ASCENT OF THE TOCUCHE. 399 



the names of the fairy forms that surround us ; whilst a host of 

 crickets and lizards chirp and whistle under concealment of the 

 decaying- leaves, making- holyday the whole year round. That 

 shrubbery above is composed of a species otBakmeria, or Ardisia, 

 and that scarlet flower belongs to our native Aphelandra. In the 

 rear, there are one or two Philodendrons — disagreeable guests ; 

 for their smell is bad enough, and they blister when imprudently 

 touched. There also you may see a tree-fern, though a small 

 one. Nearer to us, and low down, below our feet, that rich 

 panicle of flowers belongs to a Begonia ; and here, also, is an 

 assemblage of ferns of the genera Asplenium, Hymenophyllum 

 and Tric/wmanes, as well as of Hepatica and mosses. But, what 

 are those yellow and purple flowers hanging above our heads ? — 

 They are Bignonias and Mucunas — creepers straying from afar, 

 and having selected this spot, where they may, under the influence 

 of the sun's beams, propagate their race. Those chain-like, fan- 

 tastic, strange-looking lianes, resembling a family of boas, are 

 Baukinias ; and beyond, through the opening, you see in the 

 abandoned ground of some squatter's garden the trumpet-tree 

 {Cecropia), and the groo-groo, the characteristic plants of the 

 rastrajo. 



Now, let us proceed on our walk ; we are near the cascade : — 

 Here it is opposite you, a grand spectacle, indeed ! From a 

 perpendicular wall of solid rock, of more than thirty-three feet, 

 down rushes a stream of water splitting in the air and producing 

 a constant shower, which renders this lovely spot singularly and 

 deliciously cool. Nearly the whole extent of this natural wall is 

 covered with plants, among which you can easily discern numbers 

 of ferns and mosses, two species of Pitcairnia, with beautiful 

 red flowers, some aroids, various nettles, and, here and there, a 

 Begonia. How different such a spot would look in cold Europe I 

 Below, in the midst of a never-failing drizzle, grow luxuriant 

 ardisias, aroids, ferns, costus, heliconias, centropogons, hydro- 

 cotyles, cyperoids, and grasses of various genera — tradescantias 

 and commelynas, billbergias, and, occasionally, a few small 

 rubiacesB and melastomacese. 



From near this spot we may start to ascend the Tocuche, our 

 highest mountain — it is about 3,100 feet. There I shall be af- 

 forded another opportunity of pointing out some natural beauties. 

 Through dense forests — composed of some of our choicest timbers, 



