The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-02-05

Out on BOca Chlca the Key
highway runs close TO the Allan
tic shore, with only a ridge of
sand like a snoWdrift between;
but a snoWdrift bOrdered with
thousands of spider lilies; great
bulbs now with strap-like leaves,
but starred in summer with my
riads of white lilies, widespread
ing, slender-petaled and fragrant.
On the summit of the drift is a
hedge of small trees; dark ia
maica dogwoods, bay cedars with
narrow leaves and yellow star
like flowers; seven-year apples
heavy with fig-shaped fruits
green and glossy and hard, final
ly turning yellowish when ripe,
and then filled with a very black
and seedy apple butter, edible,
but none too good. At intervals,
like a leaning telephone pole,
stands a cocoanut tree, tipped
with its crown of plumes. Moon
vines trail over the shrubbery,
making the night fragrant with
their white disks; and in daytime
one sees the brown balls of their
seedpods hanging here and
there. In the occasional spaces
where there are none of these
things. a dwarf artemisia with
fragrant leaves cut like rose
geranium, covers the ground.
Across the road, looking to-
ward the north, there may be a
mangrove swamp, dark in its
black muck and mystery; or lake
after lake of salt water, six inch
IS deep on flat bottoms of soft
lime mud; inviting in appearance,
but impossible to navigate and
running to mangrove borders far
beyond. Here swim schools of
chubby and pale Carp killfishes;
and perhaps Brad killies and sail
fins, etc, with them; but the mud
makes this difficult TO study.
The Atlantic shore across the
road is different. Toward Key
West there are mud flats with
many carp killies there; but far
Their out the sand beaches begin.
We may cross the sand ridge bar
rier, and over a deep windrow of
the brown straw of turtle grass,
washed in by storms; and there
find a narrow strip of shelly
sand. Uttered with cast-up sea-
weeds of many kinds; and strung
along with them odd sponges, oc-
casional Gorgonias. which are cor
ais Of the sea-fan group; some
with lacy nets and some with
rooted whips like leafless shrubs
with branches of brilliant purple.
or brown. or crusted with yellow
on foundations like spring wire.
Not here are the long. wide floors
Of SNOWY sand, with their pink
and white roadways of clean
washed shells customary on the
gulf and Atlantic shores of Flor
ida'S mainland: but far more of
strange and fascinating forms of
life. or what recently was life:
ard when one does find an out
standing shell il NAV be a large
and beautiful one. a rare treas
ure.
Here on the beach. drift in
many cup sponees, that grow in
the mud flats standing goblet
like in a few feet al water. and
glove sr1nEes, with clusters Of
tubular fingers These are
brown, bat there are smaller
ones Of orange red. Now and
then q heavier, solid ''logEerhead
turns I'D: a fieshy ball with black
circles on top with Szlt-eeIlar
perforztionS- But some day we
may take you cut and let you
see all these growing But here
are srnall clustered balls Of frost
ed green gelatInc; are they Sp0ng-
es or algse. animal 0v vegetable
Ard these shining nails like mar
bles. tight with laiee: seems % Us
We haze rad ~ q Rlanf single