THE BRUSH-FOOTED SPIDER. 
239 
to those of another, that a close personal acquaint- 
ance would be hardly sufficient to determine the 
species ; in such cases ray custom has been to bring 
home a specimen in a growing state, and suspend it 
either within doors or without until the appearance 
of its blossom should enable me to identify it. The 
watching of the daily development of the plants, and 
the pleasant suspense and expectation of what the 
flower may turn out to be, are enjoyments that will 
readily be appreciated by every one who has ever 
cultivated a flower-garden. 
THE BRUSH-FOOTED SPIDER. 
A little way beyond Sabito Bottom, on the road 
to Savanna le Mar, the ground slopes upward from 
the sea-level to an elevation of about forty feet, and 
is covered with a dense growth of timber trees. A 
group of Ebby Palms {Acrocomia sclerocarpa), for- 
midable from the long pointed spines with which 
their trunks and the mid ribs of their spreading fronds 
are armed, — grew along the sides of the highway, 
and mark the approximation to a spot known as the 
resting and roosting place of Boobies, Pelicans, and 
Frigate birds. The deadly Manchioneel {Hippomane 
mancinilla) grows abundantly in this belt of woods, 
mingled with Button-wood {Conocarpus erectus)^ 
Mahogany, Sweetwood {Laurus leucoxylon), the sin- 
gular Prickly-yellow, or Club of Hercules {Xan~ 
thoxylon clava-Uerculis), horrid with bristling spines, 
and many other trees. The wood bears the common 
character of inpenetrability, being choked up with 
