COMPTIE. 



When winter, with its blasting, icy 

 hand, has touched every green thing ex- 

 posed to its wantonness, and Thanks- 

 giving, Christmas, New Year's and 

 other feast days call loudly for the festive 

 greenery with which to adorn churches, 

 halls and dwellings, longing eyes are 

 turned towards the Southland, where 

 King Winter's scepter is unknown and 

 green things flourish the year around. 



A walk through the dark hummuck 

 woods — so dark that owls overhead hoot 

 at one in the daytime — holds the natural- 

 ist and the florist spell-bound. 



The numerous varieties of chirping 

 and twittering birds, the many-hued 

 spiders, lizards, bugs and beetles, and, 

 yes, the wriggling snakes, with now and 

 then the sounds of snarling 'coons or 

 'possums, the scream of a wild-cat, or the 

 dashing by of the deer suddenty aroused 

 from his noon siesta — ail this makes the 

 naturahst feel as though he had entered 

 into an enchanted land ; but he who loves 

 "the green things growing" more tJian the 

 things flying, creeping or ■ snarling will 

 feast his eyes on the ever varying ver- 

 dure. 



Tall palmettos, v/ide-spreading oaks, 

 orchids, trailing vines and festooning 

 mosses sweeping the greener mosses be- 

 neath, ferns, lilies! — but, 'twould fill a 

 volume to enumerate the many beauties 

 which meet the eye at even a single 

 glance, each plant and flower in itself 

 being worthy of a chapter. 



There is one plant which especially at- 

 tracts our attention and admiration ; and 

 this plant is one of the prettiest and most 

 useful of the greeneries used for decora- 

 tions in the far north in winter. It is 

 called, variously, ''Comptie," "Coontie," 



''Starch-root," or 'Indian-bread." The 

 two latter names are due to its large, 

 bulbous root, which, when grated, makes 

 a good starch, and which was also 

 made, by the primitive Indians, into ash- 

 cake, or bread — as Indians knew bread. 



It is fern-like ; but, unlike most ferns, it 

 is of a sturdy, independent growth, bear- 

 ing' handling as well as cedar, yet with all 

 the graceful pliancy of the more tender 

 ferns. Its stems grow two or three 

 feet long; the fronds on each side of the 

 stem being three or four inches in length, 

 and of a glossy dark green color. From 

 one to two dozen such stems put out from 

 a single stalk, growing up into the most 

 graceful curves. 



Seeds, deep crimson in color, and of 

 the size of a chestnut, form in the center 

 of the plant, and so compactly as to pre- 

 sent one continuous bulbous form, the 

 size and shape of a round quart bottle 

 vv^ith part of its neck broken off. This 

 crimson seed-form, surrounded by the 

 dark green foliage, is, of itself, a pretty 

 curiosity, more novel than a flower. 



The reason why it is especially valued 

 for decorations is, because it can be had 

 at all seasons of the year, and retains its 

 verdure for several weeks, even after 

 it has been shipped long distances. Many 

 of these plants, cut close to the ground, 

 have been shipped from Florida to Can- 

 ada, and have retained their fresh, glossy 

 appearance for two months. Even with- 

 out placing the stems in water, using 

 them for motto work, they will last two 

 or three weeks. 



And this is but one of Florida's novel- 

 ties in plant life. 



Mary Stratner. 



187 



