S2S.6 



PREFACE 



The southern part of the Everglades is dotted 

 with myriads of clumps of shrubs and trees which lie 

 on either side of a chain of rock islands which con- 

 stitute the Everglade Keys. 1 



The two natural divisions of this chain of islands, 

 the Biscayne pineland and the Long Key pineland, 

 are separated from each other by a distance of about 

 three miles. The larger or eastern group takes its 

 name from Bay Biscayne which washes the shores of 

 one of the islands for a distance of about fifteen miles. 

 The smaller group takes its name from Long Key, 

 the largest island of the western group. The inter- 

 vening' Everglades contain a number of sloughs which 

 represent the upper reaches of an unmapped river 

 that flows southward and empties into the Bay of 

 Florida. Among the forks and sloughs of this river 

 are many wooded islands. Most of the islands are 

 small; but one of them is larger than many of the 

 others put together, and it stands out so prominently 

 in the landscape that it may be seen across the 



1 The word key (Spanish cayo, English cay) primarily 

 applied to islands along the coast in and near Spanish-speak- 

 ing countries, largely replaces the use of the word " island " 

 in southern Florida, and by the inhabitants is applied to 

 islands in the Everglades as well as to the islands of the 

 coast and reef of Florida. 



