36 NATUKAL HISTORY OF 



pillars formed of a number of tiers of masonry, the scars left 

 by the old leaves adding to the effect. In addition to the 

 cabbage-palm, many other species of the order alike from the 

 New and Old World, as well as numerous fine specimens of 

 Pandani, the breadfruit, and the jack (Artocarpus incisa and 

 A. integrifolia), and representatives of many other tjrpes, are 

 cultivated. We saw some enormous specimens of the fruit of 

 the jack, two or three times the size of the human head ; and 

 the occasional growth from the trunk of a solitary large fruit 

 unassociated with leaves or branches, had a very peculiar 

 aspect. The milky juice exuding from the young twigs was 

 remarkably adhesive, a property frequently met with in plants 

 belonging to the same order. A large wasp was noticed 

 building on several of the trees, from the branches of which 

 the Spanish moss {Tillandsia vsneoides) depended in festoons. 

 Several insects were captured, among which was a large black 

 bee and a round flattened beetle {Cyrtoiwtd) with dark green 

 iridescent elytra spotted with crimson ; and a land-shell with 

 a peculiarly shaped mouth {Bulimus auris-muris) was met with 

 at the entrance of the gardens. 



We returned to the city at the close of the afternoon, on 

 the top of a Gondola Fluminense, a sort of 'bus drawn by 

 mules, numbers of which are constantly running between Eio 

 and places in the neighbourhood. The following year we be- 

 came very familiar with them, finding them a great benefit 

 when we were returning fatigued to the city after long walks 

 in the heat, and we often admired the excellent driving dis- 

 played by the cocheiros in the narrow and roughly-paved streets 

 of the city. As we drove along we enjoyed a series of fine 

 views of the Corcovado and Sugar Loaf, the form of both of 

 which eminences varies very remarkably according to the 

 point from which they are regarded ; and our attention was 



