FERN POOLS. 



Down in what is called the "Homestead Country" in lower 

 Dade County the water from the Everglades finds its way through 

 the rocky limestone strata to the sea by underground passages. 

 The carbonic acid in the water dissolves the rock to such an 

 extent that in places the roof falls in, and often the rock, earth 

 and rubbish dam up the stream and form a pool. On the banks 

 of these pools, especially those in the hammocks, many species 

 of ferns and other shade and moisture loving plants spring up 

 and flourish in rare luxuriance and beauty. 



On my first visit to this region I became infatuated with them 

 and I wondered if it was not possible to make something like 

 them in my own hammock. Shortly after my return I blasted 

 out a space where there were but a few small saplings, wheeled 

 away the rock to use for paths in the lowland, and finally sank 

 the excavation to a foot or so below water level. I left the 

 sides as irregular as possible, filled earth into the crevices and 

 pockets, planted a lot of ferns and in a short time had a fair 

 imitation of a natural fern pool. 



So I am not the inventor of the fern pool but only its discoverer 

 and developer, and I shall not even attempt to patent it. My 

 first pool was worked out near the swamp bordering the bay 

 and I soon had land crabs in great numbers, not merely as 

 visitors but as permanent residents. They didn't come to 

 admire the plants or the beauty of the landscape; they were 

 there strictly for business. They ate nearly all my delicate 

 ferns and what they didn't eat they pulled out and destroyed, 

 and I soon found that I could only grow the stronger and coarser 

 native species in it. 



My next venture was made considerably farther away from 

 the bay in high, dense hammock, and there I have been able 

 by watching and occasional poisoning to keep my unwelcome 

 visitors pretty well in check, and to grow plants with reasonable 

 success. There is only a small pool sunk some ten feet in the 

 rock, and it is well shaded by overhanging trees. On its sides 



75 



