46 
BLUEFIELDS. 
the latter down towards the sea in their return. 
Many of the Helix shells were so pearly in the in- 
terior, and so bright and fresh on the exterior, as to 
show that they could not have long lain exposed to 
the weather, since tenanted by the original proprie- 
tor. This suggests the inquiry, whether in any case 
the Coenohita destroys the Snail to obtain his shell 
for a dwelling. 
THE CALABASH AND ORCHIDS. 
Just behind the pasture, among the fruit-trees, 
now all choked up with bushes and young wood, are 
many Calabash trees {Crescentia cujete), a tree com- 
monly found around the homesteads and negro vil- 
lages, and cherished for the sake of the large gourd- 
like fruit, the woody shell of which, divested of its 
pulp, makes admirable domestic vessels. The tree has 
a strange appearance, easily recognised when once it 
has been seen, from the peculiarity of the foliage, 
which does not form masses, but fringes the long 
branches ; and as these are slender and straight, 
shooting out in all directions, and continually cross- 
' ing each other, but never tortuous, the effect is much 
more curious than beautiful. The large oval gourds 
hang from the branches in all stages of maturity, 
together with the blossoms, which are large, and 
shaped like our Canterbury bell, but of a greenish 
hue, with dull purple lines. They are sessile, that is, 
without footstalks, and to add to their singular ap- 
pearance, they sit as it were on the naked bark of 
the branches, and frequently on the bare trunk itself, 
without any leaves or bracts surrounding them. 
