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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Plate I

THE FRANCISCAN MONASTERY, OLINDA

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1

SEASHORE NEAR TAMANDARE, PERNAMBUCO

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

The Record of a Year s Observation of her Flora
her Fauna^ and her People

BY

KONRAD GUENTHER

Professor in the University of Freiburg
TRANSLATED BY

BERNARD MIALL

\

With Illustrations

BOSTON AND NEW YORK

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

The German origr/ial. "Das AntUtz Brasiliens,"
first published by R. Voigtlanders Verlag, Leipzig, in ig2y

FIRST PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH IN 1931

PRINTED IN THE U.S. A.

TO MY KINDLY HOSTS

THE VERY REVEREND FATHERS SUPERIOR OF THE
BENEDICTINE MONASTERIES

D. PETRUS ROESER

ABBOT IN OLINDA

D. PETRUS EGGERATH D. MICHAEL KRUSE

ARCH-ABBOT IN RIO ABBOT IN SAO PAULO

IN HEARTFELT GRATITUDE
AND FRIENDSHIP

UuRiNG the year of my sojourn in Brazil, and my subsequent visit of some
months to the Argentine, and on the voyage out, I met with so much kindness
and hospitaUty that I can name only a few of my good friends, though they may
rest assured that none of them are forgotten.

My first relations with Brazil were due to Fraulein Elsa Schwab, of Parahyba,
and Professor de Barros, whose friendly hospitality I subsequently enjoyed at his
home in Parahyba. To the Secretary of State of Pernambuco, Dr. Samuel Hard-
man, who invited me to Brazil, and in whom I always found sympathy for and
understanding of my work, I express my thanks elsewhere.

For the greater part of the time I enjoyed the hospitality of the Benedictine
monasteries, to whose Abbots this book is therefore dedicated; but I have grateful
memories also of the Franciscans in Olinda, Bahia, Rio, Petropolis and Sao Paulo,
and of the Benedictine nuns in Misericordia and Caruarii. For weeks I lived in
the home of my good friend Dr. P. A. Nusse and his kindly Portuguese wife ;
in Sao Paulo — during the difficult days of the Revolution — I enjoyed the hospi-
tality of Herr Alfred and Frau Alice Weissflog and my dear "Lion" ; and in
Buenos Aires the time spent with my friend and colleague in the protection of
natural beauties. Professor Hugo Salomon, and his wife and daughter, made a
happy conclusion to a delightful visit. I must also express my gratitude to my
kind friend, Dr. Virginia Rodrigues, and her children, in Olinda, and toSenhor and
Senhora A. O. Coimbra, Herr and Frau Bokmann, and Herr and Frau A. Kronke,
who literally made me feel at home. In Rio, Herr Kurl and Frau Elizabeth Runge
and her daughter Gisela were most kind to me, and in Sao Paulo Herr Richers.
I must thank the German Minister, Dr. Plehn, and the German Consuls in Recife,
Rio, Sao Paulo, and Santos, for their kindly assistance, and the German clubs for
their friendly hospitality. Among the scientists and scholars of Brazil, I must
thank Dr. Lutz, Dr. Costa Lima and Father Borgmeier (O.F.M.) in Rio, Herrn
Liiderwald, Hoehne and Decher in Sao Paulo, and Professor Lehmann Nitsche in
La Plata for many interesting hours. And I do not forget the hours spent with
Herr Arp, Dr. Regendanz, Dr. ChristofTel, and above all, my friend Dr. E. Bethke.

PREFACE

JL HE German title of this book is Das Antlitz Brasiliens — "The Face
of Brazil." The "face" of the country is its landscape, its flora, its
fauna: all that we include by the word "Nature." These things
constitute its most eloquent and impressive speech, and to those who
can hear it — and to them alone — the country reveals its greatest
beauty, and the intimate secrets of its being.

He who wishes to derive both enjoyment and profit from a voyage
to Brazil must above all become intimate with the natural life of
the country. After all, what is it that he most of all wants to know?
He wants, I think, to know the name of those great scarlet flowers ;
and what sort of palms those are that overlook the housetops ; and
how one can best enjoy a sight of monkeys, parrots and humming-
birds. But as yet he has no conception of the wonders which are
revealed by an insight into the lives of the orchids and the insects !
The best Brazilian "Baedeker" will therefore be a guide to the flora
and fauna of Brazil. And the task which the author has proposed
to himself in the writing of this book is to produce such a guide.

But the glittering virgin forests, the sun-steeped wildernesses, the
sea-beaches overshadowed by rustling palm-trees, invariably offered
me, when I went forth each day with renewed expectation, so much
that was new and lovely and fascinating, that I very soon formed
the resolve to share what I had felt and seen with those for whom a
voyage to Brazil is impracticable. My own visit to that country
followed upon an invitation from the Government of the State of
Pernambuco ; my task was to combat the insects which were injuring
the plantations. My work led me first into the interior of the north-
eastern States, and later southwards, to Sao Paulo and Jahu. It not
only gave me an insight into all the branches of Brazilian agriculture
and colonization ; it led also to friendly intercourse with the Brazil-
ians, so that I was able to complete my description of the country
and its civilization by some account of the character and the customs
of its human inhabitants.

This book, therefore, is based on my own personal experiences,
just as the illustrations in the text are sketches from my own pen,
while the photographs are enlargements from my own negatives (I
used a stereoscopic camera, the plates being 4-5 by 10-7 cm.).
But it has not been my aim to give a description of my travels. I
wish rather that my own experiences might enable me to transport

9

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

the reader bodily into the scenes which I have described, and enable
him to make such discoveries as I made myself. Even the expert,
I hope, may find something new in these pages. And to this end I
have kept all personalities in the background, in order that Nature
may speak with her own mighty voice. In each chapter the image
of a landscape is revealed in the harmonious co-operation of its flora
and fauna, with all its characteristic colours and voices and perfumes.
Sixteen years ago I was able, in the same way, to study the Indian
island of Ceylon, so that comparisons between the two tropical
countries inevitably suggested themselves ; I was able to define their
characteristic features; and thus my book deals not merely with
the flora and fauna of Brazil, but also, in a certain degree, with
tropical Nature in general ; so that I hope it may be equally welcome
to the ordinary reader and to the scientist. And if at times the image
of my German homeland has been reflected in the mirror of the
tropics, this juxtaposition of images will but more sharply define the
individuality of either landscape.

Towards the end of my sojourn in the country I lectured in
Portuguese before the Agricultural Society and the Faculty of
Philosophy in Sao Paulo ; and I also introduced my German fellow-
countryfolk in Recife, Rio, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, by courses
of lectures and instructional excursions, to the flora and fauna of
Brazil. Many who attended these lectures and excursions have
assured me that they have now, for the first time, learned to love
the new home which has revealed to them so many lovely and
fascinating things, of whose existence, in such abundance, and so
close at hand, they had never had any suspicion. In so far as this
book proceeds a little further on the lines thus indicated, it has yet
a third purpose: to be a book on Brazil for the Brazilians. Nature
is here considered not by the critical eye of an outsider, but by a
heart full of love for the sunny land ; and the plants and animals
are given the native names which the Indians have so aptly bestowed
on them. The scientific denominations will be found in the Index,
which is almost a handbook in itself, and which, I hope, will make
it easier for subsequent explorers and scientists to find their way
about, since in addition to giving the derivation and affiliation and
peculiar features of plants and animals, it contains references to the
principal authorities for those who desire to study the various species
more particularly.

May the readers of my book learn to see the face of Brazil as the
countenance of a friend ! And when they have learned to love it,

lO

PREFACE

may they also do what lies within their power to prevent its dis-
figurement, and to ensure that the splendid and individual flora and
fauna of the land shall be preserved. In order to set a good example,
I refrained, all the time I was in Brazil, as I refrained while I was
in Ceylon, from ever firing a shot. And I can here assure the reader
that the best way of understanding a whole country — as it is the
best way of understanding an individual creature — is to love it.

KONRAD GUENTHER

II

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

PAGE

PREFACE 9

LIST OF PLATES 15

LIST OF FIGURES I?

I. THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL 21

II. THE OCEAN SHORE 3^

III. THE SCAVENGERS OF THE SHORE, AND THE MANGROVE WOODS 53

IV. THE VIRGIN FOREST 63
V. THE LIANAS 88

VI. EPIPHYTES AND PARASITES I CO

VII. IN THE DESERT II3

VIII. TROPICAL GARDENS I3I

IX. PLANTATIONS 145

X. THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL 1 58

XI. NATURE AS AN ORGANISM 1 83

XII. THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS 206

XIII. THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL 23O

XIV. THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES 247
XV. CAREFUL MOTHERS 266

XVI. PIONEERS OF COMMUNAL LIFE : WASPS AND BEES 289

XVII. THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS 303

XVIII. THE TERMITES 325

XIX. SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS 337

XX. THE BRAZILIANS 356

INDEX WITH SCIENTIFIC DENOMINATIONS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS,

THEIR DERIVATION AND AFFILIATIONS, AND OTHER PARTICULARS 373

13

LIST OF PLATES

PLATE

I. THE FRANCISCAN MONASTERY, OLiNDA Frontispiece

SEASHORE NEAR TAMANDAR^, PERNAMBUCO ,,

TO FACE PAGE

II. CLOISTERS OF THE BENEDICTINE MONASTERY IN OLINDA 40

JANGADA (catamaran) ON OLINDA BEACH 40

iii. two of the islands of recife — government palace 56

house in caxanga, near recife 56

iv. bahia, from the immigrant steamer gelria 64

view from victoria, espirito santo 64

v. the entrance to rio bay, from the sugarloaf 72

the atlantic coast to the north of rio de janeiro 72

vi. view from the sugarloaf: looking southwards over rio 88

the sugarloaf 88

vii. the gave a, from the shore io4

the gave a, from the tijuca forest io4

viii. olinda 120

coconut-palms in olinda i 20

ix. cashew-wood, pernambuco 1 28

oil-palms, olinda i28

macaiba-palms 1 28

x. mangrove forest near rio 1 36

urubu vultures i 36

swamp-crab 136

xi. the edge of the forest, alto da serra i44

edge of barren lands, pernambuco i44

forest south of rio i44

xii. seringal. tree-tops in the forest 160

seringal. massaranduba tree 160

xiii. virgin forest, alto da serra. in the centre, a palmito 162

on the rio paquequer, near therezopolis 1 62

xiv. virgin forest, ceylon 1 76

virgin forest. kubany, the bohmerwald 1 76

xv. virgin forest, seringal 1 78

burity-palm in swamp-forest 1 78

llanas in virgin forest, pernambuco 1 78

xvi. tree-ferns in forest near nova friburgo (2,6oo feet above

sea-level) 184

TREE-FERNS IN CEYLON (aT 6,500 FEET) FOR COMPARISON 184

15

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

PLATE TO FACE PAGE

XVII. PETROPOLIS. IN THE FOREGROUND, GERMAN SCHOOL-CHILDREN 1 92

ARAUCARLA.S IN FRONT OF THE YPIRANGA MUSEUM, SAO PAULO 1 92

XVIII. BROMELIAS IN PERNAMBUCO 200

ARISTOLOCHIA GIGANTEA IN THE BOTANICAL GARDENS OF PER-

ADENIYA, CEYLON 200
XrX. TREE-STRANGLING FIG, PARAHYBA, STILL GROWING ON THE SUP-
PORTING TREE 208
OLD TREE-STRANGLING FIG, MATURE, AT MONTE, OLINDA 2o8
XX. IN THE DESERT OF PARAHYBA 2l6
PILLAR-CACTUS AND FIG-CACTUS 2l6
XXI. A FERREIRO'S NEST 232
VULTURE-NETTLE-TREE 232
PILLAR-CACTUS 232
OITICICA 232
XXII. MANGO-TREE, SHOWING FRUIT, AND MACAIBA-PALMS 256
BREADFRUIT-TREE 256
JACA-TREE 256

XXIII. CASTOR-OIL PLANT AT THE EDGE OF THE FOREST 272
SUGAR-CANE, TAPERA, PERNAMBUCO 272

XXIV. VIEW OF THE "pARROT's BEAK," TIJUCA MOUNTAINS 288
BUILDING A negro's HOUSE 288
TRAVELLING BY TROLLEY 288

XXV. COTTON-FIELD, SOLIDADE, PARAHYBA 296

COFFEE PLANTATIONS IN THE HILLS NEAR JAHU 296

EUCALYPTUS FOREST, CAYEIRAS 296

XXVI. LA PLATA MUSEUM, ARGENTINA 298

PREHISTORIC GIANT ARMADILLO IN THE LA PLATA MUSEUM 298

XXVII. THE MORE PRIMITIVE MAMMALS OF BRAZIL 3^2

XXVIII. BIRDS OF BRAZIL 34°

xxnc. (i) MIMICRY 344

(11) INSECTS WHICH MIMIC LEAVES AND TWIGS, AND SOME OTHERS 344

XXX. termites' NEST ON THE LAND OF THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE,

TAPERA 346

SAGUIM MONKEY 346

DRAWING VIRUS FROM A RATTLESNAKE, BUTANTAN INSTITUTE 346

XXXI. BRAZILIAN SNAKES 352

XXXII. THE OLDEST HOUSE IN BRAZIL, PARAHYBA 3^^

A HOUSE IN RECIFE 3^^

16

LIST OF FIGURES

FIG, PAGE

1. TWO FRUITS OF THE CASHEW-TREE, ON LEAF 4 1

2. THE CARAVELLA (pHYSALIA). A JELLY-FISH (pELAGIA). A COFFER-FISH 45

3. A SECTION OF A LIANA STEM 9°

4. LEAF OF THE CLIMBING PALM, JACYTARA. YOUNG SHOOT OF THE "cAt's-

CLAW" CREEPER 93

5. SECTION OF STEM OF A BAUHINIA 95

6. BLADDER-TRAPS ON THE ROOTS OF THE BLADDERWORT I08

7. THE "greybeard," AN EPIPHYTIC BROMELIA IO9

8. AGAVE IN BLOOM I16

9. SPRIG OF COTTON-PLANT 1 52
ID. ITAWIRA, ON THE COAST OF ESPIRITO SANTO 161

11. PIRANHA 176

12. MANATEE OR PEIXE BOI 1 93

13. PASSION-FLOWER OR MARACUJA 23 1

14. A TROPICAL ORCHID 242

15. A FIG, IN SECTION, SHOWING THE INTERIOR OF THE URN, WITH THE GALLS

OF THE GALL-WASP. A SINGLE FLOWER WITH THREAD-LIKE PISTIL 244

16. THE YUCCA-MOTH 245

17. LEAVES GLUED TOGETHER BY A CAT-FROG AND CONTAINING THE EGGS 272

18. GOELDI FROG WITH A POCKET OF EGGS ON HER BACK 273

19. THE PURSE FROG 273

20. SALAMANDER-FISH 275

21. FLAT-HEADED CATFISH WITH EGGS ON BELLY 276

22. HERCULES BEETLE 278

23. ICHNEUMON ON CATERPILLAR 282

24. NEST OF THE PASTEBOARD- WASP. A NEST OF POLYBIA SCUTELLARIS 294

25. STINGLESS BRAZILIAN BEES 297

26. LEAF-CUTTING ANTS OR SAUVAS 303

27. THE SAUVAs' GUEST, SHOWING THE HAIRS WHICH EXUDE AN INTOXICATING

SAP 307

28. SAUVA qUEEN IN HER CLOSED BURROW 3IO

29. SOLDIER OF THE DRIVER ANT 312

30. MIMECITON, A BEETLE WHICH MIMICS AN ANT 318

31. ANT-GARDEN ON THE BRANCH OF A TREE 318

32. SECTION OF AN IMBAUBA-TREE, INHABITED BY ANTS 319

33. TUBULAR NEST OF THE BEARD AZTEC 32O

34. TERMITE SOLDIER 326

B 17

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

^IG. PAGE

35. SOLDIER AND WORKER OF EUTERMES RIPPERTII 327

36. SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF A NEST OF EUTERMES RIPPERTII 328

37. TERMITE qUEEN SURROUNDED BY WORKERS AND GUARDED BY A RING OF

SOLDIERS 329

38. A FLY, THE GUEST OF THE TERMITES 335

39. FEMALE SAND-FLEA OR JIGGER 35 1

40. HEAD OF HOOKWORM FROM HUMAN INTESTINE. THE LARVAL STATE 353

PRONUNCIATION OF BRAZILIAN NAMES

c before a, o, u =^ k; before e, i, y ^^ ss.

g = ss.

ch = sh.

g before a, o, u is hard ; before e, i,y, soft like the French j.

j = the French J.

h is mute. In Ih and nh = j.

s at the beginning of a word is sharp.

qu = usually k.

X usually = sh, but sometimes a soft s (Caxirra = Casirra).

Z — soft s.

~ written above a vowel indicates a nasal n. Sao = Ssaonj', a and o constituting
a diphthong.

ei = closed a, or French e. A final e usually becomes an impure i, and a final
0 = usually u. M and n are often nasal : Sem fim = ssen^ f hin^.

The accent ' indicates that the vowel is open, and usually emphasized.

In Brazil a more clear-cut and less eroded Portuguese is spoken than in Portugal.
The language of the Discoverers, which was nearer Spanish than is the language
of to-day, has survived in Brazil ; it is a language of great beauty, and very musical.

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL

HE sea that laves the palm-fringed shores of Pernambuco
gleams like an emerald. Never before had I seen a sea of such a
vivid green; and when, on entering the harbour of Recife, the
capital of the State of Pernambuco, and looking out over the far-
flung stone breakwater, where from time to time the foam of the
breakers spouted up in snowy clouds, I beheld this green radiance,
I could hardly at first beheve that this was the ocean over which I
had been voyaging.

To the north of Recife, greeting the approaching traveller from
afar, rises the hill of Olinda, green with gardens, rustling with palm-
trees, traversed by winding streets of white or brightly-coloured
houses, adorned with many churches, and crowned by a twin-
towered cathedral. Here, on a smaller hill, is the venerable square
white building of the Benedictine monastery of Olinda, surmounted
by the two towers of its chapel. For many months I was the guest of
the kindly fathers and their abbot, and so my sojourn in Olinda,
which brought me every day a fresh wealth of impressions and
experiences, showered upon me as from a tropical horn of plenty,
was further enriched by the peace of the quiet conventual life.

I fell asleep with the surging of the sea in my ears, and my first
impression, on waking, was of the green light thrown upon my bed
by a mirror which hung beside the window, wide open day and
night. And even when the year of my sojourn in Brazil was nearly
ended, the sight of the ocean at Pernambuco impressed me, day by
day, as something new and wonderful. For as the light that falls
upon it changes, so the sea at Pernambuco changes colour like a
diamond. Slowly a band of violet extends along the horizon, and
streaks of the same violet traverse the green surface, fading even as
they float across it, and suddenly there is here a flash of red, and
yonder a blaze of blue, and now all the colours of the rainbow are
spilt upon the sea, until it seems to be not water, but a vaporous
fabric of radiant ether.

21

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

It was difficult to turn from the incomparable picture framed in
my window, and to set about the work of the day. In the upper
cloisters I stood or sat by my breeding-cages ; the sun shone through
the lofty arches, and the fan-shaped crests of the palm-trees rose
above the silent courtyard. The little Brazilian hedge-sparrow, the
Carrixa, flew in, perched himself on one of the poles of the awning,
and broke into his cheerful, trilhng song. Then came breakfast in the
refectory; then "recreation", a pleasant time of wandering about
the cloister, a time of conversation, grave or gay, followed by the
work of the afternoon. But the best part of the day was when the
sun began to sink. Then I went into the garden, sat on my camp-
stool before the deep red funnels of the morning-glory, and watched
the humming-birds, which suddenly hung in the air before the
flowers as though suspended by invisible threads, while a faint hum
was emitted by their beating wings, and rays of light flashed from
their bronze-green plumage. With my field-glasses I followed the
movements of other birds, for new species were constantly making
their appearance ; I watched the insects awhile, and then, wandering
down the steep garden under the coconut-palms and genipa-trees, I
opened the door in the convent wall, and went down to the sea, the
palm-trees of the gardens on either hand rustling above my head
(Plate 8).

It was a joy to lie down on the sand and surrender my lightly-clad
body to the caresses of the trade-wind, to the clean, invigorating,
brine-scented breath of the boundless ocean. The tall shafts of the
coconut-palms beside me stood out in bold relief in the horizontal
light, while the green and yellow shadows of the great feathery leaves
flashed with glittering reflections.

Before me the sandy escarpment of the beach fell steeply, and
beyond it lay spread the ocean in the light of the setting sun.
The long, advancing rollers reared themselves, and broke, and fell,
spouting up, with a dull thunder, against the projecting walls. The
foaming crests flashed in the rosy light, lifting themselves bodily
from the blue-shadowed troughs of the swell, and in that tender
radiance there was something unearthly in their beauty. Far to the
south stood forth the islands of Recife, the stone houses glowing
with rosy light; a steamer was leaving the harbour, flying a long
pennon of following smoke.

The fishing-boats, now approaching, now receding, gave an
elegiac note to the brilliant scene. When they approached the shore,
and the sails fell, it looked as though their occupants were sitting on

22

THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL

a bench in the water. For the fishing-boats of North-eastern Brazil
are rafts or jangadas, of a primitive type adopted from the Indians.
Seven to nine logs of a particularly light wood, the pau de jangada,
are bound together to form the hull; there is a mast and sail, a
bench to sit on, a basket for the catch, and a rudder, and that is all.
I was often astonished to see how safely the jangada rides a rough
sea, but the light wood cannot sink; the waves, of course, break
foaming over boat and crew, but the men are used to this, and their
scanty clothing soon dries in the sun (Plate 2).

The hght of the ocean on the north-east coast of Brazil exerts a
magical spell. Men who have once felt this magic are always drawn
back to these latitudes, and the inhabitants of these north-eastern
States of Brazil are well known to be peculiarly faithful to their
home. This I can well understand. It is as though the clear radiance
of the air and the water were imbibed by the soul of man, filling
it with cheerful serenity. I at least found that in this country such
dismal moods as might arise (perhaps as a result of news from home,
for this was the time of the inflation) could not long endure. Assuredly
the flood of light that pours down upon Pernambuco is in some
degree responsible for the cheerful temper of its inhabitants, which
constantly impresses the foreigner.

It is not only the sea that shines and glitters; even the leaves
of the trees reflect flashes of light from their smooth upper surfaces,
and not a month goes by but some species of tree puts on a shining
garment of blossoms. These latitudes know nothing of the black-
and-white winter of Europe. There is, of course, an alternation of
seasons in Brazil, and these, owing to its position in the southern
hemisphere, are the contrary of our own; the north side of the houses,
too, is the sunny side, as one realizes in Sao Paulo, and even more
clearly in the Argentine. In North-eastern Brazil, however, there is
no great difference between the months ; and every day, with but
little deviation, the sun rises at six and sets at six.

Likewise, in the course of the year there are no great variations
of temperature. When I arrived in Pernambuco, at the beginning
of July, it was still winter; and then the mean temperature was
77° by day, with a minimum of 62-6° at night. There were often
heavy downpours of rain, which lasted perhaps an hour, but which
always gave way to blue sky and bright sunshine. From August
onwards there was rarely rain ; the weather was always magnificent,
and it was the same in September ; while from October to the early
part of December it rained once more, but only now and again ;

23

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

and these rains are known in North-eastern Brazil as the caju rains,
for the fruit of the cashew-tree needs them in order to ripen and
fill with sap.

In December the rains cease, and the dry season begins. The moist
and heavy fragrance of the tropics is replaced by a sharp, insistent
odour of fallen leaves, and the green of the grasses, which at other
times invades even the roads, now turns grey, and everywhere the
bare red soil emerges. Many trees stand leafless, while others, like
the splendid Flame Acacia, choose this month to deck their spreading
crowns with a royal mantle of scarlet flowers as large as tulips. The
temperature rises to 84° in the shade; at night it is hardly cooler.
In the morning one lifts one's head from a wet pillow, and during
even a slight exertion, such as playing the piano, one has constantly
to wipe the perspiration from one's forehead. At the end of March
there are once more frequent showers, and the morning temperature
is only 77°; once again all things deck themselves in luxuriant green,
and of a morning one walks refreshed in the moist fragrance of the
gardens.

In Rio de Janeiro the heat from November to February is often
worse than in North-eastern Brazil ; the city, shut in by the hills,
is airless, the streets glow with heat, and the nights are sleepless;
until at last, after some days of torment, a thunderstorm beats up
behind the peak of Tijuca, and coolness falls with the rustling rain.
In May and June, indeed, it is even lovelier in Rio ; the nights are
cool, the days magnificent, and one enjoys them all the more securely
in that fine weather prevails about this time. In Sao Paulo, indeed,
which Ues at an altitude of 2,400 feet, the nights are really cold at
this season, and of a morning there is fog in the streets ; one shivers,
and wraps oneself in one's cloak, until about ten o'clock the sun
breaks through, shining in a radiant blue sky, and the temperature
becomes comfortable. The whole of South America is richer in
sunlight than Europe.

The reason why the Brazilian summer is more easily endured in
Pernambuco than in Rio is the fact that in the former State the
trade-wind constantly blows upon the coast. In August, the windy
month, it blows hard from the south-east; in the summer it veers
to the north-east, but it is always to be felt as a refreshing breeze,
noticeably cooler than the still air, and on its way across the endless
plains of the ocean it brings with it a purity which is plainly per-
ceptible. This wind is a precious boon. A similar wind blows off" the
coast of Ceylon — the south-west monsoon — but only during the
24

THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL

months of the northern summer ; then follows the sultry season of
variable winds, and from October onwards the north-west monsoon
blows, which has passed over the mainland of Asia, and has not,
therefore, the coolness of the ocean wind. In Ceylon, accordingly,
I have felt the heat even more severely than in Pernambuco, although
the island lies just eight degrees north of the Equator, whereas
Pernambuco lies just as far south of it. In Pernambuco, as early as
one o'clock in the afternoon, when the wind began to blow more
briskly, I was able to go for a walk, while in India at that hour
walking would have been most exhausting. While I was in Ceylon
I never dared to go out without a sun-helmet, for otherwise headache
and illness would have resulted, whereas in Pernambuco I always
wore a straw hat without coming to any harm. Apparently the
sunlight of Brazil has a different quality to that of India. In Ceylon
the yellow rays appear to be predominant, so that when taking
photographs, even in the most brilliant sunlight, one has to give a
longer exposure than in Brazil, or even Europe.

The Brazilian climate, of course, cannot be compared with the
European — at least as regards its effect on the human body. If here
in Freiburg I climb the Bromberg of an afternoon — a height of a
thousand feet — hardly two hours have elapsed before I am home
again, refreshed, and I go at once to my desk and resume my work ;
whereas to climb the hill of Olinda, little more than three hundred
feet in height, required a very much greater effort, and after a walk
I was exhausted rather than refreshed. After an excursion of any
length I threw myself down on the sofa or the bed, with arms and
legs extended, and it was some minutes before exhaustion gave way
to repose. Hence the Brazilians dislike active movement, and walking
as a form of exercise is quite unknown to them ; for example, on
renting a house it becomes a matter of some importance that the
electric tramway should not merely pass the house, but also that there
should be a halting-place as nearly opposite the house as possible.
When I had to pack my trunk in Pernambuco I always stripped
to the skin, and even then I had often to sit down, and mop my
forehead, and dip my hands in water, and was always thankful
when the task was ended.

Similarly, far more notice is taken of inclement weather than is
usual with us. Brazilians avoid the rain as they would the plague,
and in rainy weather the concert-halls and lecture-rooms are empty.
It is true, of course, that a chill may readily have serious conse-
quences. The newcomer in particular should take good care that

25

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

his health remains unimpaired, for then he will be best equipped
to meet the dangers of infection. Most important of all is a regular
action of the bowels ; an intermission even of a day is said to be
dangerous, as the toxins of putrefaction accumulate in the bowel.
Fortunately there are in Brazil fruits which have every possible kind
of effect, from those which impede the digestion to those which
promote it, some gently and others more vigorously, as we shall
see in Chapter VIIL To be moderate in all things is the first rule
for the maintenance of health in the tropics.

I myself enjoyed the best of health all the year round, in Brazil
as in Ceylon. It is true that I was living under favourable conditions,
and was able to work at that time of day which suited me best, and
in accordance with my inclination. Those who go to Brazil as
employees in business houses have to work at prescribed hours, which
is much more exhausting ; and any immigrant who attempts to do
the work of an agricultural labourer in tropical Brazil is forced to
realize that such work is difficult for the strongest man, and im-
possible for any other, and that he can never work so hard, and live
so frugally and cheaply, as the native-born agricultural labourer.

Despite all such drawbacks, however, the tropics exert a magical
fascination. When I think of Brazil it is not Rio de Janeiro that rises
before me, with its proud coronal of mountains and its incomparable
bay: the north-eastern coast of Brazil has engraven itself more deeply
on my heart.

And this chiefly because this part of Brazil is more strongly
individual than the south, which is already only too far modified
by European influences. The north-east is genuinely Brazilian.
Cities like OUnda, Parahyba, and even Bahia, have a character of
their own. Here the old colonial style, best adapted to the country,
and most harmonious in effect, is still frequent, giving the streets a
charm of their own. In the matter of architecture, therefore, I find
Olinda and Bahia more pleasing than Rio or Sao Paulo. Similarly,
in the north-east of Brazil the old Portuguese manners and customs
still survive with all their charm, and those who penetrate further
into the country will find reminiscences of them even in the manners
of the Indian aborigines. Again, the repose dictated by the climate
impresses the traveller agreeably. Of this I shall say more in my
final chapter.

And for these reasons a journey through Recife, despite its 234,000
inhabitants, is not so trying as a journey through Rio or Sao Paulo.
Without being pressed or hurried, one steps on to the "Bond" —
26

THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL

the electric tram — whose open transverse benches are swept by the
sea-breeze. Looking comfortably about him, the passenger glides
through the business quarter with its sea-girt islands (Plate 3), with
their lofty buildings, or the residential district. Here the houses are
almost exclusively of one storey only, so hidden in their gardens
that even from the hill one sees nothing but green, and asks oneself
in astonishment wherever the city can be, since the only houses
visible are the tall commercial buildings on the "Recife" or reef.
But a ride through the garden city was always a pleasure to me,
for every time one or another species of tree had decked itself in a
splendour of blossom such as I had never seen. And there was always
the sunlight, and the blue sky, and the people in the streets, who
enhanced the charm of the picture not only by their white or brightly-
coloured clothes, but also by the alternation of white, brown and
black faces ; for the negroes and mulattoes give the street scenes
of Pernambuco — and still more those of Bahia — a character of
their own.

But the best thing about the tropics, in my opinion, is that one is
always, by day and by night, in touch with Nature. Just as the lightly-
clad body is in immediate contact with the air, so that one feels
always free and comfortable, so in the tropics there are no closed
rooms. A lady in India once told me that she could no longer live
in Europe, the rooms were so oppressive; she often had the feeling
that she could not breathe.

Most of the houses in Pernambuco, Parahyba, and other States
of tropical Brazil have no glazed windows, but only shutters with
diagonal slats, a protection against the sun by day and intruders
by night. One enters the house as in Europe one enters a garden-
room or arbour, in which one does not even feel that one has left
the garden (Plates 3 and 32). All the windows and doors are open;
even in the railway-carriages no one is afraid of draughts, and the
windows are open on both sides.

Even in the cloisters I was surrounded by the fresh air and by
living creatures. There were all sorts of animals which were only
waiting to be caught, and which I kept for a while in order to
observe them. In my room were a boa-constrictor, a coral-snake,
lizards and frogs — all in suitable cages ; a lively land-crab clattered
with his claws under my bed, and once I had for a guest a peccary,
who behaved like a little dog. Outside, in the cloisters, were whole
rows of boxes and cages, containing armadillos, marsupials, bird-
spiders and insects of every kind. All these creatures I kept a few

27

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

weeks and then released. Many of them, including the boa-constrictor,
became so tame that I parted from them with regret.

To these creatures were added certain voluntary guests. Each
morning I was awakened by the little hedge-sparrow, who flew into
my bedroom singing, in order to hunt for insects. In the evening,
when I was writing up my notes, my task was by no means easy, for
every moment some insect flew in ; often the whole table was covered ;
and now and again a great cockchafer crashed into a corner of the
room, and then, angrily buzzing, and lying on his back, performed
a wild dance across the floor. And over and over again I had to
jump up and see whether my new guest was not perhaps of a specially
interesting species.

At night a gentle crackling was audible in my bedroom. It was
some time before I could make out what it was. The cockroaches,
which in Brazil are gigantic insects, as big as one's thumb, tried to
fly into my room at night, in order to feast on the breadcrumbs on
the floor, or gnaw the bindings of my books for the sake of the
glue ; but most of them were caught outside my window by the bats
that were flying to and fro. These bats then came into my bedroom,
hung by their hind legs from the ceiling-lamp, and there crunched
their prey, so that in the morning the wing-covers of their victims
lay about the floor. Other nocturnal hunters in my room were
certain delicate lizards of a yellowish colour, which were so trans-
parent that one could see the blood pulsating in their arteries.
With their outspread spatulate fingers they clung firmly to the wall,
and they were even able to run upside down across the ceiling. If
I struck a light at night I often found one of these geckos adhering
to the wall, where its dark eyes, whose pupils, like those of a cat,
were vertical shts, sparkled in the light of the lamp. If I made the
slightest movement the little creature disappeared in a flash behind
its accustomed refuge — a picture-frame. In many parts of the country,
I am sorry to say, the Brazilians call the gecko the vibora, or viper,
although it is a lizard and not a snake, and kill it, for they declare
that it is poisonous. As a matter of fact this vibora is a very useful
creature, since it catches mosquitoes, bugs, and other blood-sucking
insects. In Ceylon, where this pretty lizard is valued as it should
be, the gecko often becomes so tame that it climbs on to the table
punctually at supper-time and permits itself to be fed.

I shall never forget the hours that I spent in the house of some
very dear friends in a suburb of Recife. As we sat at the supper-table,
pleasantly chatting, the doors and windows were wide open, and
28

THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL

with the scent of the vegetation the shrilling of the cicadas and the
piping of the frogs entered the room. It was as though the life and
activity of Nature had invaded the very room by way of the verandah,
where the moonbeams, drifting through the foliage, covered the
floor with starry spots of light. For even in the room the electric
light showed little frogs moving silently across the walls, while from
time to time a rhinoceros-beetle or some other insect fell buzzing
on the white table-cloth, or the fire-flies, with their green lanterns,
performed a faery dance.

It was this continual presence of Nature all about me that I missed
most sorely when I returned to Europe.

The voyage from Pernambuco to the South is magnificent, especially
if one travels not by one of the great ocean-Hners, but by one
of the Brazilian line of coasting-steamers, the "Gosteira," whose
names begin with "Ita" (the Indian word for rock). The Ita
steamers sail so near the coast that the latter is almost always in
sight. They are not, however, to be recommended to travellers who
suffer from sea-sickness, since they are built with almost flat bottoms,
and keelless, in order that they may be able to enter the shallow
lagoons of the southern States. They therefore roll considerably, even
in a gentle swell, and the South Atlantic, being swept by the trade-
wind, is never quite calm. Nevertheless, I much enjoyed the voyage
on the Itaquatia. She was a clean, handsome vessel, the food was
good, the Brazilian passengers were cheerful and friendly, and it
was delightful to lie in a deck-chair on the flat roof of the saloon,
and gaze across the sea to the constantly changing coast. Here was
a natural cinema, of the loveliest kind imaginable. One's enjoyment
was still further enhanced by a glass of good Rio Grande wine.

We put into Maceio, the capital of the State of Alagoas. The
roadstead is a brilliant green, as in Pernambuco; sailing-boats,
gently heeling, shoot across the water. Further to the south the
bluffs and escarpments of the coast appear to be gleaming with
freshly-fallen snow, for the green of the hanging woods which run
down to the yellow line of the beach is broken by patches of
dazzling white. These are deposits dating from an early period of
the earth's history, the Eocene. For a long while the steamer glides
past the white and green hills of the coast, but at last houses are
seen on the level of the beach, and above them towers and domes
peep over the ridges of the hills. Now a lighthouse appears, sur-

29

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

rounded by circular walls that have the look of a fortress, and
behind it is a bay. We have reached Bahia (Plate 4). The steamer
has at first to describe a great curve, so that it seems as though she
meant to pass the bay, but then, suddenly, she turns sharply to
starboard, and on our right the city unfolds itself, consisting of
Upper and Lower Bahia. Funicular railways lead from the lower to
the upper city, and the houses are overtopped by churches. Like a
blue lake the bay stretches far to the south, divided from the open
sea by a hilly island.

The steamer comes to a standstill. The sky is veiled by a grey
mist. Motor-boats put out from the shore, bringing the police and
officials of the steamship company, and a whole fleet of canoes
comes sailing up to us. Their sails are hauled down, and we see
that they are full of rosy mangoes, green avocat pears, oranges, and
other fruits. Brown-skinned men hold up monkeys and parrots, and
also, I regret to say, boxes of the skins of humming-birds.

Over the sea, in the meanwhile, the sky begins to clear; the mist
dissolves into white diaphanous clouds ; the slanting rays of the sun
pour down upon sea and coast. The city yonder takes plastic shape
as we look ; above the house-fronts rises a forest of towers and steeples ;
to the right gleams the dome of the Benedictine abbey, with the
two towers of its west front, like uplifted forefingers. Beneath it the
houses descend to the lower city like a stairway of coloured cliffs
interrupted by funicular railways and slanting streets. As one drives
up to the city it gradually loses itself in the green hillside, above
which the royal palms lift their bushy heads against the sky. In
the middle of the picture an ancient fort rears itself bodily above
the white and green of the city, casting an orange reflection on the
blue water.

The blue of the bay glows even more resplendent. As the wind
breathes upon its surface it changes to a vivid ultramarine, while
smooth streaks of a lighter blue traverse the darker colour, now close
inshore, now farther out to sea. The surface of the water is like
silk and satin. Above the city the horizon is flooded with green,
while rounded cumuli, touched with rosy light, tower up into the
heavens.

Now the sun sinks, and all at once light flashes from a thousand
windows ; the green of the hillside changes to a sinister, poisonous
yellow. The boats surrounding the steamer speed away from it,
ploughing long black furrows in the water. Like the voice of a
monster, the siren gives the signal that the vessel is about to sail.

30

THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL

Orange and violet clouds float in the upper sky ; the blue of the
ether is all the more splendid by contrast. The city glows in an
unearthly radiance ; of a sudden it seems as though uplifted on to
the hills, as though floating in an ethereal vapour.

But now the light fades, and Bahia looks empty and forsaken;
a dead city, while behind it a mountain of reddish clouds towers
menacingly upwards. Rosy streaks play across the water, which
begins to shimmer and flicker. Overhead the clouds are dissolving,
growing lighter and ruddier in hue. Now there is blue sky every-
where, besprinkled with a thousand rosy cloudlets. The sea turns
from rose to violet, and then to grey. Chain-cables rattle, the ship
begins to move, and steams slowly out to sea, while in the city the
lamps flash out, and a sparkling cross is kindled above one of the
churches.

The State of Bahia is bordered on the south by the much smaller
State of Espirito Santo. Voyaging along the coast, one enters the
waters of the new State as through an inlet ; for abreast of the frontier
of Bahia and Espirito Santo the Abrolho Islands lift themselves from
the sea. "Open your eyes !" is the warning name which the Portu-
guese have given these islands, which rise precipitously from the sea.

In fine weather one first sees the islands floating above the water
in a rosy vapour; but as one draws nearer the yellow hills seem to
be sailing on an ultramarine sea; the islands begin to spread out
and rearrange themselves, and to assume more definite shapes. The
dark tufted crests of coconut-palms appear ; the ridges grow green,
while the ruddy slopes are shaded by rifts and gulleys. The lonely
watcher on the white lighthouse is said to receive food and water
only once in every two months.

The Abrolhos are left astern in the light of the afternoon sun,
and the next morning reveals a very different scene (Plate lo).
A black jagged mountain-range looms above the sea, traversed by
streaks of cloud. Sharply-pointed peaks alternate with rounded
summits and crumbling declivities ; there are blocks and turrets of
rock that look like churches ; and behind them all rises a lofty range
on whose flanks the clouds lie like snow. The nearer the vessel
approaches, the more plainly the green of the mountains appears,
while the dividing-line of the golden sands emerges from the water.
And now the mountain range is cut in two : an inlet appears, of
bright grey sparkHng water. The steamer enters. To the left rises

31

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

a lofty cone ; behind it looms a second, which is crowned by an old
monastery, with steep fortress-like walls.

We penetrate further and further into the inlet, which runs inland
between the mountains, like a Norwegian fjord. Hills pass us by
whose rounded summits are overgrown by great rosettes of bromelias ;
and a wood pours out of a saddle between two heights. On a
naked rock black vultures arc sitting. At the end of the fjord lies
Victoria, the capital of the State. Amidst the yellow houses rises the
newly-built nave of a Gothic church ; in the background are steep
mountains ; and to one side of the town, on the hillside, a white
monastery lies amidst the trees (Plate 4).

Beautiful are the forms of the mountains enclosing the Bay of
Espirito Santo, and the blue water glitters resplendent ; yet the lover
of Nature cannot gaze without regret on this wonderful scene, for,
enchanting though it may be, it is like a cathedral whose windows
have been shattered and its richly sculptured beauty destroyed. The
noble outUnes of the bay are the same as ever, but where is the
primeval tropical forest which was once reflected in its waters, and
the symphony of colour that delighted the eye when the rounded
summits of trees, ablaze with blue and yellow flowers, and the red
and orange clusters of the blossoms of the hanging creepers, were
reflected in the blue flood? Lifeless now are the waters that were
once alive with flocks of swimming birds, while stately cranes and
herons stood upon the beach, and the hawks and vultures circled
overhead.

To-day the landscape is robbed of its living jewels, and the nobler
the relics of its former wealth, the more it laments the destroying
hand of man.

Even in Rio de Janeiro I often had such thoughts, and I envied
De Solis, Magellan, and the Sousas, the discoverers of this incom-
parable bay, who saw it unpolluted as it left its Creator's hand.
For the beauty of Guanabara Bay is so supreme in its natural forms
and colours that no human hands could enhance it, or do otherwise
than deface it. I do not, of course, deny the beauty of the praias,
the wide avenues which enclose the bay, or the magnificence of the
Avenida Rio Branco, which crosses the centre of the city — built on
a projecting peninsula, from waterside to waterside, so that, looking
down the length of the splendid highway, one sees at either end the
lofty sides and funnels of the ocean steamers lying alongside the
32

THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL

quays. There are many fine buildings too, and parks, and charming
streets with green gardens and alleys of palm-trees in Rio, and the
well-dressed shop-windows and the lively traffic in the streets exert
a lasting fascination. But it is the magic of its night-long illumination
that makes Rio supreme over all the cities of the world ; and the
Brazilian capital has justly been called the City of Light, "Cidade
da Luz."

It seems as though Rio endeavoured to prepare the approaching
traveller for what lies before him by a gradual enhancement of the
beauty of the landscape. Coming from the south, one finds a prelude
to Rio in Santos. The city, whose comfortable houses are still of
genuinely Brazilian architecture, is beautifully situated on a broad
peninsula; on the right and the left, across the arms of the river,
rise hills with graceful contours, while in the background is the
splendid range of mountains, 2,600 feet in height, which terminates
the plateau of Sao Paulo on the seaward edge. To the south of Santos
the Praia Grande runs for thirty-six miles along the shore; a motor
track of firm grit, the especial pride of the citizens of Santos. And to
the north, beyond the channel which gives access to the city, the
cliffs approach the sea, enclosing the calm Turtle Bay, and forming
the background of the bathing-resort of Guaruja, whose beach
merges into the green foot-hills.

Approaching Rio from the north, one comes first of all to Cabo
Frio, a cape which deserves its name, for here at most seasons a
cool wind is blowing, and the sea is often rough. The finest view I
had of this cape was at night. The steamer had made such a quick
passage that she slowed down to half-speed, in order to avoid lying
all night off" Rio, since the harbour officials would not come aboard
and give us permission to take up moorings until the morning.
Quietly as a sailing-ship the Gelria glided through the calm sea. The
coast lay at peace before us, flooded with moonlight; the hills
sloped downwards in several stages to the headland, where a light-
house poured forth its beams of light.

The ship fared onward through the night. Loftier and loftier grew
the mountains. Beetling cliff's fell darkly to the sea, cloud-begirt,
and seemingly void of any life. It was a wild and majestic scene,
and as one stood shivering in the cool wind one felt as though one
had left the tropics, as though this must be the rocky coast of Norway
or of Iceland. /

After passing a high pointed mountain, the "false Sugarloaf," one
begins once more to see traces of humanity. A white church with

c 33

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

twin towers lies in a lonely, moon-flooded valley of rocks. And now
a dark conical mountain draws menacingly nearer, looming high
into the starless sky, like a mount of Destiny. This is the Pao d'Assucar,
the famous Sugarloaf, the mighty warder of the entrance to the
Guanabara Bay of Rio (Plate 5).

But what is this gUmmer of light on the left of the Sugarloaf,
a glimmer that grows ever wider as we advance? Glittering strings
of pearls lie on the water yonder, and form a dazzling wreath round
the foot of the mountain. These are the lamps of the Avenida
Atlantica, which every night flood the promenade of the suburb
of Copacabana with a blaze of light. And now, to the right of the
Sugarloaf, behind the ever- widening mouth of the entrance, one sees
the city climbing the hills, glittering with innumerable lights.

The steamer drops anchor and waits for the day. In amazement
one leans on the rail, gazing at all this nocturnal splendour. The
breeze is warmer now ; a faint odour of brine rises from the sea,
and the moon sheds a long, shimmering path over the dark flood.

Reluctantly one goes to bed, and after a few short hours one is
again on deck. The long rows of lights are still yonder, but in the
east the heavens are growing brighter. The anchor is weighed with
a rattle, a wave of foam spurts up from the propeller as it begins
to revolve, and slowly the vessel forges ahead. On the left is the
mighty cone of the Sugarloaf, on the right the walls of a fortress
stand out on a narrow rock. Wider and wider opens the bay, and
the rows of lights that skirt the shore are reflected in the water.
And as though these gleaming strings of jewels were not enough,
blue and red signal lamps gleam upon the water itself.

It grows lighter over the eastern range of hills, at the foot of
which, facing Rio, lies the city of Nictheroy. Black and sharp the
peaks and summits and ridges rise against the sky ; but behind them
the horizon is flushing red, and with its clear contours the landscape
has a look of ineffable youth, as though it were fresh from the
Creator's hand. The lights of the city are extinguished ; the sun,
a red ball of fire, rises above the hills. The bay is flushed with a
glorious blue. In the far background, like a fata Morgana with
turrets and jagged peaks, the Organ Mountains rise in the north.

The palaces of the great Exhibition with their domes and pinnacles
lift from a blue-grey mist, and flush a rosy pink, until the whole
shore lies like a rose-coloured ribbon along the edge of the light-
blue water. Above it, in vivid contrast, looms the bluish wall of the
mountain-range, bordered with a line of green, and from this range,

34

THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL

towards the left, the Gorcovado boldly uplifts its beak, while on the
right the loftier peak of Tijuca rises into the heavens. As yet no
details are visible, but the blank surface, with its vigorous outline,
is all the more impressive.

The situation of Rio de Janeiro has earned for it the reputation
of the most beautiful city in the world ; and the Guanabara Bay
is indeed incomparable. But this — which in itself would be enough
to make a city famous — is combined with other charms. In Rio we
have the Gulf of Naples, the coast of Amalfi, the Lake of Lucerne,
the pinnacles of the Dolomites, a bit of Hamburg harbour, and the
boulevards of Paris ; and above all these are the hills overrun with
the glittering tropical forest; while in the gardens below the vege-
tation of the tropics, resplendent with glowing colour, reaches its
full perfection.

It is owing to this multiplicity, this truly amazing wealth and
variety of form and colour, that the view of Rio is incomparably
finer than that of all other cities. In the bay itself, and lying before
the entrance, no less than ninety-eight islands add to the variety
of the scene, and the surrounding hills sound every note of the gamut
from the suavest to the wildest and most grotesque formations. And
yet this riven chain of mountains is the result not of volcanic forces,
but, as we shall read in the tenth chapter, of alluvial deposits, and
subsidences, and erosion.

If the philosopher Hegel had stood before the mountains of Rio
he could not have turned away from them with the words : "They
have nothing to say to me except that they exist," as he is said to
have turned away from the Swiss Alps. I have seen few landscapes
which so insistently preach the gospel of becoming as the mountains
of Guanabara Bay. Just as some pictures are so vividly painted
as to give the spectator the illusion of motion, so the mountains
that girdle Rio seem drawn with such an impetuous rhythm that the
eye finds movement everywhere. It is as though some cataclysmal
cyclone had raged over the country. Viewed from the land, indeed,
or from outside the bay, the Sugarloaf towers into the sky as a cone
of symmetrical proportions, but seen from Nictheroy it leans over
landwards, and the neighbouring hills as well seem to cower like
trees before a gale.

I often ascended the Sugarloaf by way of the cable railway. A
small car, like a lift, sways upwards over the intervening chasm
(Plates 5 and 6). On each occasion I spent five hours on the summit,
for I was so fascinated by the view that I could not tear myself

35

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

away. Outside the harbour Hes the ocean, a tender blue, as though
drawn in pastel. The horizon is defined by a milk-white line. The
islands float in a milky-bluish vapour; they seem not to touch the
water, and only their rounded tops rise clear-cut against the sky.
Far below lies the harbour mouth; the waves that enter from the
sea are visible only as the faintest crinkling of the surface. An ocean
steamer is putting out to sea; from this height it looks like a toy.
Slowly its bows rise and fall in a white gUtter of spray.

Yonder the peninsula of Nictheroy stretches out into the bay.
The hills of the opposite shore fall steeply to the water, but those
behind uphft themselves ever more boldly. And everywhere, between
the green slopes or the reddish-yellow peaks, is the blue-white
shimmer of the sea. Loftier summits block the horizon.

Now my gaze wanders over the innumerable inlets and headlands
and ridges of Nictheroy, and steeps itself in the blue Guanabara Bay.
Islands emerge, now here, now there; in the far distance one still
sees the gleam of water, until it merges with the land that extends
to the foot of the misty, jagged wall of the distant Organ Mountains.
— Now I turn my eyes to the other shore of the bay. Rio, the great
city, with its white houses, winds along the water's edge, climbs
the rounded hills, breaks against the cliffs, leaps over them, and
ends by climbing the spurs of Tijuca and Corcovado until it reaches
the green forest that clothes all the crests and ridges. Defiant, rugged
heads of rock peep forth from the green-clad slopes. The further the
glance travels, the more menacing the hills become ; more and more
adventurous are the geological formations, one exceeding the other
in boldness of outline ; the law of gravity seems annulled for these
overhanging tables of rock and leaning pinnacles.

Behind the mountains the sun is sinking. The ranges turn into
dark corridors, behind which an orange-red flood of colour flames
to heaven. Range divides itself from range as a whitish mist settles
between them like a vapour from which worlds come into being.
All shapes assume an incomplete and primeval quality.

On the other side the shadow of the Sugarloaf, after creeping
mysteriously across the bay, is climbing higher and higher up the
hills on the opposite side of the entrance. All colours fade; the
darkness is falling.

And then, a sudden flash far below ; a row of lights flings itself
along the shore ; a second row joins it ; by fits and starts the ever-
lengthening chain of lights progresses, as though each kindled its
fellow. Suddenly there is a flash from the water-front of Nictheroy,
36

THE BEAUTY OF BRAZIL

and the rows of lights run onward till they reach the ocean. The
pearly necklace is closed ; and now the land receives a star-spangled
garment.

But the signal for the last trip down is sounding. In the silence
of the night the car swings downward, sinking ever nearer to the
glittering carpet beneath it. Above, as below, is an ocean of stars.
One feels that one has taken leave of reality ; it is as though one
were floating in the pure ether of space.

II

THE OCEAN SHORE

O,

'N all the shores of the tropic seas the coconut-palms bow in
the wind.

A lovelier background for the breakers seething on the beach
cannot be imagined. For the coconut-palm is like a child of the
ocean. The bluish-green of the crown of gigantic leaves is in tone
with the sea, and as in the many-hued sea one colour flows into
another, so it is in the leafy crown of the coconut-palm, as the
sunlight plays upon the leaves; now the yellow of the ribs pre-
dominates, now the dark green of the leaves in shadow, and now the
vivid green of the sunlit foliage ; and the white foam-crests of the
breakers find an echo in the flashing lights of the glossy upper
surfaces of the fronds (Plate 8).

The movement of the waves and the soughing of the trade-wind
are repeated by the lofty shafts, each of which leans at a different
angle, and in the incessant play of the graceful fronds one seems to
hear an echo of the crashing breakers. It is as though the strings of
a harp were vibrating in sympathy with the seething of the ocean.

Of our own trees those that remind me most of the coconut-palms
are the pines, familiar to me from my childhood, that sigh and
rustle on the dunes of the Baltic. They too have tall, bare trunks,
which glow in the evening sun. This memory endeared the coconut-
palms to me when first I encountered them in Ceylon. It was not
until I went to Brazil that I fully realized the beauty of these trees ;
I was never tired of gazing at the palms, and delighting in their
noble bearing. And this example taught me that the beauties of
Nature are disclosed only to engrossed contemplation; many a
traveller finds fault with things that he would be as ready to praise
had he the time and patience and energy to consider them more
thoroughly.

Even in its mode of propagation the coconut-palm is adapted
to the sea. The nut, as large as a man's head, is enclosed in a brown
husk, and under this is a dense layer of fibres, which serves as a sort
of lifebuoy, in which it may float far oversea without being injured
by the force of the waves. For the real nut lies embedded in the
fibrous husk, and itself consists of a thick and very hard shell, in
which three holes may be perceived, and a kernel. Two of these
38

THE OCEAN SHORE

holes are overgrown ; beneath the third Hes the germ of the nut.
From it the white substance of the nut spreads over the inside of
the shell, forming a lining as thick as the finger ; this is the nourish-
ment provided for the germ (the endosperm). When the nut is
unripe the layer of fibres is still white and the hard shell as yet
unformed, and then one can slash a hole in the husk with a knife,
and pour out of the nut from half to three-quarters of a pint of
a cool, almost clear liquid, which has a sweet, nutty flavour. This
is an admirable and wholesome beverage, and there are coconut-
palms which are cultivated merely for the sake of this liquid. As
the nut ripens the liquid becomes oilier and milkier, and less
abundant, so that an air-space is left, which would enable the nut
to float even without the husk. It is in this state that the nut is
imported into Europe, and the admirable beverage yielded by the
unripe nut cannot be compared with the remnant of "milk" left
in the nuts as we receive them.

If the floating nut is cast upon the shore, the action of the sea-
water and the pounding of the breakers destroy the fibrous husk.
The germ pushes forth into the heart of the nut a special suctorial
organ, by means of which it draws building material from the
hollow kernel and water from the "milk," and this fresh water,
which it could not find upon the beach, is of great importance for
the embryo tree. Then the germ grows outwards from the hole in
the shell, and in course of time becomes a palm-tree, which after
five years begins to bear more nuts, and continues to bear them up to
its seventieth or eightieth year.

Where was the first home of the coconut-palm? — We are not yet
quite certain. According to Warburg, it should be sought in Central
America, for in Panama there are still extant virgin forests of
coconut-palms. Crossing the Pacific Ocean, it seems then to have
colonized Polynesia, Southern Asia, and finally East Africa. It is
believed to have been first planted by man in South Africa and
Brazil, though there are investigators who believe that the palm
is indigenous to Brazil, and the Dutchman Laet, two hundred years
after the discovery of Brazil, reckoned it among the wild trees
which were found outside the cultivated areas, and in regions
remote from the villages of the Indians. And it was only about
this period that the nut-bearing trees of the Old World were imported
into Brazil.

The coconut-palm is to-day ubiquitous on the Brazilian coast
as far south as the State of Espirito Santo, and in small numbers,

39

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

or singly, it is found even farther south. But extensive coconut
plantations, such as I saw in Ceylon, do not yet exist in Brazil,
nor is this serviceable palm-tree exploited in a wholesale fashion.
In India, not only are the dried kernels collected as copra and
pressed in order to extract the oil, but an oil is prepared even from
the fresh kernels, which solidifies at a temperature of 79°, and
reaches Europe in the form of coconut butter. Arrak is manu-
factured from the sweet sap which flows from the severed flower-
spathe, and the fibres of the husk (coir) are employed in the
manufacture of nets, mats, hammocks, etc. The timber of the
trunk, which grows to a height of ninety or a hundred feet, is
employed in house-building, while the huge leaves, which are so
heavy that it is difficult to lift even a single one, are employed as a
roof-covering. On the coast of Pernambuco I saw only one large
coconut plantation in the south; and another was situated to the
north of Recife.

If one trudges up the sandy escarpment of the beach of Pernambuco
and makes one's way between the shafts of the groves of coconut-
palms, one comes, as a rule, to a dense wood, springing from the
sand, in which cashew-trees are in the majority (Plate 9). The
large oval leaves of these trees are bright green, with yellow ribs ;
the younger leaves have a reddish hue, but all alike are thick and
leathery in texture, and have the glossy upper surface which is
common to the foliage of most of the tropical trees. But the light,
rather bluish green of the crowns of the cashew-trees in such a wood
is especially beautiful, and if one looks along the coast from one of
the hills about Olinda, the emerald sea and the yellow sand,
bordered by the coconut-palms of the dunes, and behind them
the expanse of light green foliage of the cashew-trees, make up
a most cheerful and harmonious scene.

The fruit of the cashew-tree is peculiar. It consists of two parts,
a pear and a kidney-shaped nut which hangs beneath the pear
(Fig. i). The pear, which when ripe assumes a reddish flesh-colour,
has a sour-sweet flavour not unlike that of an apple, but it draws
the mouth, being rich in tannin. It is prudent to suck this un-
commonly juicy fruit in one's morning bath, as the juice, if it falls
on one's linen, leaves an indelible stain. When one has sucked it
only the skin is left, but hanging from the skin is the nut, which is,
of course, the actual fruit, for the pear is only an enlargement of
40

Plate II

CLOISTERS OF THE BENEDICTINE MONASTERY IN OLINDA

%k.

K^''^

I

JAXGADA (^CAl A.MARAN) ON OLINDA BEACH

THE OCEAN SHORE

the fruit-stalk, whose function is to store water. The nut, which is
sold by pharmaceutical chemists under the singular name of
"elephant-louse," is thrown on an open fire, when a noxious oil
is given off in vapour, with a good deal of crackling and puffing
The nut then tastes like a roasted almond. The fruit can be made
into one of the most delicious jams imaginable.

If one enters the bright green thicket of the cashew-bush, picking
one's way between the trees, which rise up from the sand, or creep
along the ground, lifting their boughs into the air, one may often
encounter the most charming little monkeys — the Saguim or Silk
Monkeys. In sweeping trajectories these graceful little creatures
swing themselves from tree to tree, running
along the boughs, or coming to a standstill on
the trunk in order to nibble the rind of the
tree, which exudes a sort of gum. At first sight
these monkeys are not unlike dark brown cats,
especially as their long tails are banded like
the tail of a tabby, but if one approaches them
closely one suddenly sees a dusky little face
with round, anxious eyes ; and the European,
unaccustomed to monkeys in his native woods,
is startled by these little gnomes with their
human countenances (Plate 30).

Over the ground scamper grey lizards, known

as Keel-tails, because the scales of the tail are Fig. i.— Two fruits of
n • 1 I • 1 1 1 --ni ^ the Cashew-tree, on

rurmshed With a keel. Ihese creatures are very , r, , ^x

common every where ; they sit on the stone-heaps

in the streets of Recife and Olinda, disappearing into the chinks

as one approaches, but they soon reappear, and nod their heads

repeatedly as though in derision. The Keel-tails are very alert, and

have excellent sight. I have seen one of them detect a worm on the

ground from a height of fifteen feet ; down it came, in little sudden

rushes, and devoured its prey. All their movements are vivacious;

and the rapid nodding of the head adds to the general impression

of an absurd and laughable nervousness. I used often to watch them

from my window in Olinda. They were forever at the pear-trees,

to the indignation of the Brothers who tended the garden. There

were frequent quarrels; one would rush at another and bite him,

and on such occasions they lashed their tails to and fro, either in

menace or in self-encouragement.

Apart from the monkeys and lizards there is not much life in the

41

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

cashew-bush. Now and again birds flit through the tangle of boughs,
or a locust, as long as one's finger, suddenly takes his rustling
flight. It is delightfiil to watch the glittering humming-birds if one
takes one's stand before a tree which is enveloped in the strands of
a passion-flower and hung with the lovely blossoms, with their
delicate white and violet veining ; for, as we shall read in Chapter V,
the passion-flower or Maracuja is fertilized by these beautiful little
birds.

The Paternoster pea provides another lovely spectacle. It blazes
in the shadows of the bush like a fiery red eye with a black pupil ;
the bright peas glitter in the open pods of the creepers, and falling
to the ground, gleam like beads of coral. These beautifiil peas are
threaded into rosaries, or glued upon shell-covered boxes. Handling
them, however, is a dangerous occupation, for the peas contain a
poison (abrin) of which a small dose is fatal if injected under
the skin.

One may wander for hours through the cashew-bush of the coast
of north-eastern Brazil without encountering a sign of the presence
of man. Then, perhaps, one comes to a track which has been
trodden by horses or cattle. One follows it, and suddenly one comes
to the dead body of a horse, lying on the sand, and with a rustling
of wings a number of black Urubii vultures rise into the air, which
have literally flayed the carcase. Now the ground sinks, and a
water-course, running through green meadows, collects in a basin.
In the centre there is a glitter of water, but elsewhere the basin is
filled with a dense vegetation. The plant whose light-blue spires
of blossom nod above the tangle of leaves is the "Water-foot," or
Eichhornia. Water-fowl, orange and hyacinth-blue coots, go about
their business in the thicket of leaves.

Behind the pond is a meadow. Here is a path, enclosed by
barbed-wire fencing, whose wooden posts are perforated by the
steely-blue Carpenter-bee. Along the fences are dense clumps of
the great Brazilian nettle. One must be careftil not to touch the
three-lobed leaves. Compared with the burning irritation which
they cause the sting of our nettle is a mere tickling.

Now a negro hut appears, thatched with straw ; before it a black,
naked little boy is playing, Macaiba-palms, whose trunks are
dilated like spindles, and whose great fronds have a grass-like
appearance, overshadow the hut, and a few oil-palms stretch their
spiky leaves into the air, revealing, under their crowns, their clusters
of glowing orange fruit (Plate 9) , We pass the hut, and again the
42

THE OCEAN SHORE

bush closes around us, until we come to a thin hedge of coconut-
palms, beyond which lies the sparkling sea.

Here on the seashore, under the palms, amidst the dead fronds
and fragments of husk that crackle beneath our feet, a little reddish
flower blooms, which resembles our bindweed; it belongs, indeed,
to the same family. It is the Goatfoot Bindweed, which is widely
distributed on all tropical coasts, as the seed survives long immer-
sion in salt water; I had seen it already in Ceylon. Another flower
of similar form holds up towards the sun a bright yellow blossom,
whose interior is a warm orange, with a fleck of darkest violet at
its heart. It opens always at nine o'clock in the morning, so that
the Brazilians call the plant "Nove Horas" — or even say "relogio"
for "nine o'clock." One finds this pretty little flower also between
the rails of the electric tramway in Olinda.

And now once more we are on the beach, and the sea glitters
green; little pale sand-crabs scuttle away before us, and when
they hurry sidelong across the sand they look like empty shells
driven by the wind. — There are few shellfish lying on the beach;
but yonder shines a blue transparent bladder, shimmering like
glass, almost as large as a man's fist. Its shape is like that of a
three-cornered hat; as though seeking the water, the pointed end
gropes to and fro, while the bladder alternately dilates and
contracts (Fig. 2).

It is a marine animal, cast up by the sea; the Physalia, a species
of Hydromedusa. The Brazilians call it the Caravella — which
means a little ship ; the English name is the Portuguese man-of-war.
And the Caravella really does float upon the water like a little
ship of glass. I used often to put one of these creatures into a glass
of sea-water, and I was never weary of marvelling at its glorious
colours. Now light blue, now violet, now silver the crystalline
creature shimmers, and still further to enhance its splendour the
top of the bladder is traversed by a crimson comb. From the under-
side of the bladder depend long filaments, which seem to be spun
of glass of the most glorious ultramarine blue. Silently they con-
tract and extend themselves as the bladder dilates and subsides.

The Caravella is not a single individual, but a whole colony of
polyps. The polyp is a primitive organism whose intestine is a
simple sac, having only one orifice, through which nourishment is
absorbed and undigested matter ejected. In the Caravella quite

43

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

a number of such tubular polyps depend from the bladder, which
keeps them afloat, and into which a special gland allows gas to
enter, inflating it like a balloon. Between the short tubular polyps
which absorb nourishment (Fig. 2, S), longer polyps hang down
like fine tentacles, whose function is to capture tiny crabs and fishes
and convey them to the orifices of the polyps or siphons, whose
function it is to absorb and digest. For this purpose they are equipped
from top to bottom with batteries of explosive cells or nematocysts
which expel extremely fine filaments, and thereby inject a poison
into any little fish that swims against them. The fish is immediately
paralysed and remains fastened to the tentacle, and this winds
itself about its prey, and conveys it, by progressive contraction, to
the siphons, which absorb and digest it. These little capillary
poison-fangs will penetrate even the human skin; if one touches
the Caravella a sharp burning pain is felt. In the case of a large,
freshly-taken Caravella the burning may be so acute that inflam-
mation and fever will supervene.

With long drooping tentacles and bladder driven by the wind,
the Caravella sails the seas, dredging the waters as with a net that
paralyses and kills all living things. Despite the terrible poison-
batteries, however, certain little fishes have adapted themselves to
this sinister creature, and are found constantly swimming in among
the tentacles ; they are protected against many of their enemies by
this formidable screen, and at the same time they flourish on the
leavings of their living entanglement.

The polyps of which the Caravella is a living colony are found
also as individuals in a profuse variety of forms. On the floor of
the sea there are individual polyps which are similar in structure
to the nutritive siphons (gastrozoids) of the Caravella, and which
live with the closed end of the digestive sac adhering to the sea-
bottom; with the mouth-orifice extended upwards, they capture
with a circlet of tentacles such creatures as swim within their reach.
The wanderer on the beaches of Brazil will not see much of these
often resplendently coloured "sea-roses," unless he gazes into the
depths of a calm, rocky bay. But there are also natatory forms of
hydrozoa. The jelly-fish, sea-nettles, or Medusae are bell-shaped
animals which pump their way through the water, rhythmically
contracting the rim of the bell. From the circumference of the bell
hang tentacles, which, like the snakes of Medusa's head, trail after
it writhing and crinkling (Fig. 2). From the centre of the bell the
mouth protrudes on a stalk, surrounded by broader pennon-likc

44

THE OCEAN SHORE

tentacles. These convey the prey which has been paralysed by the
stinging-organs to the mouth, which passes them on to the stomach.
The Medusae, like the Garavella, are transparent as glass, and often
display the most delicate colours. I once saw whole shoals of them
lying on the beach of the Praia Grande at Santos, the milky discs
glittering like jellies in the sun.

The profusely-peopled world of the fishes of the sea is commonly
invisible to the human eye. But when the traveller, voyaging from

^^

Fig. 2. — On the left, the Garavella or Portuguese man-of-
war (Physalia). Above the surface is the swimming-
bladder or pneumatophore. S, siphons ; T, tentacles
and palpacles ; G, genital organ or gonostyle. — On
the right, a jelly-fish (Pelagia). Beneath it a Goffer-
fish (reduced)

Europe, approaches the Equator, he will see fish springing out of
the water on either side of the ship, flashing silver in the sun, flying
over the ocean with fins that have been transformed into wings,
and disappearing, with a little splash, into a distant wave. These
are flying-fish, about the size of a herring, which leap out of the
water to escape the predatory fish that are pursuing them, and are
now frightened by the ship. How often I have watched their swallow-
like flight on the Indian and Atlantic Oceans ! But the flying-fish
are creatures of the high seas ; one does not see them from the beach.
If the landsman wishes to see fish he must go down to meet the
fishing-boats and inspect their catch. In addition to the fish, great
and small, which one may meet again on the table in the form

45

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

of a savoury dish, many strange and monstrous creatures catch
the eye.

For example, there is the Coffer-fish, whose body is built on
rectangular lines, like a box; the belly is flat as a board, and the
sides too are flat ; and the belly ends in a mouth from which a flat
vertical forehead rises. Thus the fish is like a little box, and its body
is encased with hexagonal plates of bone, which increase its rigidity.
The little tail, lashing quickly to and fro, and the protruding eyes,
above which are two forward-pointing spines, form a comical
contrast to this rigid body (Fig. 2) .

Facing Rio across the bay is Nictheroy. Here one may wander
along the fine highway that skirts the waterside, ending in the wide
sandy beach of the Praia Icarahy, unable to turn one's eyes from
the spectacle of the hills of the opposite shore, with their rugged
forms, tilted peaks and boldly projecting promontories, looking as
though the hand of an artist had painted them on the background
of the blue sky. — Rounding a promontory as green as a garden,
one overlooks a quiet, hill-girt bay. At the foot of some projecting
rocks lies a white house with a large roof and arcaded verandahs.
This is the Brazilian Yacht Club, of which the members are mostly
German, Round about it the sailing-boats lie at rest on the blue
tide. Here I once spent a few days; diving from the long wooden
jetty into the clear, deep, refreshing water, or sitting on the wall
and gazing toward the mouth of the bay, where the mountains rose
in a bluish vapour against the sky.

But if I went through the terraced garden, and descended some
narrow steps that were flanked by flowering bushes, I came to a
basin filled with sea-water, lying against the sea-wall, on the other
side of which the waves broke with a gentle splashing. I delighted
in watching the fish that swam to and fro in this basin. The Coffer-
fish, a slow swimmer, was easy to catch, but if one took it out of
the water it inflated itself A relative of the Coffer-fish, the Hedgehog-
fish, is even more expert in this art. Its whole body is covered with
spines ; hence its name. If as it swims through the water in search
of its food the Hedgehog-fish is attacked by a predatory fish it
quickly pumps its stomach full of air ; the elastic abdominal wall
dilates ; the fish, now spherical in form, shoots up to the surface, and
there capsizes, as its back is heavier than its belly, so that the pursuer
is confronted by a forest of rigid spines, and is quite unable to deal
with its suddenly transformed prey ; it cannot get a hold of this
prickly ball, nor can it take such a monstrous titbit into its mouth ;
46

THE OCEAN SHORE

moreover, the angry Hedgehog-fish lashes out with its tail, trying,
not without success, to wound its enemy. When the danger is past
it expels the air with an audible hiss, sinks into the depths, and
swims contentedly away.

It was fascinating to watch the fishes that suddenly shot forward
from the dark recesses of the basin if I threw in a small fish or a
rock-louse (which the Brazilians call the Barata do mar, the sea-
cockroach ; they may be found anywhere along the shore, scrambling
about over submerged stones). As the Barata splashed into the
water, flat, vertically-swimming fish striped with black and yellow
darted forward; and then the Parrot-fish or Slinger made its
appearance. This fish, as large as a plaice, is so luminously coloured
that you might think it had swallowed a Bengal fire. The body is
brown, but the belly gleams with the deepest violet, while the back
is striped with blue, and blue stripes run backwards from the mouth.
Near the eye itself are zigzag lines of blue, like flashes of blue
lightning. The pennon-like dorsal and abdominal fins and the
beautifully shaped tail are also streaked with blue and violet.

This fish soon seemed to realize that I used to bring it food.
Hardly had I reached the basin, when the two Parrot-fish which
inhabited it came to the surface and lay on their sides, their resplen-
dent colours blazing in the sun, making the water swirl with their
pennon-like fins, and spouting long curving jets of water from their
beak-hke mouths: all to attract attention to themselves. And as
they swam about the surface thus their protruding eyes were con-
tinually turned upon me, which gave them a droll appearance, as
though they were roguishly winking at me.

In the "Passeio publico," the public park of Rio, is a little
aquarium, admission to which is free, and here one may observe
a number of tropical fish, including the singular Bat-fish, whose
shoulders protrude right and left like a couple of pointed stakes,
bearing on their tips two fins like little banners. Here too are crayfish
and garfish, the savoury "Gamaroes," and some fine turtles. And
one may with luck see at least the head of a turtle in the calm,
rock-bound Turtle Bay of Guaraja, near Santos.

Off the coast of Pernambuco and other north-eastern States, and
even in the harbours of Recife, Maceio and Bahia, one may often
see sharks, for these creatures prefer to swim near the surface, so
that the triangular dorsal fin emerges from the water. While I was
in Pernambuco I was told, by several persons, the following story:
As a steamer was about to leave Bahia, and the passengers were

47

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

crowding on to the gangway, a child fell into the water. In a moment
a shark shot forward, seized the child, and dragged it under the
water. There was a terrible shriek from the parents ; then the child
reappeared, but bathed in blood, and legless ; and now the unhappy
parents themselves begged that it should not be rescued, so it sank
again before their eyes.

I myself witnessed neither this nor any similar scene, so that I
cannot vouch for its truth. But here is something which I have seen.
As our steamer lay in the Bay of Aden a number of large sharks
were swimming around it in search of refuse, but their presence
did not prevent the pretty little Somali boys who had come out
in their boats from exhibiting their skill in diving after coins which
were thrown into the water. Similarly, the South Sea islanders are
said to swim fearlessly in the near neighbourhood of sharks. The
explorer Pechuel-Loesche, during more than twenty years of travel,
never saw anyone killed or injured by sharks, nor could he ever
discover a reliable eye-witness of any such incident. One is therefore
obliged to conclude that the shark cannot be as bad as its reputation.
Fiction, especially if it is written for juvenile readers, is apt to
exaggerate the dangers of encountering animals, as the writers
foolishly imagine that an animal cannot interest their readers unless
it steals, or kills, or is killed.

I fancy the lion and the tiger have been almost as much mahgned
as the shark. As a general thing these beasts of prey avoid human
beings ; but now and again it happens that an old animal whose
teeth are defective, and who can no longer capture wild animals,
sinks to the degenerate practice of lying in wait for human beings.
But it cannot be disputed that there have been fatalities due to
sharks, and here again it seems to be always the solitary and outcast
shark which becomes a man-eater. Jack London, writing of the
South Seas, calls such man-eaters tiger-sharks ; but the great majority
are content with fish. The man-eaters are great travellers, and have
been known even to swim through the Suez Canal and to work
mischief on the shores of the Mediterranean.

There is also, on the coast of north-eastern Brazil, a fish of the
Mullet family, the Picuda, which is sometimes as much as six feet
in length, and which is said to enter harbours and to seize and
devour bathers. This fish is sometimes caught by the fishermen, but
its flesh is said to be poisonous at certain seasons.

