 in a very few years." 
 
 Commercial Reports, No. 3 (1875). From 
 the British Legation Office of Washington 
 City, United States. Part II. Quota- 
 tions from pp. 60 — 64. 
 
 " The question of Transport has during the 
 year (1873) assumed considerable importance. 
 Notwithstanding the building of new E-aUroads, 
 the cheap transport of agricultural production 
 from the West (Mississippi Valley) does not 
 seem to be sufficiently provided for ; and, as a 
 matter of fact, the country presents the anoma- 
 lous condition of being the richest in the loorld 
 in products useful to man, and yet one of the 
 poorest in proper facilities of distribution of 
 those products. 
 
 " The price of products rises or falls in pro- 
 portion to the accessibility to a market. Thus, 
 in Iowa and Nebraska, corn is valued at 25 to 
 30 cents, and wheat at 90 cents per bushel, 
 while in Michigan corn is worth 59 cents, and 
 wheat 132 cents. 
 
 " Taking the entire products of some of the 
 most promising States, as given in the Agri- 
 cultural Heport, and calculating the quantity 
 required for the whole consumption, as well as 
 for the live stock in each, the following is the 
 mrplus production in tons weight. The sur- 
 
 plus consists mostly of corn, wheat, oats, 
 potatoes, butter, cheese, meats, tobacco, flax, 
 and wool, and all of it should find its way to 
 the Seaboard, but for the expense of con- 
 veyance. (See Revised Table). 
 
 Illinois 
 
 ... 7,175,727 tons 
 
 Indiana 
 
 ... 4,500,323 „ 
 
 Michigan . . 
 
 ... 1,851,206 „ 
 
 Ohio 
 
 ... 3,187,422 „ 
 
 Minnesota .. 
 
 938,242 „ 
 
 Wisconsin .. 
 
 ... 1,286,513 „ 
 
 Iowa 
 
 ... 3,290,638 „ 
 
 Nebraska . . 
 
 292,345 „ 
 
 Kansas - 
 
 946,328 „ 
 
 Missouri 
 
 ... 2,933,892 „ 
 
 Total 
 
 ... 26,402,636 tons 
 
 " Take the total products of the United 
 States and Territories for 1872, as shown in 
 the Agricultm-al Reports for that yeat, the 
 result of accurate calculations, showing the 
 amount unsold and unused for lack of trans- 
 portation facilities is astonishing." 
 
 " The total cereal and meat products of the 
 entire country, as shown by the Official Reports, 
 is here given ; the total consumption and the 
 total exports, as evidenced also by Government 
 Official Reports ; and beyond all these there 
 is a surplus of QQ^,^W,'^Mi bushels i/n the\aggre- 
 gate of the varied products. Some of this 
 aggregate is, doubtless, utilized, but there are 
 no data or returns anywhere to show it. 
 
 " Inquiry from season to season only elicit 
 the reply, that, when not burned, it lies over 
 deteriorating, and is applied to some inferior 
 purpose, or used for manure. 
 
 "Besides these cereal products, there are 
 also 481,531,389 lbs. of meat in excess, and, 
 whether these be in the living or slaughtered 
 state, equally a waste. 
 
 " These products at the cash prices given in 
 official returns of the export values, amount to 
 the sum of $517,935,405," 
 Which amounts to an aggregate of 15,000,000 
 tons, and all this is a practical loss to the 
 farmers and consumers. The opening of the 
 Mississippi River and Atlantic and Gulf Ship 
 Canal Route will collect and transport every 
 ton of this surplus to the Atlantic Seaboard 
 and to the markets of Europe, at least 400 per 
 cent, cheaper than that which is now exported 
 from this Valley. 
 
 Commercial Report, No. 10 (1875), of the 
 British Embassy and Legation Office, at 
 Washington, United States, pp. 312 and 
 313. Under the title of " Proposed In- 
 land System of Navigation" this Report 
 says : — 
 
 " As to relative costs of transport by water 
 and railways an instance is given of a case in 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 point. A Cinciimati steamer, with her tows laden 
 with coal from Pittsburg, was passing down the 
 Ohio River, bound to Orleans, distant from Pitts- 
 burgh about 2,000 miles. The cargo consisted of 
 336,000 bushels of coal (weighing 13,440 tons). 
 This coal was being transported to New 
 Orleans at 5 cents, per 100 lbs. At this very 
 moderate rate the down trip brought to the 
 boat and barges $13,440, considered a re- 
 munerative trip by the owners. Now, to have 
 carried such a freight by rail would have 
 demanded a force of fifty trains, or 1,344 cars, 
 with 10 tons each. At $200 a car, with 10 
 tons freight, to be carried 2,000 miles (which 
 is even lower transportation than can be profit- 
 able on the railroads), this cargo would have 
 amounted to $268,000, makmg a difference of 
 more thorn $250,000 on the transportation 
 of the cargo by one cheap steamboat and her 
 
 barges strikingly corroborating the 
 
 statements made by Prof. Maury. 
 
 Cost by Rail . . 
 „ Water 
 
 Gain by Water 
 
 $268,000 
 13,440 
 
 $254,560" 
 
 EUSSIAN TESTIMONY. 
 
 Commercial Reports, No. 4 (1876). Part II. 
 Of the British Consul- General Stanley on 
 the Trade and Commerce of Russia and 
 Odessa. Presented to both Houses of 
 Parliament by Command of Her Majesty. 
 April 1876. 
 
 " Memorandum sent by the Odessa Com- 
 mittee on Trade and Manufacttu'es to the 
 Council of Trade and Manufactures, at St. 
 Petersburg, and translated by the British Vice- 
 Consul at Odessa. 
 
 This Report says : (from pp. 437 to 440). 
 
 " The real danger threatens us not from 
 those places which serve as dep6ts for the sale 
 of Russian grain, but from other competitors 
 for those foreign markets which have hitherto 
 been the consumers of our produce. 
 
 " These threaten not only the grain trade of 
 Odessa, but that of aU Russia. 
 
 " The first rank among these competitors is, 
 as is well known, held by the United States of 
 America. 
 
 " In their Report for last year the Com- 
 mittee pointed out that the cause of the 
 continued progress of the United States is the 
 increasing abundance of their production. 
 With a population half that of Russia, the 
 United States produce nearly as much grain 
 as the latter. 
 
 "Last year their produce was 175,000,000 
 hectoliters ; that of Russia 210,000,000 hecto- 
 
 liters. The United States can export their 
 surplus produce at prices ruinous to us. 
 
 "Only a few years ago the United States 
 l^eld a secondary position in the English mar- 
 kets, which is the most important for us, but 
 after the civU war the state of affairs began to 
 change. 
 
 " Of the 9,000,000 to 14,000,000 quarters 
 of foreign wheat required by England, the 
 proportions supphed by Russia and the United 
 States have been as follows during the last 
 seven years : — 
 
 1867 
 1868 
 1869 
 1870 
 1871 
 1872 
 1873 
 
 " The Committee has no positive information 
 for 1874, but the result is probably less 
 favourable to Russia than that for 1873. 
 
 " The total value of exports of grain from 
 the United States has been as follows : 
 
 
 Russia. 
 
 United States. 
 
 per cent. 
 
 per cent. 
 
 44 
 
 ... 14 
 
 
 32 
 
 ... 18 
 
 
 32 
 
 ... 18 
 
 
 38 
 
 ... 21 
 
 
 40 
 
 ... 23 
 
 
 51 
 
 .. 24 
 
 
 21 
 
 ... 44 
 
 1871 
 
 1872 
 1873 
 
 1874 
 
 $76,500,000 
 80,700,000 
 94,400,000 
 
 145,300,000 
 
 " Of which the value of wheat and wheat 
 flour was in 
 
 1871 
 
 1872 
 1873 
 1874 
 
 $45,000,000 
 38,900,000 
 51,400,000 
 
 101,400,000 
 
 '■' It must be remembered that the financial 
 year in the United States begins on the 1st 
 July, so the exports given as for 1874 are for 
 the latter half of 1873 and the first half of 
 1874. 
 
 " The above figures are to the highest 
 degree instructive. They show that we have 
 changed position with the United States. She 
 has now our former high position on <the 
 English market, whilst we must put up with 
 quite a secondary position. 
 
 " What they chiefly prove, however, is the 
 regular progressive movement of America. 
 
 " They show that we have to deal, not 
 merely with an exceptional phase, depending 
 on the state of the crops, but that the position 
 acquired by the United States is beyond such 
 influence, and not to be shaken. 
 
 " We cannot therefore indulge in the hope 
 that even a most prosperous harvest in Russia 
 will turn the scale in our favour and restore 
 us to our former position, but we must rather 
 believe that the United States wiU take a stUl 
 higher position among the grain producers of 
 the world. 
 
 " Hitherto all the North American corn 
 destined for Europe went by rail from Chicago 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 to New York, and the costs of freights to 
 England toere so high as to amount to three 
 times the value of the grulii at Chicago. 
 
 " This year they have bef^un the deepening 
 the mouth of the Mississippi Hiver, for which 
 Congress has granted $2,000,000. (Cor- 
 rected. — The Act of, Congress donated for this 
 purpose $7,000,000). 
 
 " On the completion of these Works there 
 will be Cheap Water Carriage the Avhole ^vay 
 from Chicago, and the cost of transport to 
 Europe will be diminished more then 50 per 
 cent. The new way will moreover bring into 
 cultivation many millions of acres of virgin 
 soil on the banks of the Mississij)pi and its 
 tributaries. 
 
 " It is, in fact, impossible to calculate the 
 amount of grain which America will he able to 
 export, and which will render her absolutely 
 the controller of the prices of the London 
 3Iarliet ; that we shall be utterly unable to 
 compete with her. 
 
 " The cheapness and fertility of her virgin 
 soil, the favourable climate, the high class of 
 agriculture, substituting, where possible, ma- 
 chinery for human labour, the Spirit of enter- 
 prise and aptitude for organising business of 
 the Americans, are so many proofs tJiat the 
 fears of the Committee are well grounded. 
 
 " Witness, for instance, the struggle now 
 going on between the Graingers' Association 
 and the Railway Companies, in which the 
 former have compelled the Companies to make 
 important concessions in favour of grain," car- 
 riage, &c., &c. 
 
 (Here several reasons are given for expecting 
 a largely increased exportation of grain from 
 America.) 
 
 ***** 
 
 " The following will be the result : 
 
 " The corn trade of Odessa and of Russia 
 generally will share the fate of our wool trade. 
 
 "As Australia, South Africa, and South 
 America have dnven our Wool from the Mar- 
 kets of Western Europe, so will the United 
 States drlce from them our corn trade.'' 
 
 " Other competitors are comparatively unim- 
 portant.''' 
 
 Summary op Conclusions on the Missis- 
 sippi Valley Commerce — The immense 
 Annual Loss Sustained poe, want of Trans- 
 POBTATION Facilities, and advantages of 
 THE Mississippi, Gulf and Florida Ship 
 Canal Eoutb over the Northern Lakes 
 AND Canals through New York and Canada, 
 AND the Railways to the Atlantic — all 
 combined. 
 
 A Complete Solution to the whole 
 Problem. 
 
 1. The Annual Commerce of the Mississippi 
 
 Valley and Gulf States, as shown by the 
 official evidence of the United States, British 
 and Russian Governments, fully sustained by 
 the highest commercial evidence, has developed 
 into gigantic amounts of tonnage' and value, 
 and the capabilities for increased production are 
 practically unlimited. 
 
 2. The present Surplus production for export 
 of grain alone amounts to about 25,000,000 
 tons annually; and the yearly increase to 
 nearly 5,000,000 tons more. 
 
 3. That the Nortliern Lakes, with their con- 
 necting Canals through New York and Canada 
 to the Atlantic seaboard, together with the 
 through Trunk Railways, taxed to their fullest 
 carrying capacity, only transport 7,000,000 tons 
 of this surplus to the sea annually — that several 
 million tons go by way of the Mississippi, 
 while fully 15,000,000 tons of this surplus can- 
 not get transportation at all by these Northern 
 Routes, and remain in the farmers hands. And 
 that the surplus export ' tonnage of all other 
 productions, not grain, is also gigantic in 
 amount, a very large portion of which cannot 
 be exported to Ocean markets for the same 
 reasons. 
 
 4. The actual loss to the producers, con- 
 simiers, shippers, carriers, &c., on this surplus 
 of grain which the farmers cannot get shipped, 
 amounts to five hundred of million of dollars 
 annufilly, as is shown by the Report of the 
 Chamber of Commerce of the State of New 
 York, and the Reports of the United States 
 and Great Britain ; and that the losses in other 
 productions, not grain, is also enormous in 
 amount. 
 
 5. Disadvantages of the Northern route by 
 the Lakes and Canals to New York and 
 Canadian ports. Ice blockade and total sus- 
 pension of lake and canal navigation, averaging 
 six months each year. All vessels and water- 
 craft tied up during this period earning nothing, 
 and subject to heavy port charges, insurances, 
 &c., wholly dependent upon railways to bring 
 the crops to the city of Chicago and other 
 Lake ports, at heavier freights than wUl deliver 
 the same exports at Liverpool vik the Missis- 
 sippi route. 
 
 6. All commerce shipped by Northern Lakes 
 and Canal rouces is taxed extra freight, and extra 
 tolls, to protect the shipping and canal capital 
 during the six months of suspended navigation, 
 and to cover all unavoidable expenses connected 
 with this shipping stock and the canals during 
 the same period, and this can never be avoided. 
 
 Also extra high freights from September 1st 
 to April, covering the stormy months of Lake 
 Navigation ; while it happens yearly that pro- 
 duce is locked up in Lake ports, or detained in 
 transitu. 
 
 7. But above all, for six months each year the 
 farmers can have no market. Suspension of 
 navigation occurs just at this time wshen the 
 farmers do most need the market, for the rail- 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 "ways have no capacity to cany mucli of this 
 surplus — and with no competition railway 
 freights are j)ut up to frightful rates. See 
 Government Reports. 
 
 Advantages of the Mississippi Eivee, Gulf 
 AXD Flouida Ship Canal Route ovee, the 
 Northern Lakes and Canal Routes, or 
 
 OVER ANT other POSSIBLE WaTER RoUTE. 
 
 1. Not obstructed by ice, but open to naviga- 
 tion all the year round from the Mississippi 
 Valley to Liverpool. 
 
 2. Its ships, steamers, and barges are not 
 tied up on account of ice, but can earn freights 
 every month in the year. 
 
 3. Li winter no produce locked up in ware- 
 houses, or detained in transitu., nor shipped by 
 railways. 
 
 4. The Mississippi and tributary rivers pos- 
 sess sufficient capacity to transport all the 
 surplus productions of the Mississippi Valley. 
 
 5. Freights 400 per cent, cheaper than any 
 other route, and do^vn river by the barge 
 system is as cheap as the cheapest ocean 
 freights. 
 
 6. Farm products of the trans-Mississippi 
 States, and all below the mouth of the Ohio 
 River can be delivered in Liverpool rid the 
 Mississippi route for the same freight that rail- 
 ways can deliver it in Chicago. 
 
 7. All ocean freights from New Orleans to 
 the Atlantic seaboard and to foreign countries, 
 while from Chicago to the Atlantic seaboard 
 for six months are 1,500 miles of lake and 
 costly canal freights, and the other six months 
 the most costly railway freights, and involving 
 tAvo extra transhipments. 
 
 8. The water route from New Orleans to 
 Liverpool rid the Florida Ship Canal is sliorter 
 than from Chicago to Liverpool rid the Lake 
 and Canal routes. (See Report, New York 
 Chamber of Commerce.) 
 
 9. Shipments from the Mississippi Valley 
 and Gulf States to Liverpool rid New Orleans 
 are from 10 to 15 days t}uicker than rid 
 Chicago routes. 
 
 10. Grain and flour ships in better condition 
 by the deep-river waters than by the shallower 
 canals, as the Erie and Canada Canals. 
 
 11. No tolls to ])ay as on all the Northern 
 Canals. It is the great free high- way for all 
 commerce to reach the ocean, and for importing 
 into this Valley. 
 
 12. All classes of Ocean Steamers and Sail- 
 ins Vessels can run direct to New Orleans — 
 River 150 feet deep — Ocean Steamers of 2,000 
 tons can run from Liverpool and New York to 
 St. Louis direct. 
 
 13. The United States Senate, after full in- 
 vestigation, came to a unanimous conclusion 
 in favour of the Mississippi, as the first and 
 most important of all the routes, affording the 
 
 cheapest freights and the most feasible ajid 
 advantageous channel to let out the commerce 
 of this vast basin to the Atlantic seaboard. 
 
 14. And, finally, the Congress of the United 
 States, at its Session of 1875, passed a law and 
 made liberal money appropriations of S7,000,000 
 to remove the bar in the mouth of the Missis- 
 sippi River, to afford a channel of water 30 feet 
 in depth over the bar, to allow all sizes and 
 classes of ocean vessels and steamers to trade in 
 the harbour of New Orleans and St. Louis, and 
 also to improve the Mississippi River and its 
 tributaries, in conformity with the Senate 
 Report. 
 
 Capt. Eads, the great American engineer, is 
 executing the work for the Government, and 
 his efforts have demonstrated that he will 
 succeed in thoroughly re-opening the port of 
 New Orleans, which before the late war Avas 
 the second largest exporting Port of the United 
 Stales. He has already secured a depth of 21 
 feet over the bar. 
 
 15. More than three-fourths of the entire 
 exports of the United States are the pro- 
 ductions of the Mississippi Valley and Gulf 
 States, and with the removal of this Bar in the 
 Great River, often styled in History and Geo- 
 grapliy as the " Father of Waters," and upon 
 the completion of the Florida Ship Canal, the 
 Vast Surplus productions of bread stuffs, meat, 
 3,000,000 bales of cotton, and a vast list of 
 other productions Avill reach the markets of 
 the v,'or!',l, cheaper than by any other route. 
 
 10. These* improvements, accomplished as 
 they surely will be, must establish direct trade 
 lietween Europe and this Great Valley, and it 
 ia* probably not too strong to say the time is 
 not far distant when New Orleans will not only 
 become the Largest Exporting Port of the 
 Western World, but of the Old World also. 
 
 1^7. This done, then there will be no more 
 com burned for fuel and beef cattle slaughtered 
 on the Western Plains for their hides and 
 tallow. The farmers will have a market all 
 the year round. They will raise more, and all 
 the world can go up and doAvn this Great Com- 
 mercial free high-way to carry this surplus to 
 the world's markets at the cheapest rates of 
 freights known. 
 
 Then the cheapest bread and meat can be 
 supplied to feed the hungry millions of our own 
 and foreign lands. 
 
 18. The six New England States import as 
 much grain from this Valley annually as our 
 whole foreign grain exports. The New York 
 and the whole Atlantic seaboard nvIU be greatlv 
 benefitted by this route. 
 
 19. The surplus commerce of the Mississippi 
 Valley and Gulf States, as established by the 
 cumulative authorities quoted, having no pre- 
 sent or cheap outlet to the seaboard, will be 
 transported to the Atlantic seaports and foreign 
 niarkets by Avay of the ]Mississippi River and 
 the ATlr.ntie and Gulf Ship Canal Ptoute — 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 1st. Because this is the cheapest and best 
 route. 
 
 2nd. Because the United States' Government 
 is giving it strong aid to make this the proper 
 outlet. 
 
 Barge Companies on the Mississippi and its 
 Tributaries stand ready to contract to transport 
 grain and other produce, through this great water 
 route at one dollar per ton for every 1,000 miles. 
 As the distance is less than 5,000 miles from the 
 miost remote regions of production to New York 
 and Philadelpliia, Baltimore, and Boston, via 
 New Orleans, it will be seen that from the most 
 remote corners of production grain can be 
 delivered in New York and the other cities 
 named at $5 per ton, while all the grain in 
 the Trans-Mississippi States cost over $22 
 per ton to New York by the Railway routes ; 
 and from St. Louis, the centre of this Valley, 
 it can be transported to New York by this new 
 route for $3^ per ton. 
 
 Russia fully comprehends the situation. 
 Commodore Maury has truly said — "Here, 
 upon this Central Sea (the Gulf of Mexico), 
 nature has, with a lavish hand, grouped and 
 arranged, in juxtaposition, all those physical 
 circumstances which make nations truly great. 
 Here she has laid the foundations for a com- 
 jnercethe most magnificent the world ever saw." 
 
 No Ship Canal can have the same geogra- 
 phical position as this in any other part of the 
 world, for a gigantic commerce waiting now to 
 pass through it with a developing commerce, 
 that must for all time to come make it the 
 greatest International improvement of the 
 
 age. 
 
 n 
 
 AMOUNT OE NET TONS OE MER- 
 CHANDISE NOW READY TO PASS 
 THROUGH THE SHIP CANAL. , 
 
 1. Present Commerce of the Gulf, '^°"^" 
 
 &c 10,000,000 
 
 2. Exports from the Mississippi 
 
 Valley and the Gulf States .... 15,000,000 
 
 3. Imports into the Mississippi 
 
 Valley and the Gulf States 
 (large) 
 
 4. Freights via the Three Trans- 
 
 Continental Railways and the 
 Darien Ship Canal (large) ... 
 
 5. Exports, Imports, and Internal 
 
 Trade of the State of Florida 2,000,000 
 
 Total (now) 
 
 27,000,000 
 
 Items 3rd and 4th will be large, as will appear 
 self-evident from a little reflection upon the 
 facts. Some of these improvements are now 
 being constructed, and perhaps all may be 
 completed within the next ten years. 
 
 It is an established fact that the Suez 
 Canal is both a commercial and financial suc- 
 
 cess, and is bound to become more so every 
 year. 
 
 The Report of the Yearly Meeting and 
 Exhibits in the Appendix hereto, published in 
 the Economist of July 22, 1876, shows it 
 was earning a net dividend, after payment of 
 all preferred claims, of 6| per cent, on its 
 capital shares of £8,000,000. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Its traffic in 1872 was 1,486,000 
 
 1873 „ 2,085,000 
 
 1874 „ 2,424,000 
 
 1875 „ 2,800,000 
 
 Compare the traffic of these two great ship 
 canals. 
 
 EBMAEKS. 
 
 According to English papers, England im- 
 ports annually about 11,000,000 tons of grain 
 to supply her deficiency. 
 
 She can supply this annual demand from the 
 Mississippi Valley, by direct trade with the 
 ports of New Orleans, St. Louis, Cincinnati, 
 Louisville, and other shipping centres, at from 
 40 to 75 per cent, cheaper than from any other 
 part of the world. It ought to cost her in 
 freights not over a shilling per bushel from 
 the place of production, and in retu,rn she can 
 sell her manufactures to this valley, in pay- 
 ment for this grain. Sere is reciprocity of ' 
 trade at once. Why not foster it ? 
 '^ Practice, however, is different. England 
 sends most of her ships to New York, Boston, 
 Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Canada, and 
 thereby compels the Mississippi Valley farmer to 
 transport his grain to these Atlantic Cities over 
 the costly lake and canal routes, or the still more 
 exorbitant railways over an average distance of 
 1,500 miles. The amount of these freights, 
 tolls, insurance, transhipments, and all middle- 
 men's charges is 82 bushels in 100, or for 
 every 18 bushels the farmer sends by these 
 routes he must send 82 bushels along to pay 
 the expenses. (See Maury's Report.) More 
 than three-fourths of these enormous charges 
 can be saved to the farmer and consumer, 
 besides paying handsome ocean freights to 
 carry this trade direct from , New Orleans to 
 Liverpool. 
 
 Again, why does England carry her exports 
 required in the Mississippi Valley to these 
 North Atlantic Cities, and thereby compel the 
 Mississippi Valley consumer to pay these enor- 
 mous freights and middlemen's charges ? 
 
 Direct trade with the Mississippi Valley wiU. 
 at once avoid all this, and afford England cheap 
 bread and grain, and the Mississippi Valley 
 farmers cheap manufactures. 
 
 Again, three-fourths of all the exports of the 
 United States is the production of the Missis- 
 sippi Valley and Gulf States, and most jpf this 
 is forced to New York and the other Atlantic 
 
( 31 ) 
 
 Cities to be purchased there by the English 
 consumer, saddled with these exorbitant* trans- 
 portation costs, &c. This is a gigantic business 
 for these Atlantic Cities. They have grown 
 wealthy and powerful out of this circuity of 
 trade, and this entirely at the expense of Eng- 
 land and the Mississippi Valley. 
 
 Why not sent half the foreign ships now 
 
 running to the Northern ports to New Orleans ? 
 This would greatly benefit shipping capital, and 
 at once correct the evil. 
 
 Erom Europe to New Orleans, through the 
 Elorida Ship Canal, we have one of the finest 
 ocean ship routes in the world, and that all the 
 year round, without ice, fogs, or other obstruc- 
 tions. 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 THE ATLANTIC AND GULE SHIP CANAL OF FLOEIDA. 
 
 The following named OflB.cial Maps show 
 the location of the Ship Canal, and. also 
 the Tide "Water Boute— Gulf Stream — 
 The Straits of Florida— The Gulf of Mexico 
 and Caribbean Sea, and the contiguous 
 Countries. 
 
 1. The United States' Official Map of the State 
 
 01? Ploeida, made by the Bureau of Topogra- 
 phical Engineers, by order of Hon. Jefferson 
 Davis, Secretary of War, in conformity with a 
 Eesolution of the United States' Senate of the 
 11th February, 1856, calling for a " General 
 Map of the Periinsula of Florida, illustrative of 
 the recent Surveys for a Oanal, executed by virtue 
 of the appropriations made for that purpose, 
 and reproduced in 1873." 
 
 2. United States' Official Maps and Eepoets op 
 
 Coast Surveys — of the whole Peninsula of Flo- 
 rida and its Coasts — of the Gulf of Mexico — and 
 of the inland Tide Waters, Rivers, Sounds, 
 Lagoons, Bays, and Harbours, accurate, full, and 
 complete. 
 
 ■3. New Official Map of the State of Florida in 
 1875, showing the Counties and Townships by 
 the United States' Surveys — all the Inland Wa- 
 ters, Improvements, Railways, Cities, Towns, 
 &c., &c. 
 
 4. Colton's Map of Floeida, to the same effect. 
 
 -J. Official Feench Map (Paris, 1862), showing 
 Mexico— The United States on the Gulf— The 
 West Indies — Central America — South America 
 — The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans — The Gulf of 
 Mexico and Caribbean Sea — The Peninsula of 
 Florida — Gulf Stream and the Straits of Florida 
 — and minutely showing the Coral Reefs, Rocks, 
 Sandbanks, and hidden dangers to Navigation 
 through this "Pass," all quite complete. 
 
 6. Beitish Map op Mexico and Central America, 
 
 showing nearly the same matters as the above 
 French Map, by James Wyld, Geographer to 
 the Queen and H.R.H. the Prince Consort. 
 London, &c. 
 
 7. Private Maps op the Company. j 
 
 LOCATION. 
 
 The Ship Canal commences in the harbours of Fernan- 
 dina and Nassau Inlet, in the Atlantic ; thence by way 
 of the inside tide waters and connecting Canal into 
 the St. John's River ; thence by way of the St. John's 
 and Doctor's Lake ; thence overland into the Suannee 
 River (at tide water) ; thence by way of the Suannee 
 River into the Gulf of Mexico. Length of this 
 route 165 miles. Nearly one half of this distance 
 is through deep tide waters, which need but little 
 improvement. 
 
 Under the Charter Act of 1874 the Company has the 
 right to go up the St. John's, and thence cross by the 
 Ocklawaha River, Lake Orange, and overland to the 
 River and Bay of Wacassasse into the Gulf, or by way 
 of Silver Springs and the Withlacoochee River into the 
 Gulf. The two latter routes for the West Division 
 afford more natural luater inileage and less overland 
 distance, but a proportionate longer route. 
 
 Neither the land or water section presents a single 
 engineering difficulty. 
 
 There are no mountains, or hills, or swamps, hard 
 rocks, or quicksands to encounter on the whole line ; 
 geography describes the surface of the State as being 
 generally " low and level." 
 
 The East Division runs through the St. John's River 
 and the inside tide water and Fernandino, with their 
 connecting canal. The St. John's River is a magnifi- 
 cent tide-water stream like the River Thames, but it is 
 three times as long, and averages more than five times 
 the width of the Thames from London to the sea. 
 
 It is frequently called the "Peerless River of the 
 South," and both history and geography describe it as 
 an "■ arm of the sea," or " ocean frith." 
 
 The following short description of this great river is 
 found in the Official Land Office Report of the United^ 
 States' Government for 1870 : — 
 
 "The numerous rivers of Florida afford great 
 facilities for internal navigation, giving free access by 
 steamers far into the interior, and rendering available 
 extensive tracts of rich country, which would other- 
 wise remain unsettled for many years to come. The 
 St. John's River, the principal river of the State, rises 
 in liake Washington, and flowing ina northerly direction, 
 through an exceedingly leoel country, empties into the 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 Atlantic near the north-east corner of the State. For 
 150 miles from its mouth it has an average width of 
 nearly two miles (in some places over five miles), and 
 is naviijaJiJe for large sea-gmmj steamers as far as 
 I'ilatl-a, and for smaller steamers to Lake "Washington. 
 Many of its tributaries are also navigable for consider- 
 able distances, and it is estimated that this river and 
 its branches afford 1,000 miles of water navigation." 
 
 The broad part of the river, for the distance above 
 mentioned, i? called the Lower St. John's, and the 
 upper part, passing through a series of beautiful con- 
 necting lakes, to Lake Washington, is called the Upper 
 St. John's. The Atlantic tide is perceptible to Lake 
 George, and from Lake Harney, 250 miles to its mouth, 
 it has a fall of only 3^ feet, showing the country is 
 almost a dead level. 
 
 This river, from the junction of the Canal to its 
 debouchciiiciit into the ocean, a distance of nearly 90 
 miles, may be properly considered as a vast bay and 
 harbour of quiet, land-locked water, with anchorage 
 e::;tension and holding ground of the best description, 
 and of sufficient capacity to accommodate the combined 
 navies and merchant ships of the United States, 
 England and France. 
 
 Here ships can lie in safety at nominal harbour dues, 
 receive unlimited supplies of first-class coal from the 
 near coal-fields of Alabama at the lowest rates, make 
 repairs, and receive other supplies. These are great 
 advantages. 
 
 The Connecting Ganal can be completed with an 
 additional expenditure of £20,000, so as to allow ocean 
 steamers and sailing vessels to pass through from 
 the harbours of Fernandina and Nassau Inlet into the 
 St. John's Eiver. The mouth of the St. John's is 
 wholly impracticable to. keep open, on account of 
 di-ifting quicksands. 
 
 Fernandina Haeboue. 
 
 The Alabama Statistical Register of 1871 publishes 
 a description of this noble harbour, from the Eeport of 
 Senator Yulee, of Florida. 
 
 " The port of Fernandina, next to Norfolk and Pen- 
 sacola, is the best in the United States. 
 
 " Th^ entrance to this port is easy with all winds ; 
 the channels (of which there are three) are straight ; 
 the harbour deep, varying from 20 to 60 feet, and 
 almost completely land-locked ; the anchorage extension 
 and the holdingrground of the best description. The 
 deep-water line reaches close to the shore for a length 
 of two miles, so that a continued wall, but little 
 advanced from the line of shore, will give wharfage for 
 two miles, with a depth of 20 to 30 feet at low water, 
 and warehouses can line the whole wharf-front. The 
 entrance from the sea to the wharves is about two 
 miles, and from the plateau of the town the approach 
 can be observed seaward as far as the telescope can 
 sight. The depth of water on the bar varies from 20 
 to 23 feet at low water, and high tide 80 feet." 
 
 The Official Guide of Florida of 1873 says :— 
 
 " This is the best harbour of the Atlantic south of 
 Norfolk, and is spacious enough to shelter the fleets of 
 the United States, and to admit over a good bar and 
 through a straight channel, at ordinary high tide, all 
 classes of ocean vessels. Its port, Fernandina, is a 
 small city, and, though stunted hj the check its young 
 growth received during the war, is now surely advancing 
 towards its natural destination — the outlet for the 
 products of the whole of Florida ; the centre for its 
 lumber trade and naval stores; and the Atlantic ship- 
 ping port, for the largest share of the Gulf commerce. 
 
 " From its insular position, Fernandina, fanned by 
 
 the constant sea breezes, cool in summer and mild in 
 winter, 'is entirely exempt from the malignant and 
 contagious fevers that visit annually nearly all the 
 larger and many of the smaller towns of the South. 
 Thus she offers to the far-seeing capitalists the chance 
 of building up a wide-spread and lucrative trade ; to 
 invalids in search of health, a mild and salubrious 
 climate ; and the pleasure-seeker will find in the fishing 
 and hunting, in the shell road, and in her unrivalled 
 beach, with its invigorating surf -baths, and its 15 miles 
 of smooth, unbroken race-track, sufficient attraction for 
 a lengthy stay. With a liberal policy pursued by those 
 who control her destiny, the future of Fernandina 
 must be great and bright." 
 
 THE WEST DIVISION. 
 
 The evidence relating to this part of the route is 
 voluminous and interesting. 
 
 1. Eeports of United States' Topographical Engineers 
 
 and Land Surveyors. 
 
 2. United States' Senate Eeport on Transportation 
 
 Eoutes to the Sea-board (important evidence). 
 
 3. Other Official and Private Eeports and Showings. 
 This rcidence establishes the following facts : — 
 
 1. That a grand ship canal is feasible across this 
 land section. 
 
 2. That the surface of the country is nearly on a 
 dead level, with a small ridge or elevation, requiring a 
 deep cut through it. 
 
 3. That the geological formation is mostly clay, 
 deep down with rotten limestone at the bottom. 
 
 4. That this excavation can be done at 10 cents 
 (fivepence) per cubic yard.- 
 
 5. That the sloped banks and bottom will be firm, 
 and not any part of the whole canal will require 
 dredging. 
 
 6. That the Suannee Eiver is a deep-tide water 
 river, far above the point where the canal enters into 
 the river, and but little improvement will be required 
 in that river. 
 
 7. That the harbour in the gulf will require some 
 improvement, but the cost will not be large. 
 
 8. That there is ample water on the land section, 
 for a cheap canal with locks ; but a tide-water canal, 
 without locks, is practicable from ocean to gulf. 
 
 9. That a re-survey, with accurate estimates, is 
 recommended of this division. 
 
 10. That the canal, from ocean to gulf, runs through 
 one of the most beautiful, interesting, and healthy 
 countries in the world. 
 
 The entire canal will have ample capacity to allow 
 all sizes and classes of Ocean Steamers and sailing- 
 vessels to pass and repass freely, with numerous turn- 
 out stations, dep6ts, and wharves constructed at proper 
 points along the whole line. 
 
 Sailing vessels will be towed through by the Com- 
 pany's powerful tow boats. 
 
 The proposition is to make this 
 
 A Tide-Wat.ee Canal 
 
 from the Atlantic to the Gulf, without any locks. 
 This is entirely feasible, and although the cost is much 
 greater than one with locks', yet its superior efficiency 
 and shipping capacity, with the immense amount of 
 commerce which will immediately pass through it, at 
 once justifies the additional cost ; and even then the 
 cost will be small compared with the cost of the Suez 
 and other ship canals now constructed, and those pro- 
 posed to be constructed, such as the Darien Canal. 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 Estimated Cost foe a Tide-watee Ship Casal, 
 "WiTHon Locks 
 
 Total 
 
 (Cost of Suez Canal 
 
 £4,000,000 
 £19,000,000) 
 
 We have already seen that the traffic wiU be ten 
 times as large per annnm as the Suez Canal from the 
 beginning. 
 
 One Engineer estimates the cost by way of the 
 most sontherly and longest ronte as follows : — 
 
 Miles. 
 From the month of the Withlacoochee 
 
 Eiver to Port Clinch 9 
 
 „ Fort Clinch to Blue Spring ... 12 
 
 „ Blue Spring to Silver Spring. . . 24 
 
 „ Silver Spring, through Lake 
 
 Kerr, into the St. John's ... 28 
 
 Down the St. John's 90 
 
 Through the Sisters and Tide-Waters 
 
 to Femandina 
 
 Length of Excavation 
 Natural Waters, reqtiiring no Dredg 
 ing 
 
 Average Depth of Canal 
 
 Width at Top 
 
 „ at Bottom 
 Total Excavation, cubic yards 
 Cast at 10 Cents 
 
 Excavation at the Mouth of Withla- 
 coochee ... 
 Construction of Four Locks 
 
 Total Cost of Ship Canal 
 Or Sterling (nearly) ... 
 
 20 
 
 Total 186 
 67 
 
 119 
 
 Feet. 
 
 30 
 
 210 
 
 150 
 
 74,337,185 
 
 s7,483,718 . 50 
 
 8250,000 . 00 
 §800,000 . 00 
 
 88,438,718 .-W" 
 £1,684,000 
 
 In the second volume of United States' Senate 
 Report, &c., p. 807, a crude estimate of cost is put at 
 87,000,000. (See Evidence, same volume, pp. 954 to 
 964.) 
 
 The chartered and corporate rights to construct 
 this Ship Canal are derived under the "Act of the 
 State of Florida," approved February 19, 1874. 
 
 The rights, franchises, privileges, and powers of the 
 Company under this charter are ample, liberal, and 
 complete. (See Act and Charter.) 
 
 This Compauy holds the Key to the Situation. 
 
 No ship canal across the Peninsula can possibly 
 reach the Atlantic coast, except thr(;ugh the Company's 
 ship canal from Lake George to the harbour of Feman- 
 dina. , This point is settled by the inevitable laws of 
 nature, viz.: as tlip. Company's canal and route is the 
 only possible outlet to the Atlantic from the C-kilf. 
 
 On this point the United States' Senate Report is 
 clear. It says : — " One fact may be taken as conclusive, 
 and that is that Femandina harbour is the natural 
 terminus of any canal through Florida, connecting the 
 Gulf with the Atlantic." 
 
 There has been a project talked of to promote the 
 construction of an Inland Steamboat and River Barge 
 Canal from the Rio Grande, by way of the cities of 
 Galveston, New Orleans, Mobile, and Pensacolaj 
 thence across the upper end of Florida, terminating at 
 Savannah in Georgia, and partial organization was 
 made for this purpose. Its length would be about 
 1,000 miles. But a recent Report of the United States 
 Chief of Engineers to the National Government, dated 
 
 April 4, 1876, for ever settles this scheme as wholly 
 impracticable. 
 
 The concluding Report of C. W. Howell, Captain of 
 
 Engineers, U.S.A., says : — 
 
 " I have this to report : ' So long as the port of New 
 Orleans is open it is preposterous to think that Savannah 
 can draw over the route here reported upon any 
 portion of the commerce of the Mississippi River, either 
 export or import." 
 
 Again, Report of Mr. A. X. DamreU, Captain of 
 Engineers, United States' Army, to Brig.-Gen. A. A. 
 Humphreys, Chief of Engineers, United States' Army, 
 says: — 
 
 " Such a ronte would, in my opinion, be feasible as 
 a work of engineering ; but, with its proposed terminus, 
 ib possesses no commercial advantages as long as the 
 ports of New Orleans and Mobile are kept open." 
 
 The Annual Report of the Chamber of Commerce 
 of New York, page 45, remarks : — 
 
 " No commercial city of any importance has ever 
 flourished, except where there occurs a break in the 
 grand lines of transport from the land to water course 
 of the interior, and from the latter to the ocean." 
 
 The very object of such Canal would be to carry the 
 commerce of the Mississippi River and other rivers 
 directly past the ports of Galveston, New Orleans, 
 Mobile, and Pensacola, to the Atlantic seaboard, and 
 to make them simply passing and not transhipping 
 ports. Will these important gulf cities permit this, 
 and allow their business throats to be cut by a private 
 Canal Company. The United States' Government has 
 appropriated 87,000,000 to open the mouth of the 
 Mississippi River, and to improve the same, in order 
 to export the commerce of the Mississippi valley 
 through the gulf. Is that undertaking also to be 
 defeated ? 
 
 This, if carried out, would be a merely local internal 
 improvement. It would not accommodate any part of 
 the commerce of the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean Sea, 
 nor the trans-Continental trade from the Pacific, going- 
 by the Darien Ship Canal, or the Pacific Railways. It 
 will cost more money than will build the ship canal 
 across the Peninsula of Florida. It will not cheapen 
 transportation as much as the ship canal, and the con- 
 struction of the ship canal wiU for ever keep from 
 it aU through commerce required at the Atlantic sea- 
 board. Hence it is impracticable. 
 
 THE GREAT TIDE-WATEE CANAL ROUTE 
 
 Feom Feenandina theodgh the Peninsula to Key 
 West and Cuba. 
 
 Commences in the harbour and bay of Femandina, 
 running thence southerly, and by the Company's canal 
 connecting with the St. John's River, near its month ; 
 thence south-westerly up the St. John's River and 
 connecting lakes to Lake Washington ; thence by short 
 canal to Indian River, Musquito Lagoon, and Halifax 
 River ; thence down Indian River, Jupiter Narrows, 
 and connecting canal to Lake Worth ; thence down 
 through Lake Worth and canal to New River ; thence 
 southerly through New Eiver and connecting canal to 
 Biscayne Bay ; thence south-westerly on Biscayne Bay 
 and Channel, Barn's Sound, and Florida Bay to the 
 harbour of Key ^^'^est, on the Gulf of Mexico ; thence 
 across the channel to the city of Havana, in Cuba, 84 
 miles. Length of the route through the Peninsula, 
 450 miles. 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 The great commercial importance of this route to 
 the United States and to the State, in order to establish 
 direct trade with Cuba, and to carry on export and 
 domestic commerce of this State, induced the Federal 
 Government to commence the construction of these 
 canals, and to improve the channels of these waters 
 where required, having in view the establishment of 
 this magnificent steam route from Fernandina, through 
 the Peninsula to Key West, and thence to Cuba. As 
 the State was so directly interested in this improve- 
 ment, the United States' G-overnment made a liberal 
 and unconditional donation of a portion of her national 
 domain to the State, to enable the State, or any 
 company it might charter, to continue and complete 
 these works. 
 
 On the 28th day of July, 1868, the State granted a 
 charter, incorporating " The Southern Inland Naviga- 
 tion and Improvement Company of Florida," with 
 liberal franchises, rights, concessions, and powers, 
 thereby authorizing and empowering this Company to 
 connect the waters above described by a series of canals, 
 also to improve these waters by dredging or otherwise, 
 and to complete and perfect these canals, and maintain 
 this route. 
 
 The State also made a liberal donation to this Com- 
 pany of 2,300,000 acres of lands in aid of and to enable 
 the ■ Company to complete these works and improve- 
 ments. 
 
 Under this charter the Company organized and 
 carried on these improvements. Since the American 
 financial crisis no work has been done for want of 
 means to go on. 
 
 A large amount of work has been done on the canals 
 and waters described. The amounts still required to 
 be done are detailed in the Report of the Engineer for 
 the Construction Company. 
 
 The Company has extended its route from Indian 
 River, by way of Halifax River, to the City of St. 
 Augustine, and thence North into the St. John's 
 River. This will make a straight route from Fer- 
 nandina to Key West, nearly the whole distance of 
 tide waters by connecting canals. It possesses so 
 many advantages that the additional costs become 
 inconsiderate. 
 
 ESTIMATED COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND 
 FULL EQUIPMENT OF THIS BOUTE. 
 
 State Engineer and Company's En- 
 gineers' Estimates ... ■ $5,000,000 
 
 Sterling £1,000,000 
 
 Of this amount there is a margin of 25 per cent, 
 for contingencies. With ready means the work can 
 be completed within eighteen months. 
 
 Harbour and City op Key West. 
 
 The " Official Guide " of Florida thus describes this 
 harbour : — 
 
 " The Island of Key West is about six miles long 
 and one wide. The City of Key West is situated at 
 the westerly extremity, where there is a large and 
 
 COMMODIOUS HARBOUR OF GREAT DEPTH OP WATER (from 
 
 30 to 70 feet deep), and of incalculable importance in 
 a commercial point of view. It is the principal coal- 
 ing station for the Gulf trade, an army and naval 
 depot. The markets, of New York, and other 
 Northern cities, and Havana, are supplied from its 
 port with immense quantities of fish, oysters, turtle, 
 sponge, and numerous other commodities. It has a 
 large commercial trade with the West Indies, Central 
 
 and South America. It exports from Florida large 
 quantities of lumber, timber, cattle, hogs, and sheep 
 to Cuba. Five steam-ship lines — three from the 
 Atlantic and two from the Gulf — trade regularly with 
 its port. It also receives large amounts of impoi-ts, 
 chiefly from Cuba and San Domingo. Fort TaylOr is 
 located here, and commands the entrance to the 
 harbour. This is a fine structure, with castellated 
 walls, bastions, and towers, mounted with 140 guns ; 
 30 15-inch Rodman guns are mounted on its massive 
 walls. Along the beach, at intervals of a mile, are 
 several martello towers of great strength ; and these, 
 with Fort Taylor, give the island prominent features." 
 There is an excellent ship route of deep waters from 
 the harbour of Key West across the channel to the 
 City of Havana, in Cuba, entirely free from keys, 
 coral reefs, or sandbanks. 
 
 " The City of Key West has a population exceeding 
 12,000, is rapidly increasing in population and wealth, 
 having trebled both since the late war. Thrift and 
 industry characterize the city. New houses are build- 
 ing in large numbers ; and the prospects are that with 
 the improvements now going on, and the completion of 
 the canals connecting the great inland water route 
 from Fernandina, through the Peninsula, to Key West, 
 and the establishment of a daily ship ferry from Key 
 West to Havana, the limits of the city will soon be 
 extended over the whole island on which it stands. 
 
 " The island of Key West is the most important of 
 the Florida Archipelago; has long enjoyed a very 
 high reputation as a resort for invalids, and its claims 
 are undoubtedly of the first order; reports from the 
 United States' navy and army physicians show ' that 
 the extreme equability of the temperature, and the 
 benign influence of the tempered sea-air, suit the deli- 
 cate Ijreathing organs of the consumptives. Thousands 
 are permanently cured. Intermittent fever is never 
 known here ; pneumonia, and affections of like nature, 
 are exceedingly rare ; diseases of the alimentary canal 
 are remarkably infrequent.' 
 
 " Frosts never occur ; while in the winter months 
 the average temperature is about 70°, and the average 
 of the summer is never above 92 " . 
 
 " The island is well wooded. The vegetation is 
 entirely of a tropical character. Tall cocoa palms 
 rising to the height of 60 or 80 feet, with their im- 
 mense feather-like leaves, and laden with fruit through- 
 out the year, delight the eye at every tui-n ; the date 
 palm is also found here growing to perfection; the 
 almond tree, with its horizontal branches, grouped in 
 whorls like an umbrella, and the tamarind tree, the 
 orange, lime, lemon, guava, sapadiUo, custard-apple, 
 shaddock, maumee-apple, sour-sop, and all tropical 
 fruits flourish here in great luxuriance and beauty. 
 Besides these, there is a great' wealth of flowering 
 shrubs, plants, and vines ; oleanders, roses of every 
 hue, night-blooming cereus, jasmines, and, in short, an 
 epitome of all the rare and beautiful vegetation of the 
 tropics are to be found here." 
 
 Tlie following is from the British Reports on Com- 
 merce and Trade of 1875, Fart II., made hy the British 
 Vice-Consul at Key West: — 
 
 "As A Naval Station. 
 
 " Key West has long been one of the principal naval 
 stations of the United States, and it is said to possess 
 more advaatages for the same than any other port in 
 the union. 
 
 " 1st. For its susceptibility of fortifications. 
 " 2nd. For ease and number of approaches with all 
 winds. 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 " 3rd. The difficulty of blockade. 
 
 " 4tli. The ease in which supplies may be thrown in 
 in spite of the presence of an enemy. 
 
