34 
thirty-five feet long, and drew only three feet of water, but even 
with this light draft it was impossible in some cases to approach 
nearer than one-half mile to the shore, on account of the exceed- 
ing shallowness of the water, and the services of a small flat-bot- 
tomed row-boat were at all times necessary to actually make a 
landing. The keys visited were at the extreme northern end of 
the chain. The vegetation seems to change considerably farther 
south, a number of palms making their appearanee, so that a 
future visit to the more southern keys, including Key West and 
the Marquesas group west of it, and to the Thousand Islands on 
the west coast, visiting also the mainland, would undoubtedly 
prove interesting and would surely yield much of value to the 
collections. To accomplish such a trip properly a launch of 
some size would be necessary with sufficient storage room for 
quite a cargo. Many of the keys, and the Bahamas but a short 
distance east, probably contain botanical treasures which would 
be well worth securing. The palms, in particular, seem to be 
very local in their distribution. 
Perhaps no part of the trip afforded a greater surprise than did 
the Everglades, for their character differed so entirely from the 
conception formed from descriptions. To understand this vast 
region, covering an area of about one hundred miles wide and 
perhaps one hundred and fifty miles long, the elevation of which 
is said to be about eighteen feet above the ocean, one must 
imagine the keys ona large scale. In place of the surrounding 
ocean is an extended saw-grass swamp, as far as the eye can 
reach, transverséd by winding river-channels, and covered with 
islands of varying size, from an acre to many acres in extent, the 
surface of which is but little raised above the surrounding water. 
In the time of high water most of them are entirely submerged, 
as was the case at the time of our visit, and collecting on them 
meant a continuous struggle through tangled underbrush, clam- 
bering over decayed and moss-covered logs, and wading up to 
the knees in mud and water. The discomfort and trouble were 
_ well repaid by the many interesting observations made and the 
securing of desirable material. We were assured by our boat- 
man and guide, an indispensable adjunct on such a trip, that dur- 