48

THE OCEAN SHORE

Now and again one sees a whale off the north-eastern coast of
Brazil, and near Cabedello, the harbour of Parahyba, a whaling
station has actually been established; so that this much persecuted
animal, which is slowly nearing extinction, will presently be lost to
Brazil. The lesser relatives of the giant mammal (for the whales, of
course, are not fish, but warm-blooded animals which breathe with
lungs and suckle their young), the dolphins, are familiar to everyone
who has crossed the ferry from Rio to Nictheroy. The waters of the
beautiful bay wake to sudden life when the pointed fins and black
backs of the dolphins emerge, describing a graceful curve, tilting
over, and disappearing. The dolphin at home in the harbour is the
tide-water dolphin or Boto.

While the eye is still following their glistening black bodies a
sudden splash is heard, and something falls into the water like
a stone. It is a gannet, a large bird with a long straight beak, which
dives from a height in order to seize its prey. Its colleague, the
handsome frigate-bird, is usually seen hovering high in the air.
I had already admired these birds in Bahia. The forked tail produces
the illusion of two long legs outstretched behind the bird, so that at
first sight I thought it must be a stork or crane.

When, sailing from Santos, I approached the vast estuary of
La Plata, I experienced a treat which I had not looked for on this
voyage. Though the month was July, the air was cold as winter,
and I paced the deck shivering, wrapped in my warmest cloak.
Then, suddenly, my attention was attracted by a sharp muzzle
which lifted itself from the water, followed by a narrow head ; and
then two great round eyes were staring at the ship. Other heads
appeared; they were the heads of sea-lions, Antarctic animals.
We saw them for a time constantly; there were young cubs among
them, which rushed through the water like fish, hastening away in
terror, with outstretched flippers and hunched backs, from the
great steamer. Near the Isla de Lobo (Sea-Lion Island), which
rises from the sea not far from Montevideo, there were so many
sea-lions sitting on a reef that their lifted heads gave it a serrated
appearance, and at night their expressive roaring sounded over the
water. There were penguins too swimming in the sea, birds of the
Antarctic Ocean, whose wings have turned into scaly flippers.
The black and white bodies lay horizontal on the water. The third
inhabitant of the southern hemisphere which I encountered was the
albatross. Without a movement of their wings, the albatrosses
floated lightly to and fro behind the ship, their brown pinions

D 49

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

outstretched from their white bodies Uke the balancing-pole of a
rope-walker. On the return voyage in September the ship was
accompanied also by Cape pigeons, which flew constantly above the
ship's wake, stooping after scraps of food. They are called pigeons
because they resemble those birds in size, and in the shape of the
bill, but in reality these pretty creatures, with their black and white
harlequin costume, belong to the Petrels. They breed on the coast
of Uruguay, and on Tierra del Fuego.

Now and again one sees plovers on the beaches of Brazil, or
sandpipers, small brown birds which run swiftly to and fro on
their slender little legs. Seagulls, which the Brazilians call "Gaivotas,"
and terns, "Trinta rais," I seldom saw. These birds are more
numerous on our German islands in the North Sea, particularly
where they are protected. Since the terns, and some of the gulls,
lay their eggs on the sand, where anyone may steal them, the
collection of these eggs by the natives may be the cause of their
comparative rarity on the inhabited stretches of the Brazilian coast.

In October 1924 the Deutsche Wirtschaftsdienst in Berlin reported
that the seal fishery in Uruguay had become an important source
of revenue. In 1922, an especially good year, 2,600 fine and 4,000
ordinary skins were obtained. One Argentine company obtained
5,000 barrels of seal-oil and 30,000 of train-oil, and the whale
fishery on the whole of the coast was said to have yielded 77,000
barrels of train-oil. Fortunately for the seals, a Uruguayan com-
mission has recommended a statutory regulation of the seal fishery,
and Argentina too is said to have established a close season, so that
we may hope that these beautiful creatures will not be recklessly
sacrificed to the greed of gain. The whale fishery, on the other hand,
will soon have cleared the southern seas of the giant mammals,
as it has already cleared the northern. Here only the strictest legis-
lation would be of avail, and it would have to be enforced by
international supervision; and experience seems to show us that
the nations are as yet unready for such measures.

As our vessel was approaching Santos from the south, we saw
dead penguins floating on the water. As long ago as 1899 H. von
Ihering reported such a wholesale mortality of penguins, albatrosses
and gulls. In 1920, moreover, hundreds of penguins are said to
have been washed ashore near Santos, and since then such regrettable
mortality has frequently recurred. H. Luedervaldt, of the Sao Paulo
Museum, is of the opinion that the larger seabirds are exhausted by
protracted gales, because in rough weather the fish seek the quiet

50

THE OCEAN SHORE

depths, and can no longer be caught by striking or diving; and in
warmer latitudes a sudden change of temperature might be fatal
to the penguins.

This opinion I cannot share. While such circumstances might be
fatal to individual birds of a weakly constitution, I do not think
they could ever threaten the existence of a whole species. They
would, on the contrary, have a selective action, inasmuch as the
weaker birds, and those whose instinct did not warn them against
wandering too far north, would be excluded from perpetuating
their species. Animals have always adapted themselves to natural
occurrences, and there have always been gales; yet sailors who
have visited the yet unexplored regions of the Antarctic invariably
speak of the indescribable profusion of sea-birds in those latitudes.
The penguins first began to grow rarer when men began to stamp
them down in barrels in order to extract their oil, and the albatrosses
when men began to plunder their breeding-places in the Pacific,
stealing their eggs, and killing the birds themselves — which, on
their lonely islands, were unaccustomed to the presence of enemies —
in order to adorn women's hats with their feathers.

I have no doubt that the cause of this wholesale mortality of sea-
birds is that which has killed so many round Heligoland, The oil
thrown overboard by steamers which burn oil fuel spreads over the
surface of the water, and the birds alight on it, or swim through it,
as the penguins do; their feathers become matted together, so that
they can no longer keep the water from their skin, with the result
that they catch cold and die. Thousands of lovely birds perish in
this way, and unless some device is soon invented which will prevent
the discharge of such oil, and unless its use is made compulsory by
law, the seas will one day lie dead in the sunlight : they will have
lost their living beauty.

Man to-day is terribly estranged from Nature, to his own detri-
ment, for he thereby loses much of the joy of life. Perhaps the
steamship companies might be induced to intervene on behalf of
the sea-birds, for it is obviously to their advantage that a sea-voyage
should be as interesting as possible. For after a week or two at sea
the grey spectre of boredom makes its appearance, and as time
goes on deck-sports and dancing no longer suffice to dispel it.
It has always been my experience that everyone wakes up at once
the moment a whale is sighted, or when a rare sea-bird is seen to
be following the ship.

Just as watering-places anxious to attract visitors are careful to

51

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

preserve the beauty of the surrounding country, so, as the fully-
justified conviction gains ground that few things are more refreshing
to the body and beneficial to the health, care should be taken to
ensure that the passenger is kept cheerful and amused. This can
best be done by providing him with exciting and interesting
experiences. For his own sake, and for the sake of the future, man
should see to it that the life of the sea is preserved. For just as a
forest does not consist of trees alone — just as flowers, and the song
of birds, and the glitter and hum of insects are inseparable from
its individuality — so the sea is more than mere water. Its living
inhabitants, from the sea-anemone and the starfish on the rocks
to the fish that swim in its waters, and the seabirds that glide above
its waves, are all part of the sea ; they are all interrelated, like the
several parts of a work of art ; they are mutually dependent on one
another for their existence, and only in the harmonious co-existence
of all its elements can the whole prosper. Only thus can the sea
exert that invigorating, enriching and uplifting influence upon the
human soul which all the world over makes Nature the best physician
and teacher of mankind.

Ill

THE SCAVENGERS OF THE SHORE, AND THE
MANGROVE WOODS

X HE sea is an eternal grave. At every moment dying creatures
are sinking on to the floor of the sea, where innumerable living
creatures set to work upon their corpses. What cannot be utilized
is covered by the gradual deposition of the fine ooze which the
rivers bring down to the sea.

The bodies of other creatures, which perish near the coast, are
cast ashore by the sea. For a long while the ocean plays with them
as though reluctant to surrender its booty; it draws them back,
and again washes them forward with its breaking rollers, until at
last some greater wave casts them so high upon the beach that those
which follow are no longer able to reach them.

And there the dead fishes lie, with here and there a drowned
mammal, and the high-water mark would soon be a line of putre-
fying corpses, had not this coastal cemetery its own living sextons.
Hovering high in the air, they spy, with their piercing eyes, the
smallest of these dead creatures, descend upon it with rustling wings,
and smite their beaks into its flesh.

These sextons are the black vultures or Urubus, the characteristic
tokens of the Brazilian coast, and the voyager from Europe rejoices
to see the heavens alive with these great birds — for they are as
large as a turkey — cruising in majestic circles. I have seen them in
a coastal thicket, at work on the carcase of a horse ; I have seen
them on the beach at Santos, drying their outspread Vv'ings in the
morning sun; they came marching up from the water in long files,
turning their narrow heads, which seem too small for their corpu-
lent, black-plumaged bodies, to gaze at me as I drew near, though
they did not allow themselves to be perturbed. And often I saw
them floating like black shadows between the glittering fans of the
coconut-palms (Plate lo).

Even in the interior of the country I saw them frequently, and
at Caruani, a little town eight hours' journey by rail from the
coast, I saw their nesting-places on the high rocks. In that country,
where people simply throw their refuse, and the carcases of animals,
into the nearest thicket, it is the vultures that prevent the air from
being poisoned and breeding pestilence. For this reason they are

53

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

not molested; though, to be sure, their flesh would not be very
palatable.

There are several species of Urubii ; one, the Raven Vulture,
has a dark head; another, the Turkey Vulture, has a red head,
and there are also some whose heads are yellow. Brazil boasts also
of a very large "Urubiirei," who fully deserves his name of King
Vulture, for the plumage of the body, white over pale rose, the
jet-black pinions and rump, the bright red of the neck, and the
tubercles on the beak, have a truly regal appearance. This bird,
however, is rare, and I saw only specimens in captivity. The largest
of the vultures, the Condor, is found on and about the snow-covered
peaks of the Andes.

Vultures need bare expanses of land — meadows, deserts or sea
beaches — for they must be able to see the dead animals which
constitute their nourishment; in wooded country the ground is of
course invisible. In Aden I saw the Indian carrion-vultures which
are found there, sitting all over the naked rocks of the valley, basking
in the sun. There they were allotted the task of devouring the corpses
of the Parsees in a "Tower of Silence," for the ancient Persian
religion requires the Parsees to dispose of their dead in this manner.
In Ceylon, on the other hand, which is largely afforested, there are
no vultures.

The Urubus swallow their food in great mouthfuls, and the
larger the carcase the better they like it. They do not touch the
smaller fish, Crustacea, and molluscs cast up on the shore ; for these
Nature has appointed another body of scavengers.

If I sat on the beach at Olinda, gazing at the bright green sea,
while behind me the coconut-palms rustled, and the brine-scented
wind blew into my face, and kept perfectly still, certain phantom-
like little creatures emerged one by one from the sand. From all
directions dark and curiously dead eyes turned themselves upon me.
I was surrounded by spectres. They were sand-crabs, creatures with
flat, rectangular bodies and coloured like the sand. They had
crept out of their hiding-places — deep holes which they themselves
had dug in the sand — and now turned attentively in all directions
their black, stalked eyes, which stood up like two little lighthouses.
If I still remained motionless they began cautiously to move, slowly
at first, and then more quickly, travelling sideways as crabs always
do. If they found a dead fish, a scrap of wood, or one of the seed-

54

THE SCAVENGERS OF THE SHORE

pods of the bladder-wrack, which lay like green beads on the sand,
they fingered them with their blue-white hands, their claws, plucked
them to pieces, and conveyed them to their mouths, or dragged
their booty to their holes, so that in case of danger they could
disappear in a flash.

If I made the slightest movement they were in their holes in
a moment, and it was some considerable time before they cautiously
ventured forth again. To catch them was impossible ; at least, I did
occasionally succeed in doing so if I sat motionless by a hole, waited
until the crab came out, and then, quick as lightning, flung a stone
over the hole. Sometimes, too, when wandering along the shore,
I caught a sand-crab who had ventured into shallow water in
order to moisten its chest-cavity, for the sand-crabs, like all their
kind, breathe through gills. The gill-chambers, which are enclosed
by the shell, retain the moisture for a long time, and when the
oxygen is exhausted the crab allows air to enter by a small aperture
in the rear of its body.

If one disturbs the sand-crabs as they are wandering down to the
sea they run at full speed back to their holes. — In Ceylon too I
encountered sand-crabs; they were even more numerous than in
Brazil, and less timid, and fled back before the pedestrian like a
living wave. If they were brought to bay they reared up and lifted
their claws in a threatening manner, and a dog which used to
accompany me in Olinda did not dare to tackle so valiant an
adversary, but merely snapped at the air, barking, and prudently
keeping his distance.

It always amused me to watch the sand-crabs, and I never
wearied of observing their apparently intelligent behaviour. I even
kept them in the house, in glass containers filled with sand, where
I fed them with insects. Here I was able to observe how the sand-
crab digs his hole. He presses himself sideways into the sand, grasps
a little pellet of sand with two legs and a claw, pulls himself back
with the four opposite legs, and then flings the sand away with
his claw. All this is done by jerky movements, and while the crab
is at work he keeps a constant and cautious watch upon his sur-
roundings. The hole, when finished, is so deep that one has to dig
for some time before coming to the bottom. The sand-crabs of
Brazil have certain relatives which live in a similar fashion, but
grow to a much larger size. The body of the sand-crab is seldom
larger than a five-shilling piece, but these other crabs are powerful
creatures, and their claws are as big as those of a large lobster.

55

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

In the plains bordering on the sea, which are overgrown with
mangrove-thickets, and are flooded at high tide, but at ebb tide
show patches of black, slimy mud, these crabs are at home. If one
travels from Recife to Olinda by the electric tramway, for the
greater part of the half-hour's journey one passes through such
a mangrove-swamp. The glossy green thickets extend in all direc-
tions, and between them are gleaming channels and occasional
pools. Here and there, on islands which are joined to the road by
causeways, are negro cabins of mud, thatched with palm-straw,
before which girls or naked black little boys are playing, or black
pigs and fowls are rooting or scratching in the mire. Behind them
is the long, blue-green line of the sea ; at one point an old Dutch
fort rises out of the bush, with picturesque half-ruined bastions.
The whole makes a beautiful picture, of which I was never weary,
and the sea-breeze, blowing across the open benches of the tram,
was always refreshing.

In the air hovered the black vultures, or they sat huddled on the
black muddy islands. But these had other inhabitants also. There,
before their holes, sat crabs of all sizes, cautiously looking about
them with their black stalked eyes ; for the negroes hunt them, and
often offer the "carangeijos" for sale in the streets, when the unfor-
tunate creatures are tied together in a long string.

For a long time I kept one of these swamp-crabs in my room.
His colour was a splendid sky-blue, passing into yellow on the
sides and the claws. He had one large and one small claw; the
large right-hand claw was his weapon, and if I drove him into a
corner in order to catch him, he struck at me so fiercely with this
claw that his whole body was jerked forward by the movement.
I believe this crab could easily have crushed one of my fingers
with his pincers. I fed him with bananas, bread, or large insects
and sand-crabs, which he promptly seized, pulling off all their
legs in order to prevent their escape. Then, with vigorous tugs, he
tore his prey to pieces, and ate the whole. If a crab or insect took
refuge under his body, he groped under his belly until he had
recovered his victim.

The swamp-crab soon knew his way about my room, and when
I left him free to run about I had always to keep the door shut.
If he found a little pool of water under the wash-stand, he dabbed
at it with his small claw, which he used as a hand, and conveyed
it to his mouth; if I poured water over him, he gurgled loudly, and
lashed his feelers to and fro, in order to direct the water into the
56

Plate III

TWO OF THE ISLANDS OF RECIFE — GOVERNMENT PALACE

HOUSE IN CAXANGA, NEAR RECIFE

THE SCAVENGERS OF THE SHORE

gill-chambers. The eyes were then washed with the palps of the
large mandibles.

• • • • •

Around Recife the mangroves form only a bushy growth, for the
large trees have long ago been felled, and even the copse-wood
growing from the roots and stumps is continually cut; for not only
does the mangrove yield a wood which is used in cabinet-making,
but the bark contains as much as 40 per cent, of tannin. To
the naturalist the mangrove is of peculiar interest, for this plant
is "viviparous," and strange as it may seem to apply an expression
which is commonly used of animals to a motionless green vegetable,
the word is none the less justified.

The fruit of the mangrove-tree has the form of a little green pear,
and while still in the pear the seedling sprouts from the seed, whereas
in other cases the seed does not germinate until the fruit has fallen
from the tree. The seedling even develops a special suctorial organ,
by which it sucks nutriment from the fruit, and the plant continues
to supply the fruit with this nutriment : a state of affairs which is
really comparable to the development of the embryo in the body
of a mammal. In the case of the mangrove the seedling grows
bigger and bigger, stretches itself out, breaks through the lower
part of the fruit, and finally hangs out of it, in shape like a thick
bean, some sixteen inches in length. This apparent bean, however,
is the stem of the young plant ; it is already fairly heavy, and pointed
at the lower end. At last the time comes when the fruit can no
longer support it, when it falls out, plunges into the water, and
rams itself into the underlying mud, all by virtue of its weight and
shape. Thus the mangrove, although it grows above the water,
is nevertheless able to plant its seedlings in the ground : a truly
wonderful adaptation ! — In a few hours' time the young plant
has already begun to anchor itself in the mud by pushing out lateral
roots, and can no longer be washed away.

Full-grown mango-trees are to be seen only here and there in
the neighbourhood of Recife and Santos (Plate 10). On other
parts of the coast, however, the swamp-forest is more nearly intact ;
I saw the finest trees on the frontier of the States of Pernambuco
and Alagoa, at Tamandare, on the Estiva estate. Here a fairly wide
river flows down from the hills near by, forms a mangrove-swamp,
and then turns aside, flowing back to the swamp some distance
from the sea. The sea flows into this swamp, and its waters rise and
fall with the ebb and flow of the tide.

57

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

In an old canoe, punted with long poles by two mulattoes, I
navigated its dark waters. The tops of the great trees met far over-
head ; between was a tangle of hanging creepers, which met above
the stream, forming a vaulted roof, the leaves, when the sun struck
them, glittering with a light green or silver fire. The mangrove has
stiff leaves with thick-walled veins and capillaries, in order that
the moisture should not evaporate too quickly. If the evaporation
were too rapid too much salt water would be drawn up to replace
the moisture lost, and an excess of salt would injure the foliage.

With their mighty trunks the trees stood high on their roots as
though on a foundation of piles, under which the black water lost
itself in the darkness. The roots sprang from the trunk in vigorous
curves, sometimes growing from the foot of the tree and sometimes
half-way up the stem, so that they had to grow a long way before
they could dip into the water.

The wood seemed to rest on elastic springs; close at hand one
was astonished by the monumental solemnity of all this sylvan
architecture, but at a distance the pile-work of the roots had the
strange appearance of an open, grill-like wall beneath the forest.
The roots were yellow beneath the sharply-defined horizontal line
which marked the level of high water; above this the living
scaffolding was grey, and in the sunlight which filtered through
the foliage, here outlining a root or bough and there flooding one
with light, the surprising solidity and the delicate ramifications of
the structure were revealed. For on the mangrove, as on most of
the trees of the tropics, the large, thick, oval, pale-green leaves are
so sparsely distributed that the architecture of the tree is visible
down to its slenderest twig.

Slowly the canoe glided forward. Here and there the leaves of
water-lilies floated on the surface like green plates; and where the
pile-work of the mangroves receded, leaving an open creek, the
leaves of the "Water-foot" grew in a dense throng. Wherever I found
this aquatic plant, which is very common in Brazil, I rejoiced to
see its light-blue and whitish spires of blossom. But the leaf-stalks
of the stout leaves, lifted to the surface by bladders, were equally
fascinating. For not only do these structures function as floats to
support the leaves, but the air which they contain in their loosely-
woven tissues is of service to those parts of the plant which are
buried in the ooze, for the plants need air to breathe, and mud and
slime contain less air than clear water.

On the bank stood a brown heron. Through the bush the capy-

58

THE SCAVENGERS OF THE SHORE

baras, the long-haired "water-pigs" of Brazil (Fig. 33), had
trodden a path. Now the scaffolding of the mangrove-roots closed
in on either side, and it grew darker on the water. From time to
time a flight of bats flew by, of a species which has taken to catching
fish for its livelihood ; flitting with a soundless flutter of wings over
the stream, and settling on a tree-trunk that slanted over the water.
Along the shore two or three "Martin-fishers" accompanied us, flying
up when the canoe approached them, with a flashing of blue-grey
plumage, and alighting again ahead of us, with their long beaks
pointing towards the water. Once, too, I caught sight of the Great
Kingfisher, in his light-grey plumage and white collar, the head-
feathers ruffling in the breeze.

Bemtevis flew along the shore, perched on a projecting twig,
and looked at us inquisitively from eyes that were set in a black
stripe, which gave brilliance to the white band above them. From
a bough outstretching far over the water the long, woven, pouch-like
nest of the Checheou hung suspended. And now the call of the
bird itself was heard : a call of beautiful, flute-like notes, which
suddenly gave way to hoarse, guttural tones. Now the bird was
silent, and the Crested Oriole, almost as large as a jackdaw, flew
over the water, the yellow rump gleaming golden. Slowly a Morpho
butterfly came floating through the forest on its silken-blue, black-
bordered wings. Suddenly one of the mulattoes pointed to the top
of a tree, and there, sure enough, stiff and motionless as though
hewn out of stone, was a grey beast as big as a cat, its long, black-
banded tail wound half-way round the bough on which it lay.
A serrated crest ran along its back, and a long pouch hung from
its throat. It was the great Brazilian tree-lizard, the Leguan, which
the Brazilians call the Chameleao. Unfortunately I could not
prevent the men with me from firing at it. After the shot all was
at first still; then, gradually, the hind feet loosened their hold,
the long tail dropped, the forefeet relaxed their grip, and with a
thud and a splash the creature fell heavily to the wet ground.

It was not long before another great tropical reptile showed
itself. I saw it in the distance, lying on a sandbank like a weathered
tree-trunk; then suddenly the creature slid into the water. It was
a caiman, a crocodile, which the Brazilians call the Jacare. And
quick as lightning another caiman shot into the stream from the
opposite side. We noted the position of one of these creatures, a
splendid specimen, twelve or fourteen feet in length, which is large
for a Brazilian crocodile, and sure enough, on the way back, as we

59

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

quietly rounded a projecting thicket of mangrove-roots, I saw the
great reptile lying close before me on a sandbank, a grey, warty,
antediluvian apparition, its huge head pointing towards the land.
It seemed asleep, and only when one of the men fired did it throw
up its head, turn its massive body, and disappear into the stream,
just in front of the canoe.

The incautious behaviour of the caiman surprised me, for in
Ceylon I never came upon a crocodile which was not lying with
its head towards the water, so that it could disappear immediately
on the approach of a human being. The great armoured lizards
have long been hunted creatures; wherever there are human
inhabitants they are rare, and they survive only by living in
concealment and observing the greatest caution.

Many people may consider that the extermination of a creature
which is dangerous to man cannot be productive of harm. But
such people think too lightly of the powers of the Creator ; as though
He would create any creature that did not fill its appointed place
and adapt itself as a living member of the whole great community
of plants and animals, so that it cannot with impunity be blotted
out of this harmony without harmful consequences ! Already
observers in the southern States of North America report that with
the progressive disappearance of the alligator the rats and poisonous
snakes have increased in numbers, and are much more unpleasantly
conspicuous than their former enemies. Alligators and crocodiles
do not destroy human food, as do rats. They live principally on fish,
which they stun with a swish of the tail and skilfully sweep into their
jaws. But it must not therefore be thought that the fish are exter-
minated, or that man is deprived of a food-supply. In the jungle of
Ceylon I had an opportunity of observing an outlying tank in
which there were many crocodiles, but which nevertheless was
swarming with fish. In an unspoiled state of nature the predatory
animals do not exterminate their prey, for species is attuned to
species in its mode of life and its powers of multiplication.

As for danger to human beings, the American crocodiles, and
as a general thing the alligators and caimans, are not man-eaters.
These animals seldom grow to more than twelve or thirteen feet
in length, and even this length is rarely attained by any but the
black caiman, an Amazonian species which has grown accustomed
to man, so that it will come to his camping-place and snap up the
scraps of meat that are thrown to him. Man-eating is reported only
in the case of the two largest of the armoured lizards, the Nile

60

THE SCAVENGERS OF THE SHORE

crocodile and the great Indian crocodile, and even in the case of
these species it seems that it is only individuals — as in the case of
lions and tigers — which become man-eaters. I myself had reason
to be convinced that the Indian mugger or marsh crocodile, which
does not exceed twelve or thirteen feet in length, is, like the American
species, by no means a formidable creature; for when I was in
Ceylon my native companion continually urged me to shoot one of
these creatures, so that he could haul it out of the tank, and it was
obvious that he had not the slightest fear of being seized by the
other reptiles. At the same time, a crocodile even twelve feet in
length looks a very large and sinister creature, and I can understand
that anyone unused to the sight of such reptiles, or unfamiliar with
their habits, would naturally believe that they were dangerous.

Only when it is defending its young does the caiman attack.
The reptile makes itself a nest of vegetable refuse, whose decomposi-
tion generates a high temperature and thus incubates the eggs.
When American crocodiles have made savage attacks on man, they
were always parent reptiles anxious for the safety of their eggs or
their young. And, of course, the crocodile defends itself if brought
to bay.

The hide of the South American caiman, which is found as far
south as La Plata, cannot, like tlie hide of the North American
alligator, be turned into leather. In South America, consequently,
there are no crocodile farms, whereas there are alligator farms in
Florida. But although the Jacare of Brazil is commercially valueless,
I do not believe the Brazilian exists who, with rifle in hand, could
pass such a reptile without shooting at it; and in all probability it
will not be long before the caiman has to be added to the long list
of animals exterminated by the hand of man. Our grandchildren,
for whom travel in remote quarters of the earth will be easier than
it is for us, will see little more there than they would at home;
such rare creatures as cannot adapt themselves to the machinery
of civilization will have perished in Brazil as elsewhere. Man can
tolerate only servile natures ; masterful creatures which offer him
a stubborn resistance, obey only their own natural impulses, and
for that very reason possess beauty and fascination — such creatures
he destroys.

The extent to which the animal world contributes to the comfort
of mankind will be increased, but our souls will be the poorer.
For in each one of us, no matter how completely his mentality may
be subdued to the Age of Technique, there survives, buried out of

6i

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

sight, the longing for unfettered natural beauty, the nostalgia for
the bygone age when man lived among the beasts as a child of
Nature. For he was once encompassed about with an inexhaustible
wealth of living forms, which, in his moments of inspiration, he
explained in sagas and folk-tales. And these sagas, these long-vanished
but not extinct experiences, wake to life when beside the dark
waters of a forest stream we see, huge as a weathered tree-trunk,
primeval of aspect, the dragon of the ancient world, the crocodile.

IV

THE VIRGIN FOREST

When we hear the words "the virgin forest" a green wilderness
appears before our eyes, that reveals, far from the civilized world,
only the still life and movement of majestic Nature. A boy's eyes
glitter when he hears of the primeval forest, and a longing seizes
him one day to explore this green dusk for himself.

On European soil, however, only the smallest remnant of the
primeval forest is left. All the more, therefore, the imagination plays
with the thought of the forests of other lands, of which the travellers
bring us their reports. And in truth it is in the virgin forest that
the mind avid of discovery will most surely attain the fulfilment of
its longings. It is in the very nature of the untouched forest to be
the guardian of secrets, and it has from of old been the refuge of
those creatures which belong to an earlier period, and can no longer
live their former life in a changed world.

Thus it was in the virgin forest that the okapi, the gorilla,
and the pigmy tribes of the Akka found their last refuge. The
Indian jungle gives shelter to the tapir, and the jungle of Ceylon
to the dwindling race of the Veddahs. The last specimens of the
European wild horse, which shortly after the glacial period trod
the plains of Europe in countless herds, were killed in the forest
of the Vosges, and the bison, which originally roamed the plains,
became the forest aurochs. And when the Germans made their
way up the Rhine and the Danube, and built their homesteads on
the flanks of the hills, they often saw fires burning on the wooded
heights above them. These were the fires of the dark-haired abori-
gines who had withdrawn before the great migration. Once they
too had lived in the plains, and had built their huts on piles driven
into the beds of the lakes. For the new masters of the land, however,
they were the Albi, the wizards, who lived mysteriously in the dense
forest, where in the deep ravines even the scaly dragon had his lair.

We can guess how the imagination was excited by such tales, and
how many a boy would think that there could be nothing finer
than to attempt a voyage of discovery into the wild forest. From
those old days the sense of the primeval forest has survived in our
minds ; and it is this sense which is liberated by the spectacle of the
tropical woodland. No one can get out of his own skin; even at the

63

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Equator the European is still a European; at first he feels an alien
in the tropics, and unrelated to tropical nature. And when he falls
under the spell of the sublimity of the forest, it is his European soul
that is thrilled and impressed, and all unknown to himself, the image
of the primeval forest that dwells within him draws a veil before
what he now beholds. But still more strongly does the power of the
innate influence the returned traveller who seeks to reproduce his
impressions of travel. This explains why it is that if a traveller in
the tropics — especially if he be a poet — has been, for example, to
India, he describes not the Indian landscape as it really is, but the
European landscape which has been familiar to him from child-
hood, disguised, so to speak, in an Indian dress. The poet in par-
ticular does not give us an objective impression, but the expression
of his own sensations. But even the ordinary descriptions of the
traveller are often distorted by his innate ideas. Only by a strenuous
and exhausting effort is one able to see into the alien Nature of the
tropics and realize its essential character.

By comparing my visit to Ceylon (1910-11), which lasted for
six months, with my sojourn in South America (1923-24), when
I spent just a year on Brazilian soil, I learned that one does not
really obtain a complete impression of a country until one is able
to observe Nature through all the seasons of the year. But while
travelling in two different tropieal countries will prevent one from
drawing general conclusions from observations which hold good of
one country only, it also makes one realize that there is a definite
tropical character which is common to all countries under the
Equator, and which differs fundamentally from the character of
more temperate latitudes. To determine this difference, and to
explain it in a scientific manner, is the task I shall now set myself.

The fundamental factor in the evolution of a type of vegetation is
the climate. People usually think that the tropical climate is dis-
tinguished from the climate of Europe by temperatures of a height
unknown to us. This is not the case. In Freiburg and Bayreuth, in
July and August 1925, my thermometer stood 7-2° higher than on
the hottest day in Pernambuco. Here is a table of maximum tem-
peratures in the middle of the year :

Pernambuco 89°

Colombo (Ceylon) 91°

Rio de Janeiro 97 • 7°
64

Leipzig

9^"

Berlin

91-4^

Timbuctoo

117°

Plate IV

BAHIA, FROM THE IMMIGRANT STEAMER GELRIA

VIEW FROM VICTORIA, ESPIRITO SANTO

Leipzig (July)

64-4^

Berlin

65-8°

Timbuctoo

84-5°

THE VIRGIN FOREST

Thus Rio de Janeiro is hotter than Pernambuco and Colombo,
although the capital is on the southern border of the tropical zone,
while Pernambuco and Colombo are only 8° respectively south
and north of the Equator. And Berlin shows a higher temperature
than either of these tropical cities.

A second table shows the mean temperatures of the hottest months :

Pernambuco 80 • 8°

Colombo 81 -3°

Rio de Janeiro 79 • 9°

But while in Leipzig and Berlin the temperature in the coldest
months may fall to zero Fahr., in Pernambuco the mean tempera-
ture of the coldest month (July) is 75°, and the minimum temperature
of the year is 64-9°. In Rio the mean temperature of the coldest
month is 70-1 °, whereas in eastern Germany the mean temperature
is below the freezing-point, and in western Germany only three or
four degrees above freezing-point. We see, then, that the essential
difference does not consist in the higher temperature of the tropics,
but in the fact that the tropics are distinguished by a uniformly high
temperature. The variation in the course of the year averages less
than 18°, whereas in Europe it averages 86°! Consequently a table
of mean annual temperatures reveals the real nature of the difference :

Rio de Janeiro 74 "8°

Pernambuco 78*2°

Berlin 48-3°

In the temperate zones we have a warm and a cold season in sharp
contrast, whereas in the tropics it is summer all the year. Our
plants have to reckon with a winter which brings their growth to
a standstill or kills them completely. For the life-process needs
warmth for its operations, and owing to the large amount of water
contained in plants — and their stems, rich in sap, may contain as
much as 96 per cent, of water — the whole body of the plant becomes
rigid if the thermometer sinks below freezing-point.

Now what is the natural consequence of the fact that whereas
our plants are actively living only for a few months in the year,
the tropical plants are active all the year through? It is obvious
that a tree which has hardly half the year at its disposal must work
twice as hard as a tree whose life knows no interruptions. The organs
of the plant which, like a chemical laboratory, with the help of
the sunlight and the water rising from the roots, manufacture the
materials needful for further growth, are, as we know, the leaves.

E 65

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Our trees, therefore, need more leaves than the tropical trees.
And we find that in general the foliage of our trees is thicker than
that of the tropical trees, in which a mighty trunk is often sur-
mounted by a surprisingly small crown, so that one can usually
follow the ramifications of the boughs to the ends of the twigs.
Very often the boughs bear, on the tips of their twigs, only a thin,
domed disk of leaves (Plate ii).

Similarly, the blossoming season of our plants is necessarily short,
while in the tropics not a month goes by but fresh plants open their
flowers. A host of meadow-flowers delights us in spring; but in the
tropics such a carpet of flowers will be sought in vain. In Europe
the simultaneous appearance of the leaves of the trees, as of the
flowers of the field, is a conspicuous characteristic. And this charac-
teristic is naturally more effective than the distribution of flowers
and foliage over the whole year, as in the tropics.

When in early summer a European enters such a little covert as
we find, for example, on the Upper Rhine, and passing between
the scented billows of the hawthorn, musical with the song of birds,
pushes his way through thickets overgrown with honeysuckle and
briony, above which oak and ash and other trees spread their leafy
crowns, and at last comes to a clearing where orchids lift their
purple spires from the grass and a pheasant rockets up witli a
gaggling cry, he tells himself that this is a scene of tropical luxuriance !
He imagines, at the Equator, a still denser confusion of greener and
lusher foliage, a still greater splendour of blossoms, a still more
intoxicating fragrance. But he who visits the tropics with such
hopes will inevitably be disappointed. For reasons already explained,
the tropical trees are far less rich in foliage than ours, and their
leaves are not so lush and green in appearance as those of a Euro-
pean wood. For the leaves of our trees let the sun shine through
them, but such behaviour would be dangerous in the case of the
tropical sun; in the tropics the leaves protect themselves by their
dense, leathery texture, and by a glossy upper surface, which
reflects the burning rays (Plate 15). And the third thing that we
imagine in connection with a tropical forest — the fragrance — is more
characteristic of our European woods. Of course, there are many
trees in equatorial countries which bear scented blooms, and many
orchids, but no scent of the tropics is as characteristic as the resinous
fragrance of our pine- and fir-woods. There are no conifers in the
tropics ; nor do the equatorial forests know the intoxicating odour
of the fallen leaves in the autumn woods.

66

THE VIRGIN FOREST

Wallace was one of the first travellers to remark that in Europe
Nature gives an impression of greater luxuriance than in the tropics,
and other travellers have pointed out that even the greatest splen-
dour of the tropics pales in comparison with that of an old quarry
full of blossoming hawthorn and honeysuckle, or a woodland
clearing gay with spring flowers. But while we do not wish to
exaggerate the splendour of the tropical landscape, we must not
fall into the contrary error. All in Nature is beautiful. It is beautiful
because it is in harmony with the landscape from which it has
evolved. Our woodlands would seem out of place at the Equator;
I saw in Ceylon how all attempts to make an English park in the
tropics, or a Mediterranean landscape of pines and cypresses in the
hills, were invariably unsuccessful. To make such attempts is indeed
to slight the powers of Creation, so far above all human effort and
all attempted "improvements." In an alien landscape we can do
nothing better than to make ourselves at home in it. Then its beauty
should and will win our hearts.

And there is, of course, a tropical luxuriance ; but it finds expres-
sion otherwise than in Europe ; that is, in the production, not of a
wealth of lush foliage, but of great masses of timber. In the tropics
the plants are able to grow without intermission, whereas in Europe
those which hope to survive the winter must fight a hard battle with
frost and ice and snow. And in order to fight this battle our trees
have had to adopt quite a number of protective devices. They cover
their buds with scaly leaves, and wrap them in hair, or resin, or
gum. The leaves are discarded in autumn, and then the tree more
readily endures the gales of winter. But by far the greater number
of our plants have never attempted to fight this battle ; they have
from the first declined to abide our winter. They surrender their
stems and leaves, and hibernate in the warm earth, in the form of
seeds or root-stocks. This means, of course, that every year they
have to begin all over again ; they are, therefore, unable to grow to
any great height, and remain herbaceous.

In the tropics, as the botanist Haberlandt has remarked, arbores-
cent or tree-like growth, and the reinforcement of the continually
growing stem by the formation of wood, is entirely natural. Germany,
for example, has only 36 native trees; Ceylon has some 1,500, and
Brazil has many times this number. Families of plants which in
Europe produce only herbaceous growths give rise to great trees
in the tropics. For example, in Europe we know the Milkworts or
Spurges (Euphorbiaceae) only as small plants, whose stalks, if

67

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

broken, exude a white milky sap; but in Brazil we find among
the Euphorbiaceae the tall rubber-trees, the Para caoutchouc tree
or Seringueira, and the Ceara caoutchouc tree, or Manicoba, whose
milk, when it oozes from incisions in the bark, congeals in the form
of rubber. The Andaassii tree of the coastal provinces, the kernel of
whose large stone-fruit yields a powerful cathartic, is in high favour
as a shade tree by reason of its size and its many branches. And the
family of the Leguminosae, the second largest family of the flowering
trees, containing no less than 12,000 species, whose representatives
in Europe are peas, beans and vetches — if we except the acacia and
laburnum and robinia, trees which were introduced from North
America — this family, in Brazil, has produced the most magnificent
trees, which give many of the forests their individual character.
Among them are the Ingas or ironwood-trees, certain Jacarandas,
the Jatobas, Arirabas, Angicos, etc.

Thus it is that the famous botanical garden of Rio de Janeiro
is above all a park or arboretum, in which the trees play the principal
part. And in the botanical garden of Peradeniya in Ceylon I even
saw the employees grazing their cattle — a quite unimaginable sight
in any European garden!

Even from the outside the tropical forest reveals its wealth of
species. Each one of its many kinds of tree has its individual mode
of growth, and when we see the forest in the distance, over the
low hills of the coastal landscape of north-eastern Brazil, its outline
is serrated and irregular; here the trees lift themselves high against
the sky, there they are lower; this tree is tall and slender, that
outspreads a spherical crown, and above them all the great and
spacious Leguminosae lift their spreading umbrella-shaped summits
(Plates 12, 23, 30).

How uniform in comparison is the outline of a European wood !
In the German forests, of course, the trees are mostly of the same
age, and therefore of the same height, and only a few species are
allowed to grow; often only two, and sometimes even only one.
But in the last virgin mountain forest which is left to us, that of
Kubany in the Bohmerwald, which has never been touched by the
axe, I have noted that under natural conditions trees of the same
species assume a great variety of forms. Here the spruce predominates,
but while one tree, whose neighbours, broken with age, have fallen
to the ground, is able to grow in freedom into a noble pyramidal
68

THE VIRGIN FOREST

form, another, closely hemmed in, shoots up towards the light,
putting forth only the shortest boughs; while a third is deprived
of light and air until it overtops the rest, and begins, when it is
free to do so, to spread itself abroad like an umbrella-pine. Thus the
outline of this forest is irregular, and this irregularity gives a certain
wildness to the scene ; the forest seems to be bursting with primeval
energy, and it is as though those fir-trees which have shot up
regardless of the pressure exerted on every side were proclaiming
their victory.

The European forest, however, is naturally inclined to uniformity.
In the foliaceous woods the densely-clad tree-tops are so inextricably
intermingled that one cannot see where one tree leaves off and
another begins. Our woods, seen from outside, give the impression
of an unbroken green fleece whose gentle undulations are marked
by faint shadows and transitions of tone. The whole is as though
painted in water-colour. The tropical forest could be painted only
in oils, and the gaze rests with content on the deep, vivid, saturated
greens with their gleaming high-lights. The greens of the tropics
are for the most part darker than our greens ; even by the Mediter-
ranean the golden oranges glow in a sombre foliage.

But the tender, uniform colouring of the outer surface of the
forest is absent in the torrid zone. Here each tree-top stands out
bodily and individually; each shows a different shade of green,
and thus the picture is rich in colour and modelling. The face of
the forest is netted and streaked by the light-coloured boughs and
trunks, for just as human beings prefer to wear white in the tropics,
so the trees prefer to cover themselves with bark of a light colour.
And on account of the sparse foliage one can distinguish the
scaffolding of the boughs quite a long way off; for these even break
through the crown of the tree, curling out against the sky in the
most singular fashion. On the hills of Ceylon, where the tree-tops
were of all different colours, from red and yellow to green, the trees
reminded one strikingly of cauliflowers, although this did not in
the least detract from the beauty of the scene. In the mountains the
air was so limpid that one seemed to distinguish every leaf, and
under the blue sky the plastic solidity of the forest was indescribable.
In Brazil also the details of the trees were distinguishable even at
a distance; on attempting to paint a Brazilian landscape I found
I could not wash in the colour with a soft brush; with a sable as
fine as that of a miniature-painter I had to lay point beside sharply-
defined point of colour. The tropics call for a special technique of

69

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

painting, and to judge by the pictures of tropical landscape which
I have seen hitherto, this does not appear to have been discovered
as yet.

Stately umbrella-shaped trees lift themselves majestically above
the Brazilian forest, and extend their spreading boughs in peaceful
majesty far above their companions. Their feathery foliage is of
such a deep green that they always reminded me of the pines
of the Mediterranean : so much so that I was sometimes deceived
into thinking them pines. These splendid "umbrella acacias," as
one might call them, belong to the Leguminosae, although they
are of quite a different species to our acacias. Since these trees, like
their relatives, our sweet-peas and our acacias, bear beautiful and
fragrant blossoms, they give a quite peculiar charm to the forest.
In November the woods on Corcovado near Rio were full of lovely
fragrance, and here or there, above the billows of forest that tumbled
down the hillside, rose the golden-yellow domes of the acacias.

Another family of plants, the Bignoniaceae, is represented in the
forests of Brazil by trees with magnificent flowers. From its feathery
foliage, mimosa-leaved like the acacia, the Jacaranda puts forth
panicles of violet trumpet-shaped blossoms. The bow-wood tree
also, the Pau d'arco, a relative of the Jacaranda, whose elastic wood
is used by the Indians for making their bows, has flowers of similar
shape and colour. It was in the south of the State of Pernambuco
that I first beheld the wonderful sight of bow- wood trees in blossom.
I was wandering through a valley whose sloping sides were covered
with meadows, running up to the wooded heights, in which cattle
were grazing, and through which little streams came splashing
downwards ; a landscape whose fresh and endearing beauty reminded
me of the Black Forest. But the dark green of the trees was very
different from the greens of Europe, and above this dark green
rose on every side domes of light violet-blue blossom. So tender was
the colour that it seemed to float above the blossoming trees like a
bluish mist. Other tree-tops there shone yellow, and others had
just unfolded their young leaves, which gleamed like silver.

Once I came upon such a bow-wood tree standing alone in a
green meadow. Through the blue mist all the boughs were visible,
and perched on the boughs, like crests of great green fleshy leaves,
Gravatas or Bromelias were growing. In form and colour both it
was like an incomparable work of art.

On the slopes of the ranges to the north of Rio the forest blossoms
in the Brazilian autumn (when it is spring in Europe). After leaving
70

THE VIRGIN FOREST

the hill-girt city the train crosses a swampy plain, the Baixada, and
then comes to the foot of the range, the "Raiz da serra," from which
one can travel by one line to Petropolis, by another to Therezopolis,
and by a third to Novo Friburgo. Each line has first to climb to the
top of the range, the "Alto da serra," for the three cities lie behind it.

These three journeys are all delightful : for one thing, because
it grows cooler every minute, as the carriages — which are pushed
up the slope singly — rise very quickly above the level of the plain.
At the foot of the range the Borboletas bloom like lilies, and the
scent of these lovely zingiberaceous^ flowers invades the carriage.
Before us the steep wall of the range rises to a height of 3,000 feet
and more. Now, as we climb, sharp and jagged ridges appear, then
a lofty cone, and projecting masses of rock; every moment some
fresh formation appears, and the rocks and peaks increase in size
as the carriage proceeds. And the slopes of all the hills are green
with the overflowing forest.

This, of course, is not the virgin forest, but the capoeira, as the
Brazilians call the growth which springs up after a forest is felled.
It is already a magnificent woodland, and there are lofty trees in it,
but anyone familiar with the country will recognize the capoeira
instantly by the Imbaubas, to be seen on every hand, with their
umbrella-shaped or chandelier-like crowns of large lobated leaves,
which look as though dusted with chalk, since the hairs on the
leaves reflect the sunlight. The Imbaubas are found only in young
woodlands ; under the tall trees of the forest they are stifled, but
after a clearing has been made they spring up in such profusion
that at first sight they remind one of an artificial plantation.

On the slopes of the range the woods seem strewn with the panicles
of the azalea-like Lent-flower, Flor de quaresma, of every shade from
violet to wine-red ; the blossoms of a bush or tree which owes its
name to the fact that its lovely flowers are in bloom during Lent.
Their leaves are so decorative in design that they almost seem to
be geometrical works of art ; the ribs of the leaf are connected by
equally-spaced lateral veins, and they are often covered with silky
hairs, or even pricked out with red.

The journey to Therezopolis is the most beautiful of the three ;
here the forest is in better preservation; the trees grow taller and
taller; beside the track are whole groups of tree-ferns with their
huge and yet delicately intricate fronds ; streams roar down among
the rocks, breathing coolness into the carriage, and suddenly,

» Of the ginger family.

71

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

looming menacingly above the waves of the forest, the gigantic
rock known as the "Finger of God" rises into the sky. Shortly after
this the summit of the range is reached.

When one is able to obtain a distant view from such an "Alto da
serra" a magnificent panorama unfolds itself From the steep flanks
of the range, above which rounded summits and jagged peaks rise
on either hand, one looks out over the wide green plain, on which
only a few houses are visible, to the pale blue of the bay with its
islands. Beyond the bay rise the intricate serrations of the further
mountain-range, with the Sugarloaf, Corcovada and the Tijuca
peak, all blue against the heavens, like a silhouette with bold,
rhythmic outlines.

On entering the virgin forest one must not, in the tropics, expect
"the shadow of the primeval forest" such as is often described in
fiction. The tropical forest is full of light, and observant travellers
— Schomburgk in South America and Haberlandt in Java — have
already drawn attention to the fact that the third characteristic of
the tropical forest is its brightness. The Indian jungle, like the
Brazilian forest, is full of light to the very ground (Plates 12 and 13).
For as we have seen, the tropical trees have fewer leaves than ours,
because they have all the year at their disposal for building their
tissues, and are able to perform their task still more thoroughly by
reason of the greater power and constancy of the sunlight. Moreover,
the leaves of most of the tropical trees have a glossy upper surface,
in order to mitigate the power of the sun, and thus the virgin forest
is full of gleams and flashes of light. A photograph can hardly
represent it with any fidelity, because the glittering leaves photo-
graph as white and give the impression of snow (Plates 13 and 14).
Lastly, the leaves of tropical trees prefer to turn their edges to the
sun, rather than allow the light to fall on their whole surface, as
otherwise they would be overheated. The European trees, on the
other hand, prefer the horizontal position ; and this is particularly
noticeable in the case of the beech-tree. The boughs of this tree arc
perfectly horizontal, and the leaves are set horizontally on the twigs.
The result is that the ground is shadowed by the emerald screens,
leaf touching leaf and arresting the sunHght. In beech-woods only
those plants grow which can thrive in the shade, and a solemn
twilight prevails in the woodland cathedral. When the beech grows
it stifles the growth of other trees. The Oldenburg forest, for example,
will gradually transform itself into a beech forest, since the ancient
oaks and ashes and hornbeams are gradually reaching the age-limit
72

Plate V

THE ENTRANCE TO RIO BAY, FROM THE SUGARLOAF

THE ATLANTIC COAST TO THE NORTH OF RIO DE JANEIRO

THE VIRGIN FOREST

and falling to the ground, while their seedlings are stifled by the
invading beech-trees.

Owing to the leafy screens of the beech-trees, the beech wood
appears to be traversed by horizontal bands of green, and in the
spring, when the green bands are drawn far and near across the grey
trunks and the russet carpet of fallen leaves, they give the wood a
delicate and peculiar charm. Moreover, the sun shines through the
screens of foliage and sheds a green, subdued light through the
tree-tops. This tender flood of green sunlight gives our beech
woods a mysterious character; they are like the woods in a fairy-
tale. This impressed me more particularly after my return from
Brazil.

Transparence in the one case and reflection in the other — as Haber-
landt pointed out — constitute the great difTerence between the
European and the tropical woods. In a European wood most of the
light seems to fall through the screens of the green foliage, whereas
in the tropics a thousand rays of sunlight drift down between the
branches of the trees, and are reflected by the leaves in a dazzling
shimmer. For the European there is something exhausting about
this glittering forest; one feels as though the gaze rebounded from
all these brilliant points of light, whereas it gratefully drinks in the
tender, translucent greens of a European wood.

The uniform illumination of the tropical forest enables plants
to spring up everywhere, and this gives the interior of the forest a
richness and variety unknown to Europe. The charm of a northern
forest is on the whole divided between the roof of leafage, the
colonnades of the tree-trunks, and the weeds and flowers that more
or less cover the ground. In the tropical forest the plants and flowers
are found sometimes on the ground, sometimes on the branches of
the trees, now far overhead, now almost within reach, here growing
upwards, and there sprouting forth sideways; and the result is a
picture full of enchanting variety, and a mass of minute detail
which would mock the efforts of a modern painter with his few
broad brush-strokes. But the lianas and arboreal plants which play
so prominent a part in the structure of the tropical forest are plants
of so peculiar a character that I must speak of them in a separate
chapter.

In the virgin forest of Alto da Serra (Plate 13) near Sao Paulo,
one of the loveliest jewels of Brazil, this peculiarity of the tropical
forest is very apparent. The forest begins where the plateau^ over
2,500 feet in height, ends in an almost perpendicular drop; and

73

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

from its edge one obtains a magnificent view of the plain of Santos
lying far below, its green floor traversed by many watercourses,
while beyond it lies the blue ocean.

On the very threshold of the forest the imposing vivid red in-
florescence of the Bishop's Heliconia rises out of a foliage not unlike
that of the banana, but on a smaller scale. The delicate fan-like
fronds of the Gleichenia cover the ground with a living carpet, and
from this a Lycopodium rises like a fresh green fir-tree. Where
the grass ends at the edge of the forest a sky-blue iris looks at us
with friendly eyes, and a white Polygala glimmers in the distance
(Plate ii).

Now we enter the forest, which spreads away over the mountains.
On the ridges the trees are of middling stature, gnarled, and with
heavy branches ; in the valleys, which are sheltered from the wind,
their trunks grow to a considerable height, and the jungle becomes
a timber-forest; cool, plashing streams, roofed over with ferns,
flow through these valleys, and tiny frogs call from under the fronds.
In the distance a Tovaca pipes its rising series of chromatic notes ;
a small woodpecker, not unlike an Oriole, is clinging to yonder tree,
and now we hear the resonant voice of the black Gurundi with its
blood-red cap.

The trunks of the trees are green with moss, and often half-rotten ;
little round balls of the lichen-like "Greybeard" (Tillandria) perch
upon them (Fig. 7) and long green branching cacti hang half-way
up the trunks ; on all sides there is a tangle of bamboos and lianas,
many of the latter bedecked with flowers, while orchids and
Bromelias often cover the boughs so closely as to clothe them like a
fleece. They grow, too, on the trunks wherever the smallest chink
or protuberance offers them a natural seat.

Here a stream leads down into a wooded valley, where trees with
mighty trunks tower into the air. On the boughs, high and low, sit
Bromelias (Plates 18, 27, 28). In some of these the rosette of leaves
has a red centre; others are surrounded by great red trumpet-
flowers, while some send up spires of red blossom, which often
have the shape and colour of red corals. Since almost every tree is
of a different species, the forest is decked with an endless variety
of leaves of every shape and size. Like long cables the lianas hang
from the tallest tree-tops, and their perpendicular lines are inter-
rupted by the bright green lacework of the tree-ferns, while here
and there a palmetto shoots upwards, tall and slender as a taper
(Plate 1 3) ; overhead, sliimmering in the sunlight, the gracefully-

74

THE VIRGIN FOREST

covered comb-like fronds sway in the breeze, and in the silence
one seems to hear a music as of aeolian harps.

I sat on a fallen tree-trunk and gazed long at the interwoven
intricacies of the tropical forest. Flooded with sunlight, it was not
the same for a moment. The high-lights flashing from the leaves
were constantly shifting ; suddenly the edge of a bough would be
plunged into shadow, and now, blazing in the sun, the red blossoms
of a Bromelia would seem to come palpably nearer. Soon the slowly-
moving shaft of sunlight set some other miracle ablaze ; now higher,
now lower, some fresh beauty attracted the eye; it was as though
the forest, in all its recesses, were every second engendering some-
thing new. In the silence this life and movement was almost uncanny ;
one was made conscious of the great "Becoming" of Nature.

What a contrast to this glittering life is offered by the virgin forest
of our German mountains, as I saw it at Kubany in the Bohmerwald
in August 1925 (Plate 14) ! Spruces, intermingled with fir, beech,
mountain-ash and elder give this woodland its individual character.
Here the twilight of the virgin forest falls upon the boggy soil,
covered with the great leaves of the plantain, amidst which, here
and there, lie outstretched the green and mossy trunks of fallen
giants. A more solemn picture than that offered by this forest cannot
be imagined ; it speaks of death rather than of life ; the fallen trunks
are eloquent of the transitory nature of earthly things ; and where
behind the reddish-yellow timber of a shattered trunk the spruces
whisper and move in the shade, their needle-like foliage reminds
one of rain or falling tears.

In the virgin forest of Kubany the prostrate trunks are the most
individual and conspicuous feature of the scene; and the same may
be said of the fallen oaks of the Oldenburg forest, which lie on the
ground for decades without suffering any visible change. For the
renewal of the forest they are of inestimable value ; in the Kubany
forest whole rows of young spruces grow upon them ; they thrive
better in this elevated position, and they are not covered with snow
for weeks at a time. It has been reckoned that in the Russian forests
95 per cent, of the spruces grow in this manner.

In the tropical forest the struggle for the light does not seem to
play the same part in the life of the wood as in Europe. It is,
of course, darker in the forest than on the open plains; this the
photographer soon realizes, for he can make only time exposures.

75

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

But the plants fight for the best position rather than for the light;
the lianas fight for the best support, and the arboreal plants for
those positions on the boughs which will receive the greatest rainfall.
The tropical forest, like our own, is by no means the abode of
peace.

The Brazilian trees grow to a great height. Quite a number of
species grow to a height of 150 feet and more. One such giant is
the Sumaiima, and the Piptadeniae, to which group the Angico
belongs, are equally lofty. The Australian Eucalyptus, of course,
grows even taller; the tallest tree known is a Eucalyptus, and its
height is 494 feet ; only a few feet lower than the spire of Cologne
Cathedral.

It is obvious that the trunks of such forest giants must be very
strong, and so we find, among the thousands of Brazilian trees,
many that yield the most admirable timber. We realize this in the
houses, where the furniture is often beautiful in colour, and the
parquet-flooring consists of woods of diflferent shades. The wood of
the Brazilian trees may be put to the greatest variety of uses.
A Father of the Benedictine monastery at Olinda successfully
replaced the metal reeds of a harmonium by wooden reeds, and the
wood gave a softer tone than the metal.

Brazil has actually derived its name from a valuable wood.
The name "Brazil-wood" was originally given to the wood of a tree
of the East Indies. When the discoverers of Brazil found trees there
also which yielded a dye-wood of a reddish-yellow colour they
named the whole coast aftei this article of export, just as certain
stretches of the African shore were called the Gold Coast, the Ivory
Coast, the Slave Coast. There are several trees among the Legu-
minosae which yield Brazil-wood or Pernambuco-wood, but the
most important of these was known of old to the natives, who called
it Ibira-pitanza, by reason of its red wood. This fine tree has feathery
foliage and thorns on the trunk and shoots. Brazil-wood is employed
not only for constructive purposes, but also as a dye-stuff.

The Jacaranda is another tree which yields a wood of a fine
dark colour, and various trees among the Leguminosae and Big-
noniaceae bear this name. There are iron, violet, rose and white
Jacarandas, and the wood of many species is marbled with brown
or violet. Jacaranda-wood is known also as "palisander-wood," a
corruption o{ Pau santo, "holy wood."
76

THE VIRGIN FOREST

The iron-wood tree, Pau de ferro, is a tree with a smooth pink
bark, which I saw in the Pernambuco forests, whose red wood is so
hard and heavy that the tree can be felled only in the early morning ;
as the sun grows warmer the iron of the axe becomes softer than the
wood, and will no longer cut it. Other Leguminosae are known as
Angehm, Brauna, Cumbarii, Jatoba, Arariba, Campeche, Inga and
Angico trees. The family of the Bignoniaceae includes the Ipes and
the Bow-wood tree, which has blue or yellow flowers. Other related
trees, the Imbuias, are utilized in Sao Paulo for the manufacture of
expensive furniture.

The Sapucaja may be recognized at a distance by its whitish-grey
bark, which displays a regular pattern. It yields not only an excellent
wood, but also edible fruits, for this tree belongs to the Lecythidaceae,
whose nuts, known to the trade as Para-nuts, appear on our
Christmas dinner-tables as Brazil-nuts. The three-cornered, hard-
shelled nuts are the seeds of the fruit ; they are contained in a large,
almost spherical pot-like shell, as delicately packed together as
though an experienced packer had been at the utmost pains to
make the most of the available space. The Brazil-nut tree may grow
to a height of i6o feet, and its nuts are an important article of export
from the Amazon basin.

The Massarandubas are likewise very tall trees; the various
species are distributed all over Brazil; some of them yield very
valuable timber, and also pharmaceutical preparations and fruits,
for they belong to the Sapotaceae ; of this family the Sapoty is a
favourite fruit-tree. I must not forget to mention the many species
of laurel, whose wood is known as canella and louro, and the Brazilian
Cedar, which is not, as a matter of fact, a conifer, but a huge tree
with pinnated leaves; it would really be better to call it a Cedar-
ash or Cedrella. The red, aromatically-scented wood is used for
cigar-boxes, and is also employed to make termite-proof furniture.
The greater part of the wood imported from America as mahogany
is said to come from the Cedrella, while the genuine mahogany
comes from Central America and the West Indies.

The list of the valuable Brazilian woods might be continued for
several pages, but what I have here said of them will suffice to give
some indication of the wealth of the virgin forest. The botanist
A. Hoehne of Sao Paulo numbers forty-seven families of trees in his
valuable A Flora do Brazil ; each of which contains a whole series
of species that furnish useful timber.

• • • • •

77

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

The mighty trunks of the tropical forest trees need a firm anchorage,
and according to their species they seek to obtain this anchorage
either by sending a tap-root deep into the ground, or by increasing
the area of the supporting surface by means of far-extended lateral
supports. In the latter case the lateral roots spring from some
distance up the trunk, and then, like gigantic combs, run in all
directions over the ground (Plate 12). Such roots are thrown out
by the Sumaumas, the Cajas, or Cashews, or Balsam-plums, with
their yellow, acrid, but pleasantly-flavoured fruit, and above all
by many of the Leguminosae, whose great parasol crowns, when
the wind seizes upon them, need a correspondingly wide anchorage
down below. The stems of such trees merely rest on the surface of
the ground, and in order to fell them one has only to chop off their
roots. When overthrown the tree has a startling appearance, with its
flat bundles of roots staring into the sky. These roots were once of
great value to a people which had invented the axe, but not the saw.
I was always attracted by the deep crevices between them, in which
various animals, and especially snakes, were in the habit of taking
refuge.

These roots support the lofty trunks like the piers and flying
buttresses of our Gothic cathedrals. The branches of the parasol-
trees, rising in flat curves, meet in a sharp point, and remind one of
the ribs of a Gothic vault. Just as the essential part of a church is
the framework of pillars and ribs and buttresses, so that a Gothic
cathedral would stand even without its walls, so in the tropical
forest the essential thing seems the structure; the more so as the
absence of an excessively dense roof of foliage enables the eye to
follow the rhythmic lines of the limbs and branches. The natural
energy of the tropical forest, the "luxuriance of the tropics," expresses
itself not by smothering the forest with masses of lush foliage, but
by creating a powerful and monumental structure. The outlines are
more vigorous than in a European wood; many trees put forth
their boughs horizontally, and then turn them upwards at a sharp
angle. In some trees the boughs coalesce with one another or with
the stem, reinforcing the strength of the tree ; in others the whole
trunk is fluted as though a bundle of individual stems had coalesced
to form a trunk (Plate 15), and here again we are reminded of a
Gothic cathedral, for the pillars of the latter are often surrounded
by semi-detached shafts. In India a single tree may constitute a
whole temple of columns. The Banyan or Indian fig extends its
branches horizontally, and from these aerial roots grow downwards

78

THE VIRGIN FOREST

until they reach the ground, which they penetrate, when, gradually
increasing in girth, they themselves become stems, until the huge
horizontal roof of leaves rests on a whole forest of stems, although
the whole represents only one individual tree. In Ceylon I often
entered such a grove, and it was always some time before I could
convince myself that the whole represented a single tree. In Calcutta
there is a Banyan-tree with 562 root-stems, and it is related that on
one occasion an army of 5,000 soldiers encamped in the shadow
of a fig-tree. In Buenos Aires fig-trees have been planted in the
streets, and since the pavement made it impossible for the aerial
roots to enter the ground, the trees, with their wide-spread boughs,
are still standing unsupported, and the resulting roof of foliage, as
perfectly flat underneath as though trimmed with shears, presents
a most peculiar appearance.

In the Argentine I have often admired the monumental character
of one of the native trees, the Ombu. The roots rise from the ground
like great brown bladders, lifting the trunk into the air, and from
the trunk the branches spring like a tracery, bending forwards and
then backwards, and often interlacing to form the crown. In August
the tree is leafless, when it looks more monumental than ever.

Many of the tropical trees shed their leaves before decking them-
selves with blossom. Such, for example, is the habit of the Silk-cotton
trees. In Ceylon, where there are a hundred species of deciduous
trees, I gazed with admiration at the Silk-cotton tree, which had
just decked itself with its great glowing crimson flowers, while
amidst the billows of rosy blossoms the Ceylon starling was singing
its metallic and sonorous strophes — the tropical equivalent of the
blackbird singing in the blossoming cherry-tree. In Brazil there is
a species of Silk-cotton tree which when old has enormous board-
like roots, so that at the level of the ground the tree may have a
circumference of as much as a hundred feet, while in another
species the trunk falls away at the top like a turnip, and the thick
branches spring directly from the constricted neck. The heavy
appearance of this tree is enhanced by the large green seed-capsules
which hang from the leafless twigs, and which are lined inside with
a silky cotton (Fig. 8).

Throughout the tropics the fruit often enhances the ornamental
character of the tree. In the case of the Mango-tree the mangoes
hang from their stalks as though suspended on strings, reminding
one of the apples and oranges on a Christmas-tree (Plate 22).
In the Jaboticaba, a myrtle-tree, even the trunk looks as though

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

beaded with the blue-black fruits, about the size of a damson, that
seem to be nailed on to the bark ; the fruits of the Jaca, as large as
a man's head, seem to grow directly from the trunk and boughs
(Plate 22), and so do the violet fruits of the Cacao-tree, as large as
a clenched fist. In one of the public gardens of Sao Paulo there was
a spreading fig-tree under whose shade I found it pleasant to sit
until one of the figs growing from the boughs fell on my clothes,
which were stained with the oozing milk.

In all such trees, of course, the flowers too grow on the trunk,
and the eflfect is often very beautiful. In Olinda it was always a
pleasure, when I left the monastery garden for the street, to pass
through an alley of Jambo-trees, which, with their crimson flowers,
set like candles on the branches and glowing in the green foliage,
looked as though they had been illuminated.

Even the leaves of the tropical trees contribute to the monumental
effect of the whole. When I was in Ceylon I used to think, when
I looked at the Palmyra palms which grew on the slopes of the
sandhills, with their great fan-shaped leaves outstretched against
the blue sky, that these trees were more like examples of the wood-
carver's art than living plants. But although the huge leaves of
the palms are not rivalled by those of other trees, yet there are
many species with large and ornamental leaves : for example, the
Breadfruit-tree (Plate 22), which comes from the Moluccas, but has
been naturalized throughout Brazil. With its huge, deeply-incised
leaves it is a magnificent sight. There is a climbing plant, the
Monstera, which has deeply-incised leaves that are also perforated,
presumably in order that the sunlight may fall on the lower leaves,
which otherwise would be completely shaded by those above them.
In Europe this handsome plant is grown indoors, and is known as
the Philodendron.

But in the tropics even the entire oval leaves often attain enormous
proportions. The great leaves of the Magnolias, which extend into
the temperate zone, are familiar to Europeans; but in Sumatra
there is a species of Magnolia whose leaves are more than forty
inches in length and twelve inches in breadth ! In order to increase
the strength of such leaves the two halves are often bent upwards
from the midrib, or the edges are fluted like corrugated iron. Such
leaves are very thick, and of a leathery texture, and inevitably
remind one of painted zinc.

Many leaves are stiffened by the silicification of their surface,
which increases their durability, so that the tree can take its time
80

i

THE VIRGIN FOREST

over the production of new leaves ; and the more enduring nature
of the foHage of the tropical trees is one reason why tropical plants
produce fewer leaves than those of the temperate zone. But there
is, of course, yet another reason for the solid construction of tropical
foliage; the leaves have to resist the tropical rains, when the water
comes down as though poured out of buckets. In Java it has been
noted that imported European plants are beaten into the ground
by the rain, as though by a shower of hail.

Other trees, like the sacred Bo-tree of India, provide their leaves
with a sort of pointed rain-spout, so that the water runs off them ;
or the leaf is divided into mere pinnules, which offer no resistance
to the rain. The numerous family of the Leguminosae has adopted
this plan, but the pinnate leaf is favoured by other groups also, as,
for example, by the Mimosa-leaved Jacaranda. Many of these
leaves are of considerable size, but are none the less so finely divided
that they seem the work of an artist, or produce the effect of green
lacework. The pinnate leaves have the power of turning to adjust
themselves to the light ; if the rays of the sun are too powerful they
turn upwards; in gloomy weather, such as occurs before the rains,
they sink again, and when the rains begin they at once assume
the position in which they will offer least resistance.

The "Sensitive Plant," or true Mimosa, has this power of move-
ment in unparalleled perfection. This shrub is a native of Brazil,
but has been introduced into all tropical countries, and is the
despair of all gardeners who are trying to make a good lawn. If one
touches one of the pinnate leaves of the Sensitive Plant, first of all
the pinnules fall, and then the leaf, and then suddenly the whole
stalk folds downwards. Even the slight tremor caused by walking
on the turf releases the reaction, which is propagated like a wave ;
the green leaves droop, and the ground looks as though covered
with withered weeds ; only the rosy balls of blossom and the spiky
stems of the plant are still erect. It is, of course, possible that
the plant is not merely seeking to protect itself from the rain by
such behaviour, but that many herbivorous animals would draw
back on seeing only the apparently withered foliage and the
menacing thorns.

On the floor of the virgin forests of north-eastern Brazil the
Bauhinias predominate, plants which belong to the Leguminosae.
Many of these have beautiful flowers, as large as a lily, in colour a
fine rose-pink ; but, curiously enough, one of the five petals is quite
different from the rest, being flecked with a rich, deep crimson.

P 8i

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

The leaves are a light green, and sit on the rising stems like twin-
pointed pennants (Fig. 5) . In some species the leaf is split all the
way down, in others only half-way down, and in some only the tip
of the leaf is incised; and the tips are sometimes rounded, sometimes
pointed and divergent. It is a pretty sight when one walks through
the forest and sees these graceful pennons waving all over the
ground; for even on the ground it is rare to see dense masses of
foliage. Any wood in which the tops of the trees meet overhead
suppresses the undergrowth unless this consists of plants which are
adapted to living in the shade. Such, for example, are the jungle
Bamboos, and the Nillu, a plant with a beautiful flower and a
pleasant fragrance, which grows in the highlands of Ceylon. There
the trees are less lofty and more sparsely clad with leaves than in
the lowlands, and so they are surrounded by a sea of such under-
growth. And Fraulein E. Snethlage, who has spent years exploring
the forests of the Amazon, states that in the timber forest it is possible
to travel in all directions. When the forest is impenetrable it is so
by reason of certain species of creeping and climbing plants, of
which I shall speak in the next chapter.

The huge leaves of the Brazilian Arums are perhaps those which
give the most vivid impression of being not leaves but works of art.
In Europe only a small wild Arum, the Cuckoo-pint, is native,
with a whitish spathe enclosing a club-shaped spadix, which sub-
sequently bears red berries. In the Scherzeria Arum of Brazil,
however, the spathe is a brilliant red, while the club-shaped spadix
emerges from it like a twisted stalk of coral. Other species develop
their powers of coloration in the leaves. The great leaves of the
Caladiums, in particular, have the loveliest marblings and ornamental
markings in green, white, red, and other colours, and these leaves
hang perpendicularly from the stems, like the tapestries hung from
a balcony to decorate the street. These masterpieces of Nature are
like pieces of figured velvet.

In the tropical forest, then, we have all imaginable colours, set
against the brown of the tree-trunks and the dark green of the
leaves, and besides these colours there are everywhere the flashing
reflections of the foliage. Bright green is the only colour lacking ;
when we do find it, as in the Cashew-tree and the Mangrove, we
feel that it is a refreshing change, although the green of these leathery,
glittering leaves is not like our Northern greens. Not even the
young leaves, which in a European wood are the tcnderest, the most
transparent and succulent things that plant life can produce, have
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THE VIRGIN FOREST

these qualities in the tropics. On the contrary, they have to protect
themselves against the rays of the tropical sun even more effectually
than the older and more resistant leaves, and so we see that they
adopt the protective measures of the latter in an intensified form.

Treub, the botanist of the botanical gardens of Buitenzorg in
Java, thought that in the tropics one ought not to say that "the
trees are bursting into leaf"; that it would be more fitting to say
that "the trees are pouring out their leaves." And it really does
look like this when the young leaves of a number of tropical trees
and shrubs are hanging in dense bunches from the tips of the twigs.
They are then still soft, and can be curled round the finger. A singular
spectacle is afforded, for example, by a great Mango-tree, whose long,
lanceolate leaves stand out like divergent rays all over the tree, so
that it seems to be clad in a mantle of green stars. From all parts
of this green mantle twigs emerge from which the young leaves are
hanging like brown rags; for even their colour serves to protect
the young leaves from the sun. They do not need to produce their
green chlorophyll immediately, as do our leaves, which are obliged
to make the most of the short summer, and must begin their work of
helping to build up the tree from the very first day of their unfolding.

In many trees the young leaves put on the loveliest colours.
The young pink leaves of the Cashew-tree harmonize most delight-
fully with the bright, varnished green of the maturer foliage ; but
sometimes they display a vivid, burning red. In the highlands of
Ceylon, at a height of 6,000 feet and more, the tree-tops of the
virgin forest were ablaze with such glowing colours that I would
not at first believe that I was looking, not at flowers, but at foliage.
Every tree-top had reached a different stage in the development of
its foliage, so that one was red, another orange, and others were
yellow, brown, and green. In the clear air of the heights each tree-
top was sharply distinguished from its neighbours, so that under
the blue sky the mountains were covered with a variegated carpet
of indescribably splendid colours.

Many readers will have wondered why so little is said of palms
in this description; they are, perhaps, accustomed to imagine the
tropical forest as full of palm-trees, and I have often seen imaginary
pictures of tropical forests which consisted entirely of these trees.
This idea, however, is erroneous, for the palms are lovers of the
sunlight, and prefer the grassy plains, the seashore, or the banks

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

of rivers. The palms belong to the Monocotyledons : that is, to that
order of plants with parallel-veined leaves to which the grasses and
the lilies also belong; and like the latter, they grow from below
upwards, and not simultaneously in all directions, while gradually
increasing the diameter of the stem. It is said of the palms that they
do not grow thicker, and as a matter of fact the stems are developed
by the successive fall of the older leaves as the top of the trunk grows
upwards. Either the leaves break off from the leaf-stalks, when the
trunk is covered with a pattern of short stumps, or the spathes and
leaf-stalks also detach themselves, when the stem shows ring-shaped
or shield-shaped marks on an otherwise smooth surface, as in the
case of the coconut-palm. The circumference of the trunk is, however,
much the same when the tree is grown as when the crown is only
a short distance from the ground. Many palm-trees, indeed, like
the Royal palms, are thickened near the ground like an onion
when they are young, as though they were storing up the building
material for their subsequent growth (Plate 2). But in its journey
upwards the great crown needs plenty of room, and in a forest
full of trees and lianas it would be constantly impeded and entangled,
and would in the end become atrophied and stunted. This has
already been pointed out by the botanist Haberlandt.

Palms, therefore, are hardly to be found in the Indian forests;
in the Brazilian forests they grow, as a rule, only in swampy and
sparsely-wooded areas; there the Burity displays its handsome
fan-shaped leaves (Plate 15), or the Pachiuba waves its great
pinnate fronds above a trunk standing on tall stilts. In the interior
of the virgin forest only palms of small stature with comparatively
small crowns are found ; for example, the forests of Sao Paulo are
adorned by the Palmito, a slender, graceful palm (Plate 13),
while certain of the Bactris palms are so small that they form almost
an undergrowth. One species protects its inflorescence by a brown
leaf, as by a roof. But the palms are not characteristic denizens of
the virgin forest, which owes its character to the foliage trees, as
I have already explained.