 ''' 5th. Abundance of wood and water. 
 
 " 6th. The facility of communication with and deriv- 
 ing all the advantages hj water^ of supplies from the 
 northern and southern sections of the Union, provisions 
 from Louisiana, spars and live oak from Florida and 
 Georgia, cordage, iron, canvas, powder, and shot, &c., 
 from the north. 
 
 " 7th. It commands the outlet of the trade from 
 Jamaica, the Caribbean Sea, Bay of Honduras, and 
 Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 " 8th. It holds in subjection the trade of Cuba. 
 
 " 9th. It is a check to the naval forces of whatever 
 nation may possess Cuba ; it is to Cuba what Gibraltar 
 is to Ceuta ; to the Gulf of Mexico what Gibraltar is to 
 the Mediterranean." 
 
 Work Done. 
 
 The work done by the Company on the line between 
 Fernandina and Lake Washington and mcmey expended 
 in land purchase are covered by the sale and issae of 
 1,250,000 dollars of Capital shares. 
 
 £100,000 expended in construction-works will open 
 up the connecting Canal between the St. John's Eiver 
 and Inside Tide Waters to Fernandina, and will 
 cut the Canal connecting Lake Washington with 
 Indian Eiver at the City of Aeu Galla, and thereby 
 establish steam navigation from Fernandina to the 
 south end of Indian River — a distance of 350 miles, 
 traversing the whole of the St. John's and Indian 
 Eiver Valleys. 
 
 COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE OF THIS ROUTE. 
 
 1. It will open a short, safe, steam route to 
 Cuba, at Havana, and promote direct trade between 
 the United States and the West India Islands. 
 
 2. This commerce already exceeds 172,000,000 
 dollars per annum (see U. S. Senate Transportation 
 Report, p. 196). Key West is an important Ocean 
 Port for the commerce of Florida, and this trade is 
 rapidly increasing. So groat is this commerce becom- 
 ing, that a scheme for building the Great Southern 
 Railway, through the Peninsula to Key West, is now 
 projected, but if built it can never compete with this 
 Water route. 
 
 3. On the full completion of this route the smaller 
 ocean steam ships and small coasting vessels carrying 
 Gulf commerce can pass, directly through this route 
 to the North Atlantic, and avoid the heavy losses 
 through the " Florida Pass." 
 
 4. In time of peace it will furnish the United States' 
 Government many facilities to provision her forts, carry 
 her mails, naval supplies of ship-timber, lumber, stores, 
 &c., at the cheapest freights; and in time of vsar a 
 land-lock channel, and secure passage. 
 
 5. This great tide- water Canal line, with the Ship 
 Canal, will make nearly all the rivers and lakes of the 
 State available for steam navigation. More than 1,500 
 miles of internal navigation, permeating every 
 section of the State, will thereby become utilized to 
 carry on a vast inland and export commerce. Much 
 the heaviest commerce of Florida is on the At- 
 lantic coast side. This coast south of St. Augustine 
 is wholly impracticable to afford facilities to this com- 
 merce, which is bound, before many years, to increase 
 
 to a great extent. The dangers from the coral reefs, 
 rocks, sand banks, and currents of Gulf Stream will 
 not permit shipping ports being established on this 
 coast. This commerce, both export and import, is 
 now forced through the Gulf Stream and the Straits 
 of Florida at an immense loss. 
 
 6. The surplus productions of the State are prac- 
 tically all ocean commerce, viz., timber, lumber. Sea 
 Island and short cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, Indian 
 corn, live stock ; and to the North Atlantic cities will 
 be furnished regularly the tropical fruits^ winter and 
 spring garden vegetables, melons^ sweet and early Irish 
 potatoes, fish, oysters, turtles, and numerous other 
 valuable products, almost without limit, which can all 
 be shipped direct on this route at the cheapest freights 
 possible for- all time to come, and without tran- 
 shipments, and in the best condition for markets. 
 The Northern Cities consume annually nearly 
 $200,090,000 of vegetables and fruits, obtained from 
 the temperate and tropical zones. Florida can supply 
 all the winter and early vegetables, and tEe semi- 
 tropical and tropical fruits now so largely imported 
 from the West Indies and Central and South America. 
 (See United States' Reports on this point, also The 
 Times, and British Legation Report of Mr. Watson). 
 
 7. Italy is the charming climate and resort for the 
 people of Europe. Florida is the Italy of North 
 America, and when the severe winters set in, then the in- 
 valids and pleasure-seekers of the North flock to 
 Florida, and an average of 50,000 to 60,000 visitors 
 spend their winters in the valley of the St. John's, and 
 along the water line of this Company. On the opening 
 of this line from Fernandina to Key West, this popula- 
 tion will be constantly travelling on this most charming 
 route of the world, and will annually increase. This 
 will bring immense and annually increasing revenues 
 to this Company. 
 
 8. On the completion of these improvements the 
 Consolidated Atlantic and Gulf Ship Canal Company 
 will possess 630 miles of Canal and improved water- 
 courses, on which the Company will collect tolls for the 
 commerce and vessels that pass and repass over them ; 
 besides, 870 miles of tributary rivers and lakes will 
 pour their commerce through' the Company's routes, 
 as the only way to reach the ocean. This tributary 
 commerce paying tolls to the Company. 
 
 9. The area of Florida is about 60,000 square miles, 
 or nearly equal to the area of the six New England 
 States. She is capable of supporting a population of 
 10,000,000, and can then export surplus products of 
 the soil annually of a greater amount in value than any 
 other State in the Federal Union. 
 
 The ultimate amount of this State commerce may be 
 properly measured by the annual commerce of the 
 States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, or 
 Missouri, which the official statistics show to be 
 enormous. 
 
 The amount of local traffic is vast in all the States. 
 In Illinois the local earning on the 5,000 miles of her 
 Railways is over 85 per cent, of the total earnings. 
 
 The value of local traffic created is also strikingly 
 illustrated in the following case of the Pacific Railroad 
 from Omaha to San Francisco, whose earnings (see the 
 Report of General William J. Palmer, one of the most 
 practical railway engineers and thorough railway 
 managers in America, published in 1874) were as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Gross earnings, 814,137,192, or about £4,800,000. 
 Nett „ 13,504,838, „ 2,700,000. 
 
 "Its construction," he says, "has reversed, to a 
 great extent, the course of the world's trade with the 
 Indies, so that teas and other Asiatic merchandise now 
 
 E 2 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 come from the "West instead of the East, and England 
 sends her mails to Australia by way of New York and 
 California, yet the bulk of the revenue of this railway 
 is derived from local transportation, originating between 
 the two termini of Omaha and San Francisco. Imme- 
 diately prior to the construction of this highway (in 
 1866), a single coach line, an occasional emigrant 
 train from California, and the supply of the interior 
 Government military posts, constituted the entire move- 
 ment. Nearly the whole of this enormous transpor- 
 tation represented by the above figures was simply 
 created by the construction of this railroad. It did 
 not exist before, and could not have existed till the 
 railway was built." 
 
 EAENING, 'EAST DIVISION. 
 
 It is estimated that the nett earnings on 
 throusrh freights, per annum, will be 
 atlealt ... . - $1,000,000 
 
 The local freights given by items in a 
 
 small Report 3,635,000 
 
 Sale of lands and timber, to be added, 
 which will be, at least 500,000 
 
 Total 
 
 $5,035,000 
 
 Half of this amount may be safely relied on before the 
 " West Division " shall be completed. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The maximum of the share capital shall not exceed 
 §40,000,000, or £8,000,000, and will represent and own 
 "the canals, franchises, real estate, and all other property 
 and rights of the Company, subject to the proposed 
 Bonded Mortgage Debt of not over £6,000,000 on both 
 Divisions. 
 
 The Stock and Bonds will be limited to the lowest 
 amount required to raise the money necessary for the 
 entire construction and equipments, and to pay for all 
 property purchased. 
 
 The commercial and financial character of the Ship 
 Canal and Tide Water Canal route, and their imme- 
 diate and future possible earnings, have been fully 
 shown from unquestionable authorities ; and it is 
 respectfully submitted their great intrinsic value and 
 nett earnings will be a perfect security, guarantee, and 
 solid basis to support the amount of share capital and 
 the bonded debt, and to make them safe and desirable 
 investment securities. 
 
 But in addition the Company owns a vast and most 
 Taluable real estate, which forms a double secubity — 
 AN a:?solute security of itself, without the canals 
 AND THEIR EARNINGS — to pay every pound of the 
 capital shares and bonded debt, and from this source 
 leave a large margin of profits, exclusive of the canals 
 and their earnings. 
 
 The Company is not without authority and precedent 
 for coming to this conclusion. 
 
 The United States' Government granted land endow- 
 ments to the St. Mary's Ship Canal Company of 
 Michigan and to twenty-five railway companies up to 
 1872. 
 
 The Eeports and Exhibits of these Companies, and 
 Summaries of some of them published by the United 
 States' Government, are of real financial interest. 
 
 The St. Mary's Ship Canal Company obtained a 
 grant of 600,000 acres. From tlie proceeds of sale of a 
 portion of these lands the Company constructed the 
 required improvements, and then turned the Canal over 
 to the Government; whilst, from further sales, the 
 Company has paid its shareholders an annual dividend 
 of 12 per cent, for the fourteen years last past, and 
 still owns the most valuable part of the grant — the 
 present value of which is estimated at $4,000,000 cash. 
 (See Company's full Report.) 
 
 The annexed table shows the names of four of the 
 railway companies above referred to, the average price 
 per acre of the sales, and the rate per mile realised on 
 their grants : — 
 
 Names of Companies. 
 
 Average 
 per acre. 
 
 Realising 
 per mile. 
 
 (rTaTid Tlanids and. Indiana 
 
 $ C. 
 
 13 98 
 11 70 
 11 35 
 11 00 
 
 S 
 50,9675 9 
 
 Burlington and Missouri Eiver . . . 
 Illinois Central 
 
 15,000 
 41,854 3" 
 
 Hannibal and St. Joseph 
 
 42,500 
 
 The average price per acre received is $12. Most of 
 these roads run through the timberless prairies, and 
 these lands as a rule had no forests to be realised. 
 
 The real cost for construction of portions of these 
 roads through the level prairies was only $15,000 per 
 mile. Taking all the twenty-five companies and their 
 grants, some running thousands- of miles through the 
 great American desert, destitute of both trees and good 
 soil — the surface being covered with sand, sage-bush, 
 and alkali — and taking a fair average of these lands, 
 they will not compare favourably at all with the 
 poorest and most indifferent lands of the Company; 
 and yet the fact is officially published to the world — 
 
 " That the average price of all the sales made of all 
 the land grants, good and had, was over %1 per acre up 
 to 1872.'' 
 
 For a fuller exhibit, take the case of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, which has a large share of 
 its stock held in England, and is well known. 
 
 The Official Report by the United States of the 
 result from this Company's grant is given and pub- 
 lished in the Land Office Report of 1870, p. 209. 
 
 The Report says : — 
 
 " The aggregate amount of land donated under the 
 Act was 2,595,063 acres, which at the minimum 
 Government price was $3,243,750. The double of 
 this sum represented the aid to be given thereby to 
 the railway, viz., 16,487,600. The total of the sales 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 made have realised to the Company an average of 
 $11-85 per acre, amounting to $23,968,736. ■ The 
 balance undisposed of n'ow averages |12"55 per acre, 
 at which rate they will swell the actual pecuniary aid 
 derived from the land endowment to 130,000,000, 
 which is equal to the entire cost of the road and the 
 equipment, entirely reimbursing the stockholders for 
 their investment, while the profits remain undi- 
 minished." 
 
 Now be it known that these lands were chiefly 
 prairie, and not an acre of timber lands on the whole 
 route. The lands are not better in quality, and can 
 never bring as much nett profit per acre from cultiva- 
 tion as the Florida lands. They are also farther ofE 
 from the Eastern markets. 
 
 It is a fact not to be lost sight of that, as a rule. 
 Land Grant First Mortgage Bonds are safer securities 
 than the same Company's Franchise Bonds, inasmuch 
 as they have a double basis of security — 1st, the land 
 and its values ; 2nd, the liability of the Company, its 
 franchises and assets. 
 
 American Land Grant Bonds are held in high esti- 
 mation in America and Europe, and are now more 
 sought after by investors than Eailway Bonds. 
 
 The Union Pacific Eailway Company's Land Grant 
 First Mortgage Bonds command 97 to 98 per cent, 
 cash in sterling in the London Market. They are 
 esteemed as perfectly safe, and yet the fact is well 
 known that the grants of this line are the poorest 
 lands of any grant in America, destitute of timber, the 
 larger part poor and unproductive soil, and the most 
 remote from the markets. 
 
 The Company owns by grants and by per- Acres, 
 feet fee simple titles, free of all incum- 
 brances 2,300,000 
 
 And controls, and will obtain complete title 
 
 to, further grants and purchases . . . , 6,000,000 
 
 Total acres 8,300,000 
 
 These lands are largely covered with valuable forests 
 for all kinds of timber and lumber uses. The lands 
 will return larger nett profits per acre from agricultural 
 and horticultural productions than any other lands in 
 the United States outside of Florida, and they are 
 handy to home and foreign markets. The State of 
 Florida is also filling up more rapidly, both in regard 
 to population and capital, than did the regions in 
 which the above " Railway grants " are located. 
 
 VALUATION OF THE LANDS ON THE 
 ABOVE BASIS. 
 
 8,300,000 acres at |12 per acre (being 
 the average that has been realized by 
 the four Companies referred to) ... ^99,600,000 
 
 But 8,300,000, even at |;7 per acre (offi- 
 cial average of all Land Grant lands 
 sold) ??58,100,000 
 
 The Company has created £1,000,000 sterling Land 
 Grant Bonds, and has secured the same by 1st Mort- 
 gage, covering 2,300,000 acres of the above lands, to 
 w;hich the Company holds perfect grants and titles. 
 These lands are valued and scheduled in the mortgage 
 by the State at $23,000,000. 
 
 With this solid property, the franchises and improve- 
 ments in hand, the Company proposes to commence its 
 basis of financing, the money to be applied first in com- 
 pleting the " East Division," and its further proceeds 
 on the " West Division." 
 
 The following Government Ofiicial Reports ftillv 
 describe the Lands of Florida and of the Company, 
 their soils, productions, climate, &c., &c. 
 
 Titles. — Parties desirous to purchase or loan money 
 on real estate, must have reliable business evidence, 
 showing the character, resources, and value of the 
 property, and good titles. 
 
 The United States' Government has, in. this case, 
 itself furnished this evidence. 
 
 The title to all the lands in Florida, except private 
 valid grants, vested in the United States' Government. 
 Under Acts of Congress, the United States' Government, 
 through her official land surveyors, had the Florida 
 lands surveyed into townships, ranges, sections, 
 quarter-sections, and 40 acre lots. 
 
 At the same time these surveyors also made topo- 
 graphical reports, showing the character, quality, and 
 productiveness of the soils, the timber forests, and all 
 other valuable resources on every tract so surveyed. 
 
 The Official surveys, maps, and topographical reports 
 were filed and recorded, according to law, in the 
 General Land Office of the United States at Washing- 
 ton. These officers are great experts, and possess 
 accurate education, and these surveys and reports are 
 made conclusive evidence, by which the United States' 
 Government, the States, and the people are governed. 
 Lands are sold and bought only on these surveys and 
 reports. 
 
 Their accuracy is unquestionable. 
 
 The law further requires the Commissioners of " The 
 General Land Office " annually to compile those topo- 
 graphical reports, surveys, and maps ; and the United 
 States' Government publishes these annual volumes, 
 called 
 
 "Land Office Reports." 
 
 These Reports for 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872,1873, 
 1874, contain the topographical reports, surveys, and 
 maps of the Company's lands, and furnish all the 
 evidence desired. 
 
 The United States' Government also issue annually, 
 from the National Bureau of Agriculture, official evi- 
 dence in volumes called 
 
 " Department or AGEicuLTtrRE Reports." 
 
 These Reports furnish the highest evidence attain- 
 able on all the subjects treated of therein ; and foreign 
 Govei'nments make frequent quotations therefrom" as 
 containing the best evidence on these subjects. As 
 examples, see the British Reports on Commerce and 
 Trade made by the British Legation Office and British 
 Consuls in the United States, for frequent quotations. 
 The volume of 1862 has an exhaustive report on 
 the "Soil," Climate, and Productions of Florida" — 
 the volume of 1867 on Horticulture and the Fruits of 
 Florida; and the Reports of 1871, 1872, and 1873, 
 are explicit on the productions and profits of farming 
 in Florida, rapid increase, of population, and the great 
 rise in the price of lands, &c. 
 
 Further, we have the official evidence published by 
 the state of Florida, in annual reports from her Land 
 Office Department, for the years 1869 to 1876, fully 
 covering and elaborating the whole subject. (All the 
 above reports are in hand for inspection.) 
 
 These reports impart reliable information on the 
 climate of Florida, the variety and productiveness of 
 her soils (yielding the largest variety of agricultural 
 and horticultural productions of any State in the 
 Union), profits in farming, planting, fruit and vegetable 
 culture, the immense forests of Florida, large timber 
 and lumber industries, live stock raising, fish, oysters, 
 naval stores, and other important resources of the 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 State, rapid increase of population and wealth, internal 
 improvements, &c. 
 
 All these reports describe the Company's property 
 and lands, soils, timber, and all other resources, and 
 for greater assurance they are made a part of this 
 statement. 
 
 QUOTATION'S PROM THESE RBPOETS. 
 
 (Foe FaLLBE description see also Appendix hbeeto.) 
 
 " By far the finest lands in Florida, denominated 
 ' Rich Lands,' ave: 1st. Tlie 'Swamp Lands;' 2nd. The 
 Low and High Hummocks ; 3rd. The Prairies, or 
 ' Savannas ; ' and 4th. The first-class Pine Lands. 
 
 " The ' Swamp Lands ' are unquestionably the 
 most durably rich lands in the State ; they are intrin- 
 sically the most valuable. They are formed entirely of 
 humus, or decayed vegetable matter, of extraordinary 
 depth, and, from long use in portions of the State, show 
 evidence of inexhaustible fertility. They occupy natural 
 depressions, or basins, which have been gradually filled 
 up by deposits of vegetable debris, &c. Drainage, 
 which is practicable, is, however, necessary, to render 
 the greater portion available for purposes of agriculture. 
 In the United States' Survey's Eeports they are called 
 ' Marsh Lands : the richest of all. Alluvial deposits, 
 full of decayed vegetable matter ; indeed, most of them 
 are little less than beds of peat. Thoy only require to 
 be drained to become inexhaustible mines of agri- 
 cultural wealth ; they furnish never-failing stores of 
 muck to enrich thin pine lands ; they will produce 
 abundantly anything that can be put into them. But 
 the great crop, and that which is destined to be one of 
 the main interests of the State, and a great source 
 of wealth, is sugar-cane. Ob. these lands it grows 
 luxuriantly, tasseling out at the top, which it does not 
 do in other States.' 
 
 " It has been demonstrated that these lands will 
 yield four hogsheads of sugar to the acre, a most con- 
 vincing proof of their value. Sugar cane is here in- 
 stanced as a measure of the fertility of the soil, because 
 it is one of the most exhaustive crops known, and is 
 generally grown without rest or rotation. It is, how- 
 ever, not the only criterion by which to judge of the 
 relative fertilitii of lands situated, in different climates ; 
 for we fitid on the richest lands in Louisiana (the great 
 su^ar-growing State) the crop of sugar per acre is not 
 more than one hogshead, or about one half that of 
 Florida. 
 
 " This great disparity in the product of those coun- 
 tries is accounted for, not by inferiority in the lands of 
 Louisiana or Texas, but by the fact that the early in- 
 cursions of frost in both these States render jt necessary 
 to cut the cane in October, which is long before it has 
 reached maturity, while in Forida it is permitted ' to 
 mature without fear of frost. It is well known that it 
 ' tassels ' in Florida, and it never does so in either 
 Louisiana or Texas. When cane ''tassels,' it is evi- 
 dence of its having reached/wH maturity." The words 
 " Swamp " Lands may seem objectionable to people 
 not informed. As has already been observed, immense 
 amounts of the richest and highest-priced farming 
 lands in America were once called '•' Swamp Lands," 
 which have been drained. Fully one quarter of the 
 State of Illinois has been thus reclaimed, and the 
 United States' Land Office Report of 1869 says : — 
 
 ''' It will be observed that originally fully one-third 
 of what i& now the State of Louisiana was in the con- 
 dition of swamp, or overflowed land. Much of it has 
 long been reclaimed, and under a high state of culti- 
 vation. Being an alluvial deposit, the lands, when 
 
 reclaimed, became the most fertile and productive 
 farms and plantations in the State, and have for many 
 years yielded immense crops of cotton and sugar, and 
 before the war commanded from 1100 to $150 per acre 
 in gold." (And will do so again) . 
 
 " Low Hummocks rank next, and are not inferior 
 to the swamp lands in fertility, and like them consist 
 chiefly of decomposed vegetable matter deep down. 
 They are always moist, and some of them require 
 drainage. They are always covered with a heavy 
 growth of live, water, and other oaks, cypress, ash, 
 gum, bay, cedar, &c., and when cleared and brought 
 under cultivation they are very productive, and prac- 
 tically inexhaustible." 
 
 " The growth of trees, shrubs, and vines upon these 
 low hummocks is most surprising, and so dense as to 
 present an almost impenetrable vegetable barrier to all 
 ingress. They are immensely fertile, indeed, almost 
 incredibly so, as is sufficiently shown by the fact that 
 from, one acre has been produced 4,000 pounds of sugar, 
 and other crops in proportion." 
 
 " High. Hummocks are in the highest repute in 
 Florida for purposes of agriculture. These differ from 
 low hummocks in occupying higher ground, and in 
 general presenting a gently undulating surface, covered 
 with a heavy growth of great variety of lumber, of 
 hard woods, already described, and composed of deep 
 and rich soil, underlaid with marl, clay, or limestone. 
 The very richest variety of hummock is the ' cabbage 
 hummock,' so called from the cabbage palmetto trees 
 with which it is covered. These trees grow sometimes 
 to the height of 100 feet or more, this soil being com- 
 posed of shell and vegetable matter mixed, is of rare 
 fertility." "It will be readily understood by anyone 
 acquainted with agriculture, that such a soil, in such 
 a climate as Florida, must be extremely productive. 
 This soil scarcely ever suffers from too much wet, nor 
 does drought affect it in the same degree as other 
 lands. High hummock lands produce, with but little 
 labour of cultivation, all the crops in the country in an 
 eminent degree. Such lands do not break up in heavy 
 masses, nor are they infested with .pernicious weeds or 
 grasses. These lands are very abundant, whilst their 
 extraordinary fertility and productiveness may be esti- 
 mated by the. fact that three, often four, hogsheads 
 of sugar are made per acre, on lands which have been 
 many years in constant cultivation." 
 
 " All these varieties of hummock are frequently 
 enhanced in value by the presence of wild orange trees, 
 sometimes singly, or in small groups, and again in 
 large groves." 
 
 "Prairie and Savanna Lands.— The rich 
 
 alluvials bordering on the streams, and known as 
 Savannas, are subject to inundations,, and are highly 
 valuable for the production of sugar and rice. The 
 low savannas, like the prairies of the more elevated 
 portions, are mostly rich vegetable mould, or loam, like 
 the rich prairies of Illinois ; others have the appea'rance 
 of clay, but upon close inspection, it is muck, mixed 
 with marl. 
 
 " These lands are destitute of trees, but covered 
 with luxuriant growth of nutritious, tall, perennial 
 grasses, and of green savannas, covered with flowers, 
 on which vast herds of cattle and sheep graze, both 
 summer and winter, and grow fat without other food. 
 Some of these herds are very large, as many as 30,000 
 to 40,000 head of cattle being marked by the brand of 
 a single owner. These stock growers are amongst the 
 wealthiest men in the State, and acquire it easier than 
 those engaged in any other industry." 
 
 " The Pine Lands are divided into first, second, 
 and third class. 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 "The First-rate Pine Lands in Florida have 
 
 nothing analogous to them in the other States. The top 
 is a deep, vegetable mould, beneath which, to the depth 
 of several feet, is a chocolate-coloured, sandy loam, 
 mixed, for the most part, with limestone pebbles, 
 and resting on a substratum of marl, clay, or limestone. 
 This land is also extremely fertile, producing splendid 
 yields of all the most exhaustive crops for many years. 
 Large- portions have been cultivated in short cotton for 
 many years, yielding from 500 to 1,000 lbs. of seed 
 cotton, and some have produced 400 lbs. of Sea-Island 
 cotton for fourteen consecutive years, and are still as 
 productive as ever, so that the limit of their durability 
 is still unknown." 
 
 " The Second-rate Pine Lands, which form the 
 
 largest proportion of Florida, are all productive. They 
 rest on a basis similar to that of the first-class. These 
 lands afford fine natural pasturage, like the first-class. 
 They are heavily timbered with the best species of 
 yellow and pitch pine; they are for the most part high, 
 rolling, healthy, and well watered ; they will produce 
 the finest crops of Cuba tobacco, oranges, lemons, 
 limes, bananas, and other tropical productions, also 
 Sea-Island and short cotton, sugar-cane, and every 
 variety of garden vegetable, which make them more 
 valuable than the best bottom lands in the Northern and 
 Western States. 
 
 " The prevalent forest growth of Florida is yellow 
 pine, and of course the soil may be in general charac- 
 terized as ' light,' and is either sandy or loamy ; but . 
 owing to peculiar climatic or atmospheric influences 
 they are of far more intrinsic value where ' light ' than 
 is usually attributable to the same character of light 
 soil at the North or West, as is evinced by the fact 
 that a bale of cotton or 3,000 pounds of sugar have not 
 infrequently been made from an acre of these pine 
 lands. Indeed, many of the pine lands are so under- 
 laid with mai-1 or clay as to give all the strength 
 of clay soils without their stiffness and difiBculty of 
 cultivation." 
 
 " The Third-rate Pine Lands, or most inferior 
 
 •class, are by no means worthless : the greater portion of 
 them is covered with valuable timber, and with luxuriant 
 vegetation and good pasturage. A small portion is 
 highj rolling, sandy, and sparsely covered with a 
 stunted growth of 'Black Jack,' and some good pine." 
 
 " Besides the everglades, there is but a very small 
 proportion of worthless lauds compared, with any other 
 State. There are no mountain wastes, barren plains, 
 nor deserts, and the land with this soil, whilst it is unfit 
 :for the culture of cotton, sugar-cane, corn, and tobacco, 
 may always be made available for ^he culture of dif- 
 ferent kinds of cereals, fruits, or vegetables." 
 
 " In the poorest pine barrens, the peach is a vigorous 
 grower, and an abundant bearer, and the grapo succeeds 
 equally well. From> the great and continually increas- 
 ing demand for grapes and pure wine, for peaches, 
 and other fruits, either dried, canned, pickled, or pre- 
 served, no more promising undertaking can be entered 
 upon than the orchard and vineyard business in the 
 pine districts of Florida. These fruits grow to great 
 perfection on these lands. The most inferior class of 
 these pine lands is the best adapted for the culture of 
 Sisal hemp, which is one of the most remunerative 
 crops produced in the State. It will yield this product, 
 worth |300 per acre, with less cost than any crop that 
 can be grown, and therefore these poorest lands in 
 Florida will yield larger profits per acre than the richest 
 lands of the Mississippi Valley can possibly produce 
 from their staple crops." 
 
 "■ Every district in the State abounds with fertilizers 
 ■of muck, marl, and phosphates in quantities sufficient 
 
 to fertilize the poorer lands, when necessary, for ages 
 to come." 
 
 Again, 1868 Report — "The great fertility of the 
 soil is everywhere evinced by luxuriant crops produced, 
 including those of the temperate and torrid zones, the 
 latter predominating. Sea-Island cotton succeeds well 
 in all parts of the Peninsula, with a productiveness 
 rivalling the best portions of the coast of Georgia and 
 South Carolina, while the sugar-cane thrives even 
 better than in Louisiana or Texas, owing to the absence 
 of frosts. The ordinary yield of sugar per acre in 
 Florida is nearly twice that of Louisiana, and the culti- 
 vation much easier. The area in Florida suitable for 
 the culture of this staple is amply sufficient to supply 
 the demands of the United States. The sandy soil is 
 well adapted to the cultivation of Cuba tobacco, which 
 yields an average of 700 pounds per acre, and, in 
 South Florida, admits of two cuttings per annum. 
 Silk culture must become a leading branch of industry 
 in Florida, since every species of mulberry grows pro- 
 fusely in this latitude as far south as 27", and experi- 
 ments in the production of silk have proved highly 
 satisfactory. Indigo was formerly the principal staple 
 of Florida, and, with the exception of sugar, is one of 
 the most certain and profitable crops, admitting two 
 cuttings annually. It is found growing wild through- 
 out the State, and around old fields where a century 
 ago it had been cultivated. In this gonial climate all 
 the tropical and semi-tropical fruits, such as the orange, 
 lemon, lime, oUi:e, fig, citron, 'pine-apple, banana, guava, 
 the palm, ivith all the other tropical fruits, are produced 
 in as great perfection as in the more tropical climate of 
 the West Indies, Central America, and Brazil, and with 
 far less attention and greater immunity from injury 
 by insects or vicissitudes of climate, than the comm,on 
 fruits of Northern orchards. These fruits are celebrated 
 for their great size and superior flavour. Grapes thrive 
 luxuriantly, and the peach is at home here. Sisal and 
 New Zealand hemp, jute, and all the cereal crops of 
 the Northern and Western States are grown here." 
 
 " Every description of garden vegetables of the tem- 
 perate and the torrid zones is raised here with great 
 success. Owing to the fact that vegetation grows all 
 the year round, the winter vegetables required in the 
 markets of the Northern cities can be supplied from 
 Florida for four months each year, when no other State 
 in the Union can produce them during this period. 
 Tomatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, potatoes, melons, 
 cabbage, beets, asparagus, and, indeed, the whole list 
 of spring vegetables, can be shipped to Northern ports, 
 from two to three months earlier than from any other 
 State ; and both in respect to tropical fruits and the 
 earliest garden vegetables, Florida possesses a mono- 
 poly of the mai'kets for the northern cities over any 
 other State, which must build up an industry of gigantic 
 extent, and immense profit to the people of the State. 
 
 " Experiments made on the soil along the Atlantic 
 coast, from Indian'^ River to Cape Sable, embracing 
 several millions of acres, prove the soil well adapted 
 to the culture of coffee." 
 
 What is called Middle Florida possesses all the con- 
 ditions of soil and climate for the production of the 
 best teas, and tea will grow over the whole Peninsula. 
 
 The superior climate of the State has much to do 
 with the growth of all vegetation. 
 
 " The maximum temperature in summer is near 
 85° Fahrenheit, and in winter ranging 45°, rivalling 
 the favourite climate of Italy." 
 
 The " Official Guide of Florida," by the Hon. J. S. 
 Adams, says: — "The wealth of Florida at present 
 mainly consists in her timber, and, as a consequence^ 
 the leading industry will for some time be the manu- 
 facture of timber. But as the forests give way th 
 
( 40 ) 
 
 agriculturalist will push f orward, and increase the crops 
 of cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, Indian corn, sweet and 
 Irish potatoes ; the gardener will grow the early and 
 winter vegetables for the Northern markets to an enor- 
 mous extent; while the fruit grower will become a 
 main element of prosperity in the future. No other 
 State or country can present such an extensive list of 
 fruits capable of being grown as Florida. And no 
 State can exhibit a fruit grown on its soil which can- 
 not be cultivated with more or less success here. The 
 following is only a partial list of the fruits of the 
 State : — Oranges of all kinds, lemons of every variety, 
 limes, citron, mango, sour-top, custard-apple, cocoanut, 
 shaddock, paw-paw, date, fig, peaches, nectarines, apri- 
 cots, plums, bananas, plantains, pine-apples, sweet 
 almond, bitter almond, pomegranates, maumee apple, 
 sapodilla, alligator pears, cherries, apples, pears, tama- 
 rinds, guavas, grapes of great variety (the forests 
 abound with wild grapes), currants, mulberries, straw- 
 berries of every kind in the greatest perfection, black- 
 berries, dewberries, huckleberries, &c. In this list it 
 will be seen that not only are all the fruits of the 
 northern latitudes represented, but many others in 
 which the State enjoys a monopoly; add to this the 
 water-melon, and the musk -melon, of whole citrous 
 family." 
 
 " In the growth of the tropical and semi-tropical 
 fruits Florida enjoys a monopoly irhich, when fairly 
 developed, will make her one of the richest and most 
 important of the United States. Oranges, lemons, 
 pine-apples, bananas, and various other tropical fruits 
 will yield an average profit of at least one thousand 
 dollars per acre yearly." "It is the adaptability of 
 the climate to grow these productions thcot vMlces even 
 the inferior lands of Florida susceptible of producing 
 crops more valuable than those of the best Ictnds in 
 other parts of the Union. It is the appreciation of 
 this fact that is awakening such an interest in the 
 business, and bringing to our shores largo numbers from 
 iiecu-ly every State." 
 
 when the fact is borne in mind that the Atlantic 
 cities and their contiguous population consume annually 
 $200,000,000 of vegetables and fruits, including the 
 tropical fruits and early vegetables imported from 
 the West Indies, the Bahamas, and other tropical coun- 
 tries, all 'of which Florida can supply to meet the 
 demands of the whole nation, it must be seen that this 
 great and most profitable industry will be pushed for- 
 ward to meet this immense demand, and that the 
 fruits and vegetables of Florida will be produced and 
 shipped on a scale beyond even our present conception. 
 
 (United States'Land Office Eepoets, 1868, 1869, 1870 
 — United States' Ageicultueal Eepoet, 1862 — 
 FioEiDA Land Opeicb Eepoet, 1869, 1873). 
 
 FOEESTS.— TIMBBE AND LUMBEE. 
 
 Florida Land Office Eeport, 1 862, says : 
 
 " Florida is, beyond question, the best timbered State 
 in the Union. Oat of about 38,000,000 acres, only 
 some 3,000,000 or 4,000,000 is now included in farms ; 
 of the rest nineteen-twentieths (exclusive of the area 
 covered by rivers and lakes) is covered with heavy 
 forests. On all th» least moistj and more level 
 portions, the pine is the prevalent forest tree, either 
 the yellow or pitch pine. It grows with great beauty, 
 and attains a large size, furnishing some of the 
 handsomest pine lumber to be found in the markets of 
 the world. The extent of the pine lands and the 
 possible amount of lumber that could be manufactured, 
 would be almost incredible to one who has never 
 visited Florida. There are probably more than 30,000 
 
 square miles of heavy pine forests within the limits of 
 the State. 
 
 " In the moister lands, along the rivers and creeks, 
 and on the margins and swamps, an almost indefinite 
 variety of trees are to be found, of which the most 
 valuable for timber and lumber are live oak, white oak, 
 the hickory, the ash, the birch, the cedar, the mag- 
 nolia, the sweet bay, and the cypress. Of all these 
 varieties a great abundance is to be found throughout 
 the State. Of pine of the best quality, of cedar, and 
 cypress in particular, the supply for any purposes of 
 manufacture may be said to be inexhaustible. The 
 larger proportion of what has loosely been called 
 swamp in Florida, is simply low hummock, with a soil 
 of inexhaustible fertility, and covered with a dense 
 growth of mainly cypress, magnolia, and sweet bay. 
 The timber of the cypress more nearly resembles that 
 of the northern basswood than anything else ; can be 
 used for all purposes to which basswood is applied, 
 and for railway ties and sleepers, for durability, has 
 no equal in any other variety of wood. It is more 
 easily split than basswood ; can be warped and bent 
 into desirable shapes. For clothes' pins, for fork and 
 rake and broom handles, and for pails and tubs, 
 cypress furnishes a superior material, while the red 
 cedar yields the best known material for pails, tubs, 
 and chests of a nicer and more costly description. 
 
 " The timber of the magnoHa, also, is susceptible of 
 a variety of uses, and is now being extensively used 
 for the nicer and finer kinds of wheelwright and 
 cabinet work. Of this timber the supply is very large. 
 The wood of the red or sweet bay, in fineness of 
 texture and in its other valuable qualities, stand equal 
 to mahogany, and most persons cannot distinguish it 
 from mahogany. It is coming into great demand for 
 cabinet work." " It abounds in the State." 
 
 " The resources of Florida in the direction of the 
 manufacture of the wooden ware, tools of all des- 
 criptions made from wood, and fine cabinet work, 
 are very great." " An inexhaustible abundance of 
 material, at the cheapest possible rates, and very great 
 accessibility by water communication, ofier induce- 
 ments for the manufacture of lumber, wooden ware, 
 and all kinds of tools made of wood." 
 
 Also United States' Land Office Eeport, 1868, p. 19 ; 
 
 " The principal forest trees of this State, some of 
 which are eminently adapted for ship-building, are live 
 oak, mahogany, magnolia, pine, cedar, and. cypress. 
 Mangrove, boxwood, mastic, satinwood, crabwood, and 
 lignumvitffi, abound on the keys, and generally in the 
 southern part of the State." 
 
 United States' Land Office Eeport, 1869, p. 103, 
 speaks of the timber of Southern Florida; also the 
 timber of the Middle and North Florida : — 
 
 " The flora of this region embraces a great number of 
 species, including many found in the tropics, as well 
 as those indigenous to the temperate zone. Among 
 the most important forest trees are the live, red, white, 
 and water oaks, cedar, cherry, cypress, hickory, elm, 
 pine, ash, gum, magnolia, birch, walnut, mahogany, 
 and dogwood. The other varieties, found principally 
 in the southern portion of the State, and on the keys, 
 are lignumvitae, boxwood, mastic, satinwood, palmetto, 
 and crabwood. Large quantities of live oak are 
 annually sent to various foreign and domestic ports for 
 ship-building, and other purposes. The LaMBEE peo- 
 
 DUCED IS ESTIMATED AT TEN MILLION DOLLAES ANNUALLY 
 
 (in. 1869), and this interest is rapidly increasing. 
 Florida is nearly all timbered ; yellow and pitch pine 
 form the basis. The undergrowth embraces an ex- 
 tensive variety of plants and vines, while flowers exist 
 in the greatest profusion." 
 
 Present product is over $25,000,000 per annum. 
 
( 41 ) 
 
 From "Floeida Settlee" and "Oemcial 
 auiDE/' 1873. 
 
 " LUMBBE. 
 
 " First on the list ■ of State productions we place 
 lumber, as it holds at present the first rank among 
 the industries of Florida, whether we consider the 
 amount of capital involved, the value of the material 
 produced, or the extent of the resources from which it 
 is drawn.. It can be asserted with confidence, that over 
 no other State in the Union is valuable timber so ex- 
 tensively and uniformly distributed, and ere long the 
 lumber business of this State will rival in extent that 
 of any other. Within the last few years the manu- 
 facture of lumber has received here an enormous im- 
 petus, consequent upon a knowledge and recognition of 
 the vast timber resources of the State, and now the 
 trade begins to assume gigantic ■proportions, with an 
 almost unlimited power of expansion. When anyone 
 contemplates, in the light of knowledge, the astonish- 
 ing wealth of the State in timber, the question at once 
 arises. Why has it remained so long almost untouched, 
 and less favoured portions of the country sought after 
 for the supply of lumber ? Hitherto, nearly all the 
 yellow-pine flooring consumed in the great cities of 
 the North has been obtained from South and North 
 Carolina. But at no time in their history have these 
 • States contained a tithe of the pine timber of superior 
 quality to be found in Florida. It is by no means an 
 exaggerated estimate when we put the heavy pine 
 forests in the State as covering an area of 30,000 
 square miles. 
 
 Values. — The quality of the lumber is attested by 
 the fact that it commands in market 10 per cent, more 
 than that of any other section. The New Yorh 
 Mercantile Journal, in an article on the lumber 
 market, states as to values : — 
 
 " Yellow-pine flooring and Step-plank from Florida 
 are in fair demand at §30 per 1,000 feet, while the 
 inferior lumber made in North and South Carolina 
 moves slowly at 123 to $25. The yellow pine, so called, 
 growing in the Carolinas, is objectionable for many 
 reasons. In the first place the tree is of a different 
 and less enduring species, has a greater proportion of 
 sap-wood and black knots ; and in the second place it 
 is from these trees that the manufacturers of pitch and 
 turpentine procure their material, depriving them of 
 the elements which give the durability and peculiar 
 excellence of this kind of wood for building purposes. 
 Architects and owners should ahvays require in their 
 specifications that the yellow pine to he used in first- 
 class buildings should be of the groivth of Florida." 
 
 " The highly deserved reputation of the pine lumber 
 furnished by the forest of the State, is attracting the 
 attention of capitalists in all parts of the country ; and 
 besides those mills already established, some most 
 gigantic enterprises are constructing to take advantage 
 of the resources of the State." 
 
 Florida Land Office Eeport, 1873, says : — 
 
 "In 1871, Mr. Judah, the well-known and highly 
 competent railway engineer, was employed by the 
 Jacksonville, Pensacola, and Mobile Railroad Company 
 to survey their route from Appalachicola River to 
 Pensacola city. This company had a land grant of 
 600,000 acres, and Mr. Judah and his associates made 
 a fuU Report on the value of these lands and the 
 forests and timber thereon. — Extracts from Judah's 
 Eeport. 
 
 "Nearly the entire body of these lands (600,000 
 acres) is covered with a dense growth of yellow piae 
 of a quality unsurpassed by that of any other State in 
 
 the Union. Some of the largest and finest lumber- 
 mills anywhere to be found in the United States are 
 located upon the Blackwater River in the vicinity of 
 the town of Milton, in Santo Rosa county. The 
 amount of lumber annually shipped from this district 
 is about 50,000,000 feet, yielding upwards of $500,000 
 to the manufacturers, and costing the millowners, 
 delivered in the log, upwards of $40,000. . 
 
 " Quantity of Lumbee on these Lands. 
 
 " Allowing twenty trees per acre fit for cutting into 
 saw-logs, averaging 500 feet Board Measure per tree, 
 and the quantity amounts to6,000 million feetof lumber, 
 which is worth, manufactured, at only $12, $72,000,000. 
 At only five trees per acre, the quantity is 1,250,000,000 
 feet of lumber, worth $18,000,000. " Allow it worth 
 $2 '50 per thousand feet standing (a fair estimate), and 
 it will pay the whole cost of the road." 
 
 "It is a fact that timber makes anew again in 
 twenty-five to thirty years ; so that after going over a 
 body of timber, cutting off that large enough for saw- 
 logs, leaving the smaller timber, this smaller timber 
 will have grown sufficiently in from twenty-five to 
 thirty years to yield another supply equal to the first." 
 
 " Spar-timber exists nowhere in greater abundance 
 or of better quality than upon these lands. Heavy 
 European contracts have been filled from this locality, 
 and contracts can be obtained to any extent that can 
 be filled. Good spars bring from $100 to $300 each. 
 Reliable associates have traversed these lands and 
 report that they have seen lands where twelve spars 
 coul(J be cut from an acre. Allowing that one spar 
 can be cut from each five acres, and it gives 125,000 
 spars, which at only $100 each are worth $12,000,000 
 at tide-water." 
 
 "It is not unlikely that the land may yield an 
 average of one spar per acre, which would .give us tho 
 value of spar-timber alone, standing, of $62,500,000. 
 The spars of Florida are well known in Europe, and 
 are believed to be equal to any in the United States." 
 
 " The value of such a domain as this can scarcely be- 
 estimated. The value of the lumber alone on these 
 lands will exceed the total aggregate cost of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad." 
 
 Mr. Judah's Report has been adopted as correct by 
 the United States. See "Agricultural Reports," 1871. 
 
 " These railroad lands are nothing more than a fair 
 sample of the lands throughout the State in respect to 
 their capacity for lumber. But besides the pine, 
 great varieties of the most valuable timber are to be 
 found distributed all over the State, and capable of 
 being worked up and put upon the market with 
 highly remunerative results. The live and the water 
 oaks of the State have a world-wide reputation, and 
 though the demands of ship-building throughout the 
 entire country, and in some parts of Europe, have for 
 many years been supplied from the forests of the 
 State, its resources in this are apparently untouched. 
 The cedar swamps of Florida are at the present time 
 supplying most of the pencil manufactories on this 
 continent, while the immense quantities of cypress to 
 be found scattered all over the Peninsula promise to 
 furnish the most desirable railroad ties that can be 
 found. Then for the manufacture of furniture, sashes, 
 blinds, .waggons, and wooden ware of every de.-crip- 
 tion, there is an unlimited supply of red bay, cherry, 
 white oak, ash, birch, hickory, gum, elm, and a 
 number of other equally valuable species of timber." 
 
 The Florida pine differs materially from the 
 Northern. It is the tropical long-leafed variety, ovUf 
 
( 42 ) 
 
 •grows in an exceedingly mild or warm climate — 
 ^admits of a very fine finish and polish, much of it 
 being well adapted for fine cabinet furniture. It has 
 also a preservative quality, not found in any but the 
 long-leafed kind. The yellow pine of Florida is 
 probably not excelled anywhere. It justly commands 
 a premium of 10 per cent, over other pine lumber. 
 
 Ship-Timber. 
 
 Florida has more first-class ship-timber and lumber 
 for naval construction, and of better quality, than all 
 the balance of the United States put together. This 
 fact is established by the Congressional Eeport on 
 Forrestry of 1874. The Eeport says, p. 38 :— 
 
 " The amount of public lands reserved by authority 
 of law is now very nearly as follows : — 
 
 " In Mississippi 26,218 
 
 „ Florida 208,824 
 
 ,, Louisiana ... ... ... 9,170- 
 
 „ Alabama 240" 
 
 Live and water oaks only grow in the Southern 
 States. The Government having the power to select 
 her lands for naval construction, made her chief and 
 almost exclusive selection of her Florida lands for this 
 purpose. If she could have selected any better else- 
 where, she would have done so. 
 
 The " Florida Official Eeport," 1873, says :— 
 
 " Within the last year or two some fine saw-mills 
 have been erected in Appalachicola, and immense quan- 
 tities of lumber are manufactured and shipped to 
 various quarters of the globe, and the city is again 
 reviving." 
 
 The Pennsylvania Tie Company have erected a large 
 mill, nearly completed, for the purpose of manu- 
 facturing the cypress railroad tie and sleeper. It is 
 one of the most extensive establishments of the kind 
 on the continent. 
 
 This cypress timber has proved to be the most 
 durable railroad timber known. Ties and sleepers will 
 last on and in the ground for 15 years, or equal to two 
 or three sets of good oak ties. This timber abounds 
 on the Company's " hummock " lands. It is used for 
 many purposes, and will yield the Company large 
 profits. 
 
 ESTIMATE. 
 
 Estimating the Company's forests and their values 
 on the 8,300,000 acres at a minimum in quantity and 
 in price, it is safe to say — 
 
 Acres. 
 
 ... 3,000,000 
 ... 1,000,000 
 
 The pine forests cover at least 
 And other timber ... 
 
 Total timber lands 
 
 4,000,000 
 
 The common selling price of lumber is $15 per 
 1,000 feet Board Measure (B.M.), equal to 83^ cubic 
 feet of hewn or squared timber. 
 
 But put this price at the present low, depressed rate, 
 
 $12. 
 
 Feet B.M. 
 Minimum yield per acre of pine lands at ... 4,000 
 
 cypress „ ... 10,000 
 „ other lumber ... 4,000 
 
 Then 
 
 Feet B.M. 
 3,000,000 acres pine lands at 4,000 
 
 feet yield 12,000,000,000 
 
 500,000 acres cypress at 10,000 feet 
 
 yield .. 6,000,000,000 
 
 500,000 acres cedar, mahogany, &c., 
 
 at 4,000 feet yield 2,000,000,000 
 
 Total 
 
 At $12 per 1,000 feet yield ... 
 
