. The continent we live on. Physical geography; Natural history. hori/.ontjlly inio throe sirjia. which show up in one vast checkerboard pattern These strata are: first, a layer of fresh water, which appears on the surface in the form of endless channels, pools, and meandering little lagoons that never dry up; then the glades themselves, which are great open areas covered with saw grass, wet in summer but dry in winter; and finally the hummocks, which are never flooded and arc covered with a dense growth of evergreens and other trees and shrubs sometimes standing forty feet tall and consisting
. The continent we live on. Physical geography; Natural history. hori/.ontjlly inio throe sirjia. which show up in one vast checkerboard pattern These strata are: first, a layer of fresh water, which appears on the surface in the form of endless channels, pools, and meandering little lagoons that never dry up; then the glades themselves, which are great open areas covered with saw grass, wet in summer but dry in winter; and finally the hummocks, which are never flooded and arc covered with a dense growth of evergreens and other trees and shrubs sometimes standing forty feet tall and consisting here of some subtropical West Indian forms, some indigenous species, and other more typically northern kinds. The more tropical growths are able to survive here because the occasional frosts do not penetrate the saturated atmosphere of these hummocks. Two other types of vegetative topography are also to be seen here First, there are the large pine stands that occur sporadically in the northern half of the area. These are really very large hummocks and were brought about, or at least kept pure, by natural fires. In the early days of settlement these fires, set off by lightning, used to rage right across the peninsula from the region of Miami to Tampa and sometimes were recorded as having a two-hundred-mile front. They were naturally deplored as being destructive, and immense sums were spent on fire protec- tion and fire-fighting machinery. But then it was discovered that the pine trees were beginning to shrivel and dry and that no seedlings were produced, whereas in the glade areas the grass began to disappear under a solid growth of willows. Investigation showed that fire was an essential feature of nature in this country, and that almost solely due to it, both the pinelands and the everglades may be attributed. The pine trees have exceed- ingly thick and almost completely fire-resistant barks and their branches start high up; their cones are very hard and tight; and young see
Size: 1163px × 2147px
Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booksubjectphysicalg
