230 Guests Welcome and Unwelcome 



falls from above that there is any sign of what is going 

 on overhead, or of the beauty, displayed to insects 

 only, outside the dark canopy. Beneath it the world is 

 dank, dull, gloomy, unrelieved by a ray of light ; but 

 what a different world it is above ! Here the sun is in 

 full blaze, and bees in swarms are humming cheerily 

 over the magnificent banquet of flowers spread for 

 them. 



Bees do not like gloom, or even the chequered shade 

 which contents the butterflies, and they would have 

 missed the feast if the flowers had grown down below. 

 It is by the roadside, on the margin of the forest, in 

 the paths, and along the river-banks that the real 

 beauty of tropical vegetation is to be seen ; for here 

 are bushes, shrubs, trees of every height, adorned with 

 festoons of creepers, and brilliant with bright flowers 

 and gorgeous butterflies. 



Even here, however, there is nothing to surpass such 

 masses of glorious colour as are to be seen on our 

 heathery moors or gorse-covered commons ; and though 

 tropical blossoms are undoubtedly splendid, they are 

 not as common as one is apt to fancy, and they gene- 

 rally last but a short time, beginning to fall almost at 

 once. 



Bees abound in this region, but they keep in the 

 sun, among the blossoms borne high up overhead ; and 

 the butterflies float lazily along the paths which are 

 chequered with light and shade, but they keep for the 

 most part near the ground. If the smaller trees, there- 

 fore, followed the example of the giants of the forest, 

 and bore their blossoms on their tops, they would be in 

 danger of missing both classes of visitors. The bees 

 would know nothing about them down in the shade. 



