92 Mr, D. A. Bamierman on the 



produce much^ but I got a pretty good idea of what was to 

 be found, and 1 am afraid that it is doubtful if we shall get 

 anything new. There is much cultivation even on the steep 

 slopes of the hills, and practically there is very little of the 

 virgin forest left. It is a wonderfully rich island. The soil 

 is of a brownish red, and is capable of producing anything. 

 The whole way up from the port to Monte Cafe are great 

 cocoa-plantations, while clumps of banana-trees, scattered 

 palms, and tall forest-trees give a wealth of verdure to 

 the scenery. Towards 3 o'clock the sky becomes overcast 

 from the north, and occasional showers fall. The manager 

 of Monte Cafe . . . has promised two mules for to-morrow, 

 when we move our camp still higher up, to Lake Amelia, 

 where there is a good deal of virgin forest. We made an 

 early start on the 22nd, and arrived at a collection of huts 

 near Lake Amelia about 9.30. It is a steep '• pull up'' to 

 this point, and almost an hour from Monte Cafe we entered 

 thick forest with long-leaved plants forming part of the 

 undergrowth. There were also gigantic cotton-trees, most 

 of which present a weird appearance, for the cold damp 

 atmosphere has hung their branches with lank lichen-growth 

 that streams in the breeze like tresses of hair. Lake Amelia 

 lies at nearly 5000 feet in altitude. It is about two hundred 

 yards in circumference, and has the appearance of having 

 been a crater. Its formation is a deep bed, and the sides 

 are clothed with thin-stemmed trees rising in tiers. There 

 is no water now, but only thick bog. At this altitude large 

 clumps of bamljoo are to be found ; the coffee-tree does not 

 seem to flourish, while the picturesque quinine-tree is in 

 evidence. 



We stayed and collected here from January the 23rd to 

 the 26th, Jose always taking a different direction to mine. 

 The forest-growth, which at first looked so promising, yield- 

 ing no Ground-Thrushes such as Alethe, Callene, and Tur~ 

 clinus. These localities were particularly silent, and we 

 obtained nothing more than what is in Salvadori's list. 

 There seemed to be quite an absence of insect-life, and 

 hardly an ant was to be seen. 



