GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 



97 



are, commonest northward, and the lakes most numerous in Hills- 

 borough County, where the ground-water is nearest to the surface. 

 (This southern portion is not very different from the lake re- 

 gion farther east.) 



Streams and swamps are rather scarce, on account of most oi 

 the drainage being subterranean, through the deep sand antl cavern- 

 ous limestone. There are several large limestone springs, the 

 most noted being Silver Spring (fig. 8), a f^ew miles east of 

 Ocala, which is one of the largest in the world. 



Soils. The greater part of the soil is a cream-colored or liglii 

 buff fine-grained sand, varying toward white or brown, and usuall}* 

 quite uniform in texture to a depth of several or many feet. About 

 half of this region in central Florida is now covered by soil sur- 

 veys, from which it appears that by far the greater part of the soil? 

 are referable to the "Norfolk" series, with a scattering of "Gaines- 

 ville." "Hernando,'' "Leon," "Fellowship." "St. Lucie," etc 

 (which names however may mean little to persons not thoroughly 

 familiar with the publications of the U. S. Bureau of Soils, to which 

 they are at present chiefly confined). The leading texture classes 

 are fine sand (about 75% of the total), sand; fine sandy loam, 



Fig. g. High pine, land with scattered oaks (the most conspicuous^ one a 

 live oak, (Quercus gcniiiiata), about 5 miles west of Inverness, Citrus County. 

 March 14, 1914. 



