32 RIO DE JANEIRO. [cutaP. IL 
time most useful to man. Who can doubt that these qualities 
are united in the banana, the cocoa-nut, the many kinds of palm, 
the orange, and the bread-fruit tree? 
During this day I was particularly struck with a remark of 
‘“Humboldt’s, who often alludes to “the thin vapour which, with- 
cut changing the transparency of the air, renders its tints more 
harmonious, and softens its effects.” This is an appearance 
which I have never observed in the temperate zones. ‘The at- 
mosphere, seen through a short space of half or three quarters 
of a mile, was perfectly lucid, but at a greater distance all 
colours were blended into a most beautiful haze, of a pale French 
grey, mingled with a little blue. The condition of the atmos- 
phere between the morning and about noon, when the effect 
was most evident, had undergone little change, excepting in its 
dryness. In the interval, the difference between the dew point 
and temperature had incre&sed from 7°.5 to 17°- 
On another occasion I started early and walked to the Gavia, 
or topsail mountain. The air was delightfully cool and fra- 
grant} and the drops of dew still glittered on the leaves of the 
large liliaceous plants, which shaded the streamlets of clear 
water. Sitting down on a block of granite, it was delightful to 
watch the various insects and birds as they flew past. The 
humming-bird seems particularly fond of such shady retired 
spots. Whenever I saw these little creatures buzzing round a 
flower, with their wings vibrating so rapidly as to be scarcely 
visible, I was reminded of the sphinx moths: their movements 
and habits are indeed in many respects very similar. 
Following a pathway I entered a noble forest, and from a 
height of five or six hundred feet, one of those splendid views 
was presented, which are so common on every side of Rio. At 
this elevation the landscape attains its most brilliant tint; and 
every form, every. shade, so completely surpasses in magnificence 
all that the European has ever beheld in his own country, that 
he knows not how to express his feelings. The general effect 
frequently recalled to my mind the gayest scenery of the Opera- 
house or the great theatres. I never returned from these excur- 
sions empty handed. This day I found a specimen of a curious 
fungus, called Hymenophallus. Most people know the English 
Phallus, which in autumn taints the air with its odious smell: 
