52 A NATURE WOOING. 



diana on April 11, 1893, started on their long serial 

 journey.* 



Chamseleons run swiftly over the earth, making a 

 rustling noise as they scurry through the dead leaves 

 and grass. 



The long, gray, epiphytic moss, TiMandsia usmoi- 

 des L., is very common in all the lower portions of 

 east Florida, f It is one of a half dozen or more species 

 of the same genus which abound in the State, but 

 the only one with filiform, pendent stems and green 

 flowers. Its scurfy and hoary clusters, swinging to 

 and fro with every passing breeze, give a tinge of des- 

 olation to the surroundings, of the low hammocks and 

 cause a deeper sense of solitude and loneliness in the 

 mind of the wandering naturalist who invades their 

 midst. As far back as 1793, Bartram wrote of it, as 

 follows: "The long moss, so called, is a singular and 

 surprising vegetable production; it grows from the 

 limbs and twigs of all trees in these southern regions. 

 Wherever it fixes itself, on a limb or branch, it 

 spreads into short and intricate divarications ; these 

 in time collect dust, wafted by the wind, which, prob- 

 ably by the moisture it absorbs, softens the bark and 

 sappy part of the tree, about the roots of the plant, 

 and renders it more fit for it to establish itself ; and 

 from this small beginning, it increases, by sending 



*See Psyche, June 1893, p. 465; also the author's "Gleanings from Na- 

 ture," p. 238. 



tFestoons of this moss are shown in the frontispiece, hanging from 

 the branches above the cabin. 



