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A FLOATING ISLAND 



WHEN a buoyant, matted entanglement of Bulrush 

 roots is undermined and loosened from its feeble hold 

 by the swollen water of the marsh the wind takes hold 

 of the multitude of fluttering green sails, and the 

 unstable island moves almost imperceptibly toward 

 other shores or anchorages. Where the water is clear 

 and open the wind, tugging at the tall, crowded 

 rushes, moves the island steadily along, making 

 panoramic changes in the confining and reflected 

 vegetation. In a mass of submerged weeds it is 

 retarded so gradually that its movement ceases 

 imperceptibly. It has all the features of the solid 

 islands and shores adjacent, and shows no evidence of 

 the fact that it is merely waiting for a change of wind 

 to seek other and less obstructed routes of travel. 

 The inhabitants seem perfectly satisfied with their 

 itinerancy. A Gallinule clucks familiarly and con- 

 tentedly in his safe concealment, quite unmindful 

 of his wanderings. He even ventures out to the float- 

 ing margin, stepping daintily among the yielding 

 roots, and picking the small snails and larvae that 

 cling to the sunken rushes. The bright red of his bill 

 and frontal plate relieve his funereal colours as he 



