The evening times., 1897-06-19
AQUATIC PLANT RAVAGEs
Effect of FlOrida'S Water-Hya-
einth Upon Many Industries.
INFESTS BAYS AND RIVERS
Navigation IEpeded by the Thick
ness of the Flowers Growth.
Iumbermeu aud Fishers subject
10 Its Tropical ENuberauce-Con-
sidering Means TO Extirpate 1t.

The Department OF Agriculture believes
that the era dication OF the water hyacinih
! OF Florida is impossible. The damage
! caused by the water-hyacnth in its ef-
/ fects on navigation, timber industry, pub
| lie health and bridges is incaiculable. From
Palatka there is shipped annually about
65,0Oo,0O0 feet OF cypress, pine and red
/ cedar, representing a value ia the raw ma
| teral of about $4,000
The logs are cut and RATED down the St
Johns River, ana the difficulty in rafting,
| due TO the presence of the hyacinth, is es-
tinated TO cause an annual loss OF about
one-fourth OF the value OF the logs. This
/ represents an annualloss OF S27 900 TO the
/ one town of Palatka.
Fishing has been an important industry
| in Florida, but in many places the water
| hyacinth makes it impossible 20 operate
seines OF nets. Five hundred men along
the ST. Johns depend for their living on fish
! ing. Bridges have suffered because OF
/ the hyaCinth. Masses of this flower bank
! up against a bTidge, and thus impede the
! passage OF the water. Several bridges
have been carried away. Steamboats, and
sailing craft have great trouble because
| OF the hyaciuth. Small boats with pro
pellerS cannot penetrate a masS of this plant
a. the plants become entanEled with the
propeller and step its revolutions.
When a sidewheel steamer strikes a
n.aSS o: hyacinth she is apt 10 stop. The
plants collect between the wheel and bulk
heads, packing ia 30 solidly that the en-
giue cannot be reversed. The injection
pipes OF low pressure boats become clogged
with hyaCuUh and have 10 be blown out.
Logs often lie concealed in the floa ting
masses and boats are frequently injured
by striking these distractions. Steamers
are sometimes caught between the fields
of the hyaCinth and carried out of the
channel aud stranded.
Extlrpation would mean the destruction
of every seed or root stock which may
give rise To a new plant. 1t would be com
paratively easy To destroy the great bulk
OF the plants, but exceedingly difncult to
eradicate the fragments here and ti'ere
trodden in the mud or hidden under roots.
The entire shore line of the St Johns and
its tributaries would have to be searched
several seasons in sUcce Ssion Considering
the immense extent OF territory aud the
inaccesshility OF a large part of IT, it is
scarcely possible that every plant could be
destroyed, and were a few left, they
would in the course Of few years re-
infest the entire territory. The Depart
ment Of Agriculture believes, however,
that the evils SO serious that means should
be devised, If possible, 10 keep il In Check
This, it is believed, can be accomplished
at fairly reasonable expense.
Probably JIc most feasible device for
killing the growthis that suggested by Mr.
Sackett assistant engineer OF the War
Department He recommends the con
structior OF a light draft stern W heel
steamer, having double bow or outriggrr,
which bring forced into mass OF plants
would cause them TO he gathered towar'i
the middle Of the boat, where an inclined
carrier would pick them up and deposit
them in front of rollers driven by ma
chincry. which would force the water from
them. thus greatly reducing their bulk
The crushed material could then be de-
posted on harges and transported where
no damage would he done
The watcr-hyaCnth lines the shores Of
the St Johns River from Puzzle Lake
to Mandarin being very abundant from
distance Of more than 200 miles Through
ths distance the shores of the river aud
the numerous large lake expansions ar
lined with "a border Of the plant varying
in width from % to 2 90 feet The cov-s.
bavous, marshes. and creeks are covered
with dense and tangled mat Of the plant
The beautiful Ocklawha River is also in
Tested with the hyacinth for distance of
one hundred miles.
The water-hyacinth is a native OF
tropical America. II blooms freely. giving
out rich clusters Of light blue and violet
flowers The plant is aquatic and floats
on the surface of the water, though if the
water he shallow the roots will take at
tachment to the mud The leaves of the
water-h vacinth form rosette from one TO
two feet high and this remains above the
water as the plant floats. Swellings Ou
tie petioles OF the young leaves act as air
reservoirs and prevent the young plantfrom
sinking or from being overturned hy wind
or waves. The presence of the plant in
the st. Johns River to so great an extent
as to impede navigation is thought to be
due TO the presence of humlic acid and
organic matter in the water, which
rourishes the plant. The water Of the
st Johns River is hrownish In clear
water the plant has made hut a poor
growth andin water tinctured with sulphur.
the plant is unable TO live. 1t can endure
only very small percentage of sat, AMI
che growth duuinishes as the st. Johns
becomes hraCkiSh
Trials have been made at pouring gaso-
line ON the water and then iCniting il and
also 10y sailing The water, hut these methods
have heen found tuo costly and Intellectual
During the freeze OF last winter. when the
mercury went down as low as p degrees,
the tops of the plants We're killed, hut their
growth was only slightly checked, the
parts under the water not having been
frozen.