368 IN LOWER FLORIDA WILDS 



During the rainy season vast masses of cumuli 

 or "steam" clouds build up on the horizon, some- 

 times reaching almost to the zenith, and these are 

 especially noticeable in the earlier part of the even- 

 ing. They are gray, lead colored, or even a dark, 

 leaden blue in the shadow but in the light of a 

 setting sun they show charming tints of whitish, 

 straw color, or gold. Sometimes when they are 

 piled up in the eastern sky they exhibit ravishing 

 tints of salmon, rosy red, or violet. As the light 

 fades from their more illuminated parts they 

 change to bluish black. The effect of these 

 immense masses of summer clouds is grand in the 

 extreme. 



Orion, the most magnificent of the constella- 

 tions, is visible evenings from November to May. 

 At the time when this group is on the zenith no 

 less than eight stars of the first magnitude are 

 visible in our latitude. The constellation Scorpio 

 is almost equally splendid, a scorpion without a 

 sting; one which inspires no dread. It occupies 

 a great space in the heavens, looking like an im- 

 mense inverted interrogation point. It is visible 

 during the summer and when it is directly above 

 the heavens are very brilliant. To the west of the 



