360 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 
with large pink blossoms rising on either side, and com 
pletely hiding the water below. This marshy, overflowed 
ground, above which the water had a depth of from four to 
six feet, was full of life. As the rowers pushed our canoe 
through the mass of grass and flowers, Mr. Agassiz gathered 
from the blades and stalks all sorts of creatures ; small 
bright-colored toads of several kinds, grasshoppers, beetles, 
dragon-flies, aquatic snails, bunches of eggs, in short, an 
endless variety of living things, most interesting to the 
naturalist. The harvest was so plentiful that we had only 
to put out our hands and gather it; the oarsmen, when they 
saw Mr. Agassiz's enthusiasm, became almost as interested 
as he was ; and he had soon a large jar filled with objects 
quite new to him. After navigating these meadows for 
some time, we came upon open water-spaces where the Vic- 
toria regia was growing in great perfection. The speci- 
mens were much finer than those we had seen before in the 
Lago Maximo. One leaf measured five feet and a half in 
diameter, and another five feet, the erect edge being three 
inches and a half in height. A number of leaves grew from 
the same stalk ; and seen thus together they are very beauti- 
ful, the bright rose-color of the outer edge contrasting with 
the vivid green of the inner surface of the leaf. As before, 
there were no open flowers to be seen ; Senhor Rodriguez 
told us that they are cut by the fishermen almost as soon as 
they open. When Mr. Agassiz expressed a wish to get the 
roots, two of our boatmen plunged into the water with an 
alacrity which surprised me, as we had just been told that 
these marshes are the haunts of Jacar^s. They took turns 
in diving to dig up the plants, and succeeded in bringing to 
the surface three large stalks, one with a flower-bud. We 
returned well pleased with our row overland. 
