1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



217 



middle of it winds a square trough of 

 cypress boards. In the sides of this 

 trough are holes ; with a six-horse- 

 power gasoline engine he pumps the 

 water out of the Everglades and lets 

 it out of the holes in the trough when 

 and wherever he needs it. 



The rocky bed underlying the soil 

 covering of the Everglades is appar- 

 ently still in process of formation. 

 The water as it comes from springs 

 is full of lime. Owing to evaporation 

 and chemical reasons the lime is de- 



Mangrove Swamp. These mangroves 

 are often large, fine trees and when 

 accessible are being used for piling. A 

 small quantity has been used for floor- 

 ing and the bark is being shipped from 

 this region for timing extract. The 

 black mangrove is also a valuable 

 tree. 



The main point of this article, how- 

 ever, is this : If Congress is hunting 

 for swamps to drain they are here. 

 There are four or five million acres of 

 them. Here is opportunity for tropical 



Indians coming out of the Everglades in their canoes on the Miami River. 



posited on everything. Every leaf and 

 twig is covered with it. Over the sur- 

 face innumerable shells of snails may 

 be seen floating. These finally drop to 

 the bottom and are incorporated with 

 the rock. 



In the southern part of the Ever- 

 glades there is an island called "Para- 

 dise Key," on which there are many 

 large royal palms. How they got 

 there is a mystery. 



South of the Everglades stretching 

 for miles to Cape Sable is the Great 



expansion nearer home than the Phil- 

 lipines. Here is an empire to conquer 

 which reminds the forester somewhat 

 of the famous "Landes" which are 

 now reclaimed and one of the most 

 healthful and productive provinces of 

 France. But, strange to say, the Ever- 

 glades are not unhealty. In fact the 

 Indians claim that mosquitos are fewer 

 there than in the dry pine land. This 

 is probably due to the little fish that 

 live in its streams. In general, animal 

 life does not appear to be plentiful in 