In the virgin forest the Tree-ferns (Plate 16) have more hand-
some and more wide-spreading crowns than the palms. With their
horizontal unbrella-like screens of foliage they form a pleasant
contrast to the vertical lines of the tree-trunks and lianas. In Europe
we can admire this effect in respect of the delicate fronds of the
bracken, but the tree-fern is far more impressive. Growing to a
height of twelve or fifteen feet, with a rough, furry stem supported

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THE VIRGIN FOREST

on short aerial roots, it spreads out a great umbrella-screen of green
lace-like fronds As in the hill forests of Ceylon, so in the virgin
forest of Brazil, I was always struck with admiration before the
tree-ferns. When one stands beside a purling brook, in the forest of
Sao Paulo, or Nova Friburgo, or Therezopolis, it looks as though
some lady giant had left her parasol there while taking her morning
bath, and had forgotten it on her departure. In the woods of Tijuca,
above Rio de Janeiro, they grew in the moist ground beside the
road, and the bright green of their fronds brightened the dark
woodland landscape. Two species were frequent there; one with
fronds like those of a European fern, while the other had denser
foliage, and fronds which looked as though they had been built up
of willow-leaves.

In the neighbourhood of Sao Paulo there is an estate on which
the tree-ferns form the undergrowth in a wood of Araucarias. Like
a green, perforated veil the great fronds lie waving at the foot of
the tall trees. While there are no conifers in the tropical regions,
the "Pinheiros" or Araucarias are characteristic of the landscape
of sub-tropical southern Brazil (Plate 17), and on the hills they
grow even above Sao Paulo, which is on the Tropic of Capricorn.
I first saw these fine trees at Petropolis, at an altitude of 2,500 feet.
When on my first morning in Petropolis I woke and opened the
window the aromatic scent of resin and pine-needles entered the
room, while outside, in the garden, the sun was lighting up the
rounded summits of the Araucarias and reddening their trunks.
The Araucarias are not unlike our pines, but they are more regular
in build, and the twigs of the crown bear thick bunches of needles
only at their extremities, so that the tree reminds one of a candela-
brum, and has a rather solemn appearance. Even in the forest the
Araucarias preserve their peculiar character. Since the crowns of
the trees are not all of the same height, each is plainly distinguished
from the rest, and if one looks down from a height on the wood
climbing the opposite slope, the crowns of the trees are seen as
flat discs of green, and the sea of tree-tops is like a great chessboard,
glowing in the evening sunlight with every imaginable tone of
green. A mist rises from the floor of the valley; it grows cooler;
and we go homeward through the dark, odorous wood, the friendly
lights of the house twinkling through the black tree-trunks.

It is delightful to wander through the forest in north-eastern Brazil.

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

It is still dark, but the household is waking, and voices are heard
in the adjacent rooms ; for in the country houses of Pernambuco
the walls of the rooms are not carried up to the roof, but end at
what would be the level of a great loft if there were a ceiling, so
that at night the bats fly over all the rooms in turn. We get up
quickly; already the splashing of water is heard in the different
rooms ; and presently we go out on the verandah, where the little
frogs are croaking from the thatched roof. The stars are still
twinkling overhead; the forest is black against the sky; the valleys
are swathed in a white mist.

We step out smartly; the east is slowly growing lighter; there is
a ruddy flush on the horizon, and near and far are no longer con-
fused. Horses laden with wood come towards us; the track goes up
hill and down over the felled woodland. Now the sun rises above
the horizon; its first rays strike the forest, and the tree-trunks are
picked out in red. The fresh voices of birds ring from the bushes
at the edge of the forest, and even within the forest there is life.
Silk-monkeys swing themselves along the boughs, and in a clearing
some little green parrots are performing gymnastic feats, and
loudly calling to one another. The birds are singing on every side.

By half-past eight, however, silence has fallen on the forest.
The misty atmosphere of morning gives way to the clarity of sun-
shine. Everywhere the sunbeams are drifting into the forest, and
the green leaves glow and glitter in response. Now the insects are
waking to life. With outspread wings, of which only the tips appear
to vibrate, while the narrow surfaces uninterruptedly display their
black, red and yellow or black and yellow pattern, the Heliconid
butterflies float slowly through the air ; the splendid blue Morphidae
too pass gleaming through the glades, and up the tree-trunks climbs
a beetle, Euchroma gigantea, the bright green of his wing-covers
flushed with a red metallic bloom, while the dark spots on the
scutum look like black eyes. Late in the afternoon the forest is less
silent. A shrill Tui, tui, tui, rings out; the Forest Leguan, a lizard,
uplifts his voice. With a loud whir, a startled cicada makes a dash
for the next tree, the heavy body tearing through the air with its
long glassy wings ; a great gorgeously coloured toucan flies off", a
squirrel whisks up a tree, and perhaps we may catch sight of the
yellow arm of a sloth slowly jerking itself forwards.

As the sun sinks the forest grows noisier. A hedge-sparrow is
scolding in the bush before settling down to sleep, and the little
cinnamon-coloured Curutia is uttering shrill cries. Once more a

86

THE VIRGIN FOREST

flock of parrots flies with excited shrieks above the tree-tops. And
now the deafening, whirring song of the cicadas begins. The whole
forest seems to vibrate with it until one's very flesh feels the vibra-
tions ; and the wanderer's heart goes forth to all this teeming life.

It is quieter in the woods which clothe the hills up which the
great city of Rio de Janeiro is pushing its cohorts of houses. I climbed
the highest of these mountains, the Pico da Tijuca, and after a good
deal of trouble made my way back to the highway, which follows
a bold, curving line across the ridges and lateral valleys, and
gradually descends towards the city: now affording one a view of
the solitudes of the mountains (Plate 24), and now delighting one's
eyes with a glimpse, beyond the sea of tree-tops waving almost
directly below, of the wide ocean.

While the wanderer breathes with content the cool, scented air
of night as he strides down the road, he hears on every side, from
the scrub at the edge of the forest, a cry of "Chick, chick !" There is
something sweet and peaceful in this quiet, silvery accent, which
accompanies us until we come to the end of the woods, and the city,
a sea of light, receives us. I have never been able to find the creature
which utters this sound, though I have searched for it long and
thoroughly ; it may be a little frog, or it may be an insect.

When on the day after my arrival in Pernambuco I took the
electric tram to the edge of the woods, reaching them as the darkness
was falling, the unmistakable sense of the tropics, with which I had
become familiar in Ceylon, at once took possession of me. A heavy
odour of decay rose from the rain-wet ground, and the silence of
the tropical night settled heavily and deliciously on my heart, like
a recovered mistress. For it is a remarkable fact that although in
the tropics the night is often much noisier than in Europe, since the
frogs and the cicadas fill it with their cries, it nevertheless impresses
one as being peculiarly and impressively silent. The reason is,
perhaps, that we are not accustomed to such a combination of
darkness, and vegetable odours, and summer heat. With us Nature
is not wrapped in darkness until a late hour of the night, so that we
are doubly impressed by the onset of night at six o'clock in the
evening. And as in the darkness we often imagine that we can hear
something breathing, so, in the silence of the night of the tropical
forest, when all the little superficial sounds are stilled, we seem to
feel Mother Earth herself rising and falling as she deeply and
silently draws her breath.

87

THE LIANAS

VV E now come to a component of the tropical forest which is as
essential a part of its expression as the wrinkles in the forehead of an
old man, and the lines about his mouth and chin.

The plant-world of the tropics does not live only by growing
upwards toward the light and spreading out its broad crowns of
foliage; it lives also by creeping and climbing. And it is precisely
this characteristic which is most unfamiliar to the European, and
which produces the most lasting impression.

Moreover, the tropical creepers and climbers contribute more than
anything else to the magic of the equatorial forest, and they deserve
the pleasant-sounding name which the French brought with them
from the West Indies — lianas. In Brazil, however, the lianas are
known as cipos or trepadeiras.

These serpentine, twining growths are true children of the tropics.
Kerner von Marilaun estimates the ratio of the climbing plants of
Europe to those of the tropics to be 200: 2,000; and Grisebach
reckons that the woody plants of the West Indies constitute 33 per
cent, of all the higher forms of vegetation, and the woody lianas
8 per cent., while in Europe the proportion oi all species of creeping
and climbing plants is only i -8 per cent. Within the tropics, America
has nearly twice as many lianas as Asia. Brazil, in this respect, holds
the palm.

And if we take Europe alone of the lands of the temperate zones,
the number of the climbing plants is still further reduced. Of
climbers with woody stems we have really only three of any
importance : the ivy, the clematis, and the honeysuckle. And the
two latter, at all events, do not favour the depths of the forest, but
rather the fringes of the woods, or the bare rocks and thickets of a
quarry, when they grow in such interwoven intricacy — assisted by
the wild hop and, above all, the thorny bramble — that the whole
becomes quite as impenetrable as a tropical forest strung with
lianas.

Since Europe has but few species of trees in comparison with the
tropics, it is only natural that the woody climbers should be fewer
in number. But why are our woods not richer in the herbaceous
climbers, such as the peas, beans, vetches and hops?
88

Plate VI

r

jJjHl'-

-%

W^

-mt

VIEW FROM THE SUGARLOAF: LOOKING SOUTHWARDS OVER RIO

THE SUGARLOAF

THE LIANAS

We must look for the reason in the more brilliant illumination of
the tropical forest, the greater number of points of support offered
to the climbers, and the much greater humidity of the atmosphere.
In our pine- or beech-woods the climbing plants — as Haberlandt
has remarked — do not obtain more light by climbing higher, and
if they grow as high as the top of a tree they pass, first of all, into
complete shadow. In the better lighted tropical woodland, which is
more uniform in structure at all levels, the lianas can find sunlight
at any height. And this more uniform structure provides the liana
with rungs by which it can climb, step by step, higher and higher.
I have already remarked that the branches of tropical trees bend
upward more sharply than those of our Northern trees, so that they
offer all sorts of angles as points of support. Moreover, the sparser
foliage of the tropics is more easily penetrated.

Again, the importance of more frequent rainfall in the development
of the lianas must not be underestimated ; it has, as a matter of fact,
long been recognized. Observation shows that the woods of the drier
tropical countries are poorer in lianas.

As a matter of fact, the problem of conveying the moisture which
is taken from the soil through the long, thin stems is not an easy
one to solve. Rattan lianas have actually been measured which were
780 feet in length, with an almost uniform thickness of an inch and
a quarter to an inch and two-thirds ! And when these plants unfold
their leaves in the brilliant sunlight far overhead, the moisture
evaporates all the quicker. For plants, of course, transpire, as every-
one knows who has kept them indoors in winter in order to restore
the humidity of air dried by artificial heating. The moisture lost
by the leaves lias to be replaced, and quickly, or the leaves and
shoots would wither.

In order to convey the stream of water from the roots to the stem,
branches and leaves, the body of the plant develops vascular con-
duits. These, of course, are of microscopic diameter, and if we tear
the body of the plant asunder we can distinguish them only as
fibrous strings, as they are provided with supporting fibres, and
combine with them to form fibro-vascular bundles; in the leaves
these appear as ribs, and divide to form the familiar vascular
network.

If we now cut through the stem of a liana — one of the Brazilian
"orchid" lianas — we can perceive with the naked eye the sieve-like
perforations of the resected surface visible as tiny dots (Fig. 3) , for in
the lianas the vascular channels are unusually large, in order that

89

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

the water may more readily flow through the long stems ; they are
sometimes more than a fiftieth of an inch in diameter. The upward
"root-pressure" of the water is therefore particularly high in the
lianas. Even in Europe, if we cut through a growing vine-stock in
the spring, it begins to "bleed" — that is, the rising sap oozes out of
it. Certain tropical lianas yield so much water when severed that
they are known as the Phytocrene or "vegetable spring" lianas, and
the traveller through the virgin forest can fill his glass with a
refreshing drink from the severed stem of one of these creepers. He
must, however, as Herzog observes, sever the liana a second time

above the point of the first resection, as otherwise
the sap will not escape. A severed piece of liana
forty inches in length will yield a glassful of
perfectly clear, cool water, with a pleasant and
slightly acid flavour.

There are also lianas which contrive a shorter

path for the water drawn up from the soil. When

the Monstera or "Banana do brejo," which has

already been mentioned, winds itself along a

horizontal bough, it sends down roots, which grow

longer and longer, and turn back directly they

Fig. 3.— a section reach the ground. From this point rootlets grow

of a liana stem in ^^^^ -^^^^ ^^^ ^^jj ^^^^ ^^^ Straight, smooth rOOt,

which the vascular . . .

channels are vis- anchoring the latter, and as they draw it a little

ible as holes in the way into the earth they tighten the cable, so to
cut surfaces. (After gpeak, SO that the water which rises from them
flows upwards all the more readily. Under each
new leaf two such roots are produced; it seems that the great
lob ate, perforated leaves demand an individual water-supply. In
addition to these roots, the Monstera develops others which do not
reach the ground, but have such a porous and absorbent epidermis
that they are able directly to absorb the rain-water that falls on
them, or the moisture in the atmosphere. This remarkable plant has
thus four kinds of roots, for it has also roots like those of our ivy,
which emerge from the stem at intervals, and embrace the trunks
and boughs along which the creeper makes its way. The whole
plant, with its huge leaves and hanging cables, offers a most singular
and fascinating spectacle.

Amazing indeed is the creative power which has produced lianas
90

THE LIANAS

from SO many different families of plants ! Often one feels as though
here a superabundant imagination had been put to the test — had
been given the task of creating climbing plants which should yet be
members of families which to all appearances were as ill adapted as
possible to the production of climbers. Lianas had to be provided,
first and foremost, with organs which would enable them to twine
and cling, and these had to be developed from organs already
existing ; and since the organs selected by the various types of plant
differed very greatly, those were adapted which were most suitable
for the purposes of the liana. It is for this reason we find that some
lianas anchor themselves to the trees by their leaves, others by their
roots, and yet others by their stems. If we pass the lianas in review,
we soon seem to have exhausted every possibility — and then we are
suddenly surprised by some fresh solution of the problem.

Goethe was one of the first writers to treat of the metamorphoses
of the organs of plants for the performance of new functions. Since
his day a whole science has come into existence, which seeks to
explain (for example) how a green leaf, under the influence of
external and internal conditions, may become something quite
different: a thorn, a tendril, a pitcher to catch insects, a coloured
petal.

Who could imagine a fern as a liana? And yet there are climbing
ferns ; but what queer-looking things they are ! In the forest of Alto
da Serra I examined these curious plants with amazement. The whole
frond — so broad and beautifully formed in ordinary ferns — has been
reduced to the stele and the midrib, and a few small lateral pinnules
which spring from the midrib at some distance from one another.
But these comparatively frail and elastic filaments grow unchecked
— I measured some which were over thirty feet in length — and twine
themselves round the trunks of other trees. Not far from the cHmbing
ferns I found the climbing bamboo, which the Brazilians know as
Tacuare. At intervals of about a foot the long, twining stems bore
little spherical bunches of leaves. This symmetry was very pleasing,
particularly when the liana was suspended from tree to tree. Still
more attractive was the climbing grass, which wound itself round the
trees, the bright green grass-blades hanging down all over the twining
stems. But in forcing one's way through the forest one had to beware
of the sharp cutting edges of these blades.

The palms too include climbing species. My acquaintance with
these dates from my very first excursion into the forests of Ceylon.
Suddenly my hat was snatched from my head, as though by a spectral

91

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

hand. There was nothing to be seen, and I stood still in astonishment.
At last I saw above me, hanging from a bough, a long, thin switch,
which was still gently swaying to and fro. When I pulled at it I
discovered that it was set at regular intervals with circlets of short
recurved hooks, as hard as steel, like the claws of a tiny beast of
prey, and I discovered that the switch itself was the elongated midrib
of a finely pinnated palm-leaf (Plate 14).

It was the Rattan Palm which had made me aware of its presence
in such a surprising fashion. With its slender, elastic stem it climbs
high among the trees, and its pinnate leaves, which end in switches
from three to six feet in length, hang downwards from all its parts.
On a breezy day these switches, waving up and down in the wind,
are blown against some neighbouring tree-trunk, where they imme-
diately sink their hooks into the bark, and hold fast. The upper leaves
in particular anchor themselves thus, and slowly the stem creeps
after them. At last the summit of the tree is reached ; and now the
leaves wave their lashes in the open air; they can climb no further.
In the meantime, however, the stem loses its lower leaves, and
therewith its points of support; it begins to sag, and forms loop after
loop, until the upper leaves are drawn back into the region of the
branches, and enabled once more to throw out their grappling-irons.
This happens again and again, and so finally, in the case of this and
other lianas, we find a great serpentine tangle of stem at the foot
of the supporting-tree, as it goes on adding convolution to con-
volution (Plate 19).

In Brazil there is another climbing palm, the Jacytara. I found it
in Pernambuco, and was quite intimidated by its armament, which
has earned it the name of "the terrible." Woe to the fugitive who
attempts to move quickly through the undergrowth in which the
cHmbing palm has cast its harpoons ! He will leave behind him
tatters of clothing, skin, and flesh, if he does not indeed collapse
altogether in this fearful embrace. The long leaf (Fig. 4, A) of this
palm has pinnate leaves at the base, though even these have thorns
on their underside, as has the midrib from which they grow. The
nearer we approach the tip of the leaf, the more formidable are the
thorns, and at the same time they are transformed into reverted
hooks. Further on even the pinnules are metamorphosed into hooks,
and become as hard as horn. At the tip of the switch we can see
plainly that these recurved hooks are really pinnules, and they even
retain their green coloration.

The botanist Schenck, who has exhaustively studied and described

92

THE LIANAS

the lianas, describes the cHmbing palms as "sprawHng climbers."
He means by this that the lianas with sprawling leaves or branches
pile themselves up on their supports, so that their spines and hooks
gain all the better purchase. Even our brambles are
able to climb in this fashion. In Brazil many plants
do so, as, for example, some of the Leguminosae
(Machaerium), the beautiful Bougainvillea, which in
Brazil is called "Sempre lustrosa" or "Primavera,"
and others.

Of the lianas which put forth roots from their
stems, in order to clamp themselves to the support-
ing stem, the Monstera has already been mentioned.
That there should be such "root-climbers" should
not surprise us ; we have already seen that the Indian
fig sends down roots from its boughs, and if a branch
of a willow-tree or a rose-bush is pegged down to
the ground it will send out roots. In America the
Bignoniaceae, of which the beautiful flowering Bow- . .
wood tree and the Jacaranda are members, have f
produced some magnificent lianas. One of these, |/
which is found in North America, and has even n
been introduced into the central and southern parts \i
of Germany, is the climbing Trumpet-flower. This \/
blossoming creeper, with its large, blazing red, i
funnel-shaped, bell-mouthed flowers, clings to bare Fi^
walls with "suckers" like those of our ivy, which
grow from the axils of the leaves and shoots.

The "Cat's-claw" creeper, so widely distributed
in Brazil (Fig. 4, B), has developed still further on
these lines. This climber is such a singular plant
that one might almost suspect it of conscious animal
activity. For example, we may find that such a
liana has smothered a tree with its luxuriant growth ;
it is held fast by numbers of roots which have grown
out of its slender stems. But now comes a time when
all the available space is occupied, and the liana, if
it is to continue its urgent growth, must seek a fresh
support. A delicate green shoot appears, grows longer and longer, and
sways to and fro in the breeze. But what do we find growing out of
it? Clutching the air like the claws of a cat, or, better still, the talons
of a hawk, the gripping organs grow out of it in all directions. They

93

4. — A, Leaf
of the climbing
palm, Jacytara
(reduced). Beside
it a fragment of
stalk showing
the spines and
reverted hooks
on the under
side of the leaf.
B, Young shoot
of the "Cat's-
claw" creeper
with grappling-
hooks (natural
size)

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

consist of metamorphosed leaves, while the true leaves are retarded
in their development. Longer and longer grow the shoots, until the
wind catches them and sways them to and fro. If no other stem is as
yet within reach, the claws retract themselves and the leaves proceed
to grow. But the urge is not appeased ; once more fresh claws appear
at the tip of the creeper, and the plant swings to and fro through
an ever-widening arc. At last the wind blows the hanging shoot
against another tree-trunk; immediately the claws enter into the
bark, roots grow out of them, and the liana wanders over its new
arboreal support, drawing after it, from the old one, a long festoon.

The twining lianas are those in which the stem itself embraces the
supporting tree, winding round it like a snake as it reaches upwards.
The virgin forest is full of such lianas, and it is these plants which
give it such a strange and unfamiliar appearance. Many lianas begin
by climbing up quite a slender sapling, or a reed, or even a grass-
stem, from which they reach the trunk of a tree. Here they obtain
the needed support, and the stem can now grow thicker and thicker ;
but it retains its twists and turns, under which the fragile supporting
plant completely disappears. In the end the convolutions press
against one another, and a twisted cable results, as thick as a man's
arm (Fig. 3, Plates 15 and 24). These are known as "bush cables."
They enhance the impression of a stealthy mechanism, of the latent
energy of the forest.

The vegetable life of the forest would seem still more uncanny if
our eyes could follow the gradual movements of the plants. For the
shoots of the lianas do not grow upwards only, but in a slanting
direction, and even horizontally outwards, and as they grow their
tips revolve until they have described a complete circle. This
circling movement of the tip of the shoot has been likened to that
of the hand of a clock. If one lays a sheet of paper under the shoot
one can follow the movement of the tip by watching the shadow.
On an average, the shoot takes one to two hours to complete the
circle.

The newer technical methods reveal this movement still more
vividly. Photographs of a climbing plant are taken on a film with
short intervals between the exposures. If the positive of the film is
now run through a projector, the happenings of hours are reduced
to minutes, and the movements of the plant are plainly visible. The
shoots appear to move like the arms of an octopus seeking its prey.
Now one strikes against a tree-stem, and forthwith it throws a lasso
round it, while the rest of the shoot curls up like a corkscrew. The

94

THE LIANAS

spectacle is most fascinating; the boundary between animal and
vegetable life seems abolished.

But what an impressive spectacle would be afforded if a photo-
grapher were to make such chain-exposures in a tropical forest and
then, by projecting the film, speed up the rate of growth ! Since in
many of the tropical plants the diameter of the circles described by
the tips of the shoots may be as much as six feet, one would see long
tentacles emerging here and there from the undergrowth, groping
about in uncanny silence until they found their victim, and seizing
it in their enduring embrace.

The most highly-organized lianas are those which do not enlace
the tree-trunks with their shoots, but have developed special tendrils,
which circle round in search of a support.
These delicate, slender and elastic structures
are so irritable that everything touched by
them is at once embraced and held fast (Fig. 5) .
After a time that part of the tendril which lies
between the tree and the liana contracts into
a corkscrew form, drawing the plant after it,
so that the latter is suspended as by a spiral
spring.

Since the tendril is a specialized organ,
serving an exclusive purpose, it is not sur-
prising that it should do its work more rapidly
than the shoots of the twining lianas. Many
tendrils rotate through a complete circle in as
brief a period as 25 minutes, and the tip of
the tendril begins to curve within twenty
seconds of touching a bough, so that in four
minutes the first complete noose is thrown round the support.
There are other plants, of course, whose tendrils are more deliberate.
But the enlacement of the supporting tree-trunk or bough is effected
more rapidly and completely by such plants as are equipped with
tendrils. They pass easily from bough to bough, and form a regular
overgrowth on the tree-tops ; their shoots hang down into the trees,
and seize upon fresh points of support, until at last a whole group
of trees may seem to be swathed in a green foam, or ceilings and
arbours of foliage spring into being. It is on the edge of the forest
that such a spectacle is most frequent.

Tendrils may be evolved from any part of the plant ; the mid-rib,
the leaf-stalks, the bracts, or what not. Many tendrils become

95

Fig. 5. — Section of stem
of a Bauhinia, with
leaf and tendril. (After
Kerner Hansen)

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

climbing-irons; others coil themselves, even before they seize their
support, into an elastic spiral, Hke a clock-spring; others develop
spatulate "suckers," which enable the creepers to scale bare walls.
Many tendrils grow considerably thicker once they have slung
themselves round a supporting bough, and are consequently more
difficult to dislodge.

• • • • «

The stems of the lianas have also undergone extensive modifica-
tions in adaptation to their mode of life. When the wind blows the
boughs which support them apart they must be able to resist a
violent pull, and when they hang from the boughs overhead, or are
slung from tree to tree in long festoons, they must be able to bear
their own weight. One may seat oneself in such a rustic trapeze
and swing to and fro. In order that the lianas may be able to give
to a pull, they are often spirally coiled at the points of their attach-
ments to the boughs, so that they can be drawn out Uke springs,
contracting when the pull is diminished.

The stem of the liana is of a peculiar structure. It is frequently
twisted like a cable ; sometimes it is flat like a ribbon, as in some of
the Brazilian Bauhinias (Fig. 5). These ribbon-like stems apply
themselves closely to the supporting tree, but at the same time they
twist themselves spirally or contract into undulations, giving rise to
the remarkable formations known as "monkey-ladders." These
modifications are possible because the lianas have not, like trees, a
homogeneous woody structure enclosed by a circular sheath of bast
and bark, the stem being built up of several woody structures, which
are capable of shifting their respective positions. The structure of the
liana is thus not unlike that of a cable.

The growth of the liana is not foreordained, like that of a tree,
which grows permanently in one position, building itself up in its
own characteristic fashion; for the tree supporting the liana grows
upwards, and the creeper has to follow; the older it grows the
heavier it becomes, until at last the massive stem can no longer
support itself, and the older climbing-organs no longer fulfil their
function, and one day the stem slips and slides downwards. Part of
it may perhaps remain hanging from a crotch of the supporting
tree ; the rest collapses on to the ground. Since this process is repeated
again and again, the elastic stem is eventually coiled into a serpentine
tangle. When one sees the stem of a liana swaying above the ground,
suspended by long cables from the topmost branches, one wonders
how these living cables could possibly have reached the position
96

THE LIANAS

they occupy. As a matter of fact, they have fallen into this position ;
the stem fell away from the tree, and the cables had to lengthen
themselves in order to follow it.

One of the greater lianas is the Giant Bean or Entada scandens,
which is distributed throughout the tropics. Its pods, almost as
broad as a man's hand and more than a yard in length, are woody
in texture, and hairy; the glossy brown beans are driven ashore by
the ocean currents as far afield as Greenland and Europe. With
its forked leaf-tip tendrils this giant liana climbs the tallest trees
of the forest, and it is interesting to follow the windings of the
massive stem with the eye as it rises from the ground, climbs a tree,
on the further side of which it descends in spiral convolutions,
slanting through the air to the ciotch of another tree, and covering
in all perhaps a horizontal length of a hundred yards.

The Brazilians use the thin, elastic stems of their Cipos as riding-
switches, having first burned off their bark. It is the lianas which
make the use of the bush-knife or cutlass necessary when travelling
through the forest. With this heavy sickle-shaped blade one strikes
right and left at the cables crossing one's path; none the less, one's
progress is slow, as the ground is covered with snares and nooses
for the unwary foot, and the naturalist who catches sight of a rare
butterfly and hastens after it, full of enthusiasm, will suddenly find
himself on the ground, unpleasantly conscious of the thorns, nettles
and ants which abound there, while the butterfly flits away.

Since the lianas commonly blossom overhead, above the tree-tops,
one sees hardly anything of their splendid blooms from the interior
of the forest.

But if one comes upon a grassy hill, and looks down upon the
forest outspread below, one may often see, in Humboldt's words, "a
forest above the forest." I shall never forget the growth of Harpalyce
above the forest of Pernambuco. It undulated over the tree-tops like
a field of violet-blue ears of corn. The blossom is like that of the
sweet pea, and the leaves are trifoliate, like clover.

The colouring of the Pernambuco landscape in September was
magnificent. The season was hke our European spring; the birds
were singing and the frogs were uplifting their voices. A rich
fragrance, as of cedar oil, floated on the air; it came from the
Fleabane (Ruellia). It was a world of glowing violet and yellow.

If I approached the edge of the forest, the lower part of the green
wall was flooded over with the violet trumpet-flowers of Ipomaea
floribunda, and above these were scattered the orange-yellow,

G 97

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

sprawling blooms of the Cassia. Here and there the yellow star of
a Heteropteris peeped from the bushes; in this flower five prettily
serrated petals stand upon little stalks which touch in the centre.
There were blossoming peas here too, rose and violet ; in one species
(Fasceolus) the long narrow pod, strangely enough, grows out of the
flower while the latter is still blooming.

It was always a joy to me to find the Passion-flower in the forest
or upon its fringes ; a green sea of foliage enveloped the supporting
trees, and the great blue stars of the flowers looked down with their
grave and lovely gaze (Fig. 13). Ten petals form the star, five of
which are really coloured sepals. Above this star lies a second, con-
sisting of fine, slightly crinkled threads, mottled with a glorious blue.
They have been likened to the crown of thorns, and the stamens,
rising from a centre which is adorned with circles of brilliant colour,
have the form of nails, while the ovaries, with their three pistils, have
been compared to a scourge. Passion-flowers with large red blossoms
also are found in Pernambuco; in these the stamens are violet,
flecked with white, and other kinds have whole racemes of blossom.
The combination of lovely colour, delicate mottling, and decorative
form is bewitching in all of them. Their mode of propagation befits
their poetical beauty; for their large flowers are fertilized by the
flying jewels of America, the humming-birds ; the coronet of fila-
ments apparently traps the insects on which these tiny birds feed.
I shall say something of the fruit of the Passion-flower in the tenth
chapter.

In Sao Paulo too I saw flowering lianas. In the forests of Alto da
Serra the red flowers of a climbing Begonia shone as though self-
luminous. Delightful too were the snow-white, woolly flowers of a
Hylaea, which grew sometimes on the ground and sometimes
climbed the trees ; they reminded me of edelweiss, but were much
larger. In August — so a Sao Paulo botanist, S. Decker, informed
me — showers of orange blooms fall from the branches of the trees
upon the surface of the rivers ; they are the flowers of the climbing
Pyrostegia. I myself saw waves of the turquoise-blue flowers of Thun-
bergia and the red Bougainvillea surging over walls and garden
doors, and the scarlet racemes of the "Cipo tape." These flowers, in
shape like a sweet-pea, are incomparably luminous. One stands as
though dazzled before the bushes which they adorn. And in the
droop of the red racemes there is something lavish and generous
which still further enhances the charm of these children of Nature.

The lianas have been likened to garlands, but it is only on the

98

THE LIANAS

tree-tops, on the edge of the forest, and in the thickets that they
deserve this comparison. In the interior of the forest their flowers
and leaves are barely visible. The only exceptions are the few species
which love the shade, as, for example, certain lianas of the Pandanus
and Arum families (Freycinetia, Pothos scandens), which I saw in
the forests of Western Ceylon, and which wrapped the tree-trunks
as though with closely-twined feather boas, while the closely-
packed, graceful, green, fan-like leaves were waving in all directions.

Generally speaking, however, it is the stems of the lianas that
catch the eye. It is the stems that make the tropical forest resemble
a maze of scajffolding ; it is the stems that give the forest, in Haber-
landt's words, "a three-dimensional extension," whereas a European
wood is one-dimensional, growing only in one direction, from the
ground upwards.

And since all over the forest the lianas hang from the boughs like
long ropes, there is something mechanical in its appearance. One
seems actually to feel the pull of these taut cables. It is as though a
giant had stretched these cords in order to turn the forest into a
monstrous loom.

VI

EPIPHYTES AND PARASITES

J.F we compare the beech- woods of Europe with a solemn Gothic
cathedral, the tropical forest will remind us of a well-lighted
Baroque church, where every pillar bears sculptured figures, and
the coloured decorations run up to the ceiling, whence singing or
trumpeting angels look down from amidst garlands of flowers.

For in the well-lighted tropical forest every tree is adorned, at
every possible point, with other plants, which often bear magnificent
flowers. And since in Europe we know them as hot-house plants,
it is really quite natural to compare the forest to a gaily decorated
hall. Those plants which affix themselves to other plants are known
as epiphytes. They are sometimes called pseudo-parasites, for a genuine
parasite sucks the life-blood of its host, and the epiphytes are harmless
plants, which merely quarter themselves on their host, and do not
harm it in any way.

Like the lianas, the epiphytes contribute very largely to the
peculiar charm of the tropical forest, giving it that strange and alien
quality which distinguishes it at the first glance from a European
wood. It is true that even our trees are not entirely without guests.
In the crotches of the boughs the bark and wood often rot, and seeds
wafted thither germinate. In such positions we find such plants as
often turn a thatched roof into a garden; above all, the grasses,
and willow-herb, and dandelion, and other plants whose seed is
wind-borne.

But fungi, mosses and lichens also grow on our woodland trees.
Examine the lichens growing on the trunk of an ash ; you will be
surprised by the number of different species. The lichens often paint
our trees as prettily, for example, as they have adorned the stately
trunks of the alley of Royal palms in the botanical gardens of Rio.
There we see a marbling of hundreds of tones, and the eye notes
with delight that these majestic stems, which in their noble simplicity
remind one of the columns of a Greek temple, are individually
beautified as though by the patina of ancient bronzes.

Since our woods contain only one true parasite, the mistletoe, and
no specialized arboreal species of the higher plants, the tropical
forest must affbrd conditions for the evolution of arboreal plants
which do not exist in a European wood. And we shall not be mis-

100

EPIPHYTES AND PARASITES

taken if we conclude that these conditions are those which account
for the presence of the hanas. The intenser Hght, uniformly distri-
buted at all levels, and the sparser foliage of the trees, favour the
growth of the epiphytes. The botanist Schimper tells us that the
dense-foliaged trees of the Brazihan campos have no epiphytes, and
that the thinner the foliage of the trees, the more numerous are their
epiphytic guests.

Another condition for the growth of arboreal vegetation is humidity
of the atmosphere and frequent rainfall. Since the epiphytes grow
high up on the boughs they cannot absorb the moisture of the soil.
Consequently the greatest number of epiphytes are found on the
slopes of the mountains, on which the passing clouds shed their
moisture, or in valleys where the air is constantly humid. In Ceylon
I found the greatest number of epiphytes on the south-western
slopes of the central range, where it rains every day about noon.
In Brazil too the rain-forest of the coast contains many epiphytes,
whereas in the dry regions of the wilderness the boughs of the trees
are generally bare. Winter is of course a hindrance to the develop-
ment of epiphytes. Many of our European plants survive the winter
although the plants themselves die down, but then the roots retain
their vitahty in the warm earth. On the boughs of the trees the roots
would be exposed without means of defence to the storms and frosts
of winter. But if the epiphyte wished to become an "annual" — that
is, if it intended to die every autumn and leave only its seed to
survive the winter — this seed would have to remain on the tree for
more than a year, enduring wind and rain and snow, and to resist
the efforts of the rain to wash it away.

Lastly, the epiphytes must find suitable lodgments on the boughs.
Such lodgments are more abundant in the tropical forest than in
our northern woods, for the boughs are more massive and more
numerous ; moreover, they often bend sharply upwards, and develop
rugosities, and the constant humidity leads to the formation of
chinks full of vegetable mould. Many trees, like the fig-tree, extend
their boughs for yards in a horizontal direction, supporting them
by means of aerial roots ; and the horizontal spans of the lianas
afford a suitable lodgment, as do the spiral twists of their shoots.
The tropical forest is a scaffolding, and a scaffolding naturally affords
many places of lodgment.

But the plants which adopt the life of epiphytes must adapt them-
selves to these conditions. Since all things living evolve, we must
suppose that even the epiphytes were once terrestrial plants, as many

lOI

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Bromelias are to-day — for we find as many species on the ground
as in the trees — and rooted in the ground, as are all our European
Orchids. Schimper has observed that only a few families of plants
have yielded epiphytes, but that these families have produced quite
a considerable number. Foremost among them are the Ferns, the
Orchids, the Bromelias, the Araceae, the Gesneriaceae (relatives of
the Gloxiniae), and the Vaccinaceae (relatives of our Bilberries).

First of all, the plants must be able to reach the boughs of the
trees. On the thatched roof of a labourer's cottage we often find
quite a number of plants of different species, whose seeds are pro-
vided with the means of floating in the air. But a thatched roof has
a large surface, and retains a flying seed without difliculty; the
branch of a tree, which is often smooth, is a very different resting-
place ; yet it is necessary for the seed to adhere to it.

There are consequently epiphytes whose seed is contained in a
berry which is eaten by birds or monkeys. The seed is voided, and
adheres to the bough with the excrement in which it is contained,
and which protects it from desiccation. This is the case with many
of the Araceae, Bromeliaceae, Gesneriaceae, and other plants. Or the
seed may be equipped with hairs which wrap themselves round the
branch, or the plant itself may be so thready in form that it may
be seized by the wind and cast against a bough, round which it
coils like a bola or native lasso. As we shall see, the Greybeard
Bromelia behaves in this fashion (Fig. 7).

Lastly, the seed may be so small that it blows away like dust,
and lodges in the chinks of the bark. Such minute seeds have enabled
the Orchids to people the trees, and of the 15,000 species of this
order more than half have become epiphytes. It has been calculated
that a single seed of one species of Orchid weighs only two-millionths
of a gramme, and that of another species one two-hundredth of a
milligramme. This minuteness has a second advantage : the seeds
are produced in great numbers, which increases the probability
that at least one seed may reach a suitable position. Even our
Spotted Orchis produces 180,000 seeds.

The Orchids, from our human point of view, stand at the highest
point of a process of evolution which has constantly been producing
fresh and attractive combinations of colour, scent, and artistic form.
Many botanists also place the Orchids at the end of the vegetable
system, as they now, reversing their earlier decision, place the plants
102

EPIPHYTES AND PARASITES

with parallel-veined leaves, like the grasses and the palms, after the
plants whose leaves have a vascular network. In this instance it
would be difficult to disagree with the scientia amabilis of botany, for
the most beautiful and wonderful forms of plants are those which
conclude the classified system. As Warburg says, reviewing this
system in his Pflanzenwelt, no family of plants exhibits such a wealth
of interesting vital phenomena as the Orchids, and their blossoms
are masterpieces of incomparable delicacy.

And truly, all those qualities with which a flower can bewitch
the human senses have been lavished on the Orchids; we can well
understand why there are not only amateurs, but also scientists,
who give them their undivided attention. They produce flowers of
all sizes, and even whole racemes or panicles of blossom ; there is, for
example, a species in Borneo which has trails of blossom more than
twelve feet in length. Many Orchids are scented, and as regards
their colour we find the most varied mixtures; as for the shape of
the flowers, we have here an extraordinary range, passing from the
most delicate and decorative beauty (Fig. 14) to the most daring
and fantastic forms. In order to find graphic names for such blossoms
we have had to borrow comparisons from the animal kingdom,
and just as in Europe we have the Bee Orchis, the Bird's-Nest
Orchis, and the Spider Orchis, so in the tropics we have the Hooded
Dwarf, the Viper's Jaw, etc. But one beautiful Orchid, which is like
a white dove — a native of Panama, which has often been praised
by the poets — is known as the Espirito santo or "Holy Ghost."

While as a general thing the flowers turn skywards and let the
sun shine into their chalices, the Orchids look straight into our eyes
with their enigmatical faces (Fig. 14). Of course they are not really
looking at us ; it is the insects which they wish to attract, sending
their fragrance abroad on the air, that its winged inhabitants may
check their flight and alight upon them. This fragrance is often the
only thing that tells the wanderers in the forest that there are Orchids
in the neighbourhood. In the forest of Pernambuco the air was often
full of the powerful scent of jasmine, but look where I might I could
see no trace of Orchids ; they must have been somewhere high in
the tree-tops. The surest way of finding Orchids is to look on the
ground, for there He the Orchids which have fallen to earth with
the rotten boughs on which they were growing. With practice, of
course, one may detect them in the trees, but one has not always an
Edysio available. (Edysio was the name of the agile student who
accompanied me, climbing the trees with the help of the lianas, and

103

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

scrambling down with the rotting boughs on which the Orchids were
growing.)

Tuberose, vanilla, lily of the valley, rose — every kind of scent is
emitted by the Orchid family, from the faintest aroma to the
stupefying fragrance of the American Stanhopea. And not only
butterflies, bees, and beetles are attracted, but flies as well, for the
Orchids which have need of them taint the air with the stench of
goats or of carrion.

Once the insects have entered the cloud of perfume and fly
towards its source, they cannot miss the brightly-coloured flowers
which have summoned them. There are few flowers which give such
an impression of oflfering themselves in generous surrender as the
Orchids. With their strikingly shaped and coloured petals they seem
to wave to us as though with wings, and from the widely-opened
blossom the "underlip" is protruded, covered, as a rule, with
hairs, as a convenient alighting-place (Fig. 14). As we shall see in
Chapter XIII, ihe Orchids are fertilized by insects, for the latter
convey the male pollen to the female stigmata.

When fertilization is accomplished the petals fall, and the fruit
develops, in the form of an elongated capsule. During the dry season
this capsule opens, the seeds fall out, and are borne away by the
wind. Many of the Orchids have developed a special device in the
capsule which prevents the seed from falling out in damp or rainy
weather, when the wet seed would drop to the ground. In these
capsules the seed is surrounded by a sort of felt, consisting of very
fine hairs. These are so constructed that they absorb the moisture
in the air, and at the least increase of humidity they twist themselves
and curl up in the most curious fashion. When a dry wind opens
the capsules the hairs begin to fluff' themselves out, expelling the
seeds lying among them, which are then carried off" by the wind.
In damp weather the capsules close, and the hairs and seeds are
imprisoned.

For a long while attempts were made to raise the magnificent
tropical Orchids from seed in our European hot-houses, but when the
seeds were sown in earth they failed to germinate. A French botanist
was the first to solve the puzzle. For its germination the seed of the
Orchid needs the help of a tiny fungus, which is found, like a
microscopic network, wherever Orchids grow. The seed of the
tropical Orchids germinate only if laid upon orchid mould, or on soil
which contains such little fungi. On germination a minute green
nodule appears, as transparent as glass, which takes hold of the soil
104

Plate VII

^^••-^•rf^

THE GAVEA, FROM THE SHORE

THE GAVEA, FROM THE TIJUCA FOREST

EPIPHYTES AND PARASITES

with tiny rootlets. In a state of nature these rootlets carry the fungi
along with them. Such a mutual dependence of two different
organisms is known as symbiosis. There are many other woodland
plants whose roots need the assistance of filamentous fungi ; and the
Lichens always consist of two different co-operating organisms,
namely, of fungi and algae, which are plants of an inferior order.

When an Orchid that perches on a bough begins to grow, the first
thing that it has to do is to anchor itself, and this it does with its
roots, which penetrate the chinks of the bark in all directions. In
other Orchids the roots are ligulate or strap-like, holding them so
firmly that when the Orchid is torn from the tree portions of the
bark come with it. But the Orchids do not put forth holding roots
only. In the Brazilian tribe of Oncidium a long mane of white,
hair-like roots hangs from the bough on which the plant is seated.
The whiteness of these roots is due to their dead and porous outer
stratum, which, like blotting-paper, sucks up every drop of liquid,
and even absorbs the moisture of the atmosphere. Such Orchids are
consequently able to grow upon the smooth trunks of palm-trees,
from which the rain runs off so quickly that other plants have no
time to absorb it in sufficient quantities. But the roots of these
Orchids suck it up immediately, and the inner, living portion of the
root is able to convey it to the plant at its leisure. In a protracted
drought these porous, air-filled coverings protect the inner portion
of the root from desiccation. In a sense, therefore, the sheath of the
root fulfils the function of the soil.

The aerial roots of some Orchids do not hang downwards, but
thrust themselves outwards or upwards into the air. In the hill
country of Ceylon I found the Dendrobium, whose shimmering
blossoms lifted themselves from a great besom of bristling aerial
roots. Such roots may even serve the purpose of aeration ; there are
actually Orchids in which the roots turn green and help to build up
the tissues of the plant, work which is properly that of the leaves.
But these Orchids have lost their leaves, and the flowers grow directly
from the roots.

Many of the Orchids have developed their leaves into reservoirs.
In such cases the tissue of the leaf stores water, and lays up a pro-
vision of nutritive material, so that the leaf becomes fleshy and
swollen. The work of building up the body of the plant is performed
only by its green outer surface. Orchids with such leaves remind
one of Cacti, and the significance of such formations is the same in
both groups of plants ; in either case a hard outer skin preserves the

105

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

contained moisture. In other Orchids the leaves are thin, and the
reservoirs take the form of tuberous thickenings of the stalk.

Orchids which grow on the branches of trees have no moist earth
beneath them, and are thus obhged, Hke the Cacti, which are
natives of dry and sun-steeped areas, to take up the necessary
moisture and protect it from evaporation. And the more effective
their reservoirs, the higher can they cHmb the trees, and the better
can they endure the immediate rays of the sun. Those which are able
to flourish far overhead in the forest are, as Schimper observed, best
able to migrate into the dry plains.

Just as epiphytic Orchids are able to adopt the habits of the
Cacti, so, conversely, can the latter become epiphytic. In the forest
of Alto da Serra there are tree-dwelling Cacti everywhere and at
all levels. These belong to the family of the Whip Cacti (Rhipsalis).
They look as though someone had stuck bunches of twigs into the
bark of the trees. The Brazilians liken the shoots of this Cactus —
which are often of considerable length, and as thick as a finger —
to rats' tails, and call it "rabo de rato." Birds perch on the Whip
Cactus, eat the fruits, and excrete the seed with their droppings.

Brazil must be richer in Orchids than any other country in the
world. According to Warburg, it possesses 800 species of Epidendron,
400 of Oncidium, 200 of Maxillaria, and 150 of Odontoglossum.
Oncidium flexuosum blooms so profusely in the State of Sao Paulo
about Christmas that one can pick great armfuls of the flowers.
The forest of Alto de Serra is full of blossoming Orchids about this
season. I saw there one species which had laid its leaves, which were
about the size of a halfpenny, flat against the trunk of the supporting
tree, in order to protect the underlying roots from drought; it had
small brown bell-flowers. Another kind, Pleurotallis stenopetala, puts
forth a slender yellow inflorescence like a heron's crest. In Pernam-
buco the Trizeuxis surprises one by its yellowish-brown, fantastically-
shaped flowers. There I came across the Vanilla, which twines its
way up the tree-trunks with its green, sappy stem and long fleshy
leaves; a very pretty sight. The Vanilla belongs to the Orchid
family, and has become a liana.

Less numerous indeed than the Orchids, but more striking
because much larger, are the Bromelias, which the Brazilians call
Gravatas. They give the virgin forest of Brazil a character of its own,
and whenever I think of that beautiful country the great green
rosettes and fleshy leaves rise before my eyes, perched on the boughs
and the trees, now singly, now in long rows (Plates 18, 27, 28). The
106

EPIPHYTES AND PARASITES

ground too is often covered with them. The Bromelias have a rich
and sumptuous appearance, and their flowers add greatly to the
beauty of the forest. In many varieties the inner side of the leaves
is red in colour, and the great bell-shaped flowers grow from their
midst. Others have red or yellow corollas, and some produce a tall
spire of yellow trumpet-flowers, each enclosed in a bright red
calyx. The Coral Gravata surprises the beholder by a sort of coral
staff", round the handle of which are lateral twigs bearing little red
clubs with violet tips.

The most useful of the Bromelias are the Ananas or Pineapples,
which are native to South America. Those of Pernambuco, known as
Abacaxi, are the sweetest and juiciest of all, and have the finest aroma.

The epiphytic Bromelias store up water in a way of their own.
They do not, like some of the Orchids, use their roots for this purpose ;
their first duty is to anchor the plant firmly to the supporting bough,
and they do this in many ways, sometimes even secreting a kind of
cement, so that they are able to adhere to the smoothest surfaces —
for example, to naked cliffs — and there prepare the soil for other
plants. The leaves are the Bromelia's reservoir. These become thick
and fleshy, and have a tough, leathery outer skin, which prevents
evaporation from the juicy tissues.

But the Bromelias do not merely store water in their thick leaves ;

they also form regular basins which catch and hold rain-water.

Where the leaves of the rosette come together — that is, at their

root — they are flattened, and their edges are raised, so that the

widened portion is spoon-shaped. Here the water is caught and

stands, and since all the leaves form a closed circle, a regular pot

or basin is produced, which contains a considerable amount of

water. If one tears off" a leaf one is deluged with water, often

amounting to a couple of pints. In these miniature pools there are

small crustaceans, predatory insects, salamanders, and even fish,

and a special "Gravata frog," a little creature two-fifths of an inch

in length. And always, in the reservoirs of the Bromelias, we find

the larv« of the mosquito, wriggling up and down, and living in

this natural aquarium until the insects emerge from their pupae and

take to the air. During the construction of the Panama Canal many

of the workmen engaged on one particular stretch suffered from

fever. Since no pools or puddles could be found, and since the

carrier of the disease, the mosquito, can breed only in water, no

one could understand where the fever came from until someone

observed the reservoirs of the Bromelias.

107

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

But even in these aquaria the mosquitoes have their enemies, and
among these enemies are not only insects and salamanders and fish,
but also plants. In the forest of the Alto da Serra I often saw a
charming light-blue flower with a long flower-stalk rising from the
leafy rosettes of the Bromelias. These flowers belonged to a Bladder-
wort, and plants of the Bladderwort family are found also in our
European ponds, where they lift a pretty but considerably smaller
flower above the surface, while the wide-spreading roots float in the
water.

These roots are covered with tiny bladders, and if we examine
such a bladder closely we see that it has an opening, which is closed
by a valve (Fig. 6). Since this valve rests on a little ridge, it can

easily be pushed open by small insects in search
of food or nourishment, but once the poor
creatures are inside the bladder there is no
escape, for pressure on the valve merely shuts
it more securely. The little victims die of
asphyxiation and starvation, and are there-
upon digested by the wall of the bladder,
which secretes a sort of gastric juice. The
Bladderwort is thus a carnivorous plant, and
neath one bladder the species which installs itself in the reservoirs
greatly magnified, of the Bromelias traps the small creatures which

The arrow points to swim about in the water. By means of its long

the valve of the en- -r- j .i • ^ ui ^ • i_i ^

rammed runners this vegetable trap is able to

creep from one rosette of leaves to another,

and so continually find fresh hunting-grounds.

The Brazilian Bromelias have flat, scaly hairs on the edges of

their leaves, by which they suck up the water, which a special porous

tissue conveys to the interior of the leaf All these adaptations enable

the plant, as we have seen, to settle even on bare surfaces of rock.

Near Nova Friburgo I saw some great domed rocks which from a

distance appeared to be sprinkled with yellow. They were simply

covered with Rock Bromelias, which do not produce a rosette of

green leaves pointing upwards, but only faded-looking leaves, which

hang down from the plant. These catch the dust which the rain

brings down with it — and so, by the way, do the epiphytic Bromelias.

For even the epiphytes cannot dispense with the nutritive salts which

plants draw from the soil.

However, the dirty water of the Bromelia's reservoirs contains an

abundance of these salts in solution. To ensure that they shall

1 08

Fig. 6. — Bladder- traps
on the roots of the
Bladderwort. Be

EPIPHYTES AND PARASITES

remain in solution, and that the water shall not evaporate, the
plants bring the tips of their leaves together, thus covering the
reservoir.

In most of the epiphytes the roots and the leaf-insertions, which
are pressed tightly against the bough, form ledges on which dust
and fallen leaves are collected, whether these leaves come from the
plant itself or are blown or fall thither from other plants. To these
are added scraps of bark and other debris from the tree on which
the plant is growing, and the whole yields a kind
of humus. Certain epiphytic ferns provide them-
selves in this way with a sort of flower-pot full of
humus, into which they plunge their roots, send-
ing these not downwards, but sideways, and even
upwards. For in many ferns the cavity in the
centre of the rosette of fronds serves to collect dust.
Other ferns, however, apply their fronds to the
trunk of the tree in such a way that the lower ^-^
edges and sides touch the bark, leaving an open-
ing above. The rain carries dust and dirt into the
receptacle thus formed, which again constitutes a
sort of flower-pot. With the help of such little
collections of humus these ferns grow to such a
size that a single plant may weigh a hundred-
weight. In Ceylon I often admired the Bird's-nest Fig. 7.— The "Grey-
fern, whose narrow fronds form a dense bush, and beard," an epi-
the Antler fern, whose fronds, waving high over-
head, have the form of an elk's antlers.

In the brightly-lighted woods of Pernambuco
one often sees objects like long white feather
boas hanging from the boughs; sometimes as
many as ten or twenty in close proximity,
one of these white objects we find that it consists of long,
fine threads; the BraziHans aptly call it "Greybeard," Barba da
velko (Fig. 7) ; and when a number of these white veils are seen
fluttering from the trees the wood really has a senile and moribund
appearance. One would hardly believe this remarkable object to be
a plant ; at the most, one would take it for a lichen, and the birds
appear to be of this opinion, for they use the white threads as
nesting-material. But the threads continue to grow, and the nest
becomes a living fabric. The "Greybeard" has renounced many of
the ordinary features of a plant. It has lost its roots ; we see nothing

109

phytic Bromelia.
On the right, a
plant in flower,
enlarged. {From
nature, and after
Warburg)

If we examine

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

but woolly, thread-like growths from five to six feet in length,
which are covered with silver-grey scales. If we examine these
growths more closely, we realize that the sharply-pointed lateral
hairs are metamorphosed leaves, and at certain seasons we shall
even find small, slender flowers, like tiny nails (Fig. 7). Moisture is
absorbed by the epithelium of the Greybeard's threads, and so one
of these threads, even if it should be blown (for example) on to a
telegraph-wire, is able to continue to grow there; and as a matter
of fact I often saw — and particularly in Sao Paulo — small crinkled
balls of this Bromelia growing on the telegraph-wires; a most
singular spectacle.

As we have seen, the epiphytic plants are not parasites; they do
not injure the tree on which they grow. But there are genuine para-
sites in the tropics which belong to the Mistletoe family. Their
life-history resembles that of our mistletoe. The berries of the
plants are eaten by birds, and sown by the birds in the branches of
the trees. The droppings of the birds might suffice to make the
berries adhere, but as a matter of fact the fruit contains a special
adhesive substance. First of all it forms a sort of "sucker" or adhesive
shield, which affixes itself firmly to the supporting bough ; and there
the so-called "sinkers" grow, like the teeth of a rake, down into the
substance of the bough. Subsequently lateral roots are developed;
these creep along under the bark, and send down fresh sinkers, and
at last the plant produces boughs, leaves, and berries. But whereas
the flowers of our mistletoe are imperceptible, their Brazilian relatives
are splendid blossoms of glowing red or yellow, so that the tangle
of branches looks as though it were bursting into flame.

The sinkers suck the nutriment needed by the plant from the
bough upon which it is seated. Many species are even able to press
their hosts into their service. They excrete an irritating fluid into
the wounds made by their sinkers, which stimulates the bough to
a morbid increase of growth. If the parasite falls off, a sort of curly,
fungoid excrescence is left, which is known as Rosa de madeira.

Even on the roots of the trees we may find the most singular
parasites, which have lost not only their leaves, but every trace of
green. Their appearance reminds one of the tapeworm, which is
able to dispense with an intestine, for in the intestine of its host it
is bathed in half-digested, liquid food, which it simply absorbs
through its skin. In the forests of Rio de Janeiro one may often find,
in shady places, club-shaped or pointed growths emerging from the
ground, in colour a fine rose-pink or red, and crinkled on the surface.

no

EPIPHYTES AND PARASITES

These are the inflorescence of such parasites. Their roots are incor-
porated, by overgrowth and interpenetration, with the roots of the
trees which are forced to nourish them. The popular name for this
singular, fungus-like plant is Espigo de sangue— the "Blood-spike."

It is not to the advantage of a parasite to jeopardize the victim
of its exploitation, for with the death of the host the fate of the
parasite would be sealed — at all events, unless the latter had the
power of transferring itself to another host. But there is one family
of plants in the tropics which lives by killing. They do not suck
their victim's life-blood, and it is no part of their intention to kill it,
but they grow so inconsiderately that the supporting tree is simply
stifled. Juristically speaking they are guilty of killing, not of murder.

And yet one is inclined to approve of the terrible names which
have been given to these parasites — Matapau, "Murderer Fig," or
"Tree-strangler" — when one sees such a plant before one's eyes,
and notes how it encloses the supporting tree in a constricting net-
work, so that one really feels as though the victim is at the last
gasp; indeed, one almost expects to hear its death-rattle. And
presently one comes upon a tree which has already died in the
embrace of its executioner. The lower part of the trunk is still
standing, but the upper portion, strangled and half decayed, is still
suspended in the trellis, a corpse in the arms of the strangler.

The "Tree-strangler" belongs to the family of the tropical figs,
and is found in the Old World as well as in the New. A bird eats
one of its figs, and deposits the seed, which passes through its
intestine, on the branch of a tree. The excrement holds it in place,
and also provides manure, and presently a little shoot springs up,
and the fig begins its career as an epiphyte. As soon as it has grown
to a certain size it puts forth aerial roots, and other roots grow down
along the fissures of the supporting tree, until at last they reach the
ground. Now the epiphyte has become a liana (Plate 19), and can
obtain all the nourishment it needs from the soil, and it grows
bigger and bigger, until, in order to support its increasing weight,
it puts forth lateral roots from the descending roots, which become
so many stems. These lateral roots clasp the supporting tree like
embracing arms, meet together on the further side, interlace, and
coalesce, until the whole tree is wrapped, as it were, in a wire net-
work, which is so tough and rigid that the tree can no longer increase
in girth. This means its death ; it is strangled at its most vulnerable

III

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

point, where the vessels run from the roots to the crown, and
presently withers and rots. In the course of time the last vestige of
the tree disappears, but the tree-strangler grows unchecked on its
tall cylinder of trellis- work, which is continually reinforced. Growth
is added to growth, until at last the fig has a great, solid trunk, whose
origin is betrayed only by the serpentine ridges running along and
around its surface. On one of the hills near Olinda there was just
such a Gamelleira, as the Brazilians call the "Tree-strangler" found
thereabouts (Plate 19). The trunk was tall and massive, with a great
crown of thick, glossy leaves. This tree stood near an old deserted
monastery, whose cloisters opened on to the slope of the hill that fell
away to the sea. Every Thursday the Fathers and Brothers of Sao
Bento spent some quiet and happy hours there, and I gladly accom-
panied them, in order to study the plant and animal life on the
slopes of the hill, or to sit on the verandah of the quiet cloister,
looking across the glittering cashew-woods to the distant yellow
beach, overshadowed by rustling coconut-palms, beyond which the
emerald ocean lay outspread rising to the far horizon.

With the inclusion of the epiphytes in the picture of the tropical
forest we have added the final touches of colour ; and now we may
once more briefly define its peculiar character.

There are three features which distinguish the tropical forest from
the woods of Europe: its monumental structure, the mosaic-like
distribution of its details from the ground to the tree-tops, and the
changing, glittering light. In the tense cables of the lianas we see
the expression of mechanical strength, and the epiphytes with their
leaves and flowers which meet the eye on every side, and the birds
and butterflies which flutter round them, adorn all the planes of
the forest with scattered colour, while the many species of trees, with
their leaves of different shapes, still further enhance the variety of
the scene. Falling through the open foliage of the tree-tops, the rays
of sunlight, moving as the day wears on, light an ever-changing
picture until the approach of night.

Thanks to these characteristics there is something gay and vital
and joyful about a tropical forest ; and it seems to the traveller who
passes through it that the pulse of life beats more strongly here than
elsewhere.

112

VII

IN THE DESERT

Oertao, "or desert," is the name the Brazihans give to the dry
inner area of the northern States of their country.

Lonely and barren indeed are the wide, sun-steeped table-lands,
and the traveller is oppressed by a sense of desolation. For the
Sertao is not only empty of human life, but fresh, living Nature
seems to have deserted it. Leafless the branches of the grey trees
rise against the sky, and from the thorn-covered hillsides bare,
round, weathered rocks emerge, and the distant ranges of hills
remind one of the dead mountains of the moon.

Nevertheless, the Sertao engraves itself on the heart of those who
travel through it. Like the African desert, the interior of Brazil
has an indescribable atmosphere of its own, which is so individual
that nothing can efface it from the memory. It is precisely in the
melancholy of the desert that its attraction lies, for the human heart
is more deeply moved by sadness than by gaiety, and not in vain
are the greatest works of the poets tragedies.

And so we can well understand that the inhabitants of the desert
— for example, the desert of the State of Ceara — are accounted the
most loyal of the Brazilians. In the work of a native of Ceara, Jose
de Alencar, the atmosphere of the Sertao and the yearning of the
exile are admirably harmonized, for the author wrote his Iracema
far from his home, and it was his longing for the Sertao that inspired
him to write it. The book, of course, describes Brazil at a period
when European industry had not as yet disturbed the peace of the
country, when the land and the people were still one; and this
unity is most delightfully expressed in the heroine, Iracema, the
young and lovely Indian girl who gives her name to the book.

The German word Hinterland has been naturalized in Brazil.
Whatever name is given to the Sertao emphasizes the contrast
between the interior and the coastal belt. And this difference is
explained by the geology of Brazil. The interior of the country is
always higher than the coastal region. In the north-east the land
rises gradually from the coast ; the yellow line of the shore is bordered
by the slopes of the low green hills, which increase in height towards
the interior, until they merge into a vast undulating upland, some
three thousand feet in altitude, traversed by ridges and scattered

H 113

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

with fragments of rock exposed by folding or denuded by alluvial
erosion. This is the "Alto Sertao."

Southwards from the State of Espirito Santo the highlands reach
to the coast, and then, falling steeply away, they form, with far-flung
cliffs, and nuclei of rock isolated by erosion, staring like the teeth of
a giant comb at the sky, the magnificent mountain landscape of
Rio. But throughout Brazil the uplands incline towards the west,
sinking to an extensive plain which includes the greatest river-basin
in the world. For even rivers which have their source barely sixty
miles from the coast are compelled, by the slope of the continent,
to flow towards the west, and so the principal streams combine into
rivers of increasing magnitude, which flow towards the north and
the south. The former are the tributaries of the Amazon ; the latter
flow into La Plata,

On approaching the south of Brazil the highlands of the interior
are covered with ever-increasing stretches of grassy plains (campos),
interspersed with areas of bush (catingas), and so they gradually
merge into the steppe landscape of the State of Rio Grande do Sul
and the Argentinian pampas. In the north-east, on the other hand,
we have a singular landscape, a land of deserts overgrown by leafless
woods. These are the Sertoes.

I visited the Sertoes of Pernambuco and Parahyba. One reaches
the first by the line leaving the Central Station in Recife, and the
second by that leaving the Northern Station, known as "Brum,"
after the picturesque old Dutch fort nearby, whose walls are reflected
in the sea. One travels from early in the morning until late in the
evening. The first class carriages — the second class are for coloured
people — have cushioned seats covered with woven cane; the backs
can be adjusted in accordance with the direction of the train, and
the windows, which are open on either side, for a draught is desirable
in such close confinement, are provided with sun-blinds. A dining-
car provides excellent meals. Travelling, therefore, would be very
pleasant were it not for the fact that in the dry season the air is so
full of dust that passengers of any experience always wear linen
overalls during the journey. The carriages are often worn out ; they
sway violently to and fro, and the constant sound of the whistle,
which is blown to drive cattle off" the track, is decidedly wearing to
the nerves.

While in Ceylon the stations are little gems, adorned with the
most delightful show of flowers — for the Government offers prizes
for the most decorative railway stations — the Brazilian station

1 14

IN THE DESERT

seldom presents a pleasant appearance, and at every stop the hands
of beggars wander past the windows or extend themselves in front
of the passengers, while in many of the stations one sees shocking
cases of leprosy. Swarms of pedlars with cakes, fruit, bottled drinks,
and so on, drift through the train, so that one is thankful when the
journey is ended.

One leans back in one's seat, and the landscape glides past outside.
From the island in which the station lies the line crosses various
arms of the sea, and then passes between houses with small gardens,
cutting across streets at whose level crossings motor-cars, waggons,
and men and women stand waiting — many of the latter black or
brown, and the women in bright green, blue or pink dresses. Now
we pass the mangrove swamps already described, and the train
leaves the city behind.

Meadows appear, on which cattle are grazing, and the rounded
masses of the dark-green, sharply-shadowed foliage of great mango-
trees with sturdy trunks. The light glitters gaily on the deep green
leaves of the tall Jacas. Now — as at Macacos on the Northern Railway
— the trees close in to form a shady forest. With never-failing delight
the eye notes the bright trunks of the trees, the far-flung cables of
the lianas, the infinitely rich and various spectacle of wild Nature ;
and yet this is only capoeira forest, which has grown up again where
the virgin forest was felled, and in which no tree ever grows to be
a hundred years old, since it has to furnish wood for firing the loco-
motives.

The landscape is growing hilly. Where the forest flows over a hill
great shade-trees spread their wide boughs in august tranquillity
above the crinkled crests of their lesser brethren. Fields of sugar-cane
appear ; it is August, and the harvest is at hand ; they look like forests
of beautiful, succulent green reeds. Here, in the most fertile belt
of north-western Brazil, the sugar-cane, the "Brejo," is the most
important crop (Plate 23).

Near Victoria station, where a memorial commemorates a
victory which the Portuguese once won over the Dutch, the land-
scape becomes more attractive. The hills are higher and less mono-
tonous ; but they have the soft contours of the secondary ranges,
though there are outcrops everywhere of primary rock, of granite.
Here are ravines crossed by viaducts, rushing brooks, and tunnels.
Now and again we have lovely glimpses of the forest.

115

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

From a pond comes a sound as though iron rods were being
thrown down in a heap: the music of the "Alarm frog." Now fields
appear, fenced here and there with dark green aloes. Other species
of this plant — whose succulent, thick, green sharp-pointed leaves
have a very tropical appearance — are cultivated. Their leaves yield
a textile fibre. Here and there an aloe or agave sends up a stem like
a mast, the top of which bears the chandelier-like inflorescence
(Fig. 8). This inflorescence, in shape not unlike a pine-tree, looks
like an independent plant, and one would hardly credit the tuft
of leaves on the ground with the power to produce such a tree.
But the agave prepares itself all its life — which, according to the

climate and the soil, may be from five to
fifteen years — for this supreme achievement.
The energy accumulated during these years
is expended in lifting this inflorescence to a
height of thirty feet or more from the ground.
By the time it is fully developed the strength
of the plant is exhausted; it withers, and
presently only the inflorescence is left alive,
and this too collapses after the fruit has
ripened. It was formerly believed that the
agave required a hundred years to produce
its inflorescence, but we know now that it
is not the agave but the Talipot palm of
Ceylon that needs this long time of pre-
paration. With its fan-shaped leaves, which
are so large that one of them, bent into shape,
will serve as a tent, this palm grows taller
and taller as the thick stem rises from the ground and lifts its crown
high into the air. So it stands, the queen of the Indian palms, its
mighty fans glistening in the sun, waiting for its coronation. And
now an inflorescence that seems to be carved in ivory shoots up
from its summit. With this the vital energy of the tree is exhausted,
the leaves droop, and the palm dies. In the animal kingdom too
there is sometimes death at the summit of life. The male bee, the
drone, dies on uniting with the queen, high up in the sunny air.
In the case of the eel it is the female whose life ends even as she
multiplies life : a subject which might well inspire a poet. In the
rivers of Europe the eel — but only the female fish — lives for seven
to fifteen years; a voracious eater. Then suddenly a change comes
over the eel. In the grip of an overwhelming instinct, which bids
ii6

Fig. 8. — Agave in bloom.
In the background Silk-
cotton trees, and a Rhea

IN THE DESERT

her leave her life-long hcjme, she makes her way downstream to
the sea, and after a six months' journey, during which she takes no
nourishment, she reaches the western Atlantic, and there, sinking
into the depths, meets the male fish, who has also found his way
thither, unites with him, and lays her eggs. But even as they glide
from her body the mother dies, and the young, transparent elvers
must find their way alone to the rivers of Europe, without guid-
ance, without knowledge of their course, indefatigably wandering
eastward. I

But the train goes on, and the landscape, now more and more
individual, claims all our attention. Here is an undulating country,
overlooked by ranges of low hills. Here are wide open spaces, which
have never known the plough ; and there extensive areas of scrub
or bush, which might well be called "jungle" after their Indian
prototype. Here the foliage of the trees is like that of our European
woods ; willow-like leaves are common, but on dying they assume a
vivid red colour, and hang like corals amidst the rest of the foliage.
The undertone of this landscape is grey, since the trunks and branches
of the trees are its predominating feature, but above them the light
greenish-yellow crowns of the shade-trees float like foam, and once
more one is reminded of Europe, when the inflorescence of the
maple breaks out upon the grey boughs. Now fleshy cacti make their
appearance, tall as trees, attracting the eye by their singular shape,
while their bright red fruits, as big as a man's fist, enliven the mono-
tone of the landscape with spots of splendid colour ; and the stony
slopes of the railway-embankment are covered with regiments of
the Melon Cactus.

The train stops at the small town of Caruarii, which has a repu-
tation as a health resort, for it lies i,6oo feet above the sea, and
although it is scorchingly hot so long as the sun is shining, it is cool
at night, so that one sleeps comfortably in a warm bed. In August
the temperature is sometimes as low as 54° in the small hours of
the morning, and it is said to fall as low as 50°. There is even a
Grand Hotel in Caruarii, with very good Brazilian cooking, but the
internal arrangements are characteristic of the country : the bed-
rooms have no windows, but are lighted from above, since there
is no ceiling, and a common roof covers all the rooms ; and this
at least has one advantage, for there are no flies in the dark rooms.
The beds, as usual in Brazil, have no upper sheet.

' For further details see my book. Das Tierleben unserer Heimat, Freiburg i. Br.

1923-

117

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

I spent several days in Caruarii. The town is built round a rocky
hill, which is crowned by a church. On the top of the tower is a
cross, which at night blazes with electric light, shining far over the
country. Such illuminated crosses are common in Brazil. There is
no mean economy of lighting in Brazil, and I was often surprised,
after hours of travelling through an uninhabited wilderness, to come
suddenly on a little town all ablaze with light — as brilliantly illumin-
ated as any European capital.

At Caruaru the landscape is already suggestive of the desert.
There are wide open spaces, and long ranges of hills ; the colouring
is monotonous ; even the gardens are in monochrome, and enclosed
by hedges of euphorbia with cactus-like, fleshy branches. But the
Sertao is still far away. We must continue our journey to the terminus
of Rio Branco (or Gampina Grande on the Parahyba line), as far
from Garuarii as Garuarii is from the coast.

One retires to one's carriage soon after dinner and goes to bed, if
there is a bed available ; otherwise one sleeps in the native hammock.

When I alighted at Gampina Grande, shivering a little in the
unaccustomed coolness, I was delighted to find, close to the gates
of the town, a long, narrow lake, beside which I strolled all the
morning, scarcely removing my binoculars from my eyes. Here for
the first time I saw the rich and wonderful world of the Brazilian
waterfowl.

At first there was a sandy beach along the shore; here little
ringed plover were tripping to and fro, and curtsying, taking short
flights; and a large brown plover flew past overhead, greeting me
with a cry; and now, with fanning flight, came the "Teu-teus,"
the South American peewits, with crested heads and black breasts ;
one sees them in hundreds in the Buenos Aires bird-market. They
are kept on account of the cry from which they take their name,
and with which the watchful birds greet everyone who approaches ;
they are therefore valued as "watch-birds."

Now I was treading on a stretch of grass-covered land which ran
out into the lake, a green peninsula. The bay was full of the green
leaves of the Eichhornia, with their thick bladder-covered stems,
which grew so closely that the leaves stood upright in dense con-
fusion. Above the green thicket of foliage the light-blue spires of
foliage nodded like bluebells; and like moving flowers the Hyacin-
thine Waterhens (Porphyriola Martinica) appeared and disappeared

ii8

IN THE DESERT

among the green leaves. The plumage of these wonderful birds is
blue, merging into green on the back, and their bills are red. I
saw them near Olinda too, and always with renewed delight.
I never knew them to fly ; if they were disturbed they hid themselves
between the leaves of the Eichhornia, and some time later one
might see a blaze of sapphire as the sunlight struck upon their
splendid plumage.

The Hyacinthine Waterhens were always accompanied by the
Jassanas. These charming birds are of the same family, but they
have long, slender toes, which are still further prolonged by long
claws, so that they are able to run quickly over the floating leaves
of the aquatic plants, just as a ski-runner, with his long wooden
skis, is able to pass quickly over soft snow. The Jassanas too have
delightfully coloured plumage; from a glossy chestnut body rises a
glossy, deep-violet neck, and at the root of the bill is a flame-red
fold of skin. These birds are uncommonly lively, constantly quarrel-
ling and rising into the air, when a splendid yellow shines on the
wings, throwing the dark wing-tips into strong relief. The male
birds perform a sort of courtship dance, flapping their wings, and
rising into the air, and sinking down again. When they fly across
the water the air resounds with their cries : zip, zip, zip, zip, zip,
zip, credit, credit.

There was another waterhen swimming about on the lake, not
unlike the Bald Coot, except that the white patch on the bill was
replaced by red, while the black plumage was relieved by the white
root of the tail and a stripe of white on the shoulder. Inconspicuous
among these three waterhens was a small diver, paddling about in
as lively a fashion as his European relatives, and disappearing to
bob up in another place. There was also a brown duck, the Cabocla
duck, whose plumage was almost plain.

Herons stood motionless as statues in the shallow water, or flew
off, if I approached them too closely, with slowly-beating wings
and gracefully reverted necks. I saw the Soco, a bird not unlike
our common heron, and the Soc6-y, a smaller bird with red-brown
plumage ; and there were night-herons also, squat of stature, with
large heads which drooped over their white crops as though the
birds were absorbed in meditation. On a post squatted a kingfisher,
in shape like our own, but much larger, with blue-grey head and
white collar. With a loud plump! he fell headlong into the water,
reappearing with a fish in his bill.

Early next morning the cars which were to take us into the Sertao

119

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

were standing before our house. For Campina Grande is not yet in
the desert ; it Hes in a depression, and for this reason there was rain
there in August, a thing unknown in the Sertao at this season. But
the vegetation was enough to show that one was at a greater altitude
than in Pernambuco. As in Europe the Alpine flora covers the ground
with a carpet of many coloured blossoms, so the flowers covered
the ground in the neighbourhood of Campina Grande. Red, blue
and violet flowers were closely intermingled in the low growth
underfoot; in some places the ground was entirely covered with
the violet flowers of a kind of thyme, which gave out the aromatic
smell of our northern thyme. And bumble-bees, black, with a grey
thorax, flew humming from flower to flower.

Here and there, on the post of a railing, sat a little black bird
with the yellow beak of a finch. Indefatigably the tiny creature
sprang, with an audible flapping of his wings, perhaps a yard into
the air, every time uttering a little zip- This peculiar dance continued,
in perfect time, as though the bird were moved by clockwork, or
were suspended, like a toy, on a thread of elastic. It was impossible
to watch the little bird for very long without laughing, so singular
did this behaviour seem. The Brazilians call this little finch the
Serrador or "Sawyer," because in the distance the rhythmical zipt
zip sounds like the regular creaking of a small-toothed saw.

The cars soon left Campina Grande behind, and were passing
through a landscape whose appearance was eloquent of a scanty
rainfall. This country is known as "Cariri." It is a "bush" country,
and the green of the leaves is like that of our European trees, but the
foliage is sparser, and on all sides the bare tree-trunks and thick
grey branches are visible. Many of the plants have leaves covered
with a grey felt; including Euphorbias belonging to the Croton
family. This woolly covering enables the leaves to retain their
moisture ; at the same time, they are less likely to be eaten by grazing
ruminants, as when chewed the felt comes away from the leaves
and forms into pellets which irritate the mucous membrane.

