206 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 
I 
SOILS. 
The soils of Florida are designated broadly by their character¬ 
istic forest growths. Certain conditions of surface in reference to 
character of soil material and depth and the surface configuration 
and position with reference to drainage give marked differences in 
vegetative growths. Thus a popular classification of the soils has 
for a long time existed, based upon the growths found upon the land. 
'Tine land’" and “hammock land” are terms in general use. Pine 
land, as the term implies, comprises land on which the tree growth 
consists of pine. This is mainly longleaf, there being only a scat¬ 
tering growth of shortleaf pine. The pine lands are recognized in 
several grades, according to the size and stand of trees. The 
longleaf pine is the main growth on the sandy types of soils although 
there are some exceptions. The pine lands in the Ocala area consist 
of the “rolling pine lands,” including “third-rate land,” “open pine 
woods,” and “flatwoods.” The first mentioned is characterized also 
by a scrubby growth of blackjack oak and a sod of wire-grass, as 
in all pine lands. The rolling pine lands with blackjack are of deep 
sand and excessively drained. They are held in low estimation. The 
“open pine woods” refer to those forested areas in which there is 
no 1 undergrowth. They occur on a better grade or phase of the deep 
sandy soils, having usually a smoother, flat, or undulating surface, 
not many feet above the water table or not far to clay. This condi¬ 
tion is not favorable to the growth of blackjack oak, but water oak 
and turkey oak will come in when the pine is removed. This class 
of sandy land is considered of fair quality. In this division there 
also occurs high, open pine woods land, with heavy clay subsoil, 
which is almost as valuable as land that is considered “first-rate 
pine land," the stand being close and the trees large. 
The “flatwoods” are the flat, low-lying areas in which the trees 
are usually slender and do not reach the usual height. There are 
some differences'in this land. What are known as the “palmetto 
flatwoods” are most common. In this there is a more or less thick 
growth of scrub saw palmetto, with occasionally some gabberry and 
in open spots wire-grass. The soil is a white sand, underlain at 
about 2 feet by a brown substratum known as “hardpan.” This 
hafdpan is said to prevent the rise of capillary water. During rainy 
spells the soil above becomes very wet or covered with water, but it 
soon becomes dry and is very droughty. This class of land is con¬ 
sidered almost worthless, but in other sections of the State where 
