. Birds and nature . that thisfruit must be subjected to the action offrost before it becomes edible is erro-neous. Many of the very best varietiesripen long- before the appearance of frost,while others never become edible, beingso exceedingly astringent that neither sunnor frost has any appreciable effect onthem. This fruit, so popular in the lo-calities where it grows, was not unknownto the natives who traversed the wildwoods before the time of the early explo-rations and conquests of America. Anarrative of De Sotos travels relates thathis men, who were camping at a nativetown *halfe a leagu
. Birds and nature . that thisfruit must be subjected to the action offrost before it becomes edible is erro-neous. Many of the very best varietiesripen long- before the appearance of frost,while others never become edible, beingso exceedingly astringent that neither sunnor frost has any appreciable effect onthem. This fruit, so popular in the lo-calities where it grows, was not unknownto the natives who traversed the wildwoods before the time of the early explo-rations and conquests of America. Anarrative of De Sotos travels relates thathis men, who were camping at a nativetown *halfe a league from Rio Grande(Mississippi River) found the river al-most halfe a league broad and of greatdepth, and that the natives brought tothem loaves made of the substance ofprunes, like unto brickes. These loaveswere made of dried Persimmons, pos-sibly, mixed with some pulverized the present time, in some southern lo-calities, the fruit is not infrequentlykneaded with bran or ground cereals^molded and baked. 228. a t-t (Ji ci02 O ^ H ft AS TO ALLIGATORS. The alligator generally impresses tiiemind as a reptile so dangerous that heshould be given a wide berth on any andall occasions, yet it is really peaceable andharmless unless aroused to the defen-sive. Anywhere south of the Mason andDixon line, among the rivers, lakes andmarshes, are found the alligators, butFlorida, because of its great area of suchplaces which the alligator delights in,may almost be termed the home of thealligator. In traveling through the dense ham-mocks, where for miles and miles the sunscarcely penetrates through the heavytimber and the rank vegetation beneath,one may often meet with the huge sai^rian as he travels from one cave or mudhole to another. Tease or wound him,and he will show fight, and woe to himwho then comes within reach of hisvengeance. And it matters little to himwith which end he must fight. He cancrush equally well with his tail as withhis jaws—or, to end the matter morespeedily, h
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