WONDERS OF THE TROPICAL FORESTS, 
CHAPTEE T. 
THE PRIMEVAL FORESTS OF TROPICAL AMERICA. 
Tlifir pL-ciiiiivr clvarms and terrors— Disappointments nud di Riculties of the 
bivtsmis+t— Tbo Bush roptiM— ViiiiiJty i»f trttra and plants— Trees witli 
buttrtsk^ea— Kiiniberless pamsitei*— CKaracter of the priitiitive forest 
acccirdiug to its site- Its aspect daring the raiii^ BBasun- A linrricane 
in the fure-^t— Beauty of tho fortrt after thu rainy season— Our homo 
scenes L-qiiaJSv beautiful— Bird life on the riverft of Guiana— Morning 
concert— Ei'iM>.se of Kiitiire at noon— Noctnmal voices of the fortiat 
The peculiar charms of a tropical primeval foreBt are 
enhancetl by tlie niyster)'' of its impenetrable thickets ; 
for however grand "its lofty vaults, or lovely its ever- 
chaBgin<;c foruia of leaf or blossom, fancy paints sceiieE 
still more beautiful beyond, where the eye cannot pene- 
trate, and where, as yet, no wanderer has ever strayed. 
But imagination also peoples the forest with peculiar 
terroi-s ; for man feels himself here surrounded by an 
alien, or even hostile, nature : the solitude and silence of 
the woods weigh heavily on his mind j in every rustling 
of the falling leaves a venomous snake seems ready to 
dart forth ; and who knows what ravenous animal may 
not be larking in the dense underwood that skirts the 
tangled path. 
la Europe there is no room for such feelings ; for in 
our part of the world there are no woods that may not 
