78 
[September, 
and guess. Excepting from Sao Bartholomeu do Messines to Silves, 
and from Silves to Monchique, the roads were mere mule-tracks, and 
sometimes no better than cattle or slieep paths. The country is so 
thinly peopled, that whenever the track happened to divide, much 
judgment had to be exercised in deciding which was the right branch 
to follow. Monchique is usually reached either by carriage from 
Portimao, or b} r mule from Casevel or Castro Verde via Ourique. 
From Lisbon, Portimao is accessible by occasional coasting vessels, or 
a steamer which sails for Faro every three weeks might be resorted to, 
Cea (June 4 — 11), near the Estrella, is reached by diligencia 
from Coimbra. The inn being full, accommodation was extemporized 
upon the floor of the common eating room. The slopes of the moun- 
tains are in parts extensively cultivated and subjected to irrigation. 
Beyond the limits of cereals, potatoes are grown, up to at least 4400 
feet ; above this, cistus at first, and then heath is the prevailing vege- 
tation. The neighbourhood is favourable for Trichoptera , but was 
only partially explored. It was here, at an elevation of about 1800 
feet, that the larger forms of Rhyacophila were first met with in going 
northwards. Caddis worms occurred in profusion in a lake at an 
altitude of about 5122 feet, in company with pupae of Libellula and 
troops of frogs ; nymphs of Siphlurus were there also ; but the season 
for alpine Trichoptera had not arrived. Macro-Lepidoptera were not 
particularly plentiful. Ponte de Morcellos (June 12 — 14), the half- 
way house between Cea and Coimbra, yielded some interesting species 
indigenous to the warmer parts of Beira Baixa. 
Villa Eeal (June 22 — 25) is reached from Porto b}^ rail to Pezo 
da Begoa, and thence by diligencia. From the first and the last men- 
tioned towns, access can be gained by diligencia to various parts of the 
provinces. Braga is another focus of such routes, and from thence 
Salamonde and Euivaes (June 29 — 30), near the Gferez, were visited. 
Of these districts, the neighbourhood of Villa Beal seems to be the 
best for Trichoptera , while the vicinage of Salamonde is perhaps more 
favourable for Macro- Lepidoptera. Heath is the prevailing growth on 
the hills in both districts. 
Murray’s Handbook (1875) is about as good a guide book for 
English people as any of Portugal ; only it needs thorough revision. 
New roads of good construction, and new railways, have been and are 
being made in many districts, and have modified the itinerary con- 
siderably ; hence, the distances by road in Murray are often greatly 
underrated, and some of the diligencia routes are disused. The heights 
of the mountains, on the other hand, are sometimes exaggerated 
enormously. 
