172 IN LOWER FLORIDA WILDS 



moderate and but few young pines are destroyed. 

 As a consequence they are slender and straight 

 and grow closer together. ' In the Miami area, on 

 the contrary the ground is covered with dense 

 undergrowth and most of the young pines are 

 killed. The few that do survive form an open 

 forest and with room to grow they become large, 

 rugged, and gnarled. 



Anyone inspecting a pine woods after a severe 

 fire would be certain that every vestige of vege- 

 tation was utterly destroyed. Nothing is left 

 but a few burnt stems; blackness and desolation 

 are seen on every hand. With the exception of 

 some larger pines everything seems to be dead. 

 But visit the forest a fortnight later and young 

 tender growth is springing up everywhere. Grass 

 is peeping through the ashes and charred debris 

 and little green leaves are smiling amid the ruins. 

 Look carefully at the bases of small oaks and 

 other shrubs and see the young shoots beginning 

 to grow just at the ground or a little below the 

 surface. Now the vital part of all these plants is 

 safely hidden below the surface of the earth. This 

 is the lesson which has been forced upon the 

 dwellers of the inflammable pine belt, a lesson that 



