GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 149 



Something like 96% of the vegetation is evergreen. A consid- 

 erable number of the species are mainly tropical in distribution, and 

 not found north of Florida. Comparatively little use is made of 

 the native plants. There is some lumbering and turpentining, but 

 that belongs more to the neighboring flatwoods, i. e., what few 

 sawmills and turpentine stills there are along the railroad get 

 part of most of their raw material from the flatwoods. More 

 honey in proportion to area is produced here than in other parts of 

 central Florida, but it may come from orange blossoms as much 

 as from native plants. 



Climate. This is the warmest part of central Florida, at least 

 in winter, on account of the proximity of the Gulf Stream. Often 

 a whole winter passes without frost, in the southern portions at 

 least. As compared with other regions described herein, the total 

 rainfall seems to be a trifle less, but the proportion of it that comes 

 in late summer is a little greater. 



Animals. Fishing is an important industry in the Indian River 

 and other lagoons, but no statistics of it have come to the writer's 

 notice. Titusville seems to be the principal center. Mosquitoes 

 seem to be more abundant here than in the other regions, and on 

 Merritt's Island they are in evidence practically every month in 

 the year, on account of the rarity of frost. But they are more an- 

 noying than dangerous, for those of the malaria-bearing species 

 seem to be rare or absent, being more characteristic of regions with 

 fertile soil.* 



Population. There have been some white settlements on the 

 east coast ever since the early Spanish days ; and the bringing of a 

 colony of Greeks and Minorcans to New Smyrna by Dr. Andrew 

 Turnbull shortly before the American Revolution is a well-known 

 episode of Florida history. But the population remained sparse 

 until the coming of the railroad in the 'So's. There is no way of 

 estimating the density of population accurately, but if we assume 

 that half of the inhabitants of Volusia County and all those of Bre- 

 vard are concentrated in the coast strip we will not be very far off. 

 That would give about 13 per square mile in 1890, 16 in 1900, 26 

 in 19 10, and 40 in 1920. These figures are considerably above the 

 average for central Florida and the whole State, showing that not- 



*See 6th Annual Report, page 288, last footnote. 