 Deduct one-half for cost of manufac- 
 turing and marketing (high es- 
 timate) 
 
 Net profit 
 
 On 2,300,000 acres 
 
 .. $19,000,000,000 
 $228,000,000 
 
 114,000,000 
 $118,000,000 
 
 $16,000,000 
 
 This amount is independent of the timber cut and 
 shipped in the log, such as ship-spars, live oak, water 
 oak, and all timber for mines, of which this property 
 can furnish many millions of dollars' value in the 
 aggregate, and all this variety is needed, and has a 
 ready gold ma-ket in England and elsewhere. 
 
 By examination of the Timber and Lumber Eeports 
 of Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, and Pennsyl- 
 vania, it will be seen the above estimate is below the 
 minimum there reported. 
 
 Estimating the value of the trees "^^ standing" at 
 only 4,000 feet B.M. per acre, and $2^ per 1,000 feet 
 (a low average price, as shown from the Timber Eeports 
 of the Great Timber States), and we have a profit of 
 $10 per acre. 
 
 or 4,000,000 acres at $10 
 or 2,300,000 „ „ „ 
 
 $40,000,000 
 12,000,000 
 
 It will be seen by comparison that the estimates are 
 far below those of Mr. Judah reported above. He 
 gives a maximum value on 600,000 acres of $72,000,000, 
 and a minimum of $18,000,000, besides spar timber 
 alone at $62,500,000. 
 
 It is proper to remark here, that the rapid exhaustion 
 of timber in America, and in all countries accessible 
 by water-way, is fully shown by the Government 
 Eeports of tfreat Britain and the United States, briefly 
 noticed in the Appendix hereto. (Note B.) 
 
 It is proper to remark further, that a large quantity 
 of Floridatimber is now being shipped to the English 
 and other European ports. Much of it is worked up 
 into cabinet furniture, and for such use is highly appre- 
 ciated in the markets. London timber merchants now 
 offer to this Company to purchase heavily of its Florida 
 timber. Large quantities of it are supplied to the 
 West Indies and South America. Here the Company 
 possesses an immediate source of large income. 
 
 The Location oe the Company's 2,300,000 Acres, 
 AND Future Profits therefrom. 
 
 To obtain an intelligent idea of the importance of the 
 ready market and value of these lands, it should be 
 borne in mind that they are located in East Florida, 
 mostly in a solid body on each side, directly along and 
 contiguous to the Company's " Great Tide-Water 
 Canal Eoute," in the most desirable portion of the 
 State, and handiest to water-navigation and markets. 
 
 They are shown on the official maps of surveys. 
 
 The N. boundary commences a few miles above the 
 city of Pilatka, on the Lower St. John's ; thence S. on 
 
( 43 
 
 both sides of the Lower and Upper St. John's Eiver 
 and series of connecting lakes; thence again S. on 
 both sides of Indian River, Lake Worth, and New 
 River, terminating north of Biscayne Bay ; thus extend- 
 ing N. and S. of each side of this magnificent chain of 
 navigable waters and connecting canals, for a distance 
 of 234 miles, extending B. to the Atlantic coast, and 
 commanding that coast for this great distance ; embrac- 
 ing a large portion of the rich St. John's and Indian 
 Eiver Valleys. The largest part of the immigration 
 into the State is rapidly populating these valleys, and, 
 as a consequence, the lands are rising greatly in value. 
 
 The present Executive Governor Stearns, who was 
 formerly Surveyor- General of the United States for 
 the District of Florida, Ex-Gov. Eeed, and the Hon. M. 
 A. Williams, one of tho United States Surveyors, en- 
 gaged for over twenty years in surveying Florida lands 
 for the Government, have all made a written appraisal 
 of the first-named 2,300,000 acres, and they put the 
 valuation at $8, $20, and $25 per acre. Now it so hap- 
 pens that there are private plantations and large farms 
 held and owned by sundry individuals at intervals 
 through this grant; and large portions of these pri- 
 vate plantations and farms have been sold for cash 
 during the last three years, and during the year last 
 past, land has been sold on the St. John's for $50, and 
 as high as $150 per acre ; and much has been sold on 
 the Indian Eiver and Halifax Eiver, the lowest at $10 
 per acre. Population is pouring into this part of the 
 State very rapidly. United States Senators and other 
 wealthy men of the Northern States are buying loca- 
 tions on these waters, and are building magnificent 
 residences, and laying out beautiful tropical gardens, to 
 spend their winters in this charming and salubrious 
 climate, and thereby avoid the rigors of winter. 
 
 Accurate admeasurements shew that Lake Washing- 
 ton is 13 feet higher than Indian Eiver. It is proposed 
 to cut the Company's 6 mile canal deep enough to 
 drop the surface of the lake about 4 feet. This 
 would leave a fall, still, of 9 feet from the lake, 
 which will afford magnificent and most valuable water 
 powers, sufiicient to drive a large number of mills and 
 manufactories all the year ; and a large industrial city 
 will accordingly grow up on this favoured site, bound 
 to result in great profits to the Company. 
 
 Here the new and beautiful City of Eau Gallic is 
 located, with its broadly laid-out streets, and beautiful 
 natural parks of tropical groves and perpetual blooming 
 flowers, having Salt-water Eivers and Ocean on one 
 side of it, and Lake Washington — 15 miles length of 
 fresh water — on the other side. Above this latitude 
 the frost line ceases. The fresh ocean breezes and 
 trade winds continually fan and cool this charming 
 spot. 
 
 The State Agricultural College, an Institution 
 founded by the State and endowed by the United 
 States, has been located on this new city site, with 
 5,000 acres of fine land as endowment. 
 
 South of Lake Harney, along the St. John's Eiver,_ 
 the Company owns 450,000 acres of land, which require 
 special notice. There are no richer lands on the earth, 
 — they are covered with perpetual green pastures, on 
 which tens of thousands of heads of cattle feed winter 
 and summer, and grow fat. These lands will abun- 
 dantly raise any vegetable or fruit sown or planted on 
 them. They will raise 4,000 pounds of sugar to the 
 acre, and for Sea Island Cotton no better lands exist 
 in America. 
 
 On the completion of the Company's Canal, these 
 lands will be all thoroughly drained, and will then 
 readily rent for $10 per acre, which will ultimately 
 bring in a rental revenue to owners of $4,500,000 per 
 annum. The whole tract is richly worth $100 per acre. 
 (See official reports, &c.) The Mississippi Eiver cotton 
 
 and sugar lands sold readily for $100 to $150 per acre, 
 in cash, before the late war, they will do so again. 
 
 But the Company's lands here located have the 
 advantage in climate and soil, and will raise crops of 
 greater value per acre. 
 
 A large body of her land granted will front on the 
 great Ship Canal, and for a full description and location 
 of the other grants, see official surveys, maps, and 
 inventory. 
 
 City, Towns, and Village Sites along the Ship 
 Canal, &c. 
 
 At the Terminal Harbours of the Ship Oanal, in the 
 Atlantic and Oulf, and at Key West, large commercial 
 cities must grow up under the control of the Ship Canal 
 Company, and on the 630 miles of canals and improved 
 ivater courses, the Company will establish depots and 
 wharves every 8 or 10 miles, and also lay out town 
 and village sites. Railway and Canal Companies in 
 America and other countries have done so, and have- 
 realised invmense revenues and profits therefrom. The 
 population settle upon and improve those points, and the 
 Company should realise profits enough from this source 
 to pay the whole construction cost of the works. 
 
 A highly respectable firm of English solicitors has 
 fully examined and reported upon the legal status of 
 this .Company, upon all its papers, documents, titles 
 of real estate, bonds, mortgage, &c., &c., and upon 
 the value of the 2,300,000 acres mortgaged, and have 
 delivered a statement of facts and legal conclusions 
 therein to the following effect : — 
 
 1. That the charters and the organization of the 
 Company thereunder are in due legal form. 
 
 2. That the bonds and mortgages securing the 
 same, together with all the necessary intermediate 
 steps, are all in due form of law, and that the Company 
 is now in legal shape either to sell or borrow money 
 on its property and securities. 
 
 3. That the titles to real estate are perfect. On this 
 point they say, " It seems clear that the three grants 
 mentioned (2,300,000 acres) are valid, and vest the 
 title thereto in this Company, and that neither the 
 United States nor the State of Florida can annul or 
 withdraw either of them, and that by the deed of con- 
 veyance a free, clear, perfect, and absolute legal title 
 is evidenced and vested in the Company in fee simple, 
 without conditions whatsoever." 
 
 4. They lastly find the following official evidence 
 relating to the value of these lands, and come to the 
 conclusion that these lands are worth now in the 
 market from $5 to $100 per acre, and are ample 
 security for a loan of £1,000,000. 
 
 The following is their full report on this point : 
 
 VALUE OF THE COMPANY'S LANDS. 
 
 These lands are located, in what is called " Bast 
 Florida," in the Counties of Marion, Putnam, St. 
 John's, Orange, Volusia, Brevard, and Dade, along 
 and on each side of the Company's Tide Water Canal 
 line, for a continuous distance of over 230 miles (see 
 Official Map, Grants, and Deed), including a large 
 portion of the rich valleys of the St. John's and Indian 
 Eivers. It appears also that interspersed through this 
 body of land are occasional plantations, which, since 
 the late Civil War in the United States, have been 
 subdivided into smaller tracts, and sold, and now occu- 
 pied ; while several of these counties, possessing lands 
 outside of the Company's grants, have each a consider- 
 able population, which is rapidly increasing yearly. 
 
 r 2 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 Population of these Counties. 
 
 Marion 
 
 Dade 
 
 Putnam and St. John's 
 
 Volutia and Brevard . . 
 
 eacL. 
 about 
 
 16,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 6,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 A. full description of the lands of the State and of 
 this Company — variety of soils — agricultural and horti- 
 cultural productions — extensive heavy'forests, &c., &c., 
 is contained in OflBcial Eeports, issued by the United 
 States' Government and by the State of Florida, named 
 as follows : — 
 
 TJaitedL Stales " Land Offi.ce Report," 1870, -p-p. 44 to 63. 
 
 1868, pp. 17 to 23. 
 „ 1869, pp. 100 to 105. 
 
 United States ^' Department of Agriculture." 
 
 Report, 1862, pp. 69 to 66. 
 „ 1868, pp. 140 to 147. 
 „ 1872, pp. 160 to 171. 
 „ 1873, pp. 610 to 511. 
 
 United States' " Special Report on 
 
 Immigration," Statistics, &c. 1872, pp. 138 to 147. 
 
 Annual Messages of the Governor of Florida, 
 ■with accompanying Documents from the 
 State Land Office Department, &c., from 
 1869 to 1876. 
 
 In full corroboration of these OflBcial Eeports, it 
 appears there are numerous Geographies, Histories, 
 British and American books, periodicals, and papers, 
 also showing the value of the Florida Lands. 
 
 It will also be found that, since the late American 
 war Florida has been , rapidly increasing in population 
 and we£tlth. The chief immigration and settlements 
 appear to be into the St. John's and Indian River Val- 
 leys; besides, this portion of Florida has become a great 
 national resort for pleasure-seehers and invalids, who 
 leave the Northern States during the severe winter 
 months, and spend their winters in the salubrious climate 
 of Florida. It is reported that from 40,000 to 60,000 
 visitors spend their winters annually in Bast Florida. 
 
 In the Annual Survey Report to the United States' 
 Government, by M. L. Stearns, United States' Sur- 
 veyor-General in Florida, dated August 31, 1870 (see 
 U.S. Land Office Eeport, pp. 331 to 333), this officer 
 reports that " The Eastern portion from the St. John's 
 B/iver to the Coast, OMd including Indian River, is set- 
 tling up very rapidly, perhaps more so than any other 
 part of the State, and consequently that section pre- 
 sents a greater variety of interests than any other. 
 The lumber trade is very important. There are on the 
 St. John's River some twenty steam saw-mills, three- 
 fourths of them at or near Jacksonville. The richest 
 sugar lands in the State lie in various localities along 
 the Indian river, and offer an inexhaustible mine of 
 wealth to the industrious and enterprising farmer. The 
 natural advantages of the State are ample." 
 
 The Official Agricultural Report of the United States 
 for 1871, page 164, says: — "One great advantage 
 which these (Florida) Lands possess over Western 
 lands lies in their ability to produce six great staple 
 productions, the most valuable known, and of which 
 the supply cannot equal the demand, while the western 
 lands produce but two great staples, viz., wheat and 
 corn. These staples are yellow pine lumber, the best 
 timber for naval construction, house-building and 
 cabinet work. Cotton (both Sea Island and short 
 staple), tobacco, sugar and rice, in addition to which 
 may be enumerated, among other products, hay, corn, 
 oats, potatoes (sweet and Irish), all kinds of vegetables, 
 oranges, bananas, figs, peaches, quinces, and many other 
 
 tropical fruits, which can be grown nowhere else in the 
 United States as well as here." 
 
 From the foregoing official Government authorities 
 it appears quite clear that the Florida lands, including 
 those belonging to the Company, contain a very large 
 amount of valuable forests for a great variety of timber 
 and lumber, of yellow and pitch pine, live oak, water- 
 red and white oaks, cedar, cherry, cypress, hickory, 
 elm, ash, gum, magnolia, birch, walnut, mahogany, 
 satinwood, and in some portions lignum vitse, box- 
 wood, mastic, palmetto, crabwood, &c. 
 
 That the soil and climate are specially adapted to the 
 culture and growth of all tropical and semi-tropical 
 fruits, viz., the orange, lemon, lime, citron, fig, banana, 
 plantain, mango, soursop, custard-apple, cocoa-nut, 
 shaddock, paw-paw, date, nectarine, apricots, pine- 
 apples, plums, peaches, cherries, apples, pears, tama- 
 rinds, almonds, grapes of great variety, strawberries, 
 blackberries, currants, mulberries, &c., &c. 
 
 In addition to this list add all the garden and field 
 vegetables of the Temperate and Torrid zones, which 
 grow there summer and winter. In the culture of 
 these fruits and winter and early vegetables, Florida 
 claims a monopoly over any other part of North 
 America. The Northern cities and States import vast 
 quantities of these fruits and vegetables annually from 
 foreign countries, which Florida can supply. 
 
 Very many cases are mentioned of the large profits 
 realized per acre in the cultivation of the staples, as 
 compared with other States, and extraordinary profits 
 are shown in the raising of the orange, banana, fig, 
 grape, strawberries, and other fruits, and in the winter 
 and early vegetables. These features are attracting a 
 large immigration to Florida from the Northern States 
 since the war, and it is claimed that the Florida Lands 
 possess a special value over other rich lands in other 
 States, because of their adaptation to the growth of 
 the tropical fruits and winter vegetables, for the 
 Northern States and cities wUl afford a continual 
 market for these products. 
 
 VALUE PER ACRE OF COMPANY'S LANDS. 
 
 The following letter and valuation is entitled to 
 consideration, viz. : — 
 
 " Office of Sueveyoe Geneeal, 
 
 " Tallahassee, Fla. Aug. 25i/i, 1870. 
 " Sirs, 
 
 "From our knowledge and information, 
 which we have of the land ceded and granted to your 
 Company by the Trustees of the Internal Improve- 
 ment Fund of the State of Florida, we would appraise 
 their value at from $8 to $10 per acre, upon the 
 completion of the Canals and Improvements contem- 
 plated by the Charter of the said ' Southern Inland 
 Navigation and Improvement Company.' 
 
 " HARRISON REED, Governor and President of 
 the Board Internal Improvement Fund." 
 
 "M. S. STEARNS, United States' Surveyor 
 General. 
 
 "J. S. ADAMS, Commissioner of Lands and 
 Immigration. 
 
 " T. H. OSBORN, and others." 
 
 In appraisements and letters, dated January 28th 
 and March 29th, 1871, by Mr. M. A. Williams, one of 
 the United States' Land Surveyors of Florida for 
 
 twenty-five years, he says : — 
 
 " I have, within the last twenty (20) years, either 
 surveyed for. the United States' Government,, or 
 
( 45 ) 
 
 examined for the State of Florida most of the lands 
 granted to 'The Southern Inland Navigation and 
 Improvement Company.' I have no doubt that a very- 
 large portion of these lands would be worth and would 
 sell for from $10 to $25 per acre upon the completion 
 of the Company's Canals/' &c. 
 
 He says he has spent more than twenty-five 
 years in surveying public lands in Florida for the 
 United States' Government, that the Company's Lands 
 extend from Palatka on the St. John's to Biscayne 
 Bay, that he is " Well acquainted with the character of 
 these lands on the entire route," that he " selected a 
 very large portion of these lands " for the State from 
 the United States' Lands, that they are among " the 
 richest and most valuable in the State." Part require 
 draining (see Judge Pry's Synoptical Eeport, p. 15, 
 and Engineers' Reports, " cutting the canal from Lake 
 Washington to Indian B-iver, so as to drop the surface 
 of the Lake 4 feet, will drain the Company's Lands ") . 
 Williams further says : — " Your line of improvements 
 will open the only available tropical portion of 
 Florida, and will unquestionably be the most attractive 
 portion of the State, and the most desirable for the 
 thousands of visitors who annually seek this climate 
 for health and pleasure, and it will also be the most 
 desirable for the production of all the tropical fruits," 
 &c. 
 
 The United States' Agricultural Eeport for 1871, 
 and the United States' Special Report on Statistics and 
 immigration, show the value of the lands of the Southern 
 Slave States in 1860, and the large decline of price 
 during the late American war, as the result of that war. 
 Of Florida they say — " In some sections of the State 
 lands declined during this period from 20 to 50 per 
 cent., but on the St. John's River and Indian River 
 they have advanced one-third in value since the date 
 named," and on page 165 of the first-named report, 
 the Government says : " The price of wild land in 
 Dade County is about $50 per acre. Cultivated lands 
 at Key West and Boca Chico can be sold at prices 
 varying from $500 to $1,000 per acre, according to the 
 .stock of fruit growing." 
 
 The large amount of construction work performed, 
 and the rapid increase of population in the last few 
 years, have fully demonstrated the above valuation of 
 the Governor, Land Commissioners, and the United 
 States' Surveyors. 
 
 " The message of Governor Harrison Reed to the 
 Legislature, delivered January 4, 1872, claims that the 
 increase of population during the last three years has 
 been 40,000, mainly as a result of the labours of the 
 Immigration Bureau in exhibiting systemaMcally the 
 peculiar resources of the State. He especially calls 
 attention to the fact that 1,200 miles of sea-coast, 
 prolific of oysters, fish, and turtle, almost beyond 
 parallel, with bays and inlets, and inland navigable 
 waters of an equal extent;, offer the richest inducements 
 to enterprise and capital." 
 
 In the " Annual Message of Governor Stearns to the 
 Florida Legislature, with " Accompanying Documents " 
 of his Cabinet ofiicers, for the year 1875. Land Office 
 Department, p. 5, it is officially declared that : 
 
 " The past year has marked the commencement of a 
 new era in the history of our State, in the unexampled 
 influx of population which has taken placeJ We are in 
 possession of sufficient data to be able to state that the 
 accessions of weal'-'i and population have been greater 
 during the past vwelve months than in any three pre- 
 vious years ; and the consequence is a very perceptible 
 ■effect on the material property of the State. 
 
 " This influx of immigration has been more apparent 
 in the Eastern portion of the State, and is seen in the 
 ■extraordinary advance in the price of lands ; in the 
 extensive purchases that have been, made for the 
 
 purpose of tropical fruit culture ; in the springing up 
 of new and enterprising settlements, and the spirit of 
 life and activity which is observable throughout regions 
 where solitude hitherto reigned supreme. 
 
 "There is, perhaps, no State in the Union about 
 which there is so much enquiry at present as Florida." 
 
 This last-named Report shows, that in Marion 
 County " very good unimproved farming land can be 
 bought for $50 per acre." 
 
 In Pidnam County the "price of land varies from a 
 Government Homestead to $100 or more per acre," and 
 " First rate orange land on the Hast side of the St. John's 
 Biver is held as high as $100 ^er acre. 
 
 St. John's County varies about the same. 
 
 Volusia County (where the Company owns a very 
 large body of land). "Private lands in small lots can 
 be purchased at from 85 to $100 per acre. (The lands 
 of this County are very superior in quality) . 
 
 Brevard County " is fast showing the effects of 
 energy and capital," and lands sell outside of the 
 Company's grant at from $10 upwards per acre. 
 
 The United States' Agricultural Reports of 1873 
 shows : 
 
 ''That Orange County is making rapid progress in 
 population and wealth. It unites the advantages of 
 diversified and beautiful scenery, a remarkably healthy 
 climate, a productive and well-watered soil, and easy 
 access to market. The climate and soil have proved 
 by trial to be well adapted to the growth of oranges, 
 lemons, and almost every other variety of semi-tropical 
 fruits, as well as the principal vegetables. These 
 attractions having become known are drawing immi- 
 grants from almost every State in the Union. 
 
 Lands which five years ago could be bought at 25 
 cents to $1 per acre now bring $50 to $150 per acre." 
 
 The Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund, 
 who made these grants, appraised and fixed a schedule 
 price S ! per acre (see Deed of Trust, p. 10, sec. 2) . The 
 law required the Board to "fix the price of the public 
 lands granted in the Trust" (see Act 1855, sec. 22, 
 "Bush's Digest" 375). 
 
 From the foregoing Official authorities, both of the 
 United States' Government and of the State, we have 
 a full exhibit of the character, value, and market 
 price of the lands granted to the Company. 
 
 Largi: portions of these grants are worth from $5 to 
 ftlQQ per acre, and in our opinion the evidence shoivs, 
 that the average price of $10 per acre, as estimated by 
 the Board of Trustees, is a fair valuation. 
 
 Another mode of valuation is given by the United 
 States' Government, in the numerous grants of lands, 
 donated by the Government in aid of Railway and 
 Canal construction. An Official Report is published by 
 the Government, showing that all land grant lands, 
 sold by the Companies to the year 1870, realized an 
 average price of $7 per acre. In some instances the 
 grants averaged from §8 to 812 per acre. The Hannibal 
 and St. Joseph Railway Company sold their lands at 
 an average of Sll per acre. The Grand Rapids and 
 Indiana Railway Company realized an average of 
 $13.98. The Burlington and Missouri River Raflroad 
 Company, averaged $11.70 and the Illinois Central 
 (well-known in London) averaged $11.35 per acre. 
 This Company's grant contained 2,595,000 acres. The 
 sales made to 1870 amounted $24,000,000 cash, and 
 the residue is selling since at an average $12.50 per 
 acre. The whole grant will net to the Company 
 $30,000,000 cash. (See United States' Land Office 
 Report, Sept. 1870.) 
 
 The Loan of £1,000,000 secured by the Company's 
 First Mortgage Bonds, under the Trust Deed, covering 
 two million three-hundred thousand (2,300,000) acres 
 of lands, with other property, improvements, franchises. 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 and rights, is and must be sufficient, safe, and most 
 ample security for this Loan. 
 
 The value of these lands alone at the appraisement 
 and scheduled rate in the Trust Deed is four times the 
 amount of the required Loan. 
 
 At the average rate of $7 per acre for all land grants 
 sold to 1870, they will he nearly three times the Loan. 
 
 Mr. Bennock, of London, after examining the evi- 
 dence of their value, states they are worth " over 50 
 times the amount of the Loan required." 
 
 An important consideration to the Lender is found 
 in the ability of the Company to pay the interest and 
 principal of this Loan as they mature. 
 
 1st. From Tolls. 
 
 2nd. Prom the sale of Timber and Lumber. 
 
 3rd. From the sale of Lands. 
 
 The Company is in position now to collect tolls 
 on the vessels and Commerce passing over its improve- 
 ments. 
 
 It seems the Commerce on the St. Johns's River, 
 Indian River, and Lakes, is quite large, and increasing 
 rapidly. 
 
 It is reported in the United States' Land Office 
 Reports that the annual export of timber and lumber 
 from Florida in 1869 was $10,000,000, besides home con- 
 sumption. Thistimberitisreported commands apremium 
 of 10 per cent, in the City of New York over lumber from 
 other States. Liverpool, London, and other British 
 ports receive and famish a ready market for this timber 
 and lumber. Letters have been shewn from lumber 
 merchants in London to this Company, offering to 
 purchase from the Company amounts up to nearly 
 £200,000. The Company's forests are readily accessible, 
 and most favourably situated for shipment of timber 
 and lumber. It has already been shewn that there is a 
 large immigration into the St. John's and Indiana 
 River Valleys, where the Company's land is situated, 
 and that these lands have risen raipidly in value. Taking 
 into consideration these facts, together with Beports of 
 the large annual sales of land grant lands made by the 
 Illinois Central, Grand Rapids, and Indiana, Barlington, 
 and Missouri River, and numerous other Railway Com- 
 panies, it would seem clear that the Company can from 
 this source commence to receive large returns 
 immediately." 
 
 SHIP CANAL. 
 
 It appears that The Atlantic and Gulf Ship Canal is 
 incorporated and located under the Act of the State of 
 Florida, entitled " An Act to provide a General Law 
 for the Incorporation of Railroads and Canals," 
 approved February 19th, 1874. 
 
 This Act is the Charter right of the Company — the 
 franchises, rights, and powers it confers are complete 
 and very liberal, and it would seem that the franchise is 
 perpetual, and the Company has power to fix the rate 
 of tolls and compensation for the use of the Canal, and 
 to collect the same, to purchase, hold, use, and sell 
 and convey real, personal, and mixed property, take 
 and hold voluntary grants of land to aid in construc- 
 tion, powers to borrow money and execute Trust 
 Deeds or Mortgages on the Company's property to 
 secure such loan, &c., &c. 
 
 The provisions are comprehensive, and seem to 
 guard the rights and privileges of the Company well. 
 
 To anyone wishing to become interested in this 
 enterprise (financially or otherwise) it will be interest- 
 ing and well worth the while to read and study the 
 provisions of this Charter. Legislation so favourable 
 to a Company is 'seldom obtained in England. 
 
 The commercial and international character of this 
 
 Ship Canal, its importance, necessity, benefits, &c., are 
 fully exhibited in the full and Synoptical Reports com- 
 piled by Judge John H. Fry, principally from Govern- 
 ment authorities. We recommend that these Reports and 
 the authorities quoted from be well read and studied. 
 
 " In conclusion, it is our opinion that the propositions 
 and terms offered for the loans are an inducement to 
 capitalists, and that the security for the loan seems 
 safe and ample in amount." 
 
 Important Leader in the Times and the Official British 
 Report on Commerce and Trade — On the Thrift 
 of Florida — Increase of Population — Immense 
 Profits in Tropical Fruit — Culture and rapid rise 
 in the price of Lands in the St. John's Valley, 
 right in the heart of the Company's Grants of 
 2,300,000 acres. 
 
 Leader in the " Times," London, June 23, 1876. 
 
 " The latest volume of the Reports of the Secretary 
 of Legations, which has been recently presented to 
 Parliament, includes a contribution of more than ordi- 
 nary interest. This is a careful analysis of the ' trade 
 and some resources of the United States for the year 
 1875," and, apart from its general value, it embraces 
 the first impartial review of the economical condition 
 in the South that has been published in this country 
 since the re-election of President Grant to the Presi- 
 dency. The period of four years, which is now drawing 
 to a close, was marked by a few startling events ; but 
 it is all the more likely that it was fruitful in steady, 
 if silent, progress among thos.e communities which, 
 after the desolating convulsions of the war, could only 
 hope to repair their strength by rest. The writer of 
 the Report, Mr. Grant Watson, was First Secretary of 
 Legation at Washington, until, on the nomination of 
 Lord Lytton to the Indian Viceroyalty, he was promoted 
 to the Lisbon Legation. His conclusions are sober 
 and inobtrusive ; his survey of facts is wide and 
 searching, and, upon the whole, his Report is a most 
 praiseworthy addition to our knowledge of the United 
 States. 
 
 In Mr. Watson's judgment the South had, at the 
 close of last year, reached a turn in its fortunes at 
 which the abiding consequences of the war were being 
 overcome by the strong permanent elements of indus- 
 trial prosperity. The worst days clearly were past. 
 The riches of the soil, the generosity of the climate, 
 and the abundance of labour had begun to tell, and 
 wealth was being recreated with amazing rapidity. 
 The Civil War had rent the old fabric of society from 
 top to bottom, but some of the fragments fell into new 
 relations, and others obtained scope for free growth by 
 the ruin of the rest. The slave-owning aristocracy of 
 former days has wholly disappeared. But .there were 
 other slaveholders who were no aristocrats, who worked 
 with their own hands — the ' mean whites,' as their 
 betters used to call them — and these,, recovering from 
 the shock of the conflict, are now becoming steadily 
 prosperous, while, in spite of some political disturbances 
 and consequent suffering, there is ' a general diffusion 
 of means for ease and comfort unknown before.' By 
 the side of this class the Negro freedmen cultivate for 
 the most part their own holdings. 'Cotton culture 
 has been democratized by emancipation.' No single 
 estates now yield 1,000 or 2,000 bales for individual 
 owners ; but the small farmers, white and black, " raise 
 cotton for their own profit individually, and the aggre- 
 gate of their little crops nearly reaches, and will soon 
 exceed that which was produced before the war.' 
 Mr. Watson reckons the production of 1875 at 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 3j800,000 bales, and tlie value of this quantity is ' dif- 
 fused among many thousands, or, perhaps, millions of 
 persons or families." Wealth begets wants, and the 
 elevation of living among the " mean whites " and the 
 freedmen has developed an immense increase in the 
 consumption by the South of Northern manufactures. 
 Of this development there are no precise statistics, but 
 Mr. Watson calculates that the Southern consumption 
 of Northern commodities is now at least quadruple, and 
 may possibly be tenfold that of the period before the 
 war, while it is known to be constantly augmenting. 
 The condition of the freedmen, who are now politically 
 enfranchised as well as emancipated, is, of course, not 
 wholly bright ; but some have amassed " wealth," many 
 thousands, " own houses and pay taxes," and Mr. 
 Watson does not hesitate to say that they will ulti- 
 mately become " a Conservative element " in the State. 
 " Their labour is adding largely to the wealth of the 
 South, and is essential to its further development." 
 
 Energetic efforts are being made in various direc- 
 tions to hasten and to guide this process of renovating 
 growth. 
 
 As ah example Mr. Grant Watson points to the 
 case of Florida, which the war and the consequent 
 ruin of the planters may be said to have first brought 
 to the knowledge of the North, and opened to the 
 influx of Northern enterprise and capital. The " Land, 
 of Flowers," where Ponce de Leon placed his fabled 
 "fountain of youth," has in late years attracted, by 
 the chartn of its climate, crowds of invalids from the 
 Northern States, and this commimication has at length 
 disclosed to the shrewd Northern mind the capacities 
 of this fertile peninsula. Especially since the crisis of 
 1873 paralyzed trade and industry in the North, 
 setting capital seeking after investment and labour for 
 employment, the development of the resources of 
 Florida, which, as a fruit-producing country, has not a 
 rival in the world, have received a great share of 
 attention, and whenever the crisis at the North comes 
 to an end, reviving speculation, as Mr. Watson pre- 
 dicts, "will turn thither, and give a still greater im- 
 petus to this' already rapid movement." The orange 
 groves of Florida are in themselves sources of wealth 
 as rich as the 'inost famous lodes of Nevada. The fruit 
 Is " cultivated as easily, and produces as qidckly as the 
 apple, and yields in full bearing from 1,000 to 2,500 
 per cent, per acre to the owner on the ground, at present 
 prices, and with but trifling labour." The Florida 
 orange ripens deliciously, and will certainly supplant, 
 in the markets of the Northern Cities, the half -matured 
 foreign fruit of which at present New York alone con- 
 sumes 500 millions annually. The land fitted for this 
 profitable and pleasant occupation has, of course, gone 
 up rapidly in price. A large tract was purchased on 
 the 8t. John's River eight years ago at about one 
 dollar an acre, and has lately been re-sold for orange 
 planting at prices varying from 50 to 120 dollars; 
 while other estates, bought some four or five years 
 ago at 25 dollars an acre, and planted with orange 
 trees, brought a couple of years since not less than 
 1,000 dollars an acre. In this neighbourhood, a 
 Swedish colony has been established, it is stated, with 
 the most encouraging results. The most severe frosts 
 do not touch the fruit trees, though on the glowing 
 shores of the Lago di Garda, as travellers in Lombardy 
 and Venetia will remember, the tender lemon has to 
 be carefully covered during the winter. It is plain 
 that a new industry of great value has been opened, 
 and that it possesses attractions to win the Scandi- 
 navian settlers from Ohio and Wisconsin. This, how- 
 ever, is only a typical instance of a movement which, 
 .according to Mr. Watson, is progressing in many parts 
 . of the Southern States — wherever, indeed, the natural 
 .advantages of climate and soil, set free by the break- 
 
 up of the old social system, invite Northern capital 
 and enterprise. Unless this progress should be unex- 
 pectedly checked, the calamities of the Civil War will 
 quickly be obliterated by the rising tide of a pros- 
 perity almost without parallel, even in American 
 experience. 
 
 British Commercial Trade Reports, No. 6 (1876), Part 
 II., by Her Majesty's Secretaries of Embassy and 
 Legation, 8fc., 8fc. Presented to both Houses of 
 Parliament, by command of Her Majesty, May, 
 1876. 
 
 Report by Me. Watson on the Teade and some 
 Resotjeces op the United States, foe 1875; with 
 A Peepace on the Mateeial Condition oe the 
 SouTHEEN States. 
 
 While the Northern States of the Union, especially 
 in their commercial and manufacturing interests, are 
 greatly suffering at the present moment, a turn would 
 appear, finally, to have been reached at the South, 
 whose soil, climate, and abundant labour are now telling 
 upon it in rapidly augmenting prosperity. 
 
 The class of former slave-owners have been, for the 
 most part, ruined and permanently impoverished ; but 
 the lower strata — those who themselves work — have 
 recovered from the devastation of the war, and a general 
 diffusion of means for ease and comfort, unknown 
 before, may be observed, although certain localities are 
 still agitated, and are suffering by reason of political 
 disturbances. 
 
 Cotton culture has been democratized by emanci- 
 pation. While no longer crops yielding from 1,000 to 
 2,000 bales are raised to enrich single families and 
 develop luxurious and extravagant tastes in these, the 
 negroes whom they formerly owned, and who as slaves 
 were scantily and coarsely clothed, having few wants, 
 now raise cotton for their own profit individually, and 
 the aggregate of their little crops nearly reaches, and 
 will soon exceed, that which was produced before the 
 war ; and its result — for last year, about 3,800,000 
 bales — is diffused amongst many thousands, or perhaps 
 millions of persons or families, and goes to supply the 
 increasing wants of this numerous class of new con- 
 sumers; and, while no statistics are published, the 
 consumption by the South of articles manufactured at 
 the North has probably more than quadrupled (it may 
 be tenfold) that of before the war, and it is constantly 
 augmenting. 
 
 The former slave, now a freeman (voter), as well as 
 freedman, has become very generally an owner of the 
 soil which he cultivates ; in many instances he has 
 amassed wealth ; many thousands own houses and pay 
 taxes, and will eventually become a conservative 
 element thereby of society, though now greatly under 
 the lead of political adventurers. Many are naturally 
 lazy, thriftless, and, in some towns where they swarm, 
 a pest of society ; but it cannot be doubted that their 
 labour is adding largely to the wealth of the South, 
 and that it is essential to its further development. 
 
 Florida ivould, like Texas, appear especially to have 
 been favovred in rapid development of its resources and 
 increase of wealth. Its remarkably fine climate has 
 attracted invalids in crowds, and these have brought 
 more particularly to the attention of the North the 
 advantages of its soil and peninsular position for semi- 
 tropical fruit-culture, especially the orange, which is 
 now taken hold of there with northern energy and a great 
 deal of northern capital. The almost fabulous returns 
 from it are attracting crowds who are thrown out of 
 employment by the crisis at the North, and their money 
 
( 48 ) 
 
 •'^s well, no longer to be ^profitably employed there ; and, 
 while the present movement is owing ma/inly to the 
 necessities of the people which make Florida's harvest, 
 it is probable that when the reaction comes at the North, 
 with the passage of the present crisis, speculation will 
 turn thither and give a still greater impetus to this 
 already rapid development. Amongst other things that 
 might be cited as instances of the latent wealth of this 
 favoured region may be especially mentioned — ^ 
 
 Oranges, which are cultivated as easily, and produce 
 as quickly as the apple, and yield in full beaiing from 
 IjOOO to 2j500 per cent, per acre to the owner, on the 
 ground, at present prices, and with but trifling labour. 
 This superior ripe fruit must end ere long in supplanting 
 the half-ripe foreign fruit, of which now [oranges and 
 lemons) there are nearly 1,000^000,000 imported into 
 the United States anmtally [to New York alone 
 500,000,000, or half of the entire amount) . 
 
 To give an illustration of this increase of prosperity 
 in the State of Florida, in this one direction, some facts; 
 the correctness of which may be relied on, may prove of 
 interest, relating to one property on the St. John's River, 
 the " Sanford Grant," of twenty-five square miles, which 
 was purchased in 1868 at about one dollar per acre. 
 Lands for orange culture upon it have been sold in the 
 past year at an average of 50 dollars, and up to 150 
 dollars per acre. Land there purchased four years ago 
 at 25 dollars an acre and planted in orange trees, has 
 been sold three years later at 1,000 dollars per acre, and 
 its neighbourhood in Orange County abounds in similar 
 instances. 
 
 Sanfoed's Gteant, Oeange County. 
 
 " The undersigned," says a widely circulated adver- 
 tisement, "offers for sale to actual settlers, or im- 
 provers only, and in lots to suit buyers, the lands 
 embraced in the above property, consisting of about 
 twenty-five square miles. ' 
 
 "A portion of this tract — about 6,000 acres — is 
 believed to be the choicest orange land in Florida. A 
 Swedish Colony, established for four years on the 
 centre of the grant, and rapidly increasing, furnishes 
 reliable, intelligent labour, and an incontestible proof 
 of its unsurpassing healthfulness. 
 
 "A settlement from Wisconsin, and another from 
 Ohio, with a post office ('Twin Lakes'), at either ex- 
 tremity of the grant, demonstrates in the most striking 
 manner the large profits derived from orange-culture 
 when well directed. Full bearing groves in the neigh- 
 bourhood abvmdantly testify to the large and certain 
 income resulting from such labour on a small outlay. 
 It is beyond the line of injurious frosts. The unusual 
 severe cold on the 15th instant, which blighted the 
 banana tops even so far south as Enterprise, left no 
 trace on the grant opposite, protected by the warmer 
 waters of Lake Monroe on t"he north ; and at General 
 Sanford's large grove (Belair) — sixty-five acres — with 
 many hundreds of tropical and thousands of semi- 
 tropical and imported plants, not a leaf was touched. 
 Green peas, strawberries, tomatoes, &c., 'can be grown 
 the winter through in the open air, in profitable union 
 with the orange-culture. 
 
 " The Swedish Colony will undertake to clear fence, 
 plant, and cultivate (on guarantee) lands for orasnge 
 groves,, of which eighty are already in different stages 
 of development. 
 
 "Besides the Sanford House, which will open on 
 the 1st January, be open for 150 guests, and which, 
 when completed next year, will be the largest hotel in 
 the State, boarding-houses, churches, schools, post and 
 express offices, saw -mills, stores, &c., present the usual 
 conveniences to settlers on and near the grant. 
 
 " Steamers, ten times weekly to Jacksonville, offer 
 
 the indispensable facilities of direct water communi- 
 cation with market to fruit and vegetable-growers. 
 
 "The prices of land are from 5 dols. to 100 dels, per 
 acre, according to quality and location. Special rates 
 for villa sites upon high banks of lakes. 
 
 On the lower pine lands, unfit for orange-culture,, 
 five acres will be given to each of the firs-t twenty 
 families who settle upon them. 
 
 "L. M. MooEE, 
 
 "Land Agent for the Grant fond Postmaster),. 
 
 Sandford, Florida." 
 
 Amongst the produce of Florida ma/y be mentioned 
 many V'irieties of fruit, such as the banana, the guava, 
 the bread-fruit, Sfc, the sugar-cane, starches, meddcinal 
 roots and herbs, cotton, tobacco, paper, grapes, endless 
 variety of fishes, and Ume-sand." 
 
 A most interesting book, of 806 pages, and illus- 
 trated, has been published in Glasgow in 1875, en- 
 titled, " The Southern States of North America," by- 
 Mr. Edward King, and sold by W. G. Blackie and 
 Co., in which a valuable chapter of 65 pages is devoted 
 to Florida : its Climate, Fruits, Culture, &c., &c. 
 [Fxtraets..] 
 
 "The wealth of Northern cities is erecting fin& 
 pleasure houses in St. Augustine, surrounded with 
 noble orchards and gardens. A brilliant society gathers 
 there every winter, and depart reluctantly when spring 
 comes on. Hundreds of families have determined to 
 make it henceforth their winter homes." 
 
 " In December, the days are ordinarily bright and 
 sunny, a salt, sea wind blowing across the peninsula y 
 from ten uutil four o'clock one can sit out doors, bathed 
 in floods of delicious light." 
 
 " The number of persons whom I .saw during my 
 journey, who had migrated to the Eastern or Southern 
 sections of the . State, ' more than half-dead with con- 
 sumption,' and who are now robust and vigorous,- 
 was sufficient to convince me of the great benefits de- 
 rived from a residence there." 
 
 " Physicians all agree that the conditions necessary 
 to insure life to the consumptive are admirably pro- 
 vided in the climatic resources of the peninsula. The- 
 European medical men are beginning to send many 
 patients to Florida." 
 
 " For the healthy, and those seeking pleasure, it 
 will become a winter paradise ; for the aihng it is a 
 refuge and strength." 
 
 " The mornings of December, January, February, . 
 and March, the four absolutely perfect m/inths of East 
 Florida are wonderfully soft and balmy ; the sun shines 
 generously, but there is no suspicion of annoying heat. . 
 The breeze gently rustles the enormous leaves of the 
 Banana, or playfully tumbles a golden orange to the 
 ground." 
 
 " The Indian River Valley is difficult of access, but 
 sivarms of travellers are now finding their way there. 
 Hardly 1,000 miles froni New York, one may find 
 the most delicate and delightful tropical scenery, and 
 may dwell in a climate which neither Hawaii, nor 
 Southern Italy, can excel." 
 
 " Among the cocoanuts and the mangroves here, 
 invalids may certainly count on laying a new hold upon 
 life ; and the invalid who comes here pale and racked 
 with a harrowing cough is, after a few weeks, seen 
 tramping about in the cool of morning with gun and 
 fishing-rod, a very Nimrod and Walton combined. It 
 can be made one of the richest garden spots in. 
 America." 
 
 " When the necessary dredging and building of canals 
 has been accomplished, so that the Indian Rivee Oeange 
 
( 49 ) 
 
 may have an outlet, via St. John's JRiver, the North 
 will be SUPPLIED with oranges of more delicate textueb 
 
 THAN IT HAS YET SEEN ; THE NUMBER OP GROVES ALONG 
 THE EIVEK WILL BE LEGION." 
 
 " The fitness of Florida for the growth of tropical 
 and semi-tropical fruits is astonishing. Not only do 
 the orange, the lemon, the lime, and the citron flourish 
 there, but the peach, the grape, the fig, the pom egranate, 
 the plum, all varieties of berries, the olive, the banana, 
 and the pine-apple grow luxuriantly. Black Hamburg 
 and white Muscat grapes fruit finely in the open air ; 
 the Concord and the Scuppernong are grown in vast 
 quantities. The guava, the tamarind, the wonderful 
 alligator pear, the plaintain, the cocoanut, and the date, 
 the almond and the pecan, luxuriate in southern 
 Florida and the Indian Eiver country. Within these 
 boundaries a tropic land, rich and stranger, will one 
 day be inhabited by thousands of fruit-growers, and 
 where beautiful towns andperhaps cities will spring up." 
 — " A good tree will bear from 1,000 to 3,000 oranges 
 yearly. Some trees at Mandarine have produced 
 5,500, many of the oranges weighing nearly a pound." 
 — " One young grove on Indian Eiver, with 1 ,350 
 trees, pi-oduced in a season 700,000 oranges. They 
 were sold for $25 to $68 per 1,000 case, and netted to 
 its owner over $20,000." — " Col. Heart's grove nets 
 him from $12,000 to $15,000 yearly."—" Dr. Moragne 
 has a grove that nets him over $20,000 per annum." — 
 " Only one man is required to attend one of these 
 groves, who requires one or two negro men to help 
 pick and market them." — " The culture of oranges will 
 
 certainly become one of theprime industriesof Florida." 
 
 I 
 Such well-known men as Mr. Astor, A. T. Stewart, 
 Col. John P. Howard, General Sanford, Hon. Mr. 
 Anthony, U.S. Senator of Rhode Island, and others, 
 have embarked capital in these valleys for tropical fruit 
 culture. Or winter residences. 
 
 Another Report says : — 
 
 " The celebrated Dummitt and Burnham plantations 
 on Indian River are yielding very large returns to 
 their owners." 
 
 " At a fair estimate ten acres will yield a gross 
 revenue of $15,000 to $20,000 per annum, which is 
 life long. These estimates can everywhere be substan- 
 tiated. The products of a single grove oijive acres on 
 the St. John's River were sold last year for $15,000." 
 
 "Bananas j)ay equally well. An acre will yield 
 1,500 bunches, many of which will bring $3 per 
 bunch." 
 
 Mr. King (page 403) also shows the class of men 
 who are engaging in this class of industry : — 
 
 " Property is becoming exceedingly good, yearly 
 rising in value." — " In a few years those of Mr. Stock- 
 well, of Maine, with 400 bearing trees, Mr. Burr, of 
 Morri^town, N.J., the Estate of Mosten (200 each), 
 Mr. Brown, of New York, 2,000 young trees. Dr. 
 Parsons, the Long Island Nurseryman, and others, will 
 yield fortunes to their owners. Col. Dancey has a 
 lemon grove of over 200 trees. Among noticeable 
 groves are those of Mr. Cowgill, the State Comptroller ; 
 Dr. Mays, at Oi ange Mill ; a number of New York 
 gentlemen at Federal Point; Captain J. W. Stark, and 
 the fine estate of Captain Rossignol. There are also 
 many successful orange groves scattered from Rawles- 
 town to San Matteo, Murphy's Island, Buffalo Bluff, 
 Welaka, and Beecher. There are many groves on the 
 Ocklawaha River and neighbourhood." 
 
 Besides such leading men of wealth, numbers of 
 men, who have not over £100 cash, are engaging in 
 these industries. They purchase a few acres, plant 
 
 them in orange and other fruit trees, and between the 
 rows of trees they cultivate enough vegetables to pay 
 all their expenses for living and for making further 
 improvements, and in a few years their fruit will yield 
 them larger returns than their capital and labour can 
 bring them in other industries. 
 
 The Land Oflice Reports of Florida, for 1875, p. 18, in 
 speaking of the character of immigrants settling 
 in Florida, says : — 
 
 " They are men of the same type as those who have 
 made that belt of country, extending from the Atlantic 
 to the Pacific, and from the Ohio River to the 
 Lakes, the grandest theatre of industrial activity on 
 the continent. They are men possessed of cunning^ 
 hands, resolute hearts, and clear heads ; and to such 
 no finer field then Florida was ever presented for 
 occupancy. It is a field overflowing with the elements 
 of wealth and substantial enjoyment. It has an 
 abundance of raw material and rich soil, upon which 
 all the fruits, all the crops, and all the animals 
 necessary to man's subsistence, comfort, and con- 
 venience, can be cultivated and propagated, and a 
 climate so congenial to his physical nature that the 
 very exuberance of his spirits doubles his pleasures 
 and robs adversity of half its woes." 
 
 Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. 303, January,. 
 1876, in an article on " Florida," p. 290, says : — 
 
 " Orange County, without railroad help, or metal, or 
 minerals, has hy its orange groves alone increased in 
 wealth from twenty to a hundredfold in six years." 
 
 In a new work just published (1876), entitled, 
 " Camp Life in Florida," by Hallock (whose books on 
 American subjects are considered high and reliable 
 authority), says : — 
 
 " Now, more than ever, is attention being directed 
 to the Land of Flowers. Winter visitors in vast 
 numbers migrate thither as regularly as birds of 
 passage. Twenty thousand people visited St. Augus- 
 tine last winter, and will be multiplied in the next. 
 The hotel accommodations there have been trebled 
 within five years, and are still increasing, not only at 
 Jacksonville, Green Cove Springs, and other favourite 
 resorts on the St. John's River, but also on the Eastern 
 Seabiard and the South West Coast hotels are being 
 erected for use in the approaching season. Now 
 steamers have been added to the St. John's River 
 Lines, and increased facilities opened for communi- 
 cation with the North. 
 
 " Agricultural resources have been developed beyond 
 expectation, lands have been opened that are richly 
 adapted to the cultivation of the orange, banana, 
 guava, and pine-apple, while the Northern markets for 
 green peas, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes, and 
 melons, offer pecuniary temptation to gardeners that 
 cannot be ovei^looked. Agricultural and Emigration 
 Societies have been established, and newspapers 
 devoted to the economic interests of the State. 
 
 " Lands for well located farms have appreciated 
 five times their value in three years, and real estates has 
 advanced to fancy prices at the principal wateriug- 
 places. Northern merchants have built princely resi- 
 dences there ; settlements have been made at numerous 
 points on the coast and in the interior ; old familiar 
 places are no longer recognised. Such changes have 
 a few years brought. 
 
 "There is no place on this continent like Florida 
 for both game and fish. 
 
 " Frost seldom, if ever, injures the sugar-cane, it 
 tassels, and grows from 15 to 20 feet high. 
 
 G 
 
( 50 ) 
 
 " The settlers find much profit in the culture and 
 sale of fruits and vegetables for the Northern markets. 
 Eyen in the interior of the State, notably at Lake 
 City, many of the citizens are speaking of giving up 
 the cultivation of cotton, and turning their attention 
 to English peas and other vegetables for shipment to 
 Northern States. 
 
 " A few years ago, with the exception of Welaka, 
 scarcely anything was to be seen but the interminable 
 forests along the St. John's River. There was scarcely 
 a settlement or clearing to mark the advance of 
 civilization. What a change now appears ! Landings, 
 clearings, houses, and orange groves map out to the 
 eye of the traveller the rapid improvement now going 
 on. 
 
 "There seems no doubt that the population and 
 developed resources of Florida are destined to double 
 in ten years. Those who have some prescience will do 
 well now to take time by the forelock, that they may 
 reap coming advantages." 
 
 Mr. Ledyard Bill's late published history of " F lorid a 
 and the St. John's Valley," after describing the young 
 city of Jacksonville, with its ocean commerce equal to 
 some cities in the north of three times its population, 
 with the steamers, brigs, and schooners in its harbour, 
 and towns and noted mineral springs, hotels, and social 
 life on the St. John's, concludes, " that the banks of 
 St. John's will in time be as famous for their vineyards 
 and wine as are those of the Rhine in Europe," and 
 the almost endless productions of the tropical fruits of 
 every variety that grow in the tropics, and the early 
 vegetables required in the Northern cities, now mostly 
 imported from the West Indies, Central America, and 
 the Bahamas to an enormous extent, will make the St. 
 John's River, with its lakes and lagoons, a tropical 
 orchard, vineyard, and garden from end to end." 
 
 He further says : — 
 
 " Even the pine lands of the jtoorest quality suit the 
 grape, and more wine can he made from an acre of' this 
 land than from any two acres of the ordinary wine- 
 groioing in Europe. The highest yield in Europe is 
 not over five hundred gallons to the acre, whereas, in^ 
 Florida, over fifteen hundred, gallons is a common yield. 
 When these facts become known fully, it must excite 
 the grape-growing fopulation of xvorn-oul France and 
 Italy to try their fortunes in our most favoured land. 
 
 " There is no sort of necessity for America import- 
 ing the miserable adulterations that she is now doing, 
 and sending her gold across the ocean by the millions 
 in exchange, when within her own boundaries she is 
 favoured beyond all lands in soil and climate adapted 
 to the production of superior wine, and in such quan- 
 tities as not only to supply the home demand, but 
 have a surplus for exportation. 
 
 The orange of Florida excels the fruit of any other 
 country, both in size and sweetness. This the general 
 testimony of competent judges, and we unqualifiedly 
 concur, especially when we remember those grown in 
 what is known as the Indian liiver country. These sel- 
 dom reach any of the Foreign markets, the home con- 
 sumption being sufiicient to require them all. 
 
 " The orange is the longest lived fruit-tree known to 
 us; it will flourish and bear fruit for more than 100 
 years. 
 
 " The present groves will run an average yield 0/ 2,000 
 per tree ; they can be marketed at 25 dollars -per 1,000. 
 This would give a return of 50 dollars per tree, or to an 
 acre of about 500 trees 5,000 dollars. The labour of 
 one man is quite sufficient to tend the largest grove in 
 Florida, except the time of gathering, when two are 
 required. 
 
 " Mr. Howard, from New York, has within a year 
 past (1869) invested nearly 50,000 dollars in St. Augus- 
 tine in real estate, which is feeling the effect of the 
 healthy influx^ property having already risen to four- 
 fold its value five years ago, and still not high. The 
 residence of Senator Gilbert was bought by him at the 
 close of the war for $8,000, and we judge it worth 
 $40,000 now." 
 
 M. Ijanier, a Frenchman, has just published (1876) 
 a Book on Florida, somewhat after the style of Murray's 
 Guide Books. 
 
 On page 132 he furnishes a list of towns and stations 
 on the St. John's River. There are 42 towns and 
 stations from Jacksonville to Salt Lake on ■ the St. 
 John's. Five years ago there were less than ten. 
 He describes the St. John's and Indian River Valleys 
 fully. He says : — 
 
 " Green-Cove-Springs is one of the most popular 
 winter resorts on the St. John's, The Springs, with the 
 Clarendon Hotel adjoining, are but a short distance 
 from the river. Connected with this hotel are hot and 
 cold baths, and swimming baths of spring water. 
 
 '' These waters contain sulphates of magnesia and, 
 lime, chlorides of sodium and iron, and sulphurated 
 hydrogen, and have a temperature of 76" Fahrenheit. 
 
 " They are used for the cure of rheumatism, gout, 
 Bright's disease of the kidneys, and such affections. 
 Beside the Cla,rendon, the Union House, a charmingly 
 erected hotel offers accommodation to visitors; and 
 there are good private bearding houses." * * * 
 
 " Melonville is on the right hand side of Lake 
 Monroe, and is in a neighbourhood which is beginning 
 to exhibit much activity in settlements and improve- 
 ments. Hereabouts are many orange-growers, the 
 flourishing Swedish Colony brought over by General 
 Sanford in 1871. Eureka, Eau-Clair, Wekiva, Lake 
 Jennie, Lake Maitland, Lake Conway, Fort Reid, and 
 other settlements. Extensive interests have been estab- 
 lished here in orange-groves. Adjoining General San- 
 ford's lands are those of Mr.William Astor, consisting of 
 8,000 acres of timber and orange lands. Not far off 
 is the Fort Butler Grant, in which Mr. Aster is said to 
 be interested, on which are numerous groves of wild 
 oranges, and the charming little Lake of Schermer- 
 horn." At Enterprise he says : — 
 
 " Consumptives are said to flourish in this climate, 
 and there are many stories told of cadaverous persons 
 coming here, and turning out successful huntsmen and 
 fishermen, of ruddy face and portentous appetites 
 after a few weeks." 
 
 Of the Indian River Country he says : 
 
 " The general character of the lands in the Indian River 
 Country appears to be a strip of high rich soil, lying 
 immediately on the Western shore, from a half-mile to 
 a mile in width, then coming Westward a belt con- 
 taining " hummocks and savanas " of great fertility 
 fi'om one to two miles in width, then ridges of light 
 hummock, then still Westward rich grazing lands." 
 
 " Upon these lands, oranges, sugar-cane, bananas, 
 pine-apples, lemons, limes, guavas, strawberries, black- 
 berries, grapes, figs, nectarines, apricots, corn, indigo, 
 sweet-potatoes, mellons, and all manner of garden 
 vegetable grown and yield profusely." 
 
 " Along this Indian River country is a marvellously 
 bland air, and I have been told of many over-worked 
 men and incipient consumptives who have here found 
 new life. The waters are full of fish, oysters, and 
 turtles of the best varieties for table use ; the woods 
 abound in doer, wild turkeys, and other games, and 
 the whole laud amounts to a perpetual invitation to the 
 
( 51 ) 
 
 over-worked, the invalid, the air-poisoned, the ner- 
 vously-prostrate people to come down with yacht and 
 tent, with rod and gnn, and re-build brain, and muscle, 
 and nerve. The price of lands ranges from 5 to 50 
 dollars per acre." 
 
 " The Iwrgest sized and finest flavoured oranges grow 
 in this charming Valley. Many persons hold the Indian 
 River Orange to he typia fruit." 
 
 " Jlidge Da Pont informs me that he has raised from 
 Pine Land 69 barrel^ of syrup per acre, bringing the 
 handsome sum of $400 per acre." 
 
 " As to the profits, you can make f 300 an acre sure." 
 "Pigs are yielding a profit of from $1,000 to $1,200 
 per acre, and instances are reported of Banana yield 
 of $6,000 per acre." 
 
 The Indian river valley lies south of the frost-line, 
 and all the official and private Reports on Florida 
 speah of this locality as possessing the finest climate, 
 and altogether the best fruit and vegetable-producing 
 region of the whole State. 
 
 The Company owns about 1,000,000 acres in this 
 productive valley. 
 
 ■Without elaborating further, it must appear self- 
 evident to any thinking mind that to appraise the 
 Company's Lands at ten dollars per acre is to set a 
 low price, and that the Company may confidently ex- 
 pect to realise an average of, at least, ten dollars. 
 
 This will make the mortgage security in lands over 
 $28,000,000 cash basis. Mr. Conover, one of the United 
 States Senators from Plorida, telegraphed to London, 
 in answer to inquiries from London parties, that the 
 lands belonging to the Company "' will sell, now, in 
 cash at from $3 to $30 per acre, making an average of 
 $16.50 per acre, cash now." 
 
 StiMMAET Conclusions upon the Company's Eeal 
 Estate— ITS G,beat Value — with an Estimate oe 
 Annual Incomes theeepeom. 
 
 The official Reports of tie Governments of the 
 United States, l''lorida, and Great Britain, together 
 with the Reports and Statements from men of unques- 
 tionable high characber, quoted and referred to, 
 established the following facts : — 
 
 1. That four-fifths of the area of the lands in 
 Florida are covered with magnificent forests, fur- 
 nishing timber and lumber of the most superior 
 quality, for ship and house construction, cabinet and 
 ornamental work,. &c., of which many millions of 
 dollars worth are annually shipped to the Northern 
 Cities, to Europe, the West Indies, South America, and 
 to other markets. These timber resources alone are 
 bound to make the State rich, as the timber in the States 
 of Maine, Michigan, and Wisconsin, made them rich. 
 
 2. That the soil of Florida is varied, rich, and very 
 productive, successfully growing all the variety of 
 staple crops of the United States ; that all the tropical 
 fruits grow there to perfection ; that the garden 
 vegetables grow all the year round, winter and 
 summer ; that the markets of the Northern and North- 
 western Cities and States, and Canada, which are 
 bound up in ice and winter four or five montlis each 
 year, can be fully supplied with these tropical fruits, 
 and winter and early spring vegetables, and that in 
 these respects Florida can control and monopolize 
 the Northern markets, which now consume over 
 $200,000,000 annually in fruit and vegetables. 
 
 .3. That the State is rapidly increasing in population 
 and wealth; that great progress is' making in develop- 
 ing and utilising her timber, agricultural, tind horticul- 
 tural resources ; and as a consequence and fact, her 
 lands are rising rapidly in price. 
 
 4. That this population is chiefly settling in the St. 
 John's and Indian Eiyer Valleys along the lines of the 
 Company's Canals and Routes, and the principle deve- 
 lopment is taking place in these Valleys. 
 
 5. That this Company owns and has perfect grants 
 and titles to 2,800,000 acres of rich lands located in 
 the St. John's and Indian River Valleys, along the 
 Company's Canals and Water Routes, and in and about 
 ail the settlements, which are now making the remark- 
 able demonstrations in tropical fruit and vegetable 
 culture, sho'wing larger profits per acre than any other 
 lands in North America can produce. It is in the 
 central region of the Company's lands in Orange 
 County, where the wonderful development in tropical 
 fruit culture is reported upon by the British Legation 
 Office at Washington in 1876, and so aptly treated in 
 an able leader in the Times of June 28rd, 1876, showing 
 that lands were purchased there, eight years ago, at 
 about one dollar per acre, and the same are now selling 
 for fifty dollars to hundred-fifty dollars per acre, and 
 that the profits from Orange culture is from 1,000 to 
 2,500 per cent, per acre yearly, and that Northern 
 capital is flowing into that region, &c. 
 
 6. The evidence and common history of that country 
 show, that the Indian Rivee Valley, on account of 
 its being south of the terminal frost line, its unsurpassed 
 favourable climate, and its great adaptability of soil, is 
 
 PAE SUPEEIOR FOE THE SUCCESSPUL CULTIVATION OP THE 
 OEANGE AND ALL THE TROPICAL FRUITS, than the St. 
 
 John's Valley is, or any more northerly portion of the 
 country, for in the latter Valley and more northerly 
 regions, not all the tropical fruits can be successfully 
 raised, and the quality of the fruit is not so good, as 
 is shown by the fact that Indian River Oranges and 
 fruits command a premium price in the markets, and 
 1,000,000 acres of the Company's lands are located in 
 the Indian River Valley. 
 
 7. Tens of thousands of people from the Northern 
 States annually spend their winter season in Florida 
 for pleasure or health, and to avoid four to five months 
 of the severe rigors of winter, ice, and chilling atmos- 
 phere of the North; and on account of the superior 
 climate of the St. John's and Indian River Valleys, 
 the conveniences, improvements, and attractions of 
 those Valleys, nearly the whole of this visiting popula- 
 tion go to the difl^erent cities, towns, villages, mineral 
 springs, and settlements in these Valleys, and spend 
 their visiting seasons there. 
 
 8. That the market value of the Company's lands 
 is from $5 to $100 per acre, cash. The vahie of the 
 Gompany's lands in hand, 2,300,000, exceeds 
 $30,000,000. The .6,000,000 acres will run a much less 
 
 'price per acre. 
 
 9. The Estimated Annual Incomes peom the 
 Company's Lands. 
 
 Taking into consideration the annual sales and 
 incomes heretofore realized by Railway and other com- 
 panies from their Government land grants in aid of 
 their enterprises, &c., and the demand for the Com- 
 pany's timber and lands, it would seem safe to estimate, 
 from the sale of timber, from sale of lands for agri- 
 cultural and horticultural purposes, from the sale of 
 town and village lots, from ground rents and other 
 issues, and profits from the realty and buildings, an 
 
 aggregate of ... §3,000,000 
 
 On the east division, before the com- 
 pletion of the west division ... ... 1,000,000 
 
 On the east division, by its completion 
 
 from Fernandina to Lake Worth ... 500,000 
 
 From this must be deducted 15 per cent, to cover 
 all expenses. 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CANAL PROPERTIES CONSIDERED 
 
 Canals as Financial Enterprises. 
 
 Considering for a moment steam and horse canals, 
 we may deduce a few practical conclusions. 
 
 1. Canals cost less than railways. 
 
 2. Their commercial results are unquestionable. 
 
 3. The cost for operating and maintaining are nomi- 
 nal compared with railways. 
 
 4. Financially their net earnings are more certain, 
 and greater in proportion to cost. 
 
 5. There are proportionally less failures of canals 
 than railways. 
 
 6. They afford the cheapest freights for all heavy 
 articles of commerce, of all systems of internal im- 
 provements. 
 
 These conclusions must be inferred from the fact 
 that nearly all commercial nations have resorted to 
 this system, and still cling to it, and we are now 
 entering upon a period of great expansion of the 
 system. 
 
 " If there is any part of the world that could discard 
 •canals and rely solely upon railroads, it would be the 
 British Islands and PVance, because they are surrounded 
 by water, and from the interior to a seaport is compa- 
 ratively a very short distance- But yet we find an 
 aggregate of about 12, COO miles of canal and improved 
 navigation in these two kingdoms, whose territory com- 
 bined does not greatly exceed that of the four cotton 
 States of the Atlantic seaboard. Yet all these canals 
 find profitable employment, and more extensive works 
 of the kind are contemplated. While in England, it is 
 said no acre of land is now distant more than fifteen 
 miles from navigable water. 
 
 " These canals are not owned by the State, and having 
 been thus extended by private capital, show they are 
 financially feasible. Norway and Sweden, and other 
 European countries, add largely to this aggregate. 
 The canals of China and Holland are historical. 
 
 " Of the great canal system in North America the 
 benefits of this class of improvements are fully appre- 
 ciated. Nearly every canal is overtaxed with freights 
 beyond its capacity, and more than ten canals are 
 complete and great financial successes. 
 
 " We will name but one, as an illustration, to show the 
 financial success and commercial results produced by 
 the Erie Canal. 
 
 " If it be true that ' one well-attested experiment is 
 worth ten thousand untried theories,' we have the ex- 
 periment here long and well tried, and the result also. 
 
 " From a statement made by the Auditor to the 
 Legislature of the State of New York, dated March 20, 
 1873, it appears that, during the twenty-six years 
 ending with the fiscal year 1872, the total receipts 
 from the Brie Canal amounted to $81,952,010; and 
 that the total expenditures for superintendence, repairs, 
 maintenance, damages, and collections, amounted to 
 322,075,570; showing a net income of $-59,876,440, 
 Or 73 per cent, of the gross income during the period 
 mentioned. 
 
 " The net annual profits realized from operation of 
 the Erie Canal amounted to $2,302,940. The financial 
 results of the Brie Canal are, however, of small 
 moment in comparison with its commercial results, the 
 grandest of any material enterprise of modern times. 
 Connecting the ocean with the great lakes which 
 interlace the heart of the continent, it developed the 
 possibility of the most productive area on the face of 
 the globe, the value of the merchandise transported 
 on this Canal to the end of 1872 having amounted to 
 the enormous sum of $6,065,060,698." — (United States' 
 Senate, Transportation Report.) 
 
 The Erie is a horse Canal of 363 miles long, and 
 closed by ice five months each year. * 
 
 THE SUEZ UNIVERSAL CANAL is a practical 
 illustration of a grand international improvement. 
 M . Ferdinand de Lesseps has immortalised himself in the 
 clear, certain knowledge he had of the feasibility of this 
 canal, and in the untiring energy and the gigantic 
 efforts he displayed in raising the capital, constructing 
 the canal and making it a grand financial success, and 
 all this in the face of opposition at first, and apathy of 
 one of the greatest of commercial nations, which was 
 forced to come to M. de. Lesseps at the 13th hour. 
 
 Full Reports of the Annual Meetings of the Com- 
 pany, with its financial exhibits, &c., for the years 
 1875 & 1876, are published in the Economist of Lon- 
 don, March 6th, 1875, and July 22nd, 1876, with 
 elaborate comments by the Economist. 
 
 These reports are full of interesting matter, and well 
 worth a careful perusal. 
 
 From these reports it seems the Share Capital of 
 400,000 shares of £20 each, amounts to £8,000,000. 
 The total costs of construction, equipment, &c., &c. 
 is £19,000,000. 
 
( 53 ) 
 
 " Return op the Number and Tonnage of Ships pass- 
 ing THROUGH THE SUEZ CaNAL PROM 1870 TO 1875. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 
 No. of 
 
 Gross 
 
 Net 
 
 Increase 
 
 of 
 Increase 
 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 on 
 
 Previous 
 
 Tear. 
 
 1870... 
 
 489 
 
 654,911 
 
 436,609 
 
 
 
 1871... 
 
 763 
 
 1,142,200 
 
 761,467 
 
 324,657 
 
 74 
 
 1872... 
 
 1,082 
 
 1,744,481 
 
 1,158,582; 397,115 
 
 50 
 
 1873... 
 
 1,173 
 
 2,085,421 
 
 1,367,777 209,19 1 
 
 18 
 
 1874... 
 
 1,264 
 
 2,421,803 
 
 1,631,650 263,872 
 
 19 
 
 1875... 
 
 1,494 
 
 2,940,708 
 
 2,009,984! 378,333 
 
 23 
 
 " In the second place, the report and correspondence 
 clearly show that the property is a rapidly-improving 
 one, while there are some features of a peculiarly satis- 
 factory character in a question of profit. One or two 
 tables, which we extract from the report and subjoin, 
 show very clearly what is now very well known, and 
 we need not, therefore, dwell upon — the progress of 
 the traffic and the gross receipts since the opening of 
 the Canal. But the effect of this growth on the net 
 income of the Company is also very striking, and we 
 have now the means of exhibiting it for the last three 
 years. 
 
 "Taking the figures of receipts and expenditure for 
 these years, we have the following comparison : — 
 
 Receipts... 
 Expenditure 
 
 Net earnings 
 
 1873. 
 .£991,000 
 225,000 
 
 766,000 
 
 1874. 
 .. .£1,056,000 
 248,000 
 
 Proportion of net to ) ^^ o/ 
 gross income. j '° 
 
 808,000 
 
 V5% 
 
 1875. 
 £1,233,000 
 248,000 
 
 985,000 
 80% 
 
 £ 
 
 Expenditure. £ 
 
 25,000 
 
 Expense of administra- 
 
 34.000 
 
 tion 39,000 
 
 
 Management of domain 23,000 
 
 
 Transit and navigation 
 
 ,165,000 
 
 service 63,000 
 
 
 Maintenance 113,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 Water service 10,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 
 1,233,000 
 
 Total 248,000 
 
 e ... . 
 
 £1,233 000 
 
 bove 
 
 248,000 
 
 " The accounts of 1875, summarised in the manner we 
 adopted in dealing with the accounts of 1873 and 1874, 
 exhibit the following results : — 
 
 Eeceipts. 
 
 Interest received 
 
 Revenue from domain 
 
 Eeceipts from trannit 
 service and naviga- 
 tion 
 
 Eeceipts from main- 
 tenance service 
 
 Supply of water and 
 miscellaneous 
 
 Total 
 
 Eeceipts as above 
 Expenditure as above 
 
 Net earnings 985,000 
 
 — showing a gross income of £1,233,000, earned at a 
 costof £248,000, or about 20 per cent. Andthis£985,000 
 of net income is more than sufficient, after defraying 
 all preferential charges, to pay 5 per cent on the share 
 capital of £8,000,000. These preferential charges are 
 as follows : — 
 
 Interest of obligations £321,000 
 
 Sinking fund obligations 81,000 
 
 Interest of Trentenary bonds 3V,000 
 
 Sinking fund of Trentenary bonds 14,000 
 
 Annual charge of obligations and bonds ... 4,000 
 
 Control of Egyptian Government 1,000 
 
 Annual charge of coupons and shares ...^ 500 
 
 Commissions, &c. 4,000 
 
 Total. 462,500 
 
 Deducting which sum from the above net revenue of 
 
 £985,000, leaves £522,600 available for division, in one 
 form or other, among the holders of shares out of the 
 earnings of the year. As 5 per cent, on the shares 
 only absorbs £400,000, there has been manifestly a 
 considerable surplus over 5 per cent, for division. 
 
 In fact, the sum distributed and the mode of, distri- 
 bution has been as follows : — 
 
 Interest of the consolidated arrears of coupons £68,000 
 
 „ on share capital 81,000 
 
 Sinking fund of shares for 1875 3,200 
 
 Statutory reserve 2,200 
 
 Net profit, so-called, divided in the propor- 
 tions of 71 per cent, to Shareholders, 15 
 per cent, to Egyptian Government, 10 per 
 cent, to Founders, 2 per cent, to Directors, 
 and 2 per cent, to emjpZoi/es 42,400 
 
 Total 515,800 
 
 — the difference between this amount and the above 
 total of £522,500 available for division, arising from 
 certain arrears of receipts and expenses which are 
 dealt with in the accounts. Eoughly speaking, the 
 original owners of £8,000,000 of share capital have 
 received about £520,000 for the year 1875, or at. the 
 rate of 6^ per cent. Allowing for the circumstance 
 that £6b,000 of this sum is paid in respect of 
 capitalised arrears of interest, which are represented 
 by certificates now detached from the shares, and 
 that £2,000 more is set aside as statutory reserve, the 
 actual sum divided in the form of sinking fund or 
 interest out of the last year's earnings, among the 
 holders of shares in the Suez Canal is £445,600, or a 
 little more than 5^ per cent. 
 
 "In reality, the Shareholders have received even 
 more than this for 1875. The position of the Com- 
 pany being now established, a sum of £18,660 has 
 been taken from a balance brought forward from 
 former years, amounting to £85,932, and has been 
 applied by way of sinking ftmd to redeem the shares 
 — the application being to make up for the omission to 
 apply the sinking fund in the years 1870 to 1874; 
 when the earnings was insufficient. This is a windfall 
 to the Shareholders for the year, and will not be 
 repeated in precisely the same form ; but there is still 
 an undivided balance of about £70,000 which will be 
 available to increase or equalise dividends in future 
 years. 
 
 " Altogether the facts appear to us fully to bear 
 oni the statement with which we began, as to the 
 remarkable nature of this property, which has now 
 (1875) been introduced to the London Stock Ex- 
 change. It seems quite probable that it may become 
 another illustration of the great value of an absolute 
 monopoly of an article of increasing use, of which the 
 shares of the New River Company, which supplies 
 North London with water, and which has had all the 
 benefit of the vast growth of London for 200 years, 
 have, perhaps, been the best illustration hitherto 
 known. The position of the Suez Canal Company 
 appears to us a commanding one of the same species." 
 
 (The New River Stocks are the most valuable 
 known in the world). 
 
 " The Company has an absolute monopoly of a 
 certain route, the business of which must increase 
 with the growth in numbers and wealth of nations 
 which are served by it," &c. 
 
 OTHER CANALS. 
 
 McCulloch's "Commercial Dictionary" of 1839 
 gives a short history of the systems of canals in 
 Europe and other countries. 
 
( 54 ) 
 
 He says of the 
 
 " Dutch Canals. 
 
 " No country in Europe contains, in proportion to 
 its size, so many navigable canals as the kingdom of 
 the Netherlands, and particularly the province of 
 Holland. The construction of these canals commenced 
 as early as the twelfth century, when, owing to its 
 central and convenient situation, Flanders began to be 
 the entrepot of the commerce between the north and 
 south of Europe. Their number has been astonish- 
 ingly increased. Holland (says Mr. Phillips, in his 
 "History of Inland Navigation,") is intersected 
 "with innumerable canals. They may be compared in 
 number and size to our public roads and highways ; 
 and as the latter with us are continually full of coaches, 
 chaises, waggons, carts, and horsemen, going from and 
 to different cities, towns, and villages, so, on the former, 
 the Hollanders, in their boats and pleasure barges, 
 their treckschuyts, and vessels of burden, are con- 
 tinually journeying and conveying commodities for 
 consumption or exportation from the interior of the 
 country to the great cities and rivers. An inhabitant 
 of Rotterdam may, by means of these canals, break- 
 fast at Delft, on. the Hague, dine at Leyden, and sup 
 at Amsterdam, or return home again before night. By 
 them, also, a most prodigious inland trade is carried on 
 between Holland and every part of France, Flanders, 
 and Germany. 
 
 "The Yearly Profits 
 
 Produced by these canals are almost heyoud helief; 
 hid it is certain, and it has been proved, that tliey 
 amount to more than £250,000 for about 400 miles of 
 fxnal navigation, which is £625 per inile, the square 
 surface of which mile does not exceed 2 acres of ground ; 
 a profit so amazing, that it is no wonder other nations 
 should imitate ivhat lias been found so advantageous." 
 
 " The canal from Amsterdam to Nieudiep, near the 
 Helder. — The object of this canal, which is the greatest 
 work of its kind in Holland, and probably in the 
 world in 1825, is to afford a safe and easy passage for 
 vessels from Amsterdam to the German Ocean. It 
 ■was completed in 1825, and proved a great success to 
 Holland, and in 1867 a new canal, still larger, was in 
 course of formation.'" 
 
 McCuUoch further says : 
 
 " It is a well-known fact that canals, which connect 
 places that have an extensive intercourse, and when no 
 very extraordinary difficulties have to be surmounted 
 in their construction, they most commonly yield very 
 large profits." 
 
 The Hon. 0. C. Andrews, United States' Minister, 
 resident at Stockholm,- made an official Report to the 
 
 United States' 
 and Norway. 
 
 Government on the canals of Sweden 
 
 This Report says : 
 
 " These canals have all been constructed by private 
 companies, which, in some cases, have received aid 
 from the States. The Government is not the owner 
 of any canal. The rate of tolls is fixed, however, by 
 the Government, and it is not the policy of the Govern- 
 ment that the canals shall yield any further revenue 
 than is sufficient for their maintenance, and for a i^ir 
 interest on the private capital actually invested in 
 them. 
 
 "Steamers and sailing vessels navigate a part of 
 these canals. The business of the canals, as a, whole, 
 is increasing at the rate of about 4 per cent, a year. 
 Several important new ones are projected, and will, no 
 doubt, be constructed." 
 
 " If the tolls were not regulated by Government the 
 earnings of these canals would yield large dividends 
 upon the construction capital." 
 
 The Economist of February 20th, 1875, says : 
 
 " The construction of canals is beginning to absorb 
 public attention both in Germany and Austria, more 
 than it ever did before. At present the construction 
 of a canal between the Oder and the Danube is much 
 spoken of. German shipping is likely to be greatly 
 improved by the new measures adopted affecting the 
 canal trade, &c. 
 
 The aggregate mileage of canals in the United States 
 is more than that of any other nation. They are 
 generally owned and controlled by the several States 
 in which they are located. Their great utility and 
 commercial benefits have been thoroughly demonstrated. 
 The amount of commerce transported by these canals is 
 gigantic, and its value in money simply enormous. The 
 net earnings over all costs for operating and 'maintain- 
 ing them show a large percentage of profit on capital 
 expended in construction. The facts have been de- 
 monstrated that canals can earn a liberal profit on 
 construction capital, and afford rates of freight over 
 300 per cent, cheaper than the American railways. The 
 National and State Governments have determined that 
 the American canal system must be greatly enlarged 
 and increased. A number of private companies have 
 been chartered to contruct the most important canals 
 of the country, while the Federal Government con- 
 templates constructing other important lines, and from 
 recent history it would appear that nearly all com- 
 mercial nations are contemplating the increase of 
 canals ; and the history relating to internal improve- 
 ments shows that capital has suffered less, and pro- 
 duced surer satisfactory returns than the railway system 
 has been able to do. 
 
( 55 •) 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 RECAPITULATION OF INCOMES 
 
 Expenditures. 
 
 It is estimated that 1 5 per cent, of the gross earn- 
 ings of the Ship Canal and Through Eoute will fully 
 cover all administration charges^ services of transitj 
 towing, pilotage, maintenance of canals, maga- 
 ssines, and repairs on all other improvements; that 10 
 per cent, will be a large deduction from sale of Lands, 
 Timber, and Lumber not manufactured by the Com- 
 pany; that 25 per cent, of the earnings of the Com- 
 pany's steamers and other water craft will cover all 
 deductions on that account, and that 50 per cent, of 
 the gross receipts from sales of timber, lumber, and 
 other forest products, will fully cover all expenses for 
 manufacturing and marketing the same. 
 
 By turning to the Annual Account and Exhibits 
 of the Suez Canal Company for the year 1876, as 
 published in the Economist of July 22, 1876, it appears 
 that "the maximum of 10 francs per ton on the official 
 net tonnage would be raised" aftei- the Surtax is 
 extinguished. Ten francs nearly equal two dollars 
 American coin. The maximum tariff on through net 
 tonnage will not exceed one dollar per ton. All local 
 freights must have special rates, similar to American 
 Railway and Canal Company's charges. 
 
 Estimated Gross and Nett Earnings annually 
 from the Ship Canal and Tide Water 
 . Canal Route, and the Profits from the 
 Company's Lands and Forests, &c., &c. 
 
 Ship Canal. 
 
 25,000,000 tons nett, at $1 
 Deduct 15 per cent. 
 
 ... $25,000,000 
 3,750,000 
 
 Nett earnings $21,250,000 
 
 Tide Water Canal Route Traffic. 
 Oross $4,000,000 nett $3,400,000 
 
 Forests. 
 Timber, Lumber, &c., nett ... $1,000,000 
 
 Lands. 
 Sale of Lands, Town Lots, E-ents, 
 Issues, and other i^rofits, nett .. 
 
 Total nett 
 
 $2,550,000 
 $28,200,000 
 
 These results seem almost fabulous, but it must be 
 remembered that they cannot be fully attained for 
 several years after the full completion of the works, 
 and the outlet of the commerce of the Mississippi 
 Valley into the Gulf of Mexico, which the United 
 States' Government has undertaken to do, and will 
 accomplish. It is quite reasonable that these results 
 will be realised fully within less than ten years after 
 construction. 
 
 Even 50 per cent, of these net results will make 
 this one of the most successful financial enterprises of 
 the age, and from the beginning the net incomes will 
 pay all costs for operating and preferential charges, 
 and also pay a liberal annual dividend on the share 
 capital. 
 
 Again, a number of railway companies, both in the 
 United States and in England, severally exhibit nearly 
 as great an amount of gross earnings annually. The 
 Pennsylvania Railway Company has exhibited over 
 ^22,000,000 not annual earnings. There is one instance 
 in American Railways where the first year's net 
 earnings paid back the whole construction capital, 
 and 5 per cent, dividends on the capital shares. 
 
 Conclusions. 
 
 Prom the foregoing elaborate Report and cumulative 
 evidence in support, the facts are submitted, in confi- 
 dence and assurance, that the capital required to com- 
 plete this consolidated enterprise is absolutely secure. 
 
 1st. From the certain earnings of the enterprise. 
 
 2nd. It is secured by the timber and lumber alone 
 on the Company's lands. 
 
 3rd. The 8,000,000 acres of grants of the richest 
 and most valuable lands in the State are good 
 security for this capital. 
 
 4th. The franchises, rights, improvements, real, 
 personal, and mised property, form an aggre- 
 gate security for the Bonds and Stock pro- 
 posed to be issued by the Company, which 
 are most ample and first-class for the invest- 
 ment of Capital. 
 
 JOHN H. FRY, 
 
 Attorney for the Company. 
 
( 56 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 PLORIDA.— Note A. 
 
 Captain Townsind, 2nd Life Guards, London, spent 
 a season in Florida, and wrote Ms " Wild Life in 
 Florida," in which he says : — 
 
 " It was not until a.d. 1565 that Florida was perma- 
 nently settled by the Spaniards, but she did not long 
 retain her nationality. Ceded to Great Britain.in 1763, 
 with a population of only 600, she was re-ceded to 
 Spain in 1784, sold to the United States in 1819, 
 received a territorial government in 1822, and was 
 . admitted to the Union as a State in 1845. From 1815 
 to 1858 the country was harassed by repeated Indian 
 wars, and in 1861 Florida joined the Southern Con- 
 federacy. Then her soil was for four years the scene 
 of many bloody fights, until 1865, when the ordinance 
 of secession was repealed, and in 1868 she was re- 
 admitted to the Union. 
 
 " Thus for three centuries and a half constant 
 changes of nationality and desolating wars have so 
 depopulated and retarded the progress of Florida, that 
 she has to-day all the characteristics of a newly s^tled 
 territory, notwithstanding the fact that on her soil was 
 built the first permanent town erected by Europeans 
 on the continent of North America." 
 
 The question might be asked. Why is Florida, with 
 such a desirable climate, rich soil, and wonderful 
 natural resources, in a vigorous country like the United 
 States, still a practical wilderness ? 
 
 The answer is correctly given above by an English- 
 man. 
 
 Immigration was practically prevented till within 
 the last few years. Now we see from 40,000 to 50,000 
 Northern people visit Florida every autumn, and spend 
 their winters in her balmy climate, for health and 
 pleasure. And now every industry has sprung into 
 life and activity. Social order and goodwill between 
 the Northern capitalists and immigrant have joined 
 hands with the Floridians ; all are welcomed. Churches, 
 schools, internal improvements, little cities and towns, 
 are springing into life all over the State ; and soon 
 Florida will become the Italy and garden of the United 
 States. 
 
 The geographical position of this State is unique, 
 and of special interest. She is divided into East 
 and West Florida. The whole peninsula constitutes 
 East Florida. 
 
 The whole peninsula is fanned by the Gulf winds on 
 the west, and the Atlantic breezes and trade winds on 
 the east side, giving a pleasantness and salubrity of 
 climate, and a power of vegetable production on her 
 soil, so wonderful as to be almost incredible. 
 
 FINEST CLIMATE IN THE WORLD. 
 
 I quote from history : — 
 
 " The climate of Florida is one of its chief attractions;. 
 mild in winter, and not excessively hot in summer. 
 
 The temperature is more equable than that of any other 
 State of the Union. The thermometer rarely falls 
 below 40 deg. or rises above 95 deg. 
 
 " The records contained in the Spanish Archives at 
 St. Augustine (on the Atlantic coast of Florida) show 
 that the mean temperature of the winter months for 
 100 years averaged a little over 60 deg., and of the 
 summer months 86 deg. Fahrenheit. The days are 
 much shorter and the nights much longer in Florida in 
 the summer than in the more northerly latitudes, hence 
 the daily absorption of moisture and heating of the 
 earth are constantly counteracted by the long cool 
 nights. " Constant mention is made of the daily 
 recurring sea-breezes, which cool off the after part of 
 day, and gave a delightful atmosphere for nightly 
 rest." History records the climate of St. Augustine 
 as the most beautiful and healthy in the world, and 
 " the climate of St. Augustine is the climate of the 
 whole peninsula." 
 
 Generil Rawson, Surgeon-General of the Army, in 
 his official Report to the Government, of the climate, 
 diseases, &c., of Florida, reports : " The climate of 
 Florida is remarkably equable and agreeable, being 
 subject to fewer atmospheric variations, and its thermo- 
 meter ranges much less than any other part of the 
 United States, except a portion of the coast of Cali- 
 fornia." He gives the facts, and concludes : " In the 
 summer season the mercury rises higher in every part 
 of the United States and even in Canada than it does 
 on the peninsula of Florida. This is shown by meteoro- 
 logical statistics in this Bureau." In the summer it is 
 hotter in New York, Boston, and Montreal, than in St. 
 Augusi ine, Tampa, and Key West. " In the former 
 cities the thermometer frequently ranges as high as 100 
 deg. to 109 in the shade, and that too without any breeze 
 to relieve it, whereas it but rarely reaches as high as 
 90 deg. at any of the latter places." At Key West the 
 mercury in fourteen years rose but three times to 
 94 deg. in the shade. 
 
 The Histcry of Florida declares : "Indeed it would 
 be difficult to find a climate in any part of the world 
 so agreeable as on this peninsula." " The winters are 
 delightful, five days out of six being bright and cloud- 
 less, and of the most agreeable temperature. In the 
 larger portion of the peninsula frost never occurs, and 
 even in the northerly portion frosts or ice are seldom 
 felt, and the cold !loes not continue over an hour or 
 two at a time." Carver's History says : " So mild are 
 the winters there, that the most delicate vrgetables, 
 plants, and flowers of the Caribbee Islands experience 
 not the least injury from that season ; the orange tree, 
 the banana, the plantain, the guava, the pine-apple,. 
 &c., grow luxuriantly all the year. Fogs are scarcely 
 known there, and no country can be more salubrious." 
 "Bain but- rarely falls during the winter months in 
 Florida ; three, four, and not urfrequently five vjeeks of 
 bright, clear, and cloudless days occur continuously. 
 This id one of the greaiest charms of the winter climate 
 
( 57 ) 
 
 in Florida ; and in this respect it forms a striking con- 
 trast with almost every State in the Union, and es- 
 pecially with Texas, California, and. Oregon." The 
 latter States have but tv)0 seasons, the wet and the dry ; 
 six months corresponding to the winter being almost 
 constant rain, lilce London in the fall of 1872; and six 
 months, the summer or hot season, almost entirely dry. 
 These States require extensive summer irrigation to 
 grow fruit and crops, which is very expensive. The 
 rains of Florida come in the spring and summer, when 
 they are wanted to grow the crops. 
 
 Thousands of travellers to Florida^ who have visited 
 Italy and Sandwich Islands, pronounce the Florida 
 climate the best known. 
 
 The superior and exhilarating climate is produced 
 by her peninsular position, which " causes it to be 
 fanned on the east by the Atlantic breezes, and on the 
 west by those of the Gulf of Mexico, both of which 
 can be distinctly felt in the centre of the State. Be- 
 sides this the north trade winds play over the whole 
 peninsula. The summer nights are invariably cool, and 
 even the hottest days are seldom oppressive in the shade. 
 This is more than any State north of Florida can 
 boast." 
 
 HEALTH. 
 
 As respects health, the climate of Florida stands 
 pre-eminent. That the peninsular climate of Florida 
 is more salubrious than that of any other State of the 
 Union is clearly established by the medical statistics 
 of the army, and also by the last Census Eeturns. 
 These records show that the ratio of deaths to the 
 number of cases of remittent fever has been much less 
 among the troops serving in Florida than those serving 
 in any other portion of the United States. 
 
 The proportion of deaths of remittent fevers in the 
 U.S. Army 
 
 in the Middle Division 
 
 is 
 
 
 in 
 
 36 
 
 „ Northern „ 
 
 
 » 
 
 
 » 
 
 52 
 
 „ Southern „ 
 
 
 3J 
 
 
 3J 
 
 78 
 
 „ California „ 
 
 
 iy 
 
 
 37 
 
 122 
 
 „ New Mexico 
 
 
 » 
 
 
 » 
 
 148 
 
 while in Florida it is 
 
 but 
 
 
 
 yj 
 
 287 
 
 The general healthfulness of Florida is proverbial. 
 The average annual mortality of the whole peninsula 
 from official Eeturns is 2-06 per cent., while the other 
 portions of the United States is 3" 05 per cent, (pre- 
 vious to the Mexican war). 
 
 The statistics of the United States' Census of 1860 
 show the proportion of those who died from consump- 
 tion in the various States of the Union during the year 
 ending May 31, 1860, viz : — 
 
 One in 254 in Massachusetts. 
 
 
 289 „ Maine. 
 
 
 404 „ Vermont. 
 
 
 473 „ New York. 
 
 
 580 J, Pennsylvania. 
 
 
 671 „ Ohio. 
 
 
 727 „ California. 
 
 
 - 757 „ Virginia. 
 
 
 797 „ Indiana. 
 
 
 878 „ Illinois ; and only 
 
 One in 
 
 1'447 in Florida. 
 
 These facts speak volumes in favour of the good 
 health of Florida. Thousands of consumptive invalids 
 go to Florida, and many, advanced beyond cure, die 
 there; and this has increased the ratio of deaths 
 beyond the true proportion. Dr. Warren, p. 209, 
 asserts that 40,000 people die annually in the State of 
 New York, and the six New England States, of con- 
 
 sumption. Large numbers from these States go to 
 Florida to regain their health, and many become 
 actual settlers. Ledyard Bill's book of 1870, on 
 Florida, says that " 30,000 people now annually go to 
 Florida for health, pleasure, or settlement." Page 
 17], he says, "The number of strangers in the city of 
 Jacksonville and other points greatly exceeded our 
 expectations. They thronged in every street and 
 public place. The fashionable belle of New York 
 and of Saratoga, and the pale, thoughtful, furloughed 
 clergyman of New England, were at all points." 
 
 I' or 1 00 years Florida has beeu the resort of invalids. 
 Her noted mineral springs have been highly prized. 
 History states that the 9 th Regiment of British Infantry 
 was stationed at St. Augustine, Matanzos, Picolato, and 
 St. Marks, and during a period of twenty months not a 
 man was lost by natural death. Another important fact 
 is shown by the Report of the State Agricultural Society 
 of 1870. It says : "It is a fact worthy of note that a 
 case of ' sun-strohe' has never occurred in the country, nor 
 has an instance of 'rabies' or 'hydrophobia' ever been 
 known." Every city in the north of the United States 
 is annually suffering from both these e^ils. Governor 
 Gleason, author of the ' State Constitution,' has written 
 much on the climate and resources of the State. In 
 his Report, September 8, 1868, he says : " There is a 
 constant sea breeze, commencing about 8 a.m., and lasting 
 until nearly sundown. The climate is very exhilarating, 
 and a white man can do as much labour in a day as' in 
 any portion of the United States." 
 
 The diseases so prevalent and destructive of life in 
 the Northern, Middle, and Western States, induced by 
 frequent and violent changes of atmosphere and con- 
 tagion, either do not exist at all, or but rarely occur in 
 individual cases, such as diptheria, scarlet fever, con- 
 gestive fever, pneumonia, coughs, colds, pulmonary 
 complaints in all their forms, bronchitis, rheumatism, 
 and many others ; whilst those occurring to childhood 
 mostly are not known to exist there, such as croup, 
 whooping cough, measles, mumps, &c. 
 
 Surely, on the score of health, Florida is a blessing 
 to mankind. 
 
 United States' Agricultural Report, 1871, says: — 
 
 " Perhaps no other State has of late attracted so 
 much attention as Florida. Its peninsular position, 
 low latitude, almost tropical temperature, and its 
 pecular shape, which gives a sea-shore border to 
 twenty-one of its thirty -nine counties, combine to give 
 this State a character sui generis. Its uniformity of 
 temperature makes it the Italy of America — a sani- 
 tarium, especially for consumptives and others unable 
 to enduro the rigours of Northern winters ; and its 
 semi-tropical climate allures the adventurous who 
 desire a wider range of rural industries than northern 
 farming or fruit-growing affords. Not only do ocean 
 or Gulf waters lave a majority of the border counties, 
 but inland seas furnish water transit and modification of 
 climate to niost of those in the interior. The climate 
 of South Florida resembles those of Madeira and 
 Barbadoes, both esteemed as resorts for invalids, 
 having a temperature warmer than that of the former, 
 and cooler than that of the latter." 
 
