96 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT.
ust 6.2 inches; September 8.I inches; October 5. 1 inches; November 2.5 inches; December 3 inches.
At New Smyrna the annual rainfall as shown by the same report is 51.1 inches. The mean for the four seasons is as follows. Winter 8.4 inches; Spring 6.8 inches; Summer 17.4 inches; Fall IF 5 inches. The mean precipitation for the several months of the year at this station is as follows: January 2.8 inches; February 3.6 inches; March 2.6 inches; April 1.6 inches; May 2.6 inches; June 6.2 inches; July ,.6 inches; August 5.6 inches; September 9.2 inches; October 6.7 inches; November 2.6 inches; December
2 inches.*
The prevailing winds in the fall and winter in eastern Florida are from the northeast. During the late spring and summer the prevailing winds at Jacksonville are from the southwest. Farther south at New Smyrna the prevailing winds during the summer are from the southeast.
SOILS.
The geologic, topographic, climatic and drainage conditions have much to do with the character of soils. Since the inorganic constituents of soils are derived primarily from the decay of pre-existent formations, the character of the soil is determined to a considerable extent by the formation from which it is derived. The thickness and manner of accumulation of the residual material as well as accumulation of the organic constituents is affected by the topographic, climatic and drainage conditions. The following are the more prominent soil types in the part of Florida covered by this report:
Rolling pine lands: This type includes light, sandy, well drained soils. The native vegetation is pine and wire grass. Oaks and other hard wood trees occasionally occur. The saw palmetto is for the most part absent. This type of soil predominates in the lake region of Florida. (P1. 12, Fig. 2).
Palmetto flatwoods: The palmetto flatwoods occur over an extensive area in Florida. This type of country is flatter than the sandy pine land and not so well drained. The native Vegetation of these lands consists chiefly Of pine, saw palmetto and wire grass. The sand is dark at the surface, becoming lighter below. As a rule the so-called "hardpan" underlies the palmetto flatwoods. This "hardpan" consists of sand stained with tannic or organic
*United States Weather Bureau, Buljl. Q, Climatology of the Eastern United States, by Alfred Judson Henry, pp. 353, 355, 19o6.