The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1882-03-22
Written for The Florida A1~iculturiSt.
The DeadenIng.-NO. III.
The Deadening East of Ft. Mead, South
Fla. Across Peace Creek.

FIass Across Peace Creek.
In this locality we have several
ponds, three or four of them would
be called lakes in Orange county.
A very strange phenomena connected
with some of them is, that old Light
wood stumps and trees stand out at
the margins, even at the lowest
water, many feet from land. Now
the query arises, how is it that this
water has stood continuously below
these trees for sufficient period for
them to grow up and harden into
solid lightwood eighteen inches
through or more? For it is evident
that pine timber, that does not grow
in marshy lands, cannot survive water
but a short time. MANY live oaks
and pines, grey with age, two or
three centuries to appearance, having
set their marks upon them, were
killed during the high water of
1878, which was at least six feet
higher in Peace Greek than any of
the Oldest settlers ever saw it before,
and washed out small drain be-
tween Fort Cllnch Lake and Lake
Reedy, to a frightful gorge fifteen
feet deep and thirty wide much of the
distance, washing up by the roots large
pines and strewing them about in wild
confusion. This ditch ten years ago,
we could leap from side to side in
the chase and hurry on for the game.
The place now looks quite romantic
to native. But these trees in the
ponds on the deadening, how about
them? Well Mr. III. from Illinois,
suggested to me that the ponds haze
subterranean outlets, and that they
had drained down and stood low
enough, for sufficient period for
these trees in their margin to grow
up and mature. This. we admit, is
very probable, and we continue the
thought thus: as some of these
ponds were never known dry, and
nearly all have been flush for fifteen
or twenty years, or more; the SUBJ
terranean outlet to them has been
stopped since the settlement OF the
country, perhaps finally. The country
having been stocked, the stock teed>
ing both in the pond and out of them
around the margin in such quantities,
also resorting there for water and
there being small inclination in the
land to the centre or deepest parts
where the outlets are, much of the
loose grass, flags and other marsh
growth, with the muck, all tending
to the centre, have finally closed the
passages. Now we have had some
experience in these subterranean
passages in the counties above. The
Hancock Lake, in Hernando county,
has several. We were present about
the year 1868 when two of them were
exposed to view by total escape of
the water in that part of the lake.
A few miles north of this lake, in the
Sparkman Lake, three were exposed
by the escape of the wafer. l ex-
amined them all carefully and could
find nothing but small fissures or
cracks in the rocks at the bottom of
the sinks, the largest sufficient only to
admit the thickness of human hand.
Very small fish would disappear in
them, but those large enough for eat.
ing could not pass through. Payne's
prairie in Alachua county has SUBJ
terranean outlet. During the late
war Bishop James o. Andrews and
myself crossed the creek just above
it in buggy, and the water was but
a little over ankle deep to my horse;
the prairie is now traversed by
steamer; but the water, no doubt,
is all the while escaping. Those fis-
sures of escape in the lakes l have
seen, can be permanently stopped up
by cramming moss into them and
packing the bottoms OF the sinks
with pine straw or moss. This would
keep the water forever up on Payne's
Prairie, secure continuous navigation
and prevent sickness by its drying of.
More next week S. w, CARSON,