126 



The Na.turaltst._ 



find plenty to interest us in tliis summer land, for even in the winter, 

 when in the early morning the ground may be covered with a slight 

 hoar frost, the rays of the glorious tropic sun soon warm the air and 

 bring out countless hosts of insects of all orders. But it is in the 

 height of summer — from January to March — that the eye is gladdened 

 with the glories and the ear charmed with the ceaseless music of 

 Nature's orchestra. It is then that the Morphos are in their prime,. 

 and the cicada fills the air with his joyous and piercing note. 



But before we start on our day's excursion, I will invite you to 

 partake of breakfast in my rancho, an elegant mansion with mud 

 w^alls and grass-thatched roof, and having the luxury of a boarded 

 floor and a cooking stove — tMngs not usually indulged in except by 

 the civilized stranger in this primitive land. And perhaps it will he 

 as well if each one of you considers the invitation to be to himself 

 alone, for I am afraid that to accommodate you all at once I should 

 have to add considerably to the size of my house. I can only offer 

 you a plate of boiled beans and mandioca sawdust, with an egg or a 

 stewed fowl ; unless it happens to be the day on which the baker 

 passes, in which case I can add to the repast some sour French bread, 

 which may be made more palatable by the addition of some yellow 

 fat out of a tin, that is called by courtesy " butter." But one thing 

 I can offer you that is not to be found in England, and that, is a good 

 cup of coffee. No one knows the meaning of the term until he has 

 been to Brazil. And now, having prepared ourselves for a hard day's 

 work, and having our nets, bottles, boxes, &c., all in order, let us start 

 off on our rambles. 



The firiit. thing that attracts our attention is a composite plant, with 

 clusters of white flowers which form a rich feeding ground for numbers 

 of butterflies and diurnal moths ; especially we shall notice several 

 species of Heliconidoe^ whose graceful shape and soft flight are so 

 delightful and so entirely novel to the English eye. One species has 

 rich broad patches of crimson on the upper wings, and a creamy band 

 on the lower ; in another the crimson is replaced by diagonal stripes 

 of creamy white, and the lower wings are of the deep blue- black that 

 forms the ground colour of both species. We shall also probably find 

 several species of ItJwmia, a lovely genus of the same group, whose 

 transparent wings and dancing flight entitle them to be called the 

 fairies of the woods. These delicate insects will often be found 

 flitting from glade to glade in the depths of the forest, where they 

 appear in peifect keeping with the surrounding stillness and shade, 

 and one almost fancies them too ethereal to venture out into the light 



