ON THE BEACH AT DAYTON A. 61 



ing of utter solitude (the beach extends 

 from Matanzas Inlet to Mosquito Inlet, 

 thirty-five miles, more or less) ; while at 

 other times they not only furnished shadow 

 and a seat, but, with the paths and little 

 clearings behind them, were an attraction 

 to many birds. Here I found my first 

 Florida jays. They sat on the chimney- 

 tops and ridgepoles, and I was rejoiced to 

 discover that these unique and interesting 

 creatures, one of the special objects of my 

 journey South, were not only common, but 

 to an extraordinary degree approachable. 

 Their extreme confidence in man is one of 

 their oddest characteristics. I heard from 

 more than one person how easily and "in 

 almost no time " they could be tamed, if 

 indeed they needed taming. A resident of 

 Hawks Park told me that they used to come 

 into his house and stand upon the corners 

 of the dinner table waiting for their share 

 of the meal. When he was hoeing in the 

 garden, they would perch on his hat, and 

 stay there by the hour, unless he drove them 

 off. He never did anything to tame them 

 except to treat them kindly. When a brood 

 was old enough to leave the nest, the parents 



