APRIL 4th to July 5th, 1832. -- A few days after ourarrival I became acquainted with an Englishman whowas going to visit his estate, situated rather morethan a hundred miles from the capital, to the northward ofCape Frio. I gladly accepted his kind offer of allowing meto accompany him.

April 8th. -- Our party amounted to seven. The first stagewas very interesting. The day was powerfully hot, and aswe passed through the woods, everything was motionless,excepting the large and brilliant butterflies, which lazilyfluttered about. The view seen when crossing the hillsbehind Praia Grande was most beautiful; the colours wereintense, and the prevailing tint a dark blue; the sky and thecalm waters of the bay vied with each other in splendour.After passing through some cultivated country, we entereda forest, which in the grandeur of all its parts could not beexceeded. We arrived by midday at Ithacaia; this smallvillage is situated on a plain, and round the central houseare the huts of the negroes. These, from their regular formand position, reminded me of the drawings of the Hottentothabitations in Southern Africa. As the moon rose early, wedetermined to start the same evening for our sleeping-placeat the Lagoa Marica. As it was growing dark we passedunder one of the massive, bare, and steep hills of granitewhich are so common in this country. This spot is notoriousfrom having been, for a long time, the residence of somerunaway slaves, who, by cultivating a little ground near thetop, contrived to eke out a subsistence. At length they werediscovered, and a party of soldiers being sent, the wholewere seized with the exception of one old woman, who,sooner than again be led into slavery, dashed herself topieces from the summit of the mountain. In a Romanmatron this would have been called the noble love of freedom:in a poor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy. Wecontinued riding for some hours. For the few last miles theroad was intricate, and it passed through a desert waste ofmarshes and lagoons. The scene by the dimmed light of themoon was most desolate. A few fireflies flitted by us; andthe solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its plaintive cry. Thedistant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely broke the stillnessof the night.

April 9th. -- We left our miserable sleeping-place beforesunrise. The road passed through a narrow sandy plain,lying between the sea and the interior salt lagoons. Thenumber of beautiful fishing birds, such as egrets and cranes,and the succulent plants assuming most fantastical forms,gave to the scene an interest which it would not otherwisehave possessed. The few stunted trees were loaded withparasitical plants, among which the beauty and deliciousfragrance of some of the orchideae were most to be admired.As the sun rose, the day became extremely hot, and thereflection of the light and heat from the white sand was verydistressing. We dined at Mandetiba; the thermometer inthe shade being 84 degs. The beautiful view of the distantwooded hills, reflected in the perfectly calm water of anextensive lagoon, quite refreshed us. As the venda

Leaving Mandetiba, we continued to pass through an intricatewilderness of lakes; in some of which were fresh,in others salt water shells. Of the former kinds, I founda Limnaea in great numbers in a lake, into which, the inhabitantsassured me that the sea enters once a year, andsometimes oftener, and makes the water quite salt. I haveno doubt many interesting facts, in relation to marine andfresh water animals, might be observed in this chain oflagoons, which skirt the coast of Brazil. M. Gay

Leaving the coast for a time, we again entered the forest.The trees were very lofty, and remarkable, compared withthose of Europe, from the whiteness of their trunks. I seeby my note-book, "wonderful and beautiful, flowering parasites,"invariably struck me as the most novel object in thesegrand scenes. Travelling onwards we passed through tractsof pasturage, much injured by the enormous conical ants'nests, which were nearly twelve feet high. They gave to theplain exactly the appearance of the mud volcanos at Jorullo,as figured by Humboldt. We arrived at Engenhodo after itwas dark, having been ten hours on horseback. I neverceased, during the whole journey, to be surprised at theamount of labour which the horses were capable of enduring;they appeared also to recover from any injury muchsooner than those of our English breed. The Vampire batis often the cause of much trouble, by biting the horses ontheir withers. The injury is generally not so much owingto the loss of blood, as to the inflammation which the pressureof the saddle afterwards produces. The whole circumstancehas lately been doubted in England; I was thereforefortunate in being present when one (Desmodus d'orbignyi,Wat.) was actually caught on a horse's back. We werebivouacking late one evening near Coquimbo, in Chile, whenmy servant, noticing that one of the horses was very restive,went to see what was the matter, and fancying he coulddistinguish something, suddenly put his hand on the beast'swithers, and secured the vampire. In the morning the spotwhere the bite had been inflicted was easily distinguishedfrom being slightly swollen and bloody. The third dayafterwards we rode the horse, without any ill effects.

