S8G THE NATURALIST IX NICARAGUA. [Ch. XXL. 



gigantic arums, the tangled lianas, and perching epi- 

 phytes. 



After reaching Pital I rode rapidly over the savannahs, 

 where the swallows were skimming over the top of the long 

 grass to frighten up the insects which rested on it. After 

 another flounder across the San Jose plains, I reached 

 San Ubaldo without incident, excepting a tumble with 

 my mule in the mud. Much of the land between Pital 

 and the lake is well fitted for the cultivation of maize, 

 sugar, and plantains, and near the river at Acoyapo the 

 soil is very fertile. Little of it is occupied, and it is open 

 to any one to squat down on it and fence it in. All that 

 is required is that the form shall be gone through of ob- 

 taining permission from the alcalde of the township, which 

 is never refused. Nicaragua offers a tempting field for 

 the emigrant, but there are some other considerations 

 which should not be lost sight of. When a man finds 

 he can live easily without much work, that all his 

 neighbours are contented with the scantiest clothing, the 

 coarsest food, and the poorest dwellings, he is very apt to 

 fall into the same slothful habits ; and even if he himself 

 has innate energy enough to ward off the insidious foe, 

 he will see his children growing up around him exposed 

 to all the temptations to lead an easy life that a tropical 

 climate offers, and without any example of industry or 

 enterprise around them to rouse or cultivate a spirit of 

 emulation. The consequence is that nearly all the 

 foreign settlers in Nicaragua from amongst the European 

 and North American labouring classes have fallen into 

 the same lazy habits as the Nicaraguans, and whenever 

 I have been inclined to blame the natives for their in- 

 dolence, some recollection of a fellow-countryman who 



