THE LURE OF THE PINEY WOODS 189 



of the forests they possess an indefinable charm 

 and beauty, and over all is a wonderful and wholly 

 indescribable atmospheric effect a soft, evan- 

 escent half haze, half glow, peculiar to Florida, 

 seen only at its best in the piney woods. Here the 

 partial shade of the pines and the brilliant glare of 

 the sub-tropical sun are merged and mellowed 

 into a softly glowing light. In every direction are 

 the straight, brown trunks of the trees, sharply 

 denned in the foreground but fading in the dis- 

 tance until they blend in the haze and become a 

 mighty brown curtain. This wonderful atmos- 

 pheric effect is not that of the northern smoky 

 Indian Summer. It is more dreamy and ethereal. 

 The very essence of Florida's soft and gentle cli- 

 mate seems to have descended upon and en- 

 chanted the forest scene. 



