Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-05-19
IN FLORIDA RIVERS
Damage Done by the Spread Of the
Water Hyacinth.
INTRODUCED as 4 FLORAL NOVELTY
It Now Chokes Up Streams and
lmpedes Navigation.
~ TN
MEASU RES OF ELIEF
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla, May IT, 1897.
A few years ago there was introduced in
to small lake in Florida the aquatic flow
ering plant known as the water hyacinth
Piaropus Crassipes), and now the state is
confronted with the unique condition of
serious damage to it's marine industries
from this picturesque plant From the
small pond, which in 1880 was made beau
t1ful by its blue bloom, the plant has spread
to the st. Johns river and Its tributaries to
such an alarming extent that the federal
government has been invoked to destroy 1t,
or at least check it's disastrous spread
Congress has been asked for an appro-
priation to conduct experiments with a
view to determining the best means of ex-
terminating the hyacinth, and the engineer
department Of the army is conjuring its
brain to devise means of accomplishing
This END In order to fully understand the
subject the Department of Agriculture re-
Gehty sent one of its botanists, Prof H, ].
NSoDer, 10 florlda to report upon and II
posslole suggest some practical means of
seltihs rlo or the beautiful pest. After a
thorough study of the matter, Prof Web
per- IN MS report, states that in his opinion
II Will hardly be possible to entirely eyer
innate the nyac1nth by mechanical means,
eiu Is urlVen to the conclusion that some
natural enemy of the plant must be intro
e e rms, he believes, will prevent its
1ufther growth and eventually reduce the
pest 10 manageable condition
In MS report just made to the Dena RI
inent OF Agriculture, Prof. Weber gives an
interesting account of the Introduction and
spread OF the plant in Florida 1t was first
6towh IN small pond at Edgewater, near
raiatka 1t becoming desirable to clean the
Iona the plants were thrown into the river
where they fiourished luxuriantly. nrodnc,
ing masses of flowers. which rendered the
dLser IRON 'front.' very attractive. They soon
nf
carried up and down the river, Spreading
rapidly wherever planted Passing boats
also picked up the plants and dropped them
here and there, until in a short Wills The
pretty blossom became a familiar si.ht
ana was pointed out to tourists as one Of
the thlngs to be seen in the foWerv state
-. was several years before it began to at
tract unfavorable attention from Fishermen
and steamboat men, although even then tha
oahger OF the pest was not apprehended.
It's Rapid Spread.
soon, however. swept by storms and car
req hitler ard thither by the currents
II massed itself In beds of great extent
Fisnermen began to notice that 1t inter-
lereo with their nets and steamboat men
began TO be annoyed by the tangling of the
pant In the propellers or paddle wheels of
their vessels. The dense masses caneht
log poems and held them fast; drift stuff
OF all kinds once in its clutches wac tbare
1or good, end suddenly the inland mariner
OF Florida discovered that they had a dan
serous enemy In the beautiful flower thew
had SO long regarded as an attraction and
an ornament Down the st. John's 40 FOR
as brackish water and up to Puzz,e ,aLe
II mas spread ard in many places made
navigation impossible. In MANY pIaces ~
mas practically put stop to river traffic
ana caused heavy loss to riyermen. Moi
oply do Its clinging roots, growing free in
the water. clog the propeller and choke
HiJection pipes, but vessels are in constant
oangee when skirting the beds of hyacinth
CT striking logs or timber held in its te-
naclous embrace. Several vessels have
ceen injured in this manner and Instances
are recorded where small launches sail
ooats and other light craft have been
plant and fourd 1t impossible to get ont
without aid ee' oo'
In .i1 TINS connection Prof. Weber says:
iha rapid increase Of the water hya-
cinth In the st. Johns river in the short
time -ince 1t was introduced strongly indi-
Gates Its still further increase If means are
not found to keep 1t in control, Should II
become much more abundant navigation
VIII De entirely stopped-at any rate In the
latka.'
interiors; With Navigation.
Lying contiguous to the St. Johns are
vast bodies OF valuable timber which ia
largely sawed in Jacksonville and other
river towns. The logs are RATED to the
mills and large number of tugs are en-
gagged In this industry. Great difficulty ia
now experienced in getting the RATS out
of the small tributaries, which have be-
come entirely covered with dense mass
of the hyacinth plants. Rats are some
times caught in the masses of the plant in
the river and much expense and delay Is
occasloned. Prof. Weber, after careful in
quiry, places the damage to the lumber in
dustry caused by the hyacinth at $4,000 a
however G Int int
that suffers.
Net fishing in some localities has been
made impossible and in almost all of the ia
nous fishing grounds of the st. Johns and
its tributaries the fishing Is seriously ham
pered Occasionally under certain wind
conditions the fishermen are unable to set
their nets for days at a time and instances
are recorded where valuable nets have
been carried away by the drifting plant
masses and entirely destroyed. The fish
themselves seem to be about the only thing
which the hyacinth benefits. The fisher
men say that since the plant has become
SO plentiful the fish have increased proba-
ply due to the protection afforded the fry
by the plant beds.
Should the hyacinth spread in the next
TOUR years as rapidly as 1t has In the past
four. says Professor Weber, FISHING
with nets will have to be abandoned One
fisherman informs the writer that he has
been damaged to the extent of over 81 600
this year by the loss OF time and nets
caused by the hyacinth."
A Serious Problem.
Another problem to which the past has
given birth is the danger to railroad and
other bridges. Masses OF the plant are
swept against the piling. and In time of
food the pressure against the understruc-
ture Is enormous. In some places walls and
landings are almost unapproachable and,
as has been stated, many small streams
are now practically unnavigable.
The water hyacinth grows free In the
water. The leaves form q rosette from
one to two feet high. and the plants be-
come SO thoroughly entangled and inter-
twined that they form q mass which would
almost support a man. The long petfoles
are provided with adr chambers, while in
the young plant the leaf stalks are swol-
len. forming buoys which keep 1t above
water. Under the influence Of q steady
wind great masses Of the plant tear them
selves loose and float or with the current
or drive before the wind to new anchor
age, so that 1t Is seen the quantity in any
one place 10 hard to determine at different
times.
An idea Of the size Of these masses may
be gained from the fact. that last year q
strong wind. which blew steadily for sew.
crA days. drove the plants from Lake
George up the river and formed q solid UNI
broken mass for q distance Of twenty-five
miles. while ct the Same time the south