116 FLORIDA 



plish drupes. Now, then, here was something to 

 go upon. Now, possibly, with a sprinkling more 

 of good luck, I might find the name of the bush. 

 I was a mile or two from town, on the road to 

 Alapattah Prairie, where there are many truck 

 farms. A white man came along, one of the 

 " truckers," driyuig homeward from the city. 



" Do you know what this is ? " I inquired, 

 showing him the specimen. 



"No, sir," he answered. 



Soon I met another man, and proposed to him 

 the same question, with the same result. A third 

 attempt was no more successful. Then I over- 

 took two colored men talking beside a quarry. 



" Excuse me," I said, " but can you teU me 

 the name of this plant?" 



"Yes, sir, it is cocoa plum," answered one of 

 them ; and the other said, " Yes, cocoa plum." 



And so it was ; for on referring to the man- 

 ual I found the bush fully described under that 

 name. 



AjQother experiment in this kind of putting 

 myself to school, it is fair to add, was less in the 

 Bahama colored man's favor. A tourist whom 

 I happened upon resting beside the hammock 

 road held in his hand two or three twigs, from 

 each of which depended a large, stony, pear- 

 shaped fruit, and seeing me curious about the 



