Bevieivs — Belt's Naturalist in Nicaragua. 181 



palaeontologist, Mr. Belt would probably have never found time to 

 write a book of 400 pages bad he not been called upon to reside 

 for upwards of four years at the Gold-mines of Chontales, in the 

 interior of Nicaragua, where he was brought into daily contact with 

 Nature in its wildest and grandest luxuriance, in the virgin forest, 

 in a district where the rainy season lasts from May till January, 

 where the cold sleep of winter is unknown, and perennial moisture 

 reigns in the soil, perennial summer in the air and vegetation 

 luxuriates in ceaseless activity and verdure all the year round (p. 59). 



Thus daily surrounded by a vast luxuriance of vegetable and 

 animal existences, all new and wonderful, what marvel then that 

 a disciple of Henry Walter Bates, " the Naturalist on the Eiver 

 Amazons," should have desired to emulate his example, and to do 

 for Nicaragua what Bates has done for Brazil, 



Nicaragua — with its vast sweet- water lake, more than 100 miles in 

 length, and 40 in breadth, studded here and there with islands, the 

 chief of which, Pueblo Grande, is marked by two volcanic cones, 

 Madera and Ometepec, the latter rising 5050 feet above the sea ; its 

 primeval forests, remarkable for the variety and luxuriance of the 

 trees composing their umbrageous masses — offers boundless attrac- 

 tions to the Naturalist. Here, too, the Ethnologist traces on all sides 

 the ruins of that wonderful Aztec civilization which was in its full 

 development 350 years ago, but which the Spanish invaders came 

 only to destroy in their thirst for gold, leaving behind them in its 

 stead ruin and misery, accompanied by the worst vices of so-called 

 'civilized' mankind. 



In the sylvan retreat of San Domingo the author appears to have 

 made good use of every opportunity his residence afforded to carry 

 on careful and accurate Natural History observations, and much of 

 his book is occupied with descriptions of the habits and wonderful 

 instincts of animals, amounting, Mr. Belt ventures to think, in many 

 cases, to as clear an evidence of reasoning intelligence as is claimed 

 for man himself. 



The descriptions of the various species of ants are especially 

 worthy of notice, and, did space admit, we should like to introduce 

 some extracts from this part of Mr. Belt's book, but are compelled 

 to refer our readers to the work itself for these marvels of insect 

 life. 



Although spending the greater part of his time in Chontales, Mr. 

 Belt made numerous journeys and excursions throughout Nicaragua, 

 visiting almost every part of any note : one gathers therefore from 

 his descriptions a good general idea of the physical features of the 

 country and its heterogeneous population. 



The author briefly notices various volcanos near Granada ; for in- 

 stance, that of Mombacho, now dormant, which rises to a height of 



Geol. Mag. 1S64, Vol. I. p. 87; see also Quart. Journ. GeoL Soc. 1864, vol. 

 XX. p. 463 ; " Ou some Trilobites from the Upper Cambrian Eocks," Geol. Mag. 

 1867, Yol. IV. p. 294 ; " On the Lingula Flags of Dolgelly," Ibid. pp. 493, 536; 

 and on the " Lingula Flags " or " Festiniog Group " of the Dolgelly District, 1868, 

 Vol. V. p. 0. 



