128 
FLORIDA STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
The “hardpan” is very objectionable in farming lands as it 
prevents free movement of water by capillary attraction. The 
lands underlaid by “hardpan” are not resistant to droughts. How¬ 
ever, where an abundance of water can be obtained cheaply, as 
in the section of flowing artesian water, such lands may be used 
to advantage by keeping them saturated with water. 
Open flaiwoods : The open flatwoods are much less extensive 
than the palmetto flatwoods. The native vegetation of the land 
of this type is chiefly pine and wire grass with little or no under¬ 
brush. The saw palmetto is absent or nearly so and there is 
little or no “hardpan.” The soil to a depth of from one to three 
feet is dark ashy gray owing to the. presence of organic matter 
mixed with the sand. A clay sub-soil is usually found at the 
depth of from one to four feet. This type of land when drained 
and irrigated has been used with great success in growing Irish 
potatoes, sweet potatoes and other trucking crops and in gen¬ 
eral farming. 
Prairie lands : The word “prairie” is applied to open lands 
devoid of trees. The native growth is largely grasses. 
Muck lands : The term “muck soils” is applied in ordinary 
usage to lands on which organic matter from decay of vegetation 
has accumulated to some depth. Vegetable matter accumulates 
in this way only on such lands as are overflowed during a con¬ 
siderable part or all of the year. The largest tract of muck lands 
in the State is the Everglades. Many smaller tracts occur, how¬ 
ever, throughout the State. 
Clay lands : The clay soils are usually of limited extent, oc¬ 
curring at places where the superficial sands have been removed 
by surface wash. The clay soils are lacking in organic matter 
and before being farmed must be broken up and organic matter 
incorporated. 
Hammock lands : The term “hammock land” is most fre¬ 
quently applied to lands underlaid by marl or limestone and sup¬ 
porting a thick growth of vegetation, including hardwood trees 
and cabbage palmetto. These lands when cleared make excellent 
farming lands. Other hammock lands occur, however, which 
have no evident relation to marl deposits. These likewise support 
