190 Three Young Crusoe s 



Flowers were used to border the beds of veget- 

 ables in the garden. White, pink, and yellow ata- 

 masco lilies, the spider-lily, the red-flowered Barba- 

 dos lily, crinums, and other species were planted in 

 abundance. Also yellow cannas, roses, tuberoses, 

 caladiums, alpinias, begonias, four o'clocks, liras, 

 and castor-oil plants. 



One of the handsomest plants was a tropical Jim- 

 son weed with immense flowers, commonly cultiva- 

 ted, while the ordinary Jimson weed of the United 

 States grew wild. Other familiar weeds seen in the 

 fields were the dandelion, some little blue speed- 

 wells, the curly dock, the shepherd's purse, the yel- 

 low wood-sorrel, and a large dodder, which sent its 

 yellowish threads over the vegetation in large masses 

 and lived parasitically. 



Weeds that looked like some at home but showed 

 slight difl'erences were: a spiny cocklebur, two kinds 

 of purple wood-sorrel, a skullcap, two species of 

 ground-cherry, a mountain species of blackberry, a 

 white milkweed, and numerous forms of "mistle- 

 toe" growing on the trees. 



The Mexican poppy and the crotalaria were very 

 attractive in the fields, one with red and the other 

 with yellow flowers. The sensitive plant was com- 

 mon and would fold up its delicate leaves at the 



