第6章

butitisnotpossibletogiveanadequateideaofthehigherfeelingsofwonder，astonishment，anddevotion，whichfillandelevatethemind。

April19th——LeavingSocego，duringthetwofirstdays，weretracedoursteps。Itwasverywearisomework，astheroadgenerallyranacrossaglaringhotsandyplain，notfarfromthecoast。Inoticedthateachtimethehorseputitsfootonthefinesiliceoussand，agentlechirpingnoisewasproduced。Onthethirddaywetookadifferentline，andpassedthroughthegaylittlevillageofMadredeDeos。ThisisoneoftheprincipallinesofroadinBrazil；yetitwasinsobadastatethatnowheeledvehicle，exceptingtheclumsybullock-wagon，couldpassalong。Inourwholejourneywedidnotcrossasinglebridgebuiltofstone；andthosemadeoflogsofwoodwerefrequentlysomuchoutofrepair，thatitwasnecessarytogoononesidetoavoidthem。Alldistancesareinaccuratelyknown。Theroadisoftenmarkedbycrosses，intheplaceofmilestones，tosignifywherehumanbloodhasbeenspilled。Ontheeveningofthe23rdwearrivedatRio，havingfinishedourpleasantlittleexcursion。

DuringtheremainderofmystayatRio，IresidedinacottageatBotofogoBay。Itwasimpossibletowishforanythingmoredelightfulthanthustospendsomeweeksinsomagnificentacountry。InEnglandanypersonfondofnaturalhistoryenjoysinhiswalksagreatadvantage，byalwayshavingsomethingtoattracthisattention；butinthesefertileclimates，teemingwithlife，theattractionsaresonumerous，thatheisscarcelyabletowalkatall。

ThefewobservationswhichIwasenabledtomakewerealmostexclusivelyconfinedtotheinvertebrateanimals。TheexistenceofadivisionofthegenusPlanaria，whichinhabitsthedryland，interestedmemuch。Theseanimalsareofsosimpleastructure，thatCuvierhasarrangedthemwiththeintestinalworms，thoughneverfoundwithinthebodiesofotheranimals。

Numerousspeciesinhabitbothsaltandfreshwater；butthosetowhichIalludewerefound，eveninthedrierpartsoftheforest，beneathlogsofrottenwood，onwhichIbelievetheyfeed。Ingeneralformtheyresemblelittleslugs，butareverymuchnarrowerinproportion，andseveralofthespeciesarebeautifullycolouredwithlongitudinalstripes。Theirstructureisverysimple：nearthemiddleoftheunderorcrawlingsurfacetherearetwosmalltransverseslits，fromtheanterioroneofwhichafunnel-

shapedandhighlyirritablemouthcanbeprotruded。Forsometimeaftertherestoftheanimalwascompletelydeadfromtheeffectsofsaltwateroranyothercause，thisorganstillretaineditsvitality。

IfoundnolessthantwelvedifferentspeciesofterrestrialPlanariaeindifferentpartsofthesouthernhemisphere。[3]SomespecimenswhichIobtainedatVanDieman’sLand，Ikeptalivefornearlytwomonths，feedingthemonrottenwood。Havingcutoneofthemtransverselyintotwonearlyequalparts，inthecourseofafortnightbothhadtheshapeofperfectanimals。Ihad，however，sodividedthebody，thatoneofthehalvescontainedboththeinferiororifices，andtheother，inconsequence，none。Inthecourseoftwenty-fivedaysfromtheoperation，themoreperfecthalfcouldnothavebeendistinguishedfromanyotherspecimen。Theotherhadincreasedmuchinsize；andtowardsitsposteriorend，aclearspacewasformedintheparenchymatousmass，inwhicharudimentarycup-shapedmouthcouldclearlybedistinguished；ontheundersurface，however，nocorrespondingslitwasyetopen。Iftheincreasedheatoftheweather，asweapproachedtheequator，hadnotdestroyedalltheindividuals，therecanbenodoubtthatthislaststepwouldhavecompleteditsstructure。

Althoughsowell-knownanexperiment，itwasinterestingtowatchthegradualproductionofeveryessentialorgan，outofthesimpleextremityofanotheranimal。ItisextremelydifficulttopreservethesePlanariae；assoonasthecessationoflifeallowstheordinarylawsofchangetoact，theirentirebodiesbecomesoftandfluid，witharapiditywhichIhaveneverseenequalled。

