The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1934-07-27

A NEW national playground and
"A game refuge comes into being
4 n with the passage by congress
of an act setting aside an
area of $500 square miles of the Flor
ida Everglades as the Everglades Ma
tional park.
This romantic region is retreat
for many. nearly extinct birds and
wide variety of animal life found no
where else in America. Such creatures
as the giant ibis, the Everglades kite,
the white heron, the alligator, croco-
ollie and manatee are all found there,
yet they are being slowly exterml-
mated.
Likewise in this amazing region
there now exists a plant life OF wild
and superbly beautiful palms, orchids,
bromeliads and Fascinating climbing
lianas. But, like the bird and animal
life, these colorful glades and hum
mocks have been threatened with de-
struction from fires, often left by care
less hunters and others. Now the pro-
tecting hand of the government Is TO
be raised in time to save them.
Set apart, preserved, and made ac-
cessible as a national park, this area
will be visited in time by millions
millions eager for subtropical adven-
ture, but adventure under American
skies, amid American customs, and
the comforts and excellent direction
extended to all by the governmental
supervision of the national park serv-
ice of the Department of Interior. Inc
leading citizens of Florida and many
residents of other states urged this
important and needed project, which
of course is for all the people OF the
nation.
Florida's map resembles no other
states. In all America there is no ter
rain so unusual, yet often so uniform
" monotonous. as one sees enroute
from Pensacola to Key West. From
Jacksonville a small boat may cruise
all the way down to the last big key,
and even far out to the reefs on the
way to Havana, broadly speaking, In
sheltered waters.
Shore lines of keys and islands alone
measure about 1000 miles. Certainly,
nature gave the map-makers real
lob when she designed Florida. To-
days map, evolved through genera
lions of pucker-browed photographers,
differs much from one issued in
France as late as 1850, showing high
mountain peaks in the Everglades!
Exotic Plants Flourish.
Laved by the sun-warmed, mysteri-
GUS waters that swirl ceaselessly about
1t. and sweetened by the soft, pure
trade winds that breathe life upon it,
Florida is like giant dollhouse. 1t
forms to the imaginative eye big
experimental farm for all America.
From 81 foreign lands plants and trees
strange to us have been brought here
to take up a new home and many are
already adapted to our use.
From Surinam to Singapore Uncle
Sans explorers have searched the
hooks and crannies Of the tropical
world. AS men in Bible times went
forth in quest of camphor, incense
and myrrh, so these dauntless botan-
lists have hunted, found and brought
to Florida various exotic plants and
trees whose fruits we may use as food
or medicine. At the home of one ia
nous American botanist in Coconut
Grove DR.. David Fairchild was served
a vegetable lunch all picked from plants
with odd names utterly unknown here
two decades ago.
Here is the jackfruit of Ceylon; and
the macadamia, fine table nut from
Australia; the chayote vine from the
mountains of Guatemala, which bears
the favorite vegetable of the Indians
of that land; here is Livingstone's gar
cinia, a delicate maroon-colored fruit
discovered in East Africa by the great
missionary; here is the capote. or
chewing gum tree, from Yucatan, and
the lychee, or favorite fruit of South
China; here, also, are, of course, man.
goes, papayas and avocados, and the
chaya of Central America whose young
shoots are as delicate as spinach.
In pioneering vegetable gardens one
sees the popular taro and yautias,
reminiscent of hillside taro patches in
Hawaii; the manihot, chief food to mil
lions of tropical peoples. who eat 1t as
we do potatoes; great bushes Of
..pigeon peas from the West Indies
the pea which, when ripe, forms an
ingredient in that famous Bahama Is
lands dish, "hoppin' john,
Besides these, there is the famed
m'chopo or Zulu fig (Ficus utilis), from
whose bark Congo women make their
dresses; the candlenut-tree from Poly
nesia and the lebbek tree from the
avenue planted by the khedive in hon
or Of the Empress Eugene when she
visited Egypt.
Here. also, is the Limono ponderoso,
or giant lemon. One sees it thriving
near Miami, but not as yet on COM
mercial basis. It is literally too big.
A woman who had some growing in
her garden told visitor she "made