16 TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON. {June, 



A mass of cactus, thirty feet high, grew near the house, having 

 a most tropical aspect, but this was planted. The thickets 

 were full of curious Bro?neliacecz and Arums, and many singular 

 trees and shrubs, and in their shady recesses we captured some 

 very fine insects. The splendid blue and orange butterflies 

 {Epicalia ancea) were abundant, settling on the leaves ; and 

 they would repeatedly return to the same tree, and even to 

 the same leaf, so that, though very difficult to capture, five 

 specimens were taken without removing from the spot. 



On our return to the house M. Borlaz treated us to some 

 fine fruits, the berribee, a species of Anona, with a pleasant 

 acid custard-like pulp, the nuts of the bread-fruit roasted, very 

 similar to Spanish chestnuts, and plantains dried in the sun, 

 and much resembling figs. The situation of the house was 

 delightful, looking over the river to the opposite islands, yet 

 sufficiently elevated to be dry and healthy. The moist woods 

 along the bank of the river were so productive that we often 

 afterwards availed ourselves of M. Borlaz' kind invitation to 

 visit his grounds whenever we felt disposed. As an instance 

 of the voracity of the ants, I may mention that, having laid 

 down my collecting-box in the verandah during half-an-hour's 

 conversation, I was horrified to find, on opening it to put in 

 a fresh capture, that it swarmed with small red ants, who 

 had already separated the wings from near a dozen insects, 

 and were dragging them in different directions about the 

 box ; others were at the process of dismemberment, while 

 some had buried themselves in the plumpest bodies, where 

 they were enjoying a delicious repast. I had great difficulty 

 in making them quit their prey, and gained some useful 

 experience at the expense of half a successful day's captures, 

 including some of the splendid Efiicalias which I so much 

 prized. 



On the morning of the 23rd of June we started early to 

 walk to the rice-mills at Magoary, which we had been invited 

 to visit by the proprietor, Mr. Upton, and the manager, Mr, 

 Leavens, both American gentlemen. At about two miles from 

 the city we entered the virgin forest, which the increased 

 height of the trees and the deeper shade had some time told 

 us we were approaching. Its striking characteristics were, the 

 great number and variety of the forest-trees, their trunks rising 

 frequently for sixty or eighty feet without a branch, and 



