GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 233 



etc. Being only about the size of a pin-point, it is not easy to de- 

 termine its natural habitats, but it evidently frequents places that 

 are rarely burned, like hammocks, swamps, and roadside" shrub- 

 bery, and is scarce in pine lands. It is annoying but not danger- 

 ous, and its pernicious activities are chiefly confined to the warmer 

 half of the year. The instinct that leads it to burrow into human 

 skin is a suicidal one, for there is very little chance of such an in- 

 dividual having any descendants to inherit the same tastes.* 



There are several species of ticks, with habits similar to those 

 of the red bug, but being larger they are less abundant and more 

 easily dealt with. The cattle-tick which infests the ranges and 

 pastures has been viewed with alarm by stock-raisers in recent 

 years, and a campaign for its extermination is now under way, 

 with good prospects of success.! 



MisceUancous invertebrates. The scorpion, which looks just 

 like one of the pictures among the signs of the zodiac in old-fash- 

 ioned almanacs, is more or less common in South Florida, but the 

 writer has never seen but one in central Florida, that in Lake 

 County in 1909. 



Earthworms, which abound in clayey and loamy soils in most 

 parts of the civilized world, and are an important factor in main- 

 taining the fertility of such soils, are scarce in the sand of penin- 

 sular Florida, but there are said to be a few native species in the 

 humus of our hammocks, and very likely some of the European 

 species occur in gardens. 



Of the many moUusks, terrestrial and aquatic, univalves and 

 bivalves, living and fossil, only the oyster need be mentioned here. 

 It is common in salt water (see fig. 3), and is shipped from Cedar 

 Keys and elsewhere. Its shells have been used extensively on 

 roads near the coast, as stated in the chapter on roads, farther on. 

 but they are now being gradually superseded by brick and asphalt. 



Sponges grow on the rocky bottom of the shallow waters along 

 the Gulf hammock coast, and Tarpon Springs is a great center for 

 the sponge industry, which is carried on by Greeks. A few are 

 also brought in to Cedar Keys. 



*See Farmers' Bulletin 671 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 1915. 

 Also N. Banks, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 28 :30-33. 1904. 

 fFor notes on ticks see Banks, 1. c. pp. 42-49. 



