Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 52.djvu/797

Rh castor beans, morning-glories, lantanas, four-o'clocks, and tecomas, with their white and yellow blossoms, at this season the most conspicuous wild flowers; and the life plant (Bryophyllum calycinum), a single leaf of which, if pinned to the wall of a room, will send out rootlets and grow. These last are seen in every direction, and grow wild among the rocks. Orchids, air plants (epiphytes), and palmettos, which are so carefully cherished in our hothouses or homes, here run wild and cover large areas of waste land. Cacti, agaves and aloes are common, and from them good commercial fibers are made. Sisal hemp and sisal grass are terms used for fibers of probably more than one species of agave. They have always grown wild on the islands, and were formerly considered a nuisance. Of late years the production of sisal has formed a large industry, and hundreds of acres are given up to the growth of the plant, which thrives on the poorest soil. The cultivation of sisal is only exceeded in extent by the sponge industry, in which six thousand people and a great many small vessels are engaged, Nassau being the principal port for sponge trading in the West Indies. The men engaged in gathering the sponges go off on cruises of five or six weeks. They get the sponges by means of a hook attached to a long pole, and then leave them in the sun till the animal matter decays. They are then brought to the sponge exchange, sold in large quantities, and afterward taken by each buyer to his wharf. Here women are employed in cutting, trimming, and packing them for exportation.

In early spring, before the trees put forth their leaves—for there are many deciduous trees even in a tropical region—there are fewer flowers in bloom than later in the season. Some have their season of growth and rest, though the climate has a nearly equal temperature throughout the year, while other trees and plants, like tea and coffee, produce several crops annually. In tropical regions, sequence of crops depends largely upon a rainy and a dry season. The absence of grass is quite noticeable. Very few cows are kept, and this has its effect upon food, as condensed milk must always be used. A tree of great interest, particularly to those interested in the dissemination of seeds, is the sand-box (Hura crepitans). Its pods explode with a pistol-like noise, scattering the seeds to a great distance. I secured a good specimen, and packed it carefully in a box. Some five or six weeks later, when at home, I untied the pod and put it on the table with a collection of corals, shells, and curios from the West Indies. Coming home one day, I was told that it would be unsafe ever to go out again and leave Sam, the pet cat, alone in the sitting room, for he had been on the table and made great havoc, scattering sponges, shells, etc., all over the room. I rushed to see if any of my specimens had suffered, and found that not Sam, but