66 DEL AGO A BAY. 



make out of cigar-boxes freely supplied by smok- 

 ing friends, lining them with cork or the soft 

 palm-wood, but the greater part I make of the 

 palm-wood entirely ; then I paiut over the wood 

 with carbolic acid, paper them all inside, and 

 insert a little piece of glass into the lids, in order 

 that the Custom-House officers in London may 

 not wrench them open to know their contents, 

 which happened once, alas ! when I omitted this 

 precaution. 



I often feel quite pleased to see a wet or cloudy 

 day, as I know that I may then spend the whole 

 of it at home, and try to reduce the number of 

 odds and ends of work that have gradually ac- 

 cumulated in spite of my efforts, because even 

 in the cold season 1 try to go out some part of 

 the day, and am sure to find something worth 

 preserving. In these winter walks, if I find no 

 insects about, I search for their nests and pupas, 

 and also for bulbs and creepers to transplant to 

 my ground, which I must not yet dignify by the 

 name of garden, or collect the various seeds for 

 my friends and Kew Gardens. 



