50 Idle Days in Patagonia. 



wild fruit is that of the Piquellin (Condalia spinosa), 

 the dark-leafed bush which was mentioned in the 

 first chapter. Its oval-shaped berries are less than 

 currants in size, bub are in such profusion that the 

 broad tops of the bushes become masses of deep 

 colour in autumn. There are two varieties, one 

 crimson, the other purple-black, like sloes and 

 blackberries. They have a strong but not un- 

 pleasant flavour, and the children are so fond of 

 them that, like the babes in the wood, their little 

 lips are all bestained and red with the beautiful 

 juice. 



The magnetism of the river (to go back to that 

 subject) is probably intensified by the prevailing 

 monotonous greys, greens, and browns of nature on 

 either side of it. It has the powerful effect of bright- 

 ness, which fascinates us, as it does the moth, and 

 the eye is drawn to it as to a path of shining silver 

 that is, of silver in some conditions of the atmosphere, 

 and of polished steel in others. At ordinary times 

 there is no other brightness in nature to draw the 

 sight away and divide the attention. Only twice in 

 the year, for a brief season in spring and again in 

 autumn, there is anything like large masses of bright 

 colour in the vegetation to delight the eyes. The 

 commonest of the grey-foliaged plants that grow on 

 the high grounds along the borders of the valley 

 is the chanar, Gurliaca decorticans, a tree in form, 

 but scarcely more than a bush in size. In late 

 October it bears a profusion of flowers in clusters, 

 in shape, size, and brilliant yellow colour resembling 



