24S THE NATURALIST IN NICARAGUA. [CIi. XIV. 



by liigli ranges, on. the eastern slopes of which were 

 forests of pine-trees. The ground was entirely composed 

 of houlder clay, and not until we had travelled about five 

 miles did we see any rock in situ. This boulder clay had 

 extended all the way from San Rafael, and ranges of 

 hills appeared to be composed entirely of it. The angular 

 and subangular stones that it contained were an irre- 

 gular mixture of different varieties of trap, conglomerate, 

 and schistose rocks. In the northern states of America 

 it would be unhesitatingly ascribed to the action of ice ; 

 but I was at the time unprepared to believe that the 

 glacial period could have left such memorials of its 

 existence within the tropics, at not greater elevations 

 above the sea than 3,000 feet. 



Riding on without stopping, we passed through Yales, 

 a small village of scattered huts, and reached a river 

 flowing north through a fine alluvial plain almost un- 

 inhabited. After crossing the river three times, we 

 turned off to the north-west, and passed over low grassy 

 ranges with scattered pine-trees, and in the hollows a 

 few clearings for growing maize, wheat, and beans. At 

 noon we halted for an hour to let our mules feed on a 

 small alluvial flat, for they had had nothing to eat the 

 night before on the bleak mountain summit. 



Continuing our journey, we arrived at Daraily, where 

 was a fine large clearing, with stone walls and a sugar- 

 mill. The house was about half a mile from the road, 

 at the foot of a hill covered with scattered pine-trees, 

 forming a fine background to the scene. The farm was 

 well cultivated, and kept clean from weeds. Altogether 

 the scene was a most unusual one for the central 

 provinces of Nicaragua, and reflected great credit on 



