Remarks upon East Florida. 51 



and spreading tops present nearly a horizontal line, where the 

 green appears in all its depth and freshness. Thence, however, 

 to within a few yards of the ground, the folds of moss, like am- 

 ple curtains, conceal nearly all from view, leaving the trunks 

 exposed below, which are covered with a whitish bark. This 

 aspect may prevail for half a mile, when the banks may rise and 

 become covered with the live oak, whose angular and scraggy 

 arms give a new appearance to the moss, which is still as luxu- 

 riant as on the cypress. But the outline above is far different 

 here. Palmettos perhaps raise their graceful heads above the 

 oaks in striking contrast with their associates ; or perhaps the pine 

 may show in the barren beyond ; while over all is the clear azure 

 of the sky, always in Florida 



" So purely dark, and darkly pure." 



These changeful beauties, combined with the occasional sight of 

 a wild orange-grove, with its golden fruit bespangling the foliage, 

 altogether render a trip up the St. John's delightful in a high de- 

 gree. 



The ash, poplar, swamp oak, &c., which line the banks of a 

 part of the upper St. John's, drop their leaves during the winter 

 months, unlike all the other trees to which we have been alluding. 

 But these trees would seem to be deciduous, to exhibit more plainly 

 the verdant parasite which attaches itself to most of their branches. 

 In passing up the river for the first time, the uninstructed gazer 

 is surprised and puzzled to see on all these trees a tuft of ever- 

 green, while the branches in general are stripped of their foliage, 

 until informed that it is the mistletoe, which, having attached 

 itself thus to a foreign stock, continues to smile in verdure, while 

 its supporter is standing in gloomy nakedness. The mistletoe 

 oough is always of a rounded form, varying in size from a few 

 'nches to thirty or more in diameter. The seeds, which are said 

 to be winged, have a gluten surrounding them, which enable them 

 to attach themselves where they alight and at once to draw forth 

 nourishment as if fixed to a parent stem. The 7iiillius jilius of 

 the forest, it is adopted by the first tree to which it flies for pro- 

 tection and sustenance. 



Sulphur springs are very abundant on the upper parts of the 

 St. John's. They bubble up like jets cVeau. In passing up to 

 Lake Monroe, there is one a few miles below, which attracted, 



