32 
a tedious and laborious operation, and in many cases a half 
dozen specimens would be ruined before the requisite number, 
with sufficient root system to warrant shipping, was secured, 
: ae : 
coral ridges, and is a succession of pine-land, hammocks and 
ee swamps. 
The pine-lands are characterized by a scattering growth of 
Finus en and numerous shrubs, shrubby herbs and her- 
b s perennials, together with a few annuals. The more 
conspicuous plants, other than the pine referred to above, are 
four species of palms, representing the three genera, Sada/, 
Serenoa and Coccothrinax, and a handsome representative of the 
sago palm family, Zamia Floridana, which is very common, but 
has been somewhat depleted by the extensive digging of the root 
for the manufacture of starch. These pine-lands are light and 
airy, the growth of timber being scattered and affording little 
ade. 
In great contrast to this are the hammocks, which are in per- 
petual twilight and gloom, and, as stated above, the overlying 
soil is thicker here than in the pine-lands. These formations, 
varying in size from an acre to many hundred acres, are scattered 
throughout the pine-lands, and consist of a dense growth of hard- 
wood trees and shrubs and vines, in some cases forming an 
almost impenetrable tangle. The ground is well covered with 
the seedlings and suckers of the trees and shrubs, supplemented 
with a greater or less number of fungi, hepatics, mosses and 
ferns. The herbaceous vegetation, however, is scant, being forced 
to a refuge on the trees, which have, in many cases, fully one-half 
their trunk and branch surface covered with a dense growth of 
ferns, orchids, bromeliads, and other less conspicuous plants. 
The mangrove swamps, owing to their great root growth, are 
almost impenetrable, and are located along the coast and neigh- 
boring water-courses. Their vegetation is confined almost 
orchids as grow on their branches. Frequently on the borders 
of these swamps occurred a large, showy species of Acrostichum, 
with leaves often six to eight feet long 
