Down on the wharf the air is scented with strawberry perfume, for, as I think I have said elsewhere, the great packing-houses are situated here, and trains and vessels fruit-laden come from all parts of the state and disgorge their treasures. An immense trade in fruit and vegetables is carried on--early peas, young potatoes, asparagus, pine-apples, and strawberries being largely exported to the eastern and northern states; business is brisk everywhere, but there is no confusion. Hundreds of hands are busy packing the rich luscious strawberries in the ice-boxes--ice above, ice below, ice everywhere; then they are hermetically sealed and sent to New York or elsewhere, arriving there in perfection, as though they were just fresh gathered. In front of the wharf, lying along the river, are several small pleasure boats and some large three-masted schooners, dipping and fretting and tossing their mastheads, as though they were in a hurry to get their lumber freight and be gone; the huge mill is whirring busily, its iron teeth tearing the king of the forest to pieces as fast as it can, perhaps cutting up and slicing some of that large family of pines we have been lately passing through. Who knows? perhaps they may return one day shaped into the tall strong masts of some noble ship, bearing her fluttering sails on high, creaking and swaying in the wind as though struggling to get to their silent brotherhood on the plains up yonder, and tell them how much of the world they have seen, and what strange peoples they have borne across the seas.
The busy wharves, the beautiful river, picturesque streets and Arcadian surroundings, make this first glimpse of Florida delightful. We have nothing to do but revel in the breeze and bask in the sunshine, and we do it.
Jacksonville has so many advantages that it is rapidly becoming the favourite resort of travelling multitudes. So rapid has been its growth during the short period of its existence that its population already numbers about 11,000; it is everywhere lighted with gas, has an excellent water supply (though I cannot say much for the water, it should be used as an outward application only). The postal and telegraphic system is as near perfection as such arrangements generally are; they have even the latest scientific improvement, the telephone. You may travel to and from anywhere and everywhere. There is a perfect system of river traffic, and trains are dashing in and out of the city all day long.