238 IN LOWER FLORIDA WILDS 



ish or fresh-water mud. One of these reaches a 

 height of twelve feet and the growth is very dense. 

 Two lusty vines or sprawlers (Ecastophyttum 

 brownii and Rhabdadenia biflora) entwine the 

 shrubs and trees, sometimes attaining the forest 

 roof; both bear attractive white flowers. A hand- 

 some broad-leaved tree (Crescentia cucurbitana) , 

 one of the tropical calabashes, is abundant and 

 carries its curious purple blossoms and large oval 

 fruits at one and the same time. Here and there 

 the mud slopes smoothly down to the water, free 

 \ from any kind of growth, and very rarely one sees 

 a swift movement and hears a commotion as an 

 alligator rushes down this "crawl" into the water. 

 Still more rarely something which resembles a long, 

 straight saw palmetto stem is seen floating but 

 approached it disappears with a swirl and splash, 

 for a second revealing a crocodile (Crocodilus 

 acutus). This saurian is found in the United 

 States from the upper end of Biscayne Bay to 

 Cape Sable and inhabits a large part of tropical 

 America. It has been maintained to be of very 

 recent record in Florida, but Stejneger has called 

 attention to Rafmesque's publication concerning 

 it in the Kentucky Gazette of 1822. This strange, 



