'Botanijtag in Jamaica 



Eloisb Butler 



A strong desire to study tropical 

 vegetation resulted in my embarking 

 with my sister from Boston on a Mon- 

 day evening in June, 1891, on a 

 banana steamer accommodating a few 

 passengers bound for Port Antonio, 

 Jamaica. After a day and night of 

 fog we reached the Gulf Stream, and 

 soon sailed apparently upon a veritable 

 "sea of glass." The smooth, glassy 

 waves were occasionally spread with 

 carpets and streamers of golden brown 

 seaweed, Sargassum bacciferum, and 

 frequently schools of flying-fish with 

 silvery wings rose a foot or more 

 from the water and gracefully floated 

 in the air some distance before drop- 

 ping again into the sea. As we had 



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