 Captain Townsend, 2nd Life Guards, says, in his book 
 eta Florida : " Many Englishmen now visit Florida in 
 the winter, both for health and for the sake of sport 
 and adventure, and to them I trust the following 
 account of our tour may be of some interest; while to 
 those who have not yet visited Florida, but who may 
 chance to read these pages, I say,* ' Visit Florida 
 between the months of October and February, and you 
 will enjoy one of the most perfect climates, and see ono 
 of the most interesting countries in the world.' " 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 . Mr. Ledyard Bill's book on East Florida describes 
 the climatic effects produced upon visitors entering the 
 St. John's River, and the beautiful tropical scenery of 
 ithat country. He says : "May Port is the first land- 
 ing where we catch the first glimpses of a tropical 
 growth — a small grove of palmettoes; though not 
 over 25 feet in height, yet their peculiar character 
 attracts the attention of the northern traveller. Cast- 
 ing your eye farther inland, and the green forests tell 
 of a perpetual spring, and we now realize that we have 
 passed from the chilling winds of a northern winter to 
 the genial skies of that sunny land of which we so often 
 hear, but seldom or never experience in any other of 
 the Southern States. The abrupt turn of the river 
 south already stated, produces curious atmospheric 
 phenomenon of balmy air, denoting this the gateway 
 to that tropical land where perpetual summer reigns. 
 In the winter months the air seems redolent with the 
 odour of balsam and wild flowers, wafted over the 
 waters by the constant breezes ; while on either shore 
 the foliage is bursting into freshest and tenderest 
 green, contrasting finely with the dark verdure of the 
 perennial laurels, live and water oak, and magnolia, 
 which line the river's sides. The banks of the river 
 are mostly low, and except where under cultivation in 
 orange groves, vineyards, gardens, and small planta- 
 tions, dotted along with houses, are densely covered 
 :with the primeval forests, live oaks, water oaks, bay, 
 gum, magnolia, hung with the long waving drapery of 
 solemn moss ; while the beautiful palm, with its crested 
 crown, sentinels its shores. Beneath and interwoven 
 among these, are the wild jessamine and creeping 
 vines, lacing the undergrowth over with an unbroken 
 verdure, and rising from the water to the tree-tops. 
 Then a dell appears, festooned with climbing and over- 
 arching growth, gracefully curtaining its entrance, 
 3,nd tempting the beholder within the half-hidden 
 sylvan retreat : occasionally a broad savanna is seen, 
 bounded by the distant forest, while here and there a 
 solitary palmetto stands alone like a plume. Then we 
 enter Lake George, which, with its islands, looks like 
 a fairy land. Passing into the Upper St. John's, we 
 are transferred from lagoon to river and from river to 
 iagoon. On either hand glimpses are had of bays and 
 mirrored waters, whose shores are covered with wild 
 birds, of variegated plamage and beauty. Again the 
 river seems lost in a bewildering perspective of silver 
 streamlets, separated by narrow meadow land covered 
 with flowers, but up them they are all verdure-banked 
 and moss-hung, and vine-curtained, and flower-be- 
 decked; the very picture of tropical profusion and 
 Rummer loveliness. On these shores were the beautiful 
 tomes of those brave red men who were so cruelly 
 jbunted by the bloodhounds of General Jackson, the 
 story of which is dark and cruel." 
 
 Travelling is a national characteristic in the American 
 people. Show them a place of pleasure and attraction, 
 and they flock — swarm to it. Florida is becoming a 
 great national resort in the autumn and winter. It is 
 stated that, during the winter of 1874, just passed, not 
 less than 50,000 people from the United States, and a 
 considerable number of foreigners, spent most of the 
 winter in the valley of the St. John's. Upon the com- 
 pletion of the Company's water route through the 
 Peninsula to Cuba, and a thorough equipment of fine, 
 luxurious steamers to run over this route, this visiting 
 population will travel up and down this beautiful water 
 route. 
 
 From the United States' Bureau of Statistics, 
 1872:— * 
 
 "Wide Range of Chops. — Usually, at least within 
 the borders of the Union, whatever may be the attrac- 
 tions and inducements that are offered by any particulur 
 
 State or section, the immigrant will be confined w'ithin 
 the comparatively narrow limits of the usual range of 
 crops characteristic of that section; and the offer of 
 even a slight enlargement of the usual range of ordinary 
 crops would be recognised as an inducement of great 
 power. Other things being nearly equal, if the immi- 
 grant have the option of continuing the cultivation of 
 crops to which he is accustomed, or of reaching out to 
 the peculiar productions of different zones, he will feel 
 the force of the attraction. 
 
 "To a resident of Canada, or of the Northern or 
 Western States, it seems hardly possible in any one 
 locality, and then without the variation of temperature 
 often given in the vicinity of elevated mountains, that 
 there may be successfully cultivated within an enclosure 
 of ten acres, the oats, rye, and wheat of Canada ; the 
 peach, quince, and sweet potato of the Middle States; 
 the coffee, indigo^ and ginger of the West Indies ; the 
 orange, the lime, and the lemon of Central America; 
 the olive, the grape, the coffee, and the spices of the 
 East; the date and palm of the desert, and the sugar- 
 cane, pepper, tea, and silk of Asia ; but the citizens of 
 Orange, Sumter, Hernando, and Manatee counties in 
 Flori la know that they can do this ; and when to the 
 above are added rice, bananas, plantains, guavas, cocoa- 
 nuts, pine-apples, and paw-paws, the infinite range of 
 the productions of Florida is made fully manifest. 
 
 "Abundance op Water. — The State is bountifully 
 supplied with the best water in every part. Lakes, 
 ponds, springs and rivers are curiously frequent, and 
 no sections can be found where ample supplies of water 
 cannot be obtained by wells of little depth and at slight 
 expense. Springs of mineral and salt water abound ; 
 some of great magnitude. In Wakulla county, the 
 Wakulla River, a stream of very considerable size, bursts 
 forth at once from a single spring. The Chipola river 
 has a similar origin in Jackson county. Silver Spring 
 in its first outburst forms a spacious basin, into which 
 the Ocklawaha steamers find easy admission." 
 
 The field crops, garden, vegetable and fruit culture, 
 are fully shown in the United States' Agricultural and 
 Florida State Reports. For further details I refer to 
 them, and will only give a short list here. 
 
 "AGRICULTURAL FIELD CROPS. 
 
 (notes from oeficial reports.) 
 
 " All the field crops, vegetables, and fruits that grow 
 in the temperate and torrid zones will grow successfully 
 in Florida. 
 
 " Cotton.— Product in 1860 was 63,322 bales. No 
 State exceeds Florida in this production, either in 
 quality or quantity per acre. 
 
 " 200 to 300 lbs. of short cotton per acre is a fair 
 yield upon ordinary soils, but 3001bs. is not an unusual 
 yield on strong lands. 
 
 " The celebrated Sea Island, or long cotton, is raised 
 all over the State : 200 lbs. is an average cropper acre ; 
 but in the best soils 300, 400, and 500 lbs. is often 
 obtained. It is a 2^erennial in the southern part of the 
 Fciunsula, and can he piched several times in the year. 
 
 " Sugar. — Florida is called ' the Sugar State.' The 
 cane matures to seed, produces well from the rattoon 
 for 5, 8, or 10 years, which is one quarter of the 
 expense saved in its production. The ordinary yield 
 per acre is nearly twice as great as in Louisiana. The 
 rich lands already described yield three and four hogs- 
 heads per acre as against one hogshead in Louisiana. 
 Some counties average 3,200 lbs. to the acre, worth 
 f!4-80 ; 2,500 lbs. is a common average. 
 
( 59 
 
 " The peach attains its highest perfections in Florida. 
 The tree is long^ivedj vigorous, and bears every year a 
 sure cfop. Profits, from $500 to $1,000 per acre. 
 
 "Pomegranates, olives, hananas, pine-apples, not 
 excelled in quality and quantity on the glohe. Profits 
 very large per acre. 
 
 " Quinces yield a profit of $1,000 per acre readily. 
 Quality excellent. 
 
 " Applet, pears, plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries, 
 do well. 
 
 "Strawberries, blackberries, mulberries, huckleberries, 
 gooseberries, currants, cranberries, excel. Quality supe- 
 rior; bear long. Strawberries yield a profit of $oOO to 
 $1,000 per acre. 
 
 " Sapodillo, tamarind, paw-paw, plaintain, cocoanut, 
 date, almonds, pecan-nut, all flourish, and yield large 
 profits." 
 
 As examples of the description and mode of culti- 
 vation of these fruits and vegetables, in the Keports 
 referred to, two examples are copied from the United 
 States' Agricultural Reports, as follows : — 
 
 UNITED STATES AGRICULTUEAL REPORTS. 
 The Banana (Musa Paeadisiaca). 
 
 " Of the banana and plantain [Musa sapientum) there 
 are several species. They are increased by suoJsers, 
 and require a rich moist soil with warm exposure. 
 These plants are successfully cultivated as far north 
 as FernandinOj in 30°' 345' north latitude. The best 
 variety for cultivation north of 28" north latitude is 
 the one known as Musa paradisiaca Cavendishii. This 
 is the most hardy, and seldom attains a height above 
 8 feet, while the more tender kinds often grow 20 
 feet high. When the plant is fruiting, and all the 
 flowers are set, it is advisable to cut off the spadix an 
 inch or two above the last tier of perfectly formed 
 fruit, in order to hasten and perfect the remaining 
 fruit. 
 
 There are few more excellent or delicious dessert 
 fruits than the banana, and, as a food plant, its im- 
 portance and value, as compared with other food 
 plants, can hardly be over-estimated. When it is 
 realized that a plantation of bananas once established 
 has never to be renewed, and that 1 acre of this fruit 
 will produce as much food as 130 acres of wheat, or 
 45 acres of potatoes, its value and, importance loill be 
 readily acknowledged. The fruit matures early in 
 South Florida, each bunch aggregating from fifty to 
 one hundred bananas. The banana returns to the 
 soil in the decay of its gigantic leaves almost as much 
 nutriment as it takes from it. No plant known pro- 
 duces the same amount of nutriment from the same 
 space of ground, a fact which finds recognition in the 
 opinion entertained of it by Oriental Christians, who 
 at one time thought it the tree of forbidden fruit, as 
 the banana alone furnished everything sufficient for 
 the necessities of the first man. Chemical analysis 
 shows that the fruit contains in proper proportions all 
 that is necessary to sustain the human system in warm 
 climates. 
 
 As this plant is a great feeder, and when once 
 planted lasts a lifetime, it is of the utmost importance 
 that plantings should be made upon strong, rich soil, or 
 that the plants be kept highly manured, to secure per- 
 manent supplies of the best fruit. In Brazil and other 
 tropical countries plantations are formed by setting 
 the plants 20 feet apart. Plants of the Musa para- 
 disiaca variety should be set ten feet apart each way, 
 and they will soon cover the ground, as they increase 
 rapidly under favourable circumstances. 
 
 Bach plant produces one, and one only, bunch of 
 
 bananas, when the stem is cut down with a sharp spade 
 or axe, to give place to succeeding plants. 
 
 " When the enormous yield of this fruit is considered, 
 and it is taken into account that when once properly 
 planted it needs no other attention than simply gather- 
 ing the fruit, and that at reasonable prices the demand 
 is almost unlimited, it is evident that its extensive 
 cultivation will be made very profitable." 
 
 A thousand dollars profit per acre can be readily 
 realized. 
 
 UNITED STATES AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. 
 The Datjs Palm. 
 
 " This excellent and valuable fruit is cultivated with 
 entire success south of 28° north latitude, and the tree 
 often perfects its fruit as far north as 30° north latitude. 
 Numerous large and beautiful specimens of this tree 
 may be seen in the gardens at St. Augustine. It is one 
 of the most beautiful trees of the vegetable kingdom. 
 Its long, graceful, ever-verdant, ever-waving, ever- 
 changing branches make it the most picturesque of all 
 others for landscape gardening, and should adorn the 
 grounds of every homestead in Florida. The fruit is 
 greatly and justly esteemed by the inhabitants of 
 Egypt, Arabia, and Persia, on account of its con- 
 centrated and nutritious properties; large numbers 
 subsist almost entirely upon it. It is generally the sole 
 food of the Arabs and their camels on their long and 
 tedious journeys over the Desert, the voyagers feeding 
 upon the fruit, and the animals upon the stones. The 
 inhabitants of these countries also boast of the medi- 
 cinal qualities of the date fruit, and of the numerous 
 uses to which the different productions of this tree may 
 be applied. From the leaves they make couches, 
 baskets, bags, mats and brushes ; from the branches or 
 stalks, cages for their poultry and fences for their 
 gardens; from the fibres of the trunk, thread, ropes,, 
 and rigging ; from the sap, a spirituous liquor ; and 
 the body of the tree furnishes fuel. 
 
 " The date-palm is propagated from the seeds and 
 suckers, but more successfully from the former. The 
 cultivation of this fruit should be greatly extended, as 
 it may become an important and profitable resource of 
 the inhabitants of Southern Florida. The bunches or 
 clusters of this fruit often attain a weight of 15 pounds." 
 
 Geapes. 
 
 " The grape is the glory and crowning fruit of 
 Florida; grows luxuriantly. In quality, for table and 
 wines, has no superior in any country. The forests 
 abound everywhere with delicious wild grapes. ' In 
 the southern portion of the State two crops of grapes 
 are gathered in a year.' No enemy attacks the vine 
 or fruit. The following varieties grow to perfection: — 
 
 Scuppernong 
 Black Hamburg 
 White Muscat 
 Concord 
 
 Golden Chessalas 
 Delaware 
 
 Brincle 
 
 Diana 
 
 Warren 
 
 Catawba 
 
 Isabella, &c., &c. 
 
 " The profits are 81,000 to $2,000^^6*- acre. 
 " Yield 1,500 gallons wine per acre. 
 
 " Feuits and Vegetables a Perpetual Golden 
 Harvest foe Florida. 
 
 " It must not be forgotten that every vegetable and 
 fruit raised or grown in Florida has a ready-cash 
 market in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, 
 
 H 2 
 
( 60 ) 
 
 Wastington, and other Northern cities and towns, 
 Tvhicli will purchase all that Florida can produce. 
 
 " Let the fact be remembered that winter and eaelt 
 petjits and early vegetables always command the 
 highest, and optkn exorbitant, prices, and that 
 Florida can pour her rich fruits and vegetables into 
 these markets over pour months earlier than any 
 OTHER State in the Union, and it must appear sklp- 
 
 EVIDENT THAT FLORIDA HAS A RICH HARVEST, AND MUST 
 HAVE IMMENSE INCOMES PROM THESE CONTINUING RE- 
 SOURCES FOR ALL TIME TO COME, IN WHICH SHE CAN 
 
 HAVE NO COMPETITOR. She has the exclusive market for 
 all these for full four months in each year, while one- 
 half of the States are bound up in ice and snow, and 
 she can supply her vegetables all the year round. Say 
 nothing of her staple productions, and let her rely 
 only on her forests, fruits, and vegetables, her future 
 riches from her soil will exceed any other State in the 
 Union. 
 
 " Cattle, Horses, Hogs, and Sheep. 
 
 " Cattle raising in the State is easy work. Green, 
 rich pastures, growing all the year, abound through- 
 out the State. The prairies and forests are in many 
 places covered with immense herds of cattle. All that 
 is required is to brand your cattle, and keep your 
 herdsman. 
 
 " The fine Durham and other choice breeds flourish 
 there. 
 
 '' Many single owners have from 20,000 to 40,000 
 head of horned cattle. 
 
 " The export is over 200,000 head per annum. 
 
 "Horses and mules do well, are scarce, and very 
 high in price. Great profit lies in raising them in this 
 State. 
 
 " Sheep do well. The wool and meat are of good 
 quality. 
 
 " Hogs can be raised ad libitum. The State is full 
 of tame and wild hogs. Nuts, roots, and grass are 
 their food, on which they grow fat. Pork is of fine 
 quality. There is a large annual export of hogs. 
 
 " Compare stock-raising in Florida with the 
 Northern States. In the North, food must he raised 
 by the farmer to feed his flock fall six months each 
 year. In Florida, the required food grows spontaneous 
 all the year. The profit in stock-raising in Florida is 
 immense. 
 
 " Oysters and Turtles. 
 
 Indian River, Biscayne Bay, the Channel to Key 
 West, and the whole sea-coast around Florida, contain 
 an inexhaustible supply of oysters of excellent quality. 
 There is no part of the world known whore they 
 prop'igate so rapidly. 
 
 " The oyster trade and consumption of the United 
 States has become immense. 585,000,000 are 
 annually expended there in the purchase of oysters in 
 the shell at wholesale. 
 
 "In 1872 the coast of Virginia shipped to the 
 Northern cities 30,000,000 bushels of oysters, for 
 which $30,000,000 were paid. The supply is falling 
 oif fast and prices augmenting in proportion. Floruhi 
 can supply the TJiiited States with good oysters and 
 first-elass hirtle, which are now being shipped in con- 
 siderable quantity to New York. These make the 
 finest soups, stews, and fries. Large incomes will be 
 realised by this Company and the people of Florida, 
 who will engage in the shipment of these luxuries to 
 the Northern cities. 
 
 " Fish. 
 
 All the creeks, rivers, lakes, bays, channels, and 
 sea-coast of Florida seem to be alive and swarm with 
 fish of the most noted and superior varieties, such as 
 the mullet, bass, trout (of fresh and sea- water) , perch, 
 Spanish mackerel, shad, sheepshead, and many other 
 kinds. Mr. Adams assert in his book, that ' fisheries 
 are established all along on the Gulf coast. ' Probably 
 no river on the globe of equal size aflbrds an equal 
 supply of good fish for food for man as the St. John^s. 
 This will also become another vast source of profit to 
 Florida. 
 
 " Wild Game. 
 
 " Florida is said to be ' the paradise of the hunter.' 
 
 " Deer, bear, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits, ducks, geese, 
 brants, snipe, woodcock, pheasants, partridges, quail, 
 and other birds and animals, exist in great numbers and 
 quantity in the State. 
 
 " ' Deer are abundant.' Indeed, the whole State used 
 to be called ' a vast deer park.' The woods abound with 
 wild honey. Domesticated bees are worth a dollar per 
 hive, and are profitable. Honey is worth 60 cents per 
 gallon. 
 
 " Thousands of Northern people go to Florida 
 annually to enjoy the rich sport of fishing and hunting, 
 and the history of their sports is often interesting and 
 even thrilling. 
 
 " This meagre sketch must suffice. Consult the 
 books for full details. They are worth a perusal to 
 any one interested in that novel country. 
 
 " It must not be inferred that Florida is an Eden, and 
 that all one need do is to go there, sit down, and receive 
 God's natural blessing without efforts. It requires 
 faithful toil, good judgment, and great ■ perseverance 
 there as elsewhere, to make a good living or to become 
 rich." 
 
 The United States Agricultural Report for 1862, gives 
 an interesting description of the climate, soil, 
 forests, and productions of Florida. 
 
 Extracts. 
 
 " The whole State is diversified wiijh beautiful lakes 
 and ponds, abounding in fish and fowl of various kinds, 
 and of the most delicate fiavor, and can support a 
 population of 100 to the square mile, with one-half the 
 labor required to live in the Eastern or Middle States." 
 
 " A large portion of the country is covered with 
 Pine-forests, the trees standing at a considerable 
 distance apart, without under-growth ; grass and 
 flowers spread luxuriantly over the surface of the earth 
 during the whole year, and being unusually intersected 
 with streams of pure water j cattle find excellent 
 pasture a!ll the year. The pine lands, though often 
 termed " barrens," is in most instances not less pro- 
 ductive than the numerous live-oak and other hard 
 timbered hummocks of the richest soil, so finely 
 adapted to the culture of sugar, cotton, tobacco, corn, 
 rice, indigo, and fruits. Limestone and marl underlie 
 pretty generally the whole Peninsula." 
 
 " It produces the long staple or Sea, Island cotton of 
 ■commerce, over any part of the Peninsula, with a pro- 
 ductiveness siorpassing the coasts of South Carolina 
 and Georgia, to which this staple has been hitherto 
 limited, and can supply any quantity of it required, 
 to wh icJi the consumption wilt reach. 
 
 "It produces sugar with great advantage over 
 Louisiana and Texas, having a superior climate for the 
 
( 61 ) 
 
 ■cane, and has sugar lands enough to supply the con- 
 sumption of the whole United States." 
 
 " Cuba tobacco is, next to sugai*, most in favour 
 •with planters. The flavour is thought to be not inferior 
 to the production of the famous district of Vuelt de 
 Abajo, in the island of Cuba. The sandy soil near 
 the sea-coast is well adapted for this production. 
 Ordinary seasons give three good cuttings from the 
 same stalks. 700 pounds is an average crop to the 
 acre, which, when Virginia and Kentucky tobacco 
 ■would not bring more than 6 cents, readily sold in 
 the market at from 50 to 75 cents per pound." 
 
 " Eice is a valuable crop. Pine lands, upon which 
 cattle have been herded for a few weeks, have often pro- 
 duced 60 bushels of rice to the acre. With one 
 Tnonth's labour, one hand, with a horse and plough, 
 can cultivate ten acres of rice." 
 
 " Indigo was the principal staple of the Florida 
 planter during the British occupation of the country. 
 Except sugar, this is the most certain crop in Florida. 
 It is indigenous to the country, abounding in the 
 pine barrens, and even in the old fields cultivated by 
 the British nearly a century ago, in spite of time and 
 the constant cultivation of other crops." 
 
 " The climate is the best in the world for the pro- 
 duction silk. Every species of mulberry grows there. 
 The cochineal insect is a native of Florida. ' The nopal, 
 on which the insect feeds,' is also a native plant." 
 
 " Corn is the most important article of food in a 
 southern climate. To the negro it is indisoensable. 
 . Although Florida lies south of the- corn-growing belt, 
 very good crops are, nevertheless, produced in the 
 State. 40 bushels to the acre is often gathered on the 
 best land, but from 10 to 15 bushels is the average 
 •crop." 
 
 '' The sweet potato and the yam find in the Florida 
 ^ine land their natural soils. 400 bushels are often 
 produced to the acre. The common potato produces a 
 good crop, if planted in the winter. Cabbages planted 
 in November grow to a great size. Mellons, squashes, 
 and pumpkins are produced with indifferent culture, 
 and are of delicious flavour. Peas, beans, and indeed 
 all the garden vegetables of the temperate or the 
 torrid zone succeed perfectly well in Florida." 
 
 " Fruits are abundant and in great variety ; figs 
 :are abundant and of the richest flavour ; the quince, 
 peaches, nectarines, and apricots succeed perfectly. 
 
 " The Florida Orange is larger and more aromatic 
 than the Cuban. The pomegranite, the guava, citron, 
 the shaddoch, or " forbidden fruit," lemons, and limes 
 are produced with ease, and everywhere abundantly. 
 
 " Wild plums and grapes are in great variety. Some 
 •of the cultivated species of the plum produces two 
 crops annually. 
 
 " The pine-apple and banana are cultivated with 
 great success. The olive and the tamarind are growing 
 in many places. Arrowroot is a profitable crop. The 
 pistache was greatly cultivated by the Seminoles. This 
 Tine produces a large crop on sandy land; it is a 
 native of Spain, whence it was transferred to the 
 gardens of Italy. Grasses are numerous and nutritious ; 
 there are few spots of uncultivated land not covered 
 with grass. Deer as well ns cattle, in vast herds, fatten 
 on the wild grasses of the forests and prairies. 
 
 " As the opinion has been very widely disseminated 
 that Florida is composed of swamps and everolades, 
 or sandy plains and barrens, a brief d(>scription of her 
 lands will be interesting to the agriculturists generally, 
 and particularly to those who desire to produce in our 
 own country almost everything which our comfort or 
 our luxury draws from other countries." 
 
 (Here follows a description of the different soils, 
 
 similar to that already hereinbefore given in the body 
 of this Report.) 
 
 " There is one general feature in the topography of 
 Florida, which no other country in the United States 
 possesses, and which affords great security to the 
 health of its inhabitants. 
 
 " It is this : that the Pine lands, which form the 
 basis of the country, and which is almost universally 
 healthy, are nearly everywhere studded, at intervals 
 of a few miles, with hummock lands of the richest 
 quality. These hummocks are not, as is usually sup- 
 posed, low, wet lands ; on the contrary, they are high, 
 dry, and undulating, and never require either ditching 
 or draining. They vary in extent from 20 acres to 
 20,000 acres. 
 
 " Hence the inhabitants have it everywhere in their 
 power to select Residences in the Pine lands, at such 
 convenient distances from tho hummocks, as will 
 enable them to cultivate the latter without endangering 
 their health, if it should so happen that any of the 
 hummocks prove to be less healthy than the pine 
 woods. 
 
 " Indeed, it is found that residences in the hum- 
 mocks themselves are generally perfectly healthy a 
 few years after they have been cleared. 
 
 " Newly cleared lands are generally attended with 
 the development of more or less malaria. In Florida 
 the diseases which result from such clearings are 
 usually of the mildest type (simply intermittent fever), 
 while in nearly all the other Southern States they are 
 most frequently of a severe grade of bilious fever. 
 
 "A general interspersion of rich hummocks, sur- 
 rounded by high, dry, rolling, healthy pine woods, 
 is a topographical feature peculiar to Florida, 
 and forms in this respect a striking contrast with 
 Louisiana, Texas, or Mississippi, whose sugar and 
 cotton lands are generally surrounded by vast alluvial 
 re .'ions, subjecjt to frequent inundations, so that it is 
 impossible to obtain a healthy residence within many 
 miles of them." 
 
 NOTE (B). 
 
 The following important private letter was calle'd 
 out by several English-lumber houses. Mr. Little is 
 entirely reliable, a large dealer in American lumber, 
 and his opinions are entitled to full respect and con- 
 sideration : — 
 
 "THE TIMBER QUESTION. 
 
 "' Sirs, — I find, in conversing with the timber mer- 
 chants of Liverpool, Glasgow, and this city, on the 
 subject of timber, that the question of the supply for 
 any lengthened period is one to which they have given 
 but little thought, and, indeed, this is not to be won- 
 dered at when it is found that the per^ple of the United 
 States and Canada, who are more immediately con- 
 cerned, have, I luight say, only now begun to reflect on 
 the question; and that mainly throu^-h the instrumen- 
 tality of one of the oldest lumbermen in Canada, who 
 brought the subject to the notice of the public in a 
 communication presented to the National Board of 
 Trade Convention, held at Chicago in October last, 
 which was published, with other subsequent letters on 
 the subject, in the American and Canadian press; and 
 I now see that the President Las just sent to the Senate 
 and House of Representatives a memorial upon the 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 cultivation of timber and preservation of forests^ 
 heartily approving thereof^ and asking that a commis- 
 sion he appointed to ascertain what means can be 
 adopted to provide against their waste — a course, I 
 may remark, that should have been taken years ago. 
 
 " It appears you are now getting large supplies of 
 your best timber from Canada and the United States, 
 but from the rapidity with which we are stripping our 
 forests for our own requirements, it is quite evident to 
 my mind that ten years will not have elapsed before 
 we will be forced to enter into competition with you as 
 purchasers in the Nortih of Europe, since the only 
 extensive pine territory we can then have will be that 
 on the Pacific side, and this source of supply is so far 
 away from the points of consumption, that it would be 
 cheaper to get it from this side of the Atlantic. 
 
 " The annual consumption of pine lumber alone in 
 th'e United States is now over 16,000,000 loads. The 
 amount of all kinds of sawed lumber, according to the 
 Congressional returns for the year ending 30th June, 
 1870, was over 21,000,000 loads, to which, if we add 
 the large increase which has taken place since that 
 time, all descriptions of timber, round, flatted, and 
 hewn, the timber used in the manufacture of shingles, 
 the import of timber from Canada ; the present annual 
 consumption should not now be computed at less than 
 30,000,000 loads, or an amount more than double all 
 the sailing tonnage of Europe and America combined. 
 
 "^From the foregoing some idea may be formed of the 
 position in which we will be placed in a very few years, 
 for an article to us so indispensable, considering that 
 the greater part of our country is pi-airie and treeless. 
 Indeed, the vast country drained by the Mississippi 
 and comprising more than one half the entire territory 
 of the United States, has not been inaptly described 
 by a writer on the subject as a huge farm with a very 
 small gi-Ove in its north-east corner ; and if you will 
 turn to a map of the United States when investigating 
 the matter, and compare the immense area of prairie 
 lands included in the States in that section, as herein- 
 after mentioned, with the timber area in Michigan, 
 Wisconsin, and Minnesota, you will readily see the 
 correctness of this remark. 
 
 "' The Eastern, or New England States, comprising 
 Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Con- 
 necticut, and Rhode Island, and the Middle States of 
 New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Ohio, and Indiana, were at one time dense forests, 
 and within a few years most of them had large tracts 
 of the finest pine timber. These, States are to-day 
 almost destitute of that wood, and, indeed, Maine alone 
 excepted, have but little of any kind now left, and at 
 the present time they are sawing up all kinds of timber, 
 and are compelled to purchase largely from Michigan 
 and Canada to supplement their almost exhausted 
 stock. 
 
 " To the south of these are the States of Virginia, 
 North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, 
 Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, 
 and Kentucky, having yellow and pitch pine and 
 cypress, all valuable woods, and when it is considered 
 that many of these States are among the oldest in the 
 Union, having been lumbered on for very many years, 
 and are steadily undergoing depletion both for home 
 consumption and exportation of these timbers and 
 hardwoods, there can be but little left to dispose of 
 for any great length of time. The whole eleven 
 produced less sawed lumber in 1870 than the produc- 
 tion and consumption of the single State of Pennsyl- 
 vania, or little more than one half the production of 
 Michigan. 
 
 " West and north-west to the Rocky Mountains we 
 have Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, 
 Nebraska, Dakota, Eastern Montana, Illinois, Iowa, 
 
 most of Missouri, that part of Minnesota west of the 
 Mississippi, and the southern part of Wisconsin, all 
 chiefly prairie, and an almost treeless territory. This 
 whole Western World, as it might be called, together 
 with the New England and Middle States above re- 
 ferred to, are now dependent mainly for lumber and 
 timber on the small amount of white pine still remain- 
 ing in the State of Michigan and the north-eastern 
 portions of Wisconsin and Minnesota, the whole esti- 
 mated under 1 70,000,000 loads. 
 
 " On the Pacific side there is Washington and Oregon, 
 which alone have timber to spare, and which they are 
 now distributing to the South along the whole western 
 coast of North and South America, the remaining 
 States of California and Nevada having only about one- 
 fifth part timber, or an amount hardly sufficient for 
 their own requirements. 
 
 " There is to the North of us the Dominion of Canada, 
 which is supposed by some to be an endless or unbroken 
 forest, when there is not one-tenth part of it forest of 
 any kind. British Columbia on the Pacific side, which 
 is entirely beyond our reach, may have timber to spare. 
 Then there is the Sashkatchewan Valley, with an extent 
 of country principally prairie, large enough, it is s&.id, 
 to make thirteen Sta.tes the size of the State of New 
 York. Next comes the Red River country and Mani- 
 toba, without timber to any extent. Then the rocky, 
 barren district north of Lakes Huron and Superior. 
 Here we reach the present province of Ontario, formerly 
 Canada West or Upper Canida. This was truly a 
 magnificent forest country, probably unsurpassed on 
 the face of the globe, abounding in the finest pine, oak, 
 elm, ash, walnut, and whitewood to be found anywhere, 
 but the most of this timber was burnt off to clear the 
 land for farms, or used for buildings and fences, and a 
 large amount of that remaining has been otherwise 
 used up or exported ; so that to-day the oak, ash, elm, 
 walnut, and whitewood are about gone ; the oak which 
 now leaves Quebec is principally from Michigan or 
 Ohio ; the walnut and whitewood you get are from 
 Indiana, Ohio, or some other Western State; the pine 
 would have been burnt off, too, in the same way, but for 
 the difficulty of clearing the lands, owing to the number 
 of trees and the greater amount of timber to be got rid 
 of. The pine timber has of late years had a commer- 
 cial value for our markets, but it is only within a few 
 years that anything but that known to you as first quality 
 white pine deals would bear the cost of transportation. 
 To-day the culls or refuse are dealt in by us in New 
 York as regularly as any other quality of the wood. 
 This province of Ontario is at the present time using 
 improvements, and excepting, perhaps, that part of her 
 pine bordering on the Ottawa and its tributaries, she 
 would be acting only prudently by retaining every 
 remaining stick for her own use. 
 
 " Now we come to the Province of Quebec, which, 
 fortunately for us, is so near at hand, that our State of 
 New York is its natural market, and on the banks of 
 the Ottawa and St. Maurice Rivers and their tributaries 
 lies nearly the whole wealth of pine timber to spare in 
 the Dominion of Canada east of the Rocky Mountains ;. 
 and let us now consider how long these two streams 
 can stand the constant drain on them for timber for- 
 your market, our market, the markets of South 
 Aoierica, and the consumption of the Province itself. 
 From these you get almost your whole stock of Quebec 
 deals and white pine timber; we get a large amount of 
 pine boards and timber ; heavy shipments are constantly 
 going to South America and elsewhere ; and then there- 
 is the requirements of the Province itself, of no incon- 
 j siderate amount. The spruce district is confined 
 j chiefly to the Lower St.. Lawrence, the St. Francis 
 District or Eastern Townships, and the Provinces of 
 ■ New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ; and when it is seen 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 these pine and spruce sections have been worked upon 
 for years, both for export and for home consumption, 
 many of them the greater part of a century, we need 
 not be surprised, when advised by those who prof-ss to 
 be well informed on the subject, that the pine yet 
 remaining in the Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova 
 Scotia, and New Brunswick, would not afford a fall 
 supply of timber to the United States alone for a 
 period of three years. 
 
 "It is often remarked that timber will soon be 
 getting scarce. It has now reached that point. It is 
 to-day exceedingly scarce. As aa evidence of this fact, 
 I find from an editorial in the Qiiehoc Chronicle, of 
 March 5, the statement that, owing to a lack of snow, 
 and difficulty in obtaining money for operations, Canada 
 and the United States have got in but from one-third 
 to one-half their usual stock of lumber the past winter, 
 and, as a consequence, lumber is rapidly rising in price 
 in the Western markets. There is no doubt that the 
 above-mentioned causes have operated to some extent 
 in curtailing the production ; but can anyone fancy, with 
 deals selling higher in this market and Canada than 
 ever before, that only one-half a stock would be got out 
 if timber was abundant ? Attribute the circumstance 
 to anything — a scarcity of snow, a scarcity of money ; 
 but why ignore the prime cause — a scarcity of timber ? 
 " The StatO of Michigan, owing to its formation, 
 being two narrow peninsulas, with extensive rivers run- 
 ning through them in all directions, and having a com- 
 paratively even surface to work on for lumbering, is 
 enabled by the assis.ance of railroads, which penetrate 
 the forests in all directions, to get out the enormous 
 amount of about double the entire Canadian produc- 
 tion ; but were it not for the help of these roads, it 
 would be simply impossible to do so — the water could 
 not float the logs to market. This is truly burning the 
 candle at both ends. A few years will end the matter. 
 Imagine one section — Saginaw — increasing its produc- 
 tion of sawed pinei^umber from 222,500 loads in 1863, 
 to over 1,000,000 loads in 1873, and this has been but 
 little over the proportionate increase of the whole 
 State, for the value of lumber sawed in 1870 was more 
 than four times that sawed in 1860, and the production 
 of this State (Michigan) in 1872 amounted to 5,000,000 
 loads, principally sawed white pine deals and boards. 
 
 " As the question is so frequently asked of lumber- 
 men, why they oidinarily only mention pine or spruce, 
 when speaking of the amount of timber on timber 
 lands, I would state that these are with us the great 
 ■compiercial woods ; also being light, and easily floated 
 down the streams, they can be taken with little expense 
 from the most remote sections of the country, wherever 
 water-courses exist. 
 
 " To show how little thought is given to the subject 
 of timber I am almost invariably asked by gentlemen 
 on this side tho Atlantic if the timber lands are 
 generally good for agriculture — which of course most 
 of them are — usually the better the timber the better 
 the land ; but fancy the question addressed to a 
 proprietor of coal lands asking him the value of such 
 lands for growing turnips. In our country, lands 
 with good timber are now considered of more value 
 than those cleared for agriculture, and the time is not 
 far distant when a few acres of wood land wjll be 
 worth entire farms, with all their improvements. 
 •Corn or turnips may bo grown in a season, but it 
 takes a century to grow a standard pine saw log. 
 
 " In conclusion. Sirs, in view of the question as 
 above presented, it might be asked, what would be the 
 state of the public mind of this country if assured the 
 coal supply would be exhausted in some ten or twelve 
 years ? The timber supply in North America is a matter 
 of almost as much consequence to us as that of the coal 
 supply in Great Britain to the community here ; and 
 
 yet, notwithstanding we are on the very eve of so 
 terrible a calamity as its total exhaustion, a calamity in 
 which both this country and Canada must also suffer, 
 hardly a thought is given to the subject, except by a 
 few, whOj in view of the great advance which must 
 take place in the immediate future, are now investing 
 largely in timber lands. 
 
 " I am. Sirs, 
 
 "Your obedient servant, 
 
 "WILLIAM LITTLE, 
 (Canada) . 
 
 " To Charles Heaven, Esq., 
 
 "and Others, London, March 30th, 1874.-" 
 
 The fact has been established in America, that in the 
 event of tho rapid destruction of American forests and 
 enormous consumption of timber and lumber being 
 continued at the same ratio of increase for the next 
 twenty years as during the last twenty years, that there 
 will be no native forests left — perhaps even before the 
 end of this period. 
 
 The Federal and most of the State Governments 
 have taken active steps for the preservation of forests, 
 to prevent their rapid destruction, and to promote the 
 cultivation and growth of new forests. 
 
 The T'resident of the United States addressed a 
 special message to Congress on this subject, and the 
 Congressional Committee on Public Lands made an 
 elnborate and exhaustive Report, No. 259, in 1874, in 
 answer, and reported a Bill to Congress for the passage 
 of a law, headed witn this preamble : — 
 
 " Whereas it is established that the supply of timber 
 within the United States is rapidly diminishing, and 
 that great public injury must result from its continued 
 waste, unless adequate means are taken for its preser- 
 vation and pro'luction; Therefore, 
 
 " Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 
 sentatives of the United States of America, in Congress 
 assembled," &c. 
 
 Extracts of testimony taken from this Congressional 
 Report shows that : — 
 
 " The great foi-esto of the Western States are fast 
 disappearing ; the most of those of the Middle and 
 Eastern States went long ago. In the whole United 
 States but one vast tract of timber is left untouched. 
 That covers about one-half of Washington territory 
 and one third of Oregon. Here the yellow pine thrives 
 in great perfection, some trees reaching 300 feet in 
 height. 
 
 " The demand for lumber increases in the United 
 States at the rate of 25 per cent, per annum. The 
 di'crenw of foreds is at the rate of 7,000,000 acres 
 anuHdUij. Fetv people have any idea of the immense 
 va.ue of IJie wood wliicli' is used for purposes r/enercdhj 
 consideird II iiiiiqiortard. Tli,e fences tf the United States 
 arc now cnliivd at Sl,800,0u0,000, and its costs ani tially 
 .?98,000,000 /() l:erp them in repair. By far the greatest 
 jnriportion of these are ivood. The railroads of the 
 United Slates use over 150,000,000 of ties annually, 
 costing from 50 to 80 cents each, and these have to he 
 rcneircd once in every sercn years. In 1871, 10,000 
 acres of forest were stripped of their timber to supply 
 fuel for the isingle city of Chicago. 
 
 "In tii-eutij years scarcely anijUiing will he left of the 
 rust foresis of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, 
 and too late our farmers will see how short-sighted they 
 have been in nut making provisions for supjjlyinq the 
 
( 64 ) 
 
 fjrcat dc III and for luinhcr wliicli this wide-spread de- 
 struction is certain to ca/use. 
 
 " The annual jiroducts dratmi hij the people of the 
 United States from the forest exceeds $1,000,000^000, 
 or eight times the interest on the National Debt. This 
 being the case, the preservation of . our forests is a 
 matter of general interest and of national importance. 
 
 " To save our timber, we must not only cut no more 
 than is necessary, but cut it in a proper and economical 
 manner. We must stop the merciless waste and 
 primitive method of chopping with axes, and use saws, 
 scientifically.* The forests of Europe are protected 
 by law, and the removal of their timber is carefully 
 and economically performed. 
 
 " Not to speak of the decrease of moisture and 
 other climatic changes superinduced by removing 
 trees, let us look at the matter of low aspect, and com- 
 pute the profit and the loss. 
 
 * To out 100,000,000 cords of wood with the axe requires as many 
 days' labour and as many dollars ; if the use of hand cross-cut saws be 
 substituted, and only one-half the labour saved, the 60,000,000 now 
 thrown away are gained, besides the immense waste of fuel, making in 
 the two items of annual saving an amount equal to the interest of the 
 National Debt. 
 
 " Prohahly not less than 30,000,000 of the people of 
 America are warmed hy wood fuel, eonsummg more 
 thorn 100,000,000 cords per annum, anyone knowing 
 the prodigal use in our newer timbered districts wiU 
 certify. If mills, railroads, and steamboats consume 
 one-third as much, rechoning the cost at ..$3 per cord, we 
 have $4:00,000,000 annually for fvsl alone. An equal 
 consumption of timber for fencing, and a vast a/mount 
 for wooden buildings of all hinds, give the enormous 
 aggregate of $1,200,000,000 annually produced by ova- 
 forests for consumption. 
 
 " When we consider the fencing and farm buildings 
 required by our more than four million farms, if 
 reckoned at $150 annually to each farm, making- 
 $600,000,000, and when all the uses of wood are 
 considered, few men who have travelled will deny that 
 more than $1,000,000,000 in products is derived from 
 our forests annually — -five times the production of our 
 pig-iron, a/nd twelve times our production of gold and 
 silver. Indeed, few single interests exceed in value th& 
 enormous productions of our forests." (See Full Re- 
 port of the Congress of the United States.) 
 
 JTbbdc. C. Mathieson, Printer, BaTtholomew House, Bank, London, E.G. 
 
PART SECOND. 
 
 " EAST DIVISION " OF THE SHIP-CANAL, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 GREAT TIDE-WATER-CANAL ROUTE 
 
 FEOM THE 
 
 PORT OF FERJSTAlS^DIJSrA, Through the Peninsula 
 
 TO THE 
 
 PORT OF KEY WEST AND TO CUBA. 
 
 THE PEOPOSITION 
 
 Is, to first complete the construction and equipment of 
 this branch of the enterprise, and thereby increase the 
 incomes and earnings to an amount sufficient to make 
 the first Mortgage Bonds and Capital Shares proposed 
 to be issued desirable investment securities at par, and 
 enable the Company to readily realise all the money 
 required to fully complete and equip the whole enter- 
 prise. 
 
 SOUECBS OP INCOMES AND EARNINGS. 
 
 1. Prom sales of the Company's domain of 2,300,000 
 
 acres of land (valued at $30,000,000) for agii- 
 cultural and horticultural purposes, and town 
 and village building lots, &c., &c. 
 
 2. Prom the sales of timber and lumber on the 
 
 Company's lands, valued at $16,000,000 net. 
 
 3. Prom canal tolls on the works completed, and to 
 
 be completed on this division. 
 All these resources will be fully shown afterneces- 
 sary preliminary considerations. 
 
 CONSOLIDATION. 
 
 The two canal enterprises, their property and rights, 
 have been legally consolidated, in couformity to the 
 provisions of the "Act" approved, February 19, 1674. 
 
 The objects and great advantages resulting from 
 this consolidation are self-evident. 
 
 Both canals, from their junction in the St. John's 
 Kiver, run thence over the same route and improve- 
 ments to the Port of Pernandina, and by this action 
 are brought under the same ownership and manage- 
 ment. The Company of the Great Tide- Water Canal 
 Route was the legal owner and possessor of the 
 2,800,000 acres of land, and other property of great 
 value, and they furnished a solid foundation for raising 
 
 the money to complete the construction works ; and, 
 finally, this Great Tide-Water Canal Route is of itself 
 one of the most important commercial enterprises in 
 America, and its financial results must prove satisfac- 
 tory to the capital required for its construction. 
 
 THE CHIEP COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES 
 ARE— 
 
 ] . It will promote and facilitate international com- 
 merce and direct trade between the United States and 
 the West Indies, Central America, and South America. 
 It will open up a land-locked, short, safe steam route 
 to Key West, and thence across the Channel to Cuba and 
 Havana, and will avoid the long, circuitous, and dan- 
 gerous navigation through the Straits of Plorida. It 
 will utilise this magnificent system of inland tide- 
 waters and tributary lakes and rivers, and always 
 afford the cheapest transportation facilities for the 
 larger portion of the export, import, and internal com- 
 merce of the State. 
 
 . 2. The commerce of the United States with the 
 West Indies, Central America, South America, and 
 Mexico is over 6272,000,000; Cuba already exceeds 
 $172,000,000 per annnm (see "United States Senate 
 Reports, Transportation Routes to the Sea," p. 195) ; 
 and this international commerce between the United 
 States and the other nations named is rapidly in- 
 creasing. So great is this commerce becoming, that a 
 scheme for building the Great Southern Railway, 
 through the Peninsula to Key West, is now projected, 
 but if built it can never compete with this Water 
 route. 
 
 Key West is an important Ocean Port for Inter- 
 national and State commerce. There can be no other 
 possible water route through the Peninsula to Key 
 West, and the importance of this route is seen to a 
 great extent from the character of Key West, as shown 
 from an English stand-point. 
 
 A 2 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 {The following is- from the British Reports on Gom- 
 onerce and Trade of 1875, Part 11., made by the British 
 Vice-Gonsul at Key West -. — 
 
 "As A Naval Station. 
 
 " Key West lias long been one of the principal naval 
 stations of the United States, and it is said to possess 
 more advantages for the same than any other port in 
 the union. 
 
 " 1st. For its susceptibility of fortifications. 
 
 " 2nd. For ease and number of approaches with all 
 winds. 
 
 " 3rd. The difficulty of blockade. 
 
 " 4th. The ease in which supplies may be thrown in 
 in spite of the presence of an enemy. 
 
 " 5th. Abundance of wood and water. 
 
 " 6th. The facility of communicatio7i with and deriv- 
 ing aU the advantages by ivater, of supplies from the 
 northern and southern sections of the Union, provi- 
 sions from Louisiana, spars and live oak from Florida 
 and Georgia, cordage, iron, canvas, powder, and shot, 
 &c., from the north. 
 
 " 7th. It commands the outlet of the trade from 
 Jamaica, the Garibbean Sea, Bay of Honduras, and 
 Oulf of Mexico. 
 
 " 8th. It holds in subjection the trade of Cuba. 
 
 " 9th. It is a check to the naval forces of whatever 
 nation may possess Cuba ; it is to Cuba what Gibraltar 
 is to Ceuta ; to the Gulf of Mexico what Gibraltar is to 
 the Mediterranean.") 
 
 3. On the full completion of this route the smaller 
 ocean steam ships and coasting vessels carrying Gulf 
 commerce can pass directly through this route to the 
 North Atlantic, and avoid the heavy losses through 
 the "Florida Pass." 
 
 4. In time of peace it will furnish the United States 
 Government many facilities to provision her forts, carry 
 her mails, naval supplies of ship-timber, lumber, stores, 
 &c., at the cheapest freights ; and in time of war a 
 land-locked channel, and secure passage. 
 
 5. This great tide-water Canal line, with the Ship 
 Canal, will make nearly all the rivers and lakes of the 
 State available for steam navigation. More than 1,500 
 miles of internal navigation, permeating every section 
 of the State, will thereby become utilized to carry on a 
 vast inland and export commerce. Much the heaviest 
 commerce of Florida is on the Atlantic coast side. 
 This coast south of St. Augustine is wholly impractic- 
 able to afford facilities to this commerce, which is 
 bound, before many years, to increase to a great extent. 
 The dangers from the coral reefs, rocks, sand banks, 
 and currents of Gulf Stream will not permit shipping 
 ports being established on this coast. Most of this 
 commerce, both export and import, is now forced 
 through the Gulf Stream and the Straits of Florida at 
 an immense loss. 
 
 6. The surplus productions of the State are prac- 
 tically all ocean commerce, viz., timber, lumber. Sea 
 Island and short cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, Indian 
 corn, live stock; and to the North Atlantic cities will 
 be furnished regularly the tropical fruits, winter and 
 spring garden vegetables, melons, swoet and early Irish 
 potatoes, fish, oysters, turtles, and numerous other 
 valuable products, almost without limit, which can all 
 be shipped direct on this route at the cheapest freights 
 possible for all time to come, and without tranship- 
 ments, and in the best condition for markets. The 
 Northern Cities consume annually nearly $200,000,000 
 of vegetables and fruits, obtained from the temperate 
 and tropical zones. Florida can supply all the winter 
 and early vegetables, and the semi-tropical and tro- 
 pical fruits, now so largely imported from the West 
 
 Indies, and Central and South America. (See United 
 States Eeports on this point, also The Times, and 
 British Legation Eeport of Mr. Watson) . 
 
