When Florida came under English
control in 1765, a number of English naturalists came into
the state to study its strange animals, plants, and natural
history. American botanists like William Bartram and Mark
Catesby published studies of plants. John James Audubon
produced paintings of the Brown Pelican and other birds.
Silas Stearns gathered fish specimens for the Smithsonian
Institution in the late 19th century. Florida was unlike
any other American state--a lush tropical paradise of jungle
and plants, with an extraordinary large wetland that became
known as the Everglades.
This section of the Florida Heritage Collection contains various
works on the Florida outdoors. Biological and botanical information
is available, as well as information about hiking on Florida's
trails, observations of Florida's flora and fauna, and details
on camping and related outdoor activities. The writings of
the many naturalists are still important today for they provide
information on natural habitat, the uses of plants, and even
document native species that have all but disappeared.
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