AtPENDtX. 285 



* These quiet retreats also attract the monsters of the great 

 deep, and here the porpoise and the dolphins play ; and the 

 plesiosaurus and the great shark engage in deadly conflict, 

 crimsoning the limpid waters with their life blood, while 

 pelicans, cormorants, and other fish-eating birds watch the 

 combat with selfish glee. Layer upon layer of the bones of 

 fishes and marine animals are strewn on the bed of marl; 

 the sea-birds contribute their share to the up-building, and 

 still the work goes on. From the accumulation of animal 

 matter, ocean drifts and sediment from the Gulf Stream, the 

 sea-bed continues to rise. The cluster of islands becomes an 

 everglade, with here and there a tufted elevation; while 

 upon the shores the ocean surf casts the seeds and roots of 

 trees and plants, contributions from every land to the rising 

 savanna. A little later, many elevated spots or islands are 

 merged into one ; others are connected by narrow strips of 

 land ; the deeper bays have become lakes, and the estuaries 

 have become rivers. And now the incipient peninsula is the 

 favourite haunt of the manatee, the alligator and count- 

 less millions of animals and birds. A few thousand more 

 years elapse ; and an adventurous navigator discovers the 

 finished work, which the humble polyps began. The coral 

 reef, the cluster of islands, the everglade, the savanna has 

 now become a bold peninsula, traversed by rivers, dotted 

 with sparkling lakes and clothed in tropical vendure. 



" It was Palm Sunday (Pascua Floridae), when Ponce Do 

 Leon stepped upon the shore ; and, as if to commemorate the 

 day, the oaks were festooned with mosses; rich ferns and 

 grasses lined the beach ; bright flowers were flashing in the 

 sunlight ; and high above them, the graceful fronds of stately 

 palms were swaying in the breeze. Thus, in honour of the 

 day, and as an expression of admiration, he called this land 

 of beauty Florida. 



" Three hundred and seventy-two more years had passed, 

 when a son of Adam, in the pursuit of applied science, 

 blazing the way for the extension of a great nation's com- 



