MALINFERNET. 



195 



V - ,' rfl*'/ Ajtthocharis 



Eiiplienoidus. 



orange spots adorn the front wings. It flies ^ 

 restlessh' and swifth' through the air. \ / 

 Thais Poh'xcna (Fig. p. 193), 

 whose brown\' A'ellow wings are 

 spotted witli red and blue and Irave 

 a dark, scolloped edge, is almost as 

 active. It is like a harlecjuin, particoloured 

 and fringed. The Swallow tails hover over us in all 

 directions. Soon we reach the Col Lentisque on which 

 grow man\' Cork Oaks. Several paths intersect here ; 

 we chose the one which turns to tlie right, cross the 

 pass and begin slowh' to ascend a wooded valle\' — 

 the "Ravin" oi the stream Escalle. fJeantitiil Ilolh trees 

 [Ilex Aqtiifoliuiit) are conspicuous in the luxuriant thicket. 

 Here the^' grow to iine trees, \\'hile in the woods of 

 German\- we sec them onh' as bushes. Germans call 

 the Holh" ''Stecheiche" because its rigid, coriaceous 

 leaves resemble those of the E\'ergreen Oak. Chamisso 

 noticed that onh' the lea\-es on the lower branches of 

 the Holk\' are pro\'ided \\\{\\ sharp prickles, and tliat 

 the higher ones are almost unarmed : for the}- no longer 

 require to be protected against the attacks of 

 animals. The path turnecl suddenh' west- 

 f uarcl. and we tound our- 



selves :at the entrance of 

 the jNIalinfernet. Now we 

 se * all the red rocks standing 

 out from the dark wood ; here 

 glowing in the sunshine and there 

 shrouded in the deep shadows of 



Thais Po!v.\i:ih-i 



