The Washington herald., 1910-07-17
Baltimore Firm Gels Big
Florida Contract.
ARE 5000 MILES IN EXTENT
Vast swamps VIII Add
5000, 600 Acres of Agricultural
Land 10 the Sales.--future and
scope of the work-0ther Similar
Enterprises Waiting.

] tue cObtt1C AoA utSSh4b eAAN Ai1oaiA eoAist~
which are TO form the principal outlets
for the drainage OF the Everglades Of
Florida.
When the work is completed, some
thing like 5000 square miles Of swamp
lands will be reclaimed from condition
of worthlessness and added TO the agri-
cultural lands Of the State. II Is no
boast to say that this operation OF get
ting the water out OF the soil OF the
Everglades will equal in results the rec
lamation of any similar area Of arid land
In the West by turning the water OF the
mountains upon IT.
| II is believed that the draining Of the
Everglades Will be an important step
! toward the full retaining of something
like 100000 acres OF abandoned swamp
lands IN the eastern part OF the United
States The pioneer work in this direction
was done several years ago in the Dis
NAL Swamp below Norfolk. and the
great agricultural possibilities Of such
reclamation were there demonstrated.
With equal success in Florida. the drain
ing Of big swamps in the Eastern part
OF our country will be taken out OF the
experimental and doubtful stage and
placed upon a sure commercial basis.
VIII Open Rich Lands.
The swamp land to be reclaimed by the
State OF Florida. through the work Of the
Baltimore canal diggers. viii open to the
farmer, trucker, and fruit grower an
area as large as Connecticut. Rhode
/ Island, and Delaware combined. 1T will
/ give us" said Gov Broward. while for
| mulating the plans, about 100000 acres
of land splendidly adapted TO the grow
ing OF sugar cane Upon some OF the
| land already reclaimed. sixty-three tons
/ OF the cane have been grown 20 the
acre. and it has been pronounced Of ex-
ceptional purity by Fl. ". Wiley. OF the
| United States Department Of Agriculture
| Three million acres OF the Everglades
are free from trees and shrubs. and COW
cred only with grass-in addition 20 the
water"
The Everglades occupy more then half
that portion OF the State OF Florida south
OF Lake Okeehobee-the largest fresh wa
ter lake wholly within the United States
except Lake Michigan In this vast re-
gion lying upon a subsoil OF eoraline
limestone is an immense deposit Of sand.
aliuvial deposits, and decayed vegetable
matter. from two to ten feet in depth.
that overspresds all but a few points OF
the first stratum. Upon the mud rests
sheet OF water. the depth varying with
the conformation OF the bottom. which
is very rough and Irregular, but seldom
at dry seasons deeper than three feet.
Filled with Saw Grass.
The whole is filed with a rank growth
OF coarse grass, eight to ten feet high.
with serrated edge like a saw, from
which II takes its name OF saw grass"
In many portions OF the Everglades the
saw grass is so thick as TO be impene-
trsble. but it is intersected by numerous
and tortuous channels that form a kind
OF labyrinth where outlets present them
selves in every direction. terminating ar
long or short distances in impenetrable
barriers OF grass.
Here and there are small keys or Is
lands which are dry at seasons; there are
many upon which the soil is very rich,
It is thought that these KEYS were. long
ago, the sites OF the Indian gardens
Scientists have figured out that some
time during the Plioeene Age. anywhere
from 10000 to 100000 years ago. a sea
OF shallow salt water covered what is now
the Southern part OF Florida. connecting
the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. The
crust cooled and shrunk and the surface
hulged. something like an apple will do
while baking. A higher rim was thrown
up all around the disturbed territory. and
this territory gradually became a shallow
lake of fresh water with bed Of solid
limestone and with the sandbars here
and there.
Vegetation Gets FoOthoId.
In course OF time the seeds of aquatic
plants drifted into the waste and flourish
ed. These were Of nitrogen-fxing species.
taking food both from air and water. and
when they went to the bottom in decay
they deposited layers of black muck rich
in nitrogen. This process has gone on for
ages, forming a soil which, when exposed
TO sunlight and opened for cultivation.
will prove OF wonderful productivity.
The element Of nitrogen in II is nearly
"a per centum. and this element has a
value iE the fertilizer markets OF Is
cents q pound The soil Of the Ever
giades, therefore. if dug up and carried
away TO market would be worth more
than Sc a ton.
Ordinarily. the water surface OF the
Everglades is about twenty feet abova
sea level at mean low tide. AZ the close
Of winter. when the water is lowest. the
Everglades are half land and half sea.
There are innumerable shallow lakes
called bonnet flats" connected by slug
gish streams called leads" The land is
a spong muck. into which one sinks TO
his knees or deeper. Standing at the
edge of this great expanse, one sees
nothing but vast dreary plain of way
Ing saw grass with here ard there trees
rising from a little island
Drainage an Important Work.
Drainage Of the Everglades is regarded
as one Of the most important works OF
the country. Five general canals, some
of them with spurs. are TO be dug by the
Furst-CIsk Company. These will have
an aggregate length OF about 295 miles
and VIII require the removal OF about |
100000 cubic years Of earth and rock.
The canals VIII drain directly Lake
Okeechobee. which has an area Of about |
$500 acres and the overlooking Of |
which is largely responsible for the
of the territory known as the |
Everglades. The five canals proper will |
run from the lake to the Atlantic Ocean |
their outlets extending from Palm Beach, |
on the north, TO Miami, on the south.
From the lower or Miami canal q |
branch viii be dug southwestward TO the /
Gulf of Mexico. These canals are ex- /
pected TO not only lower the waters Of /
Lake okeeehobee to such a point as TO
prevent an overflow. but to drain eff /
the entire Everglades territory. /