100 



Sixteen persons were in. attendance. After the reading and ap- 

 proval of the minutes of the preceding meeting, the scientific 

 program was presented. The following abstracts were prepared 

 by the authors : 

 "Exploration in the Everglades", by Dr. J. K. Small. 



" I was accompanied on my recent expedition by Mr. J. J. 

 Carter, of Pleasant Grove, Pennsylvania. 



"The principal undertaking of the expedition was the explora- 

 tion of the group of keys forming the southwestern extension of 

 the everglade reef or chain of islands. This group, extending 

 westward from near Camp Jackson for abo.ut ten miles and thence 

 southwestward for about eight miles, dies out in the everglades 

 eighteen miles from Cape Sable. It is popularly known as Long 

 Key, and has furnished the basis of much misunderstanding among 

 the native Floridians and superstition amon^ the Seminole 

 Indians. 



" While awaiting the arrival of baggage delayed in transit from 

 the north, we took occasion to visit some of the upper Florida 

 Keys, including the group of Ragged Keys, making notes of 

 observations and complete collections of the plants inhabiting 

 them. Our main object was to determine whether or not 

 Soldier Key and the Ragged Keys really belong to the Florida 

 Keys, from the standpoint of their structure and vegetation. The 

 fact that these islands are members of the Florida Keys was 

 demonstrated in the affirmative by evidence furnished by their 

 coral structure and tropical vegetation. Thus Soldier Key is to 

 be considered the most northern member of the Florida Keys. 

 A glance at a map of that region will also indicate that it is sep- 

 arated from the two islands lying north of it by about five miles 

 of water, including a natural channel. The two islands just 

 referred to, namely, Virginia Key and Key Biscayne, are gener- 

 ally included among the Florida Keys ; but a previous study of 

 their structure and vegetation proved them to be merely detached 

 portions of the narrow coastal peninsula, which thus ends at the 

 historic Cape Florida. Soldier Key consists of several acres of 

 partially sand-covered coral -rock with both herbaceous and 

 woody vegetation, the number of species growing there amount- 