April 13th. -- After three days' travelling we arrived atSocego, the estate of Senhor Manuel Figuireda, a relationof one of our party. The house was simple, and, though likea barn in form, was well suited to the climate. In the sitting-room gilded chairs and sofas were oddly contrasted with thewhitewashed walls, thatched roof, and windows withoutglass. The house, together with the granaries, the stables,and workshops for the blacks, who had been taught varioustrades, formed a rude kind of quadrangle; in the centreof which a large pile of coffee was drying. These buildingsstand on a little hill, overlooking the cultivated ground, andsurrounded on every side by a wall of dark green luxuriantforest. The chief produce of this part of the country iscoffee. Each tree is supposed to yield annually, on an average,two pounds; but some give as much as eight. Mandiocaor cassada is likewise cultivated in great quantity. Everypart of this plant is useful; the leaves and stalks are eatenby the horses, and the roots are ground into a pulp, which,when pressed dry and baked, forms the farinha, the principalarticle of sustenance in the Brazils. It is a curious,though well-known fact, that the juice of this most nutritiousplant is highly poisonous. A few years ago a cow died atthis Fazenda, in consequence of having drunk some of it.Senhor Figuireda told me that he had planted, the year before,one bag of feijao or beans, and three of rice; theformer of which produced eighty, and the latter three hundredand twenty fold. The pasturage supports a fine stockof cattle, and the woods are so full of game that a deer hadbeen killed on each of the three previous days. This profusionof food showed itself at dinner, where, if the tables didnot groan, the guests surely did; for each person is expectedto eat of every dish. One day, having, as I thought, nicelycalculated so that nothing should go away untasted, to myutter dismay a roast turkey and a pig appeared in all theirsubstantial reality. During the meals, it was the employmentof a man to drive out of the room sundry old hounds,and dozens of little black children, which crawled in together,at every opportunity. As long as the idea of slavery could bebanished, there was something exceedingly fascinating inthis simple and patriarchal style of living: it was such aperfect retirement and independence from the rest of theworld.

As soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large bell is settolling, and generally some small cannon are fired. Theevent is thus announced to the rocks and woods, but to nothingelse. One morning I walked out an hour before daylightto admire the solemn stillness of the scene; at last, thesilence was broken by the morning hymn, raised on high by thewhole body of the blacks; and in this manner their dailywork is generally begun. On such fazendas as these, I haveno doubt the slaves pass happy and contented lives. OnSaturday and Sunday they work for themselves, and in thisfertile climate the labour of two days is sufficient to supporta man and his family for the whole week.

April 14th. -- Leaving Socego, we rode to another estate onthe Rio Macae, which was the last patch of cultivated groundin that direction. The estate was two and a half miles long,and the owner had forgotten how many broad. Only a verysmall piece had been cleared, yet almost every acre wascapable of yielding all the various rich productions of a tropicalland. Considering the enormous area of Brazil, the proportionof cultivated ground can scarcely be considered asanything, compared to that which is left in the state ofnature: at some future age, how vast a population it willsupport! During the second day's journey we found theroad so shut up, that it was necessary that a man should goahead with a sword to cut away the creepers. The forestabounded with beautiful objects; among which the tree ferns,though not large, were, from their bright green foliage, andthe elegant curvature of their fronds, most worthy of admiration.In the evening it rained very heavily, and although thethermometer stood at 65 degs., I felt very cold. As soon asthe rain ceased, it was curious to observe the extraordinaryevaporation which commenced over the whole extent of theforest. At the height of a hundred feet the hills were buriedin a dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smokefrom the most thickly wooded parts, and especially from thevalleys. I observed this phenomenon on several occasions.I suppose it is owing to the large surface of foliage, previouslyheated by the sun's rays.

While staying at this estate, I was very nearly being aneye-witness to one of those atrocious acts which can onlytake place in a slave country. Owing to a quarrel and alawsuit, the owner was on the point of taking all the womenand children from the male slaves, and selling them separatelyat the public auction at Rio. Interest, and not anyfeeling of compassion, prevented this act. Indeed, I do notbelieve the inhumanity of separating thirty families, whohad lived together for many years, even occurred to theowner. Yet I will pledge myself, that in humanity andgood feeling he was superior to the common run of men.It may be said there exists no limit to the blindness of interestand selfish habit. I may mention one very trifling anecdote,which at the time struck me more forcibly than anystory of cruelty. I was crossing a ferry with a negro, whowas uncommonly stupid. In endeavouring to make himunderstand, I talked loud, and made signs, in doing which Ipassed my hand near his face. He, I suppose, thought I wasin a passion, and was going to strike him; for instantly,with a frightened look and half-shut eyes, he dropped hishands. I shall never forget my feelings of surprise, disgust,and shame, at seeing a great powerful man afraid even toward off a blow, directed, as he thought, at his face. Thisman had been trained to a degradation lower than theslavery of the most helpless animal.

