NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



England since the beginning of the previous Novem- 

 ber, so that one or two newspapers five weeks old 

 were eagerly accepted. 



The return journey from Chicla to Lima was easy 

 and agreeable, but offered little of special interest. 

 I noticed a curious illustration of the effects of the 

 sea-breeze on vegetation even at a distance of thirty 

 or forty miles from the coast. As we descended, I 

 observed that the acacias which abound in the middle 

 zone of the valley were densely covered with masses 

 of the white flowers of a climbing Mikania, quite 

 masking the natural aspect of the shrub. I thought 

 it strange that this appearance should not have struck 

 me while on my way ascending the valley. On closer 

 attention, I saw that the Mikania was entirely con- 

 fined to the eastern side of the acacia, so that the 

 same shrub, looked at from the western side, showed 

 no trace either of the leaves or flowers of the visitor. 

 On reaching the Lima station, I was kindly greeted 

 by Mr. Nation, who at once relieved my most pressing 

 anxiety by telling me that I should find two reams of 

 filtering paper awaiting me at my hotel. 



Having given in the twenty-second volume of the 

 Jo7irnal of the Linnceaji Society a list of the plants 

 collected during my excursion in the Cordillera, it is 

 needless to overload these pages with technical names, 

 and I shall content myself with a few general remarks 

 on the vegetation of this region, amidst which I passed 

 a brief period of constantly renewed admiration and 

 delight. In the first place, the general character of 

 the flora of Chicla differed alogether from my antici- 

 pations, for the simple reason that the climate is 



