NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



135 



the best examples. In general the 

 streams and lakes of Florida are excej)- 

 tionally well supplied with fish. 



Caves. The limestone region includes 

 a number of caves but none are very 

 extensive. Immense number of bats 

 find refuge in them and the camel 

 cricket {Ceuthophilus laiihuli) is a 

 characteristic insect. 



Succession. The relation of these 

 different types of vegetation to each 

 other and the ecological succession are 

 indicated in the following diagram: 



(14) 



Evergreen Magnolia Bay Holly H ammock 



T 



T 



Low Hammock (11) 



(13) 



Mixed High 

 Hammock 



T 



T 



^^^^ (12) J_ 

 Woods High 



Pine 



(10) 



Cabbage 

 Palmetto (8) 

 Hammock 



Spruce ,Q^ 

 Pine 



Saw Palmetto 



^^^ Scrub 



T 



Cypress Swamp, 



Prairies and 



Savannas (6) | 



(5) 



Marsh (3) 



Salt 

 Marsh 



(2) 



Active 

 Dunes 



(4) 



Lake 



(1) 



II. PRESENT BIOTA 



Less than 10% of the land area of 

 Florida is under cultivation. A large 



part of the remainder is occupied by 

 open pine forests which have Imich cut 

 over by lumbermen, tur()entined, grazed 

 (by cattle and hogs chiefly), and fre- 

 quently burned over. The fires are, 

 however, "ground fires" and do not 

 damage mature pines a.s scriou.sly as a 

 nortliern forest fire. They do, however, 

 tend to kill out the oaks and other 

 hardwood trees and hence prevent 

 succession. 



Both the pine timber and the cypress 

 are being rapidly consumed, and except 

 for two small forest reserves, no attempt 

 is being made at reforestation. Even 

 young pines but a few inches in diameter 

 are being turpentined. Many aban- 

 doned fields are growing up in second 

 growth pines, largely loblolly. Some 

 of the hammocks are in a nearly natural 

 condition, there being even a few black 

 bear, deer, and wild turkeys to be found. 

 The drainage of swamps is also pro- 

 ceeding rapidly as the drained areas 

 make the best trucking soils. 



Still there are many areas in nearly a 

 natural state and much of the area of the 

 state offers desirable opportunities to 

 the student and collector. Some of the 

 more desirable areas for such purposes 

 are described in the following pages. 



III. NATUU.\L ARE.VS 



o. Extensive natural regions 



The Knox Hill Country and Homes 

 Valley are two very small but rather 

 unique areas in West Florida, con- 

 stituting cases of rich soil and hardwood 

 forests surrounded by sandy pine re- 

 gions. A good deal of the area of both 

 has been cultivated and some aban- 

 doned, so that some of the forest is 

 second growth. They differ from each 

 other in soil, topography, etc., but on 

 account of their small size the two plant 

 lists are combined. (For additional 

 details about these regions sec (Uh Ann. 

 Rep. Fla. Geol., Surv., pp. 217-224.) 

 Both regions are off the main routes 

 of travel, and Holmes Valley i.s almost 

 uninhabitetl. But one can see a good 

 deal of the Knox Hill country in one 



