l88 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



After each plant list are a few remarks on characteristic species, 

 species conspicuous by their absence or scarcity, and other noteworthy 

 features of the vegetation, including particularly a summation of 

 the percentages of evergreens, Ericaceae and Leguminosae, which 

 are correlated as far as possible with soil characters. In this way 

 some conclusions are drawn which have never been possible before, 

 and which it is hoped will be of some value. 



Economic features. The most important use made of the native 

 vegetation is converting the pines into lumber and naval stores ; but 

 no satisfactory statistics of the production of these commodities for 

 areas smaller than states seem to be available, so that the status of 

 the industries can be indicated only in a general way. In all the 

 regions a great deal of wood is consumed for fuel (for coal is little 

 used in Florida except on the railroads and in the cities) ; and the 

 native grasses and other herbage furnish pasturage for cattle, 

 which have free range in every region here described except one. 

 Another way in which the vegetation is converted to the use of 

 mankind through the agency of animals is in the production of 

 honey, which is an important item in some of the counties, and 

 might be made so in nearly all. 



The statistics of population, improved land, etc.. are derived 

 mostly from the 13th U. S. census (of 1910) by the tedious process 

 of dividing up the figures for each county proportionately to the 

 area of the several regions represented therein, and adding all the 

 figures for each region. This involves the assumption that the 

 population is uniformly distributed in each county, which of course 

 is not quite correct ; but the errors arising from this cause counter- 

 balance each other to some extent. For total population (but not 

 for race and sex) the figures are given in the census reports for pre- 

 cincts as well as for counties, but in the absence of maps showing 

 the location of the precincts no geographical advantage can be 

 taken of that fact. 



The crop statistics in the government census reports are unsat- 

 isfactory because they do not give values for areas smaller than 

 states, and do not separate the two kinds of cotton, and the numer- 

 ous kinds of vegetables 'that are raised in Florida. The informa- 

 tion about crops given herein is derived mostly from the biennial 

 report of the state Commissioner of Agriculture for 191 1 and 1912. 

 The production of any one crop varies so from year to year that it 