April 18th. -- In returning we spent two days at Socego,and I employed them in collecting insects in the forest. Thegreater number of trees, although so lofty, are not morethan three or four feet in circumference. There are, ofcourse, a few of much greater dimensions. Senhor Manuelwas then making a canoe 70 feet in length from a solid trunk,which had originally been 110 feet long, and of great thickness.The contrast of palm trees, growing amidst the commonbranching kinds, never fails to give the scene an intertropicalcharacter. Here the woods were ornamented by theCabbage Palm -- one of the most beautiful of its family. Witha stem so narrow that it might be clasped with the twohands, it waves its elegant head at the height of forty orfifty feet above the ground. The woody creepers, themselvescovered by other creepers, were of great thickness: somewhich I measured were two feet in circumference. Many ofthe older trees presented a very curious appearance fromthe tresses of a liana hanging from their boughs, and resemblingbundles of hay. If the eye was turned from the worldof foliage above, to the ground beneath, it was attracted bythe extreme elegance of the leaves of the ferns and mimosae.The latter, in some parts, covered the surface with a brushwoodonly a few inches high. In walking across these thickbeds of mimosae, a broad track was marked by the changeof shade, produced by the drooping of their sensitive petioles.It is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration inthese grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequateidea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, anddevotion, which fill and elevate the mind.

April 19th.--Leaving Socego, during the two first days,we retraced our steps. It was very wearisome work, as theroad generally ran across a glaring hot sandy plain, notfar from the coast. I noticed that each time the horse putits foot on the fine siliceous sand, a gentle chirping noisewas produced. On the third day we took a different line,and passed through the gay little village of Madre de Deos.This is one of the principal lines of road in Brazil; yet itwas in so bad a state that no wheeled vehicle, excepting theclumsy bullock-wagon, could pass along. In our whole journeywe did not cross a single bridge built of stone; andthose made of logs of wood were frequently so much out ofrepair, that it was necessary to go on one side to avoid them.All distances are inaccurately known. The road is oftenmarked by crosses, in the place of milestones, to signifywhere human blood has been spilled. On the evening of the23rd we arrived at Rio, having finished our pleasant littleexcursion.

During the remainder of my stay at Rio, I resided in acottage at Botofogo Bay. It was impossible to wish foranything more delightful than thus to spend some weeksin so magnificent a country. In England any person fondof natural history enjoys in his walks a great advantage, byalways having something to attract his attention; but inthese fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions areso numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk at all.

The few observations which I was enabled to make werealmost exclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. Theexistence of a division of the genus Planaria, which inhabitsthe dry land, interested me much. These animals are of sosimple a structure, that Cuvier has arranged them with theintestinal worms, though never found within the bodies ofother animals. Numerous species inhabit both salt and freshwater; but those to which I allude were found, even in thedrier parts of the forest, beneath logs of rotten wood, onwhich I believe they feed. In general form they resemblelittle slugs, but are very much narrower in proportion, andseveral of the species are beautifully coloured withlongitudinal stripes. Their structure is very simple: near themiddle of the under or crawling surface there are two smalltransverse slits, from the anterior one of which a funnel-shaped and highly irritable mouth can be protruded. Forsome time after the rest of the animal was completely deadfrom the effects of salt water or any other cause, this organstill retained its vitality.

I found no less than twelve different species of terrestrialPlanariae in different parts of the southern hemisphere.

I first visited the forest in which these Planariae werefound, in company with an old Portuguese priest who tookme out to hunt with him. The sport consisted in turninginto the cover a few dogs, and then patiently waiting to fireat any animal which might appear. We were accompaniedby the son of a neighbouring farmer -- a good specimen ofa wild Brazilian youth. He was dressed in a tattered oldshirt and trousers, and had his head uncovered: he carriedan old-fashioned gun and a large knife. The habit of carryingthe knife is universal; and in traversing a thick woodit is almost necessary, on account of the creeping plants.The frequent occurrence of murder may be partly attributedto this habit. The Brazilians are so dexterous with theknife, that they can throw it to some distance with precision,and with sufficient force to cause a fatal wound. I have seena number of little boys practising this art as a game of playand from their skill in hitting an upright stick, they promisedwell for more earnest attempts. My companion, the daybefore, had shot two large bearded monkeys. These animalshave prehensile tails, the extremity of which, even afterdeath, can support the whole weight of the body. One ofthem thus remained fast to a branch, and it was necessaryto cut down a large tree to procure it. This was soon effected,and down came tree and monkey with an awful crash. Ourday's sport, besides the monkey, was confined to sundry smallgreen parrots and a few toucans. I profited, however, by myacquaintance with the Portuguese padre, for on anotheroccasion he gave me a fine specimen of the Yagouaroundicat.

