3 24 JoiiDtal of Travel and Natural History 



drops of water that took place from the leaves of some Legiiminosre (Acacias, 

 or some other closely allied form). The phenomenon was first mentioned to 

 me by a very intelligent U. S. Lieutenant, and I frequently noticed it after- 

 wards in the course of a walk, shaded with trees, leading into the Corcovada 

 mountains. I could not satisfy myself whether it was due to the action of 

 insects, or was a natural property of the plant. One day I took a walk along 

 the sea-beach, behind Botafogo, outside the harbour, and was greatly amused 

 watching the movements of a crab of the genus Ocypode, which I saw for the 

 first time. Numbers of these animals were reposing on the dry sand, about 

 twenty yards from the water's edge, and, on being approached, ran rapidly down 

 to the water. So swiftly did they progress that it was impossible to overtake 

 them, even running at full speed, and I only succeeded in capturing one 

 specimen with the aid of two lieutenants of the 'Narcissus,' who were with 

 me, by getting between it and the sea and surrounding it. Another day, Grey 

 brought me a very fine long-spined Echinus from the island of Willegatgnarand ; 

 and on another occasion, I got several curious Crustacea in Five Fathom Bay, 

 including examples of the genera Hepatus Lupa and Hippa. One thing that 

 struck me in my excursions (which seems to have astonished nearly all who 

 have travelled in tropical countries), was the operations of leaf-cutting ants 

 of various species. The ingenuity displayed in the work of spoliation, and the 

 enormous loads transported by single individuals, was most surprising. In 

 some instances I observed armies of ants marching up the stems of large-leaved 

 trees and shrubs, and cutting througli the petioles with their jaws, so as to let 

 the entire leaves fall to the ground, where they were sawn up into loads. 



"As I have already stated, we left Rio about the middle of October, and we 

 arrived at Monte Video on the evening of the 21st, having experienced a 

 pampero, but having made a good passage, all things considered. The day after 

 our arrival I took a walk along the coast, outside the town, and noticed a con- 

 siderable number of plants in flower, that I observed in similar circumstances 

 last year. Thus, there were a yellow Medicago, several yellow and white Com- 

 positre, a small Malva, a purple Echium, an Echinocactus, a small Gna- 

 phalium, &c. The beautiful white Petunia, noticed last year, whitened the 

 rocks and the grass around them, and a beautiful rosy-purple Oxalis clustered 

 in their clefts in many places. On the beach the only living thing, to all ap- 

 pearance, was a small crab, which was abundant in pools in the rocks, and I 

 found numerous valves of a Cerati-solen in the sand. On the following day I 

 went up to Buenos Ayres with Captain Mayne, my principal object being to 

 call on Burmeister, and see the Museum under his charge. We left the Monte 

 in the afternoon, and arrived at Buenos Ayres next morning. Here we remained 

 for five days, and I enjoyed my stay very much. The city was so much more 

 English looking than anything I had seen since I left home, and there are loads 

 of hospitable English inhabitants. I went to the Museum twice, and saw 

 Burmeister both times, being much interested by the interviews I had with him, 

 not to speak of being a good deal amused by one of the most eccentric speci- 

 mens of a scientific man that it has been my lot to come across. His knowledge 

 of zoology, particularly as regards the Annulosa, is evidently very extensive, 

 and, as I daresay as you are aware, since his residence in South America, he 

 has paid a large amount of attention to its characteristic tertiary fossil Mam- 

 malia. Of these the Museum possesses some magnificent specimens. Those of 

 the Glyptodon are, I should say, much finer than tliose in the British Museum 

 or College of Surgeons, and there are some noble examples of Toxodon, 

 Mylodon, Machairodus, &c. There is also a fine collection of the recent .South 

 American lidentata. He shewed me llie new Chlamyphorus, which he described 

 two or three years ago, and pointed out to me a very curious difference between 

 the conformation of the pelvic bones in it, and that which obtains in the only 

 other species of the genus (C. truncatus), which was described long ago (if my 

 memory serves me right, by Yarrell in the ' Zoological Transactions'). He also 

 shewed me a very curious monstrous Armadillo, j^ossessing two jiairs of hind 

 legs. The most curious thing al)out it is, tliat the animal is a full-grown one. 

 Another specimen that he evidently takes great pride in is tiie trachea of a dol- 

 phin, which possesses three equal sized bronchi, and tiie trace of a fourth. We 



