162 
Analyses of Boohs. 
[March, 
comments on the disastrous effects which on the La Plata, as in 
all semi-tropical countries, are sure to follow the eradication of 
the woods. Two winds are noticed which seem to render the 
preservation of the forests an especial necessity : the Pampero, 
a south-westerly tempest blowing from the Andes with great 
fury, and sometimes causing the thermometer to fall 20° in five 
minutes. The Zonda is a northern wind, hot and dry. It blows 
from the deserts of Atacama, and raises the temperature with 
wonderful rapidity. The meteorology of the country is evidently, 
as the author pronounces it, a very difficult study. 
Mention is made of a spider, Epeira socialis, which spins a 
“beautiful cocoon of orange-coloured silk suitable for working.” 
This material has already found practical application. From 
the specific name socialis we should suspeCt that this spider is 
less given to internecine strife than most of its kindred. 
The province of Mendoza contains an immense supply of 
petroleum, of fine quality, so that South America need not long 
be dependent upon the United States for a supply of this requisite. 
The province of Salta is rich in the cebil, a species of acacia, 
whose bark contains 20 per cent, of tannin. Unfortunately 
it is gathered by the profligate system of stripping the bark only 
as high as a man can reach, and leaving the trees to die. The 
natives of Patagonia, whom the author calls “ huge macropods,” 
are described as having enormous busts, whilst their lower limbs 
do not correspond to the bulk of the trunk. The whole plain of 
the Pampas is said to be “ sprinkled thick with fossils,” of which, 
however, no further notice is taken. We should think it pos- 
sible that a careful observer might meet with important novel- 
ties. 
A blood-sucking fly, the “Mosca brava” ( Stomoxys calcitrans), 
is a great obstacle to the multiplication of horses and cattle in 
the Gran Chaco. As this species is found in England its range 
must be very wide. The quebracho wood ( Loxopterygium 
Lorentzii) is said to be an excellent timber for sleepers, ship- 
building, &c., lasting twice as long as oak. On page 62 we find 
a curious passage. Concerning the province Misiones we read : 
— “ The sensual delights which arise from hills and mountains, 
dales, plains, and valleys, forests and meadows, a fruitful soil 
and a deliciously balmy climate are here presented with a liberal 
hand.” We should scarcely call such delights “ sensual.” 
On page 109 we meet with a general survey of the Argentine 
fauna as met with in country districts. Among the predominant 
butterflies the author mentions fritillaries, Colias Lesbia, Cally- 
drias , Danaus Archippus , and Vanessa Io, which, like others of 
its group, is almost cosmopolitan. On the river banks are found 
more tropical forms, such as Papilio Thoantides , P. Perrhcebus , 
P. Lycophron , species of Euryades , Heliconia , Morpho, &c. A 
leaf-cutting ant is very destructive to all vegetation not indi- 
genous. Very offensive is the Pampa Bug (Conorhinus infes- 
