332 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



many hawks were observed perched on the branches of the trees, 

 and giving vent to occasional harsh screams. The tide was 

 too high to enable us to make a profitable examination of the 

 beach, but we found the dead shells of several Molluscs which 

 we had not previously encountered scattered about at high- 

 water mark, together with fragments of a sand-burrowing Crus- 

 tacean, the Eippa talpoides. We returned to the ship when 

 the light failed us, finding those who had remained on board 

 busily engaged in consuming oysters {Qstrea Chilensis s. ciUalis) 

 which abound in the port. It is a curious circumstance that 

 Chiloe appears to be the only locality on the west coast of 

 South America where this Mollusc occurs, and the more so, 

 seeing that shells of an Ostrea abound in the recent tertiary 

 beds of Patagonia and Chili. 



The 29th was a beautiful day, a surprising circumstance, 

 considering that we were in a climate where, according to a 

 familiar saying of the inhabitants, it rains thirteen months 

 out of the year. The atmosphere was very clear, enabling us 

 to gain a splendid view of the snowy cone of Osorno, between 

 7000 and 8000 feet in height, together with the more distant 

 Cordillera, which was also of a dazzling whiteness. It being 

 Sunday we remained on board during the forenoon, and in 

 the afternoon I landed with two companions, and had a very 

 pleasant walk through the woods, which are formed of a con- 

 siderable variety of trees, for the most part evergreens, and 

 among which the Quillai {Quillaja saponaria), the bark of 

 which, being rich in saponine, is extensively used as a sub- 

 stitute for soap, was one of the most prevalent. We observed 

 some flowering specimens of an elegant species of barberry, 

 the Berheris Darwinii, and were much delighted with the 

 beauty of the ferns growing on the decaying trunks. Species 

 of Hymenophyllum specially abounded ; and we now saw for 



