xlii 



point of land, not directly opposed to the trade-wind, was Cape 

 Blanco, on the coast of Africa, 370 miles distant." 



On the 23rd December, 1833, Port Desire, on the coast 

 of Patagonia, was reached. 



" The Zoology of Patagonia is as limited as its Flora. On 

 the arid plains a few black beetles {Heteromera) might be seen 

 slowly crawling about, and occasionally a lizard darted from side 

 to side." 



One hundred and ten miles further south the ' Beagle ' 

 entered the spacious harbour of Port St. Julian, Patagonia, on 

 the 9th January, 1834. 



" Although we could nowhere find, during our whole visit, a 

 single drop of fresh water, yet some must exist ; for by an odd 

 chance I found on the surface of the salt water, near the head 

 of the bay, a Colymhetes, not quite dead, which must have lived 

 in some not far distant pool. Three other insects (a Cicindela, 

 like hyhrida, a Cyinindis, and a Harjmlus, which all live on 

 muddy flats occasionally overflowed by the sea), and one other 

 found dead on the plain, complete the list of the beetles. A 

 good-sized fly {Tahanus) was extremely numerous, and tormented 

 us by its painful bite. . . . We have here the puzzle that so 

 frequently occurs in the case of mosquitoes — on the blood 

 of what animals do these insects commonly feed ? The gunnaco 

 is nearly the only warm-blooded quadruped, and it is found 

 in quite inconsiderable numbers compared with the multitude 

 of flies." 



Two visits were paid to Tierra del Fuego ; one from December, 

 1832 to February, 1833 ; and the other from February to June, 

 1834 ; the following remarks on the insects occur : — 



" Beetles occur in very small numbers : it was long before I 

 could believe that a country as large as Scotland, covered with 

 vegetable productions and with a variety of stations, could be so 

 unproductive. The few which I found were alpine species 

 {Ilavpalidce and Heteromera), living under stones. The vegetable- 



