148 



THE CASAniAN IIoRI'ICCr/lUtJIt 



A-RLAvNCP 



View on the st. Joh>s. 



palmetto wei-e prominent, wliile the 

 hisher ground was usually covered with 

 pines and scrub palmetto. 



The accompanying view on the St. 

 Johns is a very good representation of 

 scenes on this part of the river. On 

 the I'ight is a group of palmetto, as 

 they appear at a little distance, and on 

 the trunk of the one at the left can be 

 dens. Although it was only the 8th 

 of March we found ripe mulberries in 

 abundance and butterflies of many 

 genera flitting about. Mocking birds 

 were numerous, filling the air with 

 their ever varying song, so that one 

 might easily suppose that there was a 

 concert of many songsters being held 

 in the trees. Strawberries were ripen- 

 ing on the vines. The wild flowers 

 were not very aVjundant ; probably it is 

 yet too early for them. The mistletoe 

 abounds on the oak trees here. The 

 soil is much the same as that we have 

 found hitherto ; sand, sand. In one of 

 the gardens we unexpectedly came 

 upon a monument with an inscription 

 in Latin, wliich told the passei'-by that 

 Jiere lies a whooping-crane that was 



killed by a stroke of lightning. We 

 afterwards learned that the grounds be- 

 longed to an eccentric bachelor. 



On our return we stopped at Green 

 Cove Spring, a view of which is given 

 in the accompanying cut. The reader 

 will see that one of the trees is laden 

 with the Florida moss, which abounds 

 in every place we visited. It gives a 

 peculiar aspect to all the scenery here, 

 hanging from tlie branches of the trees 

 like a long gray beard. There was 

 something mournful and sombre in its 

 eft'ect to us that we could not wholly 

 throw off. The spring is, like many 

 others in this strange land, at the bot- 

 tom of a depression in the general level 

 of the country, many of which are im- 

 pregnated with sulphui-, and thought 

 to be curative when used for bathing. 

 There is nothing special to be said of 

 tlie plants and trees we found here. A 

 charming walk along the river bank 

 leads down to Magnolia, and one who 

 has the leisure may find much to in- 

 terest in looking up the many pictur- 

 esque views to be found about the 

 river. At Majrnolia we visited the 



