GETTING AC^AINTED WITH THE TREES 



delicately sweet yellow flowers, seemingly clus- 

 ters of lemon -colored threads, are the very last 

 to bloom, opening bravely in the very teeth of 

 Jack Frost. They are a delight to find, on the 

 late fall rambles ; and the next season they are 

 followed by the still more curious fruits, which 

 have a habit of suddenly opening and fairly 

 ejaculating their seeds. A plucked branch of 

 these fruits, kept in a warm place a few hours, 

 will show this — another of nature's efficient 

 methods for spreading seeds, in full operation — 

 if one watches closely enough. The flowers and 

 the fruits are on the tree at the same time, just 

 as with the orange of the tropics. 



Speaking of a tropical fruit, I am reminded 

 that the greatest nut of all, though certainly 

 not an American native, is nevertheless now 

 grown on American soil. Some years ago a 

 grove of lofty cocoanut palms in Yucatan fas- 

 cinated me, and the opportunity to drink the 

 clear and refreshing milk ( not milky at all, 

 and utterly different from the familiar contents 

 of the ripened nut of commerce ) was gladly 

 taken. Now the bearing trees are within the 

 bounds of the United States proper, and the 



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