50 Idle Days in Patagonia. 
wild fruit is that of the Piquellin (Condalia spinosa), 
the dark-leafed bush which was mentioned in the 
first chapter. Its oval-shaped berries are less than 
currants in size, but are in such profusion that the 
broad tops of the bushes become masses of deep 
colour in autumn. ‘There are two varieties, one 
crimson, the other purple-black, like sloes and 
blackberries. They have a strong but not un- 
pleasant flavour, and the children are so fond of 
them that, like the babes in the wood, their little 
lips are all bestained and red with the beautiful 
juice. 
The magnetism of the river (to go back to that 
subject) is probably intensified by the prevailing 
monotonous greys, greens, and browns of nature on 
either side of it. It has the powerful effect of bright- 
ness, which fascinates us, as it does the moth, and 
the eye is drawn toit as to a path of shining silver— 
that is, of silver in some conditions of the atmosphere, 
and of polished steel in others. At ordinary times 
there is no other brightness in nature to draw the 
sight away and divide the attention. Only twice in 
the year, for a brief season in spring and again in 
autumn, there is anything like large masses of bright 
colour in the vegetation to delight the eyes. The 
commonest of the grey-foliaged plants that grow on 
the high grounds along the borders of the valley 
is the chafar, Gurliaca decorticans, a tree in form, 
but scarcely more than a bush in size. In late 
October it bears a profusion of flowers in clusters, 
in shape, size, and brilliant yellow colour resembling 