 7. Italy is the charming climate and resort for the 
 people of Europe. Florida is the Italy of North 
 America, and when the severe winters set in, then the 
 invalids and pleasure-seekers of the North flock to 
 Florida, and an average of 50,000 to 60,000 visitors 
 spend their winters in the valleys of the St. John^s and 
 Indian River, along the water line of this Company. On 
 the opening of this hne from Fernandina to Key West, 
 this population will be constantly travelling on this most 
 charming route of the world. • This will bring immense 
 and annually increasing revenues to this Company. 
 
 8. On the completion of these improvements the 
 Consolidated Atlantic and Gulf Ship Canal Company 
 will possess 630 miles of Canal and improved water- 
 courses, on which the Company will collect tolls for the 
 commerce and vessels that pass and repass over them ; 
 besides, 870 miles of tributary rivers and lakes will 
 pour their commerce through the Company's routes, 
 as the only way to reach the ocean. This tributary 
 commerce will pay tolls to the Company. 
 
 9. The area of Florida is about 60,000 square miles, 
 or nearly equal to the area of the six New England 
 States. She is capable of supporting a population of 
 10,000,000, and can then export surplus products of 
 the soil annually of a greater amount in value than any 
 other State in the Federal Union. 
 
 The ultimate amount of this State commerce may be 
 properly measured by the annual commerce of the 
 States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, or 
 Missouri, which the official statistics show to be enor- 
 
 1 
 
 mous. 
 
 LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION. 
 
 This Route commences in the harbour and bay of 
 Fernandina, running thence southerly, and by the 
 Company's canal, connecting with the St. John's River, 
 near its mouth; thence south-westerly up the St. 
 John's River and Lakes to Lake Washington ; thence 
 by short canal to Indian River, Musquito Lagoon, and 
 Halifax River ; thence down Indian River, Jupiter 
 Narrows, and connecting canal to Lake Worth ; thence 
 down through Lake Worth and canal to New River ; 
 thence southerly through New River and connecting 
 canal to Biscayne Bay; thence south-westerly on 
 Biscayne Bay and Channel, Barns Sound, and Florida 
 Bay to the harbour of Key West, on the Gulf of 
 Mexico ; thence across the Channel to the City of 
 Havana, in Cuba, 84 miles. Length of the route 
 through the Peninsula, 450 miles. 
 
 The Company has extended its route from Indian 
 River, by way of Halifax River, to the City of St. 
 Augustine, and thence North into the St. John's River. 
 This will make a straight route from Fernandina to 
 Key West, nearly the whole distance of tide waters, by 
 connecting canals. It possesses so many advantages 
 that the additional costs become inconsiderate. 
 
 Fernandina Harbour. 
 
 The Alabama Statistical Register of 1871 publishes 
 a description of this noble harbour, from the Report of 
 Senator Yulee, of Florida. 
 
 " The port of Fernandina, next to Norfolk and Pen- 
 sacola, is the best in tlie United States. 
 
 " The entrance to this port is easy with ail winds ; 
 the channels (of which there are three) are straight; 
 the harbour deep, varying from 20 to 50 feet, and 
 almost completely land-locked ; the anchorage extension 
 
) 
 
 and the holding-ground of the best description. The 
 
 deep-water line reaches close to the shore for a length 
 
 of two miles, so that a continued wall, but little 
 
 advanced from the line of shore, will give wharfage for 
 
 two miles, with depth of 20 to 30 feet at low water, 
 
 and warehouses can line the whole wharf-front. The 
 
 entrance from the sea to the wharves is about two 
 
 I miles, and from the plateau of the town the approach 
 
 \ can be observed seaward as far as the telescope can 
 
 \ sight. The depth of water on the bar varies from 20 
 
 \ to 23 feet at low water, and high tide 30 feet." 
 
 The Official Guide of Florida of 1873, says : — 
 
 " This is the best harbour of the Atlantic south of 
 Norfolk, and is spacious enough to shelter the fleets of 
 the United States, and to admit over a good bar and 
 through a straight channel, at ordinary high tide, all 
 classes of ocean vessels. Its port, Fernandina, is a 
 small city, and, though stunted by the check its young 
 growth received during the war, is now surely advancing 
 towards its natural destination — the outlet for the 
 products of the whole of Florida; the centre for its 
 lumber trade and naval stores ; and the Atlantic ship- 
 ping port for the largest share of the Gulf commerce. 
 
 "From its insular position, Fernandina, fanned by 
 the constant sea breezes, cool in summer and mild in 
 winter, is entirely exempt from the malignant and 
 contagious fevers that visit annually nearly all the 
 larger and many of the smaller towns of the South. 
 Thus she offers to the far-seeing capitalists the chance 
 of building up a wide-spread and lucrative trade ; to 
 invalids in search of health, a mild and salubrious 
 climate ; and the pleasure-seeker will find in the fishing 
 and hunting, in the shell road, and in her unrivalled 
 beach, with its invigorating surf -baths, and its 15 miles 
 of smooth, unbroken race track, sufficient attraction for 
 a lengthy stay. With a liberal policy pursued by those 
 who control her destiny, the future of Fernandina 
 must be great and bright." 
 
 THE ST. JOHN'S EIVBR. 
 
 The following short description of this great river is 
 found in the Official Land Office Report of the United 
 States Government for 1870: — 
 
 " The numerous rivers of Florida afford great 
 facilities for internal navigation, giving free access by 
 steamers far into the interior, and rendering available 
 extensive tracts of rich country, which would other- 
 wise remain unsettled for many years to come. The 
 St. John's River, the principal river of the State, rises 
 inLake W"ashington,and flowing in a northerly direction, 
 through an exceedingly level country, empties into the 
 Atlantic near the north-east corner of the State. For 
 150 miles fi-om its mouth it has an average width of 
 nearly two miles (in some places over five miles), and 
 is navigable for large sea-going steamers as far as 
 Pilatha, and for smaller steamers to Lake Washington. 
 Many of its tributaries are also navigable for consider- 
 able distances, and it is estimated that this river and 
 its branches afford 1,000 miles of water navigation." 
 
 The broad part of the river, for the distance above 
 mentioned, is called the Lower St. John's, and the 
 upper part, passing through a series of beautiful con- 
 necting lakes, to Lake Washington, is called the 
 Upper St. John's. The Atlantic tide is perceptible to 
 Lake George, and from Lake Harney, 250 miles to its 
 mouth, it has a fall of only 34 feet, showing the country 
 is almost a dead level. 
 
 This river from the junction of the Canal to its 
 debouchement into the ocean, a distance of nearly 90 
 miles may be properly considered as a vast bay and 
 harbour of quiet, land-locked water, with anchorage 
 
 extension and holding ground of the best descriptioui 
 and of sufficient capacity to accommodate the combined 
 navies and merchant ships of the United States, 
 England, and France. 
 
 Here ships can lie in safety at nominal harbour dues, 
 receive unlimited supplies of first-class coal from the 
 near coal fields of Alabama at the lowest rates, make 
 repairs, and receive other supplies. These are great 
 advantages. 
 
 The balance of these waters to Key West, are des- 
 cribed in geographies. 
 
 HARBOUR AND CITY OF KEY WEST. 
 
 The " Official Guide " of Florida thus describes this 
 harbour : — • 
 
 " The Island of Key West is about six miles long, 
 and one wide. The City of Key West is situated at 
 the westerly extremity, where there is a laege and 
 
 COMMODIOUS HAEBOUE OF OEBAT DEPTH OF WATER (from 
 
 30 to 70 feet deep), and of incalculable importance in 
 a commercial point of view. It is the principal coal- 
 ing station for the Gulf trade, an army and naval 
 depot. The markets of New York, and other 
 Northern cities, and Havana, are supplied from its 
 port with immense quantities of fish, oysters, turtle, 
 sponge, and numerous other commodities. It has a 
 large commercial trade with the West Indies, Central 
 and South America. It exports from Florida large 
 quantities of lumber, timber, cattle, hogs, and sheep 
 to Cuba. Five steam-ship lines — three from the 
 Atlantic and two from the Gulf — trade regularly with 
 its port. It also receives large amounts of imports, 
 chiefly from Cuba and San Domingo. Fort Taylor is 
 located here, and commands the entrance to the 
 harbour. This is a fine structure, with castellated 
 walls, bastions, and towers, mounted with 140 guns ; 
 30 15-inch Rodman guns are mounted on its massive 
 walls. Along the beach, at intervals of a mile, are 
 several marteUo towers of great strength ; and these, 
 with Fort Taylor, give the island prominent features. 
 There is an excellent ship route of deep waters from 
 the harbour of Key West across the channel to the 
 City of Havana, in Cuba, entirely free from keys, 
 coral reefs, or sandbanks. 
 
 OHAETERS. 
 
 THE ATLANTIC AgE»- GULF SHIP CANAL '^ 
 is l©eSfeedj-«n^=it» corporate ^rights are derived, under i 
 an Act of the State of Florida, approved February y 
 19th, 1874. (See Act and Charter, also legal opinion 
 of highly respectable British solicitors of London on 
 the same, hereinafter contained) . 
 
 On the 28th day of July, 1868, the State granted a 
 special charter, incorporating " The Southern Inland 
 Navigation and Improvement Company of Florida," 
 with liberal franchises, rights, concessions, and powers, 
 thereby authorising and empowering this Company to 
 connect the waters of THE GREAT TIDE-WATER 
 CANAL ROUTE by a series of canals, aggregating 
 twenty-five miles, also to improve these waters by 
 dredging or otherwise, and to complete and perfect 
 these canals, and maintain this route, build wharves 
 and docks, collect tolls, construct and navigate steamers 
 and other water craft; purchase, own, and improve 
 real estate, with other rights, powers, and privileges 
 full and complete. 
 
 Under this charter the Company organised and 
 carried on these improvements. Since the American 
 financial crisis, no work has been done for want of 
 means to go on. 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 LAND GRANT ENDOWMENTS AND PUE- 
 
 CHASE OF 2,300,000 ACRES. 
 
 In aid of the completion of these improvements, the 
 United States Grovernment and the State of Florida 
 made liberal and very valuable land grants of 2,300,000 
 acres, located in the celebrated St. John's and Indian 
 River Valleys, which have more than trebled in value 
 since the financial crisis of 1873 in America. A fall des- 
 cription and valuation of these lands are hereafter given. 
 _ Under the charter (Section 8) the Company has the 
 right of way through all lands owned by the State, and 
 has the title to lands for four hundred feet on each 
 side, on any of the Canals cut, or streams improved, 
 as well as all lands that may be given to the State of 
 Florida by the Government oj the United States, to aid 
 in any of the improvements contemplated by the Act. 
 
 This is a most valuable property right owned by the 
 Company on its line of 450 miles long. In addition 
 to the great value of these belts of land, it secures a 
 monopoly of the water frontage to the Company for 
 the erection of wharves, fishing grounds, " boomage,'' 
 and many other uses. 
 
 ESTIMATED COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND 
 FULL EQUIPMENT OF THIS ROUTE. 
 
 State Engineer and Company's En- 
 gineers' Estimates $5,000,000 
 
 Sterling £1,000,000 
 
 Of this amount there is a margin of 25 per cent. 
 for contingencies. A large portion of this amount 
 was intended for constructing wharves, buildings, 
 steamers, and other improvements authorised by the 
 Charter. 
 
 WOEK DONE. 
 
 Prior to the autumn of 1873, a large amount of 
 construction work was done on the Great Tide- Water 
 Canal Route, which, together with purchases of real 
 estate paid for, amounted to the sum of $1,250,000. 
 
 There are no debts, claims, or liens against the 
 Company or its property. 
 
 Construction Wouk to be first completed. 
 Large Einancial Benefits which will 
 result thekeerom to the Company. 
 
 i. To deepen and widen the Canal, which connects 
 the St. John's River with the inside Tide Waters to 
 Nassau Inlet, and the Port of Fernandina, &c. Cost 
 not exceeding £50,000. (An expenditure of £20,000 
 will open this Canal for Ocean Ships to pass through) . 
 
 This will complete the "East Division" of the 
 Ship Canal into the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 This work can be accomplished within six months. 
 
 The amount of export and import commerce which 
 will pass through this "East Division" the first 
 year, will be safe to estimate at 1,000,000 tons net, 
 which will pay Canal tolls — a minimum rate of one 
 shilling per ton net, and will realize to the Company a 
 net annual income of $250,000 from the beginning — 
 ^reimbursing the proposed outlay the first year. Of 
 course, after the construction of the "West Division," 
 the net earnings of the entire Ship Canal will be 
 enormous, for which see full Report (p. 65.) 
 
 2. To deepen the channel, in places in the Upper 
 St. John's River, for a distance of five miles from the 
 outlet of Lake Washington, at a cost not exceeding 
 £10,000. 
 
 This section, together with the work already com- 
 pleted, will open up to steam navigation the whole 
 length of the St. John's River to its source in Lake 
 Washington, which wiU then, together with " its 
 branches, afford 1,000 miles of water navigation." 
 
 3. To construct the Canal, of less than six miles in 
 length, which will connect Lake Washington with 
 Indian River, and to remove several oyster banks in 
 Indian River — cost £50,000. This improvement 
 made, will establish steam communication with the 
 whole of the celebrated Indian River Valley. 
 
 All these improvements can. be finished within 
 twelve months from the resumption of work; and 
 they will complete 850 miles of the Company's Great 
 Tide-Water Canal Route, extending from the Port of 
 Fernandiaa to the south end of Indian River, and pass- 
 ing through the centre and entire lengths of the rich 
 valleys of the St. John's and Indian Rivers. 
 
 (The remaining section to Key West should be 
 completed the second year. For exact estimates of 
 work and costs to complete that section, see the 
 Estimates of the Engineers herewith submitted.) 
 
 Commerce of the St, John's and Indian 
 Valleys, and Tributary Country, &c., 
 shipped over this Route Annually 
 from the completion of the Great 
 Tide-Water Canal Route through 
 these Valleys. 
 
 CHIEF EXPORTS. 
 
 The Annual Lumber product in 1869 was ^ 
 $10,000,000, and in 1875, $25,000,000. 
 
 300,000,000 feet of lumber, manufactured now by 
 the twenty large saw mills on the St. John's, and from 
 other additional mills on the tributary rivers, are 
 exported from this region. Immense additional quan- 
 tities of timber are squared and shipped in the log, to 
 European and other markets. Also large quantities 
 of live-oak spars, &c., for ship and boat construction, 
 are exported in the log. Large as this commerce now 
 is, its increase must become simply vast; for the 
 United States Government declares that Florida is 
 the best timbered State in the Federal Union — that 
 four-fifths of its 60,000 square miles is covered with 
 magnificent timber, &c. 
 
 A pretty correct idea of the importance and extent 
 of forest products, to be transported over this route of 
 over 1,200 miles of inland tide water, lake, river, and 
 canal navigation, may be found by reference to the 
 forests of the States of Pennsylvania, Maine, Michigan, 
 Wisconsin, and other States, where all the rivers and 
 numerous railways running through the timbered 
 regions are almost exclusively employed in transporting 
 the forest products of these States. It appears that 
 the products taken from the forests of the United 
 States amount to about $1,000,000,000 per annum, 
 which shows the magnitude of the business (see United 
 States Congressional Report on Forestry, 1874). 
 
 SuGAB, Cotton, Tobacco, and Rice. 
 
 The Government also declares officially that Florida 
 is the best sugar and cotton State of the Union. Ijarge 
 
( 
 
 ) 
 
 quantities of all these staples are annually produced, 
 and nearly all of them must find an outlet through 
 this route. 
 
 Cattle, Hogs, and Sheep. 
 
 Many of the stock-raisers of Florida are reported to 
 own from 30,000 to 40,000 head of cattle a piece. All 
 the surplus of this live stock will be shipped over this 
 route. Large amounts of them are being now shipped 
 to Cuba, alid to other countries by circuitous routes. 
 
 Oystees, Fish, and Turtle. 
 
 It is officially declared by Government Reports, con- 
 firmed by all the authorities, "that 1,400 miles of sea- 
 coast around the Peninsula, prolific of oysters, fish, and 
 turtles of excellent quality, almost beyond parallel in 
 quantity, with bays, sounds, inlets, and inland navi- 
 gable waters of an equal extent, offer the richest 
 inducements to enterprise and capital." Large quan- 
 tities of those are now shipped to foreign markets. 
 
 Indian River, for 150 miles long, by two to five 
 miles broad, is almost literally full of oysters and 
 turtles of the best quality. 
 
 The wholesale commerce of the Northern Cities, in 
 oysters alone, amounts to about $65,000,000 per 
 annum, of which the coast off Norfolk, Virginia, 
 furnishes about 30,000,000 bushels, at a dollar per 
 bushel — and the cry of scarcity of oysters has gone 
 forth. Indian River oysters are highly prized for their 
 fine flavor. Prom 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 bushels of 
 these oysters, together with immense quantities of fish 
 and turtles, will be shipped annually to the North and 
 other countries over this route. 
 
 A large list of other products are also exported. — But 
 
 THE TROPICAL FRUITS, BERRIES, WINTER, 
 AND EARLY SPRING VEGETABLES FOR 
 THE MARKETS OF THE NORTHERN 
 CITIES AND STATES, FORM FLORIDA^S 
 ANNUAL GOLDEN HARVEST FOR TIME 
 TO COME, IN WHICH SHE CONTROLS 
 A MONOPOLY. 
 
 Under this head the reader is referred to the sub- 
 sequent official and other evidence. 
 / The consumption of fruits and garden vegetables in 
 the Northern cities amounts annually to the enormous 
 sum of over $200,000,000. 
 
 Florida can supply all the tropical and semi-tropical 
 
 fi'uits, early berries, and garden vegetables for the 
 
 whole winter and early spring, now so extensively 
 
 imported from foreign tropical countries, and part 
 
 vgrown in hot houses. 
 
 The immense profits in the culture of these products 
 and the healthy climate of Florida have caused a large 
 influx of population and wealth, chiefly into these 
 valleys, and the commerce of the St. John's and 
 tributaries is developing with great rapidity. (See 
 the authorities quoted herein) . 
 
 IMPORT COMMERCE. 
 
 The permanent population of the State is about 
 210 000, and the annual visiting population about 
 
 60,000 more, floating about chiefly in these valleys. 
 Nine-tenths are operating in, or tributary to these 
 valleys. In a country rapidly developing with capital, 
 the importations must be considerable to supply the 
 wants. 
 
 Now all the export and import trade of these 
 valleys passes through the mouth of the St. John's 
 River. The United States Government appropriates 
 money to keep this mouth open. The shifting quick- 
 sands soon close up the channel over the bar, unless 
 constantly dredged. 
 
 Upon the completion of the connecting Ship Canal 
 between the St. John's River and the inside tide 
 waters, all export and import commerce and trade to 
 and from the North Atlantic Ocean will pass through 
 the Company's canals and improvements, by way of 
 the Port of Pernandina and Nassau inlet ; and the mouth 
 of the St. John's will be abandoned and closed to 
 navigation ; and all this commerce wiU pay tolls to this 
 Company. 
 
 INTERNAL COMMERCE. 
 
 In America, which is a new developing country, 
 it is demonstrated that internal commerce over trans- 
 portation Routes, is many times the amount and value 
 of the through commerce; and more than the exports 
 and imports together. (See United States Senate 
 Report " Transportation Routes to the Seaboard." 
 Vol. 1, pp. 84, 216). 
 
 The amount of local traffic is vast in all the States. 
 In Illinois the local earnings on the 5,000 miles of her 
 Railways is over 85 per cent, of the total earnings. 
 
 The value of local traffic created is also strikingly 
 illustrated in the following case of the Pacific Railroad 
 from Omaha to San Francisco, whose earnings (see the 
 Report of General William J. Palmer, one of the most 
 practical railway engineers and thorough railway 
 managers in America, published in 1874) were as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Gross earnings, $24,137,1 92, or about £4,800,000. 
 Net „ 13,504,838, „ 2,700,000. 
 
 " Its construction," he says, " has reversed, to a 
 great extent, the course of the world's trade with the 
 Indies, so that teas and other Asiatic merchandise now 
 come from the West instead of the East, and England 
 sends her mails to Australia by way of New York and 
 California, yet the hulk of the revenue of this railway 
 is derived from local transportation, originating between 
 the two termini of Omaha and San Francisco. Imme- 
 diately prior to the construction of this highway (in 
 1866), a single coach line, an occasional emigrant 
 train from California, and the supply of the interior 
 Government military posts, constituted the entire move- 
 ment. Nearly the whole of this enormous transpor- 
 tation represented by the above figures was simply 
 created by the construction of this railroad. It did not 
 exist before and could not have existed till the railway 
 was built." 
 
 There is scarcely an exception in all that vast Rail- 
 way and River system of the Great Mississippi Valley. 
 
 It is declared in the United States Senate Report 
 above quoted (on page 8) that " the commerce of the 
 cities of the Ohio Biver alone fa branch of the Mis- 
 sissippi BiverJ, has been carefidly estimated at over 
 $1,600,000,000 per annum." 
 
 The local commerce of Florida, for over a quarter of 
 a million of people, moving up and down this great 
 Tide-Water Canal Route, with its tributary rivers, 
 affording over 1,500 miles of steam navigation, and all 
 paying tribute to the Company's Canals and improve- 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 iceiitSj mustj of itself, pay large earnings from the 
 beginning, and its increase will be in a geometrical 
 proportion. 
 
 A very large item can also he made available by 
 the Conipany, from, passenger carriage (see full Report, 
 p. 58) ; carrying the United States mails, and from 
 freight transportation, on the Company^s fine steamers 
 and barges, as contemplated by the Company's charter, 
 yielding a net income of over $500,000 per annum, and 
 which can be increased to almost any desired extent. 
 
 From these details it seems clear that, from the 
 present resources of the Company's lands and timber, 
 and from the existing commerce shown and indicated, 
 the Company's incomes the first year will be ample to 
 pay all costs and charges for operating this enterprise, 
 and pay the interest on the capital employed, besides 
 leaving a large net surplus ; and that after the first 
 year these earnings will aggregate an amount sufficient 
 to bring about the results proposed for floating the 
 Company's securities to construct the West Division of 
 the Ship Canal enterprise. 
 
 Another fact must be borne in mind, that the 
 absolute success of the " East Division and the Great 
 Tide -Water Canal Route" in no way or manner 
 depends upon the completion of the West Division of 
 the Ship Canal. 
 
 ESTIMATED NET ANNUAL EARNINGS AND 
 INCOMES FROM THE GREAT TIDE-WATER 
 CANAL ROUTE, &c. 
 
 The costs for operating and maintaining will be less 
 than ] 5 per cent, on the gross earnings. 
 
 Through freights, net $1,000,000 
 
 From exports, imports, and internal com- 
 merce, net 2,400,000 
 
 From east division of the "Ship Canal" 250,000 
 
 Total net $3,650,000 
 
 {Note. — The Erie is a horse canal of 363 
 miles long, and closed nearly half the 
 year by ice. Its average annual net 
 earnings from the beginning, for 26 
 years, was $2,302,940 from tolls alone.) 
 Addincomesfromthesaleandrents of lands $500,000 
 From sale of timber and lumber . . . 200,000 
 
 Total net 
 
 $4,150,000 
 
 These results will not be obtained the first year, nor perhaps for 
 several years. But the certainty of their realisation at an early period 
 is unquestionable. The costs for operating will be reduced to less than 
 5 per cent, of the earnings. Many railways and canals show much 
 arger annual earnings, neither having anything like the advantages , 
 of location and surrounding wealth of this enterprise.' 
 
 The Suez Canal derived, in 1875, a revenue from its domain of ^634,000, 
 or $170,000. The relative agricultural character of the Suez Canal lands, 
 compared with the Company's Florida Canal lands, is like that of barren 
 sand to a rich garden. 
 
 The last two items deserve consideration. The in- 
 comes therefrom are immediate, and the evidence 
 quoted shows that enough lands can be sold now to 
 realise $1,000,000 cash, and also a ready sale for the 
 lumber and timber. These lands have doubled in 
 value several times since the Company owns them, and 
 they will do so again ; and their increasing value will 
 more than repay all the capital required to complete 
 the works, with the interest thereon. It is, therefore, 
 financial policy to sell both gradually at fair and full 
 rates. 
 
 The wisdom of this course is demonstrated in canal 
 and numerous railway companies possessing land 
 
 grants. The Illinois Central and other railway com- 
 panies are quoted as illustrations of the rule. 
 
 It will also be seen from the estimates in the large 
 Report that the incomes from these two items will be 
 greatly increased after the west end of the Ship Canal 
 is constructed. (Report, p. 55.) 
 
 The Company therefore proposes to borrow 
 the present required amount of money for a 
 reasonable time, and secure this sum by 
 pledging or hypothecating its first Mortgage 
 Land Grant and Franchise Sterling Bonds, or 
 will sell the same ; and for that purpose the 
 Company has created its 
 
 FIRST MORTGAGE 7 PER CENT. LAND 
 GRANT FRANCHISE AND CONVERTIBLE 
 STERLING BONDS. AMOUNT $5,000,000 
 OR £1,000,000. 
 
 Each bond of the denomination of $1,000 or 200 
 
 pounds sterling. Interest payable in gold coin of the 
 United States, at the Agency of the Company, in the 
 City of New York, or in English sterling, in the City 
 of London, at the option of the holder, on the first day 
 of May and the first day of November in each year, 
 free of Government tax. Principal payable in the 
 same way, on the first day of May, 1904, unless sooner 
 redeemed by the sinking-fund allotment, or conversion 
 into lands. 
 
 The mortgage provides that each " Bond may at any 
 " time be converted or exchanged by the holder thereof 
 " into the Land of this Company at par, upon the sur- 
 " render of the bond with all the unpaid coupons at- 
 " tached, at the then regular schedule prices named in 
 " the mortgage." 
 
 The bonds are also entitled to the benefit of a sinking 
 fund of one per cent, annually ; and after three years 
 there shall be an annual redemption of said bonds, by 
 lot, equal to the accumulations in the sinking fund. 
 (See Bond and Mortgage) . 
 
 A full description and valuation of the lands mort- 
 gaged and forming an absolute security for the payment 
 of these Bonds, with other important facts will now be 
 given. 
 
 The Company owns a vast and most valuable real 
 estate, which forms a double secdeitt — an absolute 
 
 SECURITY OF ITSELF, WITHOUT THE CANALS AND THEIR 
 
 EARNINGS — to pay every pound of the capital shares 
 and bonded debt, and from this source leave a large 
 margin of profits, exclusive of the canals and their 
 earnings. 
 
 The Company is not without authority and precedent 
 for coming to this conclusion. 
 
 The United States Government granted land endow- 
 ments to the St. Mary's Ship Canal Company of 
 Michigan, and to twenty-five railway companies up to 
 1872. 
 
 The Reports and Exhibits of these Companies, and 
 Summaries of some of them published by the United 
 States Government, are of real financial interest. 
 
 The St. Mary's Ship Canal Company obtained a 
 grant of 600,000 acres. Prom the proceeds of sale of a 
 portion of these lands the Company constructed the 
 required improvements, and then turned the Canal 
 over to the Government; whilst, from further sales, 
 the Company has paid its shareholders an annual 
 dividend of 12 per cent, for the fourteen years last 
 past, and still owns the most valuable part of the grant — 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 the present value of which is estimated at $4,000^000 
 cash. (See Company's full report.) 
 
 The annexed table shows the names of four of the 
 railway companies above referred to, the average price 
 per acre of the sales, and the rate per mile realised on 
 their grants : — 
 
 Names of Companies. 
 
 Average 
 per acre. 
 
 Realising 
 per mile. 
 
 Grand Eapids and Indiana 
 
 $ C. 
 
 13 98 
 11 70 
 11 35 
 11 00 
 
 50,967"' 
 
 Burlington and Missouri Eiver 
 
 Illinois Central 
 
 15,000 
 41,854'" 
 
 Hannibal and St. Joseph 
 
 42,500 
 
 
 The average price per acre received is $12. Most of 
 these roads run through the timberless prairies, and 
 these lands as a rule had no forests. 
 
 The real cost for construction of portions of these 
 roads through the level prairies was only 115,000 per 
 mile. Taking all the twenty-five companies and their 
 grants — some running thousands of miles through the 
 great American desert, destitute of both trees and good 
 soil — the surface being covered with sand, sage-bush, 
 and alkali ; and taking a fair average of these lands, 
 they will not compare favourably at all with the poorest 
 and most indifferent lands of the Company; and yet 
 the fact is officially published to the world — 
 
 " That the average price of all the sales made of all 
 the land grants, good and had, was over $7 per acre up 
 to 1872." 
 
 For a fuller exhibit, take the case of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, which has a large share of 
 its stock held in England, and is well known. 
 
 The Official Eeport by the United States of the 
 result from this Company's grant is given and pub- 
 lished in the Land Office Report of 1870, p. 209. 
 
 The Report says: — 
 
 " The aggregate amount of land donated under the 
 Act was 2,595,053 acres, which, at the minimum 
 Government price, was $3,243,750. The double of 
 this sum represented the aid to be given thereby to 
 the railway, viz., $6,487,500. The total of the sales 
 made have realised to the Company an average of 
 $11-85 per acre, amounting to $23,968,736. The 
 balance undisposed of now averages $12"55 por acre, 
 at which rate they will swell the actual pecuniary aid 
 derived from the land endowment to 130,000,000, 
 which is equal to the entire cost of the road and the 
 equipment, entirely reimbursing the stockholders for 
 their investment, while the profits remain undi- 
 minished." 
 
 Now, be it known that these lands were chiefly 
 prairie, and not an acre of timber lands on the whole 
 route. The lands are not better in quality, and can 
 never bring as much net profit per acre from cultiva- 
 tion as the Florida lands. They are also farther off 
 from the Eastern markets. 
 
 It is a fact not to be lost sight of that, as a rule. 
 Land Grant First Mortgage Bonds are safer securities 
 than the same Company's Franchise Bonds, inasmuch 
 as they have a double basis of security — 1st, the land 
 and its values ; 2nd, the liability of the Company, its 
 franchises and assets. 
 
 American Land Grant Bonds are held in high esti- 
 mation in America and Europe, and are now more 
 sought after by investors than Railway Bonds. 
 
 The Union Pacific Railway Company's Land Grant 
 First Mortgage Bonds command 97 to 98 per cent, 
 cash in sterling in the London Market. They are 
 esteemed as perfectly safe, and yet the fact is well 
 
 known that the grants of this line are the poorest 
 lands of any grant in America, destitute of timber, the 
 larger part poor and unproductive soil, and the most 
 remote from the markets. 
 
 The Company owns by grants and by per- Acres, 
 feet fee simple titles, free of aU. in- 
 cumbrances 2,300,000 
 
 And controls, and will obtain complete 
 
 title to, further grants and purchases 6,000,000 
 
 Total acres 8,300,000 
 
 These lands are largely covered with valuable forests 
 for all kinds of timber and lumber uses. The lands 
 will return larger net profits per acre from agricultural 
 and horticultural productions than any other lands in 
 the United States outside of Florida, and they are 
 handy to home and foreign markets. The State of 
 Florida is also filling up more rapidly, both in regard 
 to population and capital, than did the regions in 
 which the above " Railway grants " are located. 
 
 VALUATION OF THE LANDS ON THE 
 ABOVE BASIS. 
 
 8,300,000 acres at $12 per acre (being 
 the average that has been realized by 
 the four Companies referred to) ... $99,600,000 
 
 But 8,300,000, even at 17 per acre (offi- 
 cial average of all Land Grant lands 
 sold) 
 
 $58,100,000 
 
 The Company has created £1,000,000 sterling Land 
 Grant Bonds, and has secured the same by 1st Mort- 
 gage, covering 2,300,000 acres of the above lands, to 
 which the Company holds perfect grants and titles. 
 These lands are valued and scheduled in the mortgage 
 by the State at $23,000,000. 
 
 With this solid property, the franchises and improve- 
 ments in hand, the Company proposes to commence its 
 basis of financing, the money to be applied first in com- 
 pleting the " East Division," and the balance of pro^ 
 ceeds on the " West Division." 
 
 The following Government Official Reports fully 
 describe the Lands of Florida and of the Company, 
 their soils, productions, climate, &c., &c. 
 
 Titles. — Parties desirous to purchase or loan money 
 on real estate, must have reliable business evidence, 
 showing the character, resources, and value of the 
 property, and good titles. 
 
 The United States Government has, in this case, 
 itself furnished this evidence. 
 
 The title to all the lands in Florida, except private 
 valid grants, vested in the United States Government. 
 Under Acts of Congress, the United States Government, 
 through her official land surveyors had the Florida 
 lands surveyed into townships, ranges, sections, 
 quarter-sections, and 40 acre lots. 
 
 At the same time these surveyors also made topo- 
 graphical reports, showing the character, quality, and 
 productiveness of the soils, the timber forests, and all 
 other valuable resources on every tract so surveyed. 
 
 The Official surveys, maps, and topographical reports 
 were filed and recorded, according to law, in the 
 General Land Office of the United States at Washing- 
 ton. These officers are great experts, and possess 
 accurate education, and these surveys and reports are 
 made conclusive evidence, by which the United States 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 Government, the States, and the people are governed. 
 Lands are sold and bought only on these surveys and 
 reports. 
 
 Their accuracy is unquestionable. 
 
 The law further requires the Land Commissioners of 
 "The General Land Office" annually to compile those 
 topographical reports, surveys, and mapsj and the 
 United States Government publishes these annual 
 volumes, called 
 
 "Land Office Eepoets." 
 
 These reports for 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 
 1874, contain the topographical reports, surveys, and 
 maps of the Company's Lands, and furnish all the 
 evidence desired. 
 
 The United States Government also issue annually, 
 from the National Bureau of Agriculture, official evi- 
 dence in volumes, called 
 
 " Depaetment of Agricultttee Repoets.^' 
 
 These Reports furnish the highest evidence attain- 
 able on all the subjects treated of therein ; and foreign 
 Governments make frequent quotations therefrom as 
 containing the best evidence on these subjects. As 
 examples, see the British Reports on. Commerce and 
 Trade made by the British Legation Office and British 
 Consuls in the United States, for frequent quotations. 
 The volume of 1862 has an exhaustive report on the 
 "Soil, Climate, and Productions of Florida" — the 
 volume of 1867 on "Horticulture and the Fruits of 
 Florida"; and the Reports of 1871, 1872, and 1873, 
 are explicit on the productions and profits of farming 
 in Florida, rapid increase of population, and the great 
 rise in the price of lands, &c. 
 
 Further, we have the official evidence published by 
 the State of Florida, in annual reports, from her Land 
 Office Department, from the years 1869 to 1876, fully 
 covering and elaborating the whole subject. (All the 
 above reports are in hand for inspection.) 
 
 These reports impart reliable information on the 
 climate of Florida, the variety and productiveness of 
 her soils (yielding the largest variety of agricultural 
 and horticultural productions of any State in the 
 Union), profits in farming, planting, fruit and vegetable 
 culture, the immense forests of Florida, large timber 
 and lumber industries, live stock raising, fish, oysters, 
 naval stores, and other important resources of the 
 State, rapid increase of population and wealth, internal 
 improvements, &c. 
 
 All these reports describe the Company's property 
 and lands, soils, timber, and all other resources, and 
 for greater assurance they are made a part of this 
 statement. 
 
 QUOTATIONS FROM THESE REPORTS. 
 
 (For fuller description see also Appendix of the 
 Ship Canal Report.) 
 
 "By far the finest lands in Florida, denominated 
 ' Eich Lands,' are : 1st. The ' Swamp Lands •/ 2nd. The 
 Low and High Hummocks ; 3rd. The Prairies, or 
 ' Savannas ; ' and 4th. The first-class Pine Lands. 
 
 " The ' Swamp Lands ' are unquestionably the 
 most durably rich lands in the State ; they are intrin- 
 sically the most valuable. They are formed entirely of 
 humus, or decayed vegetable matter, of extraordinary 
 depth, and, from long use in portions of the State, show 
 
 evidence of inexhaustible fertility. They occupy natural \ 
 depressions, or basins, which have been gradually filled j 
 up by deposits of vegetable debris, &c. Drainage, / 
 which is practicable, is, however, necessary to render I 
 the greater portion available for purposes of agriculture. ^ 
 In the United States Survey Reports they are called 
 ' Marsh Lands : the richest of all. Alluvial deposits, 
 full of decayed vegetable matter ; indeed, most of them 
 are little less than beds of peat. They only require to 
 be drained to become inexhaustible mines of agri- 
 cultural wealth; they furnish never-failing stores of 
 muck to enrich thin pine lands; they will produce 
 abundantly anything that can be put into them. But 
 the great crop, and that which is destined to be one of 
 the main interests of the State, and a great source of 
 wealth, is sugar-cane. On these lands it grows 
 luxuriantly, tasseling out at the top, which it does not 
 do in other States.' 
 
 "It has been demonstrated that these lands will 
 yield four hogsheads of sugar to the acre, a most con- 
 vincing proof of their value. Sugar cane is here in- 
 stanced as a measure of the fertility of the soil, because 
 it is one of the most exhaustive crops known, and is 
 generally grown without rest or rotation. It is, how- 
 ever, not the only criterion by which to judge of the 
 relative fertility of lands situated in different climates ; 
 for we find in the richest lands in Louisiana (the great 
 sugar-growings State) the crop of sugar per acre is not 
 more than one hogshead, or about one half that of 
 Florida. 
 
 " This great disparity in the product of those coun- 
 tries is accounted for, not by inferiority in the lands of 
 Louisiana or Texas, but by the fact that the early in- 
 cursions of frost in both these States render it necessary 
 to cut the cane in October, which is long before it has 
 reached maturity, while in Florida it is permitted to 
 mature without fear of frost. It is well known that it 
 ' tassels ■* in Florida, and it never does so in either 
 Louisiana or Texas. When cane "^ tassels,' it is evi- 
 dence of its having reached full maturity ." The words 
 " Swamp " Lands may seem objectionable to people 
 not informed. As has already been observed, immense 
 amounts of the richest and highest-priced farming 
 lands in America were once called " Swamp Lands," 
 which have been drained. Fully one quarter of the 
 State of Illinois has been thus reclaimed, and the 
 United States Land Office Report of 1869 says : — 
 
 " It will be observed that originally fully one-third 
 of what is now the State of Louisiana was in the con- 
 dition of swamp, or overflowed land. Much of it has 
 long been reclaimed, and under a high state of culti- 
 vation. Being an alluvial deposit, the lands, when 
 reclaimed, became the most fertile and productive 
 farms and plantations in the State, and have for many 
 years yielded immense crops of cotton and sugar, and 
 before the war commanded from $100 to |150 per acre 
 in gold." (And will do so again.) 
 
 " Low Hummocks rank next, and are not inferior 
 to the swamp lands in fertility, and, like them, consist 
 chiefly of decomposed vegetable matter deep down. 
 They are always moist, and some of them require 
 drainage. They are always covered with a heavy 
 growth of live, w^ter, and other oaks, cypress, ash, 
 gum, bay, cedar, &c., and when cleared and brought 
 under cultivation they are very productive, and prac- ' 
 tically inexhaustible." 
 
 " The growth of trees, shrubs, and vines upon these 
 low hummocks is most surprising, and so dense as to 
 present an almost impenetrable vegetable barrier to all 
 ingress. They are immensely fertile, indeed, almost 
 incredibly so, as is sufficiently shown by the fact that 
 from one acre has been produced 4,000 pounds of sugar, 
 and other crops in proportion." 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 " High Hummocks are in the highest repute in 
 Morida for purposes of agriculture. These differ from 
 low hummocks in occupying higher ground, and in 
 general presenting a gently undulating surface, covered 
 with a heavy growth of great variety of lumber, of 
 hard woods, already described, and composed of deep 
 and rich soil, underlaid with marl, clay, or limestone. 
 The very richest variety of hummock is the ' cabbage 
 hummock,' so called from the cabbage palmetto trees, 
 with which it is covered. These trees grow sometimes 
 to the height of 100 feet or more, this soil being com- 
 posed of shell and vegetable matter mixed, is of rare 
 fertility." " It will be readily understood by anyone 
 acquainted with agriculture, that such a soil, in such 
 a climate as Florida, must be extremely productive. 
 This soil scarcely ever suffers from too much wet, nor 
 does drought affect it in the same degree as in other 
 lands. High hummock lands produce, with but little 
 labour of cultivation, all the crops in the country in an 
 eminent degree. Such lands do not break up in heavy 
 masses, nor are they infested with pernicious weeds or 
 grasses. These lands are very abundant, whilst their 
 extraordinary fertility and productiveness may be esti- 
 mated by the fact that three, often four, hogsheads 
 of sugar are made per acre, on lands which have been 
 many years in constant cultivation." 
 
 " All these varieties of hummock are frequently 
 enhanced in value by the presence of wild orange trees, 
 sometimes singly, or in small groups, and again in large 
 groves." 
 
 / " Prairie and Savanna Lands. — The rich 
 
 alluvials bordering on the streams, and known as 
 Savannas, are subject to inundations, and are highly 
 valuable for the production of sugar and rice. The 
 low savannas, like the prairies of the more elevated 
 portions, are mostly rich vegetable mould, or loam, like 
 the rich prairies of Illinois ; others have the appearance 
 of clay, but upon close inspection, it is muck, mixed 
 with marl. 
 
 " These lands are destitute of trees, but covered 
 with luxuriant growth of nutritious, tall, perennial 
 grasses, and of green savannas, covered with flowers, 
 on which vast herds of cattle and sheep graze, both 
 summer and winter, and grow fat without other food. 
 Some of these herds are very large, as many as 80,000 
 to 40,000 head of cattle being marked by the brand of 
 a single owner. These stock growers are amongst the 
 wealthiest men in the State, and acquire it easier than 
 those engaged in any other industry." 
 
 " The Pine Lands are divided into first, second, 
 and third class. 
 
 ^ "The First-rate Pine Lands in Florida have 
 
 / nothing analogous to them in the other States. The top 
 is a deep, vegetable mould, beneath which, to the depth 
 of several feet, is a chocolate-coloured, sandy loam, 
 mixed for the most part with limestone pebbles, 
 and resting on a substratum of marl, clay, or limestone. 
 This land is also extremely fertile, producing splendid 
 yields of all the most exhaustive crops for many years. 
 Large portions have been cultivated in short cotton for 
 many yoars, yielding from 500 to 1,000 lbs. of seed 
 cotton, and some have produced 400 lbs. of Sea-Island 
 cotton for fourteen consecutive years, and are still as 
 productive as ever, so that the limit of their durability 
 is still unknown." 
 
 / " The Second-rate Pine Lands, which form the 
 
 /largest proportion of Florida, are all productive. They 
 rest on a basis similar to that of the first-class. These 
 lands afford fine natural pasturage, like the first-class. 
 They are heavily timbered with the best species of 
 yellow and pitch pine ; they are for the most part high, 
 rolling, healthy, and well-watered ; they will produce 
 the finest crops of Cuba tobacco, oranges, lemons. 
 
 hmes, bananas, and other tropical productions, also 
 Sea-Island and short cotton, sugar-cane, and every 
 variety of garden vegetable, which make them more 
 valuable than the best bottom lands in the Northern , 
 and Western States. 
 
 " The prevalent forest growth of Florida is yellow 
 pine, and of course the soil may be in general charac- 
 terised as ' light,' and is either sandy or loamy ; but 
 owing to peculiar climatic or atmospheric influences 
 they are of far more intrinsic value where ' light ' than 
 is usually attributable to the same character of light 
 soil at the North and West, as is evinced by the fact 
 that a bale of cotton, or 3,000 pounds of sugar, have not 
 unfrequently been made j^from an acre of these pine 
 lands. Indeed, many of the pine lands are so under- 
 laid with marl or clay as to give all the strength 
 of clay soils, without their stiffness and difficulty of 
 cultivation." 
 
 " The Third-rate Pine Lands, or most inferior 
 class, are by no means worthless ; the greater portion 
 of them is covered with valuable timber, and with 
 luxuriant vegetation and good pasturage. A small 
 portion is high, rolling, sandy, and sparsely covered 
 with a stunted growth of ' Black Jack,' and some good 
 pine." ' 
 
 " Besides the everglades, there is but a very small 
 proportion of worthless lands, compared with any other 
 State. There are no mountain wastes, barren plains, 
 nor deserts, and the land with this soil, whilst it is unfit 
 for the culture of cotton, sugar-cane, corn, and tobacco, 
 may always be made available for the culture of dif-y' 
 ferent kinds of cereals, fruits, or vegetables." 
 
 '■' In the poorest pine barrens, the peach is a vigorous 
 grower, and an abundant bearer, and the grape succeeds 
 equally well. From the great and continually increas- 
 ing demand for grapes and pure wine, for peaches, 
 and other fruits, either dried, canned, pickled, or pre- 
 served, no more promising undertaking can be entered 
 upon than the orchard and vineyard business in the 
 pine districts of Florida. These fruits grow to great 
 perfection on these lands. The most inferior class of 
 these pine lands is the best adapted for the culture of 
 Sisal hemp, which is one of the most remunerative 
 crops produced in the State. It will yield this product, 
 worth $300 per acre, with less cost than any crop that 
 can be grown, and therefore these poorest lands in 
 Florida will yield larger profits per acre, than the richest 
 lands of the Mississippi Valley can possibly produce 
 from their staple crops." 
 
 " Every district in the State abounds with fertilizers 
 of muck, marl, and phosphates in quantities sufficient 
 to fertilize the poorer lands, when necessary, for ages 
 to come." 
 
 Again, 1868 Report — " The great fertility of the 
 soil is everywhere evinced by luxuriant crops produced, 
 including those of the temperate and torrid zones, the 
 latter predominating. Sea-Island cotton succeeds well 
 in all parts of the Peninsular, with a productiveness 
 rivalling the best portions of the coast of Georgia and 
 South Carolina, while the sugar-cane thrives even 
 better than in Louisiana or Texas, owing to the absence 
 of frosts. The ordinary yield of sugar per acre in 
 Florida is nearly twice that of Louisiana, and the culti- 
 vation much easier. The area in Florida suitable for 
 the culture of this staple is amply sufficient to supply 
 the demands of the United States. The sandy soil is 
 well adapted to the cultivation of Cuba tobacco, which 
 yields an average of 700 pounds per acre, and, in 
 South Florida, admits of two cuttings per annum. 
 Silk culture must become a leading branch of industry 
 in Florida, since every species of mulberry grows pro- 
 fusely in this latitude as far south as 27°, and experi- 
 ments in the production of silk have proved highly 
 
 B-2 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 satisfactory. Indigo was formerly the principal staple 
 of Florida, and, witli the exception of sugar, is one of 
 the most certain and profitable crops, admitting two 
 cuttings annually. It is found growing wild through- 
 out the State, and around old fields where a century 
 ago it had been cultivated. In this genial climate all 
 the tropical and semi-tropical fruits, such as the orange, 
 lemon, lime, olive, fig, citron, pine-apple, banana, 
 guava, the palm, with all the other tropical fruits, are 
 produced in as great perfection as in the more tropical 
 climate of the West Indies, Central America, and Brazil, 
 and with far less attention and greater immunity from 
 injury hy insects or vicissitudes of climate, than the 
 common fruits of Northern orchards. Tliese fruits are 
 celebrated for their great size and superior flavour. 
 Grapes thrive luxuriantly, and the peach is at home here. 
 Sisal and New Zealand hemp, jute, and all the cereal 
 crops of the Northern and Western States, are grown 
 here." 
 
