Dec, 20, 1877] 



NATURE 



147 



usual tell us that a troop of monkeys are passing across 

 from tree to tree among the higher branches ; and lower 

 sounds to which one's attention is called by the guide 

 indicate to his practised ear the neighbourhood of a sloth, 

 or some other of the few mammals which inhabit the 

 torests of Brazil. And the insects are now all awake, 

 and add their various notes to swell the general din. A 

 butterfly of the gorgeous genus Moipho comes fluttering 

 along the path like a loosely-folded sheet of intensely blue 

 tinsel, flashing brilliant reflections in the sun ; great dark 

 blue shining bees fly past with a loud hum ; tree-bugs of 

 a splendid metallic lustre, and in the most extraordinury 

 harlequin colouring of scarlet and blue and yellow, cluster 

 round a branch so thickly as to weigh it down, and make 

 their presence perceptible yards off by their peculiar and 

 sometimes not unpleasant odour ; but how weak it is to 

 say that that exquisitite little being, whirring and flut- 



tering in the air over that branch of Bignonia bells, and 

 sucking the nectar from them with its long curved bill, 

 has a head of ruby, and a throat of emerald, and wings of 

 sapphire — as if any triumph of the jeweller's art could ever 

 vie in brilliancy with that sparkling epitome of life and 

 light. 



" It was broad day when we passed into the dense forest 

 through which the greater part of the way now lay. The path 

 which had been cut through the vegetation was just wide 

 enough for use to ride in Indian file, and with some care to 

 prevent our horses from bruising our legs against the tree- 

 trunks, and we could not leave the path for a single foot 

 on either side, the scrub was so thick, what with fallen 

 tree-trunks, covered with epiphytes of all descriptions, 

 and cycads, and arums, and great thorny spikes of Bro- 

 nielia, and a dense undergrowth, principally of melas- 

 tomads, many of them richly covered with blue and 



Fig. 2. — Fernando Noronha. 



purple flovers. Above the undergrowth the tall forest 

 trees ran up straight and branchless for thirty or forty 

 feet, and when they began to branch, a second tier of 

 vegetation spread over our heads, almost shutting out the 

 sky. Great climbing Monsteras and other arals ; and 

 epiphytic bromeUads ; and orchids, some of them distilling 

 from their long trusses of lovely flowers a fragrance which 

 was almost overpowering; and mazes of Tillandsia hang- 

 ing down like tangled hanks of grey twine. Every available 

 space between the trees was occupied by lianas twining 

 together or running up singly, in size varying from, a 

 whipcord to a foot in diameter. These lianas were our 

 chief danger, for they hung down in long loops from the 

 trees and lay upon the ground, and were apt to entangle 

 us and catch the horses' feet as we rode on. As time 

 wore on it got very close and hot, and the forest relapsed 



into silence, most of the creatures retiring for their noon- 

 day siesta. The false roof of epiphytes and parasites 

 kept off the glare of the sun, and it was only at intervals 

 that a sheaf of vertical beams struck through a rift in the 

 green canopy, and afforded us a passing glimpse of the 

 tops of the forest trees, uniting in a delicate open tracery 

 far above us. 



" For some hours our brave little horses struggled on, 

 sometimes cantering a little where the path was pretty 

 clear, and more usually picking their way carefully, and 

 sometimes with all their care floundering into the mud- 

 holes, imperfectly bridged o/er with trunks of trees. 



"As we had made our ascent at first, all this time we 

 had been riding nearly on a level on the plateau between 

 the two river valleys. Suddenly the wood opened, and 

 we rode up to the edge of a long irregular cliff bounding 