IfirstvisitedtheforestinwhichthesePlanariaewerefound，incompanywithanoldPortuguesepriestwhotookmeouttohuntwithhim。Thesportconsistedinturningintothecoverafewdogs，andthenpatientlywaitingtofireatanyanimalwhichmightappear。Wewereaccompaniedbythesonofaneighbouringfarmer——agoodspecimenofawildBrazilianyouth。

Hewasdressedinatatteredoldshirtandtrousers，andhadhisheaduncovered：

hecarriedanold-fashionedgunandalargeknife。Thehabitofcarryingtheknifeisuniversal；andintraversingathickwooditisalmostnecessary，onaccountofthecreepingplants。Thefrequentoccurrenceofmurdermaybepartlyattributedtothishabit。TheBraziliansaresodexterouswiththeknife，thattheycanthrowittosomedistancewithprecision，andwithsufficientforcetocauseafatalwound。Ihaveseenanumberoflittleboyspractisingthisartasagameofplayandfromtheirskillinhittinganuprightstick，theypromisedwellformoreearnestattempts。Mycompanion，thedaybefore，hadshottwolargebeardedmonkeys。Theseanimalshaveprehensiletails，theextremityofwhich，evenafterdeath，cansupportthewholeweightofthebody。Oneofthemthusremainedfasttoabranch，anditwasnecessarytocutdownalargetreetoprocureit。Thiswassooneffected，anddowncametreeandmonkeywithanawfulcrash。Ourday’ssport，besidesthemonkey，wasconfinedtosundrysmallgreenparrotsandafewtoucans。Iprofited，however，bymyacquaintancewiththePortuguesepadre，foronanotheroccasionhegavemeafinespecimenoftheYagouaroundicat。

EveryonehasheardofthebeautyofthescenerynearBotofogo。ThehouseinwhichIlivedwasseatedclosebeneaththewell-knownmountainoftheCorcovado。Ithasbeenremarked，withmuchtruth，thatabruptlyconicalhillsarecharacteristicoftheformationwhichHumboldtdesignatesasgneiss-granite。Nothingcanbemorestrikingthantheeffectofthesehugeroundedmassesofnakedrockrisingoutofthemostluxuriantvegetation。

Iwasofteninterestedbywatchingtheclouds，which，rollinginfromseaward，formedabankjustbeneaththehighestpointoftheCorcovado。

Thismountain，likemostothers，whenthuspartlyveiled，appearedtorisetoafarprouderelevationthanitsrealheightof2300feet。Mr。Daniellhasobserved，inhismeteorologicalessays，thatacloudsometimesappearsfixedonamountainsummit，whilethewindcontinuestoblowoverit。Thesamephenomenonherepresentedaslightlydifferentappearance。Inthiscasethecloudwasclearlyseentocurlover，andrapidlypassbythesummit，andyetwasneitherdiminishednorincreasedinsize。Thesunwassetting，andagentlesoutherlybreeze，strikingagainstthesouthernsideoftherock，mingleditscurrentwiththecolderairabove；andthevapourwasthuscondensed；butasthelightwreathsofcloudpassedovertheridge，andcamewithintheinfluenceofthewarmeratmosphereofthenorthernslopingbank，theywereimmediatelyre-dissolved。

Theclimate，duringthemonthsofMayandJune，orthebeginningofwinter，wasdelightful。Themeantemperature，fromobservationstakenatnineo’clock，bothmorningandevening，wasonly72degs。Itoftenrainedheavily，butthedryingsoutherlywindssoonagainrenderedthewalkspleasant。

Onemorning，inthecourseofsixhours，1。6inchesofrainfell。AsthisstormpassedovertheforestswhichsurroundtheCorcovado，thesoundproducedbythedropspatteringonthecountlessmultitudeofleaveswasveryremarkable，itcouldbeheardatthedistanceofaquarterofamile，andwasliketherushingofagreatbodyofwater。Afterthehotterdays，itwasdelicioustositquietlyinthegardenandwatchtheeveningpassintonight。Nature，intheseclimes，chooseshervocalistsfrommorehumbleperformersthaninEurope。Asmallfrog，ofthegenusHyla，sitsonabladeofgrassaboutaninchabovethesurfaceofthewater，andsendsforthapleasingchirp：

whenseveralaretogethertheysinginharmonyondifferentnotes。Ihadsomedifficultyincatchingaspecimenofthisfrog。ThegenusHylahasitstoesterminatedbysmallsuckers；andIfoundthisanimalcouldcrawlupapaneofglass，whenplacedabsolutelyperpendicular。Variouscicidaeandcrickets，atthesametime，keepupaceaselessshrillcry，butwhich，softenedbythedistance，isnotunpleasant。Everyeveningafterdarkthisgreatconcertcommenced；andoftenhaveIsatlisteningtoit，untilmyattentionhasbeendrawnawaybysomecuriouspassinginsect。