Every one has heard of the beauty of the scenery nearBotofogo. The house in which I lived was seated closebeneath the well-known mountain of the Corcovado. It hasbeen remarked, with much truth, that abruptly conical hillsare characteristic of the formation which Humboldt designatesas gneiss-granite. Nothing can be more striking thanthe effect of these huge rounded masses of naked rock risingout of the most luxuriant vegetation.

I was often interested by watching the clouds, which,rolling in from seaward, formed a bank just beneath thehighest point of the Corcovado. This mountain, like mostothers, when thus partly veiled, appeared to rise to a farprouder elevation than its real height of 2300 feet. Mr.Daniell has observed, in his meteorological essays, that acloud sometimes appears fixed on a mountain summit, whilethe wind continues to blow over it. The same phenomenonhere presented a slightly different appearance. In this casethe cloud was clearly seen to curl over, and rapidly passby the summit, and yet was neither diminished nor increasedin size. The sun was setting, and a gentle southerly breeze,striking against the southern side of the rock, mingled itscurrent with the colder air above; and the vapour was thuscondensed; but as the light wreaths of cloud passed overthe ridge, and came within the influence of the warmeratmosphere of the northern sloping bank, they were immediatelyre-dissolved.

The climate, during the months of May and June, or thebeginning of winter, was delightful. The mean temperature,from observations taken at nine o'clock, both morningand evening, was only 72 degs. It often rained heavily, butthe drying southerly winds soon again rendered the walkspleasant. One morning, in the course of six hours, 1.6 inchesof rain fell. As this storm passed over the forests whichsurround the Corcovado, the sound produced by the dropspattering on the countless multitude of leaves was veryremarkable, it could be heard at the distance of a quarter ofa mile, and was like the rushing of a great body of water.After the hotter days, it was delicious to sit quietly in thegarden and watch the evening pass into night. Nature, inthese climes, chooses her vocalists from more humble performersthan in Europe. A small frog, of the genus Hyla,sits on a blade of grass about an inch above the surface ofthe water, and sends forth a pleasing chirp: when severalare together they sing in harmony on different notes. I hadsome difficulty in catching a specimen of this frog. Thegenus Hyla has its toes terminated by small suckers; and Ifound this animal could crawl up a pane of glass, whenplaced absolutely perpendicular. Various cicidae and crickets,at the same time, keep up a ceaseless shrill cry, but which,softened by the distance, is not unpleasant. Every eveningafter dark this great concert commenced; and often have Isat listening to it, until my attention has been drawn awayby some curious passing insect.

At these times the fireflies are seen flitting about fromhedge to hedge. On a dark night the light can be seen atabout two hundred paces distant. It is remarkable that inall the different kinds of glowworms, shining elaters, andvarious marine animals (such as the crustacea, medusae,nereidae, a coralline of the genus Clytia, and Pyrosma),which I have observed, the light has been of a well-markedgreen colour. All the fireflies, which I caught here, belongedto the Lampyridae (in which family the English glowwormis included), and the greater number of specimens were ofLampyris occidentalis.

When we were at Bahia, an elater or beetle (Pyrophorusluminosus, Illig.) seemed the most common luminous insect.The light in this case was also rendered more brilliant byirritation. I amused myself one day by observing the springingpowers of this insect, which have not, as it appears tome, been properly described.

On several occasions I enjoyed some short but most pleasantexcursions in the neighbouring country. One day I wentto the Botanic Garden, where many plants, well known fortheir great utility, might be seen growing. The leaves of thecamphor, pepper, cinnamon, and clove trees were delightfullyaromatic; and the bread-fruit, the jaca, and the mango,vied with each other in the magnificence of their foliage.The landscape in the neighbourhood of Bahia almost takesits character from the two latter trees. Before seeing them,I had no idea that any trees could cast so black a shade onthe ground. Both of them bear to the evergreen vegetationof these climates the same kind of relation which laurelsand hollies in England do to the lighter green of the deciduoustrees. It may be observed, that the houses within thetropics are surrounded by the most beautiful forms ofvegetation, because many of them are at the same time mostuseful to man. Who can doubt that these qualities are unitedin the banana, the cocoa-nut, the many kinds of palm, theorange, and the bread-fruit tree?