Now the first tall Tree-cacti appear (Plate 21). These are the
most typical inhabitants of the dry belt. Genuine children of
America, they have spread from the high table-lands of Mexico far
over North and all over South America, and have been conveyed,
by men and birds, to other parts of the globe. Their stems are
thick and swollen, and their branches have the same form. The
leaves are present only in the form of small scales, or they have
become transformed into spines ; their green has been appropriated
120

Plate VIII

OLINDA

.t^

COCONUT-PALMS IN OLINDA

IN THE DESERT

by the fleshy stems, whose rind does the work of building up the
tissues of the plant. The stems also store up water to be used in the
dry season, and prevent its evaporation from the succulent tissues
by the large amount of mucilage which they mix with it. Moreover,
the skin of the cactus is very thick, and often coated with a bluish
bloom of a waxy consistency. By these means the cacti defy the heat
of the sun and the drought, or at most they gradually become
slightly shrivelled. If segments of the lateral shoots break off and
fall to the ground they begin to take root.

The peculiarity to be noted in so many tropical leaves, which
grow thicker in order to protect the inner tissues from the sun, and
the better to preserve the internal moisture, has reached its highest
development in the stems of the cacti. But other thick-leaved plants
inhabit the Sertao : namely, the Macambiras, a species of Bromelia,
whose rosettes often cover the ground far and wide. Their fibres are
used for making nets. There are species among the orchids also,
and many kinds of Euphorbia are found even in the dry areas, the
stems and stalks being thickened as in the cacti, while the leaves
disappear. The gardeners call all those plants which look as though
they had somehow been fattened succulent plants.

But there is yet another means of avoiding the loss of moisture
during the dry season, and enduring the rainless months without
desiccation. Plants, of course, transpire mainly through their leaves,
whose broad surfaces favour evaporation, just as the water in a wide,
flat saucer will evaporate more quickly than the water in a deep
flask exposing but a small surface. In order to avoid losing all their
moisture through their foHage, many of the plants of dry areas cast
their leaves, as do our own trees in winter. It has been estimated
that in Ceylon there are roughly a hundred trees which cast their
foliage, for Ceylon too has dry areas in which it hardly ever rains.
In the deserts of Brazil, however, all the woods are more or less
leafless. When the rain falls in January all is green in an incredibly
short time. A traveller once related that he fell asleep in a bare,
ashen-grey wood, and when he woke in the morning he thought he
must have been bewitched, for he was surrounded by billows of
green foliage. Rain had fallen overnight.

Wherever there is a lake or lagoon we see lush green banks even
in the dry season. Bananas with their emerald-green leaves grow in
such waterside meadows, and sometimes we may see a coconut-
palm that has strayed from its usual haunts: but as a rule the
only palm to be found is that child of the Sertao, the Carnauba, a

121

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

handsome, slender tree, the lower part of whose trunk is covered
with the stumps of the old leaves, while the fan-shaped leaves of
the crown wave overhead in the breeze. These palms yield the
inhabitants of the Sertao almost all they need to support and
shelter life : namely, timber for building, wood for furniture, palm-
cabbage and sago, syrup, arrack, and fruit. With the leaves they
thatch their roofs ; of their fibres hammocks and mattresses are made,
and a medicine is prepared from the roots. The Indians call this
palm the mother of the Sertoes.

Now we see another of the trees of the Sertao ; at first rising above
the hedges of some farm, but later growing in the open (Fig. 8) .
It offers a surprising, even a grotesque appearance, for the stem is
enormously swollen between the roots and the crown, tapering
towards the top, where it puts forth a number of gnarled and
sparsely-leaved branches. It often looks like a gigantic radish,
balanced upon its tip. The Brazilians aptly call these trees Barri-
gudas, "big-bellies."

A broad highway leads to Solidade, a place which seemed to
deserve its name. But this impression vanished when we entered
the comfortable house of the director of an agricultural station : a
pretty, airy building, where comfort was ensured by avoiding an
excess of furniture. We rocked ourselves to and fro in the customary
rocking-chairs, and drank a mixture of gin and vermouth. The
amiable Brazilian would gladly have kept us to breakfast, but we
had to go further. And now at last we came to the real Sertao
(Plate 20).

The ground is covered with yellow sand. The hills far and wide
are silvery-grey with the leafless boughs of the bush-like forest.
An unbroken grey sea overspreads all the hills and undulations
of the ground, and the yellowish-green of such trees as still dare to
show their leaves gleams here and there like the foam of breakers.
There is an impressive vastness in this country, traversed by ranges
of hills with jagged and riven profiles, from which the naked rock
protrudes on every hand. The greyness has a lovely silvery tone,
and the little white clouds floating in the blue sky cast shadows
that glide incessantly across the hills, giving life and variety to the
scene.

We have reached the summit of a hill. Beyond the hills before

us rises a savagely serrated range, terminated in one direction by

a sharp-pointed cone, the "Sugarloaf of the Sertao." A true desert

range, such as I have seen beside the Red Sea, or at Aden. And like

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the African and Arabian desert, this grey landscape shows that it
is capable of the most impressive beauty before it sinks into darkness.
The sun sets in an indescribable miracle of colour. The clouds
darken to deep violet, surrounded with brick-red outlines, and then
grow brighter and brighter, until they are a light grass-green. The
sun disappears. But here we have nothing of the swift darkness
which is supposed to fall in the tropics ! Just as in Ceylon, in half
an hour's time it grows hght again. Now the horizon flings beams
of orange light into the blue-green heavens, that seem like a palpable
dome overhead, and little black clouds swim in the orange glow like
the spots on a leopard's hide.

Shrill screams sound from high overhead, and we see the green
gleam of the parrots, returning to their distant roosting-places,
indefatigably chattering and calling to one another. Here come two
flying together, now nine, now ten. Now the last has flown overhead,
and as the glowing colours fade the moon rises, bathing the landscape
in a sharp white radiance, revealing it so plainly that one feels that
one could count the trees even on the distant hill-tops.

Santa Luzia is the name of the little town from which I made my
excursions into the Sertao. A lonely stone-built city in the undulating
sea of rock, Santa Luzia climbs the ridge of a hill, on the summit
of which is a white church with twin towers. Going downhill, we
come to a river-bed, now filled with white sand in which the feet
sink, but in January it is a brown, roaring torrent, often of destructive
violence.

A cotton-factory rises at one end of the town, and for three days
the seven of us were the guests of the manager. Beds were provided,
and hammocks hung, in a small empty house opposite the factory.
Here we slept; but I sat late on the verandah gazing at the little
town, glowing with electric light, and flooded with moonlight into
the bargain, while a kitten caught the little beetles which rattled
against the lamp and fell to the ground.

I set out on my excursions in the cool of the early morning. As a
rule, the car having first taken me out into the Sertao, I continued
my explorations on foot, either alone or accompanied by a mulatto
who was well acquainted with the plant and animal life of the
wilderness. The prospect of the grey landscape, as seen from a height,
had always a peculiar beauty of its own. It was a picture in tender
tones, like a Japanese painting, but here and there, like bursts of

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flame, glowed the splendid orange of the flowering Mulungu acacia.
There is a bird, moreover, frequently seen in the Sertao, which,
when it sits on a grey bough, looks like a flame. It is the Soffrer or
Concliz, magnificently clad in black and fiery orange : a starling
with a fine, powerful song, in whose first notes the Brazilians hear the
word soffrer (to suffer).

Sand, and again sand ! The whole country looked like the bed
of a dried-up river, and I made my way along the winding depres-
sions in the sand, in which, of course, the water flowed in the rainy
season, for here I could walk at ease, whereas the bush was full of
thorns. But the burs of a yellowish-grey, rushlike grass with prickly
capsules — the Brazilians call it Carapicho — remained hanging to
my clothes in hundreds, and if I tried to remove them the fine hairs
ran into my skin. Caution is always admirable in tropical countries,
and especially in the dry areas, where those plants which endeavour
to retain their leaves in the rainless months protect them against
grazing animals by means of thorns, prickles and stinging hairs.
Once, when I was standing before a tree, and about to pluck one
of its rare, sharply-serrated leaves, the mulatto pulled me back in
time, telling me that if one touched such a leaf one's hand would
burn for days, and indeed inflammation and fever would result.
The tree was a Euphorbia, the Favelleira or "Vulture-nettle tree,"
Urtiga do urubu (Plate 21).

In tropical America there is yet another poisonous Euphorbia,
which plays a part in Meyerbeer's UAfricaine. In this opera the
queen of the tropical island lies down beneath the tree to die as her
lover, Vasco de Gama, sails homewards. Even though the poisonous
vapours exhaled by the tree do not kill, they are none the less in-
jurious, as recent researches have shown. And from time immemorial
the Indians of Brazil have prepared their well-known arrow poison
from various native plants.

In the Sertao we find many trees already familiar, but more
gnarled and of lesser growth than in the moist belt. From the Juca
hang great beans, like our broad beans in appearance, and swollen
ridges covered with woody thorns run up the trunk of the Angico.
The Brauna yields a very tough wood. The leaves of the Joazeiro will
stand any degree of drought ; one is always glad to see its vigorous
green crown. But the handsomest tree of the Sertao is the Oiticica
(Plate 21). A sturdy trunk, dividing into many branches, lifts itself
from roots which run high over the ground. From the dense green
roof of foliage the older leaves hang like silver tassels. It is cool in
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IN THE DESERT

the shade of these trees ; for me the Oiticicas were always oases of
refreshment after hours of wandering in the blazing sun, blindingly
reflected by the hot sand underfoot. I was glad to sit on the tall roots
and listen to the birds in the boughs or out in the sunlight.

For I saw many birds in the Sertao. Here for the first time I was
able to admire the great Brazilian parrots, in their blazing livery
of blue, green and red, nibbling fruit or cleaving the air in swift and
splendid flight, but quite unable at any time to hold their tongues.
A characteristic parrot of the Sertao is the Jandaya, celebrated by
Alencar in his Iracema; for long after the lovely Indian maiden is
dead the bird calls her musical name in the wilderness. I was
enchanted by the magnificent contrast of the green back and the
yellow breast when I first saw this parrot. Here too we find the large
green Amazon parrots, which we know as among the best speakers.
In the Brazilian towns one often sees them sitting in the windows,
where they call across the street, in an amusingly genuine Brazilian
accent: "JVb e? No e?'' (Isn't it? Isn't it?) Expert bird-catchers take
the young birds from the nests in the hollow trees, and one day at
Rio Branco I was sorry to see such a bird-catcher enter the railway-
station carrying a long plank, to which two hundred of the poor
little creatures were tethered.

Every moment pretty little doves fly up before the wanderers,
displaying their white, black-edged wings. These are "Scaly Doves"
(Rolinha cascavel), so caUed because each feather is bordered with
black, so that the plumage seems to consist of scales, reminding one
of the skin of the rattlesnake or Cascavel. Their cooing is like the call
of the quail sounded on a flute : gru gruu.

A handsome bird whose crimson crest often enlivens the tracks
of the Sertao is the Cardinal Finch or Gallo da campina. Still
more splendid are the "Blue Ravens," large as magpies. The plumage
is mostly black and white, but on the head is a splendid blue. Another
and more remarkable bird is the "Sleeper." When first I saw this
glossy-plumaged bird, flecked with black, and adorned with a yellow
collar and a red, bearded beak, I was amazed. Like an apparition
he sat on a projecting bough, absolutely motionless, and allowed
me to approach quite closely. He really seemed asleep. But he can
be lively enough, as I reaHzed on another occasion, when a whole
flock of these birds flew through the bush with loud cries of tiimi,
tumi. In Sao Paolo I saw another species of bearded cuckoo or
"Sleeper," which nested in a hole in the ground, and was popping
in and out of it like a rat (Plate 28).

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One of the most conspicuous birds in the bush is the httle brown
Ferreiro or "Smith," who might more justly be called the "Scissors-
grinder" (Plate 28). On every side one hears the sharp zip, zip, zip,
Zerrip, zerrip, rhythmical and penetrating, as though someone was
grinding a pair of scissors in ever-increasing haste. And on almost
every tenth tree hangs the great thorny bundle of twigs in whose
interior the nest is concealed, and which no enemy can tear asunder
(Plate 21). I shall have something more to say of this bird, which is
found in all parts of Brazil,

From the sand rise the little craters of the Leafcutting Ants.
These fine yellow-brown insects go hurrying in all directions, while
their soldiers watch the entrance to the nest. Green-striped sand-bees
are popping in and out of other little holes. Round the trees circle
the great black Sand-wasps, or Hornets, their hind legs outstretched
behind them. There are black bees too, which make themselves
nests of mud in the middle of a bush, and of which it is wise to beware.
From time to time one passes a cicada; its shrill, piping song befits
the remoteness of the desert.

So for hours at a stretch one trudges through the hot sand, while
the sun blazes down from the blue sky; far and wide the dazzling
landscape lies outspread, and all is bathed in a hot fragrance, the
mingled exhalations of aromatic herbs and withering leaves and
burning sand. This heavy fragrance follows the visitor to the Sertao
night and day, and never leaves him ; it was this above all that made
me long more acutely day by day to return to the green country
by the sea.

Often a mighty wall of gigantic blocks of rock towered up before
me, and from top to bottom the chinks were full of cacti of every
kind, so that it looked as if someone had made a great artificial
rock-garden. Here, overtopping the other trees, was the Candelabra
Cactus or Facheiro (Plate 21), from whose sturdy stem a whole
number of pillar-like branches projected, bending upwards near the
stem to assume the perpendicular. Another kind of "pillared cactus,"
which the Brazilians call the Chique-chique, divides into branches
on the ground, from which the short columns rise perpendicularly.
It was this cactus that tore my trousers with its spines when I tried
to force my way through it. A third species is the Fig Cactus (Plate
20), in which the stem and branches divide themselves into mere
flat, club-shaped segments, forming bush-like masses of articulations.
This cactus blooms in August; the flowers are orange. Lastly, the
stone-heaps are covered with the oval or spherical Melocacti, which

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IN THE DESERT

the Brazilians call Coroa de frade, "monk's cap," because the flame-
red flower which crowns them is like the red skull-cap on the head
of a priest.

If I stood quite motionless before such a heap of stones many
other creatures appeared ; above all, there were lizards of all kinds,
which disappeared into the chinks at my slightest movement ; only
if I stepped back did they reappear, repeatedly nodding their heads
and gazing after me with their shrewd little eyes. And the delight-
ful brown Cavies or Preyas showed their pretty little heads and
clambered over the rocks, like the rock-rabbits of Africa.

When we drove through the bush in the car we saw larger creatures
too ; many birds of prey, some of them magnificent ; in particular
we often saw a kind of vulture, the Caracara, a bird as big as a fat
turkey, with variegated markings, a red and white face, and brown
hood. It allows the observer to come quite close to it. A bird charac-
teristic of the Sertao is the Seriema, a large, long-legged, bustard-like
bird, at the root of whose beak a few bristling feathers stand erect.
A pair of these birds ran across in front of our car, and then stood
still in the bush, close beside the track ; whereupon our driver stood
up in the car, and before I could stop him shot first one and then
the other, which was quietly looking on. I must confess that when
roasted they were good eating ; they tasted like turkey. Later I saw
another fly up in front of the car, when I was impressed by the
handsome outspread tail, barred like that of a sparrow-hawk. The
Seriema is distinguished by its shrieking cry; it lives on insects,
lizards and snakes, and is often kept in poultry-runs.

The South American Ostrich is found in the interior of Brazil :
the Ema, Nandhu or Rhea (Fig. 8). It may be killed only by the
owner of the land on which it is found ; otherwise there are no
restrictions as to shooting game. On the pampas of Argentina I
often saw Rheas. They live in a half- wild state, as do the pheasants
in Europe. From time to time they are driven into a corral, where
they are deprived of their long feathers, which are used for trimming
hats and making feather fans. They are then released.

One night, as we were driving through the Sertao in the bright
moonshine, foxes repeatedly ran across the track. A fox once entered
the monastery garden at Olinda, and was killed there. But larger
carnivora are not rare in the Sertao; above all, the "Silver Lion"
or Puma, the Brazilian On^a or Ounce. While I was in Caruaru
a pair of these fine animals was trapped. They sat snarling in their
narrow trap-cage, and leapt against the wooden bars, spitting and

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gnashing their teeth if one so much as moved. Two months later I
saw these pumas in the zoological gardens of Rio, when they were
already quite tame. The Jaguar too occurs in the Sertao, and also
its smaller edition, the Ocelot, which I once saw near Olinda. In
north-eastern Brazil the black Jaguar is almost more frequent than
the yellow-spotted variety, and I once saw a magnificent black
jaguar which had been trapped, and which was not much smaller
than a tiger. Its black coat, glossy as satin, was marked by still
blacker rings.

Snakes are very abundant in the Sertao, especially such venomous
snakes as the Jararaca and the Rattlesnake. Nevertheless, one seldom
sees them, since they lead a nocturnal existence and hide themselves
by day. The field-workers of the cotton-factory often encountered
snakes ; they pinned them to the ground with a forked stick, took
them by the tail, and popped them into a jar. In the factory I was
able quietly to observe all sorts of snakes in captivity.

As I shall show in Chapter XIX, one need have no fear of all
these creatures if one should encounter them in one's excursions.
In Brazil, as all over the world, only man is dangerous.

The Sertao still offers a fruitful soil for romantic tales of robbers.
When I was in Recife a robber chieftain was lying in the local
prison. For months he and his band had made the Sertao unsafe.
He had many deaths on his conscience, and had exacted contribu-
tions from many country towns. It was said, however, that he had
never harmed poor people, but had even helped them, and that
he was driven to adopt his calling by some injustice that he had
suffered. The countryfolk, therefore, were sympathetic towards him.
and in the early days of his captivity he had no respite from the
visits of his admirers. He was then sent to Fernando Noronha,
the lonely island on which the Brazilian convict establishment is
situated.

Many customs still prevail in the Sertao which are reminiscent of
the old colonial days. One drives for hours on end through the
wilderness, across the sand and through the bush, now on waggon-
tracks, now over grass, and along dry watercourses, and on such
journeys one learns to appreciate the tilt of the waggon, which not
only protects one against the sun, but above all prevents one from
being thrown out. But one gradually grows tired of being tossed
to and fro, and of bumping one's head against the hood, and after
128

Plate IX

CASHEW-WOOD, PERNAMBUCO

OIL-PALMS, OLINDA

MACAIBA-PALMS

IN THE DESERT

a long journey one is thankful to reach one's destination, and to
find that one's bones are still entire.

Far asunder in the wilderness lie the ranch-houses, or fazendas, as
they are called in Brazil. A fence looms up ; a boy opens a wide gate,
and the blue of the sky is reflected in a storage-tank or "assude,"
in which, perhaps, a few men are bathing. Within the enclosure
is a gentle grassy slope. Beyond this is a large courtyard, surrounded
by roofed but open stalls and coach-houses ; in the centre is a scrap
of garden, with a bed of pineapples ; directly in front of us is the
house, surrounded by verandahs : on the left of the house is a white
church. A number of men are standing on the verandah ; in the
open stalls one sees three saddled horses. The rancher or fazendeiro
comes to meet us, embraces us after the custom of the country,
clapping us on the back as he does so, has coffee served, and invites
us, despite the many guests who are already present, to dinner; he
will be only too pleased if we stay a few days. "The house is yours —
a casa e sua,'' he says.

The estates of such fazendeiros, who are often very wealthy, con-
sist of vast areas of land, mostly covered with dry bush. One estate
borders upon another, and so the Sertao is all divided, and no more
free land is available, though the traveller may not realize the fact ;
for the greater part of the Sertao is, as it always has been, a wilderness.
The fazendeiro lets his cattle stray over his estate; they make their
own paths through the thorny cacti and bromelias, seeking out the
few green leaves. Naturally, they are not as well fed as in Europe,
and the oxen cannot plough so well as ours. In the evening the
cattle wander back to their stalls ; if one is missing a servant jumps
up and runs out, shouting and calling; if he calls in vain he returns.
Often enough the beast reappears in a few days' time; often, too,
it perishes, and gives the dehghted vultures an abundant meal.

Cattle constitute the principal wealth of the fazendeiro. He has
abundance of meat and milk, and sells both ; moreover, he cultivates
maize and cotton and manioc.

In north-eastern Brazil most of the free Indians have disappeared
from their old home. But their blood still flows in the veins of the
inhabitants of the Sertao, and with it survives the nomadic spirit
of the old hunting tribes. Even in the "Brejo," the sugar-cane
country of Pernambuco, the planter may build his labourers the
most comfortable little houses, and may treat them as well as possible,
yet one day the houses may be empty and the inmates gone, seized
by the old nomadic spirit.

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In the Sertao, of course, wandering may become a terrible necessity.
If it fails to rain even in January, or if, as may happen, there is
no rain at all for three years in succession, the last green leaves
will wither, and the cattle will die of thirst in the bush. Then the
little towns in the interior are left lonely; the inhabitants leave in
crowds for the coast, there to lead a sorry existence.

One night, when we started about midnight, and were driving
up into the hills in the bright moonlight, we met such a crowd of
wanderers in the bush. Hammocks had been slung between the
gnarled branches of the trees ; here and there the moon shone upon
a face; one man rose to look after the passing travellers. It was a
scene of peculiar charm. We drove on ; a Ferreiro, taking, perhaps,
our headlights for the dawn, began to sing. But it was still a long
time before a cold breeze, so cold that it made us shiver, heralded
the coming of day, and the tangle of boughs and thickets limned
itself in jet black against the glowing heavens, and the Gallo da
campino in its grey and white dress, and the crimson-crested Cardinal-
finch, announced that yet another day had dawned on the ancient
Sertao.

VIII

TROPICAL GARDENS

VJREAT flowers, that gaze into the sun beside the silent paths,
blossoms glowing from the dark shrubberies, an intoxicating fra-
grance that rises to the tops of the palm-trees : such is the tropical
garden as we have imagined it since childhood, for so the poets
have seen it. And I have indeed seen a garden which seemed the
very embodiment of Heine's "red-blossomed garden." When I sat
there beside the silent lotus-pond, on whose further bank the forest-
clad hillside rose against the sky, I seemed to hear the immortal
words of the song, with Mendelssohn's harp accompaniment. It was
in Ceylon that I saw this, at a height of six thousand feet, on a terrace
of the central range ; beneath the garden the ground fell steeply
into the depths.

But Heine's description would not fit the tropical lowlands. There,
in Ceylon at all events, are no "chuckling violets," no roses. In
Brazil, however, much to my surprise, I saw roses in the gardens
of Pernambuco, and they did very well there, although their scent
was not equal to that of their European sisters. And the villa suburb
of Belgrano, in Buenos Aires, is one mass of roses in October, but here
again, it is said, the scent is not equal to the splendour of the flowers.
I was not able to verify this for myself, as I had to leave the city
earlier in the year.

The tropical garden, then, is gay with other flowers. Like the birds
and the foliage of the tropics, the flowers are glossier than the tenderer
blooms of Europe, and many of them gleam as though they had
been varnished.

There is a Laburnum or "Golden Rain" in Brazil, but its racemes
of blossom are larger than those of our European tree, and a much
more luminous golden-yellow. The more characteristic of the tropical
flowers have, of course, no counterpart in Europe. In India, as in
Brazil, the Hibiscus (a native of Southern China) glows in the hedges
and thickets ; the great mallow-like flowers are a blazing red, and
out of each a long pollen-covered stamen hangs. With its rose-like
petals the Hibiscus is the true tropical substitute for our rose, and
it always delights the eye ; but it has no fragrance.

The red of the Hibiscus verges upon orange, and red and orange
above all are the colours which not only shine from the flower-beds,

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but cover whole trees as with flame, or droop in clusters of blossom
from the lianas. I have already spoken of the splendour of the flower-
ing trees in the virgin forest, and the glorious red-flowered Mulunga
acacia in the wilderness. It is only natural that the gardeners should
make the most of the native flowering trees, and should also import
the handsomest species from other tropical countries.

One of the most dazzling products of Nature is the flowering
"Flame Acacia," the Flamboyant of Madagascar, which may be
seen everywhere in Brazil and India, and even in Egypt. This
majestic tree is beautiful enough even before it blossoms, for its
spreading branches form a wide, shady umbel, which the large
pinnate leaves cover with a green, lacelike veil. It then loses its
leaves (Plate 3), but only to assume a greater splendour — in north-
eastern Brazil — about Christmas. The whole great umbel decks
itself with large orange-red flowers, whose five gracefully-formed
petals shine as though varnished. You can imagine what a blaze
of colour meets the eye when the street runs down a whole
avenue of such trees ! In the sunlight the tree-tops literally seem
on fire.

There are many tropical trees which at their flowering season
transform themselves into huge nosegays of glowing, and often fra-
grant, blossom, and others in which, as in the Jambo, the flowers
break out of the trunk and branches, which look almost as if they
were illumined from within. But where trees are planted which do
not flower, or have perhaps just finished flowering, one may still
introduce colour into them by twining flowering lianas round them,
or by allowing Orchids or Bromelias to grow upon their trunks and
boughs. The tropical gardener has an incomparable choice, and can
make his garden a thing of miraculous beauty, which surprises one
each month with fresh loveliness.

In view of the predominance of woody growth in the tropics, it
is natural that the glorious colours of the tropical garden should
be displayed, more especially by the trees and shrubs and creepers.
But even the shady walks may be adorned with colour, for it is here
that the Orchids are most at home. For them, too, shady arbours
are built, within which they unfold their blooms on stumps of trees.
Flower-beds, which in our gardens are responsible for most of the
colour, do not play so prominent a part in tropical gardens. Still
less, near the Equator, must one expect to find the lush green lawns
without whose emerald beauty no European garden would seem
complete.

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TROPICAL GARDENS

Our European grasses do not, of course, thrive in the tropics ;
there the native varieties must be utilized, which are of a totally
different character, and none of them has been cultivated for
centuries with a view to making turf, as has been done with our
grasses in Europe, and above all in England. A grass much used
in Brazil is the so-called "pitted grass," in which the short ears are
seated in little cavities. For want of something better, however, a
sort of lily of the valley, known in Brazil as Gramma convallaria,
is sown in lawns, for its rounded leaves grow close together, and the
pretty ball-shaped flowers bloom only at a certain season.

On the heights of Sao Paulo I found a grass whose leaves were
covered with glandular hairs, so that they had a felted appearance.
They exhaled a smell reminiscent of pot-herbs ; it was very insistent,
and reminded me of the wilderness, which has a similar smell. The
Brazilians call this grass Catingueiro, from catinga, which is the word
used to express the characteristic odour of the negro.

At greater altitudes, where a more temperate climate prevails,
the gardens are more like those of Europe, and it is possible even to
make lawns and cultivate flowers like those we have in Europe. In
such gardens red and orange are no longer so predominant as in
the lowlands, and blue more frequently meets the eye. Even in wild
Nature blue prefers the heights; for example, the most beautiful
blues are frequent in our Alpine flora.

In Brazil the blue convolvulus catches the traveller's eye even
on the railway embankments of Sao Paulo, where its fine turquoise-
blue trumpets open in their hundreds. But if we journey from Rio
to the three delightful mountain resorts of Petropolis, Therezopolis
and Nova Friburgo, the landscape, no less than the cooler air, will
often remind us of home. Petropolis, lying at a height of 2,600 feet
above sea-level, always reminded me of Baden-Baden (Plate 17).
When I first visited this charming Httle town I found the dignified
silence of the place peculiarly refreshing ; for then the motor-roads
had not been carried up into the hills, and instead of the obtrusive,
noisy, and often evil-smelling motor-car, only the peaceful clatter
of hooves disturbed the silence, and the journey from the station
to the town was made in cabs not unlike the old London hansom.
A whole network of valleys diversifies this friendly mountain land-
scape ; and as far as the confines of the town a straight watercourse
runs down the middle of each valley, accompanied on either side
by a road overshadowed by handsome trees, and beyond each road
is a footpath and a hedge, behind which lie beautiful gardens,

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

which slope upwards, gently at first, and then more steeply, until
they meet the forest which covers all the heights.

In November all Petropolis was a symphony in blue. The lawns,
surrounded by inviting summer-houses, were gay with the sky-blue
blossoms of the Hortensia shrubs : a picture of the most luminous
purity. In the foreground were often long rows of a South African
lily, whose trumpet-shaped blooms, arranged in umbels, were
likewise a beautiful blue. Above them, like stately candelabra, were
the solemn Araucarias, whose pungent, resinous fragrance, blending
with the cool mountain air, filled one's heart with the joy of life.

But even in these Brazilian hill-stations I was conscious that the
soul is an instrument attuned to its native landscape — that only its
native airs can elicit its finest harmonies. In Nova Friburgo I visited
the park, which lay beside the charming country-house of my
amiable host. It was a beautiful park; a pretty little house stood
amidst little lakes above whose surface nodded aquatic flowers;
roses were blooming everywhere; other flowers shone amidst the
shrubberies ; and in the background three bare green peaks rose
above the lofty tree-tops. And suddenly I found that my heart was
singing for joy in the sheer beauty of it all. I looked around me,
and I realized that I was walking through an avenue of maples
which skirted one of the lakes. The sun was shining through the
yellow leaves ; a scent of autumn was in the air ; and suddenly with
overwhelming force the thought possessed me : After all, how
beautiful is Europe !

In aiming at effects of colour the tropical gardener has not only
flowers but leaves at his disposal. In Chapter XIII I shall speak of
plants which surround their inconspicuous flowers with garlands of
coloured leaves, and one cannot imagine anything more splendid
than the leaf-rosettes of the Parrot-bush, a species of Euphorbia, which
sets the gardens of Rio and Sao Paulo aflame. But for bordering paths
and shrubberies there are also the coloured and handsomely-marked
leaves of arums, which hang perpendicularly downwards, so that
they form a kind of hedge which seems to be covered with brilliant
tapestries. Certain Dragon-trees too form attractive border-plants.
And now for the palms. What a wealth of magnificent forms are
at the disposal of the tropical gardener! What majesty there
is in these lofty columns, what rich and varied greys cover these
stately trunks ! When I saw such an avenue in one of the streets of

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TROPICAL GARDENS

Rio I thought of the pillars of San Lorenzo, which came from an
ancient temple, and are now to be seen in a narrow street in Milan.

But majesty is not the only quality of the palms. There are palms
of the most graceful form, which make pleasant green thickets
between the trees of the garden (Plate 32). Like the jets of a fountain
the stems of the Bamboo-palm shoot from the ground. The dense
thickets of these palms remind one of the cane whose name they
bear, but on drawing near one recognizes the pinnate palm-leaves,
which in this species point upwards, while the midrib curves down-
wards at various angles. In such a thicket the cane-like stems gleam
in pleasing tones of brown or orange, while the leaves, like gracefully-
curved combs, reach out in all directions, and glitter in the sun.

Thickets of Bamboo-palms often line the path leading from the
garden door to the house. Their glittering green harmonizes pleas-
antly with the reddish sand, and they turn the path into a leafy
alley, through whose roof jagged splashes of light fall on the ground.
At the end of the path white steps lead invitingly to the verandah
of the house. And here too the visitor is greeted by graceful palms,
growing in green tubs, while between them, on the railing, are
bushy growths of the finely-divided, light-green froijdsof the Venus'-
hair fern, and from the roof hang pots of flowering creepers, or
orchids look down with their enigmatic, richly-coloured blossoms.
It is pleasant indeed to sit on such a verandah, where the white
benches are shrouded in the green shadows of all these plants, and
even one's white suit seems washed with a green vapour. The house
is like a summer-house; the garden seems imperceptibly to enter
the very rooms; and herein lies the unforgettable charm of the
tropical home. This charm is enhanced by the animal life : the
butterflies which float through the verandah on dusky blue or red
and yellow wings, the humming-birds, which suddenly hang
motionless before a flower, humming and ghttering with bronze
and green lights, often within arm's-length of the delighted observer.
Even in the centre of the city of Sao Paulo I could enjoy the sight
of these tiny birds if I sat in the shadow of one of the potted plants
on the verandah.

The tropical gardener cannot do better than follow Nature,
which always excels human art. It is a mistake for a European
gardener, who has not yet become attuned to the spectacle of the
tropics, to attempt to lay out a garden. But if the gardener takes
Nature as his teacher his garden must display the chief characteristic
of the tropical vegetation— namely, variety. And what variety can

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

I

be achieved, even with the mere forms of the trees ! There are trees
which are dome-shaped and pyramidal and umbelHform in every
degree ; there is the flat roof of the fig-tree, and the Guapuvuru,
with its huge, pinnate, fan-shaped leaves, like a great tree-fern.

Then the boughs may be adorned with epiphytes of all kinds,
or hung with lianas ; and all these must surely evoke a feeling of
romance for the infinite wealth of tropical Nature ! Animals too
may enliven the scene. There is a whole host of lovely birds which
need no invitation to visit the garden. From the fruits of the stilted
Pachimba palm in the botanical gardens of Rio hang the gaily-
coloured Rainbow Tanagers, and above the trees of the Orta da
Luz in Sao Paulo fly green parrots or parroquets with blue wings
and tails, which disappear, chattering, into the dense clumps of
Bromelias which grow upon the boughs. In any Brazilian garden
whose owner is sparing of powder and shot one may enjoy the sight
of many birds and animals.

The Brazilians are themselves fond of animals, and it is a pretty
custom of theirs to keep captive birds and animals in their parks.
The magnificent storks, the white, red-throated, black-headed
Jabirus, must, of course, have one of their wings clipped, as in our
zoological gardens, but among them the Agoutis, with their golden-
red coats, run about on the grass, stooping their pretty short-eared
little heads to pick up the bread thrown to them. In the public
park of Rio whole flocks of these golden hares form a graceful
adornment to the banks of the lakes in which the lotus blooms,
and even the queen of the Amazon, the Victoria regia, outspreads
its enormous leaves. Across the lawns of the Jardim da Luz in Sao
Paulo the Seriema stalks with meditative steps, Jaciis sit on the
branches, and many other birds and beasts may be admired, which
seem to live there as though in freedom. The Sloths (Plate 27) are
comfortably at home in a garden, since they live on the foliage of
the trees, a diet that never fails, and it does not occur to them to
leave their park or garden, for these animals are not given to wander-
ing. On the Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo a little piece of forest
has been preserved, which now serves as a park. Here I saw no
fewer than five Sloths; sometimes they were mere brown balls,
looking not unlike a bees' nest, suspended high in the tree-tops,
and sometimes they clambered from branch to branch, laying their
claws like hooks around the boughs, their long-haired bodies follow-
ing. There were Sloths in a park in the centre of the city of Santos,
and in one of the public squares in Recife. In such gardens, too^
136

Plate X

-^

MANGROVE FOREST NEAR RIO

ir^^

URUBU VULTURES

SWAMP-CRAB

TROPICAL GARDENS

one sees the pretty little Saguim monkeys, peeping out of the thickets
with their gnome-like faces. All these creatures soon lose any fear
of man, and so the garden becomes a little Paradise, full of a peace
to which even the human mind becomes attuned.

Variety and abundance are the characteristics of the tropical orchard,
as they are of the tropical garden, for in the tropics there are
hundreds of species of fruit-trees, and even externally they present
an incomparable variety of form.

A Mango-tree, with its gnarled and sturdy trunk and its expansive
crown, on which the long, lancet-shaped dark-green leaves grow in
starry rosettes, is a most impressive sight. And when the great fruits
dangle from the boughs, as though suspended on strings, it has the
look of a decorated Christmas-tree (Plate 22). And the fruit, the
mango — or manga, as it is called in Brazil — delights the eye by
the brilliance of its rind ; in particular the Manga rosea, which is
the loveliest, if not the best variety. This large fruit, ending in a
blunt, curved point, is washed with pink and yellow; sometimes
the pink lies over the yellow like a network.

Whenever I ate a mango I racked my brains to define the flavour
of the fruit. At last I came to the conclusion that the yellow, very
juicy and rather slimy pulp has a flavour of gherkin, apricot, and
egg, with the addition of just a dash of turpentine. Many tropical
fruits employ such a means of self-preservation, and despite this
curious addition the mango is one of the most delicate fruits imagin-
able. The green mango, Manga espada, has hardly any flavour of
turpentine; it is more acid, and less fibrous. After eating mangoes
one must not drink milk or alcohol, or serious illness may result;
on the other hand, water may be taken. It is best to be cautious in
respect of all the tropical fruits, and the newcomer will do well to
acclimatize himself for six months before eating mangoes, or jacas,
or abacaxis — as the pineapple is cafled in Brazil. Further, it is im-
portant that both the fruit and the eater should be cool ; it is dangerous
to eat fruit that has been hanging in the sun directly it is plucked
from the tree. The Brazilians prefer to eat fruit in the morning,
even in their bath: a custom which has its advantages, for then
the juice of the fruit cannot spoil their clothes. The juice of the
cashew-fruit, a relative of the mango, of which I have already spoken,
leaves an indelible stain.

Other relatives of the mango are the Gajas or Balsam-plums;

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

golden-yellow fruits which vary in size from the bigness of a plum
to that of an apple. They have a sourish, aromatic flavour, and a
faint smell of turpentine. The fruits of a Japanese tree, which the
Brazilians call simply plums, ameixas, have also a sourish-sweet
flavour. This tree is grown in the highlands of Sao Paulo; its
apricot-yellow fruit is like the Mirabelle plum or the Italian medlar,
which is the nearest relative of this "woolly medlar," the leaf of
which has a yellow, woolly underside. But one must not allow the
pleasant flavour of this fruit to tempt one to excessive indulgence,
as a newcomer of my acquaintance learned to his cost, for the
Japanese medlar is a powerful aperient. So is the fruit of the
Zaboticaba, which grows in the more temperate regions of Brazil,
but also in the Sertao of the North-east ; a handsome, wide-spreading
myrtle-tree, whose globular fruits, about the size of the Mirabelle
plum, sit close on the trunk like dusky pearls. If one bites the dis-
tended skin it bursts with a little crack, and the white, juicy pulp
gushes into the mouth. It is sweet, and has the flavour of the black
currant. One spits out the large stone.

Among the absolutely overwhelming variety of Brazilian fruits it
is possible to select a graduated series, ranging from, those which
are powerful aperients to those which have a constipating action,
so that one can regulate the activity of the intestine by suitable
doses of natural physic : a very important matter in the tropics,
where a regular action of the bowels is essential to good health.

Since most of the tropical fruits are extremely sweet, one is thankful
now and then to come across a really acid fruit. Such a one is the
Pitanga, a pretty, angular fruit of a luminous red, which gleams
in the hedges, and with which the paths in the Benedictines' garden
in Olinda were bordered. In the woods of the Gorcovado there is
a raspberry, finer in appearance than our European raspberry, but
less rich in flavour. The orange-red Kaki fig is beautiful to look at ;
it is much cultivated in the south of Brazil. The fruit is unusually
succulent and sweet, but unless it is perfectly ripe it draws the mouth.

On the branches and trunk of the mighty Jaca tree, always a
cheering sight with its deep-green, glittering foliage, the bright
green, prickly fruits, large as melons, present a very strange appear-
ance (Plate 22). If one cuts one of these great fruits in two one finds
a number of kidney-shaped kernels, each surrounded by a slimy,
fibrous yellow pulp, which is sweet and very aromatic, like scented
cream; but the stomach easily rebels against it. For that matter,
many of the tropical fruits seem more like the work of the confec-
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TROPICAL GARDENS

tioner than natural products. The same may be said of the Abacate.
This fruit looks like a large pear, for which reason it is sometimes
called the avocat-pear. It is cut in two, the large, round stone
is removed, and the cavity is filled with red wine; the whole is
sprinkled with sugar, and the creamy, tender, aromatic pulp is
eaten with a spoon. Or the pulp may be mixed with ice in a glass,
when one can enjoy its bright green colour; while some prefer to
pepper the fruit and eat it as a vegetable.

Another South American tree which produces a delicious fruit is
the Anona. This too has a pulp like the finest, sweetest aromatic
cream, and a hard stone which must be extracted before eating the
fruit. In Brazil there are three principal varieties : the Pinho,
so called because the green or bluish fruit reminds one, by reason
of the prominences on its rind, of a pine-cone; the Ox-heart, Coracao
de boi, a larger fruit, with scales that give it the appearance of being
covered with network ; and the Cherimolia, which grows at higher
altitudes than the other two.

When I arrived in Pernambuco, in July, I was able to enjoy the
Sapotys, fruits with a rough, horny shell, stony kernels, and a very
sweet, almost liquid pulp, whose flavour reminds one of a sleepy
William pear. Among the Sapoty-trees Genipapas were growing.
The large fruit has a rather astringent pulp; mixed with water it
yields a cooling drink, and later, when the lemons gave out, it
provided an acceptable substitute.

I can give the reader only a faint idea of the great variety of the
Brazilian fruits ; a list even approximately complete would require
a volume to itself And to these one must add the European fruits
which have been naturalized in Brazil. The whole country abounds
with oranges, even to excess, and this excess is apparent in the manner
of eating the fruit ; the peel is cut away with a sharp knife, whereby,
of course, a good deal of the pulp is wasted. The flavour of the
oranges and tangerines of Brazil is inferior to that of the European
fruit, but they are richer in sugar, and often contain more juice ;
this is the case with the famous Bahia oranges, which are unusually
large, and devoid of pips ; the pips are contained in a little "daughter
orange," which is situated in the upper part of the larger fruit.

There are also bitter oranges, which are eaten after dinner, for
their laxative properties ; as is the bitter grape-fruit. As for lemons,
I was delighted to find, in the garden at Olinda, the small, spherical,
Hght-green lemon, which has a flavour far excelling that of any other
variety ; it is, moreover, full of juice, and almost devoid of tissue.

139

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

I had already made the acquaintance of this lemon in Ceylon, and
I found that this fruit alone was worth a voyage to the tropics. For
the sake of its scent I used always to pick one and take it to my room.

Apples of all kinds, and cherries, and strawberries, do well in the
highlands, and in the south of Brazil, and in Argentina the cultiva-
tion of pears and peaches is rapidly increasing. Jam or marmalade
is made of all sorts of fruits, and in Brazil such preserves are a more
important article of diet than with us, as cheese is eaten not with
bread or bread and butter, but with jam or marmalade. The best
preserve for the purpose is guayabada, a guava jam or jelly. The
guava is a small pear-shaped fruit with a very delicate, rather
musky flavour.

Very delicious and refreshing is the fruit salad, which consists of
a mixture of sliced fruits. The salad is made of whatever fruits
happen to be available, but the pineapple is the most important
ingredient, as its aroma imparts the most delicate flavour to the
whole. The pineapple flourishes best of all in Pernambuco, where
it attains an incomparable lusciousness and sweetness.

A great variety of "lemonades" are prepared from the fruits of
Brazil. Of this anyone can convince himself who will pay a visit
to the lemonade-seller who has a little stall in the middle of the
great Avenida of Rio. My favourite lemonade was perhaps that
which is prepared from the passion-fruit or Marocuya. When the
round, yellow, hard-skinned fruit is cut it reveals a reddish pulp,
so succulent as to be almost liquid, full of little seeds, which are
something of a nuisance when one eats it, but which sink to the
bottom of the glass. This fruit has a deliciously acid flavour, and
a very strong scent, which defies comparison, and clings for a long
time to the fingers. It reminds one very vaguely of musk, though
I cannot bear the scent of musk, whereas I am very fond of the
scent of the passion-flower.

Of the fruits which are such usual articles of diet that they may
almost be regarded as vegetables, the tree-melons are the most
important. In Brazil they are known as Mamaos, on account of the
milky juice which exudes from the orange-red pulp ; for the Indians,
however, they are masculine, being known as Papajas. The tree is
more like a tall stake than a tree, for it has no branches, but is
crowned by a bush of large, hand-shaped leaves, each on a stalk
of its own. Beneath this crown of foliage are large numbers of the
140

TROPICAL GARDENS

melon-shaped yellow fruits, their size varying with the species
(Plate 28, right). The fruit is always welcome at breakfast, as the
milk which oozes from the pulp is very beneficial, being rich in
pepsin. It has a delicious melon-like flavour, and is incomparably
sweet — at all events, in the north-east of Brazil ; southward of Rio
it is eaten with sugar, which seems ridiculous to the inhabitants of
Pernambuco. The Mamao is available all the year round in never-
failing abundance, and although I ate it every morning I never
tired of it.

But the most important of all the tropical fruits, perhaps the
most important of all the fruits in the world, and also, probably,
the oldest, which was cultivated by man even in prehistoric times,
is the banana. The Banana or Musa family contains no less than
forty species, and of these there are again many varieties, so that
the European can form no idea of their number, nor even of their
flavour, since the finest of the tropical varieties will not stand
transport. There are dwarf bananas (Banana nana) with large
fruits, and large bananas with small fruits. One kind has pink pulp,
and tastes exactly like our raspberries ; others have an incomparable
and excessively delicate flavour; some are more succulent, others
floury, and they differ too in their degrees of sweetness. The "mealie"
bananas are not eaten raw, but are baked or boiled ; their flour is
made into bread or cakes. In Ceylon a most savoury rum pudding
is made with bananas. The amiable Benedictine sisters of Carnaru,
whose parent house is Tutzing on the Starnberger See, gave us,
after a genuinely Bavarian dinner of roast pork with sauerkraut
and home-brewed beer, a sort of apple-dumpling, but the apples
were replaced by bananas.

Since the fruit of the cultivated banana contains no seed — a sign
of immemorial cultivation — the plants are propagated by means of
shoots. The banana, which is not a tree, but merely a tall bush,
flowers only once, then produces its fruit and dies. From the under-
ground runners, however, new plants spring up, and by means of
such propagation as much as two hundredweight of fruit may be
obtained from a single plant. Since the "tree" itself, with its great,
succulent, bright-green leaves, is very ornamental, and genuinely
tropical in appearance, it is sometimes set out, in summer, on
European lawns as an ornamental plant. The great leaves are held
together only by a marginal nervure, which is often broken by gusts
of wind, when the leaves are shredded to the midrib, and offer the
wind no further resistance ; otherwise the whole plant might be torn

141

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

from the ground. The leaves of the palms are pinnate by nature,
but the banana-leaf is reduced to the pinnate condition by the wind.

Rich as the tropics are in fruits, they have few useful vegetables.
True, southern Brazil has our peas and cabbages and the like, but
northern Brazil possesses, as a genuinely tropical vegetable, only the
quiabos ; long, green, pointed fruits, which in flavour are like tender
green peas. They are rather slimy in consistency, but to me they
were always welcome. A vegetable of the most delicate flavour, far
excelling our asparagus, is the palmito or palm-cabbage, prepared
from the shoots of various palms. The best is prepared from the
Palmitojussara (Plate 13), which is common in Sao Paulo. This
excellent vegetable is eaten either baked or boiled.

The most important of the Brazilian vegetables is the black bean,
which is said to be more readily digested than ours. It is the basis
of the national dish, feijoada. This floury bean is cooked with xarque —
that is, dried meat — which gives the dish a strong and peculiar
flavour ; or in the Sertao carne do sol is employed — that is, meat dried
in the sun. Many other ingredients are added : above all, herbs and
pepper. No Brazilian meal is complete without a jar of small green
and red pepper-pods steeped in vinegar, which acquires and increases
the excessive pungency of the pepper. My friends used to tell me
that when I was able to eat this pepper without stumbling out of
my chair with streaming eyes, I should be a true Brazilian !

In the tropics, where virility develops earlier than in Europe, and
declines more rapidly, such pungent herbs and spices are greatly
valued. It seems, however, that spiced or peppered dishes agree with
one better in the tropics than in Europe. In India, for example,
curry is indispensable, especially in the national dish of curry and
rice, or "rice-table," as it is called in the Dutch Indies. Personally,
I prefer the latter to feijoada. First one is given a helping of white
rice; then four curried dishes are offered — flesh, fish, game and
vegetables — and a spoonful of each is laid on the edge of one's
plate. One then mixes them all together with a spoon, with the
addition of a little mango chutney, and sprinkles coconut meal over
the whole to soften its pungency ; after which one eats the mixture,
which can be varied a little every day, with the result that one never
tires of it.

Just as the Italian sprinkles grated Parmesan cheese over his food,
so the Brazilian sprinkles farinha — mandioca meal — over his. It is
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TROPICAL GARDENS

sprinkled over the feijoada until the black stew is white and dry.
This meal, which is never absent from any Brazilian table, is derived
from one of the most important plants known to men, the manioc
(Bitter Cassava). The manioc is a Brazilian plant. From time
immemorial the Indians have known of its uses, and even to-day
they have tales which tell how their ancestors discovered it. And
it is really something of a miracle that these primitive people should
ever have discovered the fact that the tubers, which grow at the
bottom of the trunk, attaining a length of twelve to eighteen inches,
are edible, for in their natural state they are poisonous, since their
milky sap contains hydrocyanic acid. For the manioc belongs to the
Euphorbias, and we have already made the acquaintance of several
poisonous plants of this family, so that one would not be inclined
to trust any plant from which a white milky sap exudes. The Indians,
however, have learned how to roast the tubers, thereby expelling
the hydrocyanic acid, and even among the white population,
particularly in the interior of the country, one finds everywhere
roasting-furnaces of an ancient pattern, built in the open air and
protected by a roof; for in the Sertao, and even more so in the wilds
of Amazonas, meat and manioc are almost the sole diet of the
inhabitants.^

The manioc shoots up very quickly, stifling the weeds that grow
beneath it, so that the shoots may be planted even in an untilled
meadow. One always sees the jungle-like fields of manioc in the
neighbourhood of the huts of the field-workers, between the large
plantations of sugar-cane and other crops, and the delicately-
fingered manioc leaves are beautiful to behold.

Another kind of manioc (Sweet Cassava), aipim, whose tubers are
known as macacheira, is not poisonous. The long tubers are boiled
and eaten like potatoes, for the true potato, which the Brazilians
call the English potato. Batata ingleza, does not thrive in the tropics,
and is not grown north of Rio. Nevertheless, its home is in South
America, where it grows on the slopes of the Andes, but in the
cooler altitudes.

In the case of the manioc tubers the long fibres inconvenience
the consumer. This peculiarity is absent in the other tropical substi-
tute for the potato, the "sweet potato," Batata doce, the tubers of
a climbing plant; but these floury, very sweet tubers, as large as
a man's fist, cannot be compared with the potato. The same may be
said of the Bread-fruit, Frutta poo, the fruit of a sturdy tree, whose
t The starch extracted from manioc is the tapioca of commerce (Tr.).

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

large, glossy, digitated leaves give it a monumental appearance
(Plate 22). It can readily be grown from shoots. The white pulp
of the great beaded fruits is cut into slices and fried ; it is a good
substitute for fried potatoes. If it is eaten daily, however, one soon
tires of its rather insipid flavour.

I might speak of a pumpkin with orange-coloured pulp, a favourite
vegetable in Brazil, or of the artichokes and gherkins ; but I will
now conclude this survey, in which, as regards the fruits of Brazil,
I have not attempted to do more than mention the most important.
Most of the uncultivated trees even, including the palms, have
edible fruits, so that the forest provides the wanderer with many
delicacies unknown to us in Europe; and in the botanical gardens
of Rio the fruit often lies in such quantities on the grass that whole
troops of children might feast on it. In this fruitful country, and
especially in the north, the feeling prevails that it would be un-
becoming to rebuke anyone who, on passing a garden, should reach
over the hedge and pluck fruit in order to eat it. The opinion,
deriving from a freer and wealthier age, or perhaps from Paradise
itself, that the eating of fruit is a human right, is not yet extinct
in Brazil.

Plate XI

THE EDGE OF THE FOREST, ALTO
DA SERRA

EDGE OF BARREN LANDS
PERNAMBUCO

FOREST SOUTH OF RIO

IX

PLANTATIONS

X HE principal wealth of Brazil consists of its great plantations, and
the planters, the fazendeiros, are gentry who live in great style and
have a decisive influence over the political life of their country.
Fazendas is the name by which the great plantations in the south
and the interior are known ; the estates on the north-eastern coast,
which cultivate sugar-cane chiefly, are called engenhos, while the
smaller fruit-farms are known as chacaras.

There are, of course, only certain staple crops which can be
cultivated on the grand scale. Cereals do not play a leading part in
Brazilian agriculture. Although wheat thrives in the southern
States, the Brazilian consumer depends principally on the wheat of
the Argentine, one of the great wheat-exporting countries of the
world. Rice, too, though it is cultivated in several States, does not
mould the landscape as it does in India ; for Brazil has no systematic
system of irrigation, such as has existed in India for thousands of
years, and rice, of course, is an aquatic plant, which has to be
planted under water. The wonderfully luminous bright green of the
terraced ricefields in Ceylon adds greatly to the beauty of the
landscape; there the ricefields represent the lawns of the lovely
park-land, full of coconut-palms, mangoes and other fruit-trees,
which adorns the whole western coast of the island.

Maize, on the other hand, is widely cultivated in Brazil. This
essentially American plant, which was cultivated in Mexico and
Peru long before the discovery of America, is still grown in the
primitive fashion by the Indians — for example, in the interior of
Matto Grosso. They burn a patch of forest, until even the tree-
stumps are consumed, make holes in the ground with a pointed stick,
drop in the seeds, cover them with earth, and wait for the harvest.
The first settlers, who obtained the cereal from the Indians, culti-
vated maize in this fashion. Even to-day there are large areas of
Brazil which have not yet adopted the plough; the mattock, the
enxada, is still the most important agricultural implement, and many
a settler who hoped to find European methods of agriculture in
Brazil has found himself, to his disappointment, compelled to work
under the most primitive conditions, which make the greatest
demands on physical strength.

K 145

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Maize is often planted in rows in the midst of other crops — cotton,
for example — which has the advantage that the vermin that injure
either crop are prevented from spreading by the other. Maize may
also be planted alternately with black beans.

We now come to four very important plants, which yield beverages
in general use. In southern Brazil, particularly in Rio Grande do
Sul, an excellent grape is grown. I have always drunk the red wine
of the country with appreciation ; it is not so heavy as the Mendo^as
of the Argentine, which is as heady as the Spanish vintages, but is
an excellent table wine, and retains the flavour of the grape in
unusual purity.

Cocoa has been cultivated in America from of old, and before
the coming of the Spaniards was grown from Mexico to Peru;
indeed the words "cocoa" and "chocolate" are of Mexican origin.
In Brazil the great cocoa-growing State is Bahia, for the cocoa-tree
is a tropical plant, and indeed a denizen of the forest, and even
to-day it is found growing wild in the "inundation forests" of
Amazonas and Orinoco. This tree, then, rising to a height of some
thirty feet, with its glossy leaves and fleshy fruits growing out of
the trunk — like a lemon in shape, but much larger, containing
within the almond-shaped cocoa-beans — must be grown in the
shade. It is first planted under bananas, but when the shoots attain
a certain height they must be protected by the shade of taller trees,
preferably those of the Leguminosae family. Climbing plants, too —
namely, vanilla-vines — are grown in the wood, so that a cocoa-
plantation excels all others in beauty. During my stay in Ceylon I
took the greatest delight in the sight of the cocoa-woods ; when the
rays of sunlight drifting through the pinnate foliage of the shade-
trees fell on the great leaves of the cocoa-trees their colour often
reminded me of the autumn foliage of our European trees. The
beans are first subjected to a process of fermentation, and then
dried, after which half the fat contained in the beans is expressed,
and exported as cocoa-butter.

Chinese tea, which the Brazilians call Indian tea, Che da India, is
grown only in the Organ Mountains and about Sao Paulo. A more
important article of commerce is mate or Paraguay tea, the leaf of
a tree indigenous to southern Brazil, Paraguay and the Argentine.
This tree belongs to the Holly genus. It is a slender tree of no great
height, which grows wild so profusely in the forests of the countries
named that it has not yet been cultivated to any great extent. The
twigs are cut oflf, drawn through a fire, and dried in the smoke. The

146

PLANTATIONS

leaves do not ferment as do tea-leaves. Mate is a much more whole-
some drink than our tea, and drinkers who once become accustomed
to its slightly smoky flavour cannot bear to be without it. I was
told that the countryfolk of Rio Grande do Sul and the Argentine
— the gauchos — would not be able to get through their heavy
work without their mate ; it is at once nourishing and stimulating.
In the south the traveller who enters the lonely hut of a country-
man is offered the drink of the country, contained in a little
gourd, into which a small tube is introduced, the lower end of
which is closed, but perforated like a sieve. This bombilla goes from
mouth to mouth, and one must not offend one's host by refusing to
drink.

I must mention also the Guarana, a liana from whose seeds the
natives of Amazonas prepare a stimulating drink; and many
factories use the paste which results from crushing the seeds for
making an aerated "lemonade." But the most important beverage
of Brazil is coffee. Coffee is always offered when one pays a call in
Brazil ; even if one calls on a cabinet minister, coffee is served to
shorten the time of waiting. It is drunk out of small "mocha" cups;
it is very strong, and sweetened with the finest cane-sugar. Personally,
I think this is the best way of taking coffee, and that the harmful
effects of coffee-drinking may often be attributed to the addition of
milk. While at Jahu, in the interior of Sao Paulo, I once suffered
from a bowel trouble, and was advised to drink a few cups of coffee ;
which I did, with good results. In Brazil a cup of coffee taken late
at night never disturbed my sleep, as it often does in Europe. The
tropical climate may of course have something to do with the
matter. The Brazilian coffee is admirable ; its flavour and aroma are
incomparable, and since my visit to Brazil the coffee which is drunk
in Europe is no longer to my liking. There I always enjoyed the cup
with which every meal ended. Once, in a restaurant, I forgot to
order coffee after dinner, but the waiter brought it none the less;
he seemed to regard my omission as due to a temporary mental
aberration.

As regards the quality of Brazilian coffee, I remember a Brazilian
assured me that just as we Germans can distinguish the qualities of
different vintages of wines, so the Brazilians can name the years in
which the best coffee was grown.

Sorting and treatment are of course factors of importance;
moreover, transport by sea may to some extent affect the aroma.
Brazil is the largest coffee-growing country in the world, and the

147

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

State of Sao Paulo alone produces more than half the world's supply
of coffee.

On board the Brazilian steamer which took me to Sao Paulo I
made the acquaintance of a large Sao Paulo landowner, and this
amiable gentleman invited me to visit his extensive plantations. In
December, after a long, tiring railway journey lasting from early in
the morning until late in the afternoon, I arrived in Jahu, a small
town in the interior of the State, and a centre of the coffee-growing
area, for the plantations have already withdrawn some distance from
the coast. Far and wide, until Jahii is reached, there is now nothing
but grassy plains ; the virgin forest has long ago disappeared ; all is
now waste land, except that here and there a wood of eucalyptus-
trees, planted in straight lines, adds a further note of discord to the
landscape. On the slope of a hill the train stopped between stations ;
here a spring gushed from the ground, and all the passengers rushed
out to refresh themselves ; the train waited until they had done so.

At last we came to the clean little town of Jahii, with two churches,
one of them a stately Gothic building, its broad, straight streets,
and its pretty parks. The town runs downwards to a little river, on
the other side of which the ground rises again, and here all the hills
are covered with endless plantations of coffee. We drove by motor-car
to my host's fazenda, a distance of some twelve miles. Our shirts
and collars were reddened at once, for the soil consists of the famous
red earth, terra roxa, which covers all the hills like fine red dust.
When it rains the red soil turns violet. It is extremely fertile.

As far as the eye could reach, up hill and down dale, and on the
furthest ranges, nothing but coffee was visible (Plate 25). The
coffee-trees, in shape like oval bushes, growing to a height of fifteen
or sixteen feet, with their fruit still green as yet, ran over the hills
in straight lines, furrowing the whole landscape (Plate 24). At a
later season the fruit become red "cherries," each containing two
beans. When I saw these endless plantations of one single crop, I
remarked to my companion that such a "monoculture" must be
risky, for if any noxious vermin or parasite should make its appear-
ance it would spread in all directions, finding no obstacles to its
progress, and might actually destroy all the coffee plantations of
Sao Paulo: as happened in Ceylon, in the eighties, when a fungus
which grew on the leaves of the coffee-tree destroyed all the coffee
plantations of the island, so that these were simply deserted by their
owners. The planter laughed, and replied that coffee did not suffer
from pests or parasites. I returned shortly afterwards to the north-

148

PLANTATIONS

east of Brazil, and when I came again after three months' absence
the pest was already there ! It was a small beetle, which had been
imported from Africa, a relative of our pea-beetle ; this coffee-beetle
penetrated the "cherries," and both the insect and its grubs
destroyed the beans. Since the whole wealth of Sao Paulo consisted
of coffee, and various foci of the pest had already been discovered,
there was great excitement, and all the newspapers contained daily
reports of the damage done. I already felt so much at home in the
Portuguese language that I was able to give a lecture before the
Agricultural Society, which was then, upon a motion of the Society,
forwarded to the Ministry of Agriculture, to be printed and
distributed.

In this lecture I stated that it was certainly advisable to fight a
pest by means of sprays and chemical applications, but that one
must not be content with these expedients. For even if the planters
succeeded in extirpating the coffee-beetle, there was no guarantee
that some other and more dangerous pest might not shortly make its
appearance. In the State of Parahyba the coffee-scale was already
swarming, and against this all chemicals were unavailing. Therefore,
while applying all the suitable immediate remedies, one must not
forget that the best means of defence lay in the plant itself, just
as in man the best prevention of infection and illness is robust
health.

But as that man is healthiest who lives a natural life, so it is with
the plants. What is the natural life for a plant or an animal? It must
not only have the right soil, the right environment, and proper
nourishment; it must also be in constant mutual relations with the
living creatures with which it naturally leads a common existence.
No plant, no animal, lives for itself alone, but only in community
with other living creatures, and in the delicate mechanism of
Nature one species depends upon another ; one regulates the multi-
plication of another, but also holds its enemies in check. This I shall
explain more fully in my next chapter.

Insects are fought by other insects, and by birds, and therefore
these creatures must find their natural environment in the neigh-
bourhood of the coffee plantations ; then, by their constant search-
ing of the trees, they will hinder the invasion of noxious insects.
Birds, however, need trees and thickets in which to nest. Areas of
natural landscape must therefore be distributed between the coffee
plantations. In Sao Paulo the valleys are particularly suited to the
growth of woods and thickets ; no coffee is planted in them, as night

149

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

frosts are common; but these do not occur on the uplands, which
are warmed by the sun all day.

While Central Brazil yields coffee, sugar is grown in the North.
It has always seemed to me that cane-sugar is not only sweeter, but
also more palatable than beet-sugar; moreover, sugar-cane yields
more than 2| times as much sugar per acre, so that the advantage
over beet-sugar which was won by cane-sugar during the war is not
likely to be recovered by the former.

Brazil is a sugar-producing country of the first rank, and since in
the State of Pernambuco the estates or engenhos are planted wholly
or chiefly with sugar-cane, I was already familiar with this crop.
Between the estates, at considerable intervals, are factories, and to
these tramways or railways run from the sugar-fields. In September
and October the cut cane is carried thither. During the crushing
process it gives off an unpleasant odour. The sap is then boiled
down in great metal cylinders; the syrup which trickles from it is
run off through pipes; alcohol too is distilled. The Brazilian factories
enjoy this advantage, that they have no walls, which gives them a
pleasant and airy appearance. The cane is crushed also in special
shops in the towns, and the milky sap is sold as caldo de carina; a
tasty beverage, in which the green of the plant seems to enhance
the refreshing flavour. I did not myself drink the rum or cachaga
prepared from the molasses ; it was too strong for me ; but old cachaga
is said to be equal to the best cognac.

A cane-field is planted by burying segments of cane in the moist
soil, where they send up young green shoots. Two black beetles,
not unlike our dung-beetles, make themselves unpleasantly con-
spicuous in the cane-fields, boring through the growing shoot in the
segment of stem and hollowing it out. None the less, a new shoot
commonly grows, but now the eggs laid by the beetle hatch into
grubs — which the Brazilians call pao de gallinha or "hen-bread,"
because hens eat them — and these destroy the whole plant. As a
defence against this pest, the ground is soaked with carbon disulphide,
and the beetles are trapped at night by lanterns placed over basins
of water. Here again the best means of preventing the beetle from
multiplying would be to ensure the presence of its natural enemies.
The cane-fields are among the loveliest of plantations. They look
like endless forests of reeds, and since reeds too grow to a uniform
height they have a perfectly natural appearance (Plate 23).
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PLANTATIONS

How often have I wandered through these forests of reed-Hke
canes ! They clashed together high over my head ; on the floors of
the valleys dark water glittered, from which the blue flowers of the
Eichhornia emerged; then again the green shadow moved aside,
and the summit of a hill appeared, crowned by the picturesque hut
of a plantation-worker, surrounded by a manioc-field and over-
shadowed by mango and orange-trees.

Nothing is simpler than to build such a house. A wooden frame
work is erected (Plate 24), wattled, and thatched with coconut-
palm leaves, and daubed with mud, and the thing is done ! In front
is a living-room ; in the middle two small bedrooms ; at the back a
room used for cooking and eating. Fowls and little black pigs run
about the house ; a few vegetables and a little fruit are grown close
at hand, and the inhabitants have what they need. Nevertheless, it
often happens that the overseer of a plantation will find such a hut
deserted in the morning; all will seem as usual, but the family has
gone away, and no work will be done in the adjacent section of the
plantation. The old nomadic spirit of the Indians has suddenly
awakened in the caboclos, the greater number of whom have Indian
blood in them, compelling them to wander no matter how com-
fortable they may be.

On the tramways, which run for miles through the fields, one may
travel by means of a four-wheeled car, which is provided with a
bench; behind the bench stand tv/o men who thrust the vehicle
forwards with long poles (Plate 24). I have often greatly enjoyed
such a trolley-ride. Uphill one travels but slowly, but on descending
into a valley the men draw in their poles, and then one rushes
downwards at the speed of an express train, and the cool wind
blows in one's face; it is a glorious experience, provided one has
not the bad luck to collide with a trolley coming in the opposite
direction. Light-green and glossy, the cane waves on either hand;
there is a scent of cedar-oil from the flea-bane growing between
the sleepers, and the slopes of the hills are covered with the crinkled
tree-tops of the forest. Swiftly, with a dull rattlcj the trolley passes
over the plank bridges, and far below one sees white water foaming.

Just as the sugar-cane grows in the rainy area of north-eastern
Brazil, in the "Brejo," so cotton can best be cultivated in the dry
Sertao. For the cotton-plant needs a dry soil and atmosphere, and
will stand months without rain; needing moisture only when it is

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

planted. When a cotton-field is in flower it looks like a field of rose-
bushes in bloom — Marechal Niel roses, for instance; for the great
mallow-like blossoms of the cotton-plant are a handsome yellow
(Plate 25). After fertilization the petals of the flowers fall; the seed-
capsules or pods, to which the involucral bracts are still attached,
grow bigger than a walnut, and assume a pointed form (Fig. 9). In
the compartments of this green capsule are the seeds, covered with
a thick felt, and surrounded by the long, white, tangled seed-hairs.
These hairs are the cotton; when the capsule is ripe, and the five
valves of its green shell spring apart, the cotton protrudes like a
dense ball of wadding, while the capsule turns brown and withers.

In this condition the cotton is
plucked and taken to the factory,
where the fibres and seeds are
separated by means of special
machinery. Oil is pressed from the
seeds.

Cotton played a special part in
connection with my Brazilian
journey; for the pest which attacked
the plantations was the cause of
the invitation which I received
from the Government of the State
of Pernambuco. This pest is a

Fig. 9.— Sprig of cotton-plant, with moth, which lays its eggs on the

flower, capsule, and ripe, open underside of the leaves, or on the

capsule, from which the cotton is flowers or young capsules. From

protruding (reduced) , , -n

^ the egg emerges a caterpillar,

which on account of its rosy colour is called the Rosy Caterpillar
(Lagarta rosada). It bores its way into the capsule, and eats into its
heart, with the result that the white cotton is transformed into a
black, earthy pulp, while the valves of the capsule spring open
prematurely.

The Rosy Caterpillar comes from India, where, however, it did
little harm to cotton until American varieties were introduced.
Thus this pest confirmed the experience of ages, that two forms of
life which have evolved in the same country do not upset the
equilibrium of Nature, but that the existence of a plant or animal
is first endangered when it is confronted by an alien enemy. The
same thing occurred in the case of the Phylloxera, which did no
harm to the American vines, for these had evolved beside it, and

152

PLANTATIONS

had long before devised a means of defence. But when the
Phylloxera was smuggled into Europe it encountered the European
vine, which was unacquainted with the pest, and it destroyed large
areas of vineyard. In a state of Nature there are no noxious and no
useful animals ; each rather contributes to the harmony of the whole ;
it is a cog in the great mechanism ; otherwise it would not have been
created.

Man disturbs the equihbrium of Nature, firstly, by introducing
plants and animals to areas to which they do not rightly belong, thus
meddling, so to speak, with a completed mechanism ; and secondly,
by perverting Nature, which is essentially many-sided, inasmuch as
he allows only one particular plant to grow over wide areas of land.
Thus, the Rosy Caterpillar was first smuggled into Egypt, where in
1 9 10 it destroyed whole crops of cotton, and then into Brazil,

I very soon realized, when I began my investigation of Brazilian
cotton and its pest, that in the interior of north-eastern Brazil
nothing much could be effected by means of chemical warfare. A
poisonous spray would not reach the caterpillars concealed in the
capsule ; moreover, the areas were too great for the use of sprays,
and the people were unaccustomed to exact and methodical methods
of cultivation. When I once told a fazendeiro that he was losing
perhaps 40 per cent, of his crop through the ravages of the cater-
pillar, he smilingly replied that in that case he would plant 40 per
cent. more.

The natural means of combating the pest were therefore indicated
in this region, and in order to discover what enemies the caterpillars
had, I reared them in gauze-covered breeding-cages. I discovered
various Ichneumons, tiny black wasps, which puncture the cater-
pillar (Fig. 23), and lay their eggs in its body; these eggs hatch into
larvae, which devour the living tissues of their host until they them-
selves are ripe for pupation. Again, there are small Ladybirds which
eat the eggs and young caterpillars; and there are also two birds,
the Sebito (Plate 28, 6) and the Cagasebito, which I often saw
flying from pod to pod and pulling out the shiny brown pupae of the
Rosy Caterpillar.

I was able to show that when these birds and insects were enabled
to visit the cotton-fields the damage done was not excessive. This,
for example, was the case in the Sertao. There the cotton-plant is
cultivated simply as a sort of undergrowth in a natural environment,
and the variety grown there is the "Moco," which lives from five to
thirty years, producing its pods annually as a fruit-tree bears its fruit.

153

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

In the trees and bushes surrounding the fields, and often growing
in their midst, the birds were able to take refuge and build their
nests, and all sorts of other creatures were plentiful, and among
them were many enemies of the caterpillar. One must remember,
too, that areas infested by insect pests attract birds and other
insects, which assemble there as long as those pests remain to be
eaten, often coming from a considerable distance, so that one asks
oneself in astonishment how they could possibly have become aware
of the feast awaiting them. In the same way, if one part of our body
is diseased the other parts turn their attention to it; blood flows
towards it, and the temperature rises.

Nearer the coast the cotton was planted in very large fields; far
and wide not a wood or thicket was left standing, so there were no
birds there, for their fear of hawks makes them reluctant to fly over
treeless areas. And here, sure enough, all the pods were worm-eaten !

I observed something similar in the case of the coconut-palms.
My delight in seeing these beautiful trees again on my return to
Recife was marred by the fact that many of them were crowned
only by the bare midribs of the leaves. The caterpillar of the
Brassolis butterfly was responsible for the damage. But as soon as I
left the city behind me I found that the palms were flourishing in
undiminished splendour. The explanation of the mystery was as
follows : certain birds of the Cuckoo family eagerly devoured the
long, unappetising-looking caterpillars, just as the European cuckoo
eats and indeed prefers the hairy caterpillars disdained by other
birds. But since the birds did not enter the city, the caterpillars were
there able to do their work undisturbed, and the devastation extended
to the limits of the areas haunted by the bird.

The birds which thus make themselves useful are the Anums;
long-tailed birds not unlike our magpie. One species, the Aniim
branco, is spotted with brown ; another is jet-black ; and a third, a
larger brown bird, is known as "Almo da gato," "Soul of the cat,"
because its cry is like the mewing of a cat. The black Aniims are
common everywhere; they fly across the meadows with a loud,
questioning d-nu, whisking their tails up and down as they alight,
and search themselves, as well as any grazing cattle that may be
accessible, for ticks. Their flight is like that of the paper birds which
children throw into the air.

154

PLANTATIONS

Among the birds of Brazil one might say that every speciality is
represented. If the natural fauna of the country is preserved, even
in the areas of human cultivation, it will gradually adapt itself to
the latter. But the natural conditions of animal life must be main-
tained; and this refers, above all, to the indigenous plant-life of
Brazil.

For this reason it is doubtful whether further steps should be
taken to afforest Brazil with the AustraUan eucalyptus. This tree
has the peculiarity that its lancet- or sickle-shaped leaves hft them-
selves perpendicularly sunwards, for which reason, and because
the foliage is thin, the tree casts hardly any shade. A peculiar
shimmer is apparent in a wood of eucalyptus-trees, because the
leaves twist at the slightest breath of air (Plate 25). In such woods
the Brazilian birds can find no place of refuge, no opportunity of
nest-building ; the intrusion of the eucalyptus means the suppression
of the indigenous plant and animal life, and the elimination of areas
which, as I have already shown, ensured the health and prosperity
of Nature and of the plantations. And more : the introduction of
foreign plants and trees has often had disastrous consequences,
inasmuch as some hitherto unremarked inhabitant of the imported
plant, which did no damage to the latter, has suddenly left it for
the growing plants or crops of its new home, and has destroyed
them. For example, with the American vine the Phylloxera was
imported into Europe; with Indian cotton-seed the Rosy Cater-
pillar found its way into Egypt and Brazil. On the other hand, the
eucalyptus woods might suddenly be devastated by some inhabitant
of their new home, as the coffee of Ceylon was destroyed by a
fungus.

It has often been observed that a plant introduced or accidentally
smuggled into a foreign country first multiplies enormously, and
then perishes. In Ceylon I found two widely-distributed Brazilian
plants, the Sensitive Plant and the Cambara or Lantana. This is a
shrub with very pretty red and yellow flowers. The wife of a Governor
of Ceylon had been impressed by the beauty of this shrub during
a visit to Brazil; so much so that she imported it into Ceylon and
planted it in her garden. She had, however, reckoned without a
certain black bird, the Madras bulbul, which fancied the berries
of the new shrub ; and since, when he ate them, he sowed the seeds
in the way natural to birds, it was not long before the plant reached
Indo-China, and became a pest there, and in India too; while in
1900 it became obnoxious in Honolulu, whither it had been brought

155

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

from Mexico, and where it did great damage to the sugar planta-
tions. But in Ceylon, no later than 191 1, a planter showed me
with grim satisfaction a shrub which was absolutely leafless : it had
been attacked by a black fungus. It was reported from Honolulu
also that the shrubs had lost their leaves and flowers; and so the
Cambara will disappear in India just as the American Water-
hyacinth perished in Europe, though at first it grew so luxuriantly
in the ponds that the fish were stifled.

