dustry, which is dependent upon the flow of gum 

 from the longleaf and slash pines. Extreme tem- 

 peratures are rare, but a freeze during the winter 

 of 1894-95 caused widespread damage to citrus 

 groves, many of which were abandoned for lands 

 farther south. Today most of these abandoned 

 groves have reverted to forest. 



Rainfall is generally well distributed, with the 

 heaviest coming in the summer. The yearly 

 average is approximately 50 inches. Extensive 

 droughts, occurring usually once in 5 years, may 

 bring about periods of high fire hazard in the 

 forests; on the other hand, excessive rainfall may 

 render woods work, especially logging, difficult in 

 the poorly drained flatwoods for 3 months out of 

 the year. Trees which have been weakened by 

 excessive turpentining or fire are often easy victims 

 of high winds which occur almost annually. Oc- 

 casional severe hurricanes, like that of September 

 1935, cause considerable damage locally. 



Transportation 



Northeastern Florida is well supplied with trans- 

 portation facilities. Formerly the St. Johns, St. 

 Marys, Nassau, and Suwannee Rivers were im- 

 portant channels of trade, but today seven railroad 

 lines, with approximately 2,500 miles of track, and 

 a network of highways serve as the primary means 

 of transportation. The harbors at Jacksonville 

 and Fernandina accommodate large vessels, while 

 shipments in small vessels can be made also from 

 St. Augustine, New Smyrna, Palatka, and Cedar 

 Keys. The route of the trans-Florida ship canal 

 crosses this unit and the canal, if completed, will 

 play an important role in its development. 



Ownership 2 



Over 90 percent of the rural portion of the survey 

 unit is in the hands of private owners. The Federal 

 Government administers approximately 425,000 

 acres in the Osceola and Ocala National Forests, 

 and the State owns about 100,000 acres. Lumber- 

 men own the largest proportion of the land in the 

 western Gulf coast counties. Farm ownership is 



2 The data in this paragraph are from the following: 

 Craig, R. B. land ownership in survey unit no. 1, 

 Florida, 1934. Southern Forest Expt. Sta. Occas. Paper 



56. [Mimeographed.] 



most important through the central and north- 

 western agricultural belt, and real-estate operators 

 control most of the land along the east coast. The 

 east coast resort counties and the forested counties 

 of the Gulf coast are characterized by holdings of 

 1,000 acres or larger. In the greater portion of the 

 remaining counties ownership is broken up into 

 smaller holdings. 



Taxation 



In August 1934, more than 4 million acres, or 

 almost 42 percent of the survey unit, was in tax 

 default for 3 or more years. Delinquency was 

 greatest in heavily indebted counties along the 

 east coast, where taxes were in default on over 60 

 percent of the land. Tax delinquency on forest 

 properties was relatively greatest in those counties 

 with the smallest tracts of forest land. The State 

 does not actively prosecute trespass on tax-delin- 

 quent properties, and most of them are still being 

 operated by owners or tenants pending redemption, 

 adjustment, or abandonment. 



Agriculture 



Only about 950,000 acres, or 10 percent of north- 

 eastern Florida, were in cultivation in 1934 (table 

 1). More than 300,000 acres of agricultural land 

 were standing idle, and almost 130,000 acres had 

 been definitely abandoned for agricultural-crop 

 production. Of this latter, 77 percent is suitable 

 for pine, and the remainder for hardwoods. Based 

 on nearby forest stands, it is estimated that more 

 than 50 percent of the potential pine and over 70 

 percent of the hardwood acres are poor forest sites. 

 Less than 2 percent of all agricultural land and 

 about 1 percent of the forest land show evidence of 

 erosion. 



The value of farm products per farm ranged in 

 1929, according to the agricultural census of 1930, 

 from more than $6,000 in St. Johns County to less 

 than $700 in Dixie County. This variation reflects 

 the concentrated production of potatoes, garden 

 truck, strawberries, and citrus fruits on relatively 

 small holdings and the scattered agricultural 

 activities over the rest of the survey unit. For a 

 relatively short season the specialty farmers employ 

 a large body of laborers who are available for work 



