102 FLORIDA 



fortnight that I have been here, to be sure, I 

 have begun to distinguish differences among 

 them, and even to recognize individuality; but 

 as to what they are, and what their names are, I 

 know absolutely nothing. 



It is a strange sensation, so delightfully, tan- 

 talizingly strange that I can hardly keep away 

 from the place. Day after day, in spite of the 

 dust and (sometimes) the scorching heat, my 

 steps turn in this direction. " Where have you 

 been ? " my new acquaintances say to me at the 

 dinner table ; and I answer, almost of course, 

 " Down in the hammock." 



Here and there, wherever there is a favorable 

 opening, I venture a few steps into the jungle ; 

 but sometimes I cannot stay. A feeling of some- 

 thing like superstitious terror comes over me, 

 the wood is so dense and dark and strange. I 

 am glad to get back into the dusty road. My 

 supposititious companion will be braver than I, 

 I dare say, but he wiU be with me in confessing 

 how confusingly alike all the trees look, and how 

 utterly unavailable all his previous knowledge 

 proves to be. On this point I have talked with 

 two botanists, and they have both assured me 

 that, although they had lived much in upper Flor- 

 ida, they found themselves here in a world they 

 knew nothing about. With me, who am not a 



