found, seem to be the principal occupations of many Florida tourists.
Were it not for the sharks, this would be a fine bathing-beach.
Whether they are man-eaters or not, may be a question, but we
preferred to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt.

On our return to Loud's we found Doctor White very busy skinning his
birds.

"What is this, doctor?--a jay? It looks rather different from our blue
jay."

"Yes: this is the Florida jay: it has no crest, you perceive. Here is
another Southern bird, the fish-crow, smaller than ours, you see.
Here I have a white heron and a wood-ibis. These will give me work for
to-day."

"What game did you see, doctor?" inquired Captain Herbert.

"I saw some quails in the palmetto scrub behind the house, and shot
one to see if it differs from ours. It is the same bird, _Ortyx
Virginiana_: they call it partridge in the South--rather smaller than
ours at the North. In the swamp I found snipe, _Scolopax Wilsonii_:
they call them here jacksnipe. Here is one of them: did you ever see a
fatter bird?"

"I should like to go and look them up to-morrow morning," said the
captain. "How far away were they?"

"About half a mile only, north-west. You will find some small ponds,
and near them the snipe were plenty: there were wood-ducks there