A YOUNG NATURALIST. 259 



lations of the gadfly. Their proboscis is a kind of sheath enclos- 

 ing six lancets, by the help of which they pierce our skin and 

 suck our blood." 



" But where do these hungry wretches come from % " 



" From the water, where the insect lays its eggs. You know 

 those httle worms which are constantly moving up and down in 

 pools ; they are the larvse of the mosquito." 



" The mosquito, that terrible scourage of the Terre-TempSree 

 and the Te,rre-Chaude, renders these regions inaccessible to the 

 inhabitants of the Terre-Froide. They cannot get accustomed to 

 their bites, which cover their bodies with large red pustules, 

 causing fever and want of sleep, and giving the victims the ap- 

 pearance of having just recovered from small-pox." 



Again we walked on without talking, for the heat dried up 

 our throats. Suddenly some singular cries reached our ears. 



" The clucking of an oscillated turkey," cried Sumichrast. 



L'Encuerado laid down his burden, and my two companions 

 started off in search of the birds. They joined us again in about 

 a quarter of an hour, each carrying a fowl with metallic-coloured 

 plumage dotted over with spots, almost as large as a common 

 turkey. It belongs to the gallinaceous order, and is only found 

 amid the forests of the New World, particularly in Honduras. 



" Well ! " cried Sumichrast, "we have plenty to eat now ; but 

 this is a bird which is found at a long distance from streams, and 

 warns us to economise the contents of our gourds." 



Five hundred paces farther on we saw some stones covered 

 with moss and an enormous upright rock like a tower. We 

 saluted the colossus without stopping to examine it, and 

 lengthened our strides, although the ups and downs in our path 

 gradually became more numerous. Gringalet every instant 

 raised his nose to sniff the air, and the hope of at last emerging 

 from the forest drew us forward with increased ardour, impelled, 

 as we were, by the desire of at last finding the longed-for stream. 

 Lucien actually mustered up a run, whilst his cheeks flushed and 

 his eyes glistened with anticipation. 



" Here are grass and flowers ! Forward ! forward ! " cried 

 Sumichrast. 



