to Central America. 3933 



opposite the dark rocks of Los Hermannos, behind which the sun 

 sets gloriously ; large birds are slowly winging their course towards 

 their resting-places on these small islands. Taking my evening bath 

 on deck, in a large barrel of sea-water, I was surprised to find it full 

 of phosphorescent animals, which were creeping all over my body. 



March 29: (lat. 11 10; long. 69 12). Today I enjoyed a beauti- 

 ful sight which highly interested me ; thousands of beautiful blue bo- 

 nitas (a large and well-known fish) were pursuing shoals of flying fish 

 and other small fry. Innumerable flocks of sterns, Phaetons, and 

 many other birds, accompanied them and disputed their food. As 

 soon as the bonitas, leaping out of the water, and lashing loudly in all 

 directions in their eagerness to seize their agile prey, produced on the 

 surface of the sea a white and foaming spot, some bird, soaring on 

 high, would perceive them, and, uttering a loud cry, call all its fea- 

 thered companions to the feast. In a minute the scene was indescrib- 

 ably curious : the bustle of the birds, splashing into the water in the 

 midst of the bonitas, and all screaming and yelling together, reminded 

 me of a yard where different kinds of poultry are fed on a small quan- 

 tity of grain, which they are all eager to make the most of in as short 

 a space of time as possible. We passed in sight of the flat, inhospita- 

 ble, and uninhabited island of Tortuga. 



March 30. This morning we came in sight of the mountains of the 

 Sierra de la Costa of Venezuela. Plantations of cocoa-trees, Phoenix, 

 Indian corn, sugar-cane, &c, were stretched along the coast, the rocks 

 above being covered to a considerable height by a forest of gigantic 

 candelabra-like Cactuses, from 20 to 30 feet in height. In the after- 

 noon we reached La Guayra, and cast anchor. This town has a sin- 

 gular aspect : it is spread out along a narrow slip of land, between the 

 rocks and the sea, and is backed by steep and dark mountains, several 

 thousand feet high, the most elevated of which, according to Hum- 

 boldt, is the Scilla. A walk I took in the evening on the strand, pro- 

 cured me the pleasure of seeing some plants for the first time in a wild 

 state. Amongst them were large quantities of Argemone Mexicana, 

 in full blossom, the immense Cactus (C. Peruvianas ?) already spoken 

 of, Cereus triangularis, a pretty leafless Euphorbia with red flowers, 

 the true cotton-tree, cocoa-nut trees, bananas, and many others. In 

 the Posada de Neptuno, where I have taken lodgings, I was pleased 

 to see, cultivated in pots, and with great care, a plant of Plantago 

 major, and some of our common roses. It is difficult to express the 

 pleasure felt by the naturalist at seeing even a common and ugly plant 

 of his native land, cultivated so far from home ; it immediately brings 



