32 



THE NATURALIST. 



But man lias got a stomach, climbing up mountains gives an appetite^ 

 and guides liave discovered that however awful and destructive volcanoes 

 can be sometimes, yet^ in their quieter moments, when they are enjoying their 

 otium cum dignitate, that, (alas for that dignitas) they can be made instru- 

 mental in cooking eggs ! Accordingly eggs were prepared in what the guides 

 denominated the Devil's kitchen, Cucina del diavola, and we had sat down 

 comfortably to eat them when a gust of sulphureous vapour blew over and 

 nearly choked us, so we beat a retreat to a spot where we had less chance of 

 being asphyxiated, and ate our eggs and drank our Lachryma Christi in peace. 

 There is an entrance to the crater down one of the less precipitous sides by 

 which access may be had to the lava. The guides as the custom is, imbedded 

 some coins in lava and gave them to us as souvenirs of Vesuvius. 



Under stones on the very edge of the crater I found some beetles, but being 

 no great Coleopterist I do not know the species. There were two species of 

 Curculionidoe (?) one very abundant, and five species of StapliylinidcB ; I also 

 saw two species of spiders and one dipterous fly. Not having any recepta- 

 cles with me I was only able to secure a few specimens. It would be in- 

 teresting to know by what these insects can be attracted to the top of this 

 barren mountain where no plant grows. Possibly they may enjoy the 

 warmth. 



But I must not forget to mention the splendid view that we had. Im- 

 mediately below us were the quiet vineyards with long streams of lava 

 stretching far unto them; the dark barrenness of these once destructive 

 streams contrasting curiously with the pleasant green of the vegetation 

 surrounding them. On the right lay iJ^'aples on its beautiful bay which 

 formed a large plain of intense blue, studded with picturesque isles, 

 Capri, Procida, and Ischia, and bounded on the east by the rugged limestone 

 mountains behind Sorrento and Castelmare — On the west stretched the 

 great plain of Campania. After one last look into the crater we began to 

 descend and soon reached the base of the Mountain. 



Capri, May mh, 1866. 