 " Every description of garden vegetables of the tem- 
 perate and the torrid zones is raised here with great 
 success. Owing to the fact that vegetation grows all 
 the year round, the winter vegetables required in the 
 markets of the Northern cities can be supplied from 
 Florida for four months each year, when no other State 
 in the Union can produce them during this period. 
 Tomatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, potatoes, melon, 
 cabbage, beets, asparagus, and, indeed, the whole list 
 of spring vegetables, can be shipped to Northern ports, 
 from two to three months earlier than from any other 
 State ; and both in respect to tropical fruits and the 
 earliest garden vegetables, Florida possesses a mono- 
 poly of the markets for the northern cities over any 
 other State, which must build up an industry of gigantic 
 extent, and immense profit to the people of the State. 
 
 " Experiments made on the soil along the A-tlantic 
 coast, from Indian Eiver to Oape Sable, embracing 
 several millions of acres, prove the soil well adapted 
 to the culture of coffee." 
 
 What is called Middle Florida possesses all the con- 
 ditions of soil and climate for the production of the 
 best teas, and tea will grow over the whole peninsular. 
 
 The superior climate of the State has much to do 
 with the growth of all vegetation. 
 
 '' The maximum temperature in summer is near 
 85° Fahrenheit, and in winter ranging 45°, rivalling 
 the favourite climate of Italy .^' i 
 
 The " Official Guide of Florida," by the I^on. J. .S'. 
 /Adams, says: — "The wealth of Florida at present 
 ( mainly consists in her timber, and, as a copsequence, 
 I the leading industry will for some time be the manu- 
 facture of timber. But as the forests give way the 
 agriculturalist will push forward, and increase the crops 
 of cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, Indian corn, sweet and 
 Irish potatoes ; the gardener will grow the early and 
 winter vegetables for the Northern market to an enor- 
 mous extent ; while the fruit grower will become a 
 main element of prosperity to the future. No other 
 State or country can present such an extensive list of 
 fruits capable of being grown as Florida. And no 
 State can exhibit a fruit grown on its soil which can- 
 not be cultivated with more or less success here. The 
 following is only a partial list of the fruits of the 
 State : — Oranges of all kinds, lemons of every variety, 
 limes, citron, mango, sour-top, custard-apple, cocoanut, 
 shaddock, paw-paw, date, fig, peaches, nectarines, apri- 
 cots, plums, bananas, plantains, pine-apples, sweet 
 almond, bitter almond, pomegranates, maumee apple, 
 sapodilla, alligator pears, cherries, apples, pears, tama- 
 rinds, guavas, grapes of great variety (the forests 
 abound with wild grapes), currants, mulberries, straw- 
 berrfes of every kind in the greatest perfection, black- 
 berries, dewberries, huckleberries, &c. In this list it 
 will be seen that not only are all the fruits of the 
 
 northern latitudes represented, but many others in 
 which the State enjoys a monopoly ; add to this the 
 water-melon, and the musk-melon, of the whole citrous 
 family." 
 
 "In the growth of the tropical and semi-tropical 
 fruits Florida enjoys a monopoly which, when fairly 
 developed, will maJce her one of the richest and most 
 important of the United States. Oranges, lemons, 
 pine-apples, bananas, and various other tropical fruits 
 will yield an a/verage profit of at least one thousand 
 dollars per acre yea/rly." "It is the adaptability of 
 the climate to grow these productions that makes even 
 the inferior lands of Florida susceptible of producing 
 crops more valuable than those of the best lands in 
 other pa/rts of the Union. It is the appreciation of 
 this fact that is awakening such an interest in the 
 business, and bringing to our shores large numbers from 
 nearly every State." 
 
 When the fact is borne in mind that the, Atlantic 
 cities and their contiguous population consume annually 
 $200,000,000 of vegetables and fruits, including the 
 tropical fruits and early vegetables imported from 
 the West Indies, the Bahamas, and other tropical coun- 
 tries, all of which Florida can supply to meet the 
 demands of the whole nation, it must be seen that this 
 great and most profitable industry will be pushed for- 
 ward to meet this immense demand, and that the 
 fruits and vegetables of Florida will be produced and 
 shipped on a scale beyond even our present conception 
 
 (United States Land Office Eepoets, 1868, 1869, 1870, 
 — United States AGEicrtTUEAL Repoet, 1862 — 
 Floeida Land Office Ebpoet, 1869, 1873). 
 
 FORESTS.— TIMBER AND LUMBER. 
 
 Florida Land Office Report, 1868, says : 
 
 " Florida is, beyond question, the best timbered State 
 in the Union. Out of about 38,000,000 acres, only 
 some 3,000,000 or 4,000,000 is now included in farms; 
 of the rest nineteen-twentieths (exclusive of the area 
 covered by rivers and lakes) is covered with heavy 
 forests. On all the least moist, and more level 
 portions, the pine is the prevalent forest tree, either 
 the yellow or pitch pine. It grows with great beauty, 
 and attains a large size, furnishing some of the 
 handsomest pine lumber to be found in the markets of 
 the world. The extent of the pine lands and the 
 possible amount of lumber that could be manufactured, 
 would be almost incredible to one who has never 
 visited Florida. There are probably more than 30,000 , 
 square miles of heavy pine forests within the limits of / 
 the State. 
 
 " In the moister lands, along the rivers and creeks, 
 and on the margin and swamps, an almost indefinite 
 variety of trees are to be found, of which the most 
 valuable for timber and lumber are live oak, white oak, 
 the hickory, the ash, the birch, the cedar, the niag- 
 nolia, the sweet bay, and the cypress. Of all these 
 varieties a great abundance is to be found throughout 
 the State. Of pine of the best quality, of cedar, and 
 cypress in particular, the supply for any purposes of 
 manufacture may be said to be inexhaustible. The 
 larger proportion of what has loosely been called, 
 swamp in Florida, is svmply low hummock, with a soil 
 of inexhaustible fertility, and covered with a dense 
 growth of mainly cypress, ')nagnolia, and sweet bay. 
 The timber of the cypress more nearly resembles that 
 of the northern basswood than anything else ; can be 
 used for all purposes to which basswood is applied, 
 and for railway.,-iies and sleepers, for durability, has 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 no equal in any other variety of wood. It is more 
 easily split ttan bass-wood ; can be warped and bent 
 into desirable shapes. For clothes' pins, for fork and 
 rake and broom handles, and for pails and tubs, 
 cypress furnishes a superior material, while the red 
 cedar yields the best known material for pails, tubs, 
 and chests of a nicer and more costly description. 
 
 " The timber of the magnolia, also, is susceptible of 
 a variety of uses, and is now being extensively used 
 for the nicer and finer kinds of wheelwright and 
 cabinet work. Of this timber the supply is very large. 
 The wood of the red or sweet bay, in fineness of 
 texture and in its other valuable qualities, stand equal 
 to mahogany, and most persons cannot distinguish it 
 from mahogany. It is coming into great demand for 
 cabinet work." " It abounds in the State." 
 
 " The resources of Florida in the direction of the 
 manufacture of the wooden ware, tools of all des- 
 criptions made from wood, and fine cabinet work, 
 are very great." "An inexhaustible abundance of 
 material, at the cheapest possible rates, and very great 
 accessibility by water communication, offer induce- 
 ments for the manufacture of lumber, wooden ware, 
 and all kinds of tools made of wood." 
 
 Also United States Land OflBce Eeport, 1868, p. 19 : 
 " The principal forest trees of this State, some of 
 which are eminently adapted for ship-building, are live 
 oak, mahogany, magnolia, pine,^ cedar, and cypress. 
 Mangrove, boxwood, mastic, satinwood, crabwood, and 
 lignumvitse, abound on the keys, and generally in the 
 southern part of the State." 
 
 United States Land Office Eeport, 1869, p. 103, 
 speaks of the timber of Southern Florida; also the 
 timber of the Middle and North Florida : — 
 
 " The flora of this region embraces a great number of 
 species, including many found in the tropics, as well 
 as those indigenous to the temperate zone. Among 
 the most important forest trees are the live, red, white, 
 and water oaks, cedar, cherry, cypress, hickory, elm, 
 pine, ash, gum, magnolia, birch, walnut, mahogany, 
 and dogwood. The other varieties, found principally 
 in the southern portion of the State, and on the keys, 
 are lignumvitEe, boxwood, mastic, satinwood, palmetto, 
 and crabwood. Large quantities of live oak are 
 annually sent to various foreign and domestic ports for 
 ship-building, and other purposes. The lumber peg- 
 duct IS ESTIMATED AT TEN MILLION DOLLAES ANNUALLY. 
 
 ^(iN 1869), and this interest is rapidly increasing. 
 Florida is nearly all timbered; yellow and pitch pine 
 form the basis. The undergrowth embraces an ex- 
 tensive variety of plants and vines, while flowers exist 
 in the greatest profusion." 
 
 Present product is over $25,000,000 per annum. 
 
 Feom "Floeida Settlee" and "Oppicial 
 Guide," 1873. 
 
 " Lumber. 
 
 " First on the list of State productions we place 
 lumber, as it holds at present the first rank among 
 the industries of Florida, whether we consider the 
 amount of capital involved, the value of the material 
 produced, or the extent of the resources from which it 
 is drawn. It can be asserted with confidence, that over 
 no other State in the Union is valuable timber so ex- 
 tensively and uniformly distributed, and ere long the 
 lumber business of this State will rival in extent that 
 of any other. Within the last few years the manu- 
 facture of lumber has received here an enormous im- 
 petus, consequent upon a knowledge and recognition of 
 
 the vast timber resources of the State, and now the 
 trade begins to assume gigantic proportions, with an 
 almost unliinvited power oj expansion. When any one 
 contemplates, in the light of knowledge, the astonish- 
 ing wealth of the State in timber, the question at once 
 arises, Why has it remained so long almost untouched, 
 and less favoured portions of the country sought affer 
 for the supply of lumber ? Hitherto, nearly all the 
 yellow-pine flooring consumed in the great cities of 
 the North has been obtained from South and North 
 Carolina. But at no time in their history have these 
 States contained a tithe of the pine timber of superior 
 quality to be found in Florida. It is by no means an 
 exaggerated estimate when we put the heavy pine 
 forests in the State as covering an area of 30,000 
 square miles. 
 
 Values. — The quality of the lumber is attested by 
 the fact that it commands in market 10 per cent, more 
 than that of any other section. The ISew York 
 Mercantile Journal, in an article on the lumber 
 market, states as to values : — 
 
 " Yellow-pine flooring and step-plank from Florida 
 are in fair demand at S30 per 1,000 feet, while the 
 inferior lumber made in North and South Carolina 
 moves slowly at §23 to |25. The yellow pine, so called, 
 growing in the Carolinas, is objectionable for many 
 reasons. In the first place the tree is of a different 
 and less enduring species, has a greater proportion of 
 sap-wood and black knots ; and in the second place it 
 is from these trees that the manufacturers of pitch and 
 turpentine procure their material, depriving them of 
 the elements which give the durability and peculiar 
 excellence of this kind of wood for building purposes. 
 Architects and owners should always require in their 
 specifications that the yellow pine to he used in first- 
 class huil dings should he of the groivth of Florida." 
 
 " The highly deserved reputation of the pine lumber 
 furnished by the forest of the State, is attracting the 
 attention of capitalists in all parts of the country ; and 
 besides those mills already established, some most 
 gigantic enterprises are constructing to take advantage 
 of the resources of the State." 
 
 Florida Land Office Report, 1873, says : — 
 
 " In 1871, Mr. Judah, the well-known and highly 
 competent railway engineer, was employed by the 
 ■Jacksonville, Pensacola, and Mobile Railroad Company 
 to survey their route from Appalachicola River to 
 Pensacola city. This company had a land grant of 
 600,000 acres, and Mr. Judah and his associates made 
 a full Report on the value of these lands and the 
 forests and timber thereon. — Extracts from Judah's 
 Report. 
 
 "Nearly the entire body of these lands (600,000 
 acres) is covered with a dense growth of yellow pine 
 of a quality unsurpassed by that of any other State in 
 the Union. Some of the largest and finest lumber- 
 mills anywhere to be found in the United States are 
 located upon the Blackwater River, in the vicinity of 
 the town of Milton, in Santa Rosa county. The 
 amount of lumber annually shipped from this district 
 is about 50,000,000 feet, yielding upwards of S500,000 
 to the manufacturers, and costing the millowners, 
 delivered in the log, upwards of §40,000. . . . 
 
 " Quantity op Lumbee on these Lands. 
 
 " Allowing twenty trees per acre fit for cutting into 
 saw-logs, averaging 500 feet Board Measure per tree, 
 and the quantity amounts to 6,000 million feetof lumber, 
 which is worth, manufactured, at only S12, 872,000,000. 
 At only five trees per acre, the quantity is 1,250,000,000 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 feet of lumber, worth $18,000,000. Allow it worth 
 $2-50 per thousand feet standing (a fair estimate), and 
 it will pay the whole cost of the road." 
 
 "It is a fact that timber makes anew again in 
 twenty-five to thirty years ; so that after going over a 
 body of timber, cutting off that large enough for saw- 
 logs, leaving the smaller timber, this smaller timber 
 will have grown sufficiently in from twenty-five to 
 thirty years to yield another supply equal to the first." 
 " Spar-timber exists nowhere in greater abundance 
 or of better quality than upon these lands. Heavy 
 European contracts have been filled from this locality, 
 and contracts can be obtained to any extent that can 
 be filled. Good spars bring from $100 to $300 each. 
 Reliable associates have traversed these lands and 
 report that they have seen lands where twelve spars 
 could be cut from an acre. Allowing that one spar 
 can be cut from each five acres, and it gives 125,000 
 spars, which at only 1100 each are worth $12,000,000 
 at tide-water." 
 
 / "It is not unlikely that the land may yield an 
 average of one spar per acre, which would give us the 
 value of spar-timber alone, standing, of $62,500,000. 
 The spars of Florida are well known in Europe, and 
 
 ' are believed to be equal to any in the United States." 
 
 " The value of such a domain as this can scarcely be 
 
 estimated. The value of the lumber alone on these 
 
 lands will exceed the total aggregate cost of the 
 
 Illinois Central Railroad." 
 
 Mr. Judah's Report has been adopted as correct by 
 the United States. See "Agricultural Reports," 1871. 
 
 " These railroad lands are nothing more than a fair 
 sample of the lands throughout the State in respect to 
 their capacity for lumber. But besides the pine, 
 great varieties of the most valuable timber are to be 
 found distributed all over the State, and capable of 
 being woi'ked up and put upon the market with 
 highly remunerative results. The live and the water 
 oaks of the State have a world-wide reputation, and 
 though the demands of ship-building throughout the 
 entire country, and in some parts of Europe, have for 
 many years been supplied from the forests of the 
 State, its resources in this are apparently untouched. 
 The cedar swamps of Florida are at the present time 
 supplying most of the pencil manufactories on this 
 continent, while the immense quantities of cypress to 
 be found scattered aU over the Peninsula promise to 
 furnish the most desirable railroad ties that can be 
 found. Then for the manufacture of furniture, sashes, 
 blinds, waggons, and wooden ware of every descrip- 
 tion, there is an unlimited supply of red bay, cherry, 
 white oak, ash, birch, hickory, gum, elm, and a 
 number of other equally valuable species of timber." 
 
 The Florida pine differs materially from the 
 Northern. It is the tropical long-leafed variety, only 
 grows in an exceedingly mild or warm climate — 
 admits of a very fine finish and polish, much of it 
 being well adapted for fine cabinet furniture. It has 
 also a preservative quality, not found in any but the 
 long-leafed kind. The yellow pine of Florida is 
 probably not excelled anywhere. It justly commands 
 a premium of 10 per cent, over other pine lumber. 
 
 Ship-Timbee. 
 
 / Florida has more first-class ship-timber and lumber 
 for naval construction, and of better quality, than all 
 the balance of the United States put together. This 
 fact is established by the Congressional Report on 
 JTorrestry of 1874. The Report says, p. 38 : — 
 
 " The amount of public lands reserved by authority 
 
 of law is now very nearly as follows : — 
 
 Acres. 
 
 26,218 
 
 In Mississippi 
 „ Florida . . . 
 „ Louisiana 
 ,, Alabama 
 
 208,824 
 9,170 
 240' 
 
 Live and water oaks only grow in the Southern 
 States. The Government having the power to select 
 her lands for naval construction, made her chief and 
 almost exclusive selection of her Florida lands for this 
 purpose. If she could have selected any better else- ^ 
 where, she would have done so. 
 
 The " Florida Official Report," 1873, says :— 
 
 " Within the last year or two some fine saw-mills 
 have been erected in Appalachicola, and immense quan- 
 tities of lumber are manufactured and shipped to 
 various quarters of the globe, and the city is again 
 reviving." 
 
 The Pennsylvania Tie Company have erected a large 
 mill, nearly completed, for the purpose of manu- 
 facturing the cypress railroad tie and sleeper. It is 
 one of the most extensive estabHshments of the kind 
 on the continent. 
 
 This cypress timber has proved to be the most 
 durable railroad timber known. Ties and sleepers will 
 last on and in the ground for 1 5 years, or equal to two 
 or three sets of good oak ties. This timber abounds 
 on the Company's " hummock " lands. It is used for 
 many purposes, and will yield the Company large 
 profits. 
 
 ESTIMATE. 
 
 Estimating the Company's forests and their values 
 on the 8,300,000 acres at a minimum in quantity and 
 in price, it is safe to say — 
 
 Acrea. 
 
 The pine forests cover at least ... ... 3,000,000 
 
 And other timber 1,000,000 
 
 Total timber lands . . . 
 
 4,000,000 
 
 The common selling price of lumber is $15 per 
 1,000 feet Board Measure (B.M.), equal to 83^ cubic 
 feet of hewn or squared timber. 
 
 But put this price at the present low, depressed rate. 
 
 Feet B.M. 
 
 4,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 Minimum yield per acre of pine lands at 
 „ „ „ cypress „ 
 
 „ „ „ other lumber 
 
 Then 
 3,000,000 acres pine lands at 4,000 FeetB.M. 
 
 feet yield... 12,000,000,000 
 
 500,000 acres cypress at 10,000 feet 
 
 yield 5,000,000,000 
 
 500,000 acres cedar, mahogany, &c., 
 
 at 4,000 feet yield 2,000,000,000 
 
 Total 
 
 At $12 per 1,000 feet yield ... 
 
 Deduct one-half for cost of manufac- 
 turing and marketing (high es- 
 timate) 
 
 Net profit 
 Estimating at half these results net 
 
 On 2,300,000 acres 
 
 19,000,000,000 
 $228,000,000 
 
 114,000,000 
 
 $114,000,000 
 57,000,000 
 
 $14,000,000 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 This amount is independent of the timher cut and 
 shipped in the log, such as ship-spars, live oak, water 
 oak, and all timber for mines, of which this property- 
 can furnish many millions of dollars^ value in the 
 aggregate, and all this variety is needed, and has a 
 ready gold market in England and elsewhere. 
 
 By examination of the Timber and Lumber Eeports 
 of Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, and Pennsyl- 
 vania, it will be seen the above estimate is below the 
 minimum there reported. 
 
 Estimating the value of the trees "standing" at 
 only 4,000 feet B.M. per acre, and %2\ per 1,000 feet 
 (a low average price, as shown from the Timber Eeports 
 of the Great Timber States), and we have a profit of 
 $10 per acre. 
 
 or 4,000,000 acres at 110 
 or 2,300,000 „ „ „ 
 
 $40,000,000 
 12,000,000 
 
 It will be seen by comparison that the estimates are 
 far below those of Mr. Judah reported above. He 
 gives a maximum value on 600,000 acres of $72,000,000, 
 and a minimum of $18,000,000, besides spar timber 
 alone at $62,500,000. 
 
 It is proper to remark here, that the rapid exhaustion 
 of timber in America, and in all countries accessible 
 by water-way, is fully shown by the Government 
 Eeports of Great Britain and the United States, briefly 
 noticed in the Appendix. (Note B. in full Eeport.) 
 
 It is proper to remark further, that a large quantity 
 of Florida timber is now being shipped to the English 
 and other European ports. Much of it is worked up 
 into cabinet furniture, and for such use is highly appre- 
 ciated in the markets. London timber merchants now 
 offer to this Company to purchase heavily of its Florida 
 timber. Large quantities of it are supplied to the 
 West Indies and South America. 
 
 The Location op the Company's 2,300,000 Acees, 
 AND Ftjtuee Peofits theeepeom. 
 
 To obtain an intelligent idea of the importance of the 
 ready market and value of these lands, it should be 
 torne in mind that they are located in East Florida, 
 mostly in a solid body on each side, directly along and 
 contiguous to the Company's " Great Tide-Water 
 Canal Eoute," in the most desirable portion of the 
 State, and handiest to water-navigation and markets. 
 They are shown on the ofiicial maps of surveys. 
 The N. boundary commences a few miles above the 
 city of Pilatka, on the Lower St. John's ; thence S. on 
 both sides of the Lower and Upper St. John's Eiver 
 and series of connecting lakesj thence again S. on 
 both sides of Indian Eiver, Lake Worth, and New 
 Eiver, terminating north of Biscayne Bay ; thus extend- 
 ing N. and S. on each side of this magnificent chain of 
 navigable waters and connecting canals, for a distance 
 of 234 miles, extending B. to the Atlantic coast, and 
 commanding that coast for this great distance ; embrac- 
 ing a large portion of the rich St. John's and Indian 
 Eiver Valleys. The largest part of the immigration 
 into the State is rapidly populating these valleys, and, 
 as a consequence, the lands are rising greatly in value. 
 The present Executive Governor Stearns, who was 
 formerly Surveyor -General of the United States for 
 the District of Florida, Ex-Gov. Eeed, and the Hon. M. 
 A. Williams, one of the United States Surveyors, en- 
 gaged for over twenty years in surveying Florida lands 
 for the Government, have all made a written appraisal 
 of the first-named 2,300,000 acres, and they put the 
 valuation at $8, $20, and $25 per acre. Now it so hap- 
 pens that there are private plantations and large farms 
 
 held and owned by sundry individuals at intervals 
 through this grant ; and large portions of these pri- 
 vate plantations and farms have been sold for cash 
 during the last three years, and during the year last 
 past, land has been sold on the St. John's for $50, and 
 as high as $150 per acre ; and much has been sold on 
 the Indian Eiver and Halifax Eiver, the lowest at $10 
 per acre. Population is pouring into this part of the 
 State very rapidly. United States Senators and other 
 wealthy men of the Northern States are buying loca- 
 tions on these waters, and are building magnificent 
 residences, and laying out beautiful tropical gardens, to 
 spend their winters in this charming and salubrious 
 climate, and thereby avoid the rigors of Northern 
 winters. 
 
 Accurate admeasurements shew that Lake Washing- 
 ton is 13 feet higher than Indian Eiver. It is proposed 
 to cut the Company's 6 mile canal deep enough to 
 drop the surface of the lake about 4 feet. This 
 would leave a fall, still, of 9 feet from the lake, 
 which will aSbrd magnificent and most valuable water 
 powers, sufiicient to drive a large number of mills and 
 manufactories all the year ; and a large industrial city 
 will accordingly grow up on this favoured site, bound 
 to result in great profits to the Company. 
 
 Here the new and beautiful City of Eau Gallic is 
 located, with its broadly laid-out streets, and beautiful 
 natural parks of tropical groves and perpetual blooming 
 flowers, having Salt-water Eivers and Ocean on one 
 side of it, and Lake Washington — 15 miles length of 
 fresh water — on the other side. Above this latitude 
 the frost line ceases. The fresh ocean breezes and 
 trade winds continually fan and cool this charming spot. 
 
 The State Agricultural College, an Institution 
 founded by the State and endowed by the United 
 States, has been located on this new city site, with 
 5,000 acres of fine land as endowment. 
 
 South of Lake Harney, along the St. John's Eiver, 
 the Company owns 450,000 acres of land, which require 
 special notice. There are no richer lands on the earth, 
 — they are covered with perpetual green pastures, on 
 which tens of thousands of heads "of cattle feed winter 
 and summer, and grow fat. These lands will abun- 
 dantly raise any vegetable or fruit sown or planted on 
 them. They will raise 4,000 pounds of sugar to the 
 acre, and for Sea Island Cotton no better lands exist 
 in America. 
 
 On the completion of the Company's Canal, these 
 lands will be all thoroughly drained, and will then 
 readily rent for $10 per acre, which will ultimately 
 bring in a rental revenue to owners of $4,500,000 per 
 annum. The whole tract is richly worth § 100 per acre. 
 (See ofiicial reports, &c.) The Mississippi Eiver cotton 
 and sugar lands sold readily for $100 to $150 per acre, 
 in cash, before the late war. They will do so again. 
 
 But the Company's lands here located have the 
 advantage in climate and soil, and will raise crops of 
 greater value per acre. 
 
 A large body of her land granted will front on the 
 great Ship Canal, and for a full description and location 
 of the other grants, see ofiicial surveys, maps, and 
 inventory. 
 
 City, Towns, and Village Sites along the Ship 
 Canal, &c. 
 
 At the Terminal Harbours of the Ship Canal, in the 
 Atlantic and Gulf, and at Key West, large commercial 
 cities must grow up under the control of the Ship Canal 
 Company, and on the 630 miles of canals and improved 
 water courses, the Company will establish depots and 
 wharves every 8 or 10 miles, and also lay out town. 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 and village sites. Railway and Oamal Companies in 
 America and other countries have done so, and hawe 
 realised immense revenues and profits therefrom. Hie 
 population settle upon and improve those points, am,d the 
 Company should realise profits enough from this source 
 to pay the whole construction cost of the works. 
 
 A Highly respectable firm of English solicitors has 
 fully examined and reported upon the legal status of 
 this Company, upon all its papers, documents, titles 
 of real estate,' bonds, mortgage, &c., &c., and upon 
 the value of the 2,300,000 acres mortgaged, and have 
 delivered a statement of facts and legal conclusions 
 therein .to the following effect : — 
 
 1. That the charters and the organization of the 
 Company thereunder are in due legal form. 
 
 2. That the bonds and mortgages securing the 
 same, together with all the necessary intermediate 
 steps, are all in due form of law, and that the Company 
 is now in legal shape either to sell Bonds or borrow 
 money on its property and securities. 
 
 3. That the titles to real estate are perfect. On this 
 point they say, " It seems clear that the three grants 
 mentioned (2,300,000 acres) are valid, and vest the 
 title thereto in this Company^ and that neither the 
 United States nor the State of Florida can annul or 
 withdraw either of them, and that by the deed of con- 
 veyance a free, clear, perfect, and absolute legal title 
 is evidenced and vested in the Company in fee simple^ 
 without conditions whatsoever." 
 
 4. They lastly find the following ofiicial evidence 
 relating to the value of these lands, and come to the 
 conclusion that these lands are worth now in the 
 market from $5 to $100 per acre, and are ample 
 security for a loan of £1,000,000. 
 
 The following is their full report on this point : 
 
 " YALUE OP THE COMPANY'S LANDS. 
 
 These lands are located, in what is called " East 
 Florida," in the Counties of Marion, Putnam, St. 
 John's, Orange, Volusia, Brevard, and Dade, along 
 and on each side of the Company's Tide-Water Canal 
 line, for a continuous distance of over 230 miles (see 
 OflScial Map, Grants, and Deed), including a large 
 portion of the rich valleys of the St. John's and Indian 
 Rivers. It appears also that interspersed through this 
 body of land are occasional plantations, which, since 
 the late Civil War in the United States, have been 
 subdivided into smaller tracts, and sold, and now occu- 
 pied ; while several of these counties, possessing lands 
 outside of the Company's grants, have each a consider- 
 able population, which is rapidly increasing yearly. 
 
 POPTTLATION OP THESE CoUNTIES. 
 
 Marion 
 
 
 16,000 
 
 Dade 
 
 ... ... 
 
 10,000 
 
 Putnam and St. John's 
 
 each 
 
 6,000 
 
 Volutia and Brevard . . . 
 
 . . . about 
 
 5,000 
 
 A full description of the lands of the State and of 
 this Company — ^variety of soils — agricultural and horti- 
 cultural productions — extensive heavy forests, &c., &c., 
 is contained in Official Eeports, issued by the United 
 States Government and by the State of Florida, named 
 as follows ; — 
 
 United States "Land Office Report," 1870, pp. 44 to 53. 
 
 „ 1868, pp. 17 to 23. 
 
 „ 1869, pp. 100 to 105. 
 United States '^Department of Agriculture." 
 
 Report, 1862, pp. 59 to 65. 
 
 „ 1868, pp. 140 to 147. 
 
 „ 1872, pp. 160 to 171. 
 
 „ 1873, pp. 510 to 511. 
 
 United States "Special Report on 
 
 Immigration," Statistics, &o. 1872, pp.a38 to 147. 
 
 Anmial Messages of the Governor of Morida, 
 with accompanying Documents from the 
 State Land Office Department, &c., from 
 1869 to 1875. 
 
 In full corroboration of these Official Reports, it 
 appears there are numerous Geographies, Histories, 
 British and American books, periodicals, and papers, 
 also showing the value of the Florida Lands. 
 
 It will also be found that, since the late American 
 war, Florida has been rapidly increasing in population 
 and wealth. The chief immigration and settlements 
 appear to be into the St. John's and Indian River Val- 
 leys ; besides, this portion of Florida has become a great 
 national resort for pleasure-seekers and invalids, who 
 leave the Northern States during the severe winter 
 months, and spend their winters in the salubrious climate 
 of Florida. It is reported that from 40,000 to 60,000 
 visitors spend their winters annually in Bast Florida. 
 
 In the Annual Survey Report to the United States 
 Government, by M. L. Stearns, United States Sur- 
 veyor-General in Florida, dated August 31, 1870 (see 
 U.S. Land Office Report, pp. 331 to 333), this officer 
 reports that " The Eastern portion from the St. John's 
 River to the Coast, and including Indian River, is sett- 
 ling up very rapidly, perhaps more so than any other 
 part of the State, and consequently that section pre- 
 sents a greater variety of interests than any other. 
 The lumber trade is very important. There are on the 
 St. John's River some twenty steam saw-miUs, three- 
 fourths of them at or near Jacksonville. The richest 
 sugar lands in the State lie in various localities along 
 the Indian river, and offer an inexhaustible mine of 
 wealth to the industrious and enterprising farmer. The 
 natural advantages of the State are ample." 
 
 The Official Agricultural Report of the United States 
 for 1871, page 164, says: — "One great advantage 
 which these (Florida) Lands possess over Western 
 lands lies in their ability to produce six great staple 
 productions, the most valuable known, and of which 
 the supply cannot equal the demand, while the western 
 lands produce but two great staples, viz., wheat and 
 corn. These staples are yellow pine lumber, the best 
 timber for naval construction, house-building and 
 cabinet work. Cotton (both Sea Island and short 
 staple), tobacco, sugar and rice, in addition to which 
 maybe enumerated, among other products, hay, corn, 
 oats, potatoes (sweet and Irish), all kinds of vegetables, 
 oranges, bananas, figs, peaches, quinces, and many other 
 tropical fruits, which can be grown nowhere else in the 
 United States as well as here." 
 
 From the foregoing official Government authorities 
 it appears quite clear that the Florida lands, including 
 those belonging to the Company, contain a very large 
 amount of valuable forests for a great variety of timber 
 and lumber, of yellow and pitch pine, live oak, water- 
 red and white oaks, cedar, cherry, cypress, hickory, 
 elm, ash, gum, magnolia, birch, walnut, mahogany, 
 satinwood, and in some portions, lignum vitae, box- 
 wood, mastic, palmetto, crabwood, &c. 
 
 That the soil and climate are specially adapted to the 
 culture and growth of all tropical and semi-tropical 
 fruits, viz., the orange, lemon, lime, citron, fig, banana, 
 plantain, mango, soursop, custard-apple, cocoa-nut, 
 
( 1" ) 
 
 shaddock, paw-paw, date, nectarine, apricots, pine- 
 apples, plums, peaclieSj cherries, apples, pears, tama- 
 rinds, almonds, grapes of great variety, strawberries, 
 blackberries, currants, mulberries, &c., &c. 
 
 In addition to this list add all the garden and field 
 vegetables of the Temperate and Torrid zones, which 
 grow there summer and winter. In the culture of 
 these fruits and winter and early vegetables, Florida 
 claims a monopoly over any other part of North 
 America. The Northern cities and States import vast 
 quantities of these fruits and vegetables annually from 
 foreign countries, which Florida can supply. 
 
 Very many cases are mentioned of the large profits 
 realized per acre in the cultivation of the staples, as 
 compared with other States, and extraordinary profits 
 are shown in the raising of the orange, banana, fig, 
 grape, strawberries, and other fruits, and in the winter 
 and early vegetables. These features are attracting a 
 large immigration to Florida from the Northern States 
 since the war, and it is claimed that the Florida Lands 
 possess a special value over other rich lands in other 
 States, because of their adaptation to the growth of 
 the tropical fruits and winter vegetables, for the 
 Northern States and cities will afford a continual 
 market for these products. 
 
 VALUE PEE ACRE OF COMPANY'S LANDS. 
 
 The following letter and valuation is entitled to 
 consideration, viz. : — 
 
 " Office of Suevetoe General, 
 
 " Tallahassee, Fla. Aug. 25th, 1870. 
 " Sirs, 
 
 "From our knowledge and information, 
 which we have of the land ceded and granted to your 
 Company by the Trustees of the Internal Improve- 
 ment Fund of the State of Florida, we would appraise 
 their value at from 18 to $10 per acre, upon the 
 completion of the Canals and Improvements contem- 
 plated by the Charter of the said ' Southern Inland 
 Navigation and Improvement Company.' 
 
 " HARRISON REED, Governor, and President of 
 the Board Internal Improvement Fund." 
 
 "M. S. STEARNS, United States Surveyor 
 General. 
 
 "J. S. ADAMS, Commissioner of Lands and 
 Immigration. 
 
 " T. H. OSBORN, and others." 
 
 In appraisements and letters, dated January 28th 
 and March 29th, 1871, by Mr. M. A. Williams, one of 
 the United States Land Surveyors of Florida for 
 twenty-five years, he says : — 
 
 " I have, within the last twenty (20) years, either 
 surveyed for the United States' Government, or 
 examined for the State of Florida most of the lands 
 granted to 'The Southern Inland Navigation and 
 Improvement Company.' I have no doubt that a very 
 large portion of these lands would be worth and would 
 sell for from $10 to $25 per acre upon the completion 
 of the Company's Canals," &c. 
 
 He says he has spent more than twenty-five 
 years in surveying public lands in Florida for the 
 United States Government, that the Company's Lands 
 extend from Palatka on the St. John's to Biscayne 
 Bay, that he is " well acquainted with the character of 
 these lands on the entire route," that he " selected a 
 very large portion of these lands " for the State from 
 the United States Lands, that they are among " the 
 
 richest and most valuable in the State." Part require 
 draining (see Judge Fry's Synoptical Report, p. 15, 
 and Engineers' Reports, " cutting the canal from Lake 
 Washington to Indian River, so as to drop the surface 
 of the Lake 4 feet, will drain the Company's Lands"). 
 Williams further says : — " Tour line of improvements 
 will open the only available tropical portion of 
 Florida, and will unquestionably be the most attractive 
 portion of the State, and the most desirable for the 
 thousands of visitors who annually seek this climate 
 for health and pleasure, and it will also be the most 
 desirable for theproduction of all the tropical fruits," &c. 
 
 The United States Agricultural Report for 1871, 
 and the United States Special Report on Statistics and 
 immigration, show the value of the lands of the Southern 
 Slave States in 1860, and the large decline of price 
 during the late American war, as the result of that war. 
 Of Florida they say — " In some sections of the State 
 lands declined during this period from 20 to 50 per 
 cent., but on the St. John's River and Indian River 
 they have advanced one-third in value since the date 
 named," and on page 165 of the first-named report 
 the Government says : " The price of wild land in 
 Dade County is about $50 per acre. Cultivated lands 
 at Key West and Boca Chico can be sold at prices 
 varying from $500 to $1,000 per acre, according to the 
 stock of fruit growing." 
 
 The large amount of construction work performed, 
 and the rapid increase of population in the last few 
 years, have fully demonstrated the above valuation of 
 the Governor, Land Commissioners, and the United 
 States Surveyors. 
 
 " The message of Governor Harrison Reed to the 
 Legislatare, delivered January 4, 1872, claims that the 
 increase of population during the last three years has 
 been 40,000, mainly as a result of the labours of the 
 Immigration Bureau in exhibiting systematically the 
 peculiar resources of the State. He especially calls 
 attention to the fact that 1,200 miles of sea-coast, 
 prolific of oysters, fish, and turtle, almost beyond 
 parallel, with bays and inlets, and inland navigable 
 waters of an equal extent, offer the richest inducements 
 to enterprise and capital." 
 
 In the " Annual Message " of Governor Stearns to the 
 Florida Legislature, with " Accompanying Documents " 
 of his Cabinet officers, for the year 1875. Land Office 
 Department, p. 5, it is officially declared that : 
 
 " The past year has marked the commencement of a 
 new era in the history of our State, in the unexampled 
 influx of population which has taken place. We are in 
 possession of sufficient data to be able to state that the 
 accessions of wealth and population have been greater 
 during the past twelve months than in any three pre- 
 vious years ; and the consequence is a very perceptible 
 effect on the material property of the State. 
 
 " This influx of immigration has been more apparent 
 in the Eastern portion of the State, and is seen in the 
 extraordinary advance in the price of lands ; in the 
 extensive purchases that have been made for the 
 purpose of tropical fruit culture ; in the springing up 
 of new and enterprising settlements, and the spirit of 
 life and activity which is observable throughout regions 
 where solitude hitherto reigned supreme. 
 
 "There is, perhaps, no State in the Union about 
 which there is so much enquiry at present as Florida." 
 
 This last-named Report shows, that in Marion 
 County " very good unimproved farming land can he 
 bought for $bO per acre." 
 
 In Putnam County the "price of land varies from a 
 Government Homestead to $100 or more per acre," and 
 " First rate orange land on the East side of the St. John's 
 Biver is held as high as $100^er acre. 
 
 St. John's County varies about the same. 
 
 c 
 
( 18 ) 
 
 Volusia County (where the Company owns a very 
 large body of land). "Private lands in small lots can 
 be purchased at from S5 to $100 per acre. (The lands 
 of this County are very superior in quality) . 
 
 Brevard County "is fast showing the effects of 
 energy and capital/' and lands sell outside of the 
 Company's grant at from $10 upwards per acre. 
 
 The United States Agricultural Reports of 1873 
 shows : 
 
 " That Orange County is making rapid progress in 
 population and wealth. It unites the advantages of 
 diversified and beautiful scenery, a remarkably healthy 
 climate, a productive and well-watered soil, and easy 
 access to market. The climate and soil have proved 
 by trial to be well adapted to the growth of oranges, 
 lemons, and almost every other variety of semi-tropical 
 fruits, as well as the principal vegetables. These 
 attractions having become known are drawing immi- 
 grants from almost every State in the Union. 
 
 Lands which five years ago could he bought at 25 
 cents to $1 per acre now bring $50 to $150 per acre." 
 
 The Trustees of the Internal Improvement Pund^ 
 who inade these grants, appraised and fixed a schedule 
 price $10 per acre (see Deed of Trust, p. 10, sec. 2) . The 
 law required the Board to " fix the price of the public 
 lands granted in the Trust" (see Act 1855, sec. 22, 
 "Bush's Digest" 375). . 
 
 Prom the foregoing Official authorities, both of the 
 United States Government and of the State, we have 
 a full exhibit of the character, value, and mai-ket 
 price of the lands granted to the Company. 
 
 Large portions of these grants are worth from $5 to 
 ZIOO per acre, and in our opinion the evidence shows, 
 that the average price of ^10 per acre, as estimated by 
 the Board of Trustees, is afai/r valuation. 
 
 Another mode of valuation is given by the United 
 States Government, in the numerous grants of lands, 
 donated by the Government in aid of Eailway and 
 Canal construction. An Official Report is published by 
 the Government, showing that all land grant lands, 
 sold by the Companies to the year 1870, realized an 
 average price of $7 per acre. In some instances the 
 grants averaged from $8 to $12 per acre. The Hannibal 
 and St. Joseph' Railway Company sold their lands at 
 an average of $11 per acre. The Grand Rapids and 
 Indiana Railway Company realized an average of 
 $13.98. The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad 
 Company, averaged $11.70 and the Illinois Central 
 (well-known in London) averaged $11.35 per acre. 
 This Company's grant contained 2,595,000 acres. The 
 sales made to 1870 amounted $24,000,000 cash, and 
 the residue is selling since at an average $12.60 per 
 acre. The whole grant will net to the Company 
 $30,000,000 cash. (See United States Land Office 
 Report, Sept. 1870.) 
 
 The Loan of £1,000,000 secwed by the Company's 
 First Mortgage Bonds, under the Trust Deed, covering 
 two million three-hundred thousand (2,300,000) acres 
 of lands, with other property, improvements, franchises, 
 and rights, is and must be sufficient, safe, and most 
 ample security for this Loan. 
 
 The value of these lands alone at the appraisement 
 and scheduled rate in the Trust Deed is four times the 
 amount of the required Loan. 
 
 At the average rate of $7 per acre for all land grants 
 sold to 1870, they will be nearly three times the Loan. 
 
 Mr. Bennock, of London, after examining the evi- 
 dence of their value, states they are worth " over 50 
 times the amount of the Loan required." 
 
 An important consideration to the Lender is found 
 in the ability of the Company to pay the interest and 
 principal of this Loan as they mature. 
 
 1st. From Tolls. 
 
 2nd. From the sale of Timber and Lumber. 
 
 3rd. From the sale of Lands. 
 
 The Company is in position now to collect tolls 
 on the vessels and Commerce passing over its improve- 
 ments. 
 
 It seems the Commerce on the St. John's River, 
 Indian River, and Lakes, is quite large, and increasing 
 rapidly. 
 
 It is reported in the United States Land Office 
 Reports that the annual export of timber and lumber 
 from Florida in 1869 was $10,000,000, besides home con- 
 sumption. This timber it is reported commands a premium 
 of 10 per cent, in the City of New York over lumber from 
 other States. Liverpool, London, and other British 
 ports receive and furnish a ready market for this timber 
 and lumber. Letters have been shewn from lumber 
 merchants in London to this Company, ofEering to 
 purchase from the Company amounts up to nearly 
 £200,000. The Company's forests are readily accessible, 
 and most favourably situated for shipment of timber 
 and lumber. It has already been shewn that there is a 
 large immigration into the St. John's and Indiana 
 River Yalleys, where the Company's land is situated, 
 and that these lands have risen rapidly in value. Taking 
 into consideration these facts, together with Reports of 
 the large annual sales of land grant lands made by the 
 Illinois Central, Grand Rapids, and Indiana, Burlington, 
 and Missouri River, and numerous other Railway Com- 
 panies, it would seem clear that the Company can from 
 this source commence to receive large returns 
 immediately." 
 
 "SHIP CANAL. 
 
 " It appears that The Atlantic and Gulf Ship Canal is 
 incorporated and located under the Act of the State of 
 Florida, entitled ' An Act to provide a General Law 
 for the Incorporation of Railroads and Canals,' 
 approved February 19th, 1874. 
 
 This Act is the Charter right of the Company — the 
 franchises, rights, and powers it confers are complete 
 and very liberal, and it would seem that the franchise is 
 perpetual, and the Company has power to fix the rate 
 of tolls and compensation for the use of the Canal, and 
 to collect the same, to purchase, hold, use, and sell 
 and convey real, personal, and mixed property, take 
 and hold voluntary grants of land to aid in construc- 
 tion, powers to borrow money and execute Trust 
 Deeds or Mortgages on the Company's property to 
 secure such loan, &c., &c. 
 
 The provisions are comprehensive, and seem to 
 guard the rights and privileges of the Company well. 
 
 To anyone wishing to become interested in this 
 enterprise (financially or otherwise) it will be interest- 
 ing and well worth the while to read and study the 
 provisions of this Charter. Legislation so favourable 
 to a Company is seldom obtained in England. 
 
 The commercial and international character of this 
 Ship Canal, its importance, necessity, benefits, &c., are 
 fully exhibited in the full and Synoptical Reports com- 
 piled by Judge John H. Fry, principally from Govern- 
 ment authorities. We recommend that these Reports and 
 the authorities quoted from be well read and studied. 
 
 In conclusion, it is our opinion that the propositions 
 and terms offered for the loans are an inducement to 
 capitalists, and that the security for the loan seems 
 safe and ample in amount." 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 Important Leader in the Times and tte Official British 
 Eeport on Commerce and Trade — On the Thrift 
 of Florida — Increase of Population — Immense 
 Profits in Tropical Fruit-culture, and rapid rise 
 in the price of Lands in the St. John's Valley, 
 right in the heart of the Company's Grants of 
 2,300,000 acres. 
 
 Leader in the "Times," London, Jwne 23, 1876. 
 
 " The latest volume of the Eeports of the Secretary 
 of Legations, which has been recently presented to 
 Parliament, includes a contribution of more than ordi- 
 nary interest. This is a careful analysis of the ' trade 
 and some resources of the United States for the year 
 1875," and, apart from its general value, it embraces 
 the first impartial review of the economical condition 
 in the South that has been published in this country 
 since the re-election of President Grant to the Presi- 
 dency. The period of four years, which is now drawing 
 to a close, was marked by a few startling events ; but 
 it is all the more likely that it was fruitful in steady, 
 if silent, progress among those communities which, 
 after the desolating convulsions of the war, could only 
 hope to repair their strength by rest. The writer of 
 the Eeport, Mr. Grant Watson, was First Secretary of 
 Legation at Washington, until, on the nomination of 
 Lord Lytton to the Indian Viceroyalty, he was promoted 
 to the Lisbon Legation. His conclusions are sober 
 and inobtrusive; his survey of facts is wide and 
 searching, and, upon the whole, his Eeport is a most 
 praiseworthy addition to our knowledge of the United 
 States. 
 
 In Mr. Watson's judgment the South had, at the 
 close of last year, reached a turn in its fortunes at 
 which the abiding consequences of the war were being 
 overcome by the strong permanent elements of indus- 
 trial prosperity. The worst days clearly were past. 
 The riches of the soil, the generosity of the climate, 
 and the abundance of labour had begun to tell, and 
 wealth was being recreated with amazing rapidity. 
 The Civil War had rent the old fabric of society from 
 top to bottom, but some of the fragments fell into new 
 relations, and others obtained scope for free growth by 
 the ruin of the rest. The slave-owning aristocracy of 
 former days has wholly disappeared. But there were 
 other slaveholders who were no aristocrats, who worked 
 with their own hands — the ' mean whites,' as their 
 betters used to call them — and these, recovering from 
 the shock of the conflict, are now becoming steadily 
 prosperous, while, in spite of some political disturbances 
 and consequent suffering, there is ' a general diffusion 
 of means for ease and comfort unknown before.' By 
 the side of this class the Negro freedmen cultivate for 
 the most part their own holdings. ' Cotton culture 
 has been democratized by emancipation.' No single 
 estates now yield 1,000 or 2,000 bales for individual 
 owners ; but the small farijiers, white and black, " raise 
 cotton for their own profit individually, and the aggre- 
 gate of their little crops nearly reaches, and will soon 
 exceed that which was produced before the war.' 
 Mr. Watson reckons the production of 1875 at 
 3,800,000 bales, and the value of this quantity is ' dif- 
 fused among many thousands, or, perhaps, millions of 
 persons or families." Wealth begets wants, and the 
 elevation of living among the " mean whites " and the 
 freedmen has developed an immense increase in the 
 consumption by the South of Northern manufactures. 
 Of this development there are no precise statistics, but 
 Mr. Watson calculates that the Southern consumption 
 of Northern commodities is now at least quadruple, and 
 may possibly be tenfold that of the period before the 
 war, while it is known to be constantly augmenting. 
 The condition of the freedmen, who are now poHtically 
 
 enfranchised as well as emancipated, is, of course, not 
 wholly bright ; but some have amassed " wealth," many 
 thousands, " own houses and pay taxes," and Mr. 
 Watson does .not hesitate to say that they will ulti- 
 mately become " a Conservative element " in the State. 
 " Their labour is adding largely to the wealth of the 
 South, and is essential to its further development." 
 
