328 To the River Plate and Back 



which we had obtained in the course of our short ride 

 led us to desire to visit the Botanical Garden, said to be 

 the finest in the West Indies. It has been long in exist- 

 ence, and some parts of it are in reality the native 

 forest, in which no attempt has been made to put a 

 curbing hand upon the forces of nature. An attendant 

 in uniform, with ebony face, seeing me engaged in 

 collecting butterflies soon after I had entered the gate, 

 approached me and with a smile upon his face said: 

 'I shall have to fine you for collecting insects on these 

 grounds." I looked him in the face and said: "Fine a 

 Fellow of the Entomological Society of London for 

 collecting butterflies on English territory? Indeed!' 

 I then handed him a shilling, and said : " Now come and 

 show me where I am likely to find the best specimens." 

 He accepted the shilling with a grin, and thereafter 

 accompanied us and was our willing guide. The first 

 place to which he conducted us was to the top of a small 

 eminence from which we had an extensive view over 

 parts of the town and the wide gulf beyond. That 

 little climb became memorable, not because of the 

 exertion it involved, but because of the oppressive heat. 

 The distance was not great, but the hot, humid at- 

 mosphere made it exhausting. After staying a while 

 upon the hill-top seated under a rude arbor and en- 

 deavoring to recover a normal temperature, incidentally 

 to collect some interesting specimens of various orders 

 of insects, we slowly descended by a circuitous path 

 under the shadow of the overhanging foliage. There 

 are many noble tropical trees, both native and exotic, 

 in the garden. We were particularly interested in 

 observing the numerous varieties of palms, and the 

 profusion of orchids and bromeliads clustered as para- 

 sites upon the branches. Several species of bamboos 



