1832.] RETURN TO RIO. 19 



the world of foliage above, to the ground beneath, it was attracted by 

 the extreme elegance of the leaves of the ferns and mimosas. The 

 latter, in some parts, covered the surface with a brushwood only a few 

 inches high. In walking across these thick beds of mimoaes, a broad 

 track was marked by the Change of shade, produced by the drooping of 

 their sensitive petioles. It is easy to specify the individual objects of 

 admiration in these grand scenes ; but it is not possible to give an 

 adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and 

 devotion, which fill and elevate the mind. 



April igth. Leaving Socego, during the two first days, we retraced 

 our steps. It was very wearisome work, as the road generally ran 

 across a glaring hot sandy plain, not far from the coast. I noticed that 

 each time the horse put its foot on the fine siliceous sand, a gentle 

 chirping noise was produced. On the third day we took a different 

 line, and passed through the gay little village of Madre de Deos. This 

 is one of the principal lines of road in Brazil ; yet it was in so bad a 

 state that no wheel vehicle, excepting the clumsy bullock-waggon, could 

 pass along. In our whole journey we did not cross a single bridge 

 built of stone; and those made of logs of wood were frequently so 

 much out of repair, that it was necessary to go on one side to avoid 

 them. All distances are inaccurately known. The road is often marked 

 by crosses, in the place of milestones, to signify where human blood 

 lias been spilled. On the evening of the 23rd we arrived at Rio, having 

 finished our pleasant little excursion. 



During the remainder of my stay at Rio, I resided in a cottage at 

 Botofogo Bay. It was impossible to wish for anything more delightful 

 than thus to spend some weeks in so magnificent a country. In 

 England any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a great 

 advantage, by always having something to attract his attention ; but in 

 these fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions are so numerous, 

 that he is scarcely able to walk at all. 



The few observations which I was enabled to make were almost 

 exclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. The existence of a 

 division of the genus Planaria, which inhabits the dry land, interested 

 me much. These animals are of so simple a structure, that Cuvier has 

 arranged them with the intestinal worms, though never found within 

 the bodies of other animals. Numerous species inhabit both salt and 

 fresh water ; but those to which I allude were found, even in the drier 

 parts of the forest, beneath logs of rotten wood, on which I believe they 

 feed. In general form they resemble little slugs, but are very much 

 narrower in proportion, and several of the species are beautifully 

 coloured with longitudinal stripes. Their structure is very simple: 

 near the middle of the under or crawling surface there are two small 

 transverse slits, from the anterior one of which a funnel-shaped and 

 highly irritable mouth can be protruded. For some time after the rest 

 of the animal was completely dead from the effects of salt water or any 

 other cause, this organ still retained its vitality. 



I found no less than twelve different species of teiif:trial Planariat 



D 