 Energetic efforts are being made in various direc- 
 tions to hasten and to guide this process of renovating 
 growth. 
 
 As an example, Mr. Grant Watson points to the 
 case of Florida, which the war and the consequent 
 ruin of the planters may be said to have first brought 
 to the knowledge of the North, and opened to the 
 influx of Northern enterprise and capital. The " Land 
 of Flowers," where Ponce de Leon placed Ms fabled 
 " fotmitain of youtfi," has in late years attracted, hy 
 the charm of its climate, croivds of invalids from the 
 Northern States, and this communication has at length 
 disclosed to the shrewd Northern mind the capacities 
 of this fertile peninsula. Especially since the crisis of 
 1873 paralyzed trade and industry in the North, 
 setting capital seeMng after investment and labour for 
 employment, the development of the resources of 
 Florida, which, as a fruit-producing country, has not a 
 rival in the world, have received a great share of 
 attention, a/nd whenever the crisis at the North comes 
 to an end, reviving speculation, as Mr. Watson pre- 
 dicts, " will turn thither, and give a still greater im- 
 petus to this already rapid movement." The orange 
 groves of Florida are in themselves sources of wealth 
 as rich as the most famous lodes of Nevada. The fruit 
 is " cultivated as easily, and produces as quickly as the 
 apple, and yields in full bearing from 1,000 to 2,500 
 per cent, per acre to the owner on the ground, at present 
 prices, and with but trifling labour." The Florida 
 orange ripens deliciously, and will certainly supplant, 
 in the markets of the Northern Cities, the half -matured 
 foreign fruit of which at present New York alone con- 
 sumes 500 millions annually. The land fitted for this 
 profitable and pleasant occupation has, of course, gone 
 up rapidly in price. A large tract was purchased on 
 the 8t. John's River eight years ago at about one 
 dollar an acre, and has lately been re-sold for orange 
 planting at prices varying from 50 to 120 dollars; 
 while other estates, bought some four or five years 
 ago at 25 dollars an acre, and planted with orange 
 trees, brought a couple of years since not less than 
 1,000 dollars an acre. In this neighbourhood, a 
 Swedish colony has been established, it is stated, with 
 the most encouraging results. The most severe frosts 
 do not touch the fruit trees, though on the glowing 
 shores of the Lago di Garda, as travellers in Lombardy 
 and Venetia will remember, the tender lemon has to 
 be carefully covered during the winter. It is plain 
 that a new industry of great value has been opened, 
 and that it possesses attractions to win the Scandi- 
 navian settlers from Ohio and Wisconsin. This, how- 
 ever, is only a typical instance of a movement which, 
 according to Mr. Watson, is progressing in many parts 
 of the Southern States — wherever, indeed, the natural 
 advantages of climate and soil, set free by the break- 
 up of the old social system, invite Northern capital 
 and enterprise. Unless this progress should be unex- 
 pectedly checked, the calamities of the Civil War will 
 quickly be obliterated by the rising tide of a pros- 
 perity almost without parallel, even in American 
 experience. 
 
 2 c 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 British Commercial Trade Reports, No. 6 (1876), Part 
 II.j hy Her Majesty's Secretaries of Embassy and 
 Legation, 8fc., 8fc. Presented to loth Houses of 
 Parliament, hy command of Her Majesty, May, 
 
 " Report by Me. Watson on the Trade and some 
 
 RESOtfRCES OP THE UnITBD StATES, FOE 1875; WITH 
 
 A Preface on the Material Condition of the 
 Southern States. 
 
 " While the Northern States of the Union, especially 
 in their commercial and manufacturing interests, are 
 greatly suffering at the present moment, a turn would 
 appear, finally, to have been reached at the South, 
 whose soil, climate, and abundant labour are now telling 
 upon it in rapidly augmenting prosperity. 
 
 The class of former slave-owners have been, for the 
 most part, ruined and permanently impoverished ; but 
 the lower strata — those who themselves work — have 
 recovered from the devastation of the war, and a general 
 diffusion of means for ease and comfort, unknown 
 before, may be observed, although certain localities are 
 still agitated, and are suffering by reason of political 
 disturbances. 
 
 Cotton culture has been democratized by emanci- 
 pation. While no longer crops yielding from 1,000 to 
 2,000 bales are raised to enrich single families and 
 develop luxurious and extravagant tastes in these, the 
 negroes whom they formerly owned, and who as slaves 
 were scantily and coarsely clothed, having few wants, 
 now raise cotton for their own profit individually, and 
 the aggregate of their httle crops nearly reaches, and 
 will soon exceed, that which was produced before the 
 war ; and its result — for last year, about 3,800,000 
 bales — is diffused amongst many thousands, or perhaps 
 millions of persons or families, and goes to supply the 
 increasing wants of this numerous class of new con- 
 sumers; and, while no statistics are published, the 
 consumption by the South of articles manufactured at 
 the North has probably more than quadrupled (it may 
 be tenfold) that of before the war, and it is constantly 
 augmenting. 
 
 The former slave, now a freeman (voter), as well as 
 freedman, has become very generally an owner of the 
 soil which he cultivates; in many instances he has 
 amassed wealth ; many thousands own houses and pay 
 taxes, and will eventually become a conservative 
 element thereby of society, though now greatly under 
 the lead of political adventurers. Many are naturally 
 lazy, thriftless, and, in some towns where they swarm, 
 a pest of society ; but it cannot be doubted that their 
 labour is adding largely to the wealth of the South, 
 and that it is essential to its further development. 
 
 Florida would, like Texas, appear especially to have 
 been favoured in rapid development of its resources and 
 increase of wealth. Its remarkably fine climate has 
 attracted invalids in crowds, and these have brought 
 more particularly to the attention of the North the 
 advantages of its soil and peninsular position for semi- 
 tropical fruit-culture, especially the orange, which is 
 now taken hold of there with northern energy and a great 
 deal of northern capital. The almost fabulous returns 
 from, it are attracting crowds who are thrown out of 
 employment by the crisis at the North, and their money 
 as well, no longer to be profitably employed there ; and, 
 while the present movement is owing mainly to the 
 necessities of the people which make Florida's harvest, 
 it is probable that when the reaction comes at the North, 
 with the passage of the present crisis, speculation will 
 turn thither and give a still greater impetus to this 
 already rapid development. Amongst other things that 
 might be cited as instances of the latent wealth of this 
 favoured region may be epecially mentioned — 
 
 Oranges, which are cultivated as easily, and produce 
 as qwickly as the apple, and yield in full bearing from 
 1,000 to 2,500 per cent, per acre to the owner, on the 
 ground, at present prices, and with but trifling labou/r. 
 This superior ripe fruit must end ere long in supplanting 
 the half-ripe foreign fruit, of which now {oranges and 
 lemons) there are nearly 1,000,000,000 imported into 
 the United States annually {to New York alone 
 500,000,000, or half of the enti/re amount) . 
 
 To give an illustration of this increase of prosperity 
 in the State of Florida, in this one direction, some jacts, 
 the correctness of which may be relied on, may prove of 
 interest, relating to one property on the St. John's River, 
 the " Sanford Grant," of twenty-five square miles, which 
 was purchased in 1868 at about one dollar per acre. 
 Lands for orange culture upon it have been sold in the 
 past year at an average of 50 dollars, and up to 150 
 dollars per acre. Land there purchased four years ago 
 at 2b dollars an acre and planted in orange trees, has 
 been sold three years later at 1,000 dollars per acre, and 
 its neighbourhood in Orange County abounds in similar 
 instances. 
 
 Sanfoed's Grant, Oeanqe County. 
 
 " The undersigned," says a widely circulated adver- 
 tisement, "offers for sale to actual settlers, or im- 
 provers only, and in lots to suit buyers, the lands 
 embraced in the above property, consisting of about 
 twenty-five square miles. 
 
 "A portion of this tract — about 6,000 acres — ^is 
 believed to be the choicest orange land in Florida. A 
 Swedish Colony, established for four years on the 
 centre of the grant, and rapidly increasing, furnishes 
 reliable, intelligent labour, and an incontestible proof 
 of its unsurpassing healthfulness. 
 
 " A settlement from Wisconsin, and another from 
 Ohio, with a post office {' Twin Lakes '), at either ex- 
 tremity of the grant, demonstrates in the most striking 
 manner the large profits derived from orange-culture 
 when well directed. Full bearing groves in the neigh- 
 bourhood abundantly testify to the large and certain 
 income resulting from such labour on a small outlay. 
 It is beyond the line of injurious frosts. The unusual 
 severe cold on the 15th instant, which blighted the 
 banana tops even so far south as Enterprise, left no 
 trace on the grant opposite, protected by the warmer 
 waters of Lake Monroe on the north ; and at General 
 Sanford's large grove (Belair) — sixty-five acres — ^with 
 many hundreds of tropical and thousands of semi- 
 tropical and imported plants, not a leaf was touched. 
 Green peas, strawberries, tomatoes, &c., can be grown 
 the winter through in the open air, in profitable union 
 with the orange-culture. 
 
 " The Swedish Colony will undertake to clear fence, 
 plant, and cultivate (on guarantee) lands for orange 
 groves, of which eighty are already in different stages 
 of development. 
 
 "Besides the Sanford House, which will open on 
 the 1st January, be open for 150 guests, and which, 
 when completed next year, will be the largest hotel in 
 the State, boarding-houses, churches, schools, post and 
 express offices, saw-mills, stores, &c., present the usual 
 conveniences to settlers on and near the grant. 
 
 " Steamers, ten times weekly to Jacksonville, offer 
 the indispensable facilities of direct water communi- 
 cation with market to fruit and vegetable-growers. 
 
 " The prices of land are from 5 dels, to 100 dols. per 
 acre, according to quality and location. Special rates 
 for villa sites upon high banks of lakes. 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 On the lower pine lands, unfit for orange-cultnrej 
 five acres will be given to eaci. of the first twenty 
 families who settle upon them. 
 
 "L. M. MooEEj 
 
 "Land Agent for the Grant (and Postmaster) , 
 Sandford, Florida." 
 
 Amongst the produce of Florida may be mentioned 
 many varieties of fruit, such as the banana, the guava, 
 the bread-fruit, Sfc, the sugar-cane, starches, medicinal 
 roots and herbs, cotton, tobacco, paper, grapes, endless 
 variety of fishes, and lime-sand." 
 
 A most interesting book, of 806 pages, and illus- 
 trated, has been published in Glasgow in 1875, en- 
 titled, " The Southern States of North America," by- 
 Mr. Edward King^, and sold by W. G. Blackie and 
 Co., in which a valuable chapter of 65 pages is devoted 
 to Florida : its Climate, Fruits, Culture, &c., &c. 
 
 \_Fxtracts!] 
 
 " The wealth of Northern cities is erecting fine 
 pleasure houses in St. Augustine, surrounded with 
 noble orchards and gardens. Abrilliant society gathers 
 there every winter, and depart reluctantly when spring 
 comes on. Hundreds of families have determined to 
 make it henceforth their winter homes." 
 
 " In December, the days are ordinarily bright and 
 sunny, a salt, sea wind blowing across the peninsula ; 
 from ten until four o'clock one can sit out doors, bathed 
 in floods of delicious light." 
 
 " The number of persons whom I saw during my 
 journey, who had migrated to the Eastern or Southern 
 sections of the State, ' more than half-dead with con- 
 sumption,' and who are now robust and vigorous, 
 was sufficient to convince me of the great benefits de- 
 rived from a residence there." 
 
 " Physicians all agree that the conditions necessary 
 to insure life to the consumptive are admirably pro- 
 vided in the climatic resources of the peninsula. The 
 European medical men are beginning to send many 
 patients to Florida." 
 
 " For the healthy, and those seeking pleasure, it 
 will become a winter paradise ; for the ailing it is a 
 refuge and strength." 
 
 " The mornings of December, January, February, 
 and March, the four absolutely perfect months of East 
 Florida, are wonderfully soft and balmy ; the sun shines 
 generously, but there is no suspicion of annoyiug heat. 
 The breeze gently rustles the enormous leaves of the 
 banana, or playfully tumbles a golden orange to the 
 ground." 
 
 " The Indian River Valley is difficult of access, but 
 swarms of travellers are now finding their ivay there. 
 Hardly 1,000 miles from New York, one may find 
 the most delicate and delightful tropical scenery, and 
 may dwell in a climate which neither Hawaii, nor 
 Southern Italy, can excel." 
 
 " Among the cocoanuts and the mangroves here, 
 invalids may certainly count on laying a new hold upon 
 life ; and the invalid who comes here pale and racked 
 with a harrowing cough is, after a few weeks, seen 
 tramping about in the cool of morning with gun and 
 fishing-rod, a very Nimrod and Walton combined. It 
 can be made one of the richest garden spots in 
 Am.erica." 
 
 *■' When the necessary dredging and building of canals 
 has been accomplished, so that the Indian River Orange 
 may have an outlet, via. St. John's River, the North 
 will be SUPPLIED with oranges of more delicate texture 
 
 THAN IT HAS TET SEEN ; THE NUMBER OF GROVES ALONG 
 THE RIVER WILL BE LEGION." 
 
 " The fitness of Florida for the growth of tropical 
 and semi-tropical fruits is astonishing. Not only do 
 the orange, the lemon, the lime, and the citron flourish 
 there, but the peach, the grape, the fig, the pomgranate, 
 the plum, all varieties of berries, the olive, the banana, 
 and the pine-apple grow luxuriantly. Black Hamburg 
 and white Muscat grapes fruit finely in the open air j 
 the Concord and the Scuppernong are grown in vast 
 quantities. The guava, the tamarind, the wonderful 
 alligator pear, the plaintain, the cocoanut, and the date, 
 the almond and the pecan, luxuriate in southern 
 Florida, and the Indian River country. Within these 
 boundaries a tropic land, rich and stranger, will one 
 day be inhabited by thousands of fruit-growers, and 
 where beautiful towns andperhaps cities will spring up." 
 ■ — " A good tree will bear from 1,000 to 3,000 orangds 
 yearly. Some trees at Mandarine have produced 
 ^"■,500, many of the oranges weighing nearly a pound." 
 — " One young grove on Indian River, with 1,350 
 trees, produced in a season 700,000 oranges. They 
 were sold for ^25 to $68 per 1,000 case, and netted to 
 its owner over 120,000." — " Col. Heart's grove nets 
 him from 112,000 to $15,000 yearly."—" Dr. Moragne 
 has a grove that nets him over $20,000 per annum." — 
 " Only one man is required to attend one of these 
 groves, who requires one or two negro men to help 
 pick and market them." — " The culture of oranges will 
 certainly become one of theprime industries of Florida." 
 
 Such millionaires as Mr. Astor, A. T. Stewart, Col. 
 John P. Howard, General Sanford, Hon Mr. An- 
 thony, U.S. Senator of Rhode Island, and many others, 
 have embarked capital in these valleys for tropical fruit 
 culture, and winter residences. 
 
 Another Report says : — • 
 
 '''' The celebrated Dummitt and Burnhatn plantations 
 on Indian River are yielding annual fortunes to their 
 owners." 
 
 "At a very low estimate ten acres will yield a 
 revenue of $15,000 to $20,000 per annum, which is 
 life long. These estimates can everywhere be substan- 
 tiated. The products of a single grove of five acres on 
 the St. John's River were sold last year for $15,000." 
 
 " Bananas paij even more. An acre will yield 
 1,500 bunches, which will bring upwards of $3 per 
 bunch, or over $4,500 per acre." 
 
 Mr. King, page 403, shows the class of men who are 
 engaging in this interesting industry : — 
 
 " Property is becoming exceedingly good, yearly 
 rising in value." — " In a few years those of Mr. Stock- 
 well, of Maine, with 400 bearing trees ; Mr. Burr, of 
 Morristown, N.J. ; the Estate of Mosten (200 each) ; 
 Mr. Brown, of New York, 2,000 young trees; Dr. 
 Parsons, the Long Island Nurseryman, and others, will 
 yield fortunes to their owners. Col. Dancey has a 
 lemon grove of over 200 trees. Among noticeable 
 groves are those of Mr. Cowgill, the State Comptroller; 
 Dr. Mays, at Orange Mill; a number of New York 
 gentlemen at Federal Point ; Captain J. W. Stark, and 
 the fine estate of Captain Rossignol. There are also 
 many successful orange groves scattered from Rawles- 
 town to San Matteo, Murphy's Island, Buffalo Bluff, 
 Welaka, and Beecher. There are many groves on the 
 Ochlawaka River, and more than 1,000,000 trees are 
 already budded there." 
 
 Besides such leading men of wealth, thousands of 
 men, who have not over £100 cash, are engaged in 
 these industries. They purchase a few acres, plant 
 them in orange and other fruit trees, and between the 
 rows of trees they cultivate enough vegetables to pay 
 all their expenses for living and for making further 
 
( 22 ) 
 
 improvements, and in a few years their fruit will yield 
 them larger returns than their capital and labour can 
 bring them in other industries. 
 
 The Land Oflace Eeports of Florida, for 1875, p. 18, in 
 speaking of the character of immigrants settling 
 in Florida, says : — 
 
 " They are men of the same type as those who have 
 made that belt of country, extending from the Atlantic 
 to the Pacific, and from the Ohio Eiver to the 
 Lakes, the grandest theatre of industrial activity on 
 the continent. They are men possessed of cunning 
 hands, resolute hearts, and clear heads ; and to such 
 no finer field than Florida was ever presented for 
 occupancy. It is a field overflowing with the elements 
 of wealth and substantial enjoyment. It has an 
 abundance of raw material and rich soil, upon which 
 all the fruits, all the crops, and all the animals neces- 
 sary to man^s subsistence, comfort and convenience, 
 can be cultivated and propagated, and a climate so 
 congenial to his physical nature that the very .exube- 
 rance of his spirits doubles his pleasures and robs 
 adversity of half its woes." 
 
 Harjper's New Monthly Magazine, No. 303, January, 
 1876, in an article on " Florida," p. 290, says : — 
 
 " Orange County, without railroad help, or metal, or 
 minerals, has by its orange groves alone increased in 
 wealth from twenty to a hundredfold m six years." 
 
 In a new work just published (1876), entitled, 
 " Camp Life in Florida," by Hallock (whose books on 
 American subjects are considered high and reliable 
 authority), says : — 
 
 " Now, more than ever, is attention being directed 
 to the Land of Flowers. Winter visitors in vast 
 numbers migrate thither as regularly as birds of 
 passage. Twenty thousand people visited St. Augus- 
 tine last winter, and will be multiplied in the next. 
 The hotel accommodations there have been trebled 
 within five years, and are • still increasing, not only at 
 Jacksonville, Green Grove Springs, and other favourite 
 resorts on the St. John^s Eiver, but also on the Eastern 
 Seaboard and the South West Coast hotels are being 
 erected for use in the approaching season. New 
 steamers have been added to the St. John^s Eiver 
 Lines, and increased facilities opened for communi- 
 cation with the North. 
 
 " Agricultural resources have been developed beyond 
 expectation, lands have been opened that are richly 
 adapted to the cultivation of the orange, banana, 
 guava, and pine-apple, while the monthly markets for 
 green peas, cucumber, strawberries, tomatoes, and 
 melons, offer pecuniary temptation to gardeners that 
 cannot be overlooked. Agricultural and Emigration 
 Societies have been established, and newspapers 
 devoted to the economic interests of the State. 
 
 " Lands for well located farms have appreciated 
 five times their value in three years, and real estates has 
 advanced to fancy prices at the principal watering- 
 places. Northern merchants have built princely resi- 
 dences there ; settlements have been made at numerous 
 points on the coast and in the interior ; old familiar 
 places are no longer recognised. Such changes have 
 a few years brought. 
 
 " There is no place on this continent like Florida 
 for both game and fish. 
 
 ''Frost seldom, if ever, injures the sugar-cane, it 
 tassels, and grows from 15 to 20 feet high. 
 
 "The settlers find much profit in the culture and 
 sale of fruits and vegetables for the Northern markets. 
 Even in the interior of the State, notably at Lake 
 City, many of the citizens are speaking of giving up 
 the cultivation of cotton, and turning their attention 
 
 to Enghsh peas and other vegetables for shipment to 
 Northern States. 
 
 " A few years ago, with the exception of Welaka, 
 scarcely anything was to be seen but the interminable 
 forests along the St. John's Biwer. There was scarcely 
 a settlement or clearing to mark the advance of 
 civilization. What a change now appears ! Landings, 
 clearings, houses, and orange groves map out to the 
 eye of the traveller the rapid improvement now going 
 on. 
 
 " There seems no doubt that the population and 
 developed resources of Florida are destined to double 
 in ten years. Those who have some prescience will do 
 well now to take time by the forelock, that they may 
 reap coming advantages. 
 
 Mr. Ledyard Bill's late published history of "Florida, 
 and the St. John's Valley," after describing the young 
 city of Jacksonville, with its ocean commerce equal to 
 some cities in the north of three times its population, 
 with the steamers, brigs, and schooners in its harbour, 
 and towns and noted mineral springs, hotels, and social 
 life on the St. John's, concludes, " that the banks of 
 St. John's will in time be as famous for their vineyards 
 and wine as are those of the Ehine in Europe," and 
 the almost endless productions of the tropical fruits of 
 every variety that grow in the tropics, and the early 
 vegetables required in the Northern cities, now mostly 
 imported from the West Indies, Central America, and 
 the Bahamas to an enormous extent, will make the St. 
 John's Eiver, with its lakes and lagoons, a tropical 
 orchard, vineyard, and garden from end to end." 
 
 He further says : — 
 
 " Even the joine lands of the poorest quality suit the 
 grape, and more wine can be made from an acre of this 
 land than from any two acres of the ordinary wine- 
 growing in Europe. The highest yield in Europe is 
 not over five hundred gallons to the acre, whereas, in 
 Florida, over fifteen hwnd/red gallons is a common yield. 
 When these facts become known fully, it must excite 
 the grape-growing population of worn-out France and 
 Italy to try their fortunes in our most favoured land. 
 
 " There is no sort of necessity for America import- 
 ing the miserable adulterations that she is now doing, 
 and sending her gold across the ocean by the millions 
 in exchange, when within her own boundaries she is 
 favoured beyond all lands in soil and climate adapted 
 to the production of superior wine, and in such quan- 
 tities as not only to supply the home demand, but 
 have a surplus for exportation. 
 
 The orange of Florida excels the fruit of any other 
 country, both in size and sweetness. This the general 
 testimony of competent judges, and we unqualifiedly 
 concur, especially when we remember those grown in 
 what is hnown as the Indian River country. These sel- 
 dom reach any of the northern markets, the hom,e con- 
 sumption being sufficient to require them all. 
 
 " The orange is the longest lived fruit-tree known to 
 us ; it will flourish and bear fruit for more than 100 
 years. 
 
 " The present groves will run an average yield 0/2,000 
 per tree ; they can be marketed at 2b dollars per 1,000. 
 This would give a return of 50 dollars per tree, or to an 
 acre of about 500 trees 5,000 dollars. The labour of 
 one man is quite sufficient to tend the largest grove in 
 Florida, except the time of gathering, when two are 
 required. 
 
 " Mr. Howard, from New York, has within a year 
 past (1869) invested nearly 50,000 dollars in St. Augus- 
 tine in real estate, which is feeling the effect of the 
 healthy influx, property having already risen to four- 
 fold its value five years ago, and still not high. The 
 residence of Senator Gilbert was bought by him at the 
 
( 23 ) 
 
 close of tlie war for 
 $40,000 now." 
 
 BjOOOj and we judge it worth 
 
 M. Lanier, a Frenctman, has just published (1876) 
 a Book on Florida, somewhat after the style of Murray^s 
 Guide Books. 
 
 On page 132 he furnishes a list of towns and stations 
 on the St. John's River. There are 42 towns and 
 stations from Jacksonville to Salt Lake on the St. 
 John's. Five years ago there were less than ten. 
 He describes the St. John's and Indian River Yalleys 
 fully. He 
 
 " Green-Cove-Springs is one of the most popular 
 winter resorts on the St. John's. The Springs, with the 
 Clarendon Hotel adjoining, are but a short distance 
 from the river. Connected with this hotel are hot and 
 cold baths, and swimming baths of spring water. 
 
 " These ivaters contain sulphates of magnesia and 
 lime, chlorides of sodium and iron, and sulphurated 
 hydrogen, and have a temperature of 76° Fahrenheit. 
 
 " They are used for the cure of rheumatism, gout, 
 Wright's disease of the kidneys, and such affections. 
 Beside the Clarendon, the Union Hoiose, a charmingly 
 erected hotel offers accommodation to visitors; and 
 there are good private hoarding houses." * * * 
 
 " Melonville is on the right hand side of Lake 
 Monroe, and is in a neighbourhood which is beginning 
 to exhibit much activity in settlements and improve- 
 ments. Hereabouts are many orange-growers, the 
 flourishing Swedish Colony brought over by General 
 Sanford in 1871. Eureka, Bau-Clair, Wekiva, Lake 
 Jennie, Lake Maitland, Lake Conway, Fort Reid, and 
 other settlements. Extensive interests have beenestab- 
 lishered here in orange groves. Adjoining General San- 
 ford's lands are those of Mr. William Astor, consisting 
 of 8,000 acres of timber and orange lands. Not far off 
 is the Port Butler Grant, in which Mr. Astor is said to 
 be interested, on which are numerous groves of wild 
 oranges, and the charming little Lake of Schermer- 
 horn." At Enterprise he says : — 
 
 " Consumptives are said to flourish in this climate, 
 and there are many stories told of cadaverous persons 
 coming here, and turning out successful huntsmen and 
 fishermen, of ruddy face and portentous appetites 
 after a few weeks spent." 
 
 Of the Indian River Country he says : 
 
 ■^^ The general character of the lands inthelndian River 
 Country appears to be a strip of high rich soil, lying 
 immediately on the Western shore, from a half-mile to 
 a mile in width, then coming Westward a belt con- 
 taining " hummocks and savanas " of great fertility 
 from one to two miles in width, then ridges of light 
 hummock, then still Westward rich grazing lands." 
 
 "■' Upon these lands, oranges, sugar cane, bananas, 
 pine-apples, lemons, limes, guavas, strawberries, black- 
 berries, grapes, figs, nectarines, apricots, corn, indigo, 
 sweet-potatoes, melons, and all manner of garden 
 vegetable grown and yield profusely." 
 
 " Along this Indian River country is a marvellously 
 bland air, and I have been told of many over-worked 
 men and incipient consumptives who have here found 
 new life. The waters are full of fish, oysters, and 
 turtles of the best varieties for table use; the woods 
 abound in deer, wild turkeys, and other games, and 
 the whole land amounts to a perpetual invitation to the 
 over-worked, the invalid, the air-poisoned, the ner- 
 vously-prostrate people to come down with yacht and 
 tent, with rod and gun, and re-build brain, and muscle, 
 and nerve. The price of lands ranges from 5 to 50 
 dollars per acre." 
 
 " The largest sized and finest flavoured oranges grow 
 in this charming Valley. Many persons hold the Indian 
 Biver Orange to he typia fruit." 
 
 " Judge Du Pont informs me that he has raised from 
 Pine Land 69 barrels of syrup per acre, bringing the 
 handsome sum of $400 per acre." 
 
 " As to the profits, you can make $300 an acre sure." 
 "Figs are yielding a profit of from $1,000 to $1,200 
 per acre, and instances are reported of Banana yield 
 of 85,000 per acre." 
 
 The Indian River valley lies south of the frost-line, 
 and all the official and private Reports on Florida 
 speah of this locality as possessing the finest climate, 
 and altogether the best fruit and vegetahle-producing 
 region of the whole State. 
 
 The Company owns about 1,000,000 acres in this 
 interesting valley. 
 
 Without elaborating further, it must appear self- 
 evident to any thinking mind that to appraise the 
 Company's Lands at ten dollars per acre is to set a 
 low price, and that the Company may confidently ex- 
 pect to realise an average of, at least, ten dollars. 
 
 This will make the mortgage security in lands over 
 $23,000,000 cash basis. Mr. Conover, one of the United 
 States Senators from Florida, telegraphed to London, 
 in answer to inquiries from London parties, that the 
 lands belonging to the Company " will sell, now, in 
 cash at from S3 to $30 per acre, making an average of 
 $16.50 per acre, cash now. 
 
 SuMMAET Conclusions upon the Company's Real 
 Estate — its Gp.eat Value — with an Estimate of 
 Annual Incomes theeeeeom. 
 
 The official Reports of the Governments of the 
 United States, Florida, and Great Britain, together 
 with the Reports and Statements from other unques- 
 tionable high character, quoted and referred to, 
 established the following facts : — 
 
 1. That four-fifths of the area of the lands in 
 Florida are covered with magnificent forests, fur- 
 nishing timber tod lumber, of the most superior 
 quality, for ship and house construction, cabinet and 
 ornamental work, &c., of which many millions of 
 dollars' worth are annually shipped to the Northern 
 Cities, to Europe, the West Indies, South America, and 
 to other markets. These timber resources alone are 
 bound to make the State rich, as the timber in the States 
 of Maine, Michigan, and Wisconsin, made them rich. 
 
 2. That the soil of Florida is varied, rich, and very 
 productive, successfully gTowing all the variety of 
 staple crops of the United States; that all the tropical 
 fruits grow there to perfection; that the garden 
 vegetables grow all the year round, winter and 
 summer ; that the markets of the Northern and North- 
 western Cities, and States, and Canada, which are 
 bound up in ice and winter four or five months each 
 year, can be fully supplied with these tropical fruits, 
 and winter and early spring vegetables, and that in 
 these respects Florida can control and monopolize 
 the Northern markets, which now consume over 
 $200,000,000 annually in fruit and vegetables. 
 
 3. That the State is rapidly increasing in population 
 and wealth ; that great progress is making in develop- 
 ing and utihsing her timber, agricultural, and horticul- 
 tural resources; and as a consequence and fact, her 
 lands are rising rapidly in price. 
 
 4. That the population is chiefly settling in the St. 
 John's and Indian River Valleys along the lines of the 
 
( 24 ) 
 
 Company's Canals and Routes^ and the principle deve- 
 lopment is taking place in these Valleys. 
 
 5. That that Company owns and has perfect grants 
 and titles to 2,300,000 acres of rich lands located in 
 the St. John's and Indian River valleys, along the 
 Company's Canals and Water Routes, and in and about 
 all the settlements, v^hich are now making the remark- 
 able demonstrations in tropical fruit and vegetable 
 culture, sKowmg larger profits per acre than any other 
 lands in North America can produce. It is in the 
 central region of the Company's lands in Orange 
 County, where the wonderful development in tropical 
 fruit culture is reported upon by the British Legation 
 Office at Washington in 1876, and so aptly treated in 
 an able leader in the Times of June 23rd, 1876, showing 
 that lands were purchased there, eight years ago, at 
 about one dollar per acre, and the same are now selling 
 for fifty dollars to hundred-fifty dollars per acre, and 
 that the profits from Orange culture is from 1,000 to 
 2,500 per cent, per acre yearly, and that Northern 
 capital is flowing into that region, &c. 
 
 6. The evidence and common history of that country 
 show, that the Indian Rivee Valley, on account of 
 its being south of the terminal frost line, its unsurpassed 
 favourable climate, and its great adaptability of soil, ts 
 
 FAR SUPEEIOB FOR THE SUCCESSFUL CULTIVATION OF THE 
 OEANGE AND ALL THE TROPICAL FRUITS, than the St. 
 
 John's Valley is, or any more northerly portion of the 
 country, for in the latter Valley and more northerly 
 regions, not all the tropical fruits can he successfully 
 raised, and the quality of the fruit is not so good, as 
 is shown by the fact that Indian River Oranges and 
 fruits command a premium price in the markets, and 
 1,000,000 acres of the Company's lands are located in 
 the Indian River Valley. 
 
 7. Tens of thousands of people from the Northern 
 States annually spend their winter season in Florida 
 for pleasure or health, and to avoid four to five months 
 of the severe rigors of winter, ice, and chilling atmo- 
 sphere of the North ; and on account of the superior 
 climate of the St. John's and Indian River Valleys, 
 the conveniences, improvements, and attractions of 
 those Valleys, nearly the whole of this visiting popula- 
 tion go to the different cities, towns, villages, mineral 
 springs, and settlements in these Valleys, and spend 
 their visiting seasons there. 
 
 8. That the marJeet value of the Company' s lands 
 is from $5 to 1100 per acre, cash. The value of the 
 Company's lands in hand, 2,300,000 acres, exceeds 
 $30,000,000. The 6,000,000 acres ivill run a much less 
 pirice per acre. 
 
 9. The Estimated Annual Incomes from the 
 Company's Lands. 
 
 Taking into consideration the annual sales and 
 incomes heretofore realized by Railway and other com- 
 panies from their Government land grants in aid of 
 their enterprises, &c., and the demand for the Com- 
 pany's timber and lands, it would seem safe to estimate, 
 from the sale of timber, from sale of lands for agri- 
 cultural and horticultural purposes, from the sale of 
 town and village lots, from ground rents and other 
 issues, and profits from the realty and buildings, an 
 aggregate of ... ... ... ... 13,000,000 
 
 On the east division, before the com- 
 pletion of the west division ... ... 1,000,000 
 
 On the east division, by its completion 
 
 from Fernandina to Lake Worth ... 500,000 
 
 From this must be deducted 15 per cent, to cover 
 all expenses. 
 
 The United States Agricultural Report for 1862, gives 
 am, interesting description of the climate, soil, 
 forests, and productions of Florida. 
 
 Extracts. 
 
 " The whole State is diversified with beautiful lakes 
 and ponds, abounding in fish and fowl of various kinds, 
 and of the most delicate flavour, and can support a 
 population of 100 to the square mile, with one-half 
 the labour required to live in the Eastern or Middle 
 States." 
 
 "A large portion of the country is covered with 
 Pine-forests, the trees standing at a considerable 
 distance apart, without under-growth ; grass and 
 flowers spread luxuriantly over the surface of the earth 
 during the whole year, and, being unusually intersected 
 with streams of pure water, cattle find excellent 
 pasture all the year. The pine lands, though often 
 termed "barrens," is in most instances not less pro- 
 ductive than the numerous live-oak and other hard 
 timbered hummocks of the richest soil, so finely 
 adapted to the culture of sugar, cotton, tobacco, corn, 
 rice, indigo, and fruits. Limestone and marl underlie 
 pretty generally the whole Peninsula." 
 
 " It produces the long staple or Sea Island cotton of 
 commerce, over any part of the Peninsula, with a pro- 
 ductiveness surpassing the coasts of South Carolina 
 and Georgia, to which this staple has heen hitherto 
 limited, and can supply any quantity of it required, 
 to which the consumption will reach. 
 
 " It produces sugar with great advantage over 
 Louisiana and Texas, having a superior climate for the 
 cane, and has sugar lands enough to supply the con- 
 sumption of the whole United States." 
 
 " Cuba tobacco is, next to sugar, most in favour 
 with planters. The flavour is thought to be not inferior 
 to the production of the famous district of Vueltade 
 Abajo, in the island of Cuba. The sandy soil near 
 the sea-coast is well adapted for this production. 
 Ordinary seasons give three good cuttings from the 
 same stalks. 700 pounds is an average crop to the 
 acre, which, when Virginia and Kentucky tobacco 
 would not bring more than 6 cents, readily sold in 
 the market at from 50 to 75 cents per pound." 
 
 " Rice is a valuable crop. Pine lands, upon which 
 cattle have been herded for a few weeks, have often 
 produced 60 bushels of rice to the acre. With one 
 month's labour, one hand, with a horse and plough, 
 can cultivate ten acres of rice." 
 
 " Indigo was the principal staple of the Florida 
 planter during the British occupation of the country. 
 Except sugar, this is the most certain crop in Florida. 
 It is indigenous to the country, abounding in the pine 
 barrens, and even in the old fields cultivated by the 
 British nearly a century ago, in spite of time and the 
 constant cultivation of other crops." 
 
 " The climate is the best in the world for the pro- 
 duction of silk. Every species of mulberry grows there. 
 The cochineal insect is a native of Florida. ' The nopal, 
 on which the insect feeds,' is also a native plant." 
 
 " Corn is the most important article of food in a 
 southern climate. To the negro it is indispensable. 
 Although Florida lies south of the corn-growing belt, 
 very good crops are nevertheless produced in the 
 State. 40 bushels to the acre is often gathered on the 
 best land, but from 10 to 15 bushels is the average 
 crop." 
 
 " The sweet potato and the yam find in the Florida 
 pine land their natural soils. 400 bushels are often 
 produced to the acre. The common potato produces a 
 good crop, if planted in the winter. Cabbages planted 
 
( 
 
 OS 
 
 ) 
 
 in November grow to a great size. Mellons, squashes, 
 and pumpkins are produced with indifEerent culture, 
 and are of delicious flavour. Peas, beans, and indeed 
 all the garden vegetables of the temperate or the 
 torrid zone succeed perfectly well in Florida." 
 
 "Fruits are abundant and in great variety; figs 
 are abundant and of the richest flavour ; the quince, 
 peaches, nectarines, and apricots succeed perfectly. 
 
 " The Florida Orange is larger and more aromatic 
 than the Cuban. The pomegranite, the guava, citron, 
 the shaddoch, or "forbidden fruit," lemons, and limes 
 are produced with ease, and everywhere abundantly. 
 
 " Wild plums and grapes are in great variety. Some 
 of the cultivated species of the plum produces two 
 crops annually. 
 
 " The pine-apple and banana are cultivated with 
 great success. The olive and the tamarind are growing 
 in many places. Arrowroot is a profitable crop. The 
 pistachewas greatly cultivated by the Seminoles. This 
 vine produces a large crop on sandy land ; it is a 
 native of Spain, whence it was transferred to the 
 gardens of Italy. Grasses are numerous and nutritious ; 
 there are few spots of uncultivated land not covered 
 with grass. Deer, as well as cattle, in vast herds, fatten 
 on the wild grasses of the forests and prairies. 
 
 " As the opinion has been very widely disseminated 
 that Florida is composed of swamps and everglades, 
 or sandy plains and barrens, a brief description of her 
 lands will be interesting to the agriculturists generally, 
 and particularly to those who desire to produce in our 
 own country almost everything which our comfort or 
 our luxury draws from other countries." 
 
 (Here follows a description of the different soils, 
 similar to that already hereinbefore given in the body 
 of this Eeport.) 
 
 " There is one general feature in the topography of 
 Florida, which no other country in the United States 
 possesses, and which affords great security to the health 
 of its inhabitants. 
 
 " It is this : that the Pine lands, which form the 
 basis of the country, and which is almost universally 
 healthy, are nearly everywhere studded, at intervals 
 of a few miles, with hummock lands of the richest 
 quality. These hummocks are not, as is usually sup- 
 posed, low, wet lands ; on the contrary, they are high, 
 dry, and undulating, and never require either ditching 
 or draining. They vary in extent from 20 acres to 
 20,000 acres. 
 
 " Hence the inhabitants have it everywhere in their 
 power to select Eesidences in the Pine lands, at such 
 conveuient distances from the hummocks as will 
 enable them to cultivate the latter without endangering 
 their health, if it should so happen that any of the 
 hummocks prove to be less healthy than the pine 
 woods. 
 
 " Indeed, it is found that residences in the hum- 
 mocks themselves are generally perfectly healthy a 
 few years after they have been cleared. 
 
 " Newly cleared lands are generally attended with 
 the development of more or less malaria. In Florida 
 the diseases which result from such clearings are 
 usually of the mildest type (simply intermittent fever), 
 while in nearly all the other Southern States they are 
 most frequently of a severe grade of bilious fever. 
 
 "A general interspersion of rich hummocks, sur- 
 rounded by high, dry, rolling, healthy pine woods, 
 is a topographical feature peculiar to Florida, 
 and forms in this respect a striking contrast with 
 Louisiana, Texas, or Mississippi, whose sugar and 
 cotton lands are generally surrounded by vast alluvial 
 
 regions, subject to frequent inundations, so that it is 
 impossible to obtain a healthy residence within many 
 miles of them." 
 
 {Editorial from the Evening Standard, London, 
 November 10, 1876.) 
 
 " A new warning of approaching danger — this time 
 of an agricultural, not a political nature — reaches us 
 from India. The soil is becoming ungrateful. That 
 the results of cultivation are less bountiful than for- 
 merly, there is, unfortunately, no disputing. In old 
 times the rulers of Hindostan, the Emperor Akbar 
 amongst them, were in the habit of chronicling, for 
 purposes of State policy, the yield of the land at certain 
 periods. In the public record, known as the Ayeen 
 Alihary, it is stated that two centuries ago the harvest 
 of picked cotton was 223 lbs. per acre; by 1828 it was 
 only 128 lbs. ; in the last decade 67 lbs. ; and it has 
 now declined to an average of 52 lbs. per acre. Eice 
 which, according to the same ancient report, yielded 
 1,338 lbs. per acre, has since fallen to 800 lbs. and 
 900 lbs., and wheat from 1,155 lbs. to 660 lbs. The 
 reason of this decrease is not far to seek. The climate 
 of the Bast is as exhausting to the soil as to the human 
 system; the earth must be ploughed more deeply, and 
 re-invigorated by fertihsing elements. The duty of 
 providing a remedy for this state of things is incum- 
 bent upon the Government, which is placed in the 
 position of landlord, from the fact of its receiving a 
 tithe of the grain crops. Lord Mayo dealt with the 
 difficulty in a statesmanlike manner, and acknowledged 
 the obligations of the governing power. ' The duties,' 
 said the late Viceroy, ' which in England are per- 
 formed by a good landlord, fall, in India, in a great 
 measure, upon the Government. The only Indian 
 landlord who can command the requisite knowledge 
 and capital for the improvement of the land is the 
 State,' and nowhere, it may be added, has the State 
 so immediate and direct an interest in such ques- 
 tions." 
 
 This is another evidence showing the great value of 
 the Florida Cotton Lands. 
 
 America has the best cotton lands, and produces the 
 best cotton in the world. Tens of millions of acres 
 will produce from 400 pounds and upwards per acre of 
 picked cotton, and the whole State of Florida success- 
 fully produces the Long or Sea Island Cotton, the 
 most valuable fabric the soil can grow, and ranking 
 next to silk in value. 
 
 G. S. Norris, Esq., of Baltimore, now in Europe, on 
 business to sell Florida lands and induce emigration to 
 Florida, has published an important Eeport on .the 
 Florida lands, resources, climate, &c., which contains 
 important " Letters of the Bishop of Florida, Eev. 
 Edward Meaney, B.A. (Oxon.) ; Eev. Owen B. 
 Thackara, Archdeacon ; Eev. 0. Q. S, Waldron, Ex. 
 Gov. Harrison Eeed ; M. A. Williams, United States 
 Land Surveyor ; and Samuel A. Swan," all men of the 
 highest integrity, fully confirming the statements and 
 Eeports herein quoted on this subject, which will well 
 repay a perusal. 
 
 Please turn to the " Appendix " of the Ship Canal 
 Eeport for a short history of Florida, its climate, 
 health, soils, timber productions, large profits in agri- 
 culture and horticulture, &c. 
 
 Also turn to the same Eeport, page 52, title "Canal 
 Peopeeties Consideeed," and read the short history 
 of the Suez and numerous other canals, and grand 
 financial successes and results exhibited ; and chapters 
 1st and 6th of the same Eeport show that the Florida, 
 Ship Canal is the grandest commercial and financial 
 enterprise of the present or any other age. 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 Finally a word on 
 
 THE NOETH SEA CANAL— JUST OPENED. 
 
 On the 1st of November, 1876, the King of Holland 
 opened that Canal. 
 
 An interesting fact, growing out of the swamp lands 
 reclaimed by that enterprise, is worthy of note here. 
 
 The correspondence published in the Daily News, 
 London, October 30th, 1876, says : — 
 
 " That the land on each side of the Canal has been 
 reclaimed, and has fetched enormously high prices, 
 amounting, in some cases, to £120 an acre. There 
 are 12,000 acres of reclaimed lands, and by the con- 
 cession they become the property of the Company." 
 
 The special correspondence published in the Times, 
 London, November 2nd, 1876, says : — 
 
 " The gross cost of that Canal is more than 
 £2,000,000. But the net cost in cash will be probably 
 not much more than £1,000,000. The polders (re- 
 claimed lands) have realised at Dutch auction an 
 average of £80 per acre, and are not all sold. Some 
 parts near Amsterdam, and valuable for building pur- 
 poses, have brought £340 per acre. For agricultural 
 purposes £120 an acre has been paid. The total 
 amount reclaimed and to be reclaimed is 12,450 acres. 
 Some 8,500 have been disposed of, &c." 
 
 The Leader published in the Times, London, 
 November 18th, 1876, in exhibiting the merits of that 
 enterprise, says : — 
 
 " The cost was estimated at £2,000,000, but the net 
 expenses will, it is believed, be brought down to little 
 more than half that sum, by causes peculiar to 
 Holland. 
 
 Large tracts of land have, as we have said, been 
 snatched from the waters of the adjoining Lake, and 
 they afford admirable fertile soil. More than 12,000 
 acres have thus been added to the territory of Holland, 
 and the land is so valuable as to have fetched an 
 average of £80 an acre. 
 
 " Some of it, indeed, has been sold for agricultural 
 purposes at £120 an acre, a sum that may well excite 
 the envy of those among our own proprietors who can 
 measure their unreclaimed lands by thousands of acres." 
 
 The average price per acre of that not yet sold will 
 not be less, perhaps, than that which is sold. 
 
 The result is, that the realization from this small 
 body of re-claimed swamp land nearly pays the entire 
 net amount of the construction cost of the North Sea 
 Canal. 
 
 This is a striking example of the aid derived from 
 lands in constructing internal improvements. 
 
 The Illinois Central Eailway Company practically 
 realized 130,000,000 from its land grants, of a little 
 over 2,500,000 acres, and to-day could realize more 
 than twice this amount for the same lands. 
 
 The Company's 2,300,000 acres are amongst the 
 richest lands in the State, and 1,000,000 at least are 
 of the very best orange-producing quality in Florida. 
 Indeed, the Indian River lands for orange culture are 
 the best in the State. 
 
 It is hardly improbable to suppose that a number of 
 Companies will be organized both in the United States 
 and Europe to utilize portions of the Company's vast 
 domain of 8,300,000 acres of land, for the cultivation 
 of Sea Island cotton, sugar, Cuban tobacco, rice, and 
 especially tropical fruits and garden vegetables ; also 
 to manufacture timber, and export oysters and fish, 
 and that a large emigration is bound to go to Florida 
 from Europe to enjoy its fine climate and great ad- 
 vantaofes offered. 
 
 Conclusions. 
 
 From the foregoing elaborate Report and cumulative 
 evidence in support, the facts are submitted, in confi- 
 dence and assurance, that the capital required to com- 
 plete this branch of the enterprise is absolutely secure. 
 
 1st. From the certain earnings of the enterprise. 
 
 2nd. It is secured by the timber and lumber alone 
 on the Company's lands. 
 
 3rd. The 2,300,000 acres of the richest and most 
 valuable lands in the State are good se- 
 curity for this capital. 
 
 4th. The franchises, rights, improvements, real, 
 personal, and mixed property, form an 
 aggregate security for the Bonds and Stock 
 proposed to be issued, which are most 
 ample and first-class for the investment of 
 Capital. 
 
 JOHN H. FRY, 
 Attorney for the Compcmy. 
 
5*.*r