This example shows how a Uttle human interference with a very
restricted area may affect the landscape of whole countries, inasmuch
as Nature may see to the wider distribution of the species introduced.
This should make us doubly careful of introducing alien species.
Many cases of transplantation have occurred involuntarily; seeds
have adhered to sacks, articles of clothing, etc. Thus, on the railway-
tracks in Sao Paulo I saw several of our native Hawkweeds, and
despite the sun our honeysuckle was blooming fragrantly among the
bushes. In northern Brazil the castor-oil plant, introduced from
India or Africa, was growing luxuriantly on every refuse-heap.
Even on the edge of the virgin forest this quickly-growing plant is
common everywhere (Plate 23).

But it is one thing if individual plants find their way into a foreign
country, and quite another if a whole countryside is given an alien
character.

The eucalyptus, it is true, grows with unusual rapidity, and
yields useful timber, but it is highly probable that among the
thousands of Brazilian species there are trees with the same qualities.
The eucalyptus is known also as the "fever tree" ; not because the
mosquitoes avoid it, for it has been observed that they thrive in
swampy eucalyptus woods, but because the tree draws a great deal
of water from the soil, which is quickly evaporated by the leaves,
and so the puddles in which the mosquitoes breed are dried up.
This quality, however, has its disadvantages in Brazil, for the forests
retain moisture, protect springs, and regulate the climate. Already
the Brazilian climate is beginning to change; the rains are not as
regular as they used to be, and here and there the country suffers
from drought. The explanation is that great areas of forest have
been destroyed; during the war, in particular, the timber in the
neighbourhood of the railway-lines was cut, as there were no imports
of coal, and even to-day the locomotives burn wood.

This progressive deforestation is a serious matter, and if it is not
discontinued the future of Brazil will be at stake. The Mediterranean
156

PLANTATIONS

countries were once largely forest-land, and consequently fertile;
to-day they have in the interior wide areas of stony highlands, and
in North Africa of desert; and once the vegetable growth of a
region has disappeared it is hardly possible to create it anew. May
these deserts be a warning to Brazil, for otherwise this glorious
country may one day become a stony wilderness.

The Brazilians ought to insist that their Government should pro- '
tect the forests. They ought in particular to be preserved on the
highlands and the mountain ranges, for it is there that the moisture
is collected which runs down the valleys and waters the plantations.
And the forests must remain Brazilian forests. It is of no use to plant
eucalyptus, for this tree, as we have seen, does not retain moisture.
The Brazilian trees belong to Brazil, and the forest must have the
character which Nature has given it — the character of the virgin
forest, for this has the best prospect of remaining healthy and pro-
moting health. This is not to say that the forest should not be
utilized; and in planting trees preference should be given to those
which yield the most valuable timber. The creation and exploitation
of the forests should be entrusted to a regular Department of
Forestry ; and the creation of such a department is a matter of the
greatest importance, for the wealth of Brazil consists even more in
her forests than in her sugar and coffee. We have seen what valuable
woods Brazil possesses ; and the possibilities of their utilization are
almost unlimited.

The science of forestry would enter upon quite a new province
if it were to set itself the task of maintaining and exploiting a
tropical forest in the only form natural to it, with all its lianas and
epiphytes.

The eucalyptus has its home in Australia. There, where it has
adapted itself to a country poor in animal and vegetable life, an
infertile soil, and a scanty rainfall, it is in its proper place, and in
its way beautiful. But who would change the teeming, sunny land
of Brazil into an Australia ! To replace the virgin Brazilian forest
by a eucalyptus forest would be to exchange diamonds for paste.

X

THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

We call America the "New World," and the word involuntarily
evokes the conception that the American continent is younger than
Europe, Asia and Africa, and that it must have been still slumbering
on the ocean floor when the lands of the eastern hemisphere had a
long history behind them. This, of course, is not the case ; America
was a "new world" only for the Europeans who discovered the
continent some four centuries ago. The history of America is brief
only in so far as the white races are concerned. The native races of
South America can be traced back almost as far as the races of
the Old World; indeed, the Argentine explorer, Ameghino, is even
of the opinion that the Argentine may have been the original home
of the whole human race. This opinion, however, has not been
generally accepted, for in America we find neither the oldest type
of man known to us, the so-called primitive man of the pre-glacial
period, nor yet another human type, which was equally dissimilar
from the Indians of to-day, and which certainly arose in remote
antiquity. For these reasons the old opinion still prevails, that the
inhabitants of the Americas found their way thither from the Old
World, probably from Eastern Asia. But that these groups of Indians
could subsequently be split up into so many races, showing funda-
mental mental and physical differences, proves beyond a doubt
that the time which has elapsed since their migration cannot be
measured by our historical standards.

As for the geological antiquity of the continent as a whole, this
is plainly not inferior to that of the other continents. But in this
connection the current opinion requires amendment. We speak of
America as a continent, but in reality there are two continents,
and North America is more closely related to Europe than to South
America. This is proved by the vegetation alone. In North America
the oak, beech, hazel, fir and pine entirely resemble our European
trees, and California, with its cypresses, reminds one of the Mediter-
ranean coast. Similarly, the North American lynx, fox, wolf, beaver
and elk are hardly to be distinguished from the European species ;
and the same thing is true of all animal life. For example, if we
turn to the tables of American butterflies in Seitz's great work, we
shall find some — such as the Apollo, the Swallow-tails, the Lycenidae

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THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

— which are apparently identical with the European species, and
others which are quite different. The first are North American
butterflies, and the second South American.

What the animal life of our own period tells us is confirmed by
the animal life of primeval ages. The earlier forms of Elephant
which lived in North America when the northern areas had a warmer
climate prove that these pachyderms moved round the North Pole
in periodic migrations, and that there was no obstacle to their
passing from America into Europe or Siberia. The separation of
these continents by the sea cannot, therefore, be of very ancient
date ; ancient, that is, by the historical standards of the world of
animals. For many geological ages the northern hemisphere of our
planet seems to have been covered by an unbroken area of land,
joining North America, Europe and Asia, while bridges of land
connected Europe with North Africa by way of Gibraltar, Sicily,
and the Greek Archipelago.

Turning to South America, we find that the American Mediter-
ranean is much wider than the sea dividing Europe from Africa:
the West Indies must not be regarded as a bridge, for in their
formation they are equally remote from the two continents; and
the same holds good of Central America, which seems at one time
to have consisted of islands. As for the Isthmus of Panama, only
36 miles in width, it was first formed when both continents had for
untold ages led an independent existence, and had developed an
abundant flora and fauna. This is confirmed by the geologists and
the zoologists alike, and by the comparison of the marine animals
on either side of the isthmus.

Thus a family of corals, Fungia, is at home only in the Pacific
and Indian Oceans, but one species extends into the Caribbean
Sea. How can it have come thither, save from the west? Similarly,
in the sea to the east of the Isthmus of Panama there are a number
of sea-anemones which are unknown in other parts of the Atlantic,
but have their home in the Pacific. Similar forms of sea-urchins,
too, prickly, globular creatures which move by means of tubular
sucker-feet or pseudopods, are found on both sides of the isthmus ;
and so is a species of crab, Hippa eremita. Lastly, of 374 species of
coastal fish inhabiting the Gulf of Panama, no less than 54 are
found on the West Indian side of the isthmus.

South America is essentially a continent of the southern hemi-
sphere ; of all the continents it reaches farthest towards the South
Pole. It rose out of the water at a very remote period. Its foundation,

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as the Frankfurt scientist Otto Maull recently demonstrated, is a
vast body of primitive gneiss, which in the course of the ages has
been repeatedly uplifted and depressed. During the later geological
periods the sea invaded the more depressed areas. And since in the
sea the fine ooze brought down by the rivers is continually sinking
to the bottom, covering the bodies of animals which have also sunk
to the bottom, and preserving their harder portions, we are able to
ascertain, from those remains, which are now scattered over the
surface of the continent, the enfolding ooze having ages ago hardened
into rock, that America has passed through all the geological epochs
of which we find evidence in other parts of the world. It knew the
Carboniferous, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous periods, and the
cretaceous deposits are spread all over the north-east of Brazil,
which must at one time have been covered by a wide sea, in which
swarmed sea-lizards of enormous dimensions. The next geological
period, which we call the Tertiary, and which witnessed the
emergence of the mammals, has likewise left its deposits in Brazil,
as one may see on approaching the north-eastern littoral, where the
steeper slopes of the coast are as white as snow. It was during this
period that those tremendous foldings of the earth's crust occurred,
which, to the accompaniment of volcanic outbreaks in the western
part of South America, simultaneously with similar outbreaks in
North America, piled up the Cordilleras.

Brazil was a quieter land than the western side of the continent,
which even to-day is so subject to earthquakes. Its mainland, rising
to altitudes of 1,500 to 2,500 feet in the centre, has sunk towards the
basins of the Amazon and the Rio de la Plata, so that the surface
waters have flowed thither to create these great river systems. The
Atlantic edge of the continent, having been squeezed upwards, was
eroded more and more deeply by downward-rushing watercourses;
ravines were eaten out, between which the remaining rocks rose like
towers and gigantic dice, as we can see to-day in the mountains on
the coast of Espirito Santo (Fig. 10) and around Rio, and in the
jagged outline of the Organ Mountains. Deposits of debris have
once more joined the islands to the mainland — as the Sugarloaf,
for example, has been joined, which was once completely surrounded
by the sea, as its less lofty sisters are to-day (Plates 5, 6, 7).

We must think of Brazil, through all these periods, as inhabited

by a rich fauna, which during these long ages had time to develop

in independence. Thus, of the 131 species of mammal in South

America, no less than 103 — that is, four-fifths — and of the 920 species

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Plate XII

SERINGAL. TREE-TOPS IN THE FOREST

SERINGAL. MASSARANDUBA TREE

THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

of bird no less than 732 — that is, five-sixths — are confined to this
country. India, on the other hand, and the other countries of
Southern Asia, have the monopoly of the Peacocks, Pheasants, and
Hornbills, though the other families of birds native to these countries
are represented, although by other species, in the neighbouring
continents. Again, of 90 families of lizards. South America has 78,
of 94 families of snakes 69, and of 48 families of frogs 41 which are
unknown to the other continents.

All these families, however, have split up into numberless species.
The Humming-birds are now divided into 400 species, of which
80 are Brazilian. A group of birds peculiar to South America,
known as Tree-climbers, has evolved into a great number of species,

Fig. 10. — Itawira, on the coast of Espirito Santo

and forms which in other continents have sprung from various
families have evolved, in Brazil, from this one group. The Arapa9u,
for example, with its brown wings, spotted breast and powerful bill,
climbs up the tree-trunks like a woodpecker; another Arapa^u has
a slender, curved, almost semicircular bill, while others resemble
our nuthatch in size and behaviour (Plate 28). The Potter-bird or
"Joao do barro" hops over the lawns like a thrush, and builds oven-
shaped nests of clay in the trees. The "Bundle-nesters," such as the
Curutia, slip through the thickets like hedge-sparrows, and build
wattled nests of brushwood (Plates 21, 28). Other species creep like
mice over the ground, while others live on the water; and in
adopting all these different modes of life the Tree-creepers have
assumed a great variety of shapes and sizes. Another prolific family
of South American birds is that of the Tyrannidae ; of these, the
Bemtevi is like our Jay, the Siriri resembles the Fly-catcher, while
the "Washerwomen" haunt the waterside like our Wagtails.

L 161

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The same wealth of forms is found among the mammals ; of the
Rodents, for example, some are aquatic animals, some resemble
small Ungulates, and others correspond to our hares and other
species.

This extensive division of the various families has led many
scientists to believe that South America consisted formerly of a
number of islands, each of which evolved its own individual fauna.
To this one must object that the age-long isolation of the continent,
with the fact that it is divided into many different types of landscape,
would suffice to explain such variety. Even to-day von Ihering dis-
tinguishes six different regions in Brazil, of which each has its
special avian fauna, while other birds are common to several, and
some to all regions. These regions are : Amazonas ; the country to
the south of Para ; the Sertao of the North-east ; the interior of the
southern States; the northern coastal zone, originally forest-clad;
and the southern coastal zone, characterized rather by high grassy
plains. The bird life of Amazonas in particular is wholly peculiar to
the country.

But there is a second factor which favours the division of species
in South America. This is the circumstance that the greater part
of the continent lies within the tropics. A few figures will show the
great difference which exists in respect of the wealth of species
between tropical and temperate countries. Of the 2,286 species of
fresh- water fish in the list of fishers drawn up by the London Natural
History Museum, 1,552, or more than two-thirds, are tropical species.
The river system of the Brahmaputra-Ganges has 170 species; that
of the Mackenzie in Canada has only 23 ; and while the Amazon
boasts of 748 species, the whole of Europe numbers only 126. And
so with the birds, of which Brazil has 1,600 species, and the Argentine
887. The insect life of the tropics is especially rich in species ; in
India, for example, there are nearly 30,000, while in Greenland
only 437 are known. Of snakes, 727 species are found in the Philip-
pines, but in Japan, whose area is half as great again, only 193.

The explorer Bates relates that within an hour's walk of Para he
caught 700 species of butterfly. One day he caught 46 butterflies
in the virgin forest, and among them were 33 separate species; on
the following day he caught 37, of which 33 were of different species ;
and these included 27 which he had not secured on the previous day.
This record says something as to the great variety of the tropical
fauna. Needless to say, the more untouched by man, the more rich
in variety is Nature. Multiplicity of form is the essential charac-
162

Plate XIII

VIRGIN FOREST, ALTO DA SERRA. IN THE CENTRE, A PALMITO

ON THE RIO PAQUEQUER, NEAR THEREZOPOLIS

THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

teristic of Nature ; uniformity that of civilization. In our cities there
are few birds beyond rooks, thrushes, blackbirds, and sparrows ; the
wild animals are replaced by domestic species; and even the races
mingle and become more uniform, just as European customs and
clothing are progressively spreading all over the world.

It is easy to see that in the tropics the transmutation of forms
must proceed more rapidly than in temperate regions. We know that
procreation proceeds more rapidly in a warmer climate. Even
human beings reach puberty earlier in hot countries than in Europe ;
girls become nubile at the age of twelve. It is the same with animals,
and in this respect Hesse has collected a number of observed cases.
In Africa it has been found that a half-grown Kudu antelope is
fertile, and in New Zealand the imported red deer become sexually
mature a year earlier than in Europe. In Europe the group of
coleoptera known as the Asparagus Beetles needs a year for its
development from the egg to the perfect insect; but in Java it
requires only 30-31 days. The East Asiatic butterfly, Danais chrys-
ippus, produces one generation yearly in the northern parts of its
habitat ; in the southern parts it requires only 23 days for the com-
plete cycle, and generation follows generation. Hesse calculates that
an insect which lays 100 eggs could multiply, with a 30-day cycle,
to the extent of 488 trillions in a year, while in Europe, with two
generations yearly, it would produce only 5,000 offspring.

Such an intense spate of life must necessarily result in a trans-
mutation of forms. The more profusely a fauna multiplies, the more
subtly can it adapt itself to the existing conditions of life, exploiting
every spot of the earth's surface. But for this new adaptations of the
body and the instincts are requisite. And the more prolific develop-
ment of the flora favoured by the torrid zone must equally enrich
the fauna, since every plant has one or more forms of animal life
dependent on it, feeding upon it or exploiting it as a dwelling-place.
When we climb into the mountains we find that we are leaving behind
us, with every plant that cannot thrive in the higher altitudes, certain
forms of animal life.

Despite the thoroughly individual development of the fauna and
flora of South America, we must realize that its plants and animals
have not evolved in absolute isolation from those of the other
continents. To begin with, we must not forget that the ocean itself
is not an absolute obstacle to the distribution even of terrestrial forms

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of life. The larger birds cover the widest expanse of water; the
Virginian plover, for example, on its spring and autumn migrations,
flies from Labrador to Venezuela and back again; the Stork of
East Prussia migrates to South Africa ; the Fish-eagle and the Egret
are citizens of the world, and the Barn-owl is no less valiant a
traveller, though one would never have expected it to cover such
vast distances. And involuntary journeys of considerable length are
often made by birds caught in a gale. No less than 46 species of
American birds have been wafted over to England, while 37 Euro-
pean species have reached North America. The bird-watcher Gatke
found on Heligoland 15 species of American land-birds.

In the same way German dragonflies and butterflies are often
borne on the wind from Germany to Heligoland, and even to
England. And even among the butterflies there are world-citizens;
I myself found the Painted Lady on the highest mountains in
Ceylon, and on the Tijuca peak near Rio. This pretty butterfly was
like a greeting from my home. A Hawk-moth, Celerio linata, which
dashes through the air on its narrow wings, has made itself at home
in every continent, and the black and brown butterfly, Danais
erippus, has in our own day invaded Polynesia (1863) ayad Celebes
(1873), and in the other direction has reached the Azores, and
according to Sietz is occasionally seen in the British Isles.

Many living creatures may be carried across the sea on drifting
wood. A huge snake, a Giboia, a native of America, was once driven
ashore on the island of St. Vincent ; it had wrapped itself round a
tree-trunk, and was full of life. The fauna of the Polynesian islands
has been frequently enriched by insects, snakes, and even (it seems)
by mice, which have reached the islands on driftwood. The patches
of woodland along the shores of La Plata harbour a whole series of
insects, frogs, and snakes of northern origin, and large snakes,
crocodiles, and even jaguars have drifted as far south as Buenos
Aires on the trunks of trees. On a floating tree in the Amazon,
Spix and Martins saw a troop of monkeys ; on another, squirrels,
and on a third a tiger-cat and a crocodile. Those who, sailing along
the Brazilian coast, have seen how far from shore the brown waters
of the Sao Francisco are distinguishable, will readily believe that
many an animal may drift seaward on a floating tree, until it becomes
the plaything of the ocean currents, to be stranded finally on some
distant coast.

But the fauna of South America teaches us that a greater exchange
of species must have taken place than can be explained by these
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occasional and fortuitous displacements. For the similarity of the
basic forms of animal life in South America and the other continents
is so great that we cannot assume that they all emerged in complete
mutual isolation.

For example, there are Tapirs, pachyderms with short trunks, in
India and in South America (Plate 27). It speaks for the conceal-
ment in which these animals live that the large Saddlebacked
Tapir was discovered in the old, civilized country of India very much
later than the Anta of Brazil. It would puzzle us completely to say
how these creatures should occur at two opposite points of the
globe, and nowhere else, had not palaeontology told us that the
Tapirs were formerly distributed over the whole of the northern
hemisphere, and that the Prototapirus, regarded as the ancestral
form of the group, occurred in the early Tertiary period, in North
America and Europe. Thence, apparently, the Tapir wandered
southwards.

In the same way the great naturalist Cuvier discovered in the
strata surrounding Paris a fragment of bone which he attributed
to a marsupial ; an attribution which caused a great sensation at the
time, for it was known that living marsupials were found only in
America and Australia. The Camel tribe is to-day represented in
Asia and Africa by the Camel, in South America by the Llama.
The connection between the two countries is to be found in North
America, where the Camelidae were represented in the early
Tertiary. Certain of the Tortoises, too, had northern ancestors, and
so had the great Iguanas, and in Europe, during the Tertiary period,
crocodiles, pythons, lions, elephants, hippopotami, parrots, and all
sorts of other creatures occurred, whose descendants are now found
only in southern latitudes. During this epoch, apparently, the
climate of Europe was warm. The palm-trees which are found in the
Tertiary deposits confirm this assumption.

Insects lead us to the same conclusion. The termites or "white
ants" — known in Brazil as Cupim — and of which more than 400
species are living to-day, exclusively in the tropics, are found in the
amber of the Baltic. The great Water-bugs of India and Brazil
existed in Bavaria in the Tertiary deposits, and the spiders and
snakes afford similar examples.

It looks as though the original home of a great part of the animal
world should be sought in the northern hemisphere, in the Tertiary
period, which, with its warm climate and the manifold variety of
its surface, afforded possibilities of the emergence of the greatest

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variety of species, while its great masses of land gave them oppor-
tunities of migration. But if this was the most prolific source of life,
room had to be found for its creations, and the earlier forms were
thrust towards the outer limits of the hemisphere. The older species
withdrew before the newer; the oldest were driven furthest; and
this explains why to-day we find the most ancient species at the
southern extremities of Africa and America, and also in Australia
and New Zealand — that is, in the regions of the globe most remote
from the focus of their emergence.

One may ask why the older forms of animal life did not defend
the soil which was their due, and drive the newer species from their
proper home. But it would seem that youth confers greater energy,
and that fresh modes of attack break down the firmest resistance.
Just as European man has spread over the whole earth, driving back
or expelling the indigenous populations in Africa, America and
Australia, so twelve species of European snakes have established
themselves in North America, but not a single American snake has
made its way to Europe. In Australia the two indigenous beasts of
prey, of the order of the marsupials — the Marsupial Wolf and the
Tasmanian Devil — have had to give way to the Dingo, the yellow
wild dog introduced by man — -just as the indigenous Australian
song-birds are giving way before those of their European relatives
which have been introduced by the white settlers. In Rio, too, the
pretty native Bunting, the Ticotico, is retreating before the imported
European sparrow.

If now we follow the traces of these vast migrations, if we
scrutinize the skeletal remains which tell us of their paths, we are
obliged to assume that there was once land where to-day the ocean
rolls, and that South America, in the early Tertiary period, when
the principal mammalian types emerged, was connected with the
northern continents of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
For the mammals, being for the most part genuine land animals,
could not swim across wide areas of sea ; if they spread to other
continents, it could only be by land.

Since we cannot search the bottom of the sea for the relics of the
Tertiary period, we must fall back on hypotheses if we wish to recon-
struct the old connecting-links between the continents. Of such
hypotheses there are many. One supposes a great continent filling
the southern hemisphere, and including South America, South
Africa and Australia. Recently the opinion has emerged that South
America may, so to speak, have broken away from Africa, since its
1 66

THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

coast fits into the Gulf of Guinea, and slowly receded across the
Atlantic Ocean. A Sao Paulo zoologist, the late H. von Ihering,
even sketched a southern continent on the map of the early Tertiary
period, and a second continent connecting South America with
Africa. The theory that South America received many of its animal
species from the northern focus of creation, by way of Africa, has,
as a matter of fact, much in its favour. The primitive forms of
the Caviidae of South America occurred, in their oldest forms, in the
early deposits of Europe ; Africa yields a few relics of them, but
North America none. Nearly related forms are found in the fresh-
water fish of both hemispheres, which is a particularly striking proof
of a former connection, since these creatures would never swim
across the sea, nor could they be carried across it by drifting wood.
Among the fishes are the incubating Siluridae, of which I shall speak
in Chapter XIV; beyond a few Indian species, these occur only in
Africa and South America, and the same may be said of various
snakes.

Let us now consider the mammals of Brazil individually, and see
what they tell us of old continental junctions.

Let us take, as one of the lowest forms of warm-blooded animals,
the Marsupials (Plate 27). These animals derive their name from a
pouch on the abdomen, in which the mother lays her oflfspring —
helpless and undeveloped as a creature prematurely born — where
it fastens so firmly on the milk-glands which empty themselves into
the pouch that a kind of growth connects its mouth to the nipple,
while the windpipe of the little creature is pushed forward almost
into the nose, so that the stream of milk shall not incommode its
breathing.

As primitive mammals the marsupials have been driven south-
wards by the continual emergence of new forms. They are found
to-day in Australia and the neighbouring islands, where, being early
shut oflf by the sea, they were able to call a halt and divide into
many species, of which the best known are the Kangaroos. In South
America too the marsupials have continued to evolve, though not
so prolifically as in Australia; apparently because the western
continent remained joined to the northern mainland after their
migration, so that new competitors for space and nourishment
appeared.

The South American marsupials are carnivora, which eat small
mammals, birds, and insects. Only one form, the Water-Opossum,

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Is aquatic, living on fish and aquatic insects. There is a whole series
of terrestrial forms — the Mucuras, Quicas, Chichicas, Catitas — which
range from the size of a marten to that of a shrew-mouse (Plate 27).
Their naked tails remind one of rats, and some are even described
as marsupial rats, but as a matter of fact, their tails are adapted to
an arboreal life. With them the animals grip the branches, let their
bodies hang downwards, seize the next branch with their forefeet,
and so progress at a rapid pace. On level ground most of them move
but slowly, but among the branches they are extremely nimble, as
they are able to support themselves with the opposed thumbs of the
hindfeet. If they are caught, they try to scare the enemy by sham-
ming dead and emitting a noxious odour; they are able, however,
to bite severely with their needle-sharp teeth.

Although the marsupials of Brazil are nocturnal animals, anyone
who has spent a little time in the country will have seen the larger
forms, known in Amazonas as Mucura, in the North-east as Timbu,
in the South as Gamba, and in the Argentine as Comadreja ; or he
may have encountered a poultry-farmer who has told him, with
indignation, how his hen-roosts have once more been visited by the
nocturnal robbers.

In the convent garden of Olinda I made the acquaintance of the
Timbus, of which a whole family was captured one by one. The
mother took refuge in a hole in the wall. I made a noose, laid this
about her head with the help of a stick, and drew hex out into a cage
that was held before the hole. I kept her for some weeks, and the
young ones as well, and then released them. At first the captive
shammed dead, imitating a dead animal so thoroughly that she even
retracted her lips from her half-open mouth, thus assuming the
suffering expression of death. Later she saved herself the trouble of
this performance, but showed her teeth at once if anything displeased
her, hissing like a snake. Almost directly after I had caught her she
ate half a banana, and resigned herself completely to her fate, except
that she paced up and down her cage at night. But she showed no
attachment to her captor, and being slow and lethargic was not
very attractive. The marsupials betray their position at the very
bottom of the mammalian order by the fact that the temperature
of their blood is not so uniformly high as in the higher mammals ;
which accounts for their lethargic character.

The next group of the lower mammals which invaded South
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America are the Edentata, "the Toothless," so-called because they
have few teeth, or none ; and from this alone we perceive that they
are degenerating. He who has once seen an Anteater, with its long-
haired, black and white coat and its huge plumy tail, and has
watched the great creature holding its head, slender as a stick and
curved like a sabre, to the ground, in order to seek its food with its
worm-like tongue, will agree with Carus Sterne that it looks like a
creature of hoary antiquity, no longer quite adapted to our age,
whose race has been isolated by the dying out of its many relatives.

And indeed, in the Tertiary period, and even in the pre-Tertiary,
the Edentata played a very different part in South America ! It was
with amazement that I saw the giant Armadillos and Sloths of that
period in the museum of La Plata, the pleasant University town to
the south of Buenos Aires (Plate 26). In a well-lighted, semicircular
hall surrounding the body of the museum stand these giant creatures,
some of them large as elephants, marshalled in rows under their
glass cases, as though struck motionless while marching into eternity.
Here, gleaming white, is the monstrous tortoise-like shell of the
Glyptodon, built up of finely-chiselled plates of bone ; behind it is
the menacing tail, armoured with spiked rings, and before it the
head is outstretched, likewise armoured with bony plates. Now
come the giant Sloths, in size and weight rivalling the great Arma-
dillos; here is the Megatherium, "monstrously lazy, monstrously
large," which could never, of course, have hung from the boughs
of the Imbauba-tree, as Scheffel supposed, for the slender tree would
at once have been shattered by its weight ! Relatives of the Mega-
therium, the Mylodon and the Gryptotherium, were, it would seem,
kept by man as a sort of living provision for the winter, since their
remains have been found in Patagonian caves, together with unmis-
takable traces of human occupation. Many scientists believe that
man has been responsible for the extirpation of these mighty
creatures, defenceless for all their size and their bony armour.
Since the remains of armadillo-like forms have been found in the
older Tertiary deposits in North America, and even in France, the
Edentata must have found their way hither from the North, but it
was only in South America that they reached their full development.

To-day three families of these creatures are still extant in South
America; the Armadillos or Tatus, the Anteaters or Tamanduas,
and the Sloths or Preguigas (Plate 27). Of these animals, the Ant-
eaters are exclusively insectivorous, while the Armadillos eat fruits
and roots as well as insects, and the Sloths live entirely on the

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leaves of trees. They are said to prefer the large leaves of the
Imbauba, but as a matter of fact I found them constantly on other
trees. There is a good deal of evidence to show that the ancestors
of all these creatures lived more or less in the same fashion. The
Sloths, it is true, have a bony process in the nose (according to
Hilzheimer) which is found elsewhere only in the grubbing or
burrowing animals, such as the pig and the mole. So the primeval
Sloth may perhaps have thrust its nose into the ground when it
dug up the soil in search of insects with the formidable claws which
it possesses in common with the Armadillos and Anteaters. And
conversely, the Great Anteater may once have been an arboreal
animal, as the smaller Tamandua is to-day, while the very small
Tamandua-i moves about hanging by its claws like a Sloth.

The foot of the Anteater is transformed into a powerful mattock ;
it has a projecting middle toe, armed with a sharply-curved claw.
With this tool the animal is able to break open the nests of termites
and ants, even when they consist of hardened clay. In order not to
blunt this sharp claw, the Tamandua walks on the outer edge of
its forefeet, with the toes turned inwards. When it comes to a
termites' nest it supports its whole weight on one forefoot, and hews
at the nest with the other. The insects, always on the alert, rush out
in order to drive off the enemy, but the Anteater wriggles its worm-
like tongue towards them; and when they angrily bite this tongue
their fate is sealed, for it is withdrawn into the tubular snout, where
the insects are swept off. The mouth at the end of this snout is
small, but it does not need to open wide for food of this kind, which
is masticated by the horny tongue.

The Armadillos too have feet heavily armed with claws, which
they use to dig themselves in when danger threatens. At the same
time, the dorsal armour prevents the stones lying in the earth through
which the animal is burrowing from crushing it ; it is also, of course,
a protection against the teeth of enemies. I kept a Tatu for some
time, feeding it on bananas. Unfortunately I forgot that the animal
lives in a warm burrow; it caught cold in its cage, and died.

I always loved watching the Sloths, which are not found in the
forest only, for I was able to admire them in the park beside the
Avenida Paulista, in Sao Paulo, and also in Santos. The park in
question is a relic of the virgin forest, which is traversed by foot-
paths. In it five Sloths had been installed, and there they flourished.
Sometimes I would see one hanging high in the open foliage of a
tree, like a yellow ball, or rather like a wasps'-nest, a resemblance

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which would be a protection against birds of prey. At other times
I would see it clambering down like a gymnast equipped with hooks
instead of fingers. The head turns cautiously, seeking for the best
purchase ; it can be turned until it looks directly backwards, for the
neck is very mobile in the Three-toed Sloth, since it possesses nine
cervical vertebrae, whereas other mammals, including the giraffe,
have only seven. I have seen the Sloth hook its way down perpen-
dicular lianas, so firmly do its claws hold ; even when the animal is
dead they do not relax, so that a Sloth which has been shot often
remains hanging. From time to time the Sloth slings itself along a
bough and eats the leaves, for whose digestion it has a stomach
divided into several compartments, in each of which the food is
exploited in a different manner.

The Sloth is a fascinating creature, and although its movements
are slow, they are extraordinarily certain. I once saw a Sloth which
wanted to climb from a palm into another tree, but when it slung
itself forward along a palm-leaf the leaf was so far pulled down by
its weight that it could no longer reach the tree. Quietly it went
back and embraced two palm-leaves, but as these were not rigid
enough it made another attempt with three leaves, which did support
its weight, and having reached the end of the three leaves, it was
able to reach and grasp the nearest bough of the adjacent tree. In
Santos, however, I once saw a Sloth in the grass, looking about it
with its owlish face, and pushing itself along from one tree to another.
Fortunately there were no dogs about.

The next group of animals which came to South America was
that of the Rodents, in which the canine teeth are lacking, while
the incisors, two in the upper and two in the lower jaw, have
developed into sharp cutting-chisels, which grow continually, and
must be worn down by constant gnawing, since they have no roots
which would otherwise limit their growth. It is these large incisors
which give the animal the truncated profile by which the rodent
may always be recognized. The Rodents are a very ancient order,
which seems to have arisen at the very base of the mammalian
family tree, for they still display many characteristics which are
reminiscent of the reptiles. For example, like the lizards, they often
have scales on their frequently hairless tails. The Rodents have
undergone a tremendous expansion; the number of their species
represents more than a third of the whole mammalian world, and

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

their individual numbers are so great that they are the animals most
frequently encountered in any part of the world, and form the most
important and unfailing item of the diet of almost all birds and
beasts of prey.

When the Rodents made their way into South America they found
an almost virgin country. The grasses were as yet almost untouched,
so that the Rodents, herbivorous from of old, were able to adapt
themselves to this form of nourishment in a great variety of ways.
There were, of course, in the South America of the older Tertiary
period, great herbivores like our Ungulates; for example, the
Toxodon, a sort of three-toed hippopotamus, and the Macrauchenia,
which reminds one of the Llama, but which also had three toes ;
and one may see the complete skeletons of these two animals in the
La Plata museum. But remains have been found of yet other species
which differ so greatly from our Ungulates — whether single-hoofed
or cloven-hoofed — that special orders have been established for
them. Among them was the Tapir or Anta, of which I have already
spoken.

But these animals, these primitive Ungulates, were apparently
not very numerous, and their types, of which they were, so to speak,
the forerunners, were not as yet firmly established, so that the
Rodents, with their great fertility, were able to push in among
them, and even to begin to supplant them. For a very characteristic
South American group is that of the Caviidae, in which the nails
of the toes have to some extent assumed the form of a hoof, while
the balls of the toes are covered with horny callosities. These
creatures, therefore, have undergone a development similar to that
of the Ungulates, whom they resemble in respect of their nourish-
ment and their rapid gait ; and in size they exceed most of their
relatives in other parts of the world.

Beside the Brazilian rivers lives the Capyvara, the "Lord of the
Grass," as the old Indian name of Capi-i-uara means, according to
Goeldi. This portly creature, about the size of a yearling pig, with
a coat of long yellowish-brown hair, attempts, as far as it can, to
follow the example of the Hippopotamus. If startled, it rushes into
the water with a loud cry of warning. On bright moonlit nights,
where the riverside forest opens to leave a grassy glade, the Capyvara
may be seen grazing, or sitting up on his hindquarters like a dog

(Fig. 33)-

Another aquatic animal is the Nutria or Swamp-beaver, which,
as its name tells us, resembles in appearance the Beaver of the
172

THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

northern hemisphere, except that its tail is not trowel-shaped, but
like a rat's. It is found in the basin of the Rio de La Plata.

Almost as large as the Gapyvara is the Paca, a rodent whose body-
is striped with rows of white spots. The Paca burrows in the ground,
and is still found in the Organ Mountains. Its smaller relatives, the
Preyas, are common throughout Brazil, The Guinea-pigs are a
branch of this family, and they were domesticated by the ancient
Peruvians. The Preyas themselves look like small brown Guinea-
pigs ; it always amused me to see them appear, when all was quiet,
and look about them with their large and beautiful eyes. I was
always glad to see the Moco too, a somewhat larger form, which is
found in the rocky regions of the Sertao.

Other pretty Brazihan rodents are the Cutias, Agoutis or Golden
Hares, which I have not seen in a state of Nature, but only in the
park at Rio. They have a considerable resemblance to the Dwarf
Antelopes, or rather. Dwarf Musk-deer, of the Old World. In the
southern portion of the continent, in the pampas of Patagonia, live
the Viscachas, which are like Marmots, and the Maras, which
resemble hares, except that their ears are short ; while in the Cordil-
leras the Chincillas live a hazardous life, persecuted on account of
their valuable skins. In the trees of the Brazilian forests there are not
only pretty little squirrels, but also Tree-Porcupines, which have
prehensile tails, which however they do not pass over a branch, as
the monkeys do, but under it, curHng it upwards. The quills of one
species are so loosely set in the skin that they readily fall out, and
being barbed, they penetrate the hide of an enemy, and finally
disappear under the surface.

I ought still to mention a whole series of rats of primitive types,
but in order to avoid overstepping the limits of this volume I must
leave the lower orders of mammals and say something of the highest
mammalian order, that of the Monkeys.

That the Monkeys should find a congenial home in a land of
forests like Brazil is only natural. But they must have arrived in
South America at a very early date, for among the monkeys of the
New World we find animals which are closely related to the types
which must have been the ancestors of this great mammalian order,
but which have now died out in the Old World. The American
monkeys differ fundamentally from those of Africa and Asia. While
the latter have, like man, a narrow septum, so that the nostrils look

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

downwards, the American monkeys have a broad septum, so that
the nostrils look outwards. Moreover, the monkeys of the Old
World have a dentition resembling that of man, as regards the
number and form of the teeth. The American monkeys, however,
have an additional tooth in each jaw between the canines and the
pre-molars, so that they have not 32 but 36 teeth in all. Still lower
stand the Unguiculate monkeys of South America, among which
are the delightful Saguims. These, as their name tells us, have claws
instead of nails, even on the big toe ; moreover, the thumb cannot
be opposed to the other fingers, and their small intelligence is shown
by the fact that they have no wisdom-teeth !

But this does not prevent the Saguims from being the most
delightful animals imaginable. Fortunately they are still numerous,
but are, of course, only too frequently caught, when they are
offered for sale to passing travellers. For me it was a memorable
moment when I first saw a Saguim. One Thursday, when the
Fathers and Brothers of the monastery made an excursion to
"Monte," a small, deserted monastery on the quiet hilltop, from
which one had a glorious view of the cashew-woods and the sea, I
joined my amiable hosts. At the back of the horseshoe-shaped
building grew some cashew-trees, and it was here that I was able,
on looking through the window, to observe a Saguim at my ease.
The charming little creature, with his grey, woolly coat and long
banded tail, would have looked like a pigmy Kinkajou but for his
tiny black face, with its startHngly hum.an, or rather gnome-Hke, ex-
pression, observant but slightly plaintive. The Saguim was nibbling
at the bark of the cashew-tree ; presently he proceeded to groom
himself Later on I often met the little creatures in the woods, and
heard their sharp whistle, which sounded like a boy whistling between
his fingers. They also utter a kek, kek, kek, like the chatter of the
magpie. We shall see in Chapter XV that the Saguim ventures even
into city gardens.

There are many related monkeys in Brazil, such as the Lion
Monkey and the Pencilled Monkey. To these we must add the
larger monkeys; the Scarlet-faced Monkey, the splendid Howler
Monkeys, Bugios, or Guaribes, known by their penetrating cry, the
Death's-head, and the Capucins or Micos. These latter creatures
are very gentle, and their voice is a soft whisper. In the zoological
gardens one may stroke them without fear of injury, or pick them
up if they are in the open ; I have done so constantly, and have
never been bitten.
174

THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

The great forests of the Amazon basin have given the monkeys a
magnificent home. Here they have evolved in the greatest variety;
here the great black monkey of Brazil, the Goata, can swing himself
in looping curves from bough to bough ; in him the thumb, unsuited
to such a mode of progression, has disappeared. The American
monkeys have developed the tail into a fifth limb. They can suspend
themselves by it, and use it for grasping when they leap from bough
to bough. They even feel with their tails, grasping and examining their
food ; for on the under side of the tip is a large bare tactile area.

Other classes of animals have evolved in South America in a
special direction. Among the birds I may mention the Inhambiis,
which represent the partridge family, but which must, by reason of
their internal structure, be reckoned among the most primitive of
birds. The handsome black Hokkos or Muturus, with the bill
adorned by a red or yellow tubercle, and the Jaciis, with their red
wattles, correspond to our grouse. A very singular bird is the
Hoatzin of the Amazon basin. The nestlings run about on all fours
like lizards, and their wings are provided with claws, the inmost of
which can be opposed to the others like a thumb, and these little
creatures swim, and even dive, using their wings as flippers, like the
penguins of the Antarctic.

In Brazil the Macaws or Araras are the finest of all the repre-
sentatives of the parrot family ; and it is only in South America that
we find the equally resplendent Toucan with its gigantic beak, as
to whose purpose we are still in the dark. Among other South
American birds I must mention the splendid blue Gotingas or
Anambes, the Tyrants, the Arapagus, and the Humming-birds or
Golibris.

I shall speak later on of the reptiles and batrachians, but I may
mention here that the peculiarly individual nature of animal evolu-
tion in South America is revealed by the fact that of 90 species of
lizard, 78 are confined to this continent, and of 94 species of snake 69.
Of the 48 South American batrachians 41 are exclusively South
American. It is in Brazil that the evolution of the batrachians has
been most prolific and various. Goming to the fresh- water fish, we
find that one particular family has filled all the places which in
Europe are filled by a variety of groups — such as carp, roach, trout,
pike, etc. These are the Gharacinidae. To this family belongs the
terror of the Amazon and other Brazilian rivers, the Piranha. With

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

its sharp teeth this terrible fish, which attains the length of the
forearm, tears whole pieces out of the flesh of swimming animals,
and since the Piranhas appear in shoals directly they scent blood,
the victim is soon stripped to the bones. The Piranhas and not the
crocodiles are the real danger in the Brazilian rivers. But the
Candiru, a little thread-like Silure, is an equally unpleasant acquain-
tance. This creature forces its way into the urethra of bathers, and
owing to the spines on the gill-covers it cannot be extracted.

The Electric Eel or Poraque is another Brazilian fish; on either
side of the spine this fish has developed electric batteries, a shock

from which will stun a horse. And
in the Arapaima of the Amazon
the world of fresh-water fish has its
largest representative.

The number of insects in Brazil
is almost infinite. Nowhere else are
there so many species of butterflies ;
and the vivid blue loveliness of the

. , , Morphidae is not excelled by any

Fig. 1 1 . — Piranha, one-sixth natural , , _ , »

g-^e other butterfly on earth. Among

the Coleoptera we find those

amazing giants of the beetle world, the Hercules Beetle and the

Elephant Beetle. Even the bugs have evolved magnificent forms in

Brazil.

South America thus received the basic forms of her fauna from
the northern mainland, by way of a bridge of land, and was enabled
to retain them and transform them in a manner both prolific and
peculiar, for this bridge sank beneath the sea about the middle of
the Tertiary period. In proud isolation the continent breasted the
ocean, and for long geological periods was protected from further
invasion, so that the much older forms of the northern continent
fell victims to younger competitors. When, about the middle of the
Tertiary period, a wide isthmus came into being, and towards the
end of the period the narrow bridge which we now call the Isthmus
of Panama, the fauna of South America had already become so far
established that the new migrations were unable to exterminate it.
Such migrations now occurred in both directions. From South
America humming-birds, parrots, monkeys, butterflies and other
insects wandered northwards, finding suitable conditions of life in
176

Plate XIV

VIRGIN FOREST, CEYLON

1^ -w-.^..;*^'^ i..

VIRGIN FOREST, KUBANY, THE BOHMERWALD

THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

Mexico, then still tropical; indeed, many species made their way
into the United States. But there were also migrants which followed
the reverse direction. Above all, the hitherto absent Ungulates
made their appearance in South America. Only the Tapir, the Anta,
was already there ; but it was probably now that the two little wild
swine, the Peccaries, made their first appearance (Plate 27, Figs. 16
and 17). In the monastery I kept a young freshly-caught peccary in
captivity. It was a Collared Peccary, or Catete. We opened the box
in which it was imprisoned in an empty bath, thinking that the
smooth walls would prevent it from escaping, but in a moment the
little animal sprang lightly out of it. The Peccary has much longer
legs than other wild swine; moreover, they are curiously perpen-
dicular, and the animal has the appearance of a creature moving on
springs. We thought there would now be a wild hunt, but scarcely
was the httle creature at liberty than he proved to be quite con-
tented ; he remained in our company, laid himself on his side, and
let himself be scratched, grunting with satisfaction. He at once ate
some bananas and behaved, on the whole, like a young dog. He was
always glad of my company, and would gaze at me with his wonder-
fully beautiful eyes, soft as those of a doe, which distinguish the
Peccary, greatly to his advantage, from his European relations.
Only when anyone attempted to Uft him up did he scream, and
gnash his teeth in a threatening manner. Obviously he had no desire
to be put into a dark box again.

Among the immigrants from the North whose remains are first
found in the most recent geological strata are the deer (Gervidae)
of all kinds and sizes which people the campos and forests of Brazil,
including the little roebuck or Veado. The horse, too, of which great
herds roamed the prairies of North America, made its way into the
southern continent at an early period. It died out, however, before
the coming of the Europeans ; a scientific problem as yet unsolved,
since the conditions of life remained unchanged and the horses
introduced by the Spaniards profited by them to run wild and
multiply exceedingly.

The Ungulates were followed by their enemies, the Garnivora;
the two great cats, the Jaguar and the Puma, invaded South America.
The Jaguar or Painted Ounce (Onga pintada) has become cautious,
as a result of persecution by hunters and trappers. It is a magnificent
animal, not much smaller than a tiger, and in any case larger than
its cousin the Leopard, a bolder animal, which I often encountered
in Ceylon. Like the Leopard, the Jaguar appears to have a liking

M 177

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

for the flesh of dogs. The Puma is easily tamed, and of all the
carnivora it is one of the fittest to become the graceful domestic
companion of the animal-lover.

In addition to these two great cats, there is a whole series of
smaller species, from the Ocelot, a small edition of the Jaguar, to
the wild cat of the South, very like the wild cat of Europe. There
is also a wolf in Brazil, but the great development of his molars
shows that he is herbivorous as well as carnivorous. He is conse-
quently harmless to sheep and cattle, and of course to man, his flesh
diet consisting of Preyas and wildfowl. A smaller wild dog is of
interest to zoologists because it represents a transitional form,
approaching the martens. More common than either of these animals
is the handsome Brazilian fox, which ravages the henroosts ; but its
valuable skin is an adequate indemnity.

There is in Brazil a whole series of weasel-like carnivora, such as
the blackish-brown Irara, with a yellow patch on the throat, and
the Grison, with a light-grey back and a dark-grey belly. These
animals, of course, are destructive to poultry, but may be tamed,
and are among the favourite domestic animals of the Indians. Of
greater importance is the Skunk, with his black coat, marked by
two white stripes on the back (Plate 31). This animal, which wards
off its assailants by the ejection of a stinking fluid, hunts the venomous
snakes of the country, eating them, with the greatest complacency,
from the tail upwards, while the reptile, with open jaws, desperately
strikes at its enemy. The Cangamba, as the Brazilians call the Skunk,
is quite unperturbed.

I must not omit to mention the large Brazilian Otter — much
persecuted, unhappily, on account of its valuable skin — and the
volatile Raccoon, and the Kinkajous, which, like so many of the
animals of the Brazilian forests, have prehensile tails; they are
gentle creatures, and the Indians welcome them as housemates.
The Coatis have always been favourite pets, and in many courtyards
one sees these creatures — they are red, and the size of a cat — leaping
about at the end of a cord. With its pointed head and mobile, trunk-
like nose the Goati slyly follows one's movements, and quick as
lightning, when one comes within reach, runs up one's body, per-
forming all sorts of antics. The Goati is quite fearless and thinks
nothing of attacking a dog. Its behaviour is objectionable only if it
manages to break loose; then it hastens into the nearest room,
playful as a naughty child, tumbles everything about, and investi-
gates it so thoroughly that it is soon in fragments. Nothing remains

178

Plate XV

VIRGIN FOREST, SERINGAL

BURITY-PALM IN SWAMP-FOREST

LIANAS IN VIRGIN FOREST, PERNAMBUGO

THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

intact if the Coati is left to itself; but a gentleman who had for a
long time kept a Coati assured me that there was one remedy. One
must leave a brush in the room; the Coati would grasp this before
anything else, and would brush its long tail with enthusiasm,
becoming too absorbed in this occupation to think about further
tricks.

On the whole, the Brazilian carnivora, like the Brazilian monkeys,
have something lovable about them. The Indians of Brazil, who
are a gentle people — as we shall see if we read the enthusiastic
descriptions of Koch-Grunberg — and have always been great lovers
of animals, domesticate all sorts of animals and birds as household
pets. The explorer Martins was impressed by this love of animals,
and he records that in the Indians' huts he saw as many tame
monkeys as human beings.

"Every member of the family has, among these monkeys and
handsomely-plumaged parrots, whose company is often increased by
a sloth, captured alive, or a small anteater, his own favourite, with
whom he often converses. The monosyllabic paterfamilias watches
with silent amusement the droll movements of the menagerie. The
garrulous mother and the elder children spend hours in teaching
the parrots to speak. The children play in turn with whichever of
the animals happens to come their way."

The Indian lives on intimate terms with Nature; for him there
is no hard and fast dividing line between men and beasts. He knew
nothing of the senseless destruction of animals, of killing for the sake
of killing. If he wished to adorn himself with many-coloured feathers,
he employed blunt arrows with little discs instead of arrow-heads,
which only stunned the birds, so that he could take their feathers
and let them fly again. It touched me to handle these arrows in the
Parahyba museum.

So long as there were only Indians in Brazil, the fauna was pre-
served in all its wealth. Only with the coming of the white man was
it otherwise. It was he who wrote the last chapter of the history of
the Brazilian fauna, but in his hands it became a tragedy.

The tragedy of the human inhabitants of the country was worse
than that of the animals. From masters they became slaves, and
then hunted victims, and finally they had no refuge but the virgin
forests of the interior. The doom of the animal world unfolded itself
more slowly. In the beginning the as yet somewhat ineffective
weapons at man's disposal could not cope with the endless wealth
of animal life, ever renewed from the unexplored interior. The possi-

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

bility of a true slaughter, of mass destruction, was first offered by the
breechloader.

In Brazil the hunter is free to hunt ; as yet there are no protective
laws. The consequence is that the larger animals — and even the
birds — are becoming rarer and rarer in the inhabited parts of the
country. In the State of Sao Paulo the Itahans, who have migrated
thither in very large numbers, are accustomed to kill, if they can,
every little bird they see, in order to put it in the pot. Fancelli
reckons that in Italy the number of birds killed yearly must amount
to one and a half millions. Moreover — and this is the greatest
danger — industry is already beginning to lay hands upon the living
jewels of the country. Industry, however, can be profitable only if
its raw materials — in this case the birds and animals of Brazil — are
delivered to it wholesale, for machinery offers it the possibility of
making a whole series of objects at the same cost and with the same
power, and so of offering goods at a price impossible to the craftsman.

For industry the featiiers of the Brazilian birds are of the first
importance. The magnificent Silver Heron or Egret, the Gar9a real
of the Brazilians, bears on its back, at the mating-season, the
beautiful plumes known to the trade as aigrettes, and the way in
which this dazzling bird, an incomparable adornment of the land-
scape, has been persecuted all the world over, and in many places
completely extirpated, is one of the most shocking tragedies of the
animal world. In Venezuela alone, according to the official statistics,
1,538,738 Egrets were killed in the year 1898, while ten years later
only 257,916 could be secured, so far had the work of extermination
advanced. The gist of the matter, which should give everyone food
for thought, is simply this : in order that a few men may make
money, and women wear an ornament for a few years, some of the
loveliest creatures on earth are being destroyed for all time.

Fashion is a capricious goddess, and although to-day it is not con-
sidered fashionable to trim hats with the skins of humming-birds, it
may be so to-morrow. But these fascinating birds — and others as
well, such as the Sahys and the Sanha^us — may be used for other
purposes besides trimming hats. Before the war I read that there
was a shoemaker in Paris who was making ladies' shoes of humming-
bird skins, two hundred skins being required for a single pair.
According to Kaeflein, before the war 400,000 skins of humming-
birds and 360,000 of other birds were imported into Europe from
Brazil in a comparatively short space of time.

Fur animals do not play the same part in Brazil as in colder

180

THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL

countries ; nevertheless, the Brazilian Otter, or Lontra, is said to be
nearly extinct as a result of reckless persecution. Workbaskets and
bonbonnieres are made of the armoured shell of the Armadillo, and
one single business house in Hanover has sold more than a thousand
of such baskets. Even the beautiful beetles and butterflies become
objects of foreign trade. In the woods of Tijuca I saw with great
satisfaction that placards had been posted forbidding the destruction
or removal of natural objects. But apparently the splendid blue
Morpho butterfly was not regarded as a natural object, for by the
waterfall it was offered for sale to the public in boxes. In Rio too I
saw in the shop-windows all sorts of ridiculous things which had
been made out of the metallic blue wings of the Morpho.

If the original natural environment were still extant in all parts
of Brazil, the danger of extirpation would not be great. But as we
saw in the last chapter, the soil is being more and more widely
cultivated, and at the same time the forest is being destroyed in
regions which are unfitted for agricultural exploitation. The animals
thereby lose their refuge and their breeding-places; their natural
conditions of life are disturbed, and reckless persecution may easily
make an end of them. Not only will Brazil have lost its loveliest
jewels, but agriculture, as I have already pointed out, will have been
deprived of its best auxiliaries.

For this reason every Brazilian who loves his country and has its
future at heart should do his utmost to ensure the passing of pro-
tective laws. Mexico has taken measures to protect its green Quetzals,
its antelopes, and its wild sheep, and has restored large areas to their
natural state. On the motion of Dr. Leon Suarez the Pan-American
scientific Congress of Lima (1924) resolved that the individual States
should appoint commissions for the protection of natural life. The
Argentine has just appointed such a commission for the protection of
threatened animal and vegetable species. Professor Hugo Salomon
of Buenos Aires being the president. It is high time that Brazil did
the like ; for now Matto Grosso, Goyaz and other parts of the interior
are beginning to be cultivated, which hitherto, with their intact
natural environment, were able to replenish the fauna which was
progressively receding from the coastal belt. Once the interior is
completely cleared it will be too late to save the animal life of Brazil.

The following measures are of prime importance :

I, The export of the skins and feathers of birds must be prohibited
under penalties. These natural adornments are for Brazil, not for
the hats of European women.

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

2. Close seasons for game animals must be established. The
shooting and trapping of birds and the taking of nests should be
forbidden, at least in the settled areas. Measures should be taken to
protect the finest and most seriously threatened butterflies, particu-
larly the Morphidae, and such animals as the Great Anteater, the
Great Armadillo, the Otter, certain monkeys, and other species. It
is also of importance to establish large natural sanctuaries — reserva-
tions and national parks — in which settlement and the use of fire-
arms must be prohibited.

3. Measures must be considered and elaborated which will enable
animals, and particularly birds, to find their natural conditions of
life despite the increasing cultivation of the soil : it must also be
ascertained which trees and bushes had best be left for nesting
purposes, etc. The best plan would be to create a special depart-
ment for the protection of wild birds and natural conditions.

Above all, the people of Brazil must be taught to love Nature,
and to enrich their hearts and minds instead of filling their pockets
and stomachs. I often came upon young men shooting birds "just
for fun." What would be said of anyone who shattered the decora-
tions of our churches and public buildings merely to pass the time?
The most glorious temple of any country is its natural beauty ; the
birds and animals are its living ornaments, and he who does not
respect them is robbing his own country, injuring its health, and
undermining its future.

XI

NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

IJRAZIL is a land of wonders, where birds fly like insects and
insects like birds.

The Humming-birds, indeed (Plate 28, 2 to 5), which the
Brazilians prettily call Beijqflores — that is, "flower-kissers" — are
quite unlike other birds, if only by reason of their smallness ; there
are insects in Brazil which are larger. These enchanting little
creatures appear in a flash, hover before a flower with wings that
vibrate so rapidly that one can see them only as a shimmering
radiance, while one hears not a rustle, but a hum like that of the
propeller of a distant aeroplane. Suddenly, as by magic, the bird
has disappeared. Next moment, however, it is hovering in front of
another flower; it twists and turns by starts, still suspended in the
air, and suddenly it is gone. No other birds but only the hawk-
moths behave in such a fashion, and just as the latter uncoil a long
trunk, which they plunge into the corolla of a flower in order to
reach its nectaries, so the Humming-bird thrusts its long, curved
bill into the flowers. It is, of course, looking less for honey than for
the insects which are found in the depths of the flowers. Flowers
and Humming-birds, however, belong together just as do flowers
and insects, for the fertilization of various flowers is, as we shall see,
effected by Humming-birds.

The Humming note of the almost incredibly rapid wing-beats of
the Humming-birds has its counterpart in the insect world. Bumble-
bees, carpenter-bees and wasps, magnificent forms of which are
found in Brazil, hum during their flight; so does the Splendid
Phanaeus, a great green dung-beetle with the shimmer of red on
its wing-covers ; and a yet louder hum is emitted by the Cicadas
when their glassy wings bear their heavy bodies through the air.
And the huge green grasshopper hums as it flies; an insect which
I was always encountering in the cashew-forest of Pernambuco, and
which really flies like a bird.

The flight of the great Caligo butterfly resembles the flight of
certain birds — namely, the Goatsuckers. A bluish gleam flashes
amidst the stems of the darkening forest. Now it comes nearer,
flitting towards us on wings as large as a man's hand, on whose
under side we see great eyes, like those of an owl.

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

In Brazil, then, the naturaUst meets with something surprising
at every step; every creature is unHke the creatures that he knows
at home, and he is filled with reverence before such an inexhaustible
wealth of forms. But he cannot be content with mere amazement ;
he longs to understand something of the wealth of species offered by
the world about him. And he is struck, in the first place, by two
things, and he perceives that they are mutually interdependent;
on the one hand, the overwhelming powers of multiplication
possessed by animals and plants alike, and on the other, the enor-
mously varied conditions of life which this earth affords.

As a matter of fact, every plant, every animal, could by itself
overpopulate the earth. In order to realize this, we have only to
calculate the number of the descendants produced by any animal
over a series of years — presuming, of course, that all survive and
multiply. We shall perceive at once that from the very outset some
counteracting factor is necessary. This factor is found in the living
substance itself, which is a delicate and mutable mass, and cannot
thrive equally in all situations, but must have its special conditions
of life : namely, a certain temperature, humidity, nutriment, etc.
But the conditions of life are not uniform in all parts of the earth,
for the surface of our planet varies greatly in character : it has hot
plains and cold mountain peaks, torrid and arctic zones, water and
land, light and darkness, and all in innumerable gradations. Even
though life is endowed with the urge to propagate itself incessantly,
and to fill the whole earth, it must always adapt itself to these
different conditions, and vary its form and its characters accordingly.
And here we have the first reason for the multiplicity of forms existing
in the animal and vegetable worlds.

Moreover : if we were set the task of filling a chest with stones so
completely that the last and tiniest chink was filled up, we could
accomplish it only by taking stones of different sizes, down to the
finest particles of sand, with which to fill up the remaining spaces.
All these stones would have to be most carefully fitted together.
But even if this task of meticulous adjustment could be accomplished,
what difficulties would arise if the stones all insisted on moving in
prescribed orbits ! Here human skill would be utterly baffled. With
what reverence, then, should we regard Nature, by whom this
problem has been solved !

Let us take any tract of woodland, a grassy plain, or a pond :
we shall see that to every condition of life which such a fragment
of Nature offers some living creature has adapted itself, and that

184

Plate XVI

i ree-ferns ix forest near no\a friburgo (2,6oo feet above

sea-level)

TREE-FERNS IN CEYLON (aT 6,500 FEEt) FOR COMPARISON

NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

no possibility is left unexploited. And yet the plants are growing,
and their seeds are laying claim to fresh soil ; and the animals have
the power of movement. The whole is like a piece of clockwork.
Every living creature is a tiny wheel that turns in such a way that
it does not hinder the rest, and yet it is so fitted into the whole
that it cannot leap out of its framework. And it seems as though
the clockmaker were continually testing his work, to discover
whether there is not yet some little corner unused, whereupon he
fits in yet another little wheel. The whole is so devised that it is
self-regulating, and adapts itself to new modifications. All these are
qualities lacking in our technical creations, for they are the qualities
of life itself.

We call the individual creature which is capable of maintaining
itself and regulating its activities an organism. An organism is a
harmony of the parts within the idea of the whole. In Chapter VIII
we saw how all the organs of the human body co-operate har-
moniously to maintain the body. The same harmony exists in every
animal, every plant, and in every department of Nature ; and lastly,
it exists in the whole living world of any country which possesses
a special individuality. Such a country is Brazil.

No Brazilian animal lives entirely to itself; each is dependent on
others ; its relation to them is a necessary one, and cannot be filled
by any other creature. We shall understand the individual animal
only if we consider it in relation to others. And to learn what this
is we must first of all consider its environment, its natural habitation.

And here a comparison with human conditions will help to elucidate
the matter. When a block of flats is let, a certain apartment is
assigned to each family before it moves in ; otherwise confusion and
strife would ensue. Now the forest may be said to contain a number
of different stories, and even these are divided among the birds
according to a predetermined scheme. The birds do not simply
build their nests in any indiflferent position, as chance may direct;
each bears within its breast the inexorable command to build in
a certain situation, whether in a bush or a tree, or on the ground.
If it cannot find the proper situation it does not without more ado
put up with another, but either goes further, or does not nest at all.
For the individual bird such compulsion is, of course, unpractical,
but it is essential to the order of the whole.

On the floor of the forest, and particularly in the dense thickets

185

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

of the capoeira, the little woodcock builds, the Inhambu, and in
the grasses of the campos the brown birds which the Brazilians call
quails and partridges, although they are related not to their
European namesakes, but to the same Inhambu. The Sucurii
(Plate 28) digs a hole in the ground, while the Jacamars, resplendent
in bronze-green, with long bills, and resembling large humming-
birds, make their long nesting-tunnels in the sloping river-banks,
as do the kingfishers.

Even those birds that build in the branches do not choose any
convenient position; one species prefers the lower boughs of the
bushes, another builds at a medium height, and others nest in the
tree-tops ; the latter are either particularly sturdy birds, or birds of
prey, for in the tree-tops the nests are for the most part exposed to
the gaze of the feathered brigands who hover above the wood, and
the smaller birds fear such enemies more than any others.

It is interesting to note that the structure of the tropical forest,
which differs so greatly from that of a European wood, has in-
duced quite different methods of building the nest. The scaffold-like
structure of the tropical forest offers points of support everywhere,
not only for epiphytes, but for the nests of birds, and the tangle of
lianas running in all directions enables even heavy birds to leave
the ground and fly from perch to perch, as though in a hen-roost.
So the great game-birds of Brazil, the black Hokkos or Mutiim or
Curassows, and the rather smaller Jacus, with their red wattles,
nest in the trees, while our European game-birds nest on the ground.
These Brazilian wildfowl prefer as a rule to keep off the ground, and
the Jacus, if disturbed, do not at once fly off, but hop from bough to
bough and from liana to liana, quickly and silently disappearing
from sight.

Most of the smaller European birds build their nests in trees or
bushes, in the crotches of boughs, or where a branch divides into
twigs, and they prefer trees and bushes of no great height, since
bushes are thicker and twigs more numerous near the ground.

In the tropics, where the foliage is more open, it is not so easy
to conceal a nest in a bush or thicket. Even when I was in Ceylon
it struck me that there more birds nest in holes in the trees
than is the case in Europe. With its larger masses of timber, the
tropical forest affords more numerous opportunities for this method
of nesting ; the more frequent ramification of the trees into boughs,
which often turn perpendicularly upwards, is partly responsible;
in the angles of the boughs, which are exposed to the drip of rain,
186

NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

the wood often rots, leaving a hollow. Thus, in Brazil the birds that
nest in holes do not depend exclusively on the woodpecker, that
born carpenter, who in Europe works for mice, doves and owls.
The parrots, with their strong beaks, can quickly excavate and
enlarge a rotten spot on a bough or tree trunk. They too nest in
hollow trees, until we come to the Monk Parroquet or Lory of the
Southern Argentine, which builds a great nest of brushwood, like
the birds of which I am about to speak.

As regards the nest-building birds of Brazil, it is a striking fact
that many species appear to take no pains to conceal their nests.
In a tropical forest this indeed is not absolutely disastrous, for the
trees display so many foreign bodies, what with epiphytes, and the
nests of ants and termites and other insects, that a nest resting on
an exposed bough is not so conspicuous as it would be in Europe.
Moreover, many of the Brazilian birds build covered or enclosed
nests, in which the eggs and nestlings are concealed from sight.
They are egg-shaped or pouch-like, and have the opening at one
side. Most of the Tyrannidae build such nests, and so do the Bemtevis.
The little Teque teque even builds a gabled roof over the entrance-
hole, so that the nest has an artificial appearance. Several of the
tree-thrushes too build closed nests, and so does the Sebito (Plate 28),
which I was able to observe at work.

At the same time, the birds are careful to avoid easily accessible
positions for their nests. I often found the nest of the brown and
white wagtail or Lavandeiras, of which I have often spoken ; a
carelessly-made, almost spherical nest, built in a bush rising from
the water; it was visible a long way off, but was inaccessible to
robbers. When the young birds were first taken abroad the parent
birds were very much on the alert, and flew excitedly hither and
thither, uttering a lively pleck, pleck if I approached. The starlings —
the Checheous, for example — hang their bottle-shaped nests from
branches of riverside trees projecting far over the water, so that
frequently they almost touch the surface. The black Japus hang their
long wallet from the extreme tip of a palm-leaf, and often build
in whole colonies ; a tree full of such nests is an astonishing sight.
The Japiis are sturdy birds, almost as large as crows; for them
combination spells security, all taking the part of each. Of the
Anums it is even said that several pairs of these black cuckoos will
occupy a single nest, sitting on their eggs in peaceful juxtaposition.

I saw such a case with my own eyes, the owners of the nest being
"Bundle-nesters." These birds, which the Brazilians call Ferreiros

187

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

(Smiths) because their "song" sounds like the noise made by a
knife-grinder, were described in Chapter VII as among the charac-
teristic birds of the Sertao. They are, however, common throughout
Brazil (Plates 21 and 28). I often saw the species which is found in
northern Brazil, and which constructs enormous bundles of brush-
wood, at work upon its nest. (This is the bird which the Indians call
Turucuhe.) First a twig is laid in the crotch of a bough ; and the
next few twigs are carefully fitted together. If one falls to the ground
the bird utters its call, trip, trip, trip, trip in rapid crescendo, retrieves
the twig, and replaces it among the others. Finally a great bundle of
brushwood, often as long as a man's body, hangs from the bough,
pulling this down with its weight (Plate 21). I have known two
pairs of birds build such a nest in complete agreement. There were
two separate entrances ; one pair slipped into the upper part of the
nest, while the other entered a little lower down. Once, when I
picked such a nest to pieces, which I was able to do without difficulty,
except that I had to beware of thorns, I found three nests, one over
another; they were lined with poultry-feathers, and a number of
cast snake-skins were woven into the structure.

These little brown birds have thus contrived a nest which is a
fortress impregnable to the attacks of birds and beasts of prey;
and its security is increased by the fact that a new nest is built
every year, while the old nest is left hanging, and holds together
for years, so that one never knows which nest is inhabited. These
great bundles give the landscape of north-eastern Brazil, and
especially that of the Sertao, a definite and most individual character.

Another nest which is visible from a great distance is built by the
Potter-bird, Joao de barro or "Clay Johnny." This coffee-coloured
bird, of the size of a thrush, first attracted my attention at Petropolis.
He had built his clay pot, with the rounded bottom uppermost,
on a bare, horizontal bough. The side entrance led into a vestibule,
which was divided from the nest proper by a low partition. This
nest was visible from a considerable distance ; the birds were flying
to and from it quite openly, and now and again the cock emitted
his prolonged, wooden-sounding trill. In the park of Palermo in
Buenos Aires the potter-bird is a conspicuous inhabitant, hopping
all over the lawns.

For nesting-material the Brazilian birds have an ampler choice of
material than is available in Europe. Many palm-leaves, when they
are withered, split into long fibres, and these, which are exploited
by our human industries also, yield a strong textile material. I once

188

NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

saw a Sebito pull these fibres from a palm-tree while on the wing,
and fly with them to its nest. For lining the nests the finest wadding
is available; the birds have only to pull it from the ripe capsules
of the cotton-plant. I once saw a Humming-bird adopt an even
easier method, pulling the cotton for his nest — which was no bigger
than a walnut — from the nest of a Wagtail, hovering motionless
before it with humming wings.

There are several Brazilian birds which even seek refuge with
man. The Brazilian Canary rears its brood under the tiles of the
roof, as our sparrows do in Europe, and swallows too build their
nests in stables and vestibules. These nests, however, are not built
of clay, but are woven of a sort of felt ; they are spherical in form,
and have a long bottle-neck entrance underneath. The Vira bosta
(literally, cow-dung turner) lays its eggs, like our cuckoo, in the
nests of other birds. It is a black bird, fond of frequenting cattle
and picking the ticks from their backs.

Just as the dwelling is by no means a matter of chance, so with the
domicile ; every locality has its special inhabitant, which is compelled
to remain there by the fact that its body is so constructed that it
cannot be comfortable elsewhere. Thus, lizards prefer the sun-
light, and toads the shade ; and similarly there are sun- and shade-
loving insects ; and some which prefer the upper surfaces of leaves,
while others prefer the under side, or the boughs. Monkeys, sloths,
raccoons and opossums live in the trees ; deer, foxes, pumas and
agoutis on the ground. The forest and the plain have each their own
forms of life, and very often quite closely related species are found
in each; it is thus with many of the rodents, and the larger and
smaller deer, and the carnivora, and the gallinaceous birds, and
other species. The mountains, too, have a different fauna at different
altitudes.

As in a school whose classrooms are not large enough to contain
all the pupils different classes and different subjects may be taught
in succession at different hours of the day, so birds and animals
and insects, in a state of Nature, may apportion between them
the hours of the day. There are creatures which seek their food by
day : as do most of the birds, the monkeys, and the squirrels ; and
others which profit by the hours of the night, as do the majority
of the mammals, the owls, and the goatsuckers. The venomous
snakes do not go abroad until it is dark, since their victims — for the

189

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

most part rodents — do not come out of hiding until the night has
fallen; whereas the non-venomous snakes hunt their prey — frogs
and lizards — in the daytime. The birds are most lively and con-
spicuous in the morning ; in the heat of noon many of the insects
become active; the lizards are most vivacious when the sun is at
its hottest, and the Jacares too, like all the crocodiles, first come
ashore when they can bask in the vertical rays of the sun. For these
creatures, moreover, the heat of noon is a protection against their
arch-enemy man, who at this hour is reluctant to leave the shelter
of his house.

From the windy heights to the sub-soil, every level has its in-
habitants. Far overhead the Brazilian vultures, the Urubiis, hover
all day, scanning the widest possible area for signs of carrion. Below
them is the level of the swallows, hunting the insects on which they
live ; lower still the Humming-birds flit round the flowering shrubs.
All these are birds which pass the whole day without once alighting
on the ground, save for exceptional reasons. Of the loveliest Brazilian
butterflies, the metallic-blue Morphidae, one species, the Menelaus,
flies low and quickly along the green paths of the Tijuca forest;
another, the Anaxibia, flies at a height of thirty feet, floating along
in majestic tranquillity, for at that height enemies are rare.

Even the depths of the soil are, so to speak, divided into stories.
Immediately under the surface crawl the millipedes and centipedes,
which live on the mouldering leaves that lie on the ground. Beneath
them are the burrows of the mole-crickets, which graze upon the
roots of plants, as do the grubs of various beetles. The "two-headed
snakes," which are really lizards, and of which I shall speak in
Chapter XIX, likewise burrow into the soil. They are hunted by
the black, red and yellow coral-snakes. There are no moles in
Brazil, so the armadillos have to attend to the business of keeping
down the grubs.

Nature, then, acts like a wise agriculturalist, who so distributes
his fields among his workers that each can exploit his allotted area
without disturbing the others. Even the most out-of-the-way spots
are not forgotten. We have already seen that in the water which
the Bromelias retain between their leaf-insertions a whole series of
aquatic creatures contrives to exist. Even temporary accumulations
of water are utilized. Liiderwaldt found in the water contained by
the still unfolded leaves of the Heliconia a large, light-brown slug
and several small water-beetles. When the leaves unfold the water
is spilt, and the inhabitants must retire to other and younger leaves.
190

NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

How many creatures find a safe refuge in the nest of the Leaf-
cutting Ant, including some that have no deahngs of any kind with
the ants ! I once found, in such a nest, three Kalangu Hzards, three
narrow-mouthed frogs, one other frog, various beetles, and one
coral snake of a non-venomous species. In Ceylon I always found,
in the air-shafts of the termitaries, the black scorpions of the country,
large as crayfish, and millipedes ; and if I searched several termi-
taries I could always be sure of finding the Spectacled Snake.

Even the voracity of the Rosy Caterpillar, which turns the con-
tents of the cotton-pod into a black pulp, provides many living
creatures with a lodging. Three small beetles make their home
there; the larva of a fly feeds on the pasty contents, full of the
droppings of the caterpillar, and also the caterpillars of another
species of moth. These creatures may be of service to the planter,
inasmuch as they eat the food of the Rosy Caterpillar, which is
obliged to leave the pod for another, and on the way may be seized
by one of its enemies. The little black Cotton-bug, which likewise
makes its appearance in the pods of the cotton-plant, sucks the sap
of even the healthy pods, and multiplies to such an extent that the
cotton-field emits a far-reaching and most disagreeable odour of bugs.

The relationships of which I have just been speaking afTect not
only the problem of domicile, for in them the food problem is an
essential factor. Now the problem of nourishment must not be
ignored in a chapter dealing with "Nature as an Organism," for
almost more plainly than by its distribution in space, the living
creature shows, by the choice of nourishment, that it is subject to
the influence of a great whole. We can understand that the food
supply must be most carefully apportioned. Otherwise all creatures
would fall upon the best food, or the easiest to reach, or would be
guided by mere chance. But then one area would soon be eaten
bare, and later comers, or offspring subsequently hatched from eggs,
would go hungry, while elsewhere food would be piling itself up
untouched.

Therefore the Morpho butterflies lay their eggs, according to
their species, either on the forest trees or on the climbing plants that
twine around them. Where the passion-flower climbs upwards at
the edge of the forest the black, red and yellow Heliconidae appear ;
the great Caligo, with the owl's eyes on the under side of its wings,
makes for the banana; and the Brassolis astyra, a handsome dark

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

butterfly with yellow crossbands, for the coconut-palm. The Thoas,
a great black and yellow Swallowtail, breeds on the lemon-trees,
and the brown and red, gently fluttering Danaid on the poisonous
Asclepiadiae, to which family the broad-leaved Wax-plant belongs.

For even the poisonous plants must be utilized, and they have
their lovers, whose digestive systems are so devised as to tolerate
their poison. Similarly, the venomous snakes are devoured by the
handsome black Mussurana, a harmless snake, and the Skunk kills
the largest rattlesnake without heeding its fangs.

What I have said of the butterflies is true likewise of the beetles,
grasshoppers and bugs. If an insect is adapted to feed on a certain
plant, it will inevitably find its way to its pasture, since it is only
on this plant that the mother insect will lay the egg from which the
insect is developed. The insects which grow to maturity on plants
of other species cannot deprive them of their food, since for them
it is not food at all. There are, of course, "polyphagous" creatures,
which can live on several kinds of plants. We might explain their
evolution as follows : At first each plant would have supported one
species of insect. After repeated experiment it would have proved
that this insect did not exploit its plant to the full, and yet that what
was left would not by itself be enough for another insect, whereas
it would suffice if eaten with what was left of other plants. Thus
insects might be intercalated which would have to feed upon three
or four kinds of plants, and then insects which ate whole groups or
families of plants, and finally insects which went everywhere and
ate whatever there was to be eaten.

