.-hpccls of llic \ 'alley. 49 



wild li;ivour8 and little adventures that count for so 

 nmcli witli tlie veiy young. In birds' eggs, the 

 greatest prizes are those of tlie partridge-like tina- 

 nious, the beautifully mottled and crested martineta 

 (Calodroraas elegans), that lays a dozen eggs as large 

 as those of a fowl, with deep-green polished sliells ; 

 and the smaller Nothura darwini, whose eggs vary 

 in tint from wine-purple to a reddish-purple or liver 

 colour. In sumnier and autumn fruits and sweet 

 gums are not scarce. One grey-leafed herbaceous 

 shrub is much sought after for its sap, that oozes 

 from the stem and hardens in small globes and lumps 

 that look and taste like white sugar. There is a 

 small disc-shaped cactus, growing close to the sur- 

 face, and well defended with sharp spines, which 

 bears a pinkish-yellow fruit with a pleasant taste. 

 There is also a largo cactus, four or five feet high, 

 so dark-green as to appear almost black among 

 the pale-grey bushes. It bears a splendid crimson 

 flower, and a crimson fruit that is insipid and not 

 considered worth eating ; but being of so beautiful 

 a colour to see it is sufficient pleasure. The plant 

 is not very common, and one does not see too many 

 of the fruits even in a long day's ramble : 



Like stoues of worth, they tliinly placeJ are. 



The chahar bears a fruit like a cherry in size, and, 

 like a cherry, with a stone inside ; it has a white 

 pidp and a golden skin ; the flavour is peculiar and 

 delicious, and seemed to be greatly appreciated by 

 the birds, so that the children get little. Another 



