1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



629 



top, which somewhat resembles a cabbage— more 

 ill look, however, than in taste, which is not un- 

 like ihat ofa raw chestnut. AVhere the liin-shaped 

 leaves of this bcautifu! tree put out at the top, is 

 found unlblitoil u piih, Ibrming about onc-thirii oC 

 the diameter ol'iiie trunk, and about 12 or 15 inches 

 long, which is of an eatable (jualiiy, particularly 

 when boiled, or preserved as a pickle. It is true, 

 a tree some hall-century old might be sacrificed to 

 the attainment of a single meal; but iliese trees 

 are abundant, and no doubt Jiave often afiorded 

 one to a roving Indian, who sat down hungry and 

 unprovided beneatli their shade. 



JBut the necessities of the war now going on, 

 have opened a new resource to the Indians, or 

 which, at least, does not appear to have been 

 used by them in more abundant times. This is 

 found in the root of the saw-palmetto, a singular 

 species of most common vegetation in Florida, 

 which overspreads nearly every pine-barren, co- 

 vering it like a vast reticulated carpet. In passing 

 over these barrens, the palmetto leai" is seen 

 shooting up from the ground in great luxuriance, 

 forming, as is found on close inspection, the ter- 

 mination of a recumbent cabbage-tree, several 

 feet long, and probably half buried beneath the 

 surface, or deciduous vegetation. Lying constant- 

 ly on the ground, it never acquires the bony hard- 

 ness of the exterior coat of the upright cabbage- 

 iree, but is covered with a fibrous hairiness, which 

 gives it almost the softness of silken plush, pre- 

 vailing through every fold, to the very heart, ex- 

 cepting within a lew inches of the end, where is 

 found a nutritious pith, smaller than, but not un- 

 like, that of the cabbage-tree. This is bruised 

 into meal, and made subservient to the purposes 

 of food. These roots spread, as we have before 

 remarked, over nearly every barren; and, since a 

 portion of them is convertible into Ibod, there can 

 be no limit to the spontaneous subsistence of those 

 who frequent them. The leaves or foldings of 

 this root are thin and pliable, several inches long, 

 and three or four wide, and are worked into many 

 articles of ornament and use. 



There is also found in Florida a wild potato, 

 of tolerable quality, and much wild fruit. Game 

 of all kinds is abundant, and wild fowls are nume- 

 rous on every stream and lake. The Indians, in 

 Spanish times, were accustomed to herd cattle 

 largely, and at the commencement of the present 

 war, they are said to have had thousands. 



From this enumeration of the articles of food 

 which present themselves spontaneously to the 

 wants of the Indian, it will be seen that they are 

 little dependent on care, foresight, or labor, lor 

 subsistence. 



The mineralogy of Florida is scanty. The 

 rocks found in situ are all calcareous, though si- 

 liceous boulders, of a small size, are occasionally 

 seen, and nodules of hornstone are here and there 

 mingled with the limestone, which elicit sparks, 

 and are sometimes used by the Indians for flints. 



The geology of Florida presents many inter- 

 esting features; but it has as yet been examined 

 with little attention, warranting few definite con- 

 clusions. The coast, as far as (Jape Florida, is 

 alluvial, a seeming mass of comminuted shells, 

 resting on a rocky formation, composed also of 

 shells, more or less broken and abraded. From 

 Cape Florida, the formation is mostly coralline, 

 the Keys being of that character. The shells 

 Vol. VI.-67 



around the Keys are found in nearly a perfect 

 slate. Take up a handful at random, and it will 

 exhibit little else than fragments of coral and uni- 

 valves, generally of a small size, and diminishing 

 almost to a point. As high as Indian River In- 

 let, the beach is still formed of shells, though less 

 distinct and perfect in their form, mingled with 

 some sand; while about Cape Carnaverel the sand 

 predominates, until shelly fragments almost disap- 

 pear to the naked eye. Still, it seems probable 

 that the whole beach is of a calcareous character. 



The coquina rock ("as the Spaniards called it) 

 is a formation Ibund in the spits of sandy land 

 which separate the lagoons near the coast from 

 the sea. It has been quarried in Anastasia island, 

 lor more than a century, aflbrding a material for 

 structures of all kinds in St. Augustine, worked 

 with uncommon facility, and of a durable charac- 

 ter. A large fort, of Spanish construction, at 

 that place, is of coquina. In latitudes where there 

 is little or no frost, it is, perhaps, the best material 

 that can be used in Ibrtifications; being firm 

 enough to sustain the Ibrm of any work, and re- 

 ceiving a shot like a plastic mass, exhibiting no 

 li-acture, and throwing off no splinters. 



The quarries near St. Augustine are generally 

 about ten leei deep. The profile of the strata, as 

 presented to the eye there, exhibits, first, a super- 

 ficial covering of vegetable mould; next, a stra- 

 tum of shelly fragments, quite small, and without 

 any distinctness of character, with no cohesion. 

 This stratum varies much in thickness, according 

 to the undulations of the surface, being generally 

 from two to three feet. The next in the descend- 

 ing series is a stratum of several inches thickness, 

 composed of similar shelly fragments, but united 

 in a mass by some cement. Then intervenes a 

 stratum of sand, an inch or tvvo in thickness. Im- 

 mediately below this sand is a stratum oi' shelly 

 rock, between tvvo and three feet in thickness. 

 This stratum is formed of shells in various states, 

 the upper several inches being much like the stra- 

 tum above, that is, of small and indistinct fragments, 

 when, lor several inches more, it assumes a new 

 character, many of the shells being perfect in 

 their outlines, and only much abraded, and most 

 of them of a size to give some clue to their 

 species. The interstices in this portion of the 

 mass are large in proportion to the size of the 

 shells, and the cement which holds them together 

 is hardly visible. Bivalves, cockles, of the car- 

 (lium species, predominate, while here and there 

 is found a conch of large size, as also oyster fi'ag- 

 raents. Some of these conchs are several inches 

 in length, though much worn. This coarse and 

 comparatively unbroken deposite has a substratum, 

 with which it is equally closely joined, like that 

 superimposed. A thin stratum of sand next suc- 

 ceeds; and then a third stratum of shelly rock, 

 about two feet and a half thick, the component 

 parts of which are in a state rather more commi- 

 nuted than any lying above. This stratum is 

 likewise of a more solid and uniform character 

 than its associates, and gives the largest blocks for 

 building purposes. A sandy stratum is found be- 

 low this, and, so far as an examination has pene- 

 trated, a coquina formation descends no lower. 



All these strata are firm concretions, their com- 

 ponent parts being obviously conglutinated by a 

 calcareous substance, which holds them well to- 

 gether. This foreign substance, or cement, is 