At the same time, we must remember that no species of plant
can be entirely devoured. So much of it must always be left that
it can still flower and bring forth its fruit, in order to spring up
anew in the following year, otherwise the insects of the next genera-
tion would find nothing to eat. And for this reason the relation of
the insect to the plant must be a more subtle relation. The number
of eggs laid must be exactly proportioned to the amount of nourish-
ment provided. Small plants which grow singly in the midst of other
plants receive always only a few eggs. The butterfly flies on until
it comes to the next plant of this species, and again lays two or three
eggs, and so forth. Trees, on the other hand, which contain a surplus
of food in their massive crowns, may be favoured with all the eggs
of the insect whose larvae are adapted to live on them. The Brazilian
butterflies, however, are often very large, and so are their cater-
pillars. In order that these caterpillars, when feeding in such

192

Plate XVII

PETROPOLIS. IN THE FOREGROUND, GERMAN SCHOOL-CHILDREN

ARAUCARIAS IN FRONT OF THE YPIRANGA MUSEUM, SAO PAULO

NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

numbers, may not at once be perceived by their enemies, many
of them feed only by night. By day they all assemble and take
refuge, packed together, in a rolled-up leaf This, for example, is
how the caterpillars of the Brassolis, which feed on the coconut-palm,
pass the day. The caterpillars of the blue Morpho Hercules, on
the other hand, crawl down the trunk of their tree, or down the
nearest liana, and huddle together at the foot of the stem. The
smooth, dark, moist mass of caterpillars constitutes a repulsive-
looking object, unless indeed it is mistaken for a mere outgrowth
of the tree-trunk.

Not only the insects, of course, must perforce adapt themselves
to the ordered scheme of Nature, but also slugs, snails, worms,
fishes, birds and mammals. And not only the leaves of the plants,

but the flowers and fruits are

edible, and for all of them the *'=^u . ~^ "

appropriate creatures are ap- '''^^~

pointed. We can tell the diet
of the birds from the form of
the beak ; the grain-eaters have
short, strong beaks, which en-
able them to crack the husks
of the grain; the insect-eaters
have long, slender bills, which
can extract a caterpillar from
the crevices in the bark of a tree as well as a pair of tweezers,
or snap up flies when the bird is on the wing. The powerful
beak of the parrots, of which not only the lower but also the upper
mandible is movable, helps the bird not merely to climb, but also
to crack the hardest nutshells, and a rasp-like roughening of the
beak prevents the shell from slipping between the mandibles. In the
Macaws or Araras the root of the beak is reinforced, so that they
are able to crush even the stone-hard shells of various palm-nuts.

Even the aquatic plants have their devotees. Since the Hippo-
potamus is not found in the great Brazilian rivers, its place is taken
by a pecuHar creature which seems a cross between a sea-lion and
a whale, and which grazes on the aquatic plants with such assiduity
that its stomach and intestines are constantly full of them. This
great animal has a wide horizontal tail, and two flippers in the
place of arms, and since its head, when it thrusts it out of the water,
bears a remote resemblance to that of a hornless cow, the BraziHans
caU this aquatic animal the "Ox-fish," Peixe boi; English sailors

N 193

Fig. 12. — Manatee or Peixe boi. Natural
length, ic to 16 feet.

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

have called it the sea-cow; it is better known as the Manatee

or Dugong. There is also a real fish, the Tambaqui, which

grazes on the Eichhornia, and even eats the flowers of the
Victoria regia.

We have hitherto regarded this ordered scheme of Nature only
as it benefits the eaters. But since Nature is a harmonious whole,
no animal and no plant is especially favoured, but each is so con-
ditioned as is best for the continuance of its species. And as the
animals, birds and insects need the plants, that they may live on
them, so conversely the plants need the animals, birds and insects.
For a plant, if it had no creatures to eat it, would multiply unchecked,
and would finally be stifled by the very excess of its own shoots or
saplings. In a sense the insects are gardeners, who prune the plants
to prevent them from running to leaves. And inasmuch as they
prevent every plant from spreading too vigorously, they keep it in
its proper place, and the other species of plants are able to grow
beside it.

Provision, however, is made to ensure that this pruning is kept
within the proper limits. The insects themselves must not multiply
so excessively as to devour these food-plants entirely, for then they
would perish for want of the only form of nourishment which agrees
with them. Nature achieves this regulation by ensuring that every
insect, and indeed every animal, has it enemies, which keep it
within the necessary bounds by devouring the surplus of the race.
But in order that things may not be left to chance, when great
numbers of insects would be swept away, while others would be
hardly touched, the hunters too have been specialized, and each
species has its enemies, who are precisely adapted to its special
peculiarities.

Thus, there are birds which catch creeping insects, and others
which snap up flying insects. If in Europe the early summer is cold
and rainy, most of the young swallows and fly-catchers perish, for
the insects do not fly in cold rainy weather, and we then regret that
these delightful little birds cannot eat worms and caterpillars instead.
But once more we must take the broad view, that the flying insects
must have their enemies, and that these, under normal circum-
stances, have more than enough to eat.

In Brazil, where there is no winter, the insects are able to fly
all the year through, and so we find in Brazil an unusual number

194

NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

of birds which feed principally or even exclusively on insects captured
on the wing. Such birds will sit motionless on an elevated perch,
or perhaps a post, from which they can see in all directions; then
suddenly they take the air, catch a passing insect, and return to
their perch with a graceful curving flight. Among such birds are
the "Widows," black birds with white heads, the Pipridae, most
of which have in their plumage a good deal of black, which em-
phasizes the brilliance of the red, yellow or white head, and above
all the Tyrants, relatives of the Bemtevis, the Siriris, and the pretty
"Scissors-birds" with the long forked tails. The Tyrants, in their
flight and behaviour, are very Uke the Bee-eaters of Asia and
Africa, though the blue-green and yellow plumage of the latter is
more brilliantly coloured. They devote themselves more especially
to the chase of sting-bearing insects.

Birds follow the insects into their most secret hiding-places. The
tiny beetles which cling to the stamens of flowers and feed on honey
are captured by the Humming-birds, whose small size and long
bills enable them to draw the insects from their hiding-places,
while their extremely adroit flight enables them to hover motionless
before a flower. This ability to hover is most necessary, for the
flower-stalks, to say nothing of the stamens, are too delicate to bear
the weight of the bird, and many flowers are accessible only from
the air. I have often been struck by the great numbers of insects
living in tropical flowers ; in particular whole flocks of the short-
winged beetles may be seen adhering to the stamens.

Even the beetles and grubs which burrow in wood, and are
apparently quite secure from the dangers of the outer world, are
dragged out of their dark retreats. How comprehensive is the
adaptation of the Woodpecker to its task! The legs are set well
back, so that the whole body can follow the stroke of the powerful
beak ; and when the dark tunnels are laid open the long, protrusible,
and excessively sensitive tongue, with its needle-like point, transfixes
the insects, or catches them with its asperities. There are many fine
woodpeckers in Brazil, resplendent in black, white and red, or in
yellow and green (Plate 28).

The larvae of gnats and mosquitoes concealed in the ooze of
ponds and rivers are eaten by the ducks, whose broad, fringed bills
constitute a sieve which lets the ooze escape and retains the larvae.
The appetite of these voracious birds is in proportion to the amount
of food at their disposal.

In the tropics the Ant family is most abundantly represented,

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and many a naturalist has been impressed by the fact that under
stones which in Europe would conceal Carabidae, one is surprised
almost always to find ants. In Brazil, therefore, a whole series of
birds have accustomed themselves to living on ants. The Bemtevi
and the "Scissors-bird," when the "Igas" — that is, the females of
the Driver Ant or Sauva — are scrambling all over the paths, fill
their crops with these formidable insects, and prevent the formation
of many a fresh nest of the mischievous Leafcutting Ants. But there
is also in Brazil a whole group of specialized "Ant-birds," containing
many species, which assist the Anteaters — mammals which have
adapted themselves to the same diet — to prevent these redoubtable
insects from gaining the upper hand. Of some of these birds, such
as the Fire-eye (Plate 28, Fig. 23), whose red eye glitters most
uncannily in its setting of black plumage, Dr. Snethlage has observed
that they seek out the great processions of the Driver Ants, not
in order to eat the ants themselves, but rather to devour the insects
which these savage marauders (of which I shall say something later)
drive before them. For days on end these birds follow the Drivers,
looking down on them from some branch near the ground, and
immediately seizing all the grasshoppers and beetles that hurry to
one side, thinking themselves already saved.

But even the hunters of the insects must themselves be under con-
trol, and so they too are pursued by other creatures, which limit
their multiphcation. The insect-eating birds are eaten by birds and
beasts of prey, and the rodents, and other small mammals also,
have similar enemies. Thus one wheel of the great mechanism
gears into another, and there are whole trains of such interdependent
wheels. For example, the shooting of birds of prey may result in
the destruction of the cotton-crop. As I have already explained,
the cotton-pods are destroyed by the Rosy Caterpillar. This would
multiply far less readily were there plenty of the small birds known
as Sebitos in the neighbourhood. Now, if the birds of prey are
destroyed the Blue Ravens and Hudiis are rid of their most deter-
mined enemies. These birds, with their blue, white and black, or
blue, redj black and green plumage, are among the loveliest of
birds, but they have, like our jays, the regrettable habit of devouring
the eggs and nestlings of smaller birds, and where they are too
numerous they may prevent the propagation of a small bird like
the Sebito. For the sake of the smaller birds there must be large
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NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

birds of prey ; so that any disturbance of the equilibrium of Nature
may make itself felt in a wholly unexpected direction.

From such considerations it indubitably follows that birds and
beasts of prey are necessary. They regulate the proper mutual propor-
tions of the individual species ; if they were absent, now one and
now another species of predatory bird or animal would multiply so
profusely that it would become unduly destructive, or it might even
finally perish from lack of food or disease. Now, since man himself
is a beast of prey, he seeks to drive his competitors away from the
banquet of life. If he himself wants to eat the Pacas and Preyas,
he tries to exterminate the foxes and birds of prey which have an
appetite for the same food. But how can we hope that the harmony
of Nature will be preserved if man himself plays the part of the
beasts of prey?

In any case, the most requisite measure is to ensure that close
seasons are established for wild birds and animals. For the fox
can never exterminate the creatures which are his prey, since his
strength and cunning are so proportioned with regard to the swiftness
of these rodents, and their ability to conceal themselves, that an
equilibrium is maintained. Man, with his superior intelligence and
his long-range weapons, can and will, if he does not restrain him-
self, exterminate all these creatures ; moreover, by transforming the
landscape he deprives them of their natural environment.

There is also a second consideration. Man shoots his game as it
offers itself to his fowling-piece or rifle ; swift and slow, all are within
reach of his gun. The beasts of prey, on the other hand, find it
difficult to catch the creatures which they hunt if these are speedy
and full of life. Their victims are mostly the weaker individuals,
and if an animal is sick or wounded they are certain to catch it.
We know that our dogs can always tell by the scent if one of their
own kind, or even if their master, is ill; and we know that when
a bitch is on heat dogs will come running in from such a distance
that we cannot imagine how they can have learned of her condition.
In Brazil, as in Germany, I have often seen carnivora quite close
to their usual prey, yet neither animal seemed to take any notice
of the other ; for both were healthy and on the alert, and a chase
would have been unavailing. But if a beast of prey discovers the
trail of a sick animal it knows at once that it will be able to secure
it, and follows the trail until it has seized its victim.

For this reason the herds of cattle on the steppes expel all sick
and aged animals from their community, and other animals too

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hate their sick fellows; they will bite them and drive them
away without compunction. To us such behaviour seems cruel,
but it is merely a measure of self-protection. If a sick animal
were retained in the herd the latter would constantly be
followed by beasts of prey, so that the rest would never be out
of danger.

By always seizing upon the sick and weakly animals, the carnivora
protect the rest from infection and degeneration. The weaker
animals are devoured before they are mature, so that they cannot
bring forth young to inherit their weakly bodies. The carnivora are,
amongst other things, the sanitary police of Nature ; they are, so to
speak, her physicians.

As in Europe, so in America, one hears of cases in which the
extermination of beasts of prey has been productive not of good
but of mischievous results. In Florida the destruction of the alligators
was followed by an increase of other pests, such as the venomous
moccasin snakes ; in Louisiana the musk-rats multiplied exceedingly,
and did much damage to crops by extensive burrowing. In India
various villages have protested against the shooting of the tigers,
because these feed chiefly on wild swine, which, in the absence of
their enemies, multiply so rapidly and become so audacious that
the villagers may lose their whole harvest. These tigers, however,
do not attack man.

In a state of Nature the distinction between useful and noxious
animals does not exist. Every animal, whether hunter or quarry,
is in its place in the great mechanism, and a necessary part of the
whole. This really goes without saying, for however far we go back
in the world's history, wherever we find life there we shall find
beasts of prey. They have always existed, and nevertheless animal
life has been abundant and flourishing. The human physician
confines his attentions to the sick ; Nature appHes herself to keeping
the healthy in health; and if we compare the wholesome world
of the animals with the world of man and his domestic creatures —
plagued with all sorts of illnesses, with obesity, and weak sight, and
other infirmities — we shall form a diflferent idea of the apparent
cruelty of Nature, and declare that she is the better and more
merciful physician.

Nothing, therefore, could be more foolish than to play the judge,
and to attempt to sentence the carnivora to death on account
of their "bloodthirsty nature." It is not their fault that their intes-
tines are adapted only to a flesh diet, and any reproach is really

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NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

directed not against them, but against the Power which made them
as they are.

If now, having recognized the modus operandi of Nature, we leave
the virgin forest of Ako da Serra in Sao Paulo, and gaze across the
grassy levels, rippling in the wind, where the sky-blue Sword-lilies
and the white Polygala stand out in their dehcate loveliness (Plate 1 1),
the whole beautiful picture will seem transparent as a painting on
glass, and we shall see behind it the work of a controlling hand.
The insects which float over the flower-enamelled plain will now
seem to us like gardeners, each of which appUes the pruning-knife
to its special plant, so that it shall not grow too rankly; and the
birds, operating from the thickets and the edge of the forest, control
this activity, removing those gardeners who have become superfluous,
and the hawks circling in the breeze regulate the numbers of the
birds.

This fragment of Nature, like every other, oflfers us an example
of a sensitively organized economy. Here that which is in the
depths of the soil rises in time to people the winds ; ever more delicate
and active forms of life are built up from the lumpish earth. From
the earth the plants derive their materials ; in their leaves, with the
help of the sunlight, they draw strength from the water taken from
the soil and the carbon dioxide of the air, as the first step in building
up the substance of the living creature. So the grasses of the plain
elaborate in themselves, from the lifeless materials of the earth and
its airy envelope, the growing, organized substance, the basis of
all life, without which the animal world could not exist. The work
of the plants is continued by the smaller creatures : snails, beetles,
grasshoppers and caterpillars live in the grass and build up their
bodies with the help of its green tissues. They pass on what they
have elaborated to the larger insects, and to frogs, lizards, and
birds ; the living substance becomes increasingly full of life, and the
living creatures more and more independent of the soil. But even
of the higher orders of animals many return to this first form of
nourishment, for the grass thrives so luxuriantly that it is able to
nourish even the larger forms of life ; indeed, it is so organized that
it merely grows thicker if shorn, as our own lawns will teach us.
Animals which live on the stiff, sharp-edged grasses must have strong
teeth with sharp-cutting edges; but the Rodents and Ungulates
which live on grass are of course endowed with such teeth. And to

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extract the nutritive matter from grass-seeds a masticating stomach
is necessary, a gizzard whose muscular walls are able to grind
the seed, such as the gallinaceous birds of the campos possess.

The grass, which without trunk or boughs has to withstand the
force of the wind that scours across the open plains, must perforce
elaborate effective reinforcing substances; consequently it contains
many indigestible components, and must be eaten in large quantities
if it is to suffice the needs of an animal, especially when it is dried
and withered by the sun. For this reason the Bovidae and other
ruminants are provided with several stomachs, which nourish the
body in different ways; while the Rodents retain their food for an
unusually long time, partly in a stomach which has several com-
partments, and partly in an enormous caecum, which in the hare
is longer than the animal's body. The nature of this diet entails an
abundant excretion of indigestible material, so that the soil is
constantly manured, which favours the growth of the grass. A
striking lesson as to the difference between the harmonious activities
of Nature and the one-sided activity of man is afforded by the
fact that for thousands of years the soil of the steppes — for example,
the steppes of the Ukraine — retained the greatest fertility. Only
when man began to cultivate the black soil did its productiveness
diminish. Similarly, in the State of Sao Paulo the coffee-planters
exploited the red soil, the terra roxa, prepared by Nature. The
cultivation of coffee exhausted it in a few years, and the planters
are continually obliged to take fresh virgin soil into cultivation.

The dung which the animals of the steppes provide in such
abundance enables certain other creatures to make a living. Dung-
beetles of all kinds are typical inhabitants of the grassy plains. In
Nature everything is utilized and drawn once more into the cycle
of life. Bodies whose life has departed build up the living bodies of
burying-beetles and vultures. Even the food which is still passing
through the intestine of an animal does not escape attention, and
since, as is evident, a good many digestible substances are excreted
without being utilized, parasites, in the shape of intestinal worms,
find their way into the animal's body, transforming these substances
too into living substance. Just as in human factories efforts are
made to utilize even the waste products, so no stage of the long way
from the earth to the living animal, and back again, is overlooked.
Everywhere life adapts itself, and nowhere on its upward or down-
ward journey is the evolving substance unexploited.

But if one animal is set over another, what of those that form

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Plate XVIII

BROMELIAS IN PERN AMU UCU

ARISTOLOCHIA GIGANTEA IN THE BOTANICAL GARDENS OF
PERADENIYA, CEYLON

NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

the final link of this chain? Must not their multiplication too be
controlled with all the rest, and in this case are not the controlling
enemies lacking? Well, in this case Nature has employed the other
method at her disposal: she has diminished the animal's power of
multiplication. The elephant fears nothing, and therefore multiplies
but slowly : the cow elephant carries her calf for twenty-two months,
and bears young only once in every two years.

We see, then, that Nature can dispose of two methods of limiting
the numbers of an animal which seems likely to overtake the rest
and so disturb the equilibrium. She can increase the danger of its
destruction, or decrease its powers of multiplication. If we survey
the animal kingdom we see these two possibilities in every imaginable
degree of combination. The result, however, in the case of every
animal or vegetable species, is always this equation : The danger of
destruction stands in such a ratio to the coefficient of multiplication
that the species retains its place in the general ensemble.

An animal diminishes the dangers of the destruction which threatens
it by holding its enemies at bay by means of mere strength, or the
use of special weapons, or by escaping them by the speed of its
flight, or by discovering a secure place of refuge, or by concealing
itself so effectively, by means of its colour and form, that it cannot
readily be detected. The large birds of prey produce only one or
two young at a time. But who threatens them, who can reach their
brood, safe in the highest tree-tops or on inaccessible precipices?
Above the shore of Olinda the black vultures float in the air all
day ; but their breeding-place is hundreds of miles inland. But what
is a distance of a few hundred miles to these proud navigators?
With a favouring wind it is soon covered, without even a flap of
the wings !

The small birds, as a general thing, lay five eggs, for they have
many enemies to fear, and those that nest on the ground lay even
more. Of the mammals, the Pacas, Capyvaras, Preyas, and par-
ticularly the mice, multiply exceedingly. But they are the chief prey
of most of the carnivorous birds and animals, and the much-persecuted
rodents could not make up for their constant losses save by almost
incredible fertility.

The fish multiply even more vigorously. Many species produce
more than 100,000 eggs. In the water, however, the battle for
existence is waged in its most inexorable form. Almost every fish
hunts and swallows smaller fish; the eggs and young fry suffer
terrible losses ; larger fish which find their way into a shoal of fry

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fill themselves to repletion, for which reason the young fish prefer
to swim in shallow water, where the large predatory fish cannot
get at them.

Even in the water the economy of Nature begins with the green
plants. It is not, however, the larger aquatic plants which constitute
the first form of nourishment, but the so-called algae, tiny green
granules which float in the water and multiply endlessly by division.
They are devoured by microscopically small, primitive animal
forms, and also by tiny Crustacea, the size of a pin's head, which,
with the help of two swimming-legs, hop up and down in the
water, and are therefore called "water-fleas." On these little Crustacea
many of the aquatic insects live, and they form the nourishment of
small fry, and even the larger fish devour them, and in the sea
even the greatest of aquatic animals, the whale, who opens his
mouth, takes in water, and then expels it through the sieve formed
by his whalebone "beard," so that a Uving broth of all the little
floating creatures remains in his mouth, and is swallowed. To cope
with such losses the water-fleas and their marine relatives have to
multiply at a simply enormous rate, and in order to make this
possible Nature has renounced one of her principles. The small
Crustacea reproduce themselves without males. Females are produced,
which lay eggs, from which more females emerge, although the
eggs are not fertilized. The numbers of offspring thus produced
may best be envisaged if we think of the old story of the inventor
of the game of chess, who asked, as his reward, that a grain of
wheat should be laid on the first square of the board, 2 on the
second square, 4 on the third, and 8, 16, 32 on the succeeding
squares — in short, the number was to be doubled for every square.
It appeared, on calculation, that all the corn in the world would
have been too little to pay him. For that matter, Nature has
employed this method of "virgin procreation" or parthenogenesis
in the case of other species — for example, some of the larger Crustacea,
the Gall-wasps, and the Plant-lice. In all these creatures males
appear only at certain appointed periods, when they have to fertilize
special eggs which take longer to hatch.

Again, the insects which afford nourishment for a number of
different creatures multiply very rapidly. But among them are
many species which have adopted the other means of maintaining
the species. One of the most marvellous creatures in Brazil is the
Splendid Phanaeus, a Scarabaeid. How amazed I was when I first
saw the insect sitting on a leaf beside the lake of Dos Irmaos in
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NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

Recife ! No gem could emit more brilliantly-flashing rays of red,
green and yellow than this beetle. I took it home, but all its splendour
was extinguished when it died. The naturalist Ohaus, observing a
female beetle of the Scarabaeidae family, noticed that she covered her
young with her body; at night they ran out in order to eat, but
towards morning they once more assembled under their mother's
body, when the whole family looked rather like a lump of bird's
droppings. Such a protective device enabled the beetle, although
it produced only twenty offspring, to maintain the species.

A battle may be won either by well-armed and disciplined troops,
or by preponderance of numbers. The latter is the simpler method,
and so we see that Nature, if one particular species is threatened
with destruction, simply throws more animals into the battle-field.
It might seem that before the Europeans discovered America the
Jaguar and the Rattlesnake must have had the upper hand of the
Paca and the harmless Liana-snake. In reality the two latter animals
were just as secure of survival as the two former, for otherwise the
Jaguar and the Rattlesnake would have multiplied to such an
extent that they would finally have perished for want of food. We
shall always find that the well-armed or venomous creatures are
less numerous than the others.

At the same time. Nature has seen to it that the trees do not
grow until they reach the clouds, and that to every living creature
is appointed an age-limit which it cannot exceed, even under the
most favourable circumstances. The late August Weismann of
Freiburg demonstrated, in an interesting essay, that natural death
in every species occurs at such an age that the duration of life
is precisely that which best secures the maintenance of the
species.

On the other hand, reproduction is in a sense self-regulating.
Excessive multiplication leads, sooner or later, to degeneration and
wholesale death. Plagues of caterpillars and mice do not increase
and increase without limit; suddenly a great mortality inter-
venes, leaving the pests less numerous than before. As for the
inner workings of this curious method of regulation, we know as
yet very little.

But one question, which must long ago have occurred to the reader,
may perhaps be answered. Gould not the whole machinery of life
have been constructed on other principles? Was it inevitable that

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the surplus animals should be cruelly devoured? Might not Nature
have resembled a human machine, in which every least part is
precisely adapted as its position in relation to the whole demands?
Might not the animals have multiplied at such a rate as precisely
to fill the gaps made in their ranks by natural death?

On considering the circumstances, we are at once impressed by
the great difference between the mechanism of Nature and the
machinery of man. The latter cannot be left to itself for decades at
a time; it would wear out, and it must therefore always be in the
charge of a technical expert. But the miraculous mechanism of
Nature has already run for countless ages of terrestrial history,
without even losing its energy; all the parts are still vigorous, and
any irregularity corrects itself.

But if the worn-out parts are replaced by the mechanism itself,
every part of the latter must grow without ceasing, so that new
material is constantly introduced in the place of the old. It works,
and with it all its least parts, under an internal urge, and it is this
urge, this pressure, which finds expression in the reproduction of
animal life. Renovation without rejection of worn-out material is
impossible, and renovation must needs work with a surplus, in
order that it may have sufficient material in hand should there be
an abnormal call upon it.

It is therefore an essential characteristic of the vital mechanism
of the earth that more animals are born than can ever live. But there
are still other intelligible reasons why so many creatures should
enter the world subject to the inevitable fate of being devoured or
of having to make room for others. So long as every living creature
does not attain its goal, so long as this is possible only for a small
minority, then, and only then, is there a competition in which each
strives to be a winner. In each generation, therefore, there is a
selection of the fittest, and only these succeed in bringing offspring
into the world, and these inherit only the qualities of the best of the
previous generation. On this process depends the increase of vital
energy and evolution in form.

When the plane is used, shavings fall to the ground. The earth
must continually deck herself with new forms, and place must
always be made for them. Since in every geological epoch the
climate and soil of our planet undergo change, its animal inhabitants
must constantly be recast in new forms, and the old forms must not
be allowed to stand in their way.

Lastly, we must not forget that the earth is no paradise. As in the
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NATURE AS AN ORGANISM

life of man, so in the life of animals, suffering is the rule. And
precisely because we see that pain exists throughout Nature, we
hope that this world is not the only real world, but that behind it
there is something else, some other state in which the suffering
that holds the world of living creatures in bondage will be
extinguished.

XII

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

XjLarmony is beauty. An organism in which "all parts subordinate
their activities to the whole, and each acts and lives in each," must
produce on us the effect of a work of art. Not the tiniest little part
is superfluous ; each has its significance for the whole. Even the good
architect seeks to ensure the beauty of his house not by applied
ornament, but by its main plan and elevation, and its purposeful
construction.

We have seen, in the two foregoing chapters, that Brazil received
its fauna countless thousands of years ago, and that its animal
inhabitants have subtly adapted themselves to mutual co-operation
in the environment of the Brazilian landscape ; and it follows that
the beauty of the land depends on its native flora and fauna. Nature,
in Brazil, is like a vast mosaic. Every plant, every animal is a coloured
tessera, a work of art in itself, but whose real significance is first
perceived when we see that in combination with the rest it forms
a work of art. Consequently, to exterminate any one species of
animal is like striking a coloured stone out of a mosaic. The greater
the destruction of life, the greater the destruction of the picture. And
no one can replace the stones once they have been destroyed, for
they come from the hand of One compared with whom man is but
a creation, never a creator.

We have seen that the virgin forest of Brazil is characterized by
its abundant sunlight and the glitter of its foliage. The Humming-
birds, with their bronze-green plumage, are in tune with the metallic
lustre of the leaves ; and so is the Jacamar, flashing like a great
Humming-bird. The Rainbow Tanagers too, and many of their
relatives, have a metallic lustre ; while the Surucuas, various swallows
and pigeons, and the bare neck of the White Ferreiro or Bell-bird
look as though their scaly feathers were covered with a verdigris-
coloured patina.

Many of the snakes and lizards have a metallic lustre, while
others, like the Coral Snake and its harmless relatives, as well as
the lovely Emerald Snake, shine as though they were varnished;
and so do certain flowers.

Hosts of insects have a splendid metallic lustre. I have already
described the Splendid Phanaeus ; and there are many great beetles
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THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

that emit flashing reflections of red and green ; there are also large
Scarabaeidae that shimmer blue, green, red and gold. There are
handsome Weevils whose bronze is covered with a green patina, and
some of the Brazilian Cockchafers seem to be wrought of solid gold.
The handsomest species of the Bronze Wasps, so called on account
of their metallic brilliance, are found in Brazil, and there are also
Bronze Bees, at which one can only gaze in amazement when their
bodies glitter in the tropical sunlight with a shimmering radiance
of green, blue and gold. There is no lack of brilliantly-coloured
Dragonflies, and even the family of the Bugs has developed
surprisingly lovely species. In the botanical gardens of Rio I used
to gaze with ever-renewed delight on a number of Leather-bugs
(Homoptera) which inhabited a trail of passion-flowers. These
long-legged creatures were bronze-green in colour, with two long
yellow stripes along the back; but the hindlegs were expanded in
one joint to form violet-purple leaves, adorned with specks of bright
red or yellow (Plate 29, II, 4).

And now the butterflies, as richly endowed with colour as though
they were the children of the Sun himself! I have already said
enough of the metallic blue of the Morphidae. Even the least
emotional and most sophisticated of men could not fail to exclaim
with delight when he sees these azure, silken creatures floating
through the forest. Those who have seen the Arpsche collection in
Rio will admit that no human palette could do justice to the chromatic
splendour of the Brazilian butterflies. In many species even the
underside of the wings is not only splendidly coloured, but often
adorned with elaborate designs, as though an artist had dipped his
brushes in a variety of pigments, and had carefully drawn delight-
fully contrasting circles and spirals on the back of the wings. It is
impossible to enumerate all these marvels; I will only mention the
fact that some Brazilian butterflies have even contrived to provide
themselves with underwings of pure gold, while others are so richly
adorned with silver that the species in question is known as the
"Money butterfly," Dione moneta.

There are silver spiders too in Brazil. How often have I admired
them in the garden of Sao Bento in Olinda! The great wheel-
shaped web is itself beautifully woven, and from the centre four
broad rays of spun silk run to the boiders like the arms of a St.
Andrew's Cross. Where the arms of the cross meet sits the spider,
like a work of art cunningly fashioned of silver, from which the
raised, red-brown body, itself flecked with silver, protrudes. Other

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spiders, known as the Thorny Spiders, have a yellow body, glossy
as the rind of an orange, and marked with pores like the orange ; or
it maybe bright yellow and covered with spines. Another very common
spider is the large, long-legged Nephila, silver, white and green.

But there are other colours, characteristic of the tropics, which
have been adopted by plants and animals. When I was in Ceylon
it struck me that a colour which is on the whole rare in Europe is to
be seen on every side in the tropics. This colour is orange. While in
Europe the sun sets in a rosy glow, over the Red Sea, and still more
in Ceylon, the western horizon blazes with a splendid orange,
especially during the afterglow, when half an hour after sunset a
fresh glow is kindled. In Brazil orange tones are not so predominant
as in India, but in the Sertao they appear in all their glory.

We have already seen that orange tones are frequent in the
flowers, and that even the young leaves of some trees are orange in
colour. It is no wonder, then, that we find orange tones in the
animal world also. The Indian Underwings are like the European
species, except that the underwing is orange instead of pink. There
are orange-coloured insects in Brazil, and several species of birds
have orange feathers in their plumage. But the climax, where this
colour is concerned, has been reached by two birds of the Amazon
basin. Goeldi, in his work on birds, describes the Red Ibis, as it sits
in its hundreds in the bamboo thickets beside the river, or flies
around its mustering-place, in a fairy set-piece of living flames ! And
in the silent heart of the forest the Cocks-of-the-Rock (Rupicola)
execute their dances. The cock bird, the size of a jackdaw, decks
himself in blazing orange ; a feather crest of the same colour crowns
his head. I should be inclined to award these two birds the prize
for beauty of colour.

We have seen that a further quality of the tropical landscape is
its substantiality. It is full of sharp contrasts ; soft shadows and gentle
gradations are of rare occurrence. Even among the animals we
often find contrasting colours in immediate juxtaposition. The
plumage of the Parrots and the Tanagers, and the wings of many
butterflies, display such colouring, and as in painting the landscape,
so in depicting the birds and animals, one is obliged to work with
the finest brushes. Mutually blending tones are rarer than in Europe.
For this reason the Parrots — to take an example — would look out
of place in a European landscape, whereas in Brazil and Ceylon one
feels on seeing them as though Nature, overwhelmed by her creative
impulse, had relieved herself by uttering a cry of jubilation.
208

Plate XIX

TREE-STRANGLING FIG, PARAHVBA, SI ILL GROWING ON THE SUPPORTING

TREE

- \ ''%■

'■'"^/: ^'^■;^^1

OLD TREE-STRANGLING FIG, MATURE, AT MONTE, OLINDA

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

At the same time, there is no lack in the tropics of restrained and
dignified colouring. Black — at all events, a splendid, intense and
satiny black — is more common than in Europe, and is employed
by many birds and butterflies with the most dignified eflfect, inter-
rupted only by a band of red, green, blue or yellow across the wings,
or a patch of one of these colours. In Recife, where I witnessed the
carnival, it seemed to me that the girls of Brazil had learned a
lesson from the Brazilian butterflies. Those nights of festival were
incomparable, and are among my most cherished memories. The
whole great city was like one vast banqueting-hall ; for it is always
warm in Recife, though the light sea-breeze was pleasantly refreshing.
Along the house-fronts were rows of chairs on which the inmates
were seated, and the electric light turned night into day ; garlands
of lights, white or coloured, were suspended on the house-fronts,
or hung across the streets, and the arms of the river were full of
gleaming lights. The whole city was full of the fragrance of the
langa perfume, the scented ether with which the Brazilians spray
one another at carnival-time. Down the middle of the street, in
endless procession, drove the splendidly-decorated cars, in many
of which were symbolic or historical tableaux; but the private
motor-cars were the prettiest, for the back seat was always occupied
by two or three slender and graceful Brazilian girls, with their
dark shingled heads and beautiful, friendly eyes. All were in black
silk, but for a green, blue, red or yellow fichu about their slender
throats. The cars themselves were often decorated in the same
colours. From time to time the procession of cars was interrupted
by a troop of indefatigably dancing negroes ; and despite the teeming
life of the city the whole of the rejoicings were characterized by a
certain tranquillity; for there was no alcohol drunk during the
carnival ! The whole aflfair was eloquent of the charm of this great,
friendly country of Brazil ; for me it will always be unforgettable.

Just as the beauty of Nature is an expression of the same activity
which has made of the living creature an organism in which every
least part co-operates in the harmony of the body, so even the
colouring of the animals must have significance in relation to the
whole. It must of course be admitted at the outset that there are
colours in the animal kingdom whose significance escapes us. For
example, the shells of certain marine snails are magnificently
coloured, yet they are enclosed by the creature's body, which is

o 209

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

expanded into lateral lobes, and therefore can never be seen. Even
entrails often display the loveliest colours. But in the case of most
colours we do realize that they have been chosen because they are
essential to the life of the wearer. The two English scientists, Darwin
and Wallace, were the first to recognize the great significance of
colour in the animal world.

There are two points of view from which we can perceive and
understand their significance. In the first place, the coloration of a
living creature is protective. Anyone who keeps his eyes open will
often have occasion to realize how difficult it is to detect even
large animals in a state of nature, because their colouring blends
with their environment. Think of green insects in the grass, or brown
insects on the trunk of a tree ! Protective colouring makes it possible
for the animal to make itself invisible to its enemies, but it also
enables the beast of prey to approach its victim unnoticed.

But while the animals must be able to conceal themselves from
their enemies, they must at the same time be recognized by their
fellows. The male must be able to find the female, and the female
must know that this time she is not being pursued by an enemy;
otherwise the species would not multiply. Consequently the animals
have need of tokens by which they can recognize their own species.
And it is these signs that make them stand out from their environ-
ment, and reveal this presence to their fellows.

Protective coloration and the tokens by which a species is recog-
nized call for absolutely diflferent kinds of behaviour, and it is most
interesting to observe how Nature has contrived to accomplish
her twofold task. Since the animals possess several senses, the dis-
covery of the mate may, if the biological conditions of the animal
permit, be entrusted to some other organ than the eye.

In the mammals the nose is the guiding organ, and so in this
class each species has had to evolve a special odour, which becomes
intensified during oestrum. This odour leads the seeker all the more
surely inasmuch as the mammal moves about on the ground and
leaves a scent behind it. Animals of the same species are able to
follow such a trail for a considerable distance, and so we may see
that not only do the fox and the marten run with their noses to the
ground during all their excursions, but that the roebuck too follows
his doe with lowered head.

But since the mammals recognize those of their own species by
the sense of smell, the outside of the body may be given a protective
coloration. And as a matter of fact, the majority of the mammals

210

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

have inconspicuous coats; brown and yellow are their most usual
colours, and these are on the whole the colours of the ground over
which they move, or the tree-trunks against which they sleep. For
most of the mammals go about their business in the night ; by day
they sleep, and hence, unless they take refuge in burrows, they have
especial need of protective coloration.

But those mammals which, like the birds, have adopted a diurnal
and arboreal existence, have evolved on quite different lines. It is
as though an active life in the sunlight and the open air had made
their blood course more swiftly, for, like the birds, the squirrels and
monkeys are very vivacious creatures, and are seldom still. Their
special means of escaping their enemies is their agility, and so in
them protective coloration is of less importance; indeed, the arboreal
mammals would find it difficult to adopt such coloration, as the
background to which they would have to adapt themselves is
continually changing : now it consists of green leaves, now of brown
tree-trunks, and now of the blue sky. In the night, when the animals
sleep, they need no protective coloration, since "in the dark all
cats are grey."

This being so, audible or visible signals of recognition are all the
more important for arboreal mammals. They cannot follow the
members of their own species by their odour, since they constantly
break their trail by leaping from bough to bough, and no scent will
lie in the air. The monkeys, therefore, must rely on sight and
hearing. Anyone who has ever visited a zoological garden knows
that the monkey-house is always vocal, while among the Ungulates
all is quiet. Brehm tells us of a little South American monkey,
Leontocebus oedipus, a relative of the Saguim, that he was always
impressed by the similarity of its voice to that of a bird. This monkey
"sings," now in pure, long-drawn, fluting notes, and now in trills,
in every imaginable key. Since this musical monkey has long white
hair hanging to his shoulders, like that of a musician, he has been
humorously nicknamed the "Liszt monkey."

The Guaribas or Howler Monkeys also sing in concert, and
according to Miiller-Munchen the result is by no means an unmusical
howling; indeed, the Brazilians call it singing. The "chaplain"
leads off, at first in short, staccato notes, and then in full, organ-
like tones, while the others sing a gentle "accompaniment," as
though anxious lest they should drown the chaplain's voice, as
a too noisy orchestra may submerge the voice of a singer. The
tongue of the Howler Monkey lies above a great bony drum, and

211

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

the larynx is in some respects not unlike the lower larynx of
the bird.

But both the squirrels and the monkeys have visible as well as
audible tokens by which to recognize their kind. On the whole,
they are more brilliantly coloured than the other mammals ; black,
white and yellow are often seen ; one species of Howler Monkey is
red, while the Silver Monkey is dressed in gleaming silvery white,
from which his flesh-coloured face and dull black tail stand out
conspicuously. At the same time, the monkeys have improved the
mammalian face, inasmuch as the eyes have been brought together,
so that an object can be seen by both eyes at once, which makes it
possible for the monkey to obtain a perspective, and indeed a
stereoscopic view of the object ; and this is necessary for such estimates
of distance as must be made in springing from bough to bough, or
jumping across a stream. The horse, which is unable to fasten both
eyes on an object, cannot judge distances so well, and this explains
why he is given to shying. This juxtaposition of the eyes has of
course affected the nose, so that the improvement of the face has
resulted in a diminution of the sense of smell ; but this, as we have
seen, is not so important in the case of arboreal animals as in that
of the terrestrial species.

The adaptation begun by the monkeys has been completed by
the birds. They are true arboreal and aerial animals; from early
morning to sunset they are in almost uninterrupted movement;
their blood temperature is higher than that of the mammals, and
their sense of smell has degenerated, though sight and hearing are
for that reason all the more fully developed.

No greater contrast can be imagined than that afforded by passing
from the mammal's gallery in a museum to that of the birds. Here,
suddenly, we come upon creatures resplendent with colour, enhanced
here and there by metallic lustre. I have already spoken of the
dazzling colours of the Brazilian birds ; they are indeed incomparably
splendid. And these colours are not merely effective when close at
hand ; on the contrary, they are heightened by the movements of
the bird, by the rays of sunlight that fall upon it, by the changing
character of the background. One is actually startled when a
Scarlet Tanager flies out of a thicket ; the sudden appearance of
the living ruby is too unexpected for a European. However com-
fortably I might be sitting in my rocking-chair in the balcony of
my room in the OUnda monastery, and however interesting the
book in my hand, the excited twittering — zip^ ivUi, zibui, zibiii, zibiii^

2X2

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

visssi — of the relatives of the Scarlet Tanager always brought me
to my feet. Outside, in the garden, stood a Mamao or Melon-tree.
Under the crown of great, spreading leaves hung the yellow fruit,
and to these the Sanha^iis were giving their attention, driving their
slightly hooked beaks into the melons until the orange-red juice
oozed forth. Then the light-blue Sanhagiis came flying up, and the
other species, with yellow bodies and green and violet wings; the
Coconut Sanha^us were less conspicuous, being a greenish brown
in colour. In Rio I often admired the Rainbow Tanagers on the
fruits of a Pachiuba palm in the botanical gardens. They glowed
like butterflies, green and blue being the prevailing colours of their
plumage (Plate 28, Figs. 15-18).

In the case of all these birds it will strike the careful observer
that the colours are juxtaposed in large patches. They show no
subtle intricacy of design, and if we come to consider other species
of birds, we shall find everywhere immediate contrasts; brown
wings on a red body, a golden-yellow breast and a black back, a
red head on a black and white body, and so on, in infinite variety.
The colour-effects of the Parrots are particularly strident ; greater
contrasts than those of the red, blue and yellow or blue and yellow
of the Araras or Macaws cannot be imagined.

But if we wonder why Nature has worked with so broad a brush
we must remember that we have learned to regard the colours of
birds as tokens by which the species are recognized. These tokens
must be recognizable at a distance; fine detail would not help a
bird in one tree to recognize a bird in another; its effect would be
lost. As Weismann very truly said, the birds are painted, so to speak,
in poster style. Our posters are designed to produce an effect at a
distance; the object which they represent must be recognizable a
long way off"; so their colours are vivid, and applied as broadly as
possible.

But when we consider protective coloration we find a very different
style of painting. Such coloration is a necessity to the Inhambiis,
for example; like our partridge, they cower on the ground, and
above all they must not be seen while they are sitting on their eggs.
In the plumage of these birds all possible shades of brown are subtly
intermingled, just as they are in the soil on which they crouch.
Owls and nightjars also exhibit a coloration which is definitely
protective. These birds go about their business by night, so that
they have no need of coloured tokens of identity, but by day they
crouch sleeping amidst the boughs. Often I have detected an owl

213

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

only by chance, because it opened its great eyes as I approached it
too closely. The nightjars, known as Bacaraus in Brazil, may be
recognized by their silent but characteristic flight, their long forked
tails, and the white crescent on the throat, or by their singular
rrrrr, which can be heard at a great distance. By day they press
themselves close against the trunk of a tree, or lie at the end of
a dead branch, when they so closely resemble the bark that even
the larger species may escape detection. Their plumage is marked
with the minutest detail ; the bark of a tree is scrupulously imitated
by its fine streaks and spots as though the bird had been held beside
a piece of bark and coloured to resemble it, streak by streak, with
a fine brush. But here the appearance of the bird when seen from a
short distance has to be considered. A hawk swooping past the
bough on which the nightjar is crouching, a panther clambering
past it, must be deceived in spite of its proximity.

But there are times when the diurnal birds too sit still for hours
at a time, and at such times they have need of special protection,
since these times occur at their breeding-season, and if they were
detected by their enemies not only their own lives would be lost,
but also their eggs and their helpless young. For this reason those
birds have the most effectual protective coloration which nest on
or near the ground, where their enemies, thirsting for their blood,
or their eggs, are most numerous; for these do not consist only of
mammals, but of snakes and lizards also, and in particular the great
Teju lizard. Not only the Inhambus, but many of the Ant-birds are
for this reason covered with an inconspicuous brown pattern.

In the case of other birds, such as the blue Kotingas, the Pipras,
the Gaturamos, the blue, humming-bird-like Sahys (Plate 28, i)
and the Humming-birds themselves, the hen bird attends to the
duties of incubation, and her plumage is therefore an inconspicuous
greenish brown, or some other neutral colour, so that she is hardly
visible when on the nest. The male bird, therefore, bears the species-
or recognition-marks for both sexes, and in a doubly conspicuous
form, and this makes for the preservation of the species, since its
enemies are more likely to capture the conspicuous males, which
throughout the animal kingdom are almost always in the majority,
so that their decimation does less damage to the species than that
of the females, whose loss would mean the loss of their brood. Some
writers have even spoken of "the sacrifice of the males" ; but the
sacrifice, of course, is not deliberate but enforced.

In the case of birds of which both sexes display conspicuous
214

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

recognition-marks, we may conclude that their nests are invisible
to their enemies. And indeed, just as in Europe the male and female
of the Titmice and Woodpeckers are almost similar in colour, but
are able to wear colours visible from a distance, because their eggs
or nestlings are hidden away in some hole in a tree-trunk, where
their bright plumage is invisible, so those Brazilian birds which
nest in holes display colour in both sexes. The Sleepers, Kingfishers,
Jacamars, Woodpeckers, Toucans, Parrots and other birds nest
some underground, and some in the holes of trees, so that both
sexes may display colour without endangering their brood. At the
same time, the eggs of these birds are able to dispense with protective
coloration. While the eggs in open nests are brown or spotted, and
in any case of such a shade that they tone in with their surroundings
of grass or what not, the eggs of the troglodyte birds have no need
of colour. The eggs of the Woodpeckers, Owls, Parrots are white as
hen's eggs.

Hitherto writers on natural history have stated that the green
which occurs in the plumage of so many parrots is intended to
conceal them when surrounded by foliage, and have endeavoured
to support this theory by pointing to the evergreen foliage of the
tropical trees. But this belief was born in the study, and depends
on the hypothesis that the green of the tropics is like the green of
our European trees. This, however, is not the case, and I continually
noted, in Ceylon as well as in Brazil, that the Parrots, in their
grass-green plumage, stand out very plainly against the darker
green of the glittering tropical foliage. These birds, of course, are
among those that nest in holes. In New Guinea there is a species
of parrot (Eclectus pectoralis) of which the male is grass-green,
while the female is scarlet. If the green were protective it would
be impossible to understand why, in contrast to all other birds,
the male should be clad in protective colours while the female is
conspicuously clad.

Yet other subtleties may be observed in the colouring of birds.
Since the arch-enemies of the smaller birds are the hawks, which
circle in the air and fall upon their victims from above, the back
of the hawk is usually less light in tone than the underside. As
with us there are redbreasts, bluethroats, whitethroats, etc., so a
survey of the Brazilian birds will show that if the conditions of its
life demand both protective coloration and recognition-marks in
the same bird, the former will occur on the back and the latter
on the throat, breast and belly, which generally show the most

215

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

brilliant tones. These colours are concealed by the sitting bird,
and only the back is visible when the bird is on the nest.

If the animals are to be brought into prominence by recognition-
marks, these must contrast with the colour of the creature's natural
environment. Such colours are like the high-lights which the artist
puts in a picture, in order to give emphasis to the general tone.
Now, we have seen that tropical Nature is more brightly illuminated
than the European landscape; and the colours of the birds and
insects emphasize its brilliance. While in our twilit beechwoods the
Clouded Yellow butterfly may flit past, followed by the light yellow
Fritillary, we find in the glittering tropical forest a preference for
deep or even quite dark colours. I have already spoken of such
dignified hues seen against dark backgrounds. Some of the birds
of prey are black, like the Urubus or the handsome Caua Buzzard,
and so are the Muturus ; and the black of these forest fowl is
emphasized by the red or yellow beak. In like manner the red,
white or yellow heads of the Pipridae stand out in relief from the
satin-black body, as does the red shoulder of the Soldado or the
golden-yellow rump of the Checheou. This glossy black offers a
splendid and conspicuous contrast to the sunlit glitter of the forest
through which the birds fly.

The butterflies of Brazil are the counterparts of the birds. They
too are children of the sun, and live their lives in the light of day.
They seek their food in the nectaries of scented blossoms, and in
amorous play the male and female flit through the flower-bedecked
landscape.

There are few living creatures of such striking beauty as the
butterflies of Brazil. Even by reason of their size, which is often
many times that of our European species, they seem like children
of the sun, with glossy silk or satin pinions, and in the larger species
their flight is an exquisite libration. A blue Morpho shines in the
virgin forest as though it had come direct from the heavens. Other
forms of this species have black borders to their blue wings, as, for
example, the Bahia Morpho, which I used to admire in Pernam-
buco. In the Papilio group, to which the European Swallowtail
belongs, the ground hue, in Brazil as in India, is usually black.
The Sesostris has sheer satin-black wings with one emerald spot on
each fore-wing, while the female has fiery red marginal spots on the
hind-wings. The Agavus of Rio and the Hcctorides of South Brazil
216

Plate XX

1

■r^A'^

WCM:

IN THE DESERT OF PARAHYBA

PILLAR-CACTUS AND FIG-CACTUS

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

have longitudinal stripes of white across the wings, a row of red
spots on each hind-wing, and long tails. The Brazilian Hectorides
is very like the Hector which I so admired in Ceylon.

We find similar colour-schemes in butterflies of other groups.
The dark Didonis biblis seems to have dipped the hinder edge of its
wings in blood, and in the great pearly South American Prepona
a broad green stripe merges into a splendid shimmering violet
before it is absorbed by the black ground-tone. The great Agrias
displays a quite indescribable chromatic splendour: as though a
Bocklin had amused himself by laying the most radiant red and
blue conceivable on the dark upper surface of the wings, and by
covering the yellow background of the under surfaces with labyrin-
thine lines and specks of black and blue. Standinger calls these
butterflies the royal family of their group.

But I must not linger over these glorious butterflies, however
vividly their shimmering colours appear to me as I name them.
Their effect was often intensified by their presence in great numbers.
In Nova Friburgo the long, narrow Colaenis Julia, in colour a
luminous orange-red, floated everywhere amidst the trees, a con-
tinual illumination, which the eye followed with delight; round
a flowering shrub in Pernambuco swarms of Anartia amalthea
fluttered, in colouring not unlike our Red Admiral, and in Olinda
I once saw swarms of Pieris passing for hours on end, for all the
world like a driving fall of snow. What caused these creatures to
migrate is still a complete mystery.

The most conspicuous of the Lepidoptera of Brazil are a whole
series of butterflies whose chief peculiarity is that their wings are
long and narrow, so that the flying butterfly has the look of an
aeroplane. This similarity is increased by the fact that the butterfly
seems to be driven by a propeller, for while most butterflies flutter,
that is, clap the wings together above their bodies and open them
again, the wings of the butterflies in question always remain extended,
so that the form of the insect never alters. On closer inspection it
looks as though the extreme tips of the wings are moving. In any
case, the insect has a very remarkable flight, which makes it all
the more conspicuous (Plate 29) .

There is a whole series of families of such "aeroplane butterflies,"
all typically South American ; indeed, one group of them has been
named the Neotropineae. Some of these butterflies have wings like
yellow glass framed in black borders, reminding one of a stained
glass window (Plate 29, 1, 8). These are the Methonae, the Therididae

217

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

and the Ithominiae. The Ceratiniae and the Mechanites are mostly
small forms of an ochreous yellow, with black veins and light yellow
spots on the fore-wings. They include an absolutely incredible
number of species, and Wallace long ago reported that new species
were often encountered every few miles, and many small areas of
forest, not even separated from one another by hills or streams,
have their own species, which occur nowhere else. Black, ochre and
yellow are the colours likewise of the Lycoreae (Plate 29, I, i), but
these are larger insects; while the Heliconius family contains the
handsomest forms of this butterfly (Plate 29, I, 4).

Among them are black butterflies with a blue lustre, and yellow
borders to the wings ; others, like Heliconius phyllis, have a large
fiery-red patch on the narrow black fore-wings, while a broad
yellow streak runs diagonally across the under-wings, a narrower
streak crossing the fore-wings. This Heliconius was common in the
virgin forest of Pernambuco. These beautiful soberly-coloured
creatures, flying slowly over the ground or the undergrowth,
apparently without ever moving their wings, contributed not a little
to the atmosphere of the glittering forest, adding a dreamy, peaceful
note to the majestic scene.

As a matter of fact. Nature may very well have intended — if for
once we may speak in such a fashion — to give the Heliconiinae and
other "aeroplane butterflies" a slow flight, and to make them
plainly visible by their characteristic markings. For these creatures
have a means of protection against the many enemies of their kind,
who would otherwise be glad enough to devour them : namely, they
have an unpleasant smell, and apparently a bitter and nauseous
flavour. I once took a pupa home with me — it was marked with
black and yellow — and when a Methone emerged from it, with its
black-bordered glassy wings, the glass case smelt as strongly of
urine as a fox's earth or a mouse-cage. Now if these butterflies are
nauseous it is evidently to their advantage that the enemies of
butterflies in general should recognize them immediately. Hence
the bright colours and the slow flight, which never conceals the
markings ! If a Heliconid were to fly quickly past a bird, and the
latter, in the excitement of the chase, were to snap it up, then, even
though it at once rejected its acrid prey, the action of the protective
measure would be too late. The butterfly must warn its enemies
from afar. Now, we find that these butterflies prefer black and
yellow, and resemble one another in shape. Consequently a bird
has no need to acquire the same unpleasant experience in respect

218

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

of every species, destroying a butterfly each time. One experiment
with one species is enough; the other species, which have much
the same appearance, will profit by it.

But the scientist who turns his attention to the protected butterflies
of Brazil may discover still more remarkable facts. When Bates,
who, in the middle of the nineteenth century, spent eleven years
in exploring the banks of the Amazon and its tributaries, swept his
net one day through a swarm of Heliconiinae, he found, to his
surprise, that he had caught a butterfly which looked like a Heli-
conius, but revealed a different innervation of the wings. The various
groups of butterflies are recognized by this innervation, and the
wings of the captured butterfly showed that it belonged to quite
another group ; namely, to the Pieridae, which have many represen-
tatives in Europe. Being on the alert. Bates, and subsequently other
explorers, looked into the matter, and to-day we know that there
is a whole family of South American Pieridae which bear a striking
resemblance to the protected butterflies, and in shape and colouring
are quite unlike the rest of the Pieridae. Their wings are long and
narrow; one species, Dismorphia orise (Plate 29, I, 9), has, like
Methone, glassy yellow wings, rimmed with black; another, Dis-
morphia or Leptalis amphinoe, has black, ochreous, and yellow
markings, in imitation of the Mechanitis butterflies (Plate 29, I, 6),
while other species have selected other models. In many of the
Pieridae the form and colouring are such that one can no longer
recognize their descent, but in Dismorphia orise we see, on the
upper part of the hind-wing, a last vestige in the shape of a white
dust (9), while in Dismorphia arsinoe the female has no charac-
teristics of the Pieridae, although the male has a considerable white
patch on the hind-wing (5). Still more conspicuous is the difference
in the case of Perhybris pyrrha (Plate 29, I, 2, 3). Here the female
has clothed herself entirely in the black, brown and yellow costume
of the protected butterflies, while the male is an obvious Pierid,
very like our Cabbage White. But if one turns him over one sees
on the underside of the hind- wing an ochre-brown stripe edged
with black, the beginning of the Heliconius livery.

Bates, nearly eighty years ago, recognized the fact that these
Pieridae had probably adopted their colouring for protective
purposes. The Pieridae are highly appetising butterflies; in many
species, indeed, the males are fragrant as flowers. They are therefore
eagerly devoured by birds, lizards, and other enemies, and only their
rapid multiplication makes up for their losses. In Brazil, however,

219

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

a few forms have found another means of preserving their species.
Since they have adopted the appearance of the HeHconiinae, and
fly only in the company of the latter, their enemies regard them as
nauseating mouthfuls, and leave them alone. At the same time,
they are rare, and this rarity is essential, for otherwise the birds
might gradually come to realize that not all the "aeroplane butter-
flies" are inedible. But in some forms the male has not yet assumed
the protective costume; and we can understand why this is when
we remember that for the preservation of the species the protection
of the female, who is laden with eggs, is more important.

There are still other butterflies which have assumed the black,
brown and yellow costume. For example, Protogonius, which
belongs to the Leaf-butterflies ; but its shape, of course, does not
resemble that of the HeHconiinae. Phycioides, however, a relative
of our Mother-of-Pearl butterflies, imitates the HeHconiinae closely
both in shape and in colour. Even among the Blues a few species
seem to be on the way to resembling the protected butterflies, and
in the Pericopis family (Plate 29, I, 7) we actually find moths which
look like HeHconiinae and fly by day. The attentive observer will
of course recognize the insect immediately as a moth by the fine,
pointed antennae, for the antennae of the butterflies are club-shaped.

When protected species are imitated by others, which by assuming
the same appearance enjoy the same protection, the imitation is
known as mimicry. Mimicry is not confined to the New World. A
family widely distributed through all the regions of the tropics, and
protected by a repulsive odour, is that of the Danaidae, handsome
brown and yellow butterflies, which have a superficial resemblance
to our Painted Ladies. There are Danaids in Brazil, and there they
too fly slowly, but not at all as the HeHconiinae fly ; for they hover
in the most curious manner, rocking to and fro without moving
their wings : a most enchanting sight. In America, as in India,
butterflies of other families have borrowed the magic mantle of
the Danaidae.

Among the beetles too we find similar cases of mimicry. There
are beetles in South America which are so widely disseminated that
they actually give the fauna of many districts its peculiar character.
These are the Wolf-beetles (Plate 29, I, 12). These insects also
excrete a nauseating liquid, so that they have few enemies ; they can
be recognized at some distance by their wing-covers, which are
longitudinally fluted, and yellow with transversal black stripes;
they lie flat on the body, and are larger than the latter, so that

220

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

they seem to be unfolded. The beetle constantly raises and jerks
these wings, so that it catches the eye at a distance. We have already
seen that protected animals derive an advantage from drawing
attention to themselves.

The Wolf-beetles are imitated by beetles of quite different
families (Plate 29, I, 13-15). These are beetles with the same black
and yellow markings, and the same habit of lifting and depressing
the wing-covers. Even a Capricorn beetle has adopted this disguise.
Its long antennae might betray it, so it turns them back. And there
is even an insect of quite another race, a Burnet-moth, which
disguises itself as a Wolf-beetle. This belongs to the family of the
moths, so common in Europe, that flutter across our meadows, their
antennae curled like a ram's horns, their narrow wings a purplish
black, and spotted with red. In Brazil the family is peculiarly rich
in species, and resplendent with lustrous golden hues.

Another beetle is actually known as the Mummer, because its
hump-backed figure reminds one of a Leaf-bug, and like the latter
it excretes a stinking fluid. This beetle too adopts the warning
black and yellow stripes of the whole group. But the Mummer is
imitated by a second insect, a harmless Capricorn, which has
carried the imitation so far that even the two red specks on the
roots of the wings are not lacking. We shall find that black and
yellow, often with the addition of red, are everywhere employed
as signals of warning, or for purposes of intimidation. Even in
Europe the Salamander is black and yellow, and the Speckled Toad
has the same spotted belly, which it displays, throwing itself on its
back, when in danger of capture. Both animals excrete an acrid fluid.

The venomous Coral Snake of Brazil likewise shows resplendent
cross-bands of black, red and yellow. And two species of harmless
adders, which like the Coral Snake live in the ground, have precisely
the same colouring. I kept one of these adders in my room, always
delighting in its gleaming colours, with their fine steely radiance;
they seemed absolutely to shine when the snake had shed its skin.
One night I heard something thump on the floor, but I went to
sleep again, and when I got up in the morning I realized with
regret that my Coral Adder had regained its freedom.

Insects provided with a sting, and therefore dreaded by many
creatures, have a number of imitators. The Wasps have the warning
cross-bands of black and yellow on their abdomens, and are members
of the "assurance society" of protected creatures, as Weismann
has aptly called the insects which, in the common interest, wear a

221

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

common livery. Various species of Capricorns, Weevils and
Buprestidae have adopted the black and yellow signals, and many
forms endeavour, by the constriction and deportment of the body,
to imitate the dreaded sting-bearers.

A very great number of flies and butterflies imitate wasps, bees
or hornets. In the case of the flies no extensive modifications of the
body are necessary to ensure deception ; they have, like their models,
transparent wings; only one pair, of course, whereas wasps and
bees have two pairs (Plate 29, II, 19, 15). Among the butterflies
the Burnet-moths already mentioned are shaped like the Wasps,
while another group, the Glasswings, have lost even the scales of
their wings, and fly from flower to flower on transparent pinions.
In these forms the likeness to the bees and wasps is often so great
that even the expert is continually deceived (Plate 29, I, 10, 11).

Much more numerous, however, than the insects which imitate
other insects are those which imitate lifeless objects, or leaves,
twigs and flowers. The distance to be travelled is shorter; once a
protective coloration is assumed only a few steps have to be taken ;
the modifications of colour are followed by modifications of form.
Here again it is the insect world which affords innumerable examples
of such evolution, and once more they occur chiefly in the tropics,
where the greater wealth of forms oflfers greater scope. The insects
of Brazil, in particular, must amaze the attentive observer, who
suddenly recognizes as a living creature what at first appeared to
be a fragment of bark or a leaf. But he must, of course, keep his
eyes open. An American engineer with whom I spent some days
wandering through the mangrove-woods near Tamarande in
Pernambuco, and who astonished me by detecting, at a considerable
distance, an iguana amidst the branches of a lofty tree, told me
that he had trained himself to note movements only. Now he was
always aware of the very smallest movements. This I could under-
stand, for animals pay more attention to movements than to any-
thing else ; I often found that deer or foxes would come quite close
to me if I did not move, even if I were standing in an open meadow
or in the middle of a path.

Let us now make a survey of the insect world, in order to realize
how far Nature has endowed certain groups with the arts of mimicry.

Over the pond the dragonflies pass and repass with whirring
flight, now and again falling upon some insect, and eating it as
222

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

they hold it between their legs. Male and female, each bearing
tokens of its species which can be recognized at a distance — in
Brazil one species has splendid red wings, and the wings of another
larger species are golden-yellow, and rimmed with black — chase one
another, and finally cling together, and climb down a reed in order
to lay their eggs under the water. From these eggs the young dragon-
flies emerge in a wingless state ; they look like bits of broken reed ;
and they wear a mask, which enables them to creep along the
bottom of the pond unnoticed by their prey, and to seize it with
their suddenly protruded underlip, which is formed like a pair of
tongs. Such immature forms, which do not resemble the adult
insect, are known as larvae. At every moult the wings grow a little
longer, until the larva ascends to the surface, where its skin splits
open, and the dragonfly launches itself upon the air.

There are masters of mimicry in the family of the Locustidae.
These insects afford a nutritious and agreeable diet for many birds,
mammals, reptiles and other insects ; they have therefore to reckon
upon very heavy losses, which cannot be made good save by the
most successful adaptation to the environment, and profuse multi-
plication. The eggs are commonly protected by burying them in
the ground. Such is the habit of the notorious Migratory Locusts
of Southern Brazil, which from time to time appear in such colossal
numbers that their swarms obscure the sun, and the fields are laid
completely bare for many miles around. In the Argentine a swarm
of Locusts was observed which was sixty miles in length and twelve
in width !

I never noticed the huge locusts which were so common in the
coastal bush of Pernambuco until they flew ofT, unfurling their
red hind-wings. Directly they settled these were furled, and covered
by the green fore-wings, so that the insect was lost in the surrounding
foliage. But there are in Brazil certain "Leaf-locusts," or "Leaf-
insects," whose mimicry of leaves is perfect in its smallest details.
The fore- wings of these insects are held perpendicular, so that when
they settle on a twig the wings represent a perpendicular leaf, and
the sunken head the leaf-stalk. The wing has precisely the shape
of a leaf, and ends in a point ; a long vein, with smaller diagonal
veins which run across the wing, represents the innervation of a leaf
(Plate 29, II, 2). One species mimics a withered leaf with its brown
wings ; another mimics a green leaf with brown and yellow mottlings
at the tip, so that a partly withered and mildewed leaf is represented
with amazing accuracy. In another species spots of mildew are seen

223

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

at the centre of the leaf, which is slightly dished, as though it had
warped on withering. Anyone who examined the detached wing of
such a Leaf-locust would infallibly take it to be an actual leaf,
even after close examination. But once the insect takes to flight it
displays, on unfurling its silvery, glistening hind-wings, the identifica-
tion-marks of its species. One species has the hind-wings streaked
with brown, and on each wing is a large, beautiful eye, like the eye
of a peacock-feather (Plate 29, II, 2).

Some of the Praying Mantises bear an astonishing resemblance
to green leaves. These are locusts whose fore-legs are held up as
though in prayer, though their actual function is to catch other
insects, which are held as in a vice by the hinged legs, and then
devoured at ease (Plate 29, II, i).

For strangeness of form, the Stick-insect may be ranked with the
Leaf-insect (Plate 29, II, 16). These insects, which grow to a length
of 8 inches and more, have thin, rounded bodies, and resemble
a twig so exactly that even Wallace could not believe that he was
looking at an insect when a native brought him one of these curious
creatures. The Stick-insects, moreover, instinctively keep their legs
pressed close against their bodies, and stretch out their fore-legs
before them, still further prolonging the twig-like body. Their
mimicry is so painstaking that where the fore-legs run under the
head a recess is formed to admit the head, so that no prominence
breaks the outline of the apparent twig (16). But many of the
Stick-insects find that even this disguise is not enough ! If in spite
of it they are detected by an enemy, they eject a spray of an acrid,
burning fluid, which is said to possess so intolerable a stench that
one cannot go near the insect.

Unpleasant odours have been evolved as a means of defence by
still another order of insects : the Bugs. Their stinking exudation is
really an excellent means of intimidation, for if anyone eating
raspberries ever puts one of these insects into his mouth he will
pick the berries with twofold care thereafter, and will avoid even
touching such Tree-bugs. With such a means of defence, the insects
can safely permit themselves the most brilliant recognition-marks,
and as a matter of fact the bugs of Brazil, and especially the Shield-
bugs and Leather-bugs, are most beautiful insects, whose bodies
often gleam with a splendid metallic lustre (Plate 29, II, 4). There
are also bugs which protect themselves by their mimicry of bark.
It is almost impossible to detect such a Bark-bug when it is adhering
to the bark of a tree (Plate 29, II, 3). The body is so flat that it
224

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

hardly rises above the level of the surface to which it adheres;
moreover, the upper surface is roughened and corrugated, and its
colour precisely matches the surrounding bark. Even when removed
from the tree, anyone would take the insect to be a lichen-covered
fragment of bark.

The Cicadae are relatives of the Bugs (Plate 29, II, 6). In this
group the Thorn Cicadae are worthy of attention. In these little
creatures the scutum is developed into two long upward-pointing
thorns, so that when they are seated on a twig they are naturally
overlooked, as they seem to be simply thorns growing on the twig.
Brazil is rich in these remarkable little insects, which assume an
incredible variety of forms: sometimes they are adorned with
spines, toothed wheels, and other singular outgrowths.

In the Butterflies Nature seems to have sought to adorn the
landscape with jewels, with a species of flying flowers. But the world
is no place of peace and tranquillity ; other insects, spiders, frogs
and lizards hunt the defenceless butterflies untiringly ; birds capture
them in order to devour their succulent bodies, having nipped off
their gleaming wings, which for them are only troublesome acces-
sories ; and the caterpillars have still more numerous enemies.
The Lepidoptera, then, have need of a very thorough form of
protective coloration. At the same time, when they sail through
the air they must not fail to display their characteristic species-marks.
Nature has been able to solve both problems — by applying the
protective coloration to one side of the surfaces at her disposal, and
painting the other with the signs by which the species is known.
In the case of the Butterflies the latter are painted on the upper
surface of the wings ; when the insect is at rest it clasps its wings
together above its back; the coloured surfaces are concealed, and
only the underside of the wings is visible ; and this bears the protec-
tive coloration. In the Moths, the vivid colours are set on the upper
surface of the hind-wings, in accordance with the different position
of the wings. The fore-wings cover the hind-wings as with a roof,
and they consequently bear the protective coloration on their upper
surfaces. As in the birds, so in the moths and butterflies : the
protective coloration, which must be eflfective even at close range,
is full of fine detail, while the characteristic signals are applied to
wider surfaces, in broad stripes and patches, which can be seen
at a considerable distance.

In all the stages of their development the Lepidoptera profit by
protective coloration. The eggs are mostly green, like the leaves on

p 225

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

whose underside they are laid. The caterpillars assume the colour
of their environment ; diagonal or longitudinal stripes add to the
difficulty of detection. Many caterpillars feed only at night, and by
day, as I have already described, gather together in great clusters,
which mimic the bark of trees, or merely arouse distaste. The large
caterpillars of certain of the Bombycidae (Hyperchiria) or Silk-
moths have jet-black bodies, on which the yellow hairs have an
uncannily vivid appearance. We have already seen that black and
yellow are warning colours, and as a matter of fact these caterpillars
burn the fingers if they are handled. Before pupation they spin a
cocoon. In the emerging moth the upper surface of the fore-wing is
shaped and coloured like a leaf, but the hind-wings bear great eyes,
which are so finely shaded that they seem actually to stare from
the wings, and many birds might well be frightened if their intended
victim were suddenly to unfurl its hind-wings.

Other caterpillars construct a sort of bag with small fragments
of wood, and spin their silk around it. The body of the caterpillar
remains inside the bag. I found one species whose bag was as big as
one's finger, and hung downwards in a singular fashion when its
wearer crawled along a twig.

The largest of all the Lepidoptera is a native of Brazil : the Great
Owl moth, whose wings have a span of 1 1 inches. Despite its great
size, the sitting moth is very difficult to detect, since its white
wings, covered with wavy lines and specks of black, resemble the
bark of a tree. It is said to be so shy that it flies off" at the slightest
crackle of a twig; so that the Indians shoot it with the blowpipe.

Since the wings of butterflies are particularly well adapted to
assume the shape and colour of withered leaves, we need not be
surprised that Nature has employed this means of protection. It is
true that Brazil has no such perfect mimics of foliage as exist in
India, where the Kallimae imitate leaves so perfectly as absolutely
to defy detection, but the South American families of the Anaeae
and the Siderones nevertheless have remarkable gifts of mimicry.
When these insects fold their wings they assume the likeness of a
brown, yellow or green leaf, traversed by a few rather faint veins.
A few specks of mildew have not been forgotten. In flight, the butterfly
shows the vividly-coloured upper surface of its wings : brown and
blue, with light-blue spots, or red and yellow, or dark-red, enlivened
by bright-red cross-kernels.

As sting-bearing insects the Wasps and Bees have no need to
conceal themselves; but they are, as we have seen, the models for
226

THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

Other insects; and in particular for the Flies, which do not make
much use of protective colouring. — Brazil, by the way, boasts of the
largest flies in the world; great flies with bodies as long and thick
as one's little finger, which resemble the great hornets of which
I shall presently speak (Plate 29, II, 15). — The Beetles, however,
offer a rich harvest for those who wish to study protective coloration.
There are all sorts of green beetles, and others coloured like the
bark of trees, and some whose bodies have even the rough and
irregular surface of bark. The Weevils especially are past-masters
in such adaptations. Among them are forms like the Brenthidae
(Plate 29, II, 5), so long and thin that the insect resembles a twig.
The Capricorns too contain many species which in form and colour
show the most successful adaptation to their environment.

When night falls over the landscape protective coloration and
characteristic markings are lost in the general obscurity; only the
white of nocturnal flowers interrupts the shadows, while the bats
and nightjars betray their identity by the manner of their flight
as they shine against the lighter sky.

But suddenly signals blaze and blink which can be perceived
further than the brightest colours in the daytime. The fireflies have
begun their play : the fitting and visible expression of the bewildering
magic of the tropical night. Before ever I came to Brazil I had
seen in Ceylon the scattering sparks of the fireflies above the dark
meadows, and the thousands of green lights glittering in the trees,
which were thus transformed into very Christmas-trees; an unfor-
gettable spectacle. In Brazil I was once more to enjoy the play of
the green lights. In Petropolis, on New Year's Eve, as I walked
through the gardens in the fragrant summer night, the lawns were
as though illuminated, and with astonishment I noted how hundreds
of green lights blazed out simultaneously, and were simultaneously
extinguished; with so regular a rhythm that it seemed as though
the sparks were blown upon by a huge mechanical bellows that
gave a puff" every second. Of this extraordinary rhythm I could
discover no explanation.

The species of firefly or luminous beetle which I have just de-
scribed has, like its European relatives, a luminous organ on the
underside of the last two segments of the abdomen. The light is
produced by a substance which is decomposed, or rather oxydized,
by the oxygen in the spiracles surrounding the organ, under the

227

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

control of the nervous system. The rhythmical appearance and
disappearance of the light, which is seen in the Indian fireflies
also, is due to the movement of the terminal segments, which now
conceal the luminous plates and now uncover them. The function
of this rhythmical illumination is to attract the attention of other
fireflies ; just as in the streets of our cities the luminous advertise-
ments catch the eye by continually appearing and disappearing.
It may also afford the insect a measure of protection, for it has been
observed that the Carabid beetles leave the fireflies alone. A frog,
however, would not be intimidated by their light, which would only
draw his attention to his prey.

But besides the small fireflies, there are in Brazil much larger
luminous beetles, which belong to quite a different family, namely,
to that of the Elateridae (Plate 29, II, 8). I was once sitting on the
verandah of a lonely house in the forest of northern Pernambuco,
when such a beetle came flying up ; it had two greenish-blue lanterns
on its shoulders, so that it seemed, like a locomotive, to be lighting
its own track. It was a magnificent sight : especially when more of
these living aerial locomotives came floating up and flying across
the verandah. I have caught such luminous beetles, some species of
which have a third light on the underside of the body; even by
daylight the luminous organs were perceptible as yellow spots on
the hinder edge of the brown scutum or neck-shield, and they
blazed up at once if I carried the long narrow beetle into the dark.
I always kept such a "cucujo," as the insect is called in the West
Indies, in a glass on my bed-table, so that I might be able to tell
the time in the night. It filled the whole room with a faint green
light, which was intensified if I shook the glass. The explorer Dubois
succeeded in isolating the luminous substance of the "cucujo," and
he ascertained that it gave less than one-four-hundredth part of the
heat given off by a Bunsen flame of the same candle-power,
Wasmann facetiously suggested that it might one day be possible
to prepare pills of "cucujin," which scholars might swallow in order
to be able to work by the light of their own bodies. I have been told
that burglars have sometimes rubbed their faces with the green
luminous substance, in order to frighten the inmates of the house
they were entering. In 1634, when Sir Thomas Cavendish and
Sir Robert Dudley, in command of the English fleet, proposed
making a landing in the West Indies, they saw innumerable lights
moving about on the shore, and drew off again, concluding that the
Spaniards were approaching with an army of torch-bearing soldiers.
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THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS

Both the male and female shine, and even the eggs and larvae.
In South Brazil there is a beetle, one of the Malacodermata, whose
female, 2 inches in length, emits a coloured light. Explorers who
have encountered this grub-like creature creeping over the floor of
the forest have spoken with admiration of its fairy-like appearance.
The first segment of the body glowed like a red-hot ball of iron; the
rest of the body followed like a broad blue, or sometimes yellow, streak
of fire, and the constrictions of the segments gave it the appearance
of a string of gems. Whenever the insect stretched forth its head
one saw that the red stripe that ran down the back was continued
on to the head, and since the unlit portions of the head remained
invisible it looked as though the beetle was putting forth a fiery
tongue, and groping about with it.

