274) THE UNKNOWN. 



flies are flitting to and fro in bewildering profusion of 

 beauty, and our collecting-box is half filled in the 

 course of an hour. Meanwhile we have shot two or three 

 more birds ; caught a pretty lizard ; seen a painted tree- 

 frog, which escaped to be captured another day ; obtained 

 some strange nondescript creatures under stones ; picked 

 a beautiful spider from a web ; taken a host of banded 

 shells ; — and so the day wears on. And then in the evening 

 what a feasting of the eager eyes as they gloat over the 

 novelties, assigning each to its place, preparing such as 

 need preparation, and recording the facts and habits that 

 help to make up the as yet unwritten history of all. 



I turn from my own experience to that of those who 

 have, with similar tastes and similar pursuits, rifled still 

 more prolific regions. Let us hear Mr Bates, who for the 

 last eleven years has been exploring the very heart of 

 South America in the service of natural history, chiefly 

 devoting himself to the gorgeous entomology of the great 

 Valley of the Amazon. He has drawn a picture of an 

 average day's proceedings, such as makes a brother natu- 

 ralist's mouth water, and almost induces him to pack up 

 his traps, and look out in The Times' shipping column for 

 the next ship sailing for Para : — 



" The charm and glory of the countiy are its animal 

 and vegetable productions. How inexhaustible is their 

 study ! Remember that, as to botany, in the foi'est 

 scarcely two trees of the same species are seen growing 

 together. It is not as in temperate countries (Europe), a 

 forest of oak, or birch, or pine — it is one dense jungle ; 



I 



