332 Annals Entomological Society of America [Vol. XIII, 



Fire is a very important factor in the development of 

 piney woods. Nearly every tree has its bark blackened at the 

 base, and every prostrate log and stump is charred. The woods 

 are fired at more or less regular intervals by man, principally 

 for improving grazing and keeping down the underbrush. 

 Many are set also through carelessness or by accident. 



On account of its thick, fire-proof bark, the long-leaf pine 

 does not suffer much injury from fire after it is three or four 

 years old. Therefore, if any spot escapes burning for that 

 period of time there is a chance for the pine to reproduce itself. 



The following is a list of the principal plants observed. 



Pinus palustris Long-leaf pine. 



Quercus geminata Live oak. 



Quercus falcata Red oak. 



Hicoria alba (?) Hickory. 



Quercus laurifolia Laurel oak. 



Quercus catesbaei Forked-leaf black-jack. 



Quercus nigra Water oak. 



Castanea alnif olia Chinquepin. 



Seventy-five per cent of the vegetation is made up of pine 

 and red and live oaks. There is a large number of shrubs and 

 herbs, a large proportion being Leguminosas. About fifteen 

 per cent of the shrubs are Ericads. At certain seasons of the 

 year the wire-grass, Aristida stricta, and the broom-sedge, 

 Andropognon virginicus, are very conspicuous.:; Mosses, lichens, 

 and woody vines are rare, being destroyed and kept out by 

 fire. 



The soil, although naturally less fertile 'than the nearby 

 hammock land, is much easier to clear and to plow. A con- 

 siderable part of what was once piney woods is now under 

 cultivation. 



Location and Physical Characteristics. 



general account of the gainesville region. 



Gainesville is located in the peninsular portion of Florida 

 about midway between the extremities of the State, lying in 

 about latitude 29° 4(3^ and longitude 82° 20^. It is located in 

 what Harper ('14) terms the Middle Florida Hammock belt. 



The soil of the region as a whole is a sandy loam, containing 

 very little humus. There is more or less clay, ordinarily at 



