48 THE NATURALIST IX NICARAGUA. [Cli. IV. 



of the same word may be heard, a tea-cup being called a 

 chicchera. 



On the top of one of the hills we just got a glimpse of 

 a small pack of wolves, or coyotes, as they arc called, 

 from the Aztec coy oil. They are smaller than the 

 European wolf, and are cunning, like a fox, but hunt in 

 packs. They looked down at us from the ridge of the 

 hill for a few moments, then trotted off down the other 

 side. Their howlings may often be heard in the early 



morning. 



Cattle, horses, and mules are bred on these plains. 

 Male asses are kept at some of the haciendas. They are 

 not allowed to mix with any of their own kind, and are 

 well fed and in good condition ; but they are only of 

 small size, and the breed of mules might be greatly 

 improved by the introduction of larger asses. 



The vegetation 011 the plains was rapidly drying up. 

 Many of the trees shed their leaves in the dry season, 

 just as they do with us in autumn. The barrenness of 

 the landscape is relieved in March by several kinds of 

 trees bursting into flower when they have shed their 

 leaves, and presenting great domes of brilliant colour 

 some pink, others red, blue, yellow, or white, like great 

 single-coloured bouquets. One looked like a gigantic 

 rhododendron, with bunches of large pink flowers. The 

 yellow-flowered ones belong to wild cotton-trees, from 

 the pods of which the natives gather cotton to stuff 

 pillows, &c. About one o'clock we reached rather a 

 large river, and after crossing it came in sight of the 

 town of Acoyapo, one of the principal towns of the pro- 

 vince of Chontales. We stayed and had dinner with 

 Senhor Don Dolores Bermudez, a Nicaraguan gentleman 



