228 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



large supply of letters and papers, which occupied us so fully 

 that but few of our number went on shore that day, the 

 majority contenting themselves with gazing on the wonderful 

 scene around, which never lost its charm. The whole land- 

 scape appeared as if simmering in the heat, and the surface 

 of the calm blue water, dotted with vessels of all nations, was 

 only disturbed by the oars of some passing boat, or the 

 splash produced by the brown gannets as they dived after 

 their prey. These birds were very plentiful, and might be 

 observed fishing in numbers together, particularly in the 

 morning and evening ; while frigate-birds {Tacliypetes) were, 

 in addition, to be seen soaring high in the air, and now and 

 then closing and opening their deeply-forked tails. 



On the following day (2d), we proceeded up the harbour 

 to the coaling island. In weighing anchor a fine species of 

 Comatula came up on the cable, and was consigned to spirits. 

 A party of four of us landed soon after breakfast, and occu- 

 pied the day in roaming over the country in the neighbour- 

 hood of Nictheroy. At the spot where we stepped on 

 shore the ebbing tide had left a few feet of rock uncovered, 

 and on this space a species of Padina was growing in profu- 

 sion, and one or two specimens of a Gasteropod with a rather 

 handsome shell, the Turbinella Brasiliana, were obtained. 

 Despite the difference of the season of the year, we remarked 

 very little change in the general aspect of the vegetation, from 

 what it presented on our first visit in 1866, only a very 

 few of the trees having shed their foliage, and many of the 

 flowers previously observed being now in bloom. Among 

 those trees which chiefly arrested the eye, were the palms, 

 the bananas, and the mangoes (Mangifera indica), the thickly 

 leaved spreading branches of the last casting a deep shadow 

 on the ground. In the gardens various beautiful plants 