Atthesetimesthefirefliesareseenflittingaboutfromhedgetohedge。

Onadarknightthelightcanbeseenatabouttwohundredpacesdistant。

Itisremarkablethatinallthedifferentkindsofglowworms，shiningelaters，andvariousmarineanimals(suchasthecrustacea，medusae，nereidae，acorallineofthegenusClytia，andPyrosma)，whichIhaveobserved，thelighthasbeenofawell-markedgreencolour。Allthefireflies，whichIcaughthere，belongedtotheLampyridae(inwhichfamilytheEnglishglowwormisincluded)，andthegreaternumberofspecimenswereofLampyrisoccidentalis。[4]Ifoundthatthisinsectemittedthemostbrilliantflasheswhenirritated：intheintervals，theabdominalringswereobscured。Theflashwasalmostco-instantaneousinthetworings，butitwasjustperceptiblefirstintheanteriorone。Theshiningmatterwasfluidandveryadhesive：littlespots，wheretheskinhadbeentorn，continuedbrightwithaslightscintillation，whilsttheuninjuredpartswereobscured。Whentheinsectwasdecapitatedtheringsremaineduninterruptedlybright，butnotsobrilliantasbefore：localirritationwithaneedlealwaysincreasedthevividnessofthelight。Theringsinoneinstanceretainedtheirluminouspropertynearlytwenty-fourhoursafterthedeathoftheinsect。Fromthesefactsitwouldappearprobable，thattheanimalhasonlythepowerofconcealingorextinguishingthelightforshortintervals，andthatatothertimesthedisplayisinvoluntary。Onthemuddyandwetgravel-walksIfoundthelarvaeofthislampyrisingreatnumbers：theyresembledingeneralformthefemaleoftheEnglishglowworm。Theselarvaepossessedbutfeebleluminouspowers；verydifferentlyfromtheirparents，ontheslightesttouchtheyfeigneddeathandceasedtoshine；nordidirritationexciteanyfreshdisplay。Ikeptseveralofthemaliveforsometime：theirtailsareverysingularorgans，fortheyact，byawell-fittedcontrivance，assuckersororgansofattachment，andlikewiseasreservoirsforsaliva，orsomesuchfluid。Irepeatedlyfedthemonrawmeat；andIinvariablyobserved，thateverynowandthentheextremityofthetailwasappliedtothemouth，andadropoffluidexudedonthemeat，whichwasthenintheactofbeingconsumed。Thetail，notwithstandingsomuchpractice，doesnotseemtobeabletofinditswaytothemouth；atleasttheneckwasalwaystouchedfirst，andapparentlyasaguide。

WhenwewereatBahia，anelaterorbeetle(Pyrophorusluminosus，Illig。)

seemedthemostcommonluminousinsect。Thelightinthiscasewasalsorenderedmorebrilliantbyirritation。Iamusedmyselfonedaybyobservingthespringingpowersofthisinsect，whichhavenot，asitappearstome，beenproperlydescribed。[5]Theelater，whenplacedonitsbackandpreparingtospring，moveditsheadandthoraxbackwards，sothatthepectoralspinewasdrawnout，andrestedontheedgeofitssheath。Thesamebackwardmovementbeingcontinued，thespine，bythefullactionofthemuscles，wasbentlikeaspring；andtheinsectatthismomentrestedontheextremityofitsheadandwing-cases。Theeffortbeingsuddenlyrelaxed，theheadandthoraxflewup，andinconsequence，thebaseofthewing-casesstruckthesupportingsurfacewithsuchforce，thattheinsectbythereactionwasjerkedupwardstotheheightofoneortwoinches。

Theprojectingpointsofthethorax，andthesheathofthespine，servedtosteadythewholebodyduringthespring。InthedescriptionswhichI