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FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
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a large and stately specimen of the 
Bombax Ceiba, which occupied a strik¬ 
ing location on our south lawn, but 
with all its rapidity of growth and ele¬ 
gance of form, it was a failure so far as 
blooming was concerned, and with all 
our experimenting we never made a 
success of it along those lines. 
Some little children closely allied to 
us by ties of family connection, or 
friendship, are proudly wearing pretty, 
if simple, necklaces, made of strings of 
the perforated red beans about as large 
as a good sized pea, which are grown 
on a slender growing, attractive, dark 
leaved plant — Adananthera — which, 
planted in a spot well enriched with 
compost, well watered for some months 
thereafter, has done well, after having 
been for a couple of years, little attend¬ 
ed to excepting that in common with 
other plants and bushes near by, it has 
in the spring been heavily “mulched" 
for a distance of 18 inches around its 
base, with well-packed “casuarina" pine 
straw. 
A tree which we have, and which 
grows well, that is always interesting 
to us, and which arouses the interest 
and curiosity of strangers, is the “Hnra 
Crepitans or sand box tree. Our 
specimens grow a symmetrical trunk or 
body, and at about 7 to 8 feet from the 
ground, limb out somewhat in a man¬ 
ner suggestive of an umbrella, and are 
producers of a really acceptable shade. 
From a little distance the body and 
limbs of the Hura Crepitans have some¬ 
what the same whitish creamy colors 
of the Bombax Ceiba, with this differ¬ 
ence, very great differences, and this 
makes the sand box tree a great oddity, 
that its body and limbs '.are thickly 
covered with dark colored, strong, 
sharp-pointed spears, an inch or more 
in length in many cases. 
On account of its reputed valuable 
wood, as well as other unique qualities, 
we have heroically endeavored to bring 
the Dalbergia to the front, but Dalber- 
gia and Sterculias, up to time of writ¬ 
ing, seem to have decided that it is pre¬ 
ferable to perish than to exhibit their 
charms on our grounds. 
The large body, spreading limbs and 
pretty shade of green of the leaves, and 
the rattling of the very long seed pods 
(when dry) with every little wisp of 
wind, makes the Abbizzia Lebbek a tree 
of great interest to a lover of strange 
trees, and not unworthy of notice from 
the casual, and not over enthusiastic, 
observer. On our grounds it has been 
given perhaps more attention than it 
would in some other spots, because of 
the “common’’ or “popular" name, viz: 
“Woman’s Tongue'’ painted beneath the 
Albizzia Lebbek on its label. 
One of our’force is experimenting on 
his own private place, a mile out of 
town, with a number of Spanish Love 
trees — Clericidia —but has not as yet 
had them long enough in his possession 
to enable him to truthfully tell anything 
about them. We know of one citizen 
in Miami, who has a superb specimen, 
but as it was brought to him from Cuba 
by an enthusiastic, tree-loving sea cap¬ 
tain, at that time commanding a steam¬ 
er plying between Miami and Cuban 
ports, and as said sea captain went to 
the extra trouble of bringing over in his 
