34 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



other fireworks during the day, Sunday is evidently practically 

 ignored at Eio, the shops being kept open just as on week 

 days, and business going on as usual. There did not even 

 appear to be any of that holiday-keeping for which Sundays 

 in Eoman Catholic countries are so famous. In the evening 

 there was a splendid display of phosphorescence on the water, 

 an oar's blade dipped into it emerging every time gleaming 

 with light * 



On the 5th I accompanied three of the officers on a walk to 

 the Botanic Gardens beyond the suburb of Botafogo. On the 

 way out we encountered a good deal of drizzling rain, which, 

 however, was felt to be rather a relief as lessening the extreme 

 heat of the weather. I was greatly delighted with the beauty 

 of the flowers cultivated in the gardens on the outskirts of the 

 town, and I remember being especially fascinated by the 

 splendour of the oleanders and various handsome creepers. 

 Many of the suburban houses have a most inviting 

 appearance, with their walls covered with glazed Dutch tiles 

 to reflect the solar heat, their brilliantly coloured cornices 

 (often bright blue or chocolate colour, with a raised white 

 pattern), and their brown-tiled roofs with projecting eaves ; 

 and as a rule the little gardens surrounding them are very 

 judiciously and tastefully laid out, many of them boasting one 

 or two palms or other large trees, under the shade of which 

 their owners may sit and enjoy the "dolce far niente" so 

 much appreciated in tropical countries. Some of the way- 

 side plants were very pretty. Among the most plentiful were 

 a scarlet and yellow Asclepias, a little creeper with flowers 



* In an interesting and valuable paper on the Phosphorescence of the Sea 

 by Dr. E. Giglioli of Florence, late naturalist on board the Italian Frigate 

 *' Magenta," to whose kindness I am indebted for a copy of the article in 

 question, the phosphorescence at Eio Janeiro is referred to the well-known 

 Noctilvxa miliaris. 



