Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-08-06

light sparkled exquisitely on their leaf
lets; their sharp outlines. too. against
the sky, with the pervading odor of
lime, lemon. and jessamine, told
radical change of scene. Still more, at
the entrance to our friends grounds
were these wondrously new sensations
and aspects increased; enhanced by
more characteristic odors and forms of
foliage. The air was redolent with
JessamIne. and, above all, the verandas
revealed the delicate lawns and linens
OF summer costumes, and a peculiar
and captivating hospitality heightened
the enjoyment of this our first expert
ence of the tropics. To the present
visitor, the then inevitable Venus in
parti-colored turban. passing the deli
cate. refreshing cocoanut water and
curacao, and the grateful services of
Cato, with fan in hand, are things of
the past.
The cocoanut. before its white meat
has become solid, is jelly-like, and this
in all stages from the nearly liquid
form is esteemed a luxury, and served
at luncheon or to evening callers dur
ing the warmer season. The cocoanuts
will be observed to be in all stages
upon the tree, from the beautiful corn
colored Towering group, resembling
large tassels of corn, to the perfect
nuts, which require constant care to
prevent their dropping on the heads
OF stranger SoJournerS. Those ma
tive here and to the manner born" in
stinctively cast an eye above when
passing. The glory of Key West is
the abundant distribution of the cocoa
palm. The young and grandly flowing
fronds and leaflets, as well as the tall
trunks. with their graceful umbrella
tops, contribute to an unaccus toned
eve a scene of marvellous beauty.
There is a curious sound, Stimulating
falling rain, produced by the gentle
movements of the leaflets over each
other; this when but little air is STIR
ring. Could the beauties of these
semi-tropical towns be cumulative, a
wOndrous aspect would be the result;
but the recurrence at certain periods
of heavy gales, amounting to hurri-
canes, strips nearly everything of veg
etable form.
Besides many plants and trees indi-
genous to Semi-tropical regions, others
of more pronounced tropical culture
have been introduced. The Geiger tree
is perhaps the most attractive, on ac-
count of its large snowy red flowers,
that look more appropriate to a low
plant than a tree, and its large snowy
leaves. Captain Geiger, an old C tizen
of Key West, in the earlier times. and
a noted wrecker, brought this tree to
Key West from Cuba; and, no one be-
ing sufficiently acquainted with botany
to name it, it was called as above. 1t
is the Cordia sehestina Linn. In the
Jesup collection of the trees of America
there is a good example of this tree.
and a fine painting of its leaves and
flowers. At the period of our first visit
in 1858, several trees had recently been
introduced, notably the royal palm.
The visitor in Havana will enjoy the
grand examples of this tree on the
plaza of the Captan-GeneraIs palace.
The stately and architectural trunks
and the rich green of the leaflets or
fronds render these trees except onally
attractive. The date palm is another,
of nearly equal interest. 1t requires
about seven years for the tree to reach
the period of bearing fruit We
CHANGED to remain in the reef region
Just long enough to see the fruit come
to perfection. Several gardens of the
old residents of Key West are embel-
lished by the date palms, whose thor
oughly tropical aspect, varied bv the
cocoa palms. first breaks upon the view
of the visitor as he approaches the
island. -Cor. N Y Evening Post.