2ij A. botanist’s B amble in central AMERICA : 
being about 13. Upper parts dusky, black or bronze, glossed 
about with green and olive ; fore part of neck and breast spotted 
with white ; belly and legs, lower part of the back and under 
tail coverts reddish ; cheeks naked and of a purple violet 
our; bill dusky; on the head a thick rufhed crest w^hich 
the bird can raise or depress at pleasure. Naked part of the 
throat scarlet with an extensive fold of depending skin. 
Their noise is extremely loud, and when any number are 
collected at the same spot they make the Woods resound with 
their clamorous cries. The bird when dressed had all the 
appearance 6f a fine young turkey and probably weighed from 5 
to 6 lbs. or more. The male we had boiled for dinner, and we 
likened its flavour to something between turkey and pheasant. 
The female bird was somewhat smaller than this. Remembering 
the old adage that, turkey braized was turkey praised,” we had 
it dressed in that manner and put by as a reserve for the home- 
ward journey. 
Chapter YI. 
Passijlora vltifolia, II. B. K. — Banana Plantations — Cultimtion of the Banana 
and mode of Shi 2 )pin{j — Rice — Canes — Soopa — Vanilla — Fodder grasses — ■ 
^’-QuangcV — Mainland Cocoamit inferior in flavour to Island growth — ' Reinarhs 
on healthiness of the District — Snahes and Snahc cure, c^‘c. — 2he return Voyage 
— Use of the Mangrove — Bumping the Bottom — Arr ival at Quarters. 
We left the Mission on the Friday morning and proceeded 
to make our way down the river. All the rapids were passed 
successfully, but not without considerable trouble, as the river 
which, on our wmy up, was swollen with the tropical rains of sev- 
eral previous days, had now subsided to its ordinary level. 
Specimens of a splendid scarlet Passifiora, Passiplora vitifolia, 
H. B. ET K., were seen and collected at a bend of the river 
where it overhung one of the eddying pools so frequently met 
with. It is known to the natives as the Caboona,” but as this 
name is applied indiscriminately to several species, it could not 
alone be recognised by that appellation, I found several species 
of this class of plants in difierent localities, one among them 
being of special interest as it produced fine large edible fruit, 
similar in appearance to that of Passiflora lafrifolta, L., the 
Pome POr of the French West India Islands, but over twice the 
size. This together with one very much smaller wms also known 
as the Caboona.” 
On reaching that portion of our route where the surrounding 
district consisted of flat alluvial well raised above the river bed 
we noted several extensive Banana plantations. These wm were 
Treasury of Natural History. 
