72 To the River Plate and Back 



a densely wooded slope reaching like a robe of emerald 

 into the valley, and here and there to see lordly trees 

 veiled to their outermost branches with blossoms, 

 white, yellow, purple, scarlet, or blue, giant bouquets 

 set here and there in the midst of perennial green. The 

 comparative absence of lowly composite flowers, which 

 are so common in northern latitudes, was noticeable. 

 They were not altogether wanting, but their place 

 seemed to be largely usurped by verbenas, begonias, 

 caladiums, and cannas. Convolvulaceous and legumi- 

 nous plants, large and small, were abundant. A 

 species of xanthoxylon with great yellow spikes of 

 bloom grew abundantly in spots. The brambles of 

 our northern woods were replaced by lantanas. Among 

 the herbage I noticed some species evidently escaped 

 from cultivation, for instance, here and there a stray 

 coffee-plant in full blossom. This child of the Abys- 

 sinian highlands has found a congenial home in the 

 American tropics. 



But even far more interesting to me on some accounts 

 than the magnificent vegetation was the wealth of 

 insect life. Here I had an opportunity to observe 

 close at hand those most magnificent of all South 

 American butterflies, the morphos, numbers of which I 

 found flitting by the pathway. Nothing in all nature 

 exceeds the brilliancy of these huge blue insects, as they 

 flutter into the sunlight, suddenly disappearing as they 

 pitch upon the ground or a twig, closing their wings 

 the under sides of which, through adaptation to their 

 environment, cause them to be instantly invisible, 

 except to one who is keenly watching them. I came 

 upon them seated upon the ground, and was unaware 

 of their presence until suddenly, like a gleam of burn- 

 ished metal, their wings flashed open and they flew 



