230 NATURAL HISTOEY OF 



terest being a cow-fish or manatee {Manatus australis), which 

 had been added to the collection of live animals since our 

 last visit. This curious creature, one of the few members of 

 the order Sirenia, or herbivorous Cetacea as they were at one 

 time denominated, is common on the coasts, and near the 

 mouths of rivers, in tropical America, and feeds on herbage 

 and aquatic weeds. Usually the specimen in the garden at 

 Kio was only to be recognised as a dark shadow, moving 

 along beneath the surface of the water ; and it evinced a curi- 

 ous predilection for the society of a white swan, following 

 it about in the most assiduous manner, so that the position of 

 the bird often served as an index to that of the mammal. 

 Several times I saw the manatee take a bunch of grass from 

 the hand of the bystander, raising its curious fringed lips 

 above the surface of the water to receive it, and once or twice 

 I watched it feeding on the grass growing at the edge of the 

 strip of water which it inhabited. This it accomplished by 

 supporting itself, by means of one of its pectoral fins, on the 

 top of the narrow stone ledge which bounded the water, so as 

 to reach out its head, and then moving slowly along in a side- 

 long manner, so as to devour large mouthfuls of the herbage. 

 The snout is very blunt, the eyes are very small, and the 

 prevailing tint is a dull leaden hue, varied with some lighter 

 spots on the belly. 



The market was also a considerable source of interest to 

 us, as it usually contained a great variety of fruits, vegetables, 

 and fish, together with birds of many kinds in cages, as well 

 as monkeys of various sorts, including specimens of the 

 beautiful little marmosets. Peccaries were also sometimes 

 to be seen, and on one occasion I saw one led by a string 

 through the streets of Eio. 



On the 4th I remained on board all day, but some of the 



