77V THE PRIMEVAL FOREST 219 



shore, buttonwood. There are a half dozen dif- 

 ferent stopper trees, members of the myrtle family, 

 and all handsome evergreens. In places the cala- 

 bash tree is common with fruits as large as a small 

 coconut but these cannot be used for household 

 utensils as are the fruits of its West Indian relative. 

 Occasionally one finds the strongback, so named, 

 no doubt, on account of its hard durable wood; 

 and now and then one sees the lovely glossy- 

 leaved West Indian cherry and the equally hand- 

 some papaw. 



I do not give the scientific names of most of 

 these since they would add more of confusion 

 and complication than of valuable information. 

 Although there are several trees in the northern 

 states which have the same common names as 

 some of these, yet none of them is identical or 

 even botanically related. Almost all of the trees 

 I have enumerated have common names in the 

 Bahamas and West Indies and the natives dis- 

 tinguish one from another with the skill and 

 certainty of a trained botanist, and they also 

 understand something of their medicinal and 

 other qualities. A northern botanist unfamiliar with 

 this tropic flora would be completely bewildered 



