The Farmington times. [volume] (Farmington, Mo.) 1874-1902, 1901-01-17
sLUsHEs in THE SHOWERS.
nssstifsI CTIssMsa When the
Rats Falts ON ~.

Among the many wouders Of those
strange swamps there Ia no;bng mora
surprising than the bius5iug . &C."
said Albert " Dewey. Of puuta Gordu,
fla., who according 20 lccal ex-
change, recently passed a month In
the everglades Of Florida.
"Thc blushing trrc," continued Mr..
Dewey, rs by no means common. IL
is found only In the densest thickets
Of those intermiunblc marshes. whose
luxuriant vegetation ~ a revelation TO
explorers. II II called the II ushing
Tree by those who know IL because II
actually bushes when the rain falls
upon H. The phenomenon ! appar-
entity incomprehrusibie. II never falls
ia aAtnnnd thnAs who 80 Is To- she
first timr. The mysterious and beau
tiful glow % cel0r whica u assumes
In n rainstorm battles description. The
Seminole Indians, who once ruled
Florida. have always known OF the
tree, and ia their musics language.
now fast disappearing, have words
which mean The msiden tree which
rcddrHs al the coming Of her lover,
the usin'
''ln company with q tacitura Indian
guide ! iourneyed % ~ 20 ia sr, this
marvellous bit nf vegetable life.
could scarcely believe the story he
told me. yet curiosity al length over
came incredulty, and We set forth
one morning in small cnr7c. We
spcn, nearly three days padding and
polling our way over tar winding wa
tiers. In the afternoon 81 b.. third
day I began 70 wonder II De had only
been derei,inF me TO ihr axe Of the
boat hire and his pay a. guide, hen
hc gave @ Rruut Of sat ST elton and
pointed 10 tho right
"Distrustfuliy ! followed him ashore
md through the undrrhrush, Beneath
great cypryss trees, hoary with the
gray hanging moss. and past immense
hay trees We wendell our wny inland.
Eagerly be- led the way until reaching
she edge ~ little open space he
stopped and with silent pride pointed
toward the center Gracefully a tree
with broad, banHna-iike leaves reared
itself nluft. Incorporating branches
hung down, slightly waving In the
warm breeze Its rmerald-hued To-
liage wna the mnAt beautiful I had
ever hehcld II rose Ia height Of
20 feet and its thick. substantial trunk
indicated many years ~ existence.
This. the old Seminole informed me,
was the hlushinP tree
- told him n prepare to camp herr
until II rained. regardless Of time. We
uurollrd our blankets. stretched our
mosquito bars. without which one
cannot sleep In the giadcs. cooked sup
per and rolled up in our blankets for
the night. That night. the day fol.
lowing and the next night passed
without rain.
IL began to think IL would never
rain. when about noon n clond dark
ened the sky overhead. put rub
Der poncho over my shoulders and
fixed my eyes on the green and pref
IS tire dozen yards away. II was
covered with a grecuish insect, the
size OF large woodticlS which inten-
slacd It's color. The rain hogan 10
fall In torrents. after It's custom in
that region. Beside me, grinnlng con-
Rdently, with a pipe In his mouth,
stood the Seminole.
AS the cool water drenchcd the tree
I was amazed TO note changing Of
color Gradually. yet Enthusiastically.
the green hue was giving way To pink.
The Indian had told the truth. The
tree was bnsaiing al the rain.
''ln few minutes the green had
faded from sight. Only in n few half
hidden spots beneath broad branches
and on It's trunk was thcrv large
tint of green 10 he seen. The tree
wna ms pink as the cheek Of n healthy
girl.
after an hour or more the shower
passed over. and I watched with no
less interest the wonderful tree as-
sumo It's familiar green once more.
As q was changing back 20 emerald
suddenly realized the secret Of the
phenomenon, The tiny insects and
not the tree itself changed color.
These peculiar parasites are possessed
Of the power Of chnmeleons. In the
bright warm sunshine they are green
er than the tree on which they live,
but when the chilly rain falls upon
them they contract their little backs
and become a pretty pink in color.
Millions of them thus change the tint
Of the tire. They nre found only upoR
one species Of trees which grow in GER
taAn portions Of the everglades"