THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 37 



attracted by numerous clumps of hoary foliage, contrasting 

 remarkably with the greenness of the other trees on the hills, 

 and which I afterwards found were due to the presence of a 

 species of Gecro^pia. 



]N"ext day several of us landed after breakfast, and made 

 a short excursion into the Eio Comprido valley, where a num- 

 ber of beautiful though well-known Lepidoptera were cap- 

 tured, as also specimens of a small Mantis, one of the curious 

 walking-stick insects (Phasma), a Julus of considerable size, 

 and a large spider, with a hard horny pale yellow body, 

 marked with rounded black spots, and furnished on the dorsal 

 surface of the abdomen with two horns. Like all those who 

 have visited Brazil, I was greatly struck with the profusion 

 of beautiful insects, with the forms of many of which I had 

 long possessed an acquaintance from the illustrations in 

 various works of natural history. In the valley and neigh- 

 bourhood I collected a number of species of plants, including 

 a fine passion-flower (Passiflora), an Oxalis with purplish 

 rose-coloured flowers, a cucurbitaceous plant with small 

 yellow fruits, ripe specimens of which, on being handled, 

 burst open, disclosing the red seeds ; some Leguminosae, and 

 a variety of ferns, some of which, from their peculiarity of 

 habit, would hardly be recognised as members of the group 

 by those persons who merely possess an acquaintance with 

 our British forms. 



I may here remark, that although on this and later visits 

 to Brazil I met with many beautiful flowers, my experience 

 on the whole coincides with that of the distinguished traveller 

 and naturalist, Mr. Wallace, who remarks that he is con- 

 vinced, from his own observations, * " that in the most luxu- 

 riant parts of the tropics, flowers are less abundant, on the 



* Malayan Archipelago, vol. ii. p. 295. 



