298 THE FE.\THE11ED TIUMES. 



of tlic samp splendid line. In some instances this radiant tint adorns the stomaeher, and 

 is heightened in eftect by the richest idtraniarine, wliiuh is profuselj' scattered ()\er tlie 

 head and the long feathers of the tail. Other cases there are in which the same part of 

 the hody is arrayed in feathers ha-\ang the form of a lady's ruff or tippet, sot off, at the 

 sides, by the most brilliant lines. But there is an almost endless diversity : thus, the 

 head and wings are sometimes plain in hue, while the body is of the brightest mingled 

 dyes ; at other times, the tails arc especially resplendent, the \ivid colours passing over 

 the whole surface, or broadlj^ edging them, and leaving in the centre a streak or .space of 

 white ; tufts of dazzling brilliancy uot unfrequently adorn the head, or fall downwards 

 from the beak ; while the legs are like those of other small birds, except that they are 

 unusually short, or emerge from little bushes of small feathers, technically called " boots," 

 which are either white, black, or of various hues. To this brief and general description, 

 it may be added, that no fewer than three hundred and twenty-five .species of humming- 

 birds are now kno\vn, although the celebrated Linnicus was acquainted with extremely 

 few ; that the bills vary iu different individuals, those of the young being longer than 

 those of adult birds ; and that the plumage of the sexes is often widely different, the 

 female benio' devoid of the rich lustrous green on the throat, and having only a rudiment 

 of white boots, which are both so conspicuous in the males. 



To see these " winged gems " in all their beauty and splendour, the great archipelago 

 of islands between Florida and the mouths of the Orinoco should be visited, as well as 

 the mainland of the southern continent until it passes the Tropic of Capricorn. Tliat, 

 indeed, is no ordinary region for natural beauties. As the vayager approaches the land, 

 he beholds, perhaps, immense ridges of primitive mountains, traversed by deep ravines, 

 and rising in succession to the very boundary of his vision. His eye may be delighted, 

 too, by the brilliant tints of the foliage which covers these lofty heights, and by the 

 dazzlino- insects which flutter about his ship, indicating the stores of animated nature. 

 As he lands, and bonds his way to the rocky woods, ho may well be overwhelmed by his 

 first sensations on beholding the productions of a tropical cKmate in their native soil. 

 Plants, reared in England only at great expense, and which even, then attain only a puny 

 and xmcharacteristic form, flourish around him in all the vigour and luxuriance of tlunr 

 perfect existence. Surrounded by lofty airy cassias ; broad-leaved, thick-stemmed cecro- 

 pias ; thick-ermined myrtles, large-blossonled bignouias, climbing tufts of the honcy- 

 bearin" paullinias, far-spreading tendrils of the passion flower, and of the I'ichly-flowering 

 coroniUa, above which rise the waving summits of ]\lacauber palms, he seems lo realise 

 the fable of the garden of the Hesperides. The glory of these southern forests, the 

 endless variety of forms, the contrasts of colour and size, the brilliani blossoms of c\en 

 the largest trees; the scarlet, purple, blue, rose-colour, and golden-yellow, blending pro- 

 fusely with every possible shade of green, language is altogethei- unequal (o d(^s(!ribe. 

 Here branches may bo observed covered on the under side with a hoary down, wliich in 

 the heat of the day they turn up to the .sun, so that whol(< patches of the surface seem 

 covered with rich white blossoms ; while, strikingly contrasted, there appears tlie coi'al 

 tree, whose spikes of ri<'h scarlet blossoms stand erect, rivalling in .size tho.sc of tlie horse- 

 chestnut of our own spring-time, and giving to tlic surface^ a glow of the brightest red ; 

 or the yucca, with its (ulip-like flowers of the most vivid hues. There, moreover, are all 

 the varieties of the cactus tribe, of which one of the most splendid is the night-blowing 

 cereus, a flower of surpassing beauty ; for its blossoms are nearly u foot in dianu'ter, and 

 the outer petals of a dark brown, while the inner ones are of a splendid yellow, \vlii<li 

 gradually shades off to the most brilliant white. 



" Soft roll your iiutiisf, lurli.s, and IViiil, and llowcrs. 

 In niiiifjlcd clouds to llim whose huh cxalt.s, 

 "WIkihc lirciiOi pcrlunics you, and wlioso jionoil paints." 



