44 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [JULY 
humus. Below this almost completely broken down stratum there 
is present a uniformly fine deposit of a decidedly woody nature, 
which appears as a deep brown granular accumulation of softened 
coniferous débris, nearly or entirely reduced to a structureless 
condition. Below this woody deposit there is quite an abrupt 
transition to a light brown herbaceous peat of the saw grass variety, 
similar to that described for the marshes on the shores of Lake 
Harris (diagram, 34, 37, and 38). This coarse undecayed deposit 
is underlaid by a fine, deep brown lacustrine formation and the 
absence of any coarse material, together with the unaltered con- 
dition of the samples (determined by later microscopic investiga- 
tions), would indicate that this stratum had been amassed in the 
bottom of a permanent and deep body of open water by an accumu- 
lation of drifted and wind-blown plant material. At the bottom 
there appears a deposit of bluish gray clay. 
From a study of the samples it is apparent that at the time 
when the lower 6 feet of fine allocthonous peat had been formed 
the amassed vegetation, as drifted and wind-blown material, had 
reached a sufficient height to permit the growth of herbaceous 
water-loving plants (a condition parallel to that represented by 
the constantly extending marshes on the shores of the adjoining 
and still existing lakes). When these plants had formed 2 feet of 
fibrous material, corresponding to the saw grass stage, another 
change took place, and this type gave way to a more woody growth. 
This last transition was owing to the fact that the allocthonous 
variety had so accumulated that the very upper portion of the 
deposit was above water for a part of the year, thus bringing about 
a condition favorable to the growth of trees. These gradually 
drove out the more herbaceous species, and, by the amassing of 
successive generations of woody plants, slowly built up a layer of 
autochthonous origin. 
The next lake visited was Lake Dot, a small deep lake one-half 
mile east of Eustis, Lake County (diagram, 47-49). This body of 
water is situated in a circular depression in the form of a large 
bowl 70-80 feet deep and 200 yards broad, which naturally leads 
to the conclusion that it is of “lime sink” origin, formed by the 
gradual solution of the underground limestone. Although the 
