THE LURE OF THE PINEY IVOODS 171 



trees, apparently sound and healthy, but having 

 some dead or weak spot in their trunks, are toppled 

 over and destroyed. 



It must be evident that no plant of any kind 

 can live through such an ordeal without extra- 

 ordinary luck or some special means of protection. 

 The bark of the pines is very thick and is likely 

 an excellent non-conductor. The leaves are long 

 and clustered around the buds; although they 

 contain resin they do not burn readily, and often 

 under the heat of an ordinary fire they are scarcely 

 singed. I have seen young trees not a foot high, 

 over which a fire had recently passed, the outer 

 leaves of which looked exactly as though they 

 had been scalded, while the plant itself was 

 wholly uninjured. 



In what is called the Homestead country the 

 pine forest consists of tall, slender, straight trees, 

 of rather small size and set closely together. They 

 look so different from the trees of the Miami region 

 that they are quite commonly supposed to be a 

 different species. The reason for this difference 

 in appearance is because in Lower Dade com- 

 paratively little undergrowth exists on the very 

 rocky forest floor, hence the fires are much more 



