194 ESSAYS. 



Along the lower part of the river, occasional Palmettoes gave 

 a still more tropical aspect. Then followed a week and more 

 at dead and dilapidated, but still charming, Apalachicola, 

 where the post-office opens on Monday evenings, when the 

 steamboat arrives, and closes for a week the next morning, 

 when she departs, — where the climate, thanks to the embrac- 

 ing Gulf, is as delicious in summer as it is bland in winter ; 

 where game, the best of fish, and the most luscious oysters are 

 to be had almost for nothing, and blackberries come early in 

 April when the oranges are gone ; and where, far from the 

 crowd and bustle of the world, with Bill Fuller for caterer, 

 and his wife Adeline for cook, the choicest fare is to be en- 

 joyed at the cheapest rate. Then there was the pleasure of 

 renewing our acquaintance with Dr. Chapman, and botanizing 

 with him over some of the ground which he has explored so 

 long and so well, of gathering, under his guidance, the stately 

 Sarracenia Drummondii in its native habitat, and, not least, 

 acquiring from him fuller information respecting the localities 

 where Torreya grows. 



The return voyage up the river was not less enjoyable 

 than the descent. It was so timed that the bold bluff of As- 

 palaga, where the tree was first found, was reached after sun- 

 rise. But it was sad to see that the Torreya trees, which 

 overhung the river here in former days, had been cut away, 

 perhaps for steamboat fuel. So I did not land ; but leaving 

 the boat a few miles above, at the upper Chattahoochee land- 

 ing, while it made the run to Bainbridge and back, I had a 

 long day to devote to Torreya. Following Dr. Chapman's 

 directions, I repaired to the wooded bluff to the north of the 

 road, where I soon found an abundance of the trees, of vari- 

 ous ages, interspersed among other growth. The largest tree 

 I saw grew near the bottom of a deep ravine ; its trunk just 

 above the base measured almost four feet in circumference, 

 and was proportionally tall. But it was dominated by the 

 noblest Magnolia grand.'ifiora I ever set eyes on, with trunk 

 seven and a half feet in girth. 



After long search one tree was found with female flowers, 

 or rather with forming fruit, from which a few specimens 



