72 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1894. 



At Tripoli, on the coast of Syria, the shells are two feet deep ; they 

 could be carried off iu cart loads. The surf at this place is tremen- 

 dous. On a calm day, while walking on the beach picking shells, I 

 looked up just in time to grasp the hand of one of the children and run 

 to get out of the way. In a gale the height of the surf is tremendous. 



"The fields and forests of our dry land," says an eminent natural- 

 ist, "appear sterile and empty if we compare them with those of the 

 sea. Each kingdom skilfully imitates the other." On the Grand 

 Banks the fishermen often draw up from the bottom imitations of veg- 

 etables and fruit, such as corn, lemons, etc. In the tropics every form 

 of vegetation is represented beneath the sea ; trees, flowers, shrubs, 

 fruit, etc., in great variety and of contrasting colors. In crossing 

 the Bahama I^auks we could look down through the clear water and 

 see the branches of coral, beautiful monuments of the little lives that 

 have formed so many islands which are now inhabited by mankind. 

 No language can describe the magnificence of these wonders of the 

 deep. On the music shell the notes are written with striking exact- 

 ness. Perhaps the sirens, when they charmed the sailors with their 

 bewitching melodies, read their music from the notes written upon 

 these shells. 



The luxuriant tropical vegetation of the West Indies is something 

 that we cannot imagine. The wonderful variety of fruit, the sapo- 

 dilla, custard apple, pawpaw, guava, from which delicious jelly is 

 made, shaddock, or forbidden fruit, star apple, sour sop, tamarinds 

 growing in long pods, hanging from the tree in clusters. The mango 

 tree is very common, the foliage dense, affording a most refreshing 

 shade from the tropical sun. The cocoanut, orange, and banana are 

 everywhere, and form the principal food of the natives. The flowers 

 would delight the eyes of those who frequent this Hall. The choicest 

 varieties are iu profusion. We sat beneath the shade of oleander trees. 

 Coffee has a beautiful white blossom. In sailing among these islands 

 one would imagine he was looking upon fairy land. We visited Cuba, 

 Hayti, Dominique, Granada, St. Vincent, Trinidad, and Barbadoes. 

 Cuba was the least interesting to look upon, beiug low ; Hayti is all 

 mountains. 



On a voyage from the Mediterranean to Buenos Ayres we sailed 

 down the west coast of Africa, passed the Madeira, Canaries, and 

 Cape Verde Islands and entered the region of equatorial calms, or 

 doldrums, where we experienced calms, squalls and heavy showers, 

 and found the oppressive atmosphere most uncomfortable. This 

 region is noted as being one of the most disagreeable places at sea. 



