FLORIDA. 288 



was the second time tlie Bishop had visited these seas. On 

 the first occasion ho liad taken away with him some young 

 people whom he now brought back, and with whom he had 

 landed early that morning in order to visit some villages 

 on the slopes of the coast. He had met witli excellent 

 plantations of bananas and yams, large and handsome 

 dwellings, enclosures surrounded with well-made palisades, 

 and natives who had shown themselves well-disposed and 

 even civil. 



ISTot venturing to land, I took advantage of low tide 

 to examine the Madrepore Reef at a little distance from the 

 ships, in the company of Messrs. Veitch and Braziei'. This 

 reef seems to be a sort of coral beach, made of broken-up 

 coral sprigs, to some depth ; the water runs through as well 

 as over it. I sank in up to my hips in this soft coral. I got 

 on this reef a few seaweeds and shells; one of the latter, 

 three or four inches Iohq- was like a much-twisted mussel 

 shell. There were very small fisli of a beautiful deep blue 

 swimming about, but I could not catch them. I caught a 

 shrimp with one claw, and found a tridacna about one foot 

 across. This lai'ge shell was imbedded in the broken coral, 

 with the lips about six or eight inches apart, filled with a 

 leathery sort of membrane covered with an endless number 

 of very bright green spots in straight lines — these spots 

 were holes or valves of some kind, I have no doubt ; in the 

 centre of the open space, and about the middle of the two 

 lips, taking them lengthwise, there was a somewhat raised 

 aperture, from which, when I touclied the membrane, issued 



