123 
A FLOATING ISLAND 
When a buoyant, matted entanglement of Bulrush 
roots is undermined and loosened from its feeble hold 
by the swollen water of the marsh the wind takes hold 
of the multitude of fluttering green sails, and the 
unstable island moves almost imperceptibly toward 
other shores or anchorages* Where the water is clear 
and open the wind, tugging at the tall, crowded 
rushes, moves the island steadily along, making 
panoramic changes in the confining and reflected 
vegetation. In a mass of submerged weeds it is 
retarded so gradually that its movement ceases 
imperceptibly. It has all the features of the solid 
islands and shores adjacent, and shows no evidence of 
the fact that it is merely waiting for a change of wind 
to seek other and less obstructed routes of travel. 
The inhabitants seem perfectly satisfied with their 
itinerancy, A Gallinule clucks familiarly and con- 
tentedly in his safe concealment, quite unmindful 
of his wanderings. He even ventures out to the float- 
ing margin, stepping daintily among the yielding 
roots, and picking the small snails and larvae that 
cling to the sunken rushes. The bright red of his bill 
and frontal plate relieve his funereal colours as he 
