BB 



asking liim how he did this, he told me to my horror that 

 he did it by spreading poisoned birds. 



„We sow poisoned grain every spring he added and this 

 kills many thousands of little birds which we use as bait 

 for the foxes!" 



I did not fail to predict him insect-pests without number 

 if he continued to act in this manner, but he only laughed 

 saying that he would get no harvest if he did not poison 

 the little birds! 



As he found me interested in birds and trees he advised 

 me to return to Puerto Yaras by a cross country road 

 which did not touch Puerto Montt, but led entirely across 

 country (for a great part his own estate). 



I gladly availed myself of his advice and having mounted 

 my horse which was feeding on the rank grasses near 

 the house I departed on my journey. I at first crossed 

 some grass fields and some others from which the harvest 

 had been gathered and then came into a country thickly 

 grown with Bamboo hushes with grass-grown land between 

 them and there I met some nice red cattle. 



Very soon after having left the house I saw a clump of 

 enormous trees which from top till bottom were covered 

 with beautiful large white appleblossomlike flowers. My 

 road led me close to this clump of trees but I could not 

 come at the foot of them, the trunks standing in an in- 

 penetrable tangle of bamboos. 



, They were giant specimens of EucrypJda innnatifolia or 

 Urmus trees as they call them in those parts and these 

 trees seem to attain their greatest size in this part of Chili. 



Riding on I descended a slope to cross a river and 

 entered a virgin forest mostly composed of Urmus trees 

 although there was a great variety of other trees and 

 shrubs, as is usual in those parts of Chili and which 

 makes these woods so lovely (as was already remarked 

 by Darwin in his „Voyage of the Beagle"). 



These woods were full of longhilled Parrakeets {Henicog- 

 nathus leptorhynchus) which screamed loudly and were 

 very active flying about in small flocks or perching on 



Notes from the Leyclen Museum, "Vol. XXXV. 



