geography and vegetation of northern florida. 1 73 



Geographical Significance of \'egetation. 



Native vegetation is probably the most sensitive indicator of 

 geographical conditions that can be found ; for every variation in 

 soil or climate is reiiected in some way in the vegetation, so that if we 

 understood the matter perfectly we could tell by inspection of the 

 vegetation of an uninhabited region, without examining the soil at 

 all, just what its agricultural possibilities would be. There is no 

 better place in the eastern United States to apply this sort of knowl- 

 edge than Florida, for in most parts of the state not more than lo 

 per cent of the land is under cultivation as yet, and the relations be- 

 tween soil and vegetation are often very marked.* 



The fundamental facts about the \-egetation set forth in the fol- 

 lowing" pages ought to become more and more valual)le in the future 

 when the farms have encroached upon the forests to such an extent 

 as to make the opportunities for this sort of investigation much 

 more limited than they are at present. In most of the other eastern 

 states some types of vegetation have disappeared entirely, and others 

 have been mutilated so that it is no longer possible to form an 

 adequate idea of their original condition. 



In an area as small as that under consideration the diversity of 

 vegetation seems to be due almost entireh- to soil and topography, 

 and the climatic belts or "life-zones" into which the whole continent 

 is sometimes divided cannot he used. Many attempts have been 

 made in other parts of the world to correlate vegetation with soil, 

 but few general principles of world-wide application have been 

 deduced as yet, apparently because the vegetation has nearlv always 

 been studied qualitatively and taxonomicallv instead of quantitative- 

 ly and morphologically. In other words. iuA'-estigators have usually 

 tried to connect environmental conditions with the presence or 



*Tn fact most of tlie attempted classifications of Florida soils that were 

 published vry to very recently have heen classifications of vegetation primarily, 

 for they make use of such terms as "high pine land," "hammock." "swamp," 

 "scrub" and "prairie," which arc vegetation types rather than soil types. And 

 maps of Florida and parts thereof on a large scale show many vegetation 

 features, such as San Pedro P.av, Pa>ne's Prairie, the Gulf Hammock (Levy 

 Co.). "Swamp with dense growtli of cypress and red cedar" (Hernando Co.), 

 Annuttalagga Hammock (Hernando Co.), Grass Slough (DeSoto Co.), the 

 Rig Sawgrass (DeSoto and Lee Cos.), the Big Cypress (Lee Co.), and the 

 Everglades. (See also 3d Annual Report, plates 11-13: 5th. plates 10-12). 



