One mile east of Manatee, on a point of land formed by the junction of Braiden Creek with the bay, stands a historic structure, known as Braiden Castle. It is composed of a concrete of lime and oyster-shells, two stories high, surmounted by a cupola or observatory, constructed of wood, from which a charming view of the surrounding country can be had. South-east, Braiden Creek, winding like a silver thread among innumerable evergreen islands, presents a view worthy of a poet's dream. Westward, as far as the eye can scan, can be traced the blue waters of the bay glinting in the sun or dancing in the moonbeams on their way to the gulf. Northward, across the bay, the eye meets hammock, pine land and prairie stretching far away toward Tampa Bay. This old relic, scarred by Indian bullets, stands a sad memento of better days. Who shall write its history? At Fair Oaks, about one and a half miles south of the castle, on a portion of the old Braiden plantation, is the largest and most thrifty young orange grove on the gulf coast of South Florida. It comprises nearly four thousand trees; belongs to the Hon. Charles H. Foster, ex-State Treasurer, and is a living, growing, bearing monument to Yankee pluck, enterprise and industry. Mr. Foster is now erecting at Fair Oaks the handsomest private residence in South Florida. The most direct route to Fair Oaks is by the way of Manatee, and the scenery _en route_ is unsurpassed in the land of the myrtle and ivy. Leaving Rocky Ford, you pass Glen Falls, whose pellucid waters sparkle and dance over rock and through chasm, on their course to the Manatee. Graceful palms, with their evergreen foliage; stately live oaks, draped with pendant moss, swaying to and fro in the breeze; girdled oaks, gayly festooned from base to apex with ivy, yellow jessamine and Virginia creeper, gladden the eye on either side of the road, and orange-blossoms perfume the air with their delightful fragrance, rendering the scene enchanting as fairy land. In the village of Manatee and adjacent hammock may be seen the orange groves of Mrs. Gates, Revs. Edmund Lee, A. A. Robinson and E. Glazier, Messrs. Pelote, Curry, Harllee, Mitchell, Vanderipe, Lloyd, Clark, Warner, McNeill, Casper, Gates, Wyatt, Adams, Broberg, Reed and Wilson. Mrs. Gates, Parson Lee and Major Adams also have banana groves in bearing. The latter gentleman is engaged in erecting a large concrete mansion, with carriage-house and servants' quarters of the same material. Situated in an eligible position on the bank of the bay, surrounded by tropical fruits, flowers and vines, whose evergreen foliage constantly waving in the breeze, renders the location highly picturesque.