Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/828

FLORICULTURE. (New York, 1887); Hunt, How to Grow Cut Flowers (Terre Haute, 1893); Taft, Greenhouse Management (New York, 1898); Scott, Florists’ Manual (Chicago, 1899); Bailey, Cyclopedia of American Horticulture (New York, 1900).  FLOR′IDA (Sp., flowery, so called by Ponce de Leon, either from his discovery of it on Easter Sunday, Sp. Pascua florida, Pascua de flores, flowery Easter, or, less probably, on account of the abundance of flowers which he saw). Known both as the ‘Everglade State’ and as the ‘Peninsula State.’ The southernmost State of the American Union, situated between latitudes 24° 30′ and 31° N. and longitudes 79° 48′ and 87° 38′ W. It is bounded on the north by Alabama and Georgia, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Strait of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and on the west by the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama, the extreme westward boundary being defined by the Perdido River. The greatest length from north to south is about 450 miles, and the extreme width of the northern or continental portion is nearly 400 miles. The peninsular extension has a length of 375 miles, with an average width of 95 miles. Florida ranks second in size among the States east of the Mississippi River; its total area is 58,680 square miles, of which 4440 square miles are occupied by lakes and rivers.

. The coastal lands are low, monotonously level, and often marshy. The grassy Everglades and the Big Cypress Swamp cover a large portion of the peninsula south of Lake Okeechobee, and there are large areas of swampland in the northern part, especially along the lower course of the Apalachicola River, and west of Saint Mary's River where the Okefinokee Swamp extends just south of the Georgia State line. Toward the interior of the peninsula the surface rises very gradually to an altitude of more than 100 feet, the central ridge in places reaching nearly 300 feet. Western Florida resembles southern Alabama in its surface features and is generally hilly and well wooded. The Florida Keys, stretching in a curved line 200 miles long from Biscayne Bay southwestward into the Gulf, are remarkable examples of the work of coral organisms. They form a continuous reef, the upper portions of which have been extended both vertically and laterally by accretions of sand and floating materials, and by the growth of vegetation until now there are many habitable islands. The surface of the keys is generally less than 10 feet above sea-level.

The coast-line of Florida measures about 470 miles on the Atlantic and 675 miles on the Gulf of Mexico. The eastern coast has remarkably even shore-lines, being much more regular than the western coast, which is broadly indented by the Gulf, and intersected by the inlets of several rivers. Almost the entire length of the eastern coast is bordered by sand reefs, inclosing long lagoons that tend to fill up with sand and organic matter and to become land. On this side there are few good harbors. Extensive improvements have been made at the mouths of Saint Mary's and Saint John's rivers, and these waters are now navigable by ocean vessels as far as Fernandina and Jacksonville; the harbors of Saint Augustine and Biscayne Bay are also used to some extent by merchant craft. There are numerous good harbors among the Florida Keys, the most important commercially being that at Key West. On the western side Charlotte Harbor and the bays of Tampa and Pensacola can be entered by large vessels. Florida has an extensive river system which includes over 1000 miles of navigable waters. Three large rivers, the Apalachicola, Suwanee, and Choctawhatchee, enter the State from the north and cross western Florida to the Gulf. Within the peninsula the most important streams are the Saint John's River on the Atlantic side, navigable for over 200 miles, the Withlacoochee and Peace rivers draining into the Gulf, and the Kissimmee, which flows southward through the middle of the peninsula, and is a feeder of Lake Okeechobee. Most of the lakes occur in central Florida, along the drainage basins of the Saint John's and Kissimmee rivers. Here there are a great number, including lakes George, Harris, Apopka, Tohopekaliga, Kissimmee, and Okeechobee. The last named, with an area of 1200 square miles, is the largest in the State.  . Owing to the great length of coast-line in proportion to the area and to the low elevation, Florida possesses a climate of remarkable uniformity. The average extreme range of temperatures in central and southern Florida is included within the limits of 90° and 43° F. In northern Florida the thermometer falls at times considerably below 32° for brief periods. In summer the heat is less oppressive than in the Middle and North Atlantic States. The average annual temperatures at various localities in the State are as follows: Jacksonville, 69°; Pensacola, 68°; Sanford, 72°; Cedar Keys, 71°; Key West, 78°. The rainfall is generally heaviest on the Gulf Coast, Pensacola having an annual average of 67 inches, compared with 55 inches at Jacksonville. At Tarpon Springs the mean for the year reaches the high figure of 85 inches. With its equable and healthful climate Florida offers an attractive home for invalids, and has become a favorite winter resort of tourists.

Much of the soil is sandy, supporting only a stunted growth of vegetation. There is everywhere, however, a substratum of limestone, and when this approaches the surface it yields a fertile soil. Clay and loam lands are of limited extent. The warm, humid climate promotes a rapid and vigorous plant-growth, even where the land is not especially fertile.

. The striking feature of the flora of Florida is the pine forests, which occupy the sandy soil of the north and gradually become thinner southward in the peninsula, where the pines are more or less mixed with palmettos, especially where the soil becomes moist. These forests are interrupted in the northern half of the peninsula by grassy plains and marshes, which become more frequent in the south, where they are replaced by the (q.v.). Many of the streams, especially the Saint John's River, are bordered or even choked with the water-hyacinth. Where the character of the soil is favorable, trees and smaller plants grow in profusion of species and, especially in the southern part, with tropical luxuriance. Some of the common species are magnolia, live oak, persimmon, sweet-gum, passion-flower, pitcher-plant, hibiscus, and wistaria. See Flora, under. For see paragraphs under and .

. Florida is an outgrowth of the southern coastal plain, and is of recent geological