During this day I was particularly struck with a remarkof Humboldt's, who often alludes to "the thin vapour which,without changing the transparency of the air, renders itstints more harmonious, and softens its effects." This is anappearance which I have never observed in the temperatezones. The atmosphere, seen through a short space of halfor three-quarters of a mile, was perfectly lucid, but at agreater distance all colours were blended into a most beautifulhaze, of a pale French grey, mingled with a little blue.The condition of the atmosphere between the morning andabout noon, when the effect was most evident, had undergonelittle change, excepting in its dryness. In the interval,the difference between the dew point and temperature hadincreased from 7.5 to 17 degs.

On another occasion I started early and walked to theGavia, or topsail mountain. The air was delightfully cooland fragrant; and the drops of dew still glittered on theleaves of the large liliaceous plants, which shaded thestreamlets of clear water. Sitting down on a block of granite,it was delightful to watch the various insects and birds asthey flew past. The humming-bird seems particularly fond ofsuch shady retired spots. Whenever I saw these little creaturesbuzzing round a flower, with their wings vibrating sorapidly as to be scarcely visible, I was reminded of thesphinx moths: their movements and habits are indeed inmany respects very similar.

Following a pathway, I entered a noble forest, and froma height of five or six hundred feet, one of those splendidviews was presented, which are so common on every sideof Rio. At this elevation the landscape attains its mostbrilliant tint; and every form, every shade, so completelysurpasses in magnificence all that the European has everbeheld in his own country, that he knows not how to expresshis feelings. The general effect frequently recalledto my mind the gayest scenery of the Opera-house or thegreat theatres. I never returned from these excursionsempty-handed. This day I found a specimen of a curiousfungus, called Hymenophallus. Most people know the EnglishPhallus, which in autumn taints the air with its odioussmell: this, however, as the entomologist is aware, is, tosome of our beetles a delightful fragrance. So was it here;for a Strongylus, attracted by the odour, alighted on thefungus as I carried it in my hand. We here see in two distantcountries a similar relation between plants and insects of thesame families, though the species of both are different. Whenman is the agent in introducing into a country a new species,this relation is often broken: as one instance of this I maymention, that the leaves of the cabbages and lettuces, whichin England afford food to such a multitude of slugs andcaterpillars, in the gardens near Rio are untouched.

During our stay at Brazil I made a large collection ofinsects. A few general observations on the comparativeimportance of the different orders may be interesting to theEnglish entomologist. The large and brilliantly colouredLepidoptera bespeak the zone they inhabit, far more plainlythan any other race of animals. I allude only to thebutterflies; for the moths, contrary to what might have beenexpected from the rankness of the vegetation, certainlyappeared in much fewer numbers than in our own temperateregions. I was much surprised at the habits of Papilioferonia. This butterfly is not uncommon, and generallyfrequents the orange-groves. Although a high flier, yetit very frequently alights on the trunks of trees. On theseoccasions its head is invariably placed downwards; and itswings are expanded in a horizontal plane, instead of beingfolded vertically, as is commonly the case. This is the onlybutterfly which I have ever seen, that uses its legs for running.Not being aware of this fact, the insect, more than once, as Icautiously approached with my forceps, shuffled on one sidejust as the instrument was on the point of closing, and thusescaped. But a far more singular fact is the power whichthis species possesses of making a noise.

I was disappointed in the general aspect of the Coleoptera.The number of minute and obscurely coloured beetlesis exceedingly great.

A small dark-coloured ant sometimes migrates in countlessnumbers. One day, at Bahia, my attention was drawnby observing many spiders, cockroaches, and other insects,and some lizards, rushing in the greatest agitation acrossa bare piece of ground. A little way behind, every stalk andleaf was blackened by a small ant. The swarm havingcrossed the bare space, divided itself, and descended an oldwall. By this means many insects were fairly enclosed; andthe efforts which the poor little creatures made to extricatethemselves from such a death were wonderful. When theants came to the road they changed their course, and innarrow files reascended the wall. Having placed a smallstone so as to intercept one of the lines, the whole bodyattacked it, and then immediately retired. Shortly afterwardsanother body came to the charge, and again having failedto make any impression, this line of march was entirelygiven up. By going an inch round, the file might haveavoided the stone, and this doubtless would have happened,if it had been originally there: but having been attacked, thelion-hearted little warriors scorned the idea of yielding.

