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University of Chicago, who, together with Mrs. Cowles, is study- 

 ing certain features of the Florida flora. 



The object of our field work was mainly two-fold ; first, we 

 had planned a survey of Long Key and several adjacent everglade 

 islands which, taken together, form the southwestern extremity 

 of the chain which appears north of the Miami River ; second, 

 we had arranged to continue the survey of the Florida Keys, in 

 order to secure and to preserve the knowledge of the native flora 

 of that singular chain of islands before it becomes further obscured 

 or wholly destroyed by the advance of civilization. The high 

 water in the everglades prevented us from getting more than a 

 distant view of Long Key, consequently we continued explora- 

 tion on the larger group of islands lying between Miami and 

 Camps Longview and Jackson, and through the courtesy of Mr. 

 Johnson, of the Florida East Coast Railway engineer corps, we 

 were enabled to penetrate a wholly unexplored section of the 

 everglades lying between the present terminus of the railway and 

 Key Largo, including a portion of Cross Key. Our interesting 

 experience on the latter island indicated further important dis- 

 coveries when its flora shall be more thoroughly explored. This 

 island, together with a parallel and almost similar formation, consti- 

 tutes the only natural and approximately complete land-connec- 

 tion between the Florida Keys and the mainland of the peninsula. 



As we reached the field about a week after the occurrence of the 

 hurricane already referred to, we had an opportunity to observe its 

 effects on the vegetation. The everglades were exceptionally full of 

 water, a condition caused not only by the heavy rains of the recent 

 storm, but also by those of a very wet season preceding it. On 

 the islands of coral sand-rock, the pinelands were uninjured ex- 

 cept for the relatively insignificant loss of myriads of pine trees 

 which were blown over by the wind, the number being especially 

 large because of the fact that the trees growing directly on the 

 exposed rock cannot make tap-roots. The islands ranging from 

 the vicinity of Homestead Station southward had been completely 

 submerged during the latter stage of the hurricane ; the water 

 lying to the northwest being pushed out of the everglades by 

 the extremely high winds, swept over the islands, and poured 



