those who seek them, and sometimes they make themselves more free than welcome to those who do not. Not infrequently a panther appears upon the scene, and is seldom allowed to retire unmolested to his den. It is hardly necessary to state that the whole of this fertile Indian river region is far below the frost line--the general temperature all the year round being about 75°, though it has been known on rare occasions to rise to 90° or fall to 55°. But we must draw our thoughts from the Indian river and continue on our way; we are now upon Lake St. George. Slowly we steam across this magnificent sheet of water, one of the loveliest and most interesting of all the lakes in Florida; it is six miles wide by fourteen miles long. These lovely lakes, of all shapes and sizes, are scattered throughout the central region of Florida; they vary from smooth, pleasant-looking pools of about an acre, hidden away in the heart of the pine woods, to the spacious lakes of fifty miles. They all lie far away from the large rivers and the sea-shore, and have always pleasant if not especially attractive surroundings; their shores are generally slightly rolling, and covered with palmetto or pine, or sometimes the grassy slopes are outlined by a thick tangle of jungle in the distance. Orange Lake County is one of the famous inland lake districts. In the neighbourhood of Interlaken and Oceola the lakes are most numerous; looking in any direction a dozen or more pretty lakelets may be seen, and from one special spot in Maitland no less than nine large lakes are visible. Farther South, still in the centre of the peninsula, and surrounded by fine hammock lands (which always indicate the richest soil), are several other beautiful lakes--Conway, Cypress, Kissimmee, and Tohopekalaga and many more, large and small. The country is prairie-like, and the vegetation throughout this extensive region purely tropical, though as yet it is very sparsely populated. Civilisation has not had time to develop the means of transport, and the lands are lying waste, only waiting till the spirit of cultivation sweeps that way. In this brief allusion to the lake regions, which constitute so special a feature in the peninsula of Florida, I have made no mention of the numerous springs of sparkling waters which dot the whole surface of the land; in some cases they are like little lakelets, in some cases they are springs of pure water, in others the water is medicated. Most of the lake shores in Orange County are dotted with pretty homes embowered in green trees, their smooth lawns and flower gardens running down to the water’s edge. Lake Okechobee covers an area of nearly seven hundred square miles, and is the largest in the state; it is at the very farthest point South, and penetrates into the region of the Everglades.