112 FLORIDA 



his eyes in any direction without putting them 

 upon something he never saw before ; and so it 

 happened that while I hunted vainly for one 

 thing I found another and better ; or if it was 

 not better in itself, it was more unexpected and 

 interesting. This was a shrub, or small tree, bear- 

 ing large, glossy, coriaceous leaves, clustered near 

 the ends of the branches, from which depended 

 long, smooth, pear-shaped or gourd-shaped buds. 

 More careful search revealed a few faded flowers 

 and a large pendent green fruit. And then, ten 

 minutes afterward, as I was starting away, my 

 eyes feU upon a clump of the rare Pavonia. 



With that, of course, there was no room for 

 difficulty. I had only to compare the specimen 

 with the printed description, and check the name. 

 But as for the strange shrub, of which I had bud, 

 blossom, fruit, and leaf (what more could a man 

 desire?), with that I was fairly beaten. Even 

 a methodical, schoolboyish use of the " key " was 

 without result. The signs brought me, or seemed 

 to bring me, to the Bignonia family, and there 

 came to nothing. 



Happily a professor of botany in one of our 

 great universities had arrived in town within the 

 last twenty-four hours, and after supper I invited 

 him to my room to help me with the puzzle. He 

 set about the work just as I had done, only after 



