The Opelousas courier., 1899-11-18
HYACINTH PLANTAP PEST.
ASSUMING ALARMING PROPORTIONS
IN FLORIDA RIVERS.

Has Invaded Waterways and Hindere,
Shipping. Commerce and Land Ind US
frfcs-Measures Adopted to Remedy til,
Evii-Fightins With a Parasite Fungus
The hyacinth pest in Florida is o
alarming proportions, especially o,
the st. Johns river and its tributar
les. For several years residents hav'
strenuously battled against the plagu,
OF the hyacinth plant which has in
vaded their waterways, hindeli ing no
only commerce, but various indus
tries and inAicting severe pecuniar,
loss on many. At last the plague ha!
reached so serious a stage that thu
wal department investigated the mat.
ter and bills were introduced into
congress with a view of remedyine
the difficulty. The Windsor Maya
zine recently had an interesting article
on the subject, entitled, GA River
Choked with Hyacinths," written by
Walter Ackroydd, from which we OBJ
tain u information. The particular
species of hyacinth which chokes the
st. Johns river thrives only in waite,
or in places where the soil is very
marshy. AS a rule it simply floats
upon the surface of the water without
any attachment whatever of its roots
to the soil, and under these con.
ditions it fourishes more luxuriautly.
The flower is not of a pretty bell
shape which characterizes the bloom
of the flower we ordinarily know by
the nam of hyacinth, o is the
/. nge of color SO varied. The flowers
are invariably Of either a light blue or
violet. In the springtime the vast
expanse of flowers upon the surface
OF the water presents a very striking
picture; the leaves grow to conside:a.
bic size, a bunch of stems frequently
averaging from one to two feet in
height. The roots also grow in many
cases to q length of three feet, and in
exceptional cases even longer.
A pond at Edgewater, four miles
above the togn of Palatka. was first
infested with the hyaciuth plant. In
1890 the sheet of water was cleanel
out and the plants were thrown in
the river. They Immediately grew
luxuriantly and travellers ana tourists
we're much struck by the pretty sight,
and being ignorant of their multiply
ing propensities, they carried away
specimens to grow in the rivers lear
their homes. In four years the fish
ermen began to be alarmed at the hy-
aciuth, which entangled their nets;
steamers also found that their pro-
gress was retarded by huge c!umps of
the hyacinth. The evil has grown
until at the present time the hya-
cinth invests the St. Johns river for
q distance Of over 200 miles, the
banks on either 81 e of the water be-
ing fringed with a border Of plants
from 25 to 200 feet in width. The
stream is SO sluggish that the lya-
cinth is able to hold its own and null
tiply rapidly. At places the entire
river is covered with a dense mat of
plants SO that there is a vast expanse
of flowers a mile wide during the
period when it blooms. Small boats
with screw propellers find it impossi.
BILE to make any Roadway. as the
plants become entangledin the screws.
Side-wheel paddle steamers fare
better, but the plants are apt to col
lect in the paddle-box, making an
impenetrable blanket, SO that the
steamers are entirely blocked and
cannot move in either direction.
Steamers with low pressure engines
have their injection pipes blocked by
the plants. Pieces Of wood and other
debris are often concealed by plants.
The timber industry has been brought
almost to ~standstill by the hyacinths
and the loss to fishermen is most Sc
we're. In addition, the towns along
the river are menaced by another evil
which is even more serious. When
heavy rainfalls or foods occur, small
lrifting islands Of hyacinths are car
ried along by them until they strike
. bridge, where they clog and form a
dam. The pressure of the water is
very great, and if the barrier does not
succumb, thu surrounding country is
flooded. In 1894, IS feet of trestle
work that spanned the river at Rice
creek was carried away. At another
bridge men had to be specially en-
ployed to push the plants through the
space under the piers.
Various schemes have been devised
for .exterminating the plants, but it is
not believed that they can be perma-
nently banished, although it is
thought that they can be kept under
control. The wal department recon-
mends the construction of a light
draft stern-wheel steamer, having a
double bow or outiigger, which, on
being forced into a mass of plants,
will cause them to gather toward the
middle of the boat, where the inclined
carrier will pick them up and deposit
them in front of rollers driven by ma
chinery. These rollers in turn will
force the water from them, thus great
~ reducing their bulk. The crushed
material would then be thrown into
barges and would be taken where no
damage could be done. The process
would be very expensive and q steamer
would have to be constantly employed.
1t is believed that the plant cannot be
entirely extirpated. Other sugges-
tons have been the use of brooms,
will catch the plants travelling
with the current and bring them to a
They can then be taken
out and destroyed. So far, however,
none of the schemes have been a r
ried into effect. This is a splendid
example of the trouble which comes
from destroying natures balance. md