140 THE PI.ANT WORLD 



lily) and the purplish-red Crinum amabile and C. a7igushcm in flower, 

 carrying immense umbels of deliciously-fragrant flowers. As these plants 

 form tropical masses of foliage and flowers throughout the year, they are 

 stately ornaments of the garden, attracting the immediate attention of the 

 flower-lover. 



The warm sunny day of the middle of April passed. The martins go 

 to roost. The short twilight goes and the wonderful white moonlight, 

 much brighter and much more intense than in the North, floods the 

 warm sandy earth. Under her gentle light all that is sordid or homely 

 vanishes and the beauty of the world is complete. How glorious, how 

 full of poetry are these spring nights ! We find it impossible to stay in 

 the room. The chuckwillswidow's notes call us out on the veranda to 

 enjoy the soft balmy air and the beauty of nature. How glorious are the 

 stars — how varied their light! Some of them show beautiful yellow, 

 others decidedly white tints ; and all are sparkling intensely. The forms 

 of the palms and bamboos, of the bananas and yuccas are exquisitely 

 picturesque. The air is heavy with the sweet perfume of the magnolia, 

 the rose, the China tree, the night jasmine and the Japanese honey- 

 suckle. Fireflies swarm among the trees and shrubs. The low, soft 

 murmuring in the pines and the rustle of the palm leaves never cease. 

 The air is full of strange sounds ; frogs often utter tones reminding one 

 of distant human voices. The chuckwillswidow calls incessantly; the 

 mocking-bird bursts out in joyful exaltation and the cardinal joins in 

 a jubilant mood in the indescribably serene and harmonious concert of 

 the night. So enchantingly beautiful, so harmonious, so full of poetry 

 are these moonlight nights that we seem to be carried away into a fairy 

 land. 



Florida is the land of the lover of nature, of all those who seek recre- 

 ation and rest from life's weariness. Though her sandy soil gives us the 

 impression of poorness, though we may not gather riches — Florida is 

 always beautiful, always glorious. She is the real panacea for mind and 

 body. We may spend our days in the bright sunshine and enjoy the 

 evenings on the broad open verandas. We may gather flowers through- 

 out the year in woodland and garden, and we may inhale her soothing 

 and salubrious air almost constantly out of doors. But, even here, spring 

 with its magnolia blossoms and bird concerts is the most promising, the 

 most poetical season of the year, full of anticipations and surprises. 



The prize offered by the Plant World Company for the best twenty- 

 word advertisement of The Plant World has been awarded to Mr. 

 John ly. R. Trask, Springfield, Mass. 



