144 FLORIDA.

a series of canals connecting it with both the Gulf and the
Atlantic. The enterprise is one of considerable magnitude,
and, if fully successful, will be of immense value to them-
selves, to the State, and indeed to the entire country, as it
will open to profitable cultivation millions of acres of the
richest soil in the world, especially and peculiarly adapted
to the production of sugar.
 In this cursory glance at the inland lakes which consti-
tute a characteristic feature of the Floridian Peninsula, I
have not mentioned the innumerable smaller and detached
ones that dot the surface nearly everywhere, nor have I at-
tempted even to name the countless "springs" found in
all portions of the State, and attaining in many cases to the
dimensions of lakes. A volume would be required in order
to do justice to them all; and even then, probably, that
more thorough exploration and survey of the State, that
is sure to come soon, would reveal the existence of many
more.
P They are a great boon to the State, not only for their
beauty and picturesque effect, but for the facilities they
offer to transportation, and the fertility they impart to the
soiL Lands on their shores ate everywhere eagerly sought
by the settler, it being .the ambition of all to own a home
nestling on a lovely lawn bordering upon some pretty lake.
'And. surely nowhere .can there be found more attractive
scenes of picturesque domesticity than is afforded by a
lake-side home in Florida.


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