The Antillean Region of Florida. 677 



dense crown cover, that fires seldom burn over them. The growth 

 of Cuban Pine is exceedingly slow. It is found on drier situa- 

 tions than in the northern part of its range and repeated annual 

 fires slow down its growth to a great extent. Some of the 

 tropical hardwoods grow very raipdly but their form is usually 

 so crooked and gnarled that but little lumber can be cut from the 

 individual trees. None of these Antillean species are found in 

 pure stands. 



Cuban Pine is remarkably free from any tree disease or injury 

 besides fire damage. The cypress is badly affected by peckiness, 

 certainly much more so than in northern Florida, and the trees 

 are usually short and scrubby. On account of the dense dark 

 forest cover on the tropical hammocks, their moist atmosphere 

 is very conducive to a great variety of fungous growths, but 

 otherwise they are entirely free from windthrow, ground fires and 

 insect attacks. 



A special feature of this region is the vast tract of 3,404,000 

 acres in Dane, Monroe and Lee Counties, known as the Ever- 

 glades. They consist of a flat, practically treeless expanse of 

 fresh-water marsh stretching from the narrow low sandy ridge 

 along the East coast to Lake Okechobee and the western part 

 of Lee County, and extending in an irregular form from North- 

 ern Dade County, to the mangrove swamps of the southern capes. 

 The surface is covered by saw-grass and several species of marsh 

 grasses. Isolated patches of hardwood and occasionally Cuban 

 Pine hammocks are found scattered over it. They vary in area 

 from one-eighth acre up to several acres. A thick muck of de- 

 cayed vegetable matter from a few inches to 15 feet in depth 

 supports the grasses which grow usually in a foot or two of water. 

 Underneath the muck is found a limestone of indefinite depth. On 

 the eastern and part of the southern boundaries of the Ever- 

 glades the water is retained by a limestone core or rim. The 

 , State now has in progress an extensive scheme of dredging deep 

 canals through this core and into the heart of the Everglades 

 from both Fort Lauderdale and Miami on the East Coast. This 

 will open up an immense tract of agricultural land. The ham- 

 mocks are usually composed of a dense stand of cocoa plum, red 

 bay, sweet bay, custard apple, wild plum, wild orange, lime, live 

 oak and a great variety of tropical shrubs and herbaceous plants. 



