Evening star., 1902-02-22
GARDENS UNDER SEA.
What is Seen Near Nassau Through
Glass-Bottomed Boat

From the Florida Times-Un;on and Citizen
The attractions of Nassau have been in
creased by the the arrival of a remarkable
craft designed for use in visiting the sea
gardens, which are among the most at
tract1ve natural beauties of the island The
boat is made with glass bottom The
water about Nassau is so absolutely clear
that If the slight ripple can be removed
from the surface one can see the hottom as
clearly as one can see the objects outside a
window. 1t is never any use telling those
VINO have not visited Nassau this sort of
thing. because they politely but firmly re-
Iuse 10 belleVe 1t. 1t is a simple statement
OF TACT, however. When the surface is alb
soiu'eis smooth one can sit in a boat and
Ind little difference looking up or down.
Ihe sea gardens cover quite wide area :
ana are unfortunately situated in channel
"hlch can usually boast of many small
waves. Ihey We're accidentally discovered
many years ago. and since then have been
an objective point with all tourists who
visit the island. Seated in boat with a
glass bottom of sufficient size to remove all
the ripple from the surface, it is possible to
san over what seems to be a triumph of
landscape gardening on the part of Father
Neptune. 1t is all. of course his work
me strong current which so long hid the
beauties OF the spot has probably brought
IN TINS tremendous collection Of marine
nora. Certainly it seems as il every kind
OF sea ian and sea palm were to be found
WITHIN the space of square yard
"a AS IN a4 coral formations, the bottom is
Iull or holes. These little caverns are fire.
quentiy of the most delicate tints The
prevailing cOlors of the growth at the bot
tom are yellow and purple, relieved by
great patches of golden brown. and here
and there are feathery growths of tall
palms which wave softly with the tide, ex-
actly as do their sisters on land in a gentle
breeze The sea ferns are made of coral.
purple and yellow, and are just about the
size of palm leaf fan, standing up stiff
and sturdy among the taller and more
graceful plants. The bottom is of that ex-
guisite whiteness found only in coral forma-
ions, ions ana dotted here and there are the
great lazy beches de mer, or sea slugs.
which are highly relshed by the Chinese.
but nave not yet crept onto Nassau bills
OF fare. OF course everywhere is sea weed
or That gorgeous golden brown shade which
becomes so faded and neutral when the
delicate things are removed from the water
The sea fans and corals are made of sterner
STUN and retain much of their beauty, but
dlVerS are forbidden to disturb the beauties
of the place. Everywhere through this sin
guar marine park swim fishes Of varied
colors. There are gold fishes with purple
spots, and purple fishes with gold spots and
red fishes and blue fishes. and fish that look
as If the mermaids had been having a little
fun with their paint boxes The easiest
way to describe these would be to pick out
OF the dictionary all Of the adjectives de-
scrlptlVe OF color, and after ingenuity has
been quite exhausted there will probably no
a few left undescribed.
The harbor of Nassau would send ma
rlne painter distracted. 1t is all purples
and blues and green's, and no spot of
twenty square feet seems to have Just the
same tint. Once well within the harbor, the
water is so smooth that the bottom can be
seen very nearly as clearly as one can OBJ
serve that OF the sea gardens through the
glass-bottom boat. 1t is not, of course as
beautiful. but 1t is Interesting.