12 MR. H. N. RTDIET ON THE 



even on the highest parts of the inaccessible portion of the Peak, 

 on the isolated rocks called Dois Ismaos, and in many high inac- 

 cessible crags. 



There is only one fruit-eating bird upon the island, and that 

 is the endemic dove, Zenaida Noronhce, which is exceedingly 

 abundant, and flies from island to island. The crops of the 

 sjjecimens shot we frequently found full of the Cayaponla fruits. 



When one sees the number of endemic species with edible 

 fruit, one is tempted to wonder if it were possible that they were 

 all introduced by this single sj)ecies of Dove, or whether other 

 frugivorous birds may not at times have wandered to the shores. 



One is too apt to imagine that only gaily coloured berries are 

 attractive to birds, and we were thus puzzled to account for the 

 ^apium occurring so widely over all the isles and in very 

 inaccessible spots high upon the rocks ; but we were informed 

 by our guide that the small birds eat the seeds greedily and 

 pass them uninjured, thus scattering them about the island. 

 As the seeds are so poisonous that they are said to blister the 

 skin of any horse or cow on which they fall, it is surprising to 

 hear that the birds are fond of them. 



The Eelations op the Floka to the Insect Fauna. 



It will be noticed that there are in the Flora a considerable 

 number of plants which require the aid of insects in fertilization. 

 The Cucurbitacese, the Papaw, Sclimidelia, Combretum, Termina- 

 liopsis, are all dioecious, and not being anemophilous, must be 

 fertilized by insects, Oxalis Noronhae also has dimorphic flowers, 

 implying the necessity of insect-fertilization. Many plants have 

 sliowy coloured flowers, the commonest colour being yellow. 

 Datura Stramonium, Cereus insularis, and Ipomoea Tuba are 

 nocturnal plants with white flowers, very sweetly scented in the 

 first two cases at least. Several species, such as Urena lobata, 

 Oxalis NoronhcB, and the cultivated Cueurbitacea?, open their 

 flowers in the early morning, closing them when the sun gets 

 hot, about 10 o'clock ; Palicourea and Bumelia seem to be really 

 diurnal, and are strongly scented during the daytime. All the 

 plants above mentioned fruited very extensively on the islands, 

 and the Leguminosse and Cucurbitacese were especially pro- 

 ductive. 



The number of insects belonging to the orders which are 

 well known as plant-fertilizers is surprisingly limited. A few 



