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£ OTA JVIC GARDEN 
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from the two latter trees. Before seeing them, I had no idea 
that any trees could cast so black a shade on the ground. 
Both of them bear to the evergreen vegetation of these climates 
the same kind of relation which laurels and hollies in England 
do to the lighter green of the deciduous trees. It may be 
observed that the houses within the tropics are surrounded by 
the most beautiful forms of vegetation, because many of them 
are at the same time most useful to man. Who can doubt 
that these qualities are united in the banana, the cocoa-nut, the 
many kinds of palm, the orange, and the bread-fruit tree ? 
During this day I was particularly struck with a remark of 
Humboldt's, who often alludes to “ the thin vapour which, with¬ 
out changing the transparency of the air, renders its tints more 
harmonious, and softens its effects.” This is an appearance 
which I have never observed in the temperate zones. The 
atmosphere, seen through a short space of half or three-quarters 
of a mile, was perfectly lucid, but at a greater distance all 
colours were blended into a most beautiful haze, of a pale 
French gray, mingled with a little blue. The condition of the 
atmosphere between the morning and about noon, when the 
effect was most evident, had undergone little change, excepting 
in its dryness. In the interval, the difference between the dew 
point and temperature had increased from y °.5 to 17 0 . 
On another occasion I started early and walked to the 
Gavia, or topsail mountain. The air was delightfully cool and 
fragrant; and the drops of dew still glittered on the leaves of 
the large liliaceous plants, which shaded the streamlets of clear 
water. Sitting down on a block of granite, it was delightful to 
watch the various insects and birds as they flew past. The 
humming-bird seems particularly fond of such shady retired 
spots. Whenever I saw these little creatures buzzing round a 
flower, with their wings vibrating so rapidly as to be scarcely 
visible, I was reminded of the sphinx moths : their movements 
and habits are indeed in many respects very similar. 
Following a pathway I entered a noble forest, and from a 
height of five or six hundred feet, one of those splendid views 
was presented, which are so common on every side of Rio. At 
this elevation the landscape attains its most brilliant tint; and 
every form, every shade, so completely surpasses in magnificence 
all that the European has ever beheld in his own country, that 
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