256 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
continent I had vainly tried, under glass and with heat, to culti- 
vate the large and unsightly bulb. I succeeded in producing 
magnificent leaves, finer than those I subsequently saw under 
natural conditions, but I could never induce bloom. My failure 
was probably due to horticultural ignorance, as success is pos- 
sible; but it emphasises the fact of the mystery of environmental 
conditions—all so simple and apparent in nature, so intricate 
under artificial arrangements. Another plant which may be 
found here, Sesamopteris pentaphylla, and which is not un- 
common, possesses now a more general biological interest. Dr. 
Gregory, in his interesting book ‘The Great Rift Valley,’ has 
described and figured as a probable case of “‘ mimicry ” a number 
of the homopterous insect J[tyrea nigrocincta, which in British 
East Africa clustered on a stem, and thus resembled the in- 
florescence of this plant. I have not, however, found the insect 
in the Transvaal, where the plant is anything but scarce; but I 
have seen many similar instances of other insects drying them- 
selves in like manner and clusters after heavy rain, notably on 
one occasion by the Centoniid beetle Diplognatha hebrea, where 
certainly no “mimicry” was implied. The entomological circum- 
stance is not unusual, but seldom, I think, so effective for suggesting 
‘“‘mimicry” as seen by Dr. Gregory. 
In August, the height of the dry season, I have collected 
many birds in this neighbourhood. As soon as the bush is 
reached one is not long noticing the Drongo (Buchanga assimilis), 
a bird I never saw near Pretoria, but which is abundant in the 
bush and generally seen singly. I found the Drongo nesting in 
November. Small noisy flocks of long-tailed Shrikes (Urolestes 
meélanoleucus) frequent the sides of the forest road. They perch 
high; and their long tails would probably be an inconvenience if 
they frequented the short, thick lower bush. Two Barbets are 
found; the pied (Pogonorhynchus leucomelas) is quite common. 
These birds fly singly in the bush and are easily approached. 
The beautiful Le Valliant’s Barbet (T'’rachyphonus caffer) is much 
scarcer. Once among the thick twigs of a high tree I could just 
distinguish two birds either fighting or courting, and on firing I 
secured a specimen of this handsome species; I seldom saw it. 
An interesting bird common to this area is the Pied Babbling 
Thrush (Crateropus bicolor). Mr. Buckley, as quoted in Layard’s 
