GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 20g 



As explained in the publication just cited, fire is a normal and 

 important factor in this type of vegetation. It comes at irregular 

 intervals, usually in early spring, but probably sweeps over each 

 spot about once in two years, on the average. The herbs, being 

 perennials, would probably not be injured perceptibly by fires every 

 winter, and the shrubs also have underground stems which soon 

 send up new sprouts after the parts above ground are burned. The 

 long-leaf pine is practically immune to fire after it is four or five 

 years old, and any one spot to have a continuous growth of pine 

 would merely need to escape burning for that length of time about 

 once or twice in a century. 



The high pine land is of great economic importance. The pines 

 yield lumber of the finest quality, fuel, naval stores, etc., and the 

 grass furnishes pasturage for thousands of cattle. The soil is 

 easily tilled, and much if not most of the farming in central Flor- 

 ida is done on what was once high pine land. Probably one-fourth 

 of the original vegetation has been completely eradicated in this 

 way, and the remainder considerably damaged by lumber and tur- 

 pentine and phosphate men; but it restores itself pretty well when 

 given a chance. 



Scrub (figs. II, 38). This type of vegetation is almost con- 

 fined to Florida, but marked resemblances to it in one way or an- 

 other can be found in the sand-hills of Georgia, the pine-barrens of 

 New Jersey, the jack-pine plains of Michigan, the chaparral of Cal- 

 ifornia, the heaths of northern Germany, the scrub of western Aus- 

 tralia, etc. ; all of which have either poor soil or deficient rainfall. 

 No accurate estimate of its area is possible at this time, but it prob- 

 ably covers something like 5% of the whole area under considera- 

 tion, and as much as 10% of the lake region. It is nearly always 

 on old dunes and other white sands, but occasionally on creamy 

 sand scarcely distinguishable from that of the high pine land. 

 Where it adjoins high pine land the boundary is often so sharp that 

 one can go from one type into the other in one step. It has been de- 

 scribed in many previous publications relating to Florida,* particu- 



*But strange to say, two of the most complete descriptions of Florida, 

 namely, Col. J. L. Williams' "Territory 6f Florida" (1837), and Dr. E. A. Smith's 

 report on cotton production (1884), do not seem to mention the scrub at all. 

 (For full citations of these works see 6th Annual Report, pp. 415, 416.) 