There is a record of a fourth luminous insect having been found
in Brazil. In 1705 the naturalist and painter, Maria Sibylla Merian,
reported that some natives of Surinam had brought her some
insects, some 3 inches in length, with shapeless, bladder-like
heads and wings mottled with green and yellow; but the under
surface of each of the wings, when these were unfolded, showed a
great dark eye. The lady put the insects into a box. At night she
heard a sound, and opened the box, only to let it fall, startled by
the discovery that the heads of all the insects were blazing like
lanterns, so that one could have read the newspaper by the light
emitted. Since then these "lantern-bearers," which belong to the
Hemiptera, have often been caught, but they have never been
known to shine, so that Fraulein Merian's statement has remained
an enigma. Nowadays the majority of naturalists give it no credit,
but many are of opinion that the lantern-bearers shine only at
certain times, perhaps during the mating-season, as is said to be
the case with certain of their relatives in China, and that hitherto
only this lady has had the good luck to see the insect at the critical
period.

The human eye is an organ born of the light and turning to the
light. When night falls upon the earth it still longs for the light, and
our hearts greet with joy every spark that breaks through the
darkness. And there is something fairy-like and fabulous in the
green wandering lights whose bearers remain invisible. They seem
like the souls of creatures to which the meadows and thickets have
given birth in the silence of the night, and which by their soundless
dance express their mysterious emotions.

XIII

THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL

x\t the close of my last chapter, I said that the eye is born of the
light, and turns to the light. Light attracts the eye; involuntarily
the gaze fastens on places where lights gleam, where colours glow.
For this reason the characteristic markings which are intended to
catch the eye are for the most part brightly coloured. They take
the eye captive; it looks at them more and more closely; the back-
ground dissolves into a new atmosphere.

Not only birds, beetles, and butterflies bedeck the landscape with
coloured high-lights, but also the flowers. And it occurs to us to
wonder whether their colours too were designed to catch the eye.
For the eye is held by them; and everyone who comes from the
tropics is asked the question, whether the magnificent flowers do not
constitute the chiefest charm of the tropics.

But the plants have no eyes, and the colours of their flowers
cannot give signals by which one plant may recognize another of
its kind. What could it profit them indeed if one plant recognized
another, seeing that all are fastened to the spot on which they stand?
If we are to believe that the colours of the flowers mean nothing
unless there are eyes to see them, these eyes can only be the eyes
of animals, birds, insects. But if this is so we have yet another
proof of the harmonious homogeneity of all the parts of Nature, of
the truth of the idea which has been repeatedly expressed in these
pages, that no living creature lives to itself, but for the whole, to
whose perfection it contributes.

And, in fact, the flora and the fauna of a country belong to one
another, and the counterpart of the flower is the insect. We might
say that flowers and insects were, in a sense, developed from a single
idea when once their time had come, as a fresh enrichment of the
painting of Nature, and that here again we perceive her miraculous
property of changing, not only from hour to hour, but also from
epoch to epoch, like the images of a kaleidoscope, without ever
destroying the harmony of the whole.

Not until the end of the geological Middle Ages, in the so-called

Cretaceous period, did the flowering plants appear, and only from

this period did the insects begin the upward ascent which has led

to their present wealth of species. Nature, before that period, must

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THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL

have been poor in colour compared with what she is to-day, and
anyone who could have seen the earth during this stage of its evo-
lution would have gazed with astonishment at the emergence of the
colours which began to paint the landscape and make it suddenly
bright and cheerful.

Since at the end of the eighteenth century the Brandenburg
botanist Sprengel discovered the "secret of Nature" as regards the
production of flowers, the scientists have sought the solution of
riddle after riddle relating to the
structure of flowers. The result of all
their researches may be summed up in
the axiom: The coloured and scented
flowers were evolved by the plants for
the sake of the insects. The flowers
contain the sexual organs of the plants,
which, as in the animals, are male and
female. But in the plants both organs
are commonly contained in a single
blossom, which is therefore called an
androgynous flower. The male repro-
ductive substance, in the animals known
as semen, is situated, in the form of
"flower-dust" or pollen, on the stamens
(Fig. 13), which emerge from the
corolla of the flower, surrounding a
little staff* or style (or several such),
which is known as the pistil. The pistil
is a part of the female organs. It begins
with the stigma, the place where the
pollen is received, and ends, in the base of the flower, in a swelling, the
ovary or ovaries, which contains the ovum or ova. On fertilization the
stamen touches the stigma, and a grain of pollen forces its way through
the pistil into the ovary, combining with the ovum. The ovum thus
fertilized, which is now surrounded with some sort of husk, or even
a shell, becomes the seed of the plant, which either falls out of the
withered ovary, germinating in the soil and becoming a new plant,
or remains in the ovary, which proceeds to grow into a fruit. This
fruit is gathered or picked up and eaten by a bird or animal; the
seeds or stones fall out of it, or pass through the digestive system,
and are then sown by the natural action of the bowels.

So long as the structure of the flower is as I have described, it

231

Fig. 13. — Passion - flower or
Maracuja. Surrounded by
petals, sepals, and a coronet
of filaments. The ovary rises
in the centre, prolonged into
three pistils; around it stand
the five stamens with their
anthers

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

is always possible that the pollen may fall from the stamens directly
on to the stigma of the same flower, since this is surrounded by the
stamens. As a matter of fact, we find many such instances of self-
fertilization, but in the majority of cases the plants have tried to
avoid this method; as a rule by ensuring that the male and female
organs of a flower become ripe at different times, so that when the
pollen is ripe the stigma is not yet ready to receive it, but opens
only when the stamens of the same flower are withered. But self-
fertilization may be made impossible by the positions of the male
and female organs. We can understand why the plants endeavour
to guard against self-fertilization; for this is the highest imaginable
degree of inbreeding, exceeding even the marriage of brother and
sister, and examples in the lives of human beings and domestic
animals have taught us how quickly inbreeding may be productive
of bad results.

It is therefore to the advantage of the plants if the pollen from
the flower of one plant is conveyed to the stigma of the flower of
another plant. In the case of many trees, such as the Conifers, the
Hazels and the Birches, and also in that of the grasses, the pollen
is blown off* by the wind and carried far across country. Ponds
are sometimes covered with the yellow dust; persons whose
mucous membranes are peculiarly susceptible become afflicted
with hay fever ; and when the air is so full of pollen it is natural
that a grain will sometimes fall on the stigma of a plant of the
same species.

Most of the pollen, however, is lost, so that the plants had to seek
some means of getting the precious dust carried directly from flower
to flower. Such vehicles were found in the insects, which were able
to fly through the air, and were small enough to alight upon a flower
without breaking it or pulling it off".

But for their services as go-betweens in this matter of fertilization
the plants had to offer them some reward, for otherwise why should
the insects ever visit the flowers? The plants therefore began to
secrete a sweet, nutritious substance in their flowers — flower-honey,
or nectar, as it is better to call it, for we give the name of honey to
the nectar after it has been elaborated by the bee. Now, the plants
had to call the attention of the insects to this nectar, and so they
developed, round their blooms, bright petals, which could be seen
from a distance, and from the midst of these petals they sent forth
a perfume which filled the surrounding air. In this way an increas-
ingly intimate and friendly relation between the insects and the
232

Plate XXI

1

A FERREIRO S NEST

VULTURE-NETTLE-TREE

..^^

i^:^h^ '-"^t^

PILLAR-CACTUS

OITICICA

THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL

flowers was evolved, and presently there were whole groups of
insects which had actually transformed their bodies with a view to
seeking the new form of nourishment. The bees grew baskets on
their legs, which they filled with pollen, and a trunk or proboscis
with which to suck up the nectar, and the butterflies, which out-
wardly resembled the flowers, were also provided with a long pro-
boscis, which gradually assumed such a form that the insect was
able to feed only on the nectar of flowers.

But the reciprocal adaptation of the flowers had to be even more
elaborate. For if all the insects were to visit all the flowers, they
would, as a rule, convey the pollen of one species to the stigma
of another, and only by an unusual coincidence would an insect
fly direct from one plant to another of the same species. But since
fertilization cannot occur unless the pollen is conveyed to the stigma
of the same species, the plant would obviously find it advantageous
to specialize in respect of certain kinds of visitors. Once it had done
so, the selected insect would visit only plants of the same species,
dusting itself over with pollen in one flower, and brushing it off"
upon the stigma of another, and thereby fertihzing the latter. They
would — so to speak — put into only those harbours in which their
wares were valued. And the insects too would profit by such a
restriction, for they might be sure that their special flowers would
not be visited by all sorts of other insects, whereby the cup would
often be emptied before they arrived. Here again, then, we have an
example of the distribution of food according to an all-seeing plan,
and the creation of a harmonious work of art, all the parts of which
are mutually geared together. We see, too, that in virtue of such
reciprocity living creatures which apparently are quite unrelated may
be bound together by bonds of life and death. For example, it may
happen that in a whole countryside an important plant, such as
clover, is dying out, because it no longer produces seed. On closer
examination it appears that the seed cannot be produced because
the flower has specialized with a view to fertilization by the bumble-
bees, and that these have disappeared from the neighbourhood. We
find the cause of their disappearance in the depredations of the
field-mice, which have destroyed the subterranean nests of the bees,
and presently we discover that the mice have increased because all
the owls and buzzards have been shot. And this crime has been
avenged by the disappearance of the clover.

Most of the insects which have been chosen as the fertilizing agents
of flowers have one thing in common : a hairy body. With their

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

hairs they involuntarily brush the pollen from the stamens as they
creep into the flowers ; it remains entangled in their fur, until, when
next they enter a flower, it is rubbed off upon the stigma. Many
insects, like the bees, even collect the pollen in special combs or
brushes on their legs or abdomens, or in special depressions on their
thighs, or "baskets," for they require the pollen as albuminous
nutriment for their brood. Flowers which surrender their pollen as
nourishment produce such an excess of it that plenty is left for
the purposes of fertilization. Pollen-eating beetles, which visit such
"pollen flowers" exclusively, are always dusted all over with pollen;
they cannot clean it all off, and carry it into other flowers. Certain
orchids offer, in the place of pollen, a sort of albuminous meal,
which they expose upon their underlips, as though on a dish. Other
orchids develop nutritive warts and swellings, and by such means
they have taken into their service insects which would be of no use
to other flowers, as they have no proboscis with which they could
suck nectar.

The "nectar flowers," which offer sweetstuffs to their visitors, need
not be so prodigal of their pollen, and accordingly they produce
less. They can draw upon the hosts of suctorial insects. They special-
ize mostly in the quantity of the nectar offered, accordingly as they
wish to entice deep or moderate drinkers. The American orchid
Corianthes produces a most abundant supply of nectar. On the
"underlip" of this flower — namely, the petal which stretches down-
wards, and is slightly turned up again at the point — a little pocket
is hollowed out, and from two minute horns the nectar drips into
this pocket until it finally holds nearly an ounce of honey.

Another means adopted by the flowers of restricting the circle
of their visitors is to place the nectaries in a special position. Any
part of the flower may secrete nectar, and by deepening the corolla
it may be made less easy of access. Many plants, and especially the
Umbelliferae, oflfer their nectar, as it were, on flat dishes, so that
beetles and such flies as visit flowers can alight and lick it up without
more ado. In other flowers, however, the petals coalesce to form
tubes of varying diameter, until at last only the long trunks of the
butterflies or moths can find admittance. In Brazil there is a Hawk-
moth whose trunk attains the enormous length of more than
8 inches, so that it is able to enter a corolla of corresponding depth,
which no other insect is able to plumb. In America the Humming-
birds also are enlisted for the work of fertilization, and special flowers
have been evolved which are adapted to their bills, and even to the

234

THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL

bills of a particular species ; so that we now understand why the
bills of these birds are sometimes short, sometimes long, sometimes
curved, and sometimes straight.

The flowers must of course keep the honey intended for their
visitors in good condition ; they must not allow it to become diluted
with rain-water ; so they protect it by means of ingenious arrange-
ments of hairs, which turn the dripping rain aside. Moreover, they
even take measures of defence against uninvited visitors, who might
climb up the plant from the ground, and try to lick up the nectar
without conveying the pollen to other flowers. Just as our gardeners
protect their fruit-trees by rings of some adhesive substance, or
collars of downward-pointing spikes, so the plants surround their
flower-stalks with sticky rings, in order to prevent ants from approach-
ing nearer, or rows of thorns, to stop snakes ; or they buy such
creatures oflf by exuding another supply of nectar from the stem,
near the ground. There are even plants which induce the ants to
defend them against other unwelcome visitors, oflfering them food
or a dwelling-place in return for their services.

Even the attitude of the flowers is not a matter of chance. The
majority of the flowers look up to the sky, since their visitors come
down upon them from the air. The Gampanulae, on the other hand,
look downwards, since in this position they are more likely to attract
the bumble-bees, which fly up from the ground, and are all the more
eager to visit the bell-flowers inasmuch as they have few competitors,
and can count on finding the larder full. The Orchids mostly look
out sideways, in order to enable hovering visitors, like the Humming-
birds, to reach their nectaries even while on the wing. And the flowers
which depend on the Hawk-moths assume the same position, for
these insects also feed while hovering. For creatures which are not
such expert fliers the Orchids prolong their lower petal into an
underlip. This offers the insect a convenient alighting-platform, from
which it can creep into the interior of the flower. Many Orchids
have developed the underlip into a sort of stool (Fig. 14, 5), on
which the visitor can perch while he comfortably inserts his trunk
into the flower.

Even the scent which the flowers give out has been evolved for the
delectation of their visitors. While our own nostrils are able to
identify a number of flowers by their scent, the insects must have
a much more discriminating sense of smell, for they are able to

235

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

perceive odours at such a distance that a flower is able to attract
species of insects which otherwise one would never see. It has been
ascertained that bees are able to scent the flowers of the wild vine —
which for us are quite without perfume — at a distance of 300 yards ;
and if a female Peacock moth, who has no scent that our nostrils
can detect, is placed in a cage, she will attract, in the course of the
night, numbers of male moths, although these are by no means
common. And according to the nature of their visitors, the flowers
give off their scent by day or by night ; indeed, the intensity of their
scent varies at different hours of the day.

In Ceylon, one day, as I was walking through the botanical
gardens of Peradeniya, I suddenly drew back before a horrible
stench of putrefying flesh which filled the air. Looking up, I saw
flowers as big as a man's head hanging from a creeper-covered
arch (Plate 18). These were the flowers of the Brazihan Aristolochia
grandiflora. The flower of this creeper looks like an open bag ; the
mouth is wide agape, and has the colour of bleeding flesh. This
colour, together with the carrion stench, attracts flies; they climb
up a long filament that hangs from the flower, reach the edge of the
bag, and wander into it, following the scent. But the tubular part
of the corolla is set with hairs pointing inwards, which prevent egress,
on the principle of an eel-trap. The flies, having once entered, must
go on and on until they reach the dilated terminal portion of the
flowers, which contains the stamens, as yet withholding their pollen,
and the ripe stigma. If the flies have been in an Aristolochia before,
they have pollen adhering to them ; they rub it off on to the stigma,
and accomplish their task of fertilization. Now the hairs of the tube
grow limp, and simultaneously the anthers open. The flies cover
themselves with pollen and creep out, to repeat the whole act in
the next flower they visit. Brazil has quite a number of such fly-
fertilized flowers, which assume the most fantastic shapes imaginable.
For that matter, the Arums are fertilized by flies, and possess a
similar mechanism.

Just as the insects have a preference for certain odours, so they
are attracted or repelled by certain colours. Quite recently experi-
ments have been made in this connection, and it has been proved
beyond a doubt that insects actually fly towards certain colours,
even if these are represented merely by coloured strips of paper,
when any possibility of the co-operation of the sense of smell is
excluded. It has been shown that bumble-bees and hive-bees have
a preference for blue and violet, and other insects for yellow, while

236

THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL

red is avoided, being visited only if mingled with a little blue or
yellow, as is usually the case. Certain experiments actually seem
to prove that insects are "red and green colour-blind" ; that is, that
they do not perceive red as contrasting with green. In Europe there
are hardly any pure red flowers ; but in Brazil, as we have seen,
there are quite a number, and it has been suggested that in South
America the red flowers are visited and fertilized by Humming-
birds, which are not colour-blind. As far as my own observations go,
I cannot flatly assert that all insects are colour-blind, and prefer to
wait until the experiments have been extended to include the
Brazilian butterflies and hymenoptera, which I have often seen
visiting scarlet flowers. In the gardens of Rio, the parks of Nova
Friburgo, and the Horta da Luz of Sao Paulo are bushes with green,
sharp-cornered leaves, on which, in the month of May, great red
stars of such brilliance burst forth that one is literally dazzled by
them. Such a star is 12 to 16 inches in diameter; it consists of
twenty or more flame-red, narrow, pointed leaves, which surround
the actual inconspicuous inflorescence. This bush is a Euphorbia,
which the Brazilians call "Papagaio" ; but they give that name to
many brightly-coloured flowers. The assumption that insects would
be attracted from a distance by these brilliantly luminous flowers
was fairly obvious, and I did see whole flocks of butterflies hovering
over the bushes; and great numbers of the splendid Brazilian
Swallowtail, the black and yellow Thoas, settled on the flowers in
order to suck their nectar. In Nova Friburgo an engineer told me
that he was colour-blind, and could not distinguish the red of the
leaves surrounding the flower: for him they were indistinguish-
able from the ordinary leaves. If the butterflies were in the same
case, the great attractive power of the "Parrot-flower" was un-
intelligible.

The example of this Euphorbia teaches us, however, something
more. It demonstrates the many-sidedness of Nature, who does not
by any means rely upon one single scheme, but applies the most
various means to attaining one and the same end. As a general thing
the visible apparatus which is designed to attract the insects by
brilliant colour which contrasts with its surroundings consists of the
flower itself — that is, of its petals. In the Parrot-flower, however,
the blossoms are small, inconspicuous cups with yellow rims, and
the function of display is allotted to leaves with mid-ribs and lateral
innervation. But no flower could attract the gaze more forcibly than
these rosettes of large red leaves.

237

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

In Pernambuco there was a similar Euphorbia, but this was only
a shrub. This too turned its rosettes of coloured leaves towards the
sun, but only the inner half of each leaf was a fiery red. The shrub
is known locally as "Seems and isn't" — namely, a flower. There is
also a grass which bears such a rosette of leaves at its tip — but these
are silvery- white. In another Euphorbia the apparent flower consists
of two opposed leaves of a flesh-red colour, which are at the same
time glands, and enclose the invisible flower. Such a "flower" looks
like an umbel; the Brazilians, in reference to the two red leaves,
call the shrub "The Two Friends." This shrub is covered with thorns,
and is useful for hedging a garden. There are other thorny Euphor-
bias, with fleshy, cactus-like boughs, which are likewise used for
hedging ; if one grazes or breaks them in forcing one's way through
the hedge, a white poisonous milk gushes out; so that such a
"Tirucalli hedge" is impenetrable.

Another very curious Euphorbia is known as the "Leaf-bloomer,"
because the flowers with which the shrub is covered seem to spring
from the edge of the large green leaves. The apparent leaves, however,
are merely expanded twigs, which have taken over the work of the
leaves, while these have degenerated.

Like foam glowing in the evening sun the wine-red blossoms of
the Bougainvillea surge over the walls of the Brazilian gardens to
greet the passer-by. Examine one of these blooms : you will find
that the actual flowers have nothing to do with this resplendent
display of colour; they are small and yellowish-green, tubular in
form, assembled in threes, the outer ends of the corollae being slightly
divergent. Here again leaves have become blossoms, retaining their
shape and their innervation, but changing their original green for
a splendid wine-red.

In the Arums too the club-shaped inflorescence protrudes from
a bract which surrounds it like a sugar-bag, and this bract is a
splendid red, or is spotted with red; and the Gravatas too adorn
their inflorescence with handsomely coloured bracts, and sometimes
employ contrasting hues of red and yellow. And in the flower of
the Indian Cane or Canna even the stamens have to play their part
in the make-up of the splendid, iris-like flower ; only one stamen
carries an anther ; the rest are expanded into leaf-shaped forms, and
one is turned over like a lip. The Cannas may be seen growing like
yellow flags in damp, low-lying ground ; others, a lustrous orange-
red, or speckled with red, surround the huts of the workers in the
sugar-fields of Pernambuco, and the impression produced by their

238

THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL

fiery splendour is all the greater if one has just been wandering
through the forest of green cane.

But now for the beauty and wealth of colour of the flowers them-
selves ! What variety of form is achieved by the same arrangement
of petals ! Here, erect as a taper, rises the honey-coloured, oily,
glistening inflorescence of the Cassia from the great pinnate leaves ;
there the Gentropogon bush is covered with great crimson bells ; and
crimson too are the racemes of the Calliandra, while between the
flowers the yet unopened buds are strung like coral beads. This shrub
is one of the Mimosas, as one may see by its finely pinnated leaves.

Many flowers add to their effect by their expanse : for example,
the Victoria regia, whose flowers are as big as plates, and the
Aristolochia grandiflora, whose flowers are so large that children
at play wear them as caps. Others assemble themselves in umbels,
racemes, panicles and clusters, thereby enlarging the coloured area ;
for example, the trees of the Brazilian forests seem covered with
huge bouquets of flowers. Again, insects are often shown the way
to the nectaries by rings of colour.

Flowers have devised yet other methods of permitting only
certain groups of visitors to reach their nectaries. Every flower has
its appointed season of blooming — that is, of giving access to its
interior — and this season always coincides with that of the insects
which are expected to fertilize it. Even the time of day plays its
part in the opening of the flowers. For the whole animal world does
not awaken simultaneously; each creature goes to its day's work
at its own appointed time. Every hour of the day some fresh species
of insect spreads its wings, until night falls, and the diurnal creatures
rest ; and then the moths begin to whir through the air. The flowers
have adjusted themselves to this gradual unfolding of life; they
remain closed until their appointed hour, and save their perfume
until their friends can come to them. Then only do they open, and
invite their guests with their coloured petals and far-flung fragrance.
The great Linnaeus was well aware of this peculiarity, and in the
botanical gardens of Upsala he made a "flower-clock" ; he planted
only species which open their petals at a certain hour, and close
them as punctually ; and so one could read the time by the flowers
which had just opened. Needless to say, the flower-clock was not
perfect, for the plants in question do not all flower at the same
time of the year.

239

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

But we perceive in this flower-clock yet another proof of the unity
and harmony of creation. Just as in a play not all the players appear
on the stage at the same time, so in Nature scene follows scene, and
in each two new protagonists encounter one another, whose charac-
teristics harmoniously complete one another, and who are mutually
dependent, although they belong to two different kingdoms.

On my very first morning in Brazil, as I strolled about the monas-
tery garden in Olinda, overjoyed once more to see the tropical sun,
my attention was attracted to some small five-petalled violet bell-
flowers which were seated in the axils of their leaves. These little
flowers were so numerous that the ground all about me was blue
with them. I was called away, and decided to examine the plant
more closely in the afternoon, but then, to my surprise, all the
flowers had disappeared. Not until the next morning did I find
them again, and realize that they open only in the morning. The
Brazilians call the plant Fleabane, because fleas are supposed to
remain stuck on it, and it does actually exude a sticky substance
that gives a delicious odour of cedar oil. In August and September
the monastery garden was full of the delicate cedar-like fragrance,
and even on the monastery farm the air was aromatic with it, so that
it was delightful to stroll through the fragrant fields in the evening.

A delicious little hyacinth, which is fond of blooming by the way-
side, conceals its tiny blue bells in the afternoon; and the sky-blue
flowers of the Commelina too disappear. This charming little plant
is as modest and lovable as our own Forget-me-not, and like the
latter, prefers a damp situation. The yellow stamens protrude from
a green capsule, which contains water, and beside them are two
stalked petals of the tenderest pale blue. I have already spoken of
the "Nine o'clock Bindweed."

The nocturnal flowers are wonderful. They may be distinguished
by their whiteness, for gay colours cannot be seen in the dark ; only
white is luminous. Like our Honeysuckle and Soap wort, the nocturnal
flowers of the tropics exhale a particularly strong perfume ; in the
night the sense of smell must come to the help of the sense of sight ;
and the olfactory powers of the nocturnal insects, such as the Hawk-
moths, of which Brazil possesses some very large species, are very
strongly developed, while it seems to have been proved that these
insects are completely colour-blind. To correspond with the long
trunk of the Hawk-moth, the flowers that open by night are often
tubular in form, and have wide funnel-like orifices, so that the
insects can see at once whither they must fly.
240

THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL

By day the scent of all these flowers is not perceptible, but when
the night comes their life begins, and it is surprising to note how
the splendid Tiger-orchid, for example, will open its blossoms in
as little as three minutes. With slight, jerky movements the petals
spring asunder, and a faint pattering sound is plainly audible.
Another surprising and fascinating plant is the "Queen of the Night,"
or "Night-blooming Cereus," a Central American cactus, which
opens its great flowers — 8 inches in diameter, white within and
yellow without — only for one night, when they exhale a strong
scent of vanilla.

Since the flowers have so subtly adapted their organs of attraction
to the insects, it is only to be expected that the process which consti-
tutes the aim of all these devices should likewise be regulated in
the subtlest and most various fashions. And such is indeed the case.
The male reproductive substance, the pollen, is produced in the form
of a loosely-held dust of tiny grains, exposed upon anthers supported
by flexible stamens. The insect must come into collision with the
stamens, and dust itself with pollen, and must then force its way past
the stigma, the female organ of conception, so that a few grains of
pollen are rubbed off upon the latter. We have seen that the stamens
and the stigma, with its pistil and ovaries, commonly ripen at
different times, so that the pollen cannot fertilize the stigma of its
own flower. But there are plants, like the Mamao-tree, the Ombii,
and others, which have separate male and female flowers, the first
containing only stamens and the latter only the ovary and its acces-
sory parts ; and in most cases these male and female flowers are
produced by separate plants, so that there are male trees and
female trees.

Those wonderful flowers, the Orchids, have evolved a quite special
mechanism of fertilization. They do not dust one another with their
pollen ; for the pollen grains adhere to two little club-shaped anthers
or pollinia, which are seated on short stalks or caudicles that spring
from a projection above the entrance to the "spur" of the blossom
(Fig. 14). The spur is the tubular prolongation at the back of the
flower, at the point of which the nectar is secreted. When an insect
flies up to the Orchid, it alights on the downward-pointing petal
which forms the "underlip" or threshold, and thrusts its proboscis
into the spur. In doing so it butts against the projection, and in a
moment both pollinia are affixed to its head, like a pair of horns.

a 241

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

The pollinia may be made to spring off and adhere to a pencil or
a needle if this is thrust into the spur ; when withdrawn, the two
little horns will be seated upon it. As the insect flies away, the
pollinia, actuated by an internal mechanism, bend forwards, and
when the insect visits the next flower they inevitably strike the
stigma, to which the pollen adheres, whereby fertilization is effected.
In the Silkweeds or Milkweeds (Asclepiadeae) there are tiny gins
or "pinch-traps" which adhere, with the pollen, to the feet of the

Fig. 14. — A Tropical Orchid. N, the entrance to the spur con-
taining the nectary, in which the stigma is situated. Above N
are the club-shaped pollinia {pp). The insect alights on the
stool [s), and thrusts its head into the orifice. Touching
the triggers {t), it releases the pollinia {pp), which spring off
on to its head and there adhere. As the insect flies away they
fall forwards, striking the stigma of the next flower visited

visiting insect; and these gins are actually set in slots into which
the insect is obliged to put its feet, as the petals are smooth and
slippery. In other flowers the stamens are like turnpike bars ; they
fall down upon the entering insect when it touches a spring in the
vestibule of the nectary. The flowers of the Fig-cactus too have a
fascinating mechanism. From a pit filled with nectar rises the pistil
with its stigma, and the stamens stand around it in a circle. When
an insect arrives it settles on the stigma and tries to climb down to
the nectar. But in doing so it touches the stamens, and these are
so contrived that on being touched they curl over in groups, and
242

THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL

Strike at the insect, like delicate mechanical hammers, until the
visitor is completely dusted with pollen.

Other flowers emit whole clouds of pollen as soon as an insect
approaches them. The Posequeriae are Brazilian plants, and among
them is the "Ara^a do brejo." The flowers are like those of the honey-
suckle; they are white, and fragrant, and adapted for fertilization
by insects with long trunks. The anthers are emptied into the flower,
where the pollen adheres into a ball. If a butterfly touches the
flower, this ball flies between the filaments, which spring asunder,
and strikes the proboscis, to which it clings; at the same time the
tubular part of the corolla closes, so that the butterfly cannot
introduce its proboscis. If it wishes to quench its thirst it must go
to another flower which has been visited some hours previously;
here the way will be open to the nectary; the butterfly can insert
its proboscis, and in doing so it rubs the ball off* on to the stigma.
In this ingenious manner self-fertilization is avoided. There are
Orchids too which have catapult devices, and one species (Gatasetum)
can shoot its pollinia to a distance of a yard when touched. One
can imagine with what violence they strike the head of an insect !

We cannot in these pages examine these miracles of Nature more
thoroughly; they are so various and complex that Darwin was able
to write a whole volume on the fertilization of the Orchids. But
there are two mutual relations of which I must say something, for
they represent the highest point of the co-operation of flowers and
insects, and concern groups of plants of which many are native in
Brazil.

A family of plants which is distributed throughout the tropics is
that of the Fig-trees, of which the South European Fig and the
Indian Rubber-tree, a favourite indoor plant, are familiar to
Europeans. Everyone has eaten a fig, but few will have examined
the succulent fruit more closely, and discovered that the fig is a
composite fruit, quite different in its structure from a pear. If we
cut a fig in half we see that it contains a hollow space, and that
this hollow is lined with a vast number of tiny fruits. The fig, indeed,
may be compared to an urn. Before the fruit is formed there lie,
at the bottom of the urn, countless little stigmas, whose pistils peep
out like so many threads, and near the narrow mouth are tiny
stamens with their pollen (Fig. 15). Into this urn creep little wasps,
members of the Gall-wasp family, which by means of their stings

243

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

create galls on the leaves and shoots, in which their eggs develop

into larvae in safety, provided with an abundant supply of food,

finally developing into wasps. The little Fig-wasp perforates one of

the tiny ovaries with her ovipositor, and lays her egg in it. From

this egg emerges the white legless grub or larva, and after gradually

devouring the whole contents, it pupates in the

ovary. The first to emerge from the pupae are the

males, which, being wingless, look like small ants.

They seek the winged females, which await them

inside their galls, and fertilize them. Now the

females too emerge, creep up to the edge of the

urn, dust themselves over with the pollen of the

stamens, crawl through the opening to the light

of day, and wander off to another fig, which is

younger, so that its ovaries are still intact. Here

they at once lay their eggs, perforating the ovaries,

and in doing so rub the pollen all over the stigmas.

■c, X n ■ The ovaries in which the eggs are laid do not

Fig. 15. — A fig, in ....

section, showing develop, but the plant is indemnified, since enough

the interior of ovaries are left which are not perforated, but are

the urn with the fgrtifized with pollen, so that they are able to

fat oL of develop into fruits. The fig-trees therefore develop

which is flying their fruits under conditions of special security, for

over It, while jjj ^-}^g ^^n these are protected from the rain as

. , , ' ,, surely as in a room. For that matter, the Mediter-
right, another ^ _ '

(enlarged) is ranean fig produces two kinds of ovaries: some

emerging from with long pistils, which are intended for fertiliza-

its gall. On the ^^ ^^^ some with short pistils, which are utihzed
leit IS a single 1 • r- n

flower with ^'^^ the production of galls ; annexes, as it were,

threadlike pis- placed at the disposal of their guests. So far, nearly

til. {Enlarged, f^f-^y species of Gall-wasp have been discovered
after Kerner Han- ... , ^ • • • y ^ n • c ^

^^^x living in symbiosis with the boo species 01 ng-

tree.
Still more wonderful, perhaps, is the behaviour of the Palm-lilies
or Yuccas. These plants belong to the Liliaceae, and are relatives
of the Dragon-trees of the Old World. The inflorescence of the
Palm-lily rises from a thick bush of sharp-pointed leaves ; it consists
of hundreds of handsome white bell-flowers, hanging like the bells
of a glockenspiel. As the white or faint rose-pink of the flowers indi-
cates, they are nocturnal blooms, and in the evening they burst
open and shine through the dusk. If one examines them closely one
244

THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL

sees that the inflorescence is surrounded by swarms of tiny white

moths, which in the moonlight have a metallic lustre. For a while

they dance their fandango in silence; then a female flutters aside

and creeps into a flower. Here, with a sickle-shaped scraper, created

only for this purpose, she sweeps the pollen together, and flies oflf

to another flower, holding the mass of pollen, which is often three

times the size of her head. Now we see that this

little creature is equipped with an ovipositor, a

most unusual organ in the order of the Lepi-

doptera. This ovipositor, which is infinitely

slender, but none the less hollow, is thrust into

the ovary, and an egg is laid at the side of one

of the seed-capsules. Once her work is done the

moth crawls up the pistil and thrusts the pollen

which she has brought into the stigma (Fig. i6).

Now the work is done, and the little moth
leaves the flower. From the egg emerges a cater-
pillar, which devours the seeds in the ovary until .^yi

it is mature, when it gnaws its way out, lets itself p^^ j g 'p^^^ Yucca

down from the flower by a thread from its moth is shown at A

spinnerets, and pupates in a cocoon. But as soon

as the flowers of the Palm-lily bloom again the

little moth emerges. In the meantime her old

dwelling has not done so badly, for a single

flower produces 200 seeds, while the caterpillar

eats only eighteen to twenty, so that even if

several eggs have been laid in the ovary enough

remain to propagate the plant. The moth, of

course, pushes the pollen into the stigma simply

in order that the seed shall be fertilized and

develop, and so provide food for the caterpillar,

for unless fertilized the ovary would wither. But

the plants profit by the moth's exertions, for without these moths

the Yuccas, whose home is in Central America, cannot reproduce

themselves. The finest form, however, the splendid Gloria, can be

reared only from shoots, since the seeds never develop, because

(or so it is presumed) its special moth is extinct.

It is difficult to imagine a more astonishing spectacle than that
of this little moth, which, in conveying the pollen to the stigma,
is apparently as conscious of her purpose as any gardener. And yet
the whole action is instinctive. For who could teach the moth what

245

sweeping up the
pollen from a
stamen, 5; in B she
is thrusting it into
the stigma of a
Yucca blossom,
after laying an egg
in the ovary, which
is seen surrounded
bystamens. C shows
a section of the
ovary, with the
caterpillar lying
amidst the seeds.
{Adapted from Riley)

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

to do? She has no example set her; she has never seen such a thing
as a Palm-lily when she emerges from the cocoon; yet she flies to
this plant, and no other, in order to perform her complicated task
for the first and only time in her life.

Truly, this behaviour shows us that so far from the moth reflect-
ing and acting deliberately, she is merely an unconscious instrument,
and has no conception of the meaning of her actions. But not only
is her instinct orientated toward this particular flower; her body
too, with its pollen-scraper and ovipositor, is constructed for co-
operation with the Palm-lily, and the plant itself has adapted its
flowers to this very insect.

The moth has long been dead when the caterpillar emerges ; she
never sees the result of her labours. She should teach us, then, that
the events of our lives, and the deeds and destinies of peoples, though
to us they often seem aimless and void of meaning, may yet have
come to pass as they should for the great Becoming. From the
smallest moth to man himself, all things sow the seed of that which
is to be, and which will come to pass even as Necessity decrees.

XIV

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

J? ROM the pealing of thunder to the quiet rippHng of the brook,
the tones of Nature are the expression of her mood. When we lie
at the edge of the forest, when all is so still within us that our souls
are conscious of the life and growth of the plants, and when the
setting sun gilds the wide landscape, and behind us, from the darkling
thicket, the evening song of a bird rings out, our eyes and ears admit
us to a great Unity, of which we also, in happy self-obhvion, form
a part.

It may be said that the voice of every bird is subtly attuned to
its surroundings. The notes of the birds that sing by day in the
sunlit forest are fresh and radiant; the bird that bids farewell to
the setting sun has notes of passionate melancholy; and the call
of the owl, as it echoes through woods at night, is dark with
their own mystery. The trills of the lark are as endless as
the heavenly blue in which it floats ; the confidences of the reed-
warblers remind one of the rustling of the reeds amidst which
they sing, and the whisper of the gravel in the swift places of
the stream.

So each part of the earth has precisely the bird-voices that are
in tune with it, and those who seek to naturalize foreign birds in
their own country betray a complete incomprehension of the
harmonious art of Nature. And Nature revenges herself for such
discords in her symphony; for every creature torn from its natural
surroundings changes its habits and becomes a pest. In Australia,
for example, the European starHng has become a fruit-eater, and the
Indian starling an egg-stealer; the larks there feed on turnip-seed,
the greenfinches on corn, and to-day the Australians would gladly
be rid of these unwelcome guests. But this is not so easy; it may even
be utterly impossible; as it would be to exterminate the sparrow
which has naturalized itself in North America, spreading from New
York to San Francisco, to the despair of the farmers.

When first I arrived in Rio it was raining. I was rowed ashore to
the quay from the coastal steamer by which I had come, and when
I landed and walked into the city across a great open praga I felt as
though I had left sunny Brazil, and was now in a seaport of Northern
Europe. The rain was beating down the smoke of the chimneys,

247

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

and all the air smelt of it, and on every side the sparrows chirped
from the trees and housetops !

The European starling has unfortunately naturalized itself not
only in Rio, but also in Southern Brazil, Montevideo, Buenos Aires
and Chile, and is everywhere a pest. In Rio a few pairs were released
in the Park of the Republic, and they proceeded to spread over
the country. Since the note of the starling is a discord in the symphony
of Brazilian bird-song, it is all the more regrettable that this bird
is gradually ousting the pretty native Bunting, the "Ticotico." But
in the neighbourhood of Rio at all events this brown and white
speckled bird with the yellow patch on the throat still outnumbers
all other birds, and in November I heard its rather peevish little
song on every side :

W

the bird bristling its crest as it sang. In Pernambuco the sparrow
is replaced by a prettier bird, the "Canario." This little bird resembles
the familiar canary in appearance, except that its yellow plumage
is set off by an orange-red forehead. Whole flocks of these "canaries"
descend upon the streets and meadows ; in north-eastern Brazil the
people say that they are increasing, since they are becoming more
and more accustomed to man, and nest under the tiles of a roof,
if a tile is loose, or under the gables. I cannot represent the song
in musical notation, for it has no real pitch ; it is simply a metallic,
staccato zip, zip, zip, zulip, zulip, zipzipzip-

When the rumour of man and his machines dies away, then the
voice of Nature comes into its own. As in a concert the solo voices
and choruses rise above the orchestral accompaniment, so in the
symphony of Nature there is a leading melody, and an accompani-
ment which expresses the mood of the countryside. The instruments
of the orchestra are the seething waves, the wind, the rain, the
rustling leaves; the soloists and singers are the birds, frogs and
insects ; but even Nature does not bind herself to hard and fast
rules, and the frogs and insects may often take over the accompani-
ment, which runs on indefatigably, sinking and swcUing.

Like the scents and colours, the tones of Nature blend into a
harmonious unity; every concert in the woods and fields utters the
248

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

mood of the landscape. This harmony impresses itself on the mind,
so that I often seem to hear again the tones once heard, and there-
upon I see the image of the land in which I heard them. The glittering
tropical landscape calls for another sort of concert than ours, just
as the minuet belongs to the rococo period, the waltz to the Victorian
era, and the fox- trot to our own days.

Even the ocean sings a different song, on the sunny coast of north-
eastern Brazil, from the song of the Baltic amidst the Frisian Islands.
Since in Brazil there is not a day without sunshine, and the landscape
smiles through the hours, there are no storms on the coast of
Pernambuco; with an eternal, gentle murmur the trade-wind rolls
the billows shoreward, to break, loudly thundering, against the
rocks and headlands of the coast, flinging their spray high into the
air. Even more violently the ocean casts itself upon the rocky coast-
line of Rio ; indeed, at certain times the tide flows so strongly into
the bay that the rollers breaking on the stone breastwork of the
splendid promenade fling themselves up to the height, not of the
houses merely, but of the very steeples: a spectacle of startling
grandeur, a further wonder of this incomparable capital.

In the mountains of Rio terrific thunderstorms develop, and the
rain often falls in such masses that the water is knee-deep in the
streets and the passengers in the electric trams cannot alight, but
have to travel round for hours. In Pernambuco, on the other hand,
while there are sometimes inundations, thunderstorms are very rare
indeed, and once, during a storm which occurred when I was in
Olinda, a tremendous clap of thunder was followed, as though by
an echo, by the shrill shrieks of terrified women from all the houses
of the town.

A tropical rainstorm is more like a waterfall than the showers
we know in Europe, and a characteristic sound of the tropics is the
shrill, hard patter of the rain on the tough foliage of the trees. This
metallic tone, however, is as perfectly attuned to the glittering
landscape as the gentle rustle of our Northern rain to the tender,
transparent green of the leafage of our trees.

The leaves and flowers of many tropical trees look as though stamped
out of sheet metal and painted with glossy lacquers ; the plumage
of many birds glitters like bronze ; and many insects have gold and
silver blended with the colours of their bodies. To this external
aspect of the tropical country the metallic voices of its singers are

249

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

attuned. When I went to Ceylon I was struck by the metalhc tone
of the birds' voices. In a great Indian Silk-cotton tree, which had
shed its leaves, but had replaced them by a glory of strawberry-red
blossoms, large as tulips, an Indian starling sat, its strophes pealing
through the glittering sunny landscape like the tones of a trumpet,
incomparable in their richness and variety. This was the Indian
counterpart of our blackbird in the blossoming cherry-tree !

The new arrival in Brazil is promptly greeted by the Bemtevi, a
bird about the size of our shrike, with brown back and yellow
breast, and one black and one white stripe on either side of the head,
which also bears a yellow crest. The Bemtevi, and a smaller relative,
which resembles it, and also the Siriri, belong to the Tyrant family.
These powerful, vigorous birds do really rule the neighbourhood,
as their name implies. They sit on a tall stump, or the topmost
branch of a tree, the yellow breast visible at a great distance, catching
insects on their easy, dashing flight, and pursuing every hawk or
Anum with an impudent outcry. Nothing escapes them, and the
call, which to a Brazilian ear is Bemtevi, "I see you plainly," fits
the bird as do few birds' names. Beside Bemtevi the bird has another
call, piae, and in both calls, which he sometimes combines in a
cheery song, the i is long-drawn, with a nasal quality. This nasal
accent is so genuinely Brazilian that in conversing with Brazilians
I was constantly reminded of the Bemtevi, and often wondered
whether the Bemtevi acquired its accent from the Brazilians, or they
theirs from the characteristic Brazilian bird. At all events, the
Portuguese language, as spoken in Brazil, is rather metallic in tone,
and seems to fit the environment. It is very musical; and often,
especially on the lips of young girls, it reminded me of the clarionet.

The metallic quality of the voices of the Brazilian fauna is exem-
plified by the fact that the Brazilians have given the name of
Ferreiro, "the smith," to no less than three different creatures.
First, to a snow-white bird the size of a thrush, whose skin-covered
throat has a verdigris-green, metallic lustre, and which lives in the
forests of the southern half of Brazil ; while in the north-west it is
represented by a relative, not unlike it, but having brown wings
and black hair-like feathers on the throat. When these birds are
vocal it sounds as though someone were hammering iron rails with
all his might : peng, peng, peng, peng, peng ; beginning with a few slow
strokes, and rapidly increasing the tempo. It speaks well for the
nervous systems of the Brazilians that they are fond of keeping
the Ferreiro or Araponga as a cage bird, and hanging it outside
250

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

their windows, so that one hears the "smith" streets away; while
if one stands before the cage one's ears ring with the din.

The second "smith" is the Bundle-nest bird or Turucuhe; its tones
are not like hammer-strokes, but may be compared with the sound
of a knife-grinder at work. While the Turucuhe is a characteristic
bird of the Sertao, whose grinding sound seems attuned to the
spacious wilderness, a cinnamon-brown relative, the Curutia, is
common all over Brazil. This bird does not very often suspend its
great "bundle-nest," but builds it in the branches of a bush (Plate
28, 19). Its call is a shrill, far-reaching trrrrr . . . ; which reminds one
of the sound of a toy watchman's rattle. On all the paths of the Tijuca
one hears its warning, emphatic tikju, or a sharp zrip, and sees the
lively, cinnamon-brown bird slipping excitedly through the bushes,
in its movements reminding one of our hedge-sparrow. Once I saw
a Curutia wade some distance into a stream, catching water-insects.
The Potter-bird, "Joao de barro," has also a trilling cry, or rather
shriek, trrr, which it intersperses with single vigorously staccato notes.

The third Ferreiro is a frog. The call of this large brown batra-
chian sounds like the stroke of a hammer on a barrel, and it would
be more fitly called the "Cooper." A related species, Hyla crepitans,
which I heard in a pond near Victoria in Pernambuco from a moving
train, deluded me into thinking that a railway worker was throwing
rails on to a heap. Of the first of these hammering frogs I shall say
something in the next chapter.

A characteristic sound of all tropical countries, and also of southern
Europe, is the song of the Cicada (Plate 29, II, 6). The Brazilians
call this insect the "Cigarra." Therefore, if one wants a cigar in
Brazil, one must not ask for a "cigarra," or one might be offered
one of these insects ; the Brazilians call cigars charutos. The name
"Cigarra" really fits the insect better than Cicada, as it is more
suggestive of the whirring "song" of the insect.

As in the case of the birds, it is only the male that "sings" ; a
fact which inspired the Greek Xenarchos of Rhodes to exclaim:
"Happily live the cicadas, for their wives are dumb." The vocal
apparatus is in the abdomen, and consists of two stretched mem-
branes, like drum-heads, which are vibrated by special muscles.
The sound thus produced is amplified by the large resonating
cavities in the body. The Cicadas, then, are drummers, whereas
the Grasshoppers and Crickets are fiddlers, for they draw a toothed
shank across the edge of the wing, or even rub the wings together.

The female Cicadas lay their eggs, by means of an ovipositor,

251

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

in the bark of a tree. Small larvae emerge, fall to the ground, and
there, with the help of special spade-like digging-legs, live a sub-
terranean existence, feeding on the roots of plants (Plate 29, II, 7).
They take their time about it, passing through several moults, for
according to their species it may be anything up to seventeen years
before they mature. The larva finally appears on the surface of the
soil, climbs up a tree, and hooks itself fast ; and then the last moult
takes place. The skin of the back splits lengthwise, and the Cicada,
henceforth a winged insect, hfts itself out, waits for its plump grey
body — as thick as one's finger — to dry, and then flies oflf. The split
skin, however, remains hanging on the tree, and gives rise to the
legend, which one hears all over Brazil, that the "cigarras" shriek
until they burst.

As a matter of fact, hardly any insect has a louder voice than
the Cicada. I often sat in the garden, with my friends, taking part
in a lively conversation, when there suddenly sounded, from the
nearest tree-trunk, in rapid crescendo, the shrieks of the Cicadas,
silencing us completely until they abruptly broke oflf. Nevertheless,
I could not be vexed with the musicians ; but only felt thankful that
I was still alive to hear such tones of Nature's symphony. When a
Cicada sings it is as though a siren began to rotate, ever more and
more rapidly, until at last the shrill whistle rings out. Phonetically,
one might perhaps represent it by zi, zi, zi, zi, zizizirrrrr. Some have
voices which are deeper in pitch, and in the very large forms the
siren first howls a bass note, gradually ascending the scale : Uuuua^
zi, zi, zi, zi, zi- Sometimes there is even a pretty harmonizing third.
In Seringal, Pernambuco, I wandered into the forest late one
afternoon, when the last rays of the sun were shining through the
foliage, so that the leaves glistened and the tree-trunks glowed with
a reddish light. And then, before I had gone very far, what a revela-
tion of life broke upon me ! It was a fortissimo concert of Cicadas,
such as I had never before heard. Here one began with the crescendo
accelerando of its drums; there another joined in, and suddenly a
siren shrieked close to my ear. At the same time, at every moment
one of the insects flew oflf, the long glassy wings dragging the heavy
body through the air with a loud buzzing sound ; on every side their
wings were glittering as these living aeroplanes flew from tree to
tree and settled, their heads, with the great eyes on either side,
pointing downwards. It was a deafening din, and the whole forest
seemed to vibrate ; indeed, one finally seemed to feel a resonance
in one's own body. And this filled one with a quite peculiar emotion ;
252

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

one felt at last that one was oneself an instrument of Nature and
her musicians.

Among the widespread legends relating to the tropics is the oft-
repeated statement that the tropical birds are beautiful to look at,
but do not sing. But I had not been long in Ceylon before I had
convinced myself that the Indian birds have the most glorious voices,
and that their song is no whit inferior to that of the European birds
in beauty and variety.

As regards Brazil, we have already seen that this country is part
of a continent which must have been early cut off from the northern
mainland, at a time when the final ramifications of the various
orders of animals had not yet emerged. But the song-birds represent
such a ramification ; they are in a sense at the very summit of avian
evolution, and many developments that are merely foreshadowed
in other orders have first attained perfection in them. The birds,
as flying animals, are adapted to the use of audible signals of recog-
nition ; many of them, too, are gregarious, and naturally call to one
another, and so, in order to produce the requisite vocal modulations,
a special apparatus has been evolved, which is found only in the
birds. This apparatus is the inferior larnyx, or syrinx. Like other
animals, including man, the birds have a larynx at the upper end
of the windpipe, but they have also a second larynx where the
windpipe divides into the two branches, or bronchi, which lead to
the lungs. This inferior larynx or syrinx is the actual singing-organ,
and the many small muscles which lie around it have made it a
musical instrument of the highest quality. The families of birds in
which the musculature of the larynx does not assume such a highly-
evolved and symmetrical form are known as the Clamatores, the
screamers.

Since India has always formed part of the northern mainland,
that country could share in the general evolution of the song-birds,
and the birds had only to adapt their song to the tropical landscape.
In Brazil, on the other hand, the singing-birds did not evolve in
touch with the true centre of development of this order. In Brazil,
accordingly, they do not play the same part as in Europe and Asia,
but the Clamatores are more strongly characteristic of the avian
world of South America.

Nevertheless, we find in Brazil a few singing-birds which in bodily
structure, as in the quality of their voices, correspond completely

253

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

with those of the northern world, and we shall not be mistaken if
we assume that they entered the country where the Isthmus of
Panama united North and South America. This immigration did
not take place so long ago that the song of the birds in question
has had time to transform itself into a completely tropical song. It
still sounds as it does in northern countries, but for this very reason
is all the more impressive, poignant and melancholy, just as in
music many effects are produced by flat discords.

For this reason, in the Brazilian psychology, nostalgia, expressed
in Portuguese by the beautiful word saudade, is evoked above all
by the song of the South American thrush, the Sabia. It was in
enforced exile that Gon9alves Diaz wrote his song of longing :

Our homeland has its palms,
There sings the Sabia , . .

whose ever-recurring refrain is :

Where sings the Sabia.

And no Brazilian poet who interprets the moods of Brazil will
ignore this bird. I can well believe that a Brazilian in Europe is
reminded, by the notes of our thrush, of the song of the Sabia, and
longs for the home which arises before him as he listens to its strains.
I myself have experienced the converse. When in March I sat in
the monastery garden in Pernambuco, and the song of the Sabia
rang from the forest, which was lit by the setting sun, the air was
of almost unearthly limpidity, and the landscape was pregnant
with a sweet melancholy. And then I thought of my home in a
similar mood.

The Sabia sings not only in the evening twilight, but also in the
rain, sharing this peculiarity with our thrush and blackbird. In
Pernambuco I heard principally two motives : tiiu, tiiu, hiiiiit, hiiiiity
quite like the motives of our song-thrush, but there were also warblers,
which, like the blackbird, fluted more consecutively and had rolhng
notes. In the botanical gardens of Rio, which are swarming with
Redbreast Sabias, that go hopping all over the lawns, and sound
a warning note like that of our blackbirds, and make the same din
on retir* qg to their quarters for the night, I noted the strophe:

^

It

with a "dying fall" on the third and fifth notes. On the peak of
254

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

Tijuca, as the vast landscape of sea and mountain began to darken,
a Sabia sang, with infinite pathos :

i

¥

S^:^^

This motive is Hke that employed by Carlos Gomes in the fine
interlude of his opera The Slave, where the sunrise in Guanabara
Bay is described in tones of music. There the Sabia has the following
melody :

m

-*=E:

Even outwardly the Sabias resemble our thrushes, and the black
Sabia una looks exactly like our blackbird, and the Sabia branco
like our song-thrush, while the Sabia larangeira is like a thrush,
except that it has an orange-red breast. In Buenos Aires this latter
Sabia, there known as the Zorzal, was the bird most frequently
seen in the park of Palermo.

There is yet another bird that looks as if it had just flown over
from Europe. This is the Brazilian Hedge-sparrow, common all over
the country, and known as the Carrixa (Plate 28, 7). In Pernambuco
this bird is even called the Rouxinol (the Nightingale), but this is
to say too much for it, the song of the Carrixa being cheerful enough,
but inconspicuous ; it might be represented by psip, zipzipzip zipliirrr ;
but whatever its merits, it seems to give the artist much satisfaction,
for the bird sings all the year round. In this it is like our hedge-
sparrow, and distinguished from the latter only by its larger size
and longer bill. The Carrixa, however, is no longer a woodland
bird only; it prefers, like our European Redstart, to build its nest
in odd corners, or on the joists under the roof of a house or verandah.
There was a little bird at Olinda which had nested in the cloisters ;
every morning, cheerfully singing, it slipped into my room, and
hunted for spiders in the corners and at the window, and it very
soon discovered that even a naturalist may have his uses. On my
table there were often lying all sorts of edible insects ; once the bird
pulled the pupae and larvae of a Urussii bee out of the comb, and
cheerfully swallowed them.

But Brazil has also her own song-birds, which have emerged only
on the American continent. And above all, the Brazilian Starlings.

255

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

These represent, in America, the starlings of the Old World, but
they have evolved along their own lines, producing forms, like the
Japiis, as big as a crow. Their plumage is most commonly a glossy
black, whose dignity is enhanced by inlaid patches or stripes of red
or yellow.

In the north of Brazil the stately Checheou is common : a bird
beautifully marked with black and golden yellow, which in the south
is replaced by the Melro, a smaller edition. The Checheou is a
splendid mimic of other birds. He listens attentively to all that goes
on around him, and then repeats it. I often amused myself by
listening to a Checheou which sat in the boughs of a great Strangler-
fig (Plate 1 8), whose large, glossy, cabbage-like leaves formed a
fine background for the black and yellow of the bird. Sometimes
the voice from the tree was like that of a ventriloquist; then it
would utter all manner of possible and impossible sounds, interrupted
by powerful flute-like notes.

The Checheou builds large bag-shaped nests, which it prefers to
suspend from swaying twigs overhanging the water. It is fond also
of building near a wasps' nest, as if any animal with an appetite
for eggs approaches, it is driven off by the pugnacious bird with the
help of the wasps, alarmed and irritated by its excited behaviour.
The sorry defeat and retirement of monkeys who had intended to
rob the Checheou has often been witnessed.

The big black Japus have similar habits to the Checheou's,
except that they build their hanging nests in colonies. A bird widely
famed as an excellent singer, and often kept in cages, is the Grauna.
The Soffrer too, that handsome black and orange bird of the Sertao,
is a good singer. I was less pleased by the voice of the Soldado,
a black starling with scarlet shoulders. It was with wonder and
admiration that I gazed (in March) at a flock of these birds disporting
themselves in a meadow in Pernambuco. But when one of the cock
birds began to sing it seemed at first that he could not quite manage
to bring out his voice, until suddenly his efforts were crowned by
two shrill major thirds. The beak of this bird is so powerful that
when we caught one he struck it clean through the wooden bars
of the cage.

Other Brazilian singers which have earned their name by their
musical tones are the "Organists." In the forest of Alto da Serra
I heard the Gurundi, a noble black bird with a red hood. The piping
of the cock is like that of the Oriole : tiiiu tuiu tuulti diu tuuludiu. These
birds are noticeable both for their plumage and for their excited
256

Plate XXII

MANGO-TREE, SHOWING FRUIT, AND MACAIBA-PALMS

BREADFRUIT-TREE

JACA-TREE

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

manner of flying to and fro. The Gaturamo, with yellow breast and
a yellow patch on the forehead, also belongs to this group. Unfor-
tunately I never heard it sing, although a pair had built a nest on
a palm-leaf in the monastery garden.

The olive-green Greenlets, and the Sanha9us, of which I have
already spoken, are singing-birds, and so are the delightful blue Sahys
or Sugar-birds, which bear a resemblance to the Humming-birds
(Plate 28) . Of these birds the useful Sebito (which is not, however,
blue) has been mentioned more than once. Its song is like that of
the Goldfinch : zip zip zip zip zip-pfuit. Often one hears only the
ringing finale.

There are singers of the highest rank among the Finches, and the
Pintasilgo, a yellow Siskin with black head and wings, is often kept
as a cage-bird for the sake of its song. There are in Brazil quite a
number of different species of finch. They play an important part
in the bird-life of the country, but are not easily seen, as they are
given to settling on the meadows and picking the seed from the
haulms of grasses, and on such occasions they alway join together
in flocks. The Brazilians call the most numerous of these finches,
a small grey bird with a black head and a black spot on its white
throat, Papa capim, that is, "the Grass-eater," while another grey,
white-bellied finch, which is distinguished by a strikingly massive
pink beak, is known as the Redbeak. This bird has a penetrating
plaintive call :

i

£=±=fc=l

P

t=

Another cries Curio, curio in a fine whistling tone ; others sing a
whole descending scale, like the European Wood-wren ; and all these
voices together swell to a delightful concert, which grows louder
as the sun nears the horizon. In March, in the monastery garden,
I heard this attractive music every evening; Nature was growing
green after a long spell of drought ; a cool breeze was springing up,
and all things were refreshed by the spring-like atmosphere. With
a light heart I strode through the prosperous landscape, and came
to a standstill before a bush from which a gay finch-like song was
ringing. High on the topmost twig sat the little "Gaboclinho," the
"Little Indian." This pretty finch has the complexion of an Indian,
with dark wings and a dark cap, which looks like a head of hair.
The song of this brown-headed bird is delightful ; it begins with a

R 257

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

lovely whistling tone, and is followed by notes of which all are
sweetly melodious. The whole might be represented by : htii du pridu
psid-pudilit prrr zip zilit.

About the same time there sounded from the sugar-cane fields,
in which a certain amount of grass was still growing, apparently
from some invisible source beyond the hills, two notes which seemed
a call: they were always the same, and were repeated again and
again after brief intervals :

I

W

In the failing light, which seemed further to increase the spaciousness
of the landscape, this call had an accent of grief. Wherever I went,
even in my room, I still heard these two notes, like an admonishing
memento mori. No one could tell me the name of the calling bird, and
I never had a sight of it. At last the call seemed to sound from the
next field of cane ; I went toward it, but mysteriously enough the
tones grew neither louder nor softer. For a long while I walked over
the short grass towards the summit of the hill. Suddenly I saw the
bird, and recognized a species of Cuckoo, speckled with brown, with
a slightly curved bill and a long tail. Later I learned that this bird,
because it incessantly utters these two notes, is known as "Sem fim"
— "without end" — which words very fairly reproduce the sound of
the call.

Thus, even among those Brazilian birds which have no actual song
there are some with melodious voices. To reckon the Tovaca one
of the Clamatores is really an undeserved insult. This bird, which is
one of the Ant-birds, but looks like a short-tailed thrush, sings the
chromatic scale in a quickly-whistled series of notes, which often pass
through several octaves. I heard this melodious and most singular
series of notes in Alto da Serra.

Melodious too is the pluck of the Wagtails, which from a distance
sounds like the dropping of water, and the Lavandeinas or "Washer-
women" are constant inhabitants of the shore. The a-nu of the Anums
too rings prettily over the meadows. A larger species of Cuckoo,
brown and yellow, a bird with a long tail, mews like a cat, and the
Brazilians have therefore christened it "Alma do gato" — as though
the soul of a departed cat had been reincarnated in the bird.

258

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

No description of the voices of Brazil must omit the Frogs. Their
concert is in many neighbourhoods as constant an accompaniment
of all other sounds as is the seething of the sea along the shore.
Brazil is the land of frogs, and almost half the species of the order
live here. In the next chapter we shall see how variously these
batrachians seek to adapt themselves to the conditions of life which
their environment offers them.

In Brazil one can hardly say that the frogs croak. They bring
forth every variety of tone : they roar, hammer, grunt, trill, rattle
and whistle. In the rainy season in Pernambuco, during the months
of the European summer, the frogs' concert is at its loudest. When
in July I travelled from Recife to Olinda, on crossing the belt of
mangrove-swamp I heard from every side a clear cool whistle, hiiut,
and I found this pretty and not too obtrusive music positively
pleasing ; it harmonized so perfectly with the landscape of bush and
standing water with the open sea behind them. The Whistling Frog,
a small species with a pointed nose, I was able to observe more
closely on the monastery farm at Olinda. This frog lives in holes,
and if of an evening one goes cautiously across a meadow one
can often catch sight of him at the entrance to a mouse's hole,
into which he shrinks back at once when aware of danger. Once,
when a Whistling Frog was whistling merrily and indefatigably in
a Pitanga bush, I crept quietly closer, imitating his whistle; he
answered me every time, and we piped a lively duet. If I did not
quite strike the pitch there was a deeper, rather hoarse answer, as
though the frog were laughing at its unskilful mimic.

Another frog constantly uttered a cheery Hoi, hoi, so loudly, and
with such a human accent, that I kept on thinking that this time I
was really listening to a human voice. Sometimes too the call sounded
Uke Pfui, and I was told in the monastery that a Brother who had
newly arrived from Europe once decided, as he was feeling the heat
excessively, to bathe in the stream that flows past the monastery
farm. But when he had undressed he heard cries of Pfui, pfui! on
every side, so that he hastily threw on some clothing and ran
away !

In the straw of the thatched roofs lives the little Rattle-frog.
Sitting on the verandah, one always hears its voice before rain falls ;
it sounds as if someone were rubbing two sticks together. Once I
caught one of these frogs and took it to my room in a glass. It pressed
itself so closely against the earth at the bottom of the glass that I
could scarcely distinguish it; however, it took the first opportunity

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

to run away. I looked for it in vain, and giving up the search, sat
down at my table in order to work by lampUght, for it was evening.
Scarcely had I begun to write when I suddenly saw the little creature
sitting on the table, staring at the light with its great golden eyes.

As soon as it grew dark one heard, all over the monastery, a dull
clucking sound ; it seemed to come from the depths of a cellar, but
as a matter of fact it was the voice of the Giant Toad, Bufo maximus,
a huge batrachian almost as long as one's forearm, with handsome
black or green markings on its back. Once, when I was bathing in
a tree-shaded woodland brook, one of these creatures hopped into
the water beside me. Despite all my love for animals, this proximity
was too much for me, and I left the brook to the "Sapo." At one
season of the year these huge toads may be seen hopping all over
the streets, but I am glad to say that the Brazilians do not persecute
this useful creature. When in danger this toad assumes a strange,
intimidating attitude, with its head lowered and its body laterally
dilated. A smaller species is found in all the ponds and lakes of
Pernambuco in the month of March, when it creates such a din that
one has to shout in order to make oneself understood. This frog has a
trilling note, continued for several seconds ; it sounds like the deafen-
ing rattle of an overloaded gear-wheel. As soon as one begins to
trill another joins in ; puffing out their laryngeal sacs, the toads hop
splashing to and fro, and the pond seems to have been transformed
into a true witches' cauldron.

And this whole concert, from the voices of the birds to those of the
frogs and insects, is the work of the male sex ! Difficult though it
may be to realize, since in our human world we are accustomed
to the contrary, we must admit that the glories of Nature, so far as
they are contributed by the animal species, are due to the male
sex. In certain families of butterffies the males alone are perfumed,
and they have even special brushes on their wings or bodies which
scatter the liquid secretion of their scent-glands into the air; it is
the males only that sing, quack and chirp; and as we see from
the example of the cock, the peacock, the Bird of Paradise and
other birds, even chromatic splendour is largely reserved for the
male sex.

Of the reason for this partial distribution I have already spoken :
we know that the female sex has no reason to complain of such
injustice, but should rather be proud of the fact that her safety is
260

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

set above that of the male, so that she commonly lives in concealment,
and is rarely in the company of the male. For her inconspicuous
colouring and modest voice are allotted to the female with a view
to the task of incubation and the rearing of the young : a task which
is essential to the preservation of the species, and which must be
performed as inconspicuously as possible, lest the defenceless young
should fall easy victims to the enemies of their kind. If the cock
assists the female in this task, he is at once provided with protective
colouring ; on the other hand, if the young are reared in dark holes
or burrows, the female too may wear conspicuous specific markings,
and in such cases — as is demonstrated by the parrots — there is no
difference in the voices of the two sexes.

In both sexes the voice, like the coloration, has evolved, in the
first place, into a means of recognition. Every bird has its special
calls of enticement and warning ; and in the case of birds that live
in societies these calls become more various, and develop into an
actual language. The same thing is true of such mammals as the
monkey, which lead an arboreal life not unlike that of the birds.
But even the sound of the footsteps may be pressed into service as
a signal of recognition ; and if the experienced hunter can recognize
his quarry by its approaching footsteps, it is only natural that the
animals themselves should rely on such signs to a much greater
extent. In the same way the birds may be recognized by the beat
of their wings ; the approaching Humming-bird is announced by the
hum of its pinions, and many insects likewise have an audible flight ;
and in the Dragonflies the whirring of their glassy wings varies with
every species. The Locustidae may be heard at a considerable dis-
tance as they fly, especiaUy the gigantic locusts of Brazil ; and there
are some which as they fly make a curious clatter with their wings,
like the red-and-blue-winged "Clubfoot" of the Alpine meadows.

In Brazil there are even "Rattle butterflies." Their wings are
like black satin, with a pattern of blue spots, and a white stripe
runs across each fore-wing. As a general thing they cling to the bark
of trees, when their wings (contrary to the usual habit of butterflies)
are outspread flat against the tree. If another of the same species
approaches, the sitting butterfly flutters away, when one hears a
perceptible clatter. Sometimes, too, these butterflies flutter round
one another for quite a long time, clattering as they fly. Other
Ageroniae have wings that seem covered with white lace. In March
these were very common in Pernambuco. They contributed greatly
to the beauty of the landscape, and supported the buzzing of the

261

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

bumble-bees and the songs of the birds with a curious xylophonic
accompaniment.

But if the voices of birds and animals are intended to bring the sexes
together, why do the birds continue to sing and the frogs to croak
after they have found their mates? When a pair of birds have buUt
their nest and laid their eggs, the cock bird still goes on singing,
and yet there is now no question of the necessity of finding and
recognizing one another.

Darwin, in his work on Sexual Selection, sought to explain this
circumstance by the theory of selection by the female. According to
this doctrine, the bird sings in order to arouse desire in his mate.
Darwin, indeed, was even of the opinion that the voices of the birds
had evolved into actual song because the hen birds have always
listened most willingly to the best singers, as these excited them
more effectively. Consequently the good singers found mates; they
were the fathers of the next generation, which, since it was begotten
by such fathers, must have possessed a similar gift of song. But of
these the most gifted singers were once more chosen by the females ;
and so the vocal art improved from generation to generation.

Illuminating as this theory may sound, I have always had my
doubts as to its value when I have listened to the birds singing in
forest and meadow, and have watched them as they sang. For if
the song of the cock bird is intended for the hen, one has at least
the right to expect that the latter shall hear it ! But more often than
not she is nowhere to be seen; she is not concerned with the song
of the cock, and never approaches in order to hear it better. A
thrush may be fluting ever so bravely in a tree-top ; the hen bird is
never found sitting beside him, listening in rapture. If I have looked
about for her I have generally found her on the ground, pulling
an earthworm from the soil, or working at her nest. As for the cock,
he does not seem in the very least degree anxious that the hen should
admire his skill. If he were anxious to charm her by his song, he would
at least approach her ! But he prefers to sit in the tree-top, singing
to the world at large, as though no hens existed ! And every bird-
fancier knows that if one puts a hen into the cage of a singing cock,
the latter, so far from singing twice as well, as one would expect
in the light of Darwin's theory, simply ceases to sing at all !

On the other hand, if one wishes a cock canary to do his best
one must not give him a mate. But the presence of another cock
262

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

will excite him to sing more vigorously! It is the same in a state
of nature. If one hears a bird singing more loudly and beautifully
than usual, one may be sure that one cock is singing against another ;
and only too often this competition ends in assault and battery.
Similarly, the display of the peacock or turkey-cock, the dancing
of the heath-cock or the orange-red Cock-of-the-Rock in the silent
forests of the Amazon, are intended not for the hen, but for other
cocks! They are not erotic dances, but expressions of jealousy and
pugnacity !

And so with the song of the bird, the rutting call of the stag,
the chirping of the cricket. Let us reflect that the conquest of the
hen's affections is by no means the most difficult of arts ! If she is
in the right mood she cares nothing for beauty, or for skill in song
or dance, but simply accepts any male bird that comes her way.
Even in the case of our dogs we see that the shabbiest mongrel often
finds favour with the most aristocratic bitch. The suitor's real diffi-
culty is to get the better of his rivals. We must not forget that through-
out the animal kingdom the males are in the majority, so that many
of them can never succeed in propagating their kind. There is
therefore competition between them, and indescribable excitement,
and any means is good which will lead to victory. Even when the male
has won a female he must not take things too quietly, for there are
young bachelors in every thicket, always ready to take possession
of the nearest female. For this reason the bird sings on the topmost
bough ; for this reason he makes himself as conspicuous as possible !
He wishes to make his presence known, to make the quarrelsome
bachelors conscious of his whereabouts. Many birds, hke the little
black Surador finches, which one sees ahke in the capital and in
the desert, fly upwards as they sing, to make themselves jnore con-
spicuous. And on observing song-birds of other species, in Brazil
and in Europe, I have always been convinced that the singer was
feeling the urge to make his presence known, in order to show that
the female of his beat or district already had a mate, and must
therefore be left alone. Such behaviour, then, amounts to a kind
of intimidation of rival males. And the actual effect of the rutting-
call of the six-pointer stag is that the younger stags timidly turn
aside. Again, if he watches the behaviour of the turkey-cock, the
unprejudiced observer must confess that the dance of this bird is
more like a dance of rage, a war-dance, than a tender wooing. And
human dances even, among the most primitive peoples, are danced
only by men, and are war-dances, just as the most primitive form

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of music is the war-cry and its accompaniment; while the most
primitive personal adornments were not intended to adorn — that
is, to attract admirers — but to intimidate the enemy. With this end
men let their hair and beards grow, wore the heads of animals above
their own, and painted themselves in imitation of the wounds they
had inflicted on their enemies. ^

Of course, the animal does not purposely intend to intimidate his
rivals by his behaviour. For the bird, singing is a necessity : at mating-
time the blood runs more swiftly in the veins, and the overflowing
energy of the body finds a vent through the larynx. Singing is the
overflowing of intensified life, just as love is a doubled sense of life :
both being an expression of that energy by means of which the living
creature lives beyond itself and multiplies. But the effect of such
behaviour is intimidation : that is, the thrusting aside of the weaker
by the stronger, the mediocre by the gifted ; and this entails a selection
and the upward evolution of life.

But how could so uncreative and apparently negative an instinct
as the instinct of intimidation give rise to such a wealth of tones,
rhythms and colours? How comes it that we are attracted by what
is really intended to terrify? Well, elsewhere we find Nature con-
cerned with the formation of an invisible substance, and her efforts
result in the supremest beauty. Think of the flowers, of whose
splendour I spoke in my last chapter ! What are they but the sexual
organs of the plants ? Can we imagine that the corresponding organs
of the animals could ever have been transmuted into such miraculous
forms ?

Both facts teach us that however deeply we study the nature and
the means of the evolution of our planet, we are studying only
examples of behaviour ; but we cannot comprehend the meaning of
these examples, the ultimate Power that lies behind them, because
we ourselves are the object of its activity. And we shall regard this
Power with all the more reverence when we perceive how it con-
trives to unfold its eternal beauty even when working with the most
unpromising material. After all, what is matter, what are stones,
water, the earth? How swiftly beauty departs from the body doomed
to decay ! Matter and spirit are eternal opposites : for which reason
all the religions and philosophies have sought in the liberation from
matter the liberation from suffering, inextricably wedded to matter.
The flowers may exist for the propagation of the plants, the song

I For further details as to the doctrine of intimidation, see my book, Das Tierleben
unserer Heimat, Freiburg i. Br., F. E. Felisenfeld, 1922-23.

264

THE SYMPHONY OF VOICES

of the bird may assure it of the possession of its mate, and of undis-
turbed increase; yet in all these things there lies a deeper activity,
for which all evolution signifies only a portion of the journey.
And although we cannot perceive and understand this activity, we
can feel it. And to feel it is truly to comprehend the beauty of Nature,
and to attune our souls to her most intimate harmonies. So we
ourselves become instruments that play their part in the great
symphony, to our own supremest joy.

XV

CAREFUL MOTHERS

A

MOTHER nurses her ailing child without complaining of the
extra burden. She treats it as a matter of course ; she enters the
sick-room cheerfully, and so becomes a very sun of healing ; and we
are filled with reverence before this revelation of the selfless feminine
soul.

Throughout all Nature we find the selfless care of the mother
for the child. Even among the animals we perceive, on every hand,
the self-sacrifice of maternal love. And we shall not despise this
instinct in the animals, disposing of it, perhaps, with the disdainful
remark that such care is merely an inevitable instinct, devoid of
understanding. Even the human mother's love and forethought are
not inspired by her understanding. She loves her child without
considering why she does so. Love enters her heart when the child
is born; and even so this love is an emanation from the great
Becoming, no less than the wonderful things which we see the
humblest living creature accomplish for the sake of its brood.

