98 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. v. 



rough and tiring one of sloping hillside paths very wet 

 and slippery, and in places blocked by fallen trees. About 

 one o'clock Ave reached a rushing stream, and our guides 

 brought us to a large overhanging rock, where they said 

 we must pass the night. It now began to rain heavily, 

 so we at once told the men to cut sticks and palm-leaves 

 to lay on the ground where we were to sleep, and over 

 which we could spread our waterproof sheets and rugs. 

 This was soon done, and meanwhile our " boys " pre- 

 pared luncheon. "We were disgusted at stopping thus 

 early in the day, and wished our guides to proceed when 

 the rain abated, which however they determinedly refused 

 to do. To make the best of a bad bargain, I and Mr. 

 A r eitch explored the forest above our camp, where we 

 found a pretty aroid with white blotched leaves, and 

 another marbled with silvery grey; also a variegated 

 plant resembling an ansectochilus, but which Professor 

 Reichenbach tells me is the Cystorcliis variegata of 

 Blume. This plant I had previously gathered in another 

 locality further south; indeed, it seems pretty generally 

 distributed along the north-west coast. Specimens of 

 two or three delicate filmy ferns were found near the 

 streams ; and at our camping-place, which we named the 

 "Sleeping Eock," the pretty little Adiantum diaphanum 

 was plentiful, and living plants were brought to England 

 from this habitat. 



About seven o'clock next morning we started on our 

 upw r ard journey. It was hot work at first, but we could 

 feel it perceptibly get cooler after the first two or three 

 thousand feet. At about four thousand feet mosses are 

 very plentiful, the finest species gathered being Dawsonla 

 saperba, which fringed the path, but nowhere in great 

 plenty. A new^white-flowered species of burmannia was 

 also gathered, and small-flow r ered orchids were seen. In 



