Cedar Keys 
The live-oaks of these keys divide empire 
with the long-leafed pine and palmetto, but in 
many places on the mainland there are large 
tracts exclusively occupied by them. Like the 
Bonaventure oaks they have the upper side of 
their main spreading branches thickly planted 
with ferns, grasses, small saw palmettos, etc. 
There is also a dwarf oak here, which forms 
dense thickets. The oaks of this key are not, 
like those of the Wisconsin openings, growing 
on grassy slopes, but stand, sunk to the shoul- 
ders, in flowering magnolias, heathworts, etc. 
During my long sojourn here as a convales- 
cent I used to lie on my back for whole days 
beneath the ample arms of these great trees, 
listening to the winds and the birds. There 
is an extensive shallow on the coast, close by, 
which the receding tide exposes daily. This is 
the feeding-ground of thousands of waders of 
all sizes, plumage, and language, and they 
make a lively picture and noise when they 
gather at the great family board to eat their 
daily bread, so bountifully provided for them. 
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