Certain wasp-like insects, which construct in the cornersof the verandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerousin the neighbourhood of Rio. These cells they stuff fullof half-dead spiders and caterpillars, which they seemwonderfully to know how to sting to that degree as to leavethem paralysed but alive, until their eggs are hatched; andthe larvae feed on the horrid mass of powerless, half-killedvictims -- a sight which has been described by an enthusiasticnaturalist

The number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, ishere compared with England very much larger; perhapsmore so than with any other division of the articulate animals.The variety of species among the jumping spidersappears almost infinite. The genus, or rather family, ofEpeira, is here characterized by many singular forms; somespecies have pointed coriaceous shells, others enlarged andspiny tibiae. Every path in the forest is barricaded with thestrong yellow web of a species, belonging to the same divisionwith the Epeira clavipes of Fabricius, which was formerlysaid by Sloane to make, in the West Indies, webs sostrong as to catch birds. A small and pretty kind of spider,with very long fore-legs, and which appears to belong to anundescribed genus, lives as a parasite on almost every oneof these webs. I suppose it is too insignificant to be noticedby the great Epeira, and is therefore allowed to prey on theminute insects, which, adhering to the lines, would otherwisebe wasted. When frightened, this little spider eitherfeigns death by extending its front legs, or suddenly dropsfrom the web. A large Epeira of the same division withEpeira tuberculata and conica is extremely common, especiallyin dry situations. Its web, which is generally placedamong the great leaves of the common agave, is sometimesstrengthened near the centre by a pair or even four zigzagribbons, which connect two adjoining rays. When any largeinsect, as a grasshopper or wasp, is caught, the spider, bya dexterous movement, makes it revolve very rapidly, and atthe same time emitting a band of threads from its spinners,soon envelops its prey in a case like the cocoon of a silkworm.The spider now examines the powerless victim, andgives the fatal bite on the hinder part of its thorax; thenretreating, patiently waits till the poison has taken effect.The virulence of this poison may be judged of from the factthat in half a minute I opened the mesh, and found a largewasp quite lifeless. This Epeira always stands with its headdownwards near the centre of the web. When disturbed, itacts differently according to circumstances: if there is athicket below, it suddenly falls down; and I have distinctlyseen the thread from the spinners lengthened by the animalwhile yet stationary, as preparatory to its fall. If the groundis clear beneath, the Epeira seldom falls, but moves quicklythrough a central passage from one to the other side. Whenstill further disturbed, it practises a most curious manoeuvre:standing in the middle, it violently jerks the web, which itattached to elastic twigs, till at last the whole acquires sucha rapid vibratory movement, that even the outline of thespider's body becomes indistinct.

It is well known that most of the British spiders, whena large insect is caught in their webs, endeavour to cut thelines and liberate their prey, to save their nets from beingentirely spoiled. I once, however, saw in a hot-house inShropshire a large female wasp caught in the irregular webof a quite small spider; and this spider, instead of cuttingthe web, most perseveringly continued to entangle the body,and especially the wings, of its prey. The wasp at first aimedin vain repeated thrusts with its sting at its little antagonist.Pitying the wasp, after allowing it to struggle for more thanan hour, I killed it and put it back into the web. The spidersoon returned; and an hour afterwards I was much surprised tofind it with its jaws buried in the orifice, through which thesting is protruded by the living wasp. I drove the spider awaytwo or three times, but for the next twenty-four hours Ialways found it again sucking at the same place. The spiderbecame much distended by the juices of its prey, which wasmany times larger than itself.

I may here just mention, that I found, near St. Fe Bajada,many large black spiders, with ruby-coloured marks on theirbacks, having gregarious habits. The webs were placedvertically, as is invariably the case with the genus Epeira:they were separated from each other by a space of abouttwo feet, but were all attached to certain common lines,which were of great length, and extended to all parts ofthe community. In this manner the tops of some large busheswere encompassed by the united nets. Azara

In a lofty valley of the Cordillera, near Mendoza, I foundanother spider with a singularly-formed web. Strong linesradiated in a vertical plane from a common centre, where theinsect had its station; but only two of the rays were connectedby a symmetrical mesh-work; so that the net, instead of being,as is generally the case, circular, consisted of a wedge-shapedsegment. All the webs were similarly constructed.