144 



A JOURNEY IN BEAZIL. 



and from the base of this head was suspended an open 

 white net of exquisitely delicate texture, falling to within 

 about an inch of the ground ; a fairy web that looked fit 

 for Queen Mab herself.* The week, so peaceful for me, has 

 been one, if not of rest, at least of intense interest for Mr. 

 Agassiz. The very day of his arrival, by the kindness 

 of our host, his working-rooms were so arranged as to 

 make an admirable laboratory, and, from the hour he 

 entered them, specimens have poured in upon him from 

 all quarters. His own party make but a small part of 

 the scientific corps who have worked for and with him 

 here. In Par4 alone he has already more than fifty new 

 species of fresh-water fishes ; enough to reveal unexpected 

 and novel relations in the finny world, and to give the basis 

 of an improved classification. He is far from attributing 

 this great success wholly to his own efforts. Ready as he 

 is to work, he could not accomplish half that he does, except 

 for the active good-will of those about him. Among the 

 most valuable of these contributions is a collection made 

 by Mr. Pimenta Bueno, of the so-called fishes of the forest. 

 When the waters overflow after the rainy season and fill 

 the forest for a considerable distance on either side, these 

 fish hover over the depressions and hollows, and as the 

 waters subside are left in the pools and channels. They 

 do not occur in the open river, but are always found in 



* This mushroom belongs to the genus Phallus, and seems to be an unde- 

 scribed species. I preserved it in alcohol, but was unable to have any draw- 

 ing made from it before its beauty and freshness were quite gone. In the early 

 morning, while the grass was still damp, we often found a peculiar snail, a spe- 

 cies of Bulimus, creeping by the roadside. The form of the anterior part of 

 the foot was unlike that of any species known thus far from this group. Such 

 facts show the desirableness of making drawings from the soft parts of these 

 animals as well as from their solid envelopes. — L. A. 