In Recife, where I lived in a pension, I used to sit on the back
verandah of the airy, open, palm-encircled house ; and I used to
like sitting there after the others had gone, in order to delight my
eyes with the sight of the fascinating little guest who regularly
visited the supper-table (Plate 30). Like a kitten he emerged from
between the palm-leaves, with his woolly grey coat and his thick
black-and-white barred tail; so like a kitten that his gnome-like
face, with its round eyes attentively fixed on the observer, was all
the more surprising. Then, with a leap, the Saguim monkey sat on
a post of the verandah railing ; a second leap, and he was on the
table, reaching for the remains of the fruit that lay there. And now
a mother monkey came swinging along the electric lead that ran
under the verandah roof; she had a baby with her, anxiously
chnging to her back: an enchanting little creature, no bigger than
a mouse. Soon she too was on the table, and now, before anything
else, the baby's coat was given a thorough cleansing. The mother
gave particular attention to the proper arrangement of the
coiffure ; for while she herself wore her hair parted, with two white
tufts, right and left, the baby wore his hair brushed smoothly over
his forehead, and extending down to his neck, as many young people
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CAREFUL MOTHERS

like to wear it to-day. The baby felt at home at once, and made him-
self busy about the table, putting the castor-sugar into his mouth
and coughing it out in all directions, which seemed to amuse him
greatly. For a long while I watched the little creature with such
feelings as the Brobdignagian ladies may have entertained at their
first sight of Gulliver.

The care of the simian mother for her child has long been a
matter of comment ; indeed, in German the fondness of a doting
parent is described as Affenliebe, "monkey-love." But we use the
term to denote an exaggerated and over-indulgent affection. There
is no place for such affection in the relation of the simian mother
and child, for, as Brehm has observed, the monkey child follows its
mother so instantly and unconditionally that many a human child
might profit by its example. But the intensity of the simian mother's
self-sacrificing love may be judged from a story which Schomburgh
tells of a South American Capucin monkey :

"I was about to return to my boat, when the anxious voice of
a monkey in a tree overhead informed me loudly that his mother
had forgotten him in her wild flight. One of my Indians climbed the
tree. Scarcely had the monkey seen the unfamiliar figure, when in
his terror he emitted a few loud cries, which were instantly answered,
from the next tree, by the returning mother. No sooner did the
terrified animal hear these tones than he replied at the top of his
voice, and was once more answered by the call-notes of the mother.
The poor thing was fired upon and wounded; she turned to fly,
but returned again instantly when her darling once more uttered
his notes of alarm, and with an effort she leapt, disregarding a
second shot, which missed her, on to the bough which bore the
complaining youngster. She quickly took him on her back, and was
about to make off with him when, against my strict orders, a third
shot killed her. Even in her death-struggle she held her darling fast,
and attempted to escape, but in so doing fell to the ground."

The Brazilian deer too are careful of their young. In the case
of the small red Brocket, the "Veado," which does not assemble in
herds, both parents, united in faithful matrimony, protect the calf,
hide it in the bushes in case of danger, and show themselves to the
enemy, in order to divert his attention to themselves. A pair of
Pampas deer once pursued a traveller who had found a calf, and
taken it with him, for half an hour. The pugnacious Peccaries are
well able to defend their young, and it is said of the female Anta,
or Tapir, that she will place her calf between her legs and defend

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

it to the last. The carnivora too are indefatigable in their care of
their young.

Among the birds, the Parrots should win our respect and liking
by the affection which they show to their mates. As Brehm observed,
these birds live in strict monogamy all their lives, and the two sexes
love one another deeply and faithfully. At pairing-time their
dependence on one another is intensified; everything they do is
done in common; they snuggle close together and overwhelm one
another with tender attentions. If either bird is shot the survivor
does not fly away, but falls a victim to its loyalty. Azara tells of a
Macaw that followed the body of its mate, who had been shot and
tied to a saddle, into the middle of a town ; when the dead bird
was placed on the ground the living bird fell upon it. For several
days the faithful creature remained beside the body, until at last
it was caught by hand. So profound is the Parrot's grief and longing
for its dead mate that its whole body trembles, and it pines away
and dies. In such cases Hebbel's words are the sober truth : the bird
does not feel grief, but is grief

The young birds are included in this mutual love; the whole
family live only for one another, and the parents will defend their
young to the death. It is a striking characteristic of the Parrots,
that their need of loving is so great that in the absence of their own
kind they will extend their affection to quite alien species of animals,
and even to the human beings who tend them. This is especially
the case if a bird or animal has an accident and is crippled ; so that
not only love but compassion is natural to these birds.

Birds and mammals occupy a special position in the animal kingdom
in respect of their forethought for their young. They live to see
their offspring born and grow up, and the latter are followed by
their parents until they can go their own way. In all the rest of the
animal kingdom, as we shall see, it is only by exception that the
parents and their offspring have any knowledge of one another.
The rule is, that when the parents do evince care for their offspring,
they show not solicitude but forethought. The mother makes such
dispositions on laying her eggs that her offspring, when they emerge,
will find food and shelter provided for them; after so doing she
leaves the spot, and as a rule has long been dead when the eggs arc
hatched and the young make their appearance.

In the case of such actions we can no longer speak of parental
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CAREFUL MOTHERS

or maternal love ; for love must be given to a creature which is seen.
Such an animal as I have described cannot know the meaning of its
actions, since it does not live to see their result. These actions are
performed without understanding, and unconsciously; they are the
operation of an urge which enters the insect's body at the breeding-
season. And its body is already organized to fulfil this urge, so that
the whole seems to us like a fully-wound train of clockwork, which
suddenly begins to run down when the urge releases the stored
energy. We call such behaviour instinctive. This instinct is bestowed
upon the living creature just as its body is bestowed upon it; it
evolves with that body, and is bequeathed by the parent to the
offspring, and neither the one nor the other can vary it in any
direction. In just the same way we receive, together with our eyelids,
the faculty of closing them in a flash if the eye is imperilled. If we
ask whence this instinct comes, we find this inquiry included in
the greater question: who was finally responsible for setting the
evolution of life at work upon the earth, and in the last or first
resort, for the emergence of the worlds themselves ? For instinct, in
unbroken continuity, runs through the whole of evolution.

Whereas instinct is inborn, the operations of the understanding
first come into being in the lifetime of its possessor; and while
instinct does its work without model or example, and under a given
internal compulsion, the achievements of the understanding are
bettered by learning and practice. Every silkworm, however care-
fully you may isolate it from its kind, spins its cocoon in precisely
the right manner. But no child will ever learn to write unless its
teacher shows it how to do so, and unless by practice it gradually
acquires the power of controlling its pen-strokes with certainty.

Therefore those animals in whose lives intelligent action plays
a part have need of a season of learning and of practice, a protected
period, during which their lives will not be imperilled by every
unsuccessful attempt. Such a season is enjoyed by the mammals
and the birds; it is the period of youth. In its youth the kitten learns
to catch mice; the young falcons learn to stoop and seize the prey
which their parents let fall as they swoop overhead. If they miss it,
they are in no danger of starving, for the old birds catch the victim
anew, and the game is played over again. It was for the sake of
such "child's play" that the protected season of youth was established;
in its youth the young bird or mammal exercises its bodily and
mental faculties, which it inherits in the germ, but which are not
yet fully developed.

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

But it is not granted to the lower animals to learn under the
supervision of their parents. The secure and joyous time of childhood
is shared only by the birds and mammals. Other creatures, if they
survive to see the emergence of their brood, do no more than watch
over them and protect them. What the young are able to do they
do not learn ; their ability develops of itself. While a young fox-cub
does not yet know his enemies, every lizard, as soon as it creeps out
of the egg, avoids larger animals, while it seizes smaller creatures
and swallows them ; but no one has ever taught it to do so.

One of the most fascinating chapters of the animal life in Brazil
is that relating to the parental instincts of the Frogs. We have
already seen that the frogs are abundantly represented in Brazil;
of the 150 species of Tree-frog — and this is the group which is
distinguished by the variety of means by which the brood is pro-
tected— no less than 75 are peculiar to the moist forests of Brazil.

I shall never forget a frog-hunting expedition which I undertook
in company with Dr. Lutz, who knows more about frogs than
anyone in South America.

It was the 7th of January. After a pleasant supper-party at the
doctor's house we set out on our expedition, accompanied by my
host's daughter — herself a naturalist — and the servant, the negro
Joaquim. The electric tramway took us to an outlying quarter of the
city, at the edge of which the hills rose against the sky. The night
was pitch dark, but we lit our lanterns and went our way, while
the whole landscape seemed to vibrate with the cries of the cicadas,
and here and there a screech-owl made itself heard.

A heavy odour of earth and decaying vegetation rose from the
ground; the foliage of the bushes, and here and there the great
leaves of bananas, gleamed as the light of our lanterns fell on them.
Now we came to the hedge of a nursery-garden, and suddenly a
strange music sounded in our ears. It was as though hundreds of
hammers were violently and indefatigably striking an empty cask.
As we entered the garden the sound ceased. We flashed our lanterns
on the ground, and suddenly the great eyes of the Hammer-frog
glittered in the light, the white above the pupils gleaming like an
opal. These great batrachians, which the Brazilians call "Smiths"
or Ferreiros, and which belong to the family of Tree-frogs, have
brown bodies, and balls on their finger-tips, with which they cling
to the foliage of the trees as though by means of india-rubber suckers.
270

CAREFUL MOTHERS

We now saw why they had left their secure habitation. The Hammer-
frogs were constructing their nurseries ! In the large muddy pool
in which they sat they had built circular walls, about a foot in
diameter and high enough to rise out of the water. These walls
were built by the female frog, who brought the mud required in
her fingers, piled it up, and smoothed the interior most carefully
with hands, belly and throat, in doing all of which she had to bear
the weight of the male, who sat upon her back, in order to fertilize
the eggs as soon as these were laid in the crater-like structure. In
such fortresses the little frogs wake to life ; they are at first, of course,
long-tailed tadpoles; then their legs develop, while their tails are
absorbed. This nursery fortress protects them from enemies of the
piscine race, and alterations of the level of the surrounding water
leave them unaffected.

We went on. A grd^ grd greeted our ears, like the voice of the
German Tree-frog, and already Joaquim had caught the green
singer among the reeds. He resembled our Tree-frog, but was larger
and bonnier. Now we heard a delicate srip, srip, srip from the reeds,
as though a chicken had strayed thither. This was the voice of the
tiny Pigmy Frog, and he too was soon detected by Joaquim's sharp
eyes. We caught also a large brown "Eyed Whistler," whose voice
is like the chuckle of rising air-bubbles ; and at the end of our rounds,
by the edge of the road, where the water had overflowed the gutter
and wetted the stones of the causeway, we found a pretty little
Slender Tree-frog, whose brown body bore spots of sealing-wax
red on the loins. It uttered a long, complaining, or rather mewing
oak! and we found its eggs, imbedded in foam, which surrounded
the clutch like the dough of a doughnut.

Like the Slender Tree-frog, the "Eyed Whistler," which owes
that singular name to the fact that it has black eye-Uke spots on
its body, and belongs to the Whistling Frogs, buries its eggs in a
foam-like mass ; and so does the Whistling Frog described in the
previous chapter. Most of these frogs dig holes in the dry ground,
into which they eject the eggs and their foamy covering. The
advantages of such a method are obvious. On land there are no
predatory fish and aquatic insects, and under their coating of foam
even terrestrial animals do not recognize the eggs as being edible ;
moreover, the coating protects them from desiccation. As a rule the
eggs are produced shortly before the beginning of the rainy season,
and are so timed that soon after they are laid the water of the
neighbouring pond rises, inundates the land, and washes away the

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

tadpoles, which have already hatched in their foamy bed, but are
already mobile, and able to wriggle quickly away from their enemies.
In Petropolis a small brown green-speckled frog with an orange
patch on its back was very common ; wherever a brook ran over the
rocks one heard its faint, clicking voice, like the stroke of a tiny
hammer on metal. This Petropolis frog was not easy to detect, as
its colouring resembled that of the moss on the stones, and it squeezed
itself flat upon the latter, while extending its legs. It lays its eggs
on the leaves overhanging a brook; when the tadpoles creep out of
the eggs and begin to wriggle their tails, the surrounding foam is
liquefied, and they drop into the brook, where one finds them
writhing like snakes between the stones, hardly covered by the water.
Other creatures too remove their eggs, which as
nourishing and tasty titbits are relished by many
creatures, from the dangerous neighbourhood of the
water. In Pernambuco and Parahyba I was enchanted
by the handsome bunches of orange-red eggs, as big
as peas, which I found everywhere in the thickets
overhanging the tanks and ponds, sometimes sur-
rounding a pond as with a necklace of coral beads,
which was visible at some distance. These were the
^^1 ' ^A ^^^^^ eggs of the Brazilian Operculate Snail, a large
by a Cat-froe ^^llusc, whose shell is not unlike that of the European
(Phyllome- Vineyard Snail, but can be closed by means of a lid,

dusa Ihenngi) which enables the inmates to sleep for years without

and contain- j r j • i* •tx^' m u- u i

,, danger oi desiccation. I his snail, which commonly

ing the eggs , ° , ' '

lives in the water, and breathes through gills, has
also a pulmonary cavity which is filled with air; and this air is
supplied to the body through a conduit, the edges of the body folding
over to form a tube.

But to return to our Frogs ! The Cat-frogs are pretty green Tree-
frogs, the pupils of whose eyes are vertical slits, as in the cat. These
frogs also hang their eggs over the water. Male and female climb
into a tree, pull down a hanging leaf, and while with their hind-
feet they press the edges of the leaf together the female lays her
eggs in the tube so formed, and the male immediately fertilizes
them. The glutinous jelly surrounding the eggs holds the edges of
the leaf together. Another species of Cat-frog glues several leaves
round the clutch, forming a regular bag, which hangs over the water,
and from which the tadpoles fall when they leave the eggs (Fig. 17).

In the virgin forest of Para Gocldi observed a Tree-frog which
272

Plate XXIII

»;

CASTOR-OIL PLANT AT THE EDGE OF THE FOREST

SUGAR-CANE, TAPERA, PERNAMBUCO

CAREFUL MOTHERS

we might call the Resin-frog. This remarkable creature is said to
line a hole in a tree with resin, and lay its eggs in this watertight
basin, which is filled by the next shower of rain.
But recently doubts have been expressed as to
whether it is really the frog that conveys the
resin to the hole.

While the frogs hitherto enumerated do no Fig.i8.— GoeldiFrog

with a pocket of
eggs on her back.
{After Boulenger)

more than provide their young with a safe home,
and then trouble no further about them, there are
frogs in Northern Brazil which lay their eggs in
drying sloughs or puddles, and after the tadpoles are hatched they
squat down in the puddle, when, with the help of their tails, the
tadpoles are able to cHmb on to their backs, where they adhere by
suction. Now, burdened with twelve to eighteen tadpoles, the parent
frog wanders off in search of a larger puddle, to which she confides
her offspring. These frogs, which are often handsomely marked in
black and grey or black and red, are known as Tree-climbers,
although they spend most of their time on the ground.

That these remarkable methods of caring for their young are
innate is shown by other frogs, which have even been provided with
special organs for the better safeguarding of their young. In the
so-called Purse Frogs the male arranges the eggs on the back of
the female, and here they remain, according to their species, either
until they hatch, or until the female deposits them in the water.

In order to ensure that the eggs shaU remain where they are

placed, one species of frog, the Goeldi, has developed a fold of skin

surrounding the back, forming a sort of dish (Fig. i8),

while in another species this fold of skin so completely

overgrows the eggs that they lie concealed in a

sort of rucksack, where they are provided with

oxygen by special and peculiar respiratory organs

(Fig. 1 9) . When they are fully developed the skin of

the back splits (and what with her split skin, and the

Fig. 19.— The eggs underlying it, the female has a monstrous

Purse Frog, the appearance), and the brood falls out.

back covers the ^^ ^^^ northern part of the South American

eggs. {A portion continent lives a toad which is known as the Pipa.

IS cut and turned It is an aquatic species. This reptile is calculated

"^ ' to increase the aversion which many people feel

for the toad ; for the whole of its back is as though eaten through,

perforated like a honeycomb, and from the cells tiny legs are

s 273

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

protruded: a truly uncanny spectacle. But this only increases its
interest for the naturaUst. When the breeding-season approaches the
cells begin to form on the back of the female, finally assuming the
form of little basins. Now the male climbs on to her back, and
the female thrusts her long everted intestine, which is at the same
time an oviduct, between their two bodies. The pressure exerted
by the male forces the eggs out, when they fall into the cells, which
have special self-closing covers. In due time the developing larvae
burst the covers, and at first each protrudes a long tail, which
seems to serve as a respiratory organ, and later on its legs, after
which they forsake their hospitable parent.

With a glance at Chile, where the "Nosed Frog" swallows the
eggs, which develop in the throat-pouch of the male, compressing
the poor creature's stomach so that he is at last unable to eat, until
his offspring relieve him by jumping out of his mouth, we will pass
on to another subject.

It is a strange fact that all the stages which we have rehearsed in
describing the parental care of the Frogs are repeated in the case
of the Fish. But among them we observe an even subtler elaboration
of the problem to be solved.

A whole family of fishes hatch their eggs in their mouths. Of this
family we find in Brazil a whole series of handsome and savoury
fresh-water fishes, such as the Acaras, the Joanninhas of southern
Brazil, and the Tucunares of the north. Some of these fish lay their
eggs in any suitable place, and by fanning them with their fins
provide a constant supply of fresh, oxygenated water. When the
young fish are hatched they take them into their mouths and spit
them out into carefully prepared hollows; and they then continue
to watch over them until the little creatures are able to swim.

The smaller species of this family are favourite aquarium-fish,
and it is delightful to see the father, surrounded by his offspring,
take them into his mouth at a threat of danger. For in these species
it is usually the father who fosters the young; the mother is often
such an unnatural parent that the father has to be constantly on
his guard lest she should devour her eggs or the young fry !

But there are fish of this family which actually incubate their

eggs in their mouths; and in these species it is usually the female

to which this task is allotted. In such fish the head absolutely bulges

with all the eggs in the pharynx. Matters are even worse when the

274

CAREFUL MOTHERS

lively little creatures are hatched ; the parent fish finds it so difficult
to breathe that she has to shift her brood to and fro in her mouth,
as we shift a mouthful of water when rinsing the mouth. When the
young fry are able to swim the mother blows them out, but in
moments of danger they instantly gather about her head ; she opens
her jaws, and all the little fishes, often to the number of fifty or
sixty, slip through the open door. Later, as they grow more venture-
some, she has to swim after her brood, in order to collect them in
the evening and protect them from the perils of the night.

In the rivers of southern Brazil there is a great Silurid or Gat-fish,
locally known as the Bagre. The male fish takes the large eggs into
his mouth (they measure as much as a twelfth of an inch in diameter),
when the self-sacrificing creature is no longer able to eat; so that
dead fish have often been found with their
mouths full of dead fry.

The Nandidae show peculiar devotion to
their eggs. The female, with her long oviposi-
tor, fastens the eggs in some convenient spot ;
the male, paddling with his fins, provides them
with fresh water ; but first any mud there may
be is cleared away from underneath, lest the
little fish, when they are hatched, should fall
into it and be stifled. Certain Plated Catfish
make a proper nest of grass-stalks, with an Fig. 20. — Salamander-
opening into the interior, and the Scaly ^^^' Lepidosiren
Salamander-fish or Lung-fish (Lepidosiren), in

Brazilian the Pira m'boia, but known as the Lolach in the interior
(Fig. 20), digs holes a foot deep in the bottom of the Amazon and
its tributaries, which are reached by a horizontal passage often a
yard in length. Here the eggs are laid, and the male fish watches
them, and in order that he may breathe more readily he has de-
veloped tufted outgrowths on his fins. The Lung-fish is eel-like in
form, but it already represents a transition to the Batrachians, for
its swimming-bladder has begun to transform itself into a lung, and
enables the fish to take in air at the surface of the water. If the
stream dries up this lung-bladder enables the fish to survive buried
in the mud.

Finally, there are fish which remove their eggs from the perils of
the pond or river, and hang them over the surface. In an aquarium
the male Pyrrhulina may be seen rising, with his mate, to the top
of the tank, when both fish leap into the air, and remain clinging

275

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

to the glass above the surface of the water. When they fall back we
see that ten or fifteen eggs are adhering to the glass, being held
there by a mass of transparent slime. Now the male stations himself
beneath the eggs, and every half hour or so he sprinkles them with
his tail-fin.

Like the Pipa, the Flat-headed Catfish (Fig, 21) carries its eggs
upon its body. It first lays them on the river-bed, and then rubs
them with its belly, which is covered with cup-shaped cells, and in
these the eggs are caught and held fast. It seems that in this species
the eggs are actually nourished by the blood of the parent ; a state
of things reminiscent of the mammals.

In the case of the Fishes, as in that of the Frogs,
we are able to verify the principle stated in Chapter X :
namely, that equilibrium is maintained either by in-
creased fertility or by greater security. The further
parental care is developed, the better it assures the
survival of eggs and young, and the fewer eggs are
required to secure the continuance of the species. We
see, accordingly, that when there is greater parental
care the number of the eggs is diminished, while the
size of the individual increases. If the Fyrrhulina lays
Fig. 21.— Flat- ^5*^ ^ggs, the "Mouth-hatchers" 60, and those Catfish
headed Cat- which guard their brood still fewer, while the Carp
fish(Aspredo ig^yg ^oo,ooo, the Halibut 3,000,000, and the Cod

laevis) with , it n 1

eggsonbellv 95^00,000, these enormously disparate figures show

{After Wy- how finely Nature can adjust the coefficient of

tnann, re- increase, and how, when it is necessary to cover the

^ monstrous losses of a species unremittingly persecuted,

from the egg to the adult form, she takes no account of numbers.

A stupendous variety of devices for ensuring the survival of the
young, and a steady gradation, from the most inconsiderable to the
most ingenious achievements, are to be found in the insect kingdom.
These matters must awake interest in even the most sophisticated,
and since the insects are the most numerous of all the living creatures,
we have here a province by which anyone may approach the study
of natural history, and constantly avoid the danger of boredom.
For example, the inhabitant of Rio might go to Alto Boa Vista one
fine summer morning, and wander along the footpath to the peak
of Tijuca; or he might cross the Bay, and stroll up the hills of the
276

CAREFUL MOTHERS

Sacco Sao Francisco. The Paulista might start on his excursion
from Ypiranga or S. Anna, and the inhabitant of Recife from the
fine park of Dois Irmaos, going through the woods to Macacos
station; while the Bahian has the coastal landscape at his disposal.
Such a budding naturalist will wander slowly on his way. He will
examine the path he is treading, and stand still if a bee flies out of
a little hole in the ground ; he will take note of the nature of the
burden with which it returns, and will excavate other holes, to find
larvae of singular form lying in wait for their prey. On the leaves
of the bushes there is much to be seen, particularly on the under-
side. He should hold an open umbrella under a bush and beat the
boughs with a stick, and examine all the creatures that fall into this
receptacle. If he closely examines the bark of a tree, he will find
insects whose bodies so exactly imitate the markings of the bark
that a passing glance would never detect them. Lastly, it is a fas-
cinating pastime to lift the stones at the bottom of a brook, and
examine their undersides, and brush off the little worms and insect
larvae adhering to them into a glass jar.

How richly rewarded, how full of interest, one returns from such
an excursion ! Even if the man of business has but a few hours in
the evenings at his disposal, he can still occupy himself with the
things to be seen, and endeavour to understand their meaning. May
this book help him to do so! for then all that he has learned will
order itself into a harmonious whole, and this alone is an enduring
gain. Such knowledge brings the learner, step by step, to a higher
plane; he will rise higher and higher above the commonplace of
everyday Ufe ; the harmony of Nature will enter into his personality,
and he will be freer and happier.

We will now begin our study of the means which the insects take
to ensure the survival of their brood, and we will begin with the
simplest forms ; though it must be confessed at once that the laying
of eggs is never a matter of complete simplicity. To begin with,
there is the instinct which always impels the insect to lay its eggs
where the emerging larvae can find their food, quite apart from the
devices which are intended to protect the eggs, such as laying them
on the underside of leaves, where their enemies are not so likely to
see them, or closely adhering to the midrib, or even piled up into
little pointed heaps so that they look like the buds or shoots of the
plant on which they are laid.

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Many insects lay their eggs on the plants on which they them-
selves live. The Plant-lice, which suck the sweet sap of leaves,
multiply on these same leaves ; and it does not strike us as wonderful
that a Leaf-bug should lay its eggs on the food-plant which is its
own source of nourishment. But we may find in Brazil very remark-
able dwelling-places, and eggs laid in most peculiar positions. One
of the most curious dwelling-places is that of the Sloth-moth. The
Sloth moves so slowly that an insect has selected it as its dwelling-
place, just as though it were a stuffed example in a museum. One
may imagine the surprise of the explorer who first shot a sloth and
saw a whole swarm of little moths fly out of its fur ! We do not even
yet know whether the caterpillars live on the hair, like those of our
Clothes-moths, or whether they eat the green algae, the microscopic

Fig. 22. — Hercules Beetle {half life-size)

plants, which often grow so abundantly on the fur of the Sloth that
its whole coat assumes a greenish hue.

The beetles that feed upon wood have a more troublesome task;
here the female insect must bore a special hole for the eggs, or she
may have to dig her own way into a rotting tree-trunk, even though
her own diet may consist of leaves. The giants among the beetles
of Brazil live in the timber as larvae, where they become so thick
and fat that the Indians and negroes roast or fry the white grubs,
which are as big as a man's finger, and eat them with relish. One of
these beetles is the Hercules (Fig. 22). The male has handsome
grey wing-covers, and from the scutum a long curved horn or tusk
runs forwards, which is opposed by a toothed horn that grows
out of the head, so that the two make an unsymmetrical pair of
tongs. With this horn the beetle is six inches in length. What are we
to make of these singular sham tongs? Are they intended to imitate
a real pair of pincers, and to serve as a means of intimidation?
But then, as in the case of the deer, this intimidation would come
into play only in the contests of the males, for the much smaller
female wears no horns, and looks merely like a gigantic dung-beetle.
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CAREFUL MOTHERS

With such ornamental antlers she could never bore her way into
decaying wood.

Not less huge than the Hercules are the black Actaeon and the
white and green dappled Elephant-beetle ; and here again the males
are provided with great horns. In the case of another species, the
mighty Strategus, a Rhinoceros-beetle, the larvae find their way
from the soil to the roots and the base of the stem of young coconut-
palms, and destroy them. Among the Weevils even there is a large
black beetle, the Palm-weevil (Plate 29, II, 10). The female bores
a hole in a coconut-palm and lays her egg in it, and the larva,
when it emerges, excavates the interior of the stem, and finally
pupates in a cocoon woven of bast-fibres. And the Perandra (Plate 29,
II, 9) actually fells trees as thick as one's arm, in order to lay its
eggs in them when they begin to decay.

Even greater riddles are presented by the egg-laying of insects
when the adult has no dealings with the food-plant of the larvae.
How does the butterfly know that she must lay her eggs on the
leaves of this or that bush, when she herself lives only on the nectar
of flowers, so that leaves mean nothing to her? It is easy to suggest
that as the eggs ripen in her body she remembers her infancy, when
the leaves were her own food, but to do so is to be guilty of an
unjustifiable anthropomorphism. What can we human beings know
of the mnemonic powers of an insect !

Moreover, there are accessory circumstances which cannot
possibly be explained by memory. The butterfly, for instance,
cannot remember that as an egg she adhered to the underside of
a leaf, for an egg sees and feels nothing. Yet every butterfly affixes
her eggs precisely as is proper for an insect of her species. And are
we to credit an insect with not only the memory of past events, but
also with prophetic foresight? How otherwise do the caterpillars
of the Silk-moths come to spin themselves a silken house, a cocoon,
in which to pupate? They cannot know that on their next moult
they will become immobile pupae, needing no food, but in special
need of shelter and protection, since they cannot flee their enemies !
As a matter of fact, such a caterpillar needs to look even further
ahead ; it must know that when the skin of the pupa splits open a
winged creature will appear, which will have to escape from the
cocoon, for the silkworm leaves an opening as it spins its house,
protected by bristles as the opening of an eel-trap is guarded by

279

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

withies, so that while the moth can bend them aside as she creeps
out of the cocoon, no enemy can force its way in.

On the leaves of the Orange-tree graze the caterpillars of the
handsome black Idaeus, whose hind-wings are decorated with spots
of strawberry red. On pupating, the larva of this butterfly grasps
a twig with its hind-claspers, leaving its body sloping upwards and
standing away from the twig; at the same time it spins a thread
which lies like a sling round its body and the supporting twig, so
that the pupa looks like a lateral shoot. Since the caterpillar binds
itself on to the twig before it pupates, it must know what its girth
will be when a pupa, and what position the pupa will assume, for
it has to calculate the length of the thread accordingly. We cannot
in this case speak of intelligent action, since there is no one in the
world about the caterpillar from whom it could learn its art. The
larva goes through the whole skilful performance once and once
only, without example and without practice, and yet with infallible
success.

The insect's technical instructions are therefore contained in the
unconscious; they develop with the insect's body, and at the right
moment find expression in action. The insect is driven by an urge
so powerful that even deadly danger will not prevent it from accom-
plishing its work. As a Dragonfly darts to and fro above the pond,
choosing its prey, it takes good care not to fall into the water, for
there it would drown, since it can breathe only in the air. But
when the breeding-season comes the male and female of at least
one species clasp one another and climb down a reed and under the
surface, in order to make little incisions on the stem of the reed,
and lay an egg in each. For the larvae of these insects live on the
floor of the pond, as predatory creatures, and they are provided
with gills.

In the southern portion of the South American continent there
is a Swimming Weevil (Hydrotimes natans), which goes under
water only at the mating season, in order to lay its eggs. There are,
moreover. Mayflies, Caddis-flies and other insects which spend
their youth in the water, while this element is fatal to the adult
insects, and is carefully avoided. But the urge of procreation forces
them to imperil themselves.

Love changes a human being, and turns his soul, according to

the nature and the object of that love, to good or to evil. And the

animal also, when seized by the procreative urge, often becomes a

different creature. There are insects which normally are harmless

280

CAREFUL MOTHERS

vegetarians, but when the egg-laying season approaches they become
ferocious beasts of prey. It is, of course, only for the sake of their
young that they turn to a predatory way of life, since their offspring
live on animal food alone, while their parents cannot share their
gory meals.

In this respect again we may perceive, in the insect kingdom,
a series of evolutionary stages. There are small insects called Mantis-
flies which trap their prey; they look like little Mantises, and like
the latter they catch small insects in the gins formed by their folded
forelegs. In these species both adults and larvae are flesh-eaters.
For the tiny larvae which emerge from the eggs try to get into the
egg-sac of a Wolf-spider : which entails long effort and a protracted
fast. The female Wolf-spider, of course, always carries the sac about
with her. At last, however, the larva is successful; it bores its way
through the wall of the sac, and feeds on the yolky eggs, while the
spider notices nothing. The unsuspecting mother now guards and
protects the murderers of her offspring as though she were still
carrying her own eggs. In Brazil there are species of Mantisidae in
which the female, provided with an ovipositor, lays her eggs in
the cells of a wasps' nest ; in this case the larvae feed on the eggs
and the stores of their involuntary hosts.

The history of the Ant-wasps (Mutillae) resembles that of the
insects which I have been describing. The males are not unlike
other wasps; one finds them on flowers, whose nectar they suck.
The females, however, have quite a different appearance; they are
like ants, and are wingless, and crawl about on the ground. The
body is hirsute, and has a satiny gloss ; it is often finely marked with
black and red or yellow. The females too are vegetarian, but when
they wish to lay their eggs they creep underground in pursuit of
living insects. It is to fit themselves for this underground adventure
that they have lost their wings; and their likeness to the ants may
serve as a protection. Some species lay their eggs on the brood-cells
of Bumble-bees, and the emerging larvae feed upon the rightful
occupants of the cells.

The female Ant-wasps chirp like crickets, thanks to the special
formation of the edges of the abdominal segments, which they rub
together. Perhaps they are able by this means to attract the attention
of the flying males. In the case of the Thynnus, which has a similar
appearance, the union of the sexes has been observed. To the
observer, the procedure had the appearance of an abduction. The
male fell upon the female, embraced her with tender passion, and

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flew off with her. The distribution of the species is enlarged by such
nuptial flights, for it would be a long while before the earth-bound
female could conquer new territory.

The Ichneumon-wasps are pretty little insects, very active, and
always whisking their antennae up and down. They may often be
seen on leaves or flowers on which Plant-lice (Aphides) have scattered
their saccharine excretions, so that the whole leaf or petal is sticky
and shiny. There the female Ichneumons seek their food, and the
males, as long as they live, never do more than lead a harmless
existence among the flowers. Not so the females. Their forethought
for their brood makes executioners of them.

A caterpillar is peacefully nibbling at a leaf Suddenly it starts;
a tiny black wasp has flashed past its head. It returns, and desperately

K4.
Fig. 23. — Ichneumon on Caterpillar

the caterpillar lashes out at the enemy against whom its instinct
warns it. Many caterpillars even eject long jets of fluid from their
mouths, which are intended to intimidate the aggressor. But nothing
is of any avail ; suddenly the little wasp has seized her opportunity ;
she alights on the caterpillar, and plunges her ovipositor into its
flesh (Fig. 23). In most cases this happens before the caterpillar can
defend itself, for the Ichneumons fly silently ; they do not hum.

By means of her tubular ovipositor the Ichneumon has thrust one
or more eggs into the caterpillar's body. The caterpillar quiets
down again, and pursues the only occupation of which it has any
knowledge, that of eating. But after awhile a larva emerges from
the egg in its body; in appearance a tiny maggot. And now it
begins to eat. But it does not simply devour whatever is beneath
its mandibles, for then it might sever some important nerve, and
the caterpillar would die. The whole object of laying the egg in
the living caterpillar is to ensure that the larva shall have fresh
meat until the time of its pupation. The insects cannot, like the
foxes or wolves, continually obtain fresh prey for their young; as a
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CAREFUL MOTHERS

rule their lives are too short to permit of their surviving until their
eggs are hatched. Nature has therefore devised a way out of the
difficulty; the mother must not kill her prey, but must see to it
that her larva can live on the victim, on emerging from the egg,
without being endangered by it. She therefore sinks her ovipositor
into a living caterpillar, and the larva, hatching out inside the
caterpillar's body, eats first the fat and flesh, and respects the vital
organs. The caterpillar lives on, and passes through various moults,
and only just before pupation does it collapse, an empty skin. But
now the larvae have completed their development, and can pupate
in their cocoons beside the husks of their victims.

I made the acquaintance of several of the Ichneumon-wasps of
Brazil while I was breeding the Rosy Caterpillar; and it occurred
to me to note which species of this most dreaded enemy of the cater-
pillars had already adapted itself to the Cotton-grubs, in order
that I might inquire how the multiplication of these Ichneumons
could be assisted. In my gauze-covered breeding cages some tiny
black Ichneumons crept out from among the caterpillars, and also
a larger species with a striped abdomen. There are Ichneumons of
various forms and sizes in Brazil, and according to the nature of their
victims, their ovipositors are longer or shorter. Many species have
an ovipositor the length of one's finger, and these have usually
adapted themselves to the exploitation of larvae which live in wood.
We can only wonder how the Ichneumon contrives to locate her
victim through the thickness of the wood, and by means of her
thread-like ovipositor to bore through the bark and wood with
such accuracy that it enters the caterpillar's gallery just at the right
spot, and sinks into the body.

The Bronze Wasps also provide their larvae with living nourish-
ment : these are the insects whose bronze-green, red and blue body-
colouring delights the lover of Nature in Brazil. These wasps fasten
their eggs to their victim; the emerging grubs then bore their way
into the caterpillar.

The same end — namely, the provision of fresh meat for the brood^
is attained by another race of insects by other means. While the
Ichneumons carry their eggs to their victims, the Hunting-wasps
carry their prey to their eggs, which are usually laid in burrows.
In order that the victim shall not die and dry up or putrefy before
the larva emerges, only a little poison is introduced by the sting,
so that the creature does not die, but lives on paralysed. Incapable
of escaping, or of defending itself, or of doing more than feebly

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twitch its limbs, it has perforce to submit to be slowly eaten alive,
in a dark underground burrow, by the offspring of its enemy. And
these larvae display the caution of a torturer ; they eat only those
parts of their victim's body whose destruction will not be fatal.

In Brazil, soon after my arrival, my attention was attracted by
a black wasp (Plate 29, II, 14), compared with which our Hornet
is a mere pigmy. With silent flight it cleaves the air with its dark,
white-mottled wings, apparently trailing behind it a long ovipositor ;
but I soon realized that the insect was flying with its hind pair of
legs outstretched. I never succeeded in capturing such a "Gavallo
do cae" (Dog-horse) ; its flight was so swift and sure that my net
was never in time.

Only in the Sertao did I at last obtain a "Dog-horse" ; on approach-
ing a flowering tree in the bush, I saw several of these insects circling
round it, settling on the blossoms, and drinking the nectar. It was
a pretty spectacle : the flowering tree, with the great black wasps
steadily and silently circling round it.

In a chink high up in the corner of two walls a Bird-spider had
spun its lair, a sort of white hammock — I had often watched it at
work — and there waited for the night, before setting forth on its
predatory excursions. It fell upon insects of every kind, and even
frogs, for this great spider, which is as large as a freshwater crayfish,
but looks even larger, with its black furry body and long hairy
legs, can overcome creatures of a respectable size.

Suddenly the resting spider shrank into itself: the black hornet,
its most terrible enemy, had made its appearance. Once more the
insect flew past, but now it descended from overhead, threatening
the spider's back. Quick as lightning the latter stood up on its
four hinder legs, and struck at the enemy with its hairy forelegs.
Beneath its head I could see the long daggers of the mandibles,
surrounded by fiery red hair, as though dripping with the blood
of their last meal ; standing high on its legs, the venomous creature
was a horrible and startling spectacle. But the hornet did not allow
itself to be intimidated ; swifter and swifter, coming now from the
right, now from the left, it flew past its intended victim. Suddenly
the spider struck out too violently; it fell forwards, and before it
could stand erect again the black enemy was seated on its back,
thrusting its poignard upwards into the nerve-centres.

Paralysed, the spider collapsed; it was helpless; it could do no
more than feebly twitch its legs, while the victor flung it down from
its hammock, seized it anew on the ground, and walking backwards
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CAREFUL MOTHERS

with long, elastic strides, dragged its victim after it. The journey
was a long one. Often the hornet released its hold, and ran quickly
forwards, but it always returned and dragged the spider a little
further. At last the goal was reached: a hole leading down into
the earth. The hornet hurried into the burrow, saw that all was in
order, and dragged the spider after it. While so doing it was very
much on the alert. On another occasion I watched a hornet attempt-
ing to drag a spider into its burrow. Something, apparently, was not
as it should be; and as the hornet quickly ran back into the hole,
I looked more closely at the spider, and turned it over, but restored
it again to its proper position. The hornet appeared again, and
dragged the spider into the hole. I had intended to await any further
proceedings, but was called away, and when half an hour later I
returned to the hole, hornet and spider had disappeared, and in the
burrow itself, which I excavated, there was nothing to be seen.
The hole was not deep, and was wide at the surface.

In this burrow the hornet lays its eggs on the body of its victim,
closes the entrance, and leaves the spot, in order to lay a second
egg in the same manner. After some days the larva creeps out
of the egg, and begins to eat the spider. The living meal lasts
until the larva has passed through all its moults and is ready
to pupate.

Bates has a story of another hornet. The explorer had just landed
on a sandbank in the Amazon, in order to cook his mid-day meal,
when suddenly a wasp or hornet swooped on to his neck like a
stooping hawk. He started back, but he really had reason to thank
the hornet, since it had just espied a horse-fly or Mutiica, which
had settled on Bates's neck in order to suck his blood. The blood-
sucker was seized, and the hornet flew off", tenderly pressing its
booty to its breast.

While most of the hornets excavate burrows in the earth in which
their larvae can mature, or make use of the deserted holes of frogs
or mice, the Potter-wasps or Mud-wasps make nests of clay, which
take the form of large grey balls, and hang from the twigs Hke fruit.
Inside these balls are the cells for the eggs and their food-supply,
mostly spiders. On the walls of the monastery at Monte in OHnda
I found clay tubes assembled in the form of panpipes, with a pleasing
diagonal stripe across them. The interior of each tube was partitioned
oflf, and contained an oval capsule of horny consistency. This en-
closed the larva, with its paralysed booty. Some bees too, however,
had made use of this structure, having built themselves cells in a

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few deserted tubes, and in each cell they had placed an egg and
some honey.

Anyone who has ever observed a hornet at work — and to watch
the large, handsome "Cavallo do cae" is truly such a treat as only
Brazil can offer — will always receive the impression that the insect
is acting with the most subtle consideration. And yet the insect
never sees the result of all its labours, never learns that one day a
larva, which needs fresh food, creeps out of the apparently lifeless
egg; so that an innate instinct alone can tell the insect what to do.
It cannot be guided by recollections of its own youth, for the larva
was not in existence when its mother fell upon her prey, and she
herself never saw, nor has the newly emerged hornet seen, how
the victim should be overpowered, and where the sting should be
inserted in order to paralyse it. And yet at the very first attempt
the hornet strikes accurately at the nerve-centre, which in the
spider lies in the thorax, and, what is more, on the underside of the
thorax. Hornets which seek other prey seem in each case to under-
stand the anatomy of their victim; in the first place, they select
only such flies, beetles, grasshoppers, etc., as have a readily accessible
nerve-centre, and secondly, they understand in each case precisely
where the sting should be inserted ; and in each species of wasp or
hornet the length of the sting is precisely that best adapted to the
anatomy of its victim.

Again, the larvae know nothing of the significance of the various
viscera of their victims, though they are careful to respect the vital
organs. They too have no example to follow, no teacher ; the instinct
is inborn, and precisely because their behaviour is instinctive it
works with absolute reliabihty.

Certain of the Hornets supply their brood with small insects, such
as beetles and flies, and a number of these would have to be brought
to the nest and stored there, since a single victim would not suffice
to nourish the larva. So here we see the beginning of another
method, which resembles that followed by the birds and mammals.
The mother does not die after laying the eggs, but survives until
her larvae are fully developed, so that she can at any time enter
their nursery, in order to see that all is well with them, and bring
them fresh food.

Here, then, even among the insects, like a groping ray of sunshine,
we see the first attempts at a common life of parents and offspring.
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CAREFUL MOTHERS

Among the Dung-beetles of Brazil there are magnificent species, as
large as a five-shilling piece, gleaming red or blue, or even with a
red, metallic lustre. The head of the Sword-beetle (Phanaeus ensifer)
is adorned with a curving horn. These beetles are relatives of the
Scarabaei, which were revered by the ancient Egyptians, and of
which images in stone or pottery were buried with the dead. The
Brazilian Dung-beetles excavate an underground gallery, and into
this they carry dung with their outstretched forelegs, which are
shovel-shaped, and toothed at the edge. This dung they knead
into a ball, and at one point they pull the ball out a little, and in
this part they imbed the egg, so that the air may have better access
to it. In order to prevent the ball from drying, it is enclosed in a
thick shell of clay, the whole being some two inches in diameter.
But over the egg, in order that the air may reach it, the clay covering
is left porous. Lastly, the way to the outer world is shown by morsels
of dung left lying at regular intervals, so that the beetle which
results from the larva — which feeds on the ball of dung until pupa-
tion— can at once find its way to the outer world, much as Hansel
and Gretel found their way home.

Many of these Dung-beetles still go on working when the larvae
have already emerged and are eating, while certain Rhinoceros-
beetles even survive until the pupation of their offspring. It is the
same with the Scarabaeidae. The female Bark-bug (Phloeacorticaria),
of which I have already spoken (Plate 29, 3), carries her whole
family under her body, and according to Brehm it is even possible
that the mother allows a portion of the sap which she sucks from
her food-plant to trickle over the flat underside of her body, in order
to nourish her brood.

In the case of the Green Cockroach which is common in Brazil
it has been observed that the eggs develop in a brood-pouch on the
mother's body, which the young leave only at a later stage. Among
the Water-bugs there is actually a species in which the male is
obliged to take charge of the brood, for the female simply glues the
whole packet of eggs on his back. Brazil, like India, boasts of enor-
mous aquatic bugs, which at night fly, with a terrific smack, against
lamps and lanterns, but by day they rove about in the water,
killing frogs or fishes with their venomous bite, and eating them.

Among the Sugar-beetles we find a real family life. These are
long, flat, shining black beetles with ridged wing-covers, the largest
of which grows to a length of nearly three inches. I found the
Sugar-beetles in a rotten tree-trunk in Ceylon, and I met with

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them again in Brazil, where this family has attained its greatest
development.

The Sugar-beetles are shy of the light, and live in the interior of
decaying tree-trunks, where they are found in whole famiUes, for
since the larvae are no longer able to eat without assistance, the
parents have to masticate the rotting wood and feed them ; they also
watch over the eggs. But since the family does not remain in one
place, as it constantly eats its way forward through the wood, the
two parents have to go first and clear the way, while the young
follow. And just as our birds, wandering in the dark spring or
autumn nights, continually call to one another, so the Sugar-beetles
emit warning cries, lest their young should lose their way.^ On the
tip of the inner wing is a toothed plate, which is rubbed by a sort
of bow on the last segment of the body, producing a shrill chirping
sound, which may be so loud that Ohaus, who had placed a box
containing a Sugar-beetle on his wash-stand, was unable to sleep
for the truly infernal din of its constant chirping. The larvae too
possess a chirping apparatus, but of another kind. Even when the
larvae have pupated the parents remain protectively in their
neighbourhood. The offspring enjoy this family existence for more
than a year.

The life of the Sugar-beetle shows how little Nature is inclined
to keep to a given scheme, and how, even in the insect world, she
is able to devise relations which otherwise are found only in the
higher orders of animals. The more profoundly we study the life
of insects, the more vividly we reaHze that although the actions
characteristic of the species as being necessary to their development
are instinctive, many insects have the faculty of modifying their
actions to meet altered circumstances, and of storing up experience,
and profiting thereby. The insects are not machines which merely
run down after being wound up. This will be shown in the next
chapter, in which we shall see the fulfilment of many things which
the insects hitherto described have but gropingly attempted.

» According to the most recent observations, the larvae of the Sugar-beetle
chirp only when they are disturbed, and are able to eat vs^ithout assistance.
When they approach one another too closely in the wood they chirp, and are
thus able to keep their distance, and refrain from disturbing one another.

Plate XXIV

< t-r

VIEW OK THE PARROT S BEAK, IIJICA M(JLM ALN'S

^•t^^'5

::3

, 1

J

BUILDING A NEGRO S HOUSE

'IRA YELLING BY 1 ROLLLY

XVI

PIONEERS OF COMMUNAL LIFE: WASPS AND BEES

Creatures that by a rule in Nature teach
The art of order to a peopled kingdom. . . .

Oo Shakespeare calls the Bees, and we Germans have a name for
them, Immen, which means "the diligent ones." And indeed, everyone
who has ever glanced into a beehive must have marvelled at the
delicate work performed there, and the diligence of the workers.
Even from the outside, at the entrance to the hive, we perceive the
signs of a busy and bustling life. Fresh bees are for ever creeping
out, spreading their wings, and hurrying off with an assured flight,
as though they had not the slightest doubt as to their destination.
Others are returning from distant excursions and landing on the
alighting-board, bearing visible signs of the success of their work,
for the "bread-baskets" on their hindlegs are heavily laden with
yellow pollen. And now bees appear at the entrance, emerging from
the hive, which do not at once fly away; instead, they turn back,
and for a time they fly to and fro in front of the hive, as though
anxious to impress the details of their home on their memory.
And as a matter of fact these are bees which, ever since they crept
out of their chrysalids, have been constantly occupied in the hive,
and are now, for the first time, about to go out into the wide
world.

But who directs all this activity? Who tells these little creatures
that it is now time to fly abroad: who tells these insects, which
hitherto have never seen anything of the kind, where to find pollen
and nectar, and how they should be collected? In a human com-
munity, as we know, there is no order where there is no govern-
ment. Who gives the orders in the kingdom of the Bees, and who
distributes the tasks?

Everyone knows that the community of the Bees has a "queen."
But this name is really too pompous for the insect that bears it —
namely, for the only fertile female in the hive. The "queen" is
nothing more than a living egg-laying mechanism. She has no
orders to give ; indeed, even her own work of laying eggs is con-
trolled by the workers, for these build the cells of the comb of their
own initiative, in such numbers as are necessary for drones, workers,

T 289

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and other queens. The queen lays the necessary eggs in such cells
as are offered to her, without expressing any will of her own.

The State of the Bees, then, is no monarchy, but a republic.
Yet surely a republic, we ask, has need of a president, a leader and
commander? From the very fact that in the insect State there are
no superiors we perceive how fundamentally their organization
must differ from that of the human State. Among the Bees and
Ants no orders, no instructions are given, for every insect carries
the law in its own breast, and any failure to observe it is simply
impossible. The laws of the human State are devised by the subjects
of the State ; the new-born subject knows nothing of them to begin
with, but has to learn them ; each generation adds something to the
rising structure, but what is bequeathed "must be acquired before
it is possessed." With the limited discernment of the human mind,
the individual enterprise will only approximately achieve its aim,
since men differ so one from another that not all of them will under-
stand it equally well. Many are not willing to adapt themselves
to it, since they find it more agreeable to follow their own desires.
And these have to be forced into the great framework by means
of compulsion and punishment. But in the fact that work may
constantly be done upon the ever-uncompleted structure lies the
possibility of progress, and of the cultural evolution of the human
race.

The insect State is not the work of its subjects, but of that Power
which is responsible for the development of all terrestrial life. Every
Bee, every Ant, bears within itself, at the moment of emerging from
pupation, the whole cultural possession, so to speak, of the bygone
generations of the State ; this possession is inherited, in its full com-
pass, with the details of its physical structure ; and without needing
to be taught, without displaying any reluctance, the insect enters
into its service. But as Wasmann, the myrmecologist, has shown,
the inhabitants of the insect State are by no means pure machines.
They can store up experience, and profit thereby ; but these possibili-
ties of modification lie within the frame of their inborn faculties ;
for example, the Spider can make its web larger or smaller and
anchor it in different ways, according to the space at its disposal,
but it can spin only the web proper to its species, never the web of
another species. The whole structure and all the laws of the insect
State are "given" to the Ants and Bees; they cannot control its
evolution. We must always be mindful of this fundamental difference
in the nature of the insect State, and the forces that are at work
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PIONEERS OF COMMUNAL LIFE

in it, when we are tempted to attribute to insects relations and
motives which exist only in the human community.

As all things in Nature reveal the successive stages of a gradual
evolution, we shall not at once find the insect community in its
complete and perfect state. On the contrary, we shall find different
stages of social life, leading up from crude beginnings to the subtly
organized community of the Bees and Ants. The first condition
of a community is that the mother shall live to see the larvae hatch
from her eggs; the second, that the members of a species shall
build their brood-cells close together, so that the instinct of common
defence against danger is evolved. Thus, there are species of bees
which build their brood-cells for themselves alone, and care for
their larvae without assistance; but if anything disturbs even one
of these insects, their angry humming infects the others. From all
sides they fall upon the enemy, multiplying the efficacy of the
onslaught.

The transition from the solitary to the social life is first seen
among the Wasps. We have made the acquaintance of the Hornets,
the Potter-wasps or Mud-wasps, and others; these are solitary as
regards their provision for their brood, but even among them there
are certain species whose activity does not cease with the preparation
and provisioning of the brood-cells, for they continue to visit the
cells when the larvae have emerged, and to bring them fresh supplies
of food. In those wasps which fold their fore-wing when at rest —
the Vespidae and the Eumenidae — these first steps are carried
a little further. Among them the 'Till- wasps" still live a solitary
life, but the true Wasps dwell in populous and well-organized
communities.

In Brazil there are a great number of "Pill-wasps," with hand-
some black and yellow markings ; the family may be recognized by
the fact that the stalk by which the abdomen is attached is club-
shaped, being dilated at its hinder extremity. They are called
"Pill-wasps" because they make little spherical pots of clay, which
in the smaller European species look like pills. In Brazil we fre-
quently find such clay balls, prolonged at the top into short necks,
and sealed, on walls and on various plants. If we open such a sealed
jar we find inside paralysed insects, and the egg of the wasp, or
even its larva, which has begun to devour its victims. Other species
build larger pots, which may contain several cells in juxtaposition,

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

SO that the whole constitutes a sort of comb covered with a domed
roof of clay. Among the enemies of the Pill-wasps are the Golden
Wasps, small insects whose bodies have a green, blue and red
metalhc lustre; these insects wait cautiously until the Pill-wasp has
flown away, when they crawl quickly into the pot, and lay their
egg beside that of the rightful proprietor. The latter returns, takes
no notice of the strange egg, completes the provisioning of the pot,
and seals it up. The egg of the Golden Wasp is the first to hatch,
and the emerging larva quietly devours the egg of the Pill-wasp and
its intended victims.

There are Pill-wasps which do not seal their pots, but leave them
open. These visit their larvae, and bring them fresh prey; indeed,
many species even feed their larvae with masticated insects. Such
care of the offspring is a step towards the community of the true
Wasps. We have only to imagine that the mother-wasp begins to
build whole rows of juxtaposed cells, so that she is still feeding the
last larva to creep from the egg when the first of the family to
emerge has already pupated, or has even become a wasp. In such
a case it would hardly be an essential innovation were the young
wasp to dedicate her activities to the common home, building her
own cells beside it; or even were she to begin to feed the brood,
her maternal instincts being aroused by the sight of the hungry
larvae. We can very well imagine that by such premature demands
on the maternal instinct the erotic urge which should normally
precede this instinct, and ensure its development, is extinguished,
so that the wasp now becomes a mere female helper in her mother's
household. And now, if her sexual organs degenerate — as all things
do degenerate which are not used — so that they can no longer be
fecundated, the insect will become a worker pure and simple, and
the mother, released from the labours of cell-building and feeding
the larvae, and consequently able to devote herself entirely to the
business of laying eggs, may now be called a "queen."

In the Field-wasps common in Europe and America — most of
them barred with black and yellow — we find the early stage of such
a communal State. The female masticates wood and similar sub-
stances, and produces a material not unlike blotting-paper, with
which she at first constructs a short tube or brood-cell, adhering
to a wall or the trunk of a tree. To this first short tube others are
added, and the better to economize space the walls are flattened,
so that the tubes become hexagonal ; and so we have a comb, con-
sisting entirely of cells hanging from a short stalk. In the American
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PIONEERS OF COMMUNAL LIFE

Parasol-wasps, insects which have adopted the unusual habit of
leading a nocturnal existence, a comb of this kind may be as
much as 1 8 inches in diameter, and it hangs from the forest trees
like a yellowish-grey parasol. At the bottom of each cell an egg is
laid ; from this a grub emerges, which hangs head downwards, and
is fed by the mother with masticated insects. When the larvae have
finished moulting they spin themselves cocoons, and each cell is
given a lid, under which the inmate pupates. The emerging wasps
help their mother, who may now be called a queen-wasp. It is true
that they too lay eggs in newly-constructed cells, but since they are
unfertiUzed only males emerge from them, for it is a law among
the Wasps and Bees that unfertilized eggs produce males, and
fertilized eggs females. When these males emerge they fertilize
some of the females, and these found nests of their own, in which
they become queens. In all the species of Field-wasp the State is
founded by a single female, and with her death is ceases to exist.
Even the European species of more highly evolved Wasps and
Hornets build nests that last only a year. In the spring a fertilized
female begins to build cells and lay eggs, until the first working
females come to her assistance; in the autumn the community
perishes, but a few fertilized females hibernate in dark corners, and
the following spring each builds a new nest elsewhere. In sunny
Brazil, a land of eternal summer, there is no need for this interrup-
tion of the communal life ; there the conditions are favourable to
the construction of large and durable nests, and so, according to
Ducke, the basin of the Amazon is richer in wasps than any other
region on earth. In the great wasps' nests of Brazil, such as those
built by the Parasol-wasp, we find, accordingly, several fertilized
females or queens, and the multiplication of communities is effected,
as in the case of our Hive-bees, by the departure of swarms which
construct a new nest, cell by cell, and enlarge it as their numbers
increase, or first prepare the whole nest, and only then proceed to
lay the eggs.

The nests show all the stages of increasing perfection. The Palm-
wasps build comb over comb, connected by pillars of papier-mache,
in the roUed-up leaves of palms or bananas. Still other wasps shelter
their nests from the rain under large leaves, or even the roofs of
houses. The "Pasteboard-wasps" have another method. These
black insects, whose abdomens are adorned with yellow stripes,
give their combs such a durable cover that they are able to hang
their nest from the branch of a tall tree, where it looks Uke a huge,

293

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

whitish-grey sausage (Fig. 24). Twenty or more combs may be
superimposed, and their edges are so firmly knit into the cover that
the wasps have to make special gangways in the combs in order
that they may creep from one to the other. At the bottom the
covering has a conical point, and at the vertex of the cone is the
entrance to the nest.

The nest of another wasp looks like a Jaca-fruit (Fig. 24). This
nest, as large as a man's head, is covered with spines, and presents
a most uncanny appearance when seen amidst the boughs of a tree.
As builders, the Wasps seem to learn from other creatures; at all

events, they build a nest that is not
too incongruous with their surround-
ings. Thus, Ducke saw some wasps'
nests hanging amidst the bag-shaped
nests of the Checheou, which had the
same elongated form, while other
nests, in the neighbourhood of spheri-
cal ants' nests, had assumed the same
shape.

The Wasps feed their offspring on
the flesh of masticated insects, which
they disgorge into the mouths of the
larvae. The adult insects, however, are

Fig. 24.-Left, nest of the Paste- ^^^7 ^^^d of sweet food, as Europeans
board-wasp, Chartergus char- are Only too well aware. In South
tarius. Right, the same cut open. America there are even Honey Wasps,

Between them, a Keel -tailed 1 • 1 . u -4.1, 11 ^r

, . , r, 1 rr. 1 u- which storc up honey in the cells 01

Lizard. Below, a nest 01 roiybia ^ '

scutellarius {greatly reduced) their nests ; and this honey is eaten by

human beings, although while certain
poisonous flowers are blooming it is injurious to man. There are
likewise wasps which, according to the cHmate of their home, live
now on honey, now on insects; a proof of the adaptability of
instinct.

The Bees have evolved along similar lines. They feed their brood
not on animal food, but on vegetable substances; and as we have
seen in Chapter XII, they brush off the pollen of flowers with special
brushes aflixed to their legs or abdomens, which retain the yellow
dust. The higher forms, moreover, have on their legs spoon-shaped
depressions or "bread-baskets" in which they collect pollen, so that

294

PIONEERS OF COMMUNAL LIFE

they look, as they fly away, as though they were wearing yellow
stockings. With their finely developed suctorial organ the Bees also
suck the nectar of flowers ; the saccharine fluid is mixed with saliva,
and regurgitated as honey.

The race of the Bees too begins with solitary forms. We find such
bees everywhere in sandy soil: for example, in the Sertao, where
they dig deep galleries, at the end of which they build their cells.
These are often lined with fragments of leaves ; when all is ready the
cell is filled with "bee-bread," a mixture of honey and pollen, and
on this an egg is laid. The bee now closes the cell, and prepares
a new one for the next egg.

She is not interested in the development of her larvae ; so that
it often happens that during her absence the "Cuckoo-bee" lays
her egg beside that of the rightful owner of the cell. The grub of
this bee develops the more rapidly of the two, and eats up the
bee-bread before the lawful inhabitant creeps out of the egg, only
to find that it is doomed to starve.

Among the Solitary Bees are the handsome Carpenter Bees, as
large as Bumble-bees, whose black bodies have a blue-green metallic
lustre. At Olinda I saw these insects gnawing their holes in a rail-
post. Such a hole is gradually enlarged into a gallery, which is
divided into cells by lateral partitions, each cell receiving its ration
of bee-bread and an egg. The larvae eat their fill, pupate, and gnaw
their way to freedom through a series of doors.

The Brazilian Emerald Bee glitters with metallic green, blue and
gold. The length of its proboscis exceeds that of its body. These bees
have on the thighs of their hindlegs baskets in which they collect
not only pollen, but resin for building purposes. They build in the
trunks of trees eaten by termites, in keyholes, and in the nests of
Mud- or Pollen-wasps, but they also fasten clay balls, as large as
walnuts, to the branches of trees, inside which are cells containing
eggs and honey. In some of these bees the beginnings of communal
life have been observed.

In the Bumble-bees this communal life is already fully developed.
Like the Wasps, the Brazilian Bumble-bees are enabled by the
climate to maintain their community for long periods, while the
community of the European Bumble-bees has less than a year's life,
being renewed each spring by a fertilized female. Consequently the
nest of the "Mamangabas," as the Brazilians call these bees, is
often of considerable dimensions. It is frequently as large as a wash-
basin, and is built in the ground, preferably among the roots of a

295

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

dense thicket. On the floor of the nest a number of separate little
pots peep out between the roots and the rotting leaves ; they are the
waxen cells into which the bee-bread is stored and the eggs laid.
The growing larvae are fed by the queen, and later by the worker
females, until they pupate in cocoons of their own spinning, which
split the waxen shells. Accordingly, we find in the nest many brood-
cells in which pupation has taken place, and which have been
repaired, or only half filled with honey with a view to a possible
scarcity of food. The Brazilian Bumble-bees, which are distinguished
by white and yellow stripes on their black-haired bodies, can sting
most eflfectively, and are said to be able to penetrate the thickest
cloak. A collector employed by the Sao Paulo museum was once
attacked by the angry insects, and when some infuriated wasps
took part in the attack he was so severely maltreated that he fell
unconscious, and it was two or three hours before he was found.
There is one kind of Bumble-bee which is not content merely to
use its sting, but emits a most horrible stench if molested.

The true Honey-bees of Brazil belong to another group than ours.
It is true that in the forties of the last century our European hive-bee,
the "Abelha do reino," was exported to Brazil, and it has done
very well in the tropics. In the monastery garden at Olinda stood
whole rows of beehives ; they were densely populated, and as there
are always flowers in bloom in Brazil, the bees were constantly
carrying honey into the hives. I enjoyed this clear honey every
morning: it was uncommonly aromatic, and was all the more
welcome inasmuch in those latitudes butter comes to the table in
a liquid condition unless a refrigerator is available. To the European
the South American honey may seem too aromatic, and, until he
is used to it, to taste rather too strongly of a chemist's shop.

The wild bees native to Brazil are found everywhere, and may
be regarded as the characteristic insects of the country. They have
been studied by many explorers, among whom the German scientists
H. von Ihering and A. Ducke are worthy of especial mention.
To-day we know of sixty-three species, belonging to the family of the
Meliponae; for the entomologists are now inclined to include in
this the bees once classified as members of a second family, the
Trigonae. The Brazilian bees do not, like ours, employ a sting for
attack and defence. But this does not mean that they will allow
themselves to be robbed of their honey. There are indeed species,
296

Plate XXV

%

i\

? ;.v«''

"J!

COTTON-FIELD, SOLIDADE, PARAHYBA

COFFEE PLANTATIONS IN THE HILLS
NEAR JAHU

EUCALYPTUS FOREST, CAYEIRAS

PIONEERS OF COMMUNAL LIFE

especially among the smaller forms, which are timid, and will not
attack an enemy. Most of them, however, fall without hesitation
on anyone who attempts to open their nest, forcing their way angrily
into his eyes, nose and ears, crawling under his clothing, and in
particular rooting and burrowing into his hair, buzzing and singing
the while, for which reason the Brazilians call them "Hair-twisters,"
torce cabellos. Their attentions are so bewildering that the would-be
robber generally beats a retreat. But there are species which bite as
they attack, smearing the body all over with a resinous substance,
and biting off the hair. The "Bora" is such a bee.

Even away from their nests the Brazilian bees can be troublesome.
Some species settle on human beings in order to
suck the perspiration which flows so readily in the
tropics ; others, known as "Eye-lickers," prefer to
fly into one's eyes, and are consequently extremely
troublesome. These last are tiny bees, barely a
twelfth of an inch in length ; they are the smallest
bees in the world (Fig. 25).

Others have an unpleasant odour of resin, or
even of carrion, while there are some which smell
like roses, and the Limao bee exhales a strong ^r^ ^

scent of lemons. Fm. 25. — Stingless

The Brazilian bees are on the whole smaller Brazilian Bees.

Above,theUrussu.
In the middle, the
Irapuan. Beneath,
an "Eye-licker."
(All shown in their
natural size)

than the European species; the forms most fre-
quently found are about the size of a house-fly.
The body is commonly black ; many are black all
over, while others have yellow bands on their
abdomens, interrupted down the median line.
The various species bear names which the first settlers took over from
the Indians, and which allude for the most part to their honey and
their mode of life. In the Indian language Ira means "honey" ;
and this word is combined with all manner of nouns, adjectives
and adverbs to make names for girls; and even to-day many a
pretty Brazilian girl is adorned by such a name as Iracema (Honey-
lips) or Iracy.

The commonest bee in South America is the aggressive and
pugnacious Irapuan (Fig. 25). "Apuan" means "round," and refers
to the nest, which hangs on the bough of some forest tree like a
great dark ball. The Urussu bees (Fig. 25), which were common
in the garden at Olinda, build in hollow trees, and the Cupiras in
termitaries (the Termites are known as Gupim). The bees which

297

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

build in the ground are known as Buira, which means "earth-honey"
— from Ubu = earth. Irussu means "much honey" (assu = great).
Other names of bees are Mandassaia, Mandaguary, and above all
Jaty; and to these we may add Portuguese names, such as Sete
portas (seven doors), Mineiro (miner or tunneller), Limao (lemon),
and others.

These names show what an important part has been played by
the bees of Brazil, especially in earlier times, when the country
was still in its natural state. Like the Indians, travellers in Brazil
have found an important article of diet in honey; for there are
many species which produce from 3 to 25 pints of honey in a
single nest, which, according to the species, may include a few
hundred inhabitants only, or from 20,000 to 70,000. The honey
of the stingless bees is more savoury and aromatic than European
honey, and some kinds are held to be altogether superior; it is,
of course, thin and liquid, and sets only after it has been boiled ;
but in Brazil it is quite usual to boil honey. As in the nests of the
Honey-wasps, so in those of the bees, one sometimes finds evil-
tasting "dog-honey" (mel de cachorro), to which the bees add
perspiration and dung, or even poisonous substances. There is no
record of any exclusively poisonous honey, but according to the
number of poisonous flowers blooming at any time a honey may
be more or less poisonous. As a rule violent vomiting results from
eating such honey, but a condition of intoxication has been also
observed, especially after eating poisonous wasp-honey. The victims
are said to run about like mad creatures, tear their clothes, and butt
with their heads Hke goats, until finally they sink to the floor in
convulsions.

The nest of the Stingless Bees, though it may be situated in a
hollow tree, in a termites' nest, underground, or in the open, on
the branch of a tree, is always built on the same fundamental plan.
An entrance-hole, sometimes protracted outwards into a long tube,
leads to a short gallery, which takes the bee directly to the centre
of the nest. Here, in a spherical envelope of several layers of wax,
lie the brood-combs, either slanting or horizontal, with the cells
opening upwards. These combs consist of hexagonal cells, in which
food is stored, the egg being laid on the top of the food ; after which
the bees seal the cells. The larva, therefore, has to eat in dark and
solitary confinement, while the European bees leave the brood-cells
open and feed the larvae. The amount of food in the cells of the
Brazilian bees is of course calculated, as in the case of the Solitary
298

Plate XXVI

LA PLATA MUSEUM, ARGENTINA

PREHISTORIC GIANT ARMADILLO IN THE LA PLATA MUSEUM

PIONEERS OF COMMUNAL LIFE

Bees, to last until pupation. When the young bees emerge from the
pupae, the cells are razed.

The bees' nest, however, does not consist only of the spherical
living-room. Above and below this the bees build a great heap of
waxen honey-jars, which in the case of some species may be as big
as a hen's egg, and are filled with honey or pollen. The pots in the
interior of the ball cannot be got at until the outer pots are emptied,
when the bees can bite through them. Above and below this mass
of honey-pots the nest is closed. If the bees build in a hollow tree
they build a cross-partition, the "batumen," which is sometimes as
thick as one's finger, and, according to the species, may consist of
wax, clay, or resin.

Like the European bee, the Brazilian bee exists in three forms.
There are males or drones, defenceless creatures, which, like our
drones, have no sting, neither do they bite; and they do not take
part in the building of the nest. Their only task is to fertiUze the
sexually mature female, the "queen." When the mating- time is
over they are ejected, as useless mouths. There is a kind of "battle
of the drones," during which it has been observed that the workers
seize the drones and fly out of the nest with them, or drag them out,
and leave them lying outside, having first, by way of farewell, given
them a vigorous bite at the back of the head. The drones, in the
meantime, do not defend themselves, but only seek safety in
flight.

The high-water mark of the drone's life is the nuptial flight of the
queen. In Europe, when all Nature is revivified by the Spring, and
when all the labours of the bee community have been duly accom-
plished, the queen leaves her old home with a swarm of workers,
in order to found a new community. In the meantime, however,
creeping out of her cell, the young queen emerges, circles round the
hive, and buzzes oflf, followed by the "droning" swarm of drones.
But only one drone is the favoured spouse, and even he must pay by
his death for the intoxication of love ; dying, he falls to the ground,
while the fertilized queen returns to the hive, and in the community
orphaned by the departure of the old queen she takes over the duty
of egg-laying.

In Brazil it is not the old queen who departs with the swarm of
workers, but the young and still virgin queen, who must take her
nuptial flight from her new home, or be fertilized in the hive itself.
The old queen, a female who has already laid eggs, is incapable
of flight, for her body is unshapely with the masses of eggs contained

299

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

in it, being four times as large as before, and her weight is that of
ten worker-bees ; her wings are too small for such a body. Moreover,
the Brazilian queen is not fed, as is the queen of the European hive ;
she has to fetch her own food. When the queen begins to attend to
her business in life, she wanders indefatigably over the combs,
and lays her eggs in the cells prepared for them. It is in her power
to determine the sex of the brood, for the semen of the drone is
received in a small pouch near the oviduct, and when an egg, on
leaving the ovary and gliding through the oviduct, passes the mouth
of this pouch, the queen may open the latter, so that a spermatozoon
slips out and fertilizes the egg ; or she may keep it closed, when the
egg is laid unfertilized. In the first case the result is a female bee,
queen or worker; in the second, a male bee. Thus, the drones have
no father, and inherit their male qualities from their grandfather,
since the queen, when still in the egg, was fertilized at the time of
her conception.

The workers are females, but their sexual organs are stunted,
and they have no erotic instincts. In return, their bodies are organized
with a view to their work; for only the workers bear the baskets
for gathering pollen and the brushes for brushing it off; they alone
exude the wax for cell-building from the back of the abdomen (our
European bees exude it from the underside of the abdomen) , and
they alone possess all the miraculous instincts which maintain the
bee community. The different development of the two forms of
female appears to be the result of a different diet. The future queen
is given a special food, known as "royal jelly," and the larva grows
up in a specially large "royal" cell. Among the Brazilian bees we
find "royal" cells only in the higher species; among the less evolved
species, such as the Mandassaias, the Tujubas and the Guarupus,
only one kind of cell has been found ; the emerging queens develop
their sexual organs gradually, and apparently do not become sexually
mature until their new colony has swarmed. The drones, which
in the case of European bees are given larger cells than those
of the workers, have cells of the same size in Brazil, and the
Brazilian combs are thus on the whole more evenly constructed
than the European, though some species produce more irregular
combs.

Indefatigably the bees labour in their community, and it is

marvellous to behold how delicately they execute their constructive

work. Some of the Brazilian bees even begin by laying down a

ground-plan of the comb ; a plate of wax is prepared, and on this

300

PIONEERS OF COMMUNAL LIFE

outspread surface the outlines of the cells are sketched; only then
is the work of building begun. The entrance-hole is often prolonged,
forming a strong tube of clay, which in the case of some species
has a funnel-shaped opening. At night this opening is closed; only
a few species, which the Brazilians call Sloth-bees, "Pregui^as,"
neglect this precaution. But there is always a sentry on duty; for
above all the community must be on its guard against predatory
bees, since there are plenty of species which like to save themselves
the trouble of gathering honey, and prefer to steal it. Von Ihering
records that for him the plundering of his hives destroyed all his
pleasure in bee-keeping. The worst of the predatory bees are the
red-bellied Tujubas or Urussiis.

Many species of beetles and mites live as parasites in the bees'
nest, and among external enemies the Eyra cat and the Irara polecat
must be mentioned; the names of these animals point to their
fondness for honey (Ira, Eyra). Woodpeckers are said to eat bees
on occasion; but the worst damage is done by honey-loving ants.
There is one species, the "Honey-ant," which is constantly invading
bees' nests and hives, either killing or ejecting the inhabitants, and
taking possession of the well-stored mansion.

Other ants are on friendly terms with the bees, and sometimes
the bees make their nests in close proximity to communities of
strong and pugnacious ants, in order to enjoy their protection.
Timid and gentle bees, like the small "Jaty-mosquito" bee, actually
tolerate ants in their own nests. These "Bee-ants" inhabit the space
between the outer wall and the actual nest; they steal no honey,
and are apparently of service to the bee. A similar relation exists
between the Cupira bees and the Termites, only in this case the
more valiant bees defend their hosts. It seems very strange to find
a beehive in the interior of a hanging Termites' nest !

But there are yet other insects which maintain friendly relations
with the bees. In the garden at Olinda I saw some "Sugar Cicadas"
in all stages of development, from the youngest wingless forms, on
the twigs of a bush, sucking the sweet sap. The bees were profiting
by their presence; whole troops of them were running over the
Cicadas, licking their bodies, which exuded a sweet liquid, and
eating their saccharine droppings. Even our European bees utilize
the excrement with which the Aphides sprinkle the leaves on which
they feed, until these seem to be covered with a glossy varnish, in
preparing their honey; and since the plant-lice feed only on the
sap of plants, this fact need not spoil our appetite for honey. For the

301

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

bees of which I have just been speaking, the Cicadas were a sort
of milch-cow. These insects, which are wholly defenceless, are
rewarded for their gifts by the protection afforded by the presence
of the bees; and so we find, among the Brazilian bees, the
beginnings of relations which reach their highest development
among the Ants,

XVII

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

VV HEREVER one goes in Brazil, in the South, or the North, or
the interior of the country, one very soon becomes conscious —
unless one's receptivity to impressions has been destroyed by the
hurrying life of the cities — of the activities of the Leafcutting Ants
or Sauvas. Particularly on dry, sandy soil, like that of the Sertao,
one encounters them at every step.

On my very first day in Brazil I encountered the Sauvas on the
paths and in the grass at Olinda. Even more striking was their
behaviour in the park of Dois Irmaos, outside Recife, which merges
into the forest, and contains one of the city's reservoirs. I was
walking along the narrow, sandy
dam; on the left lay the waters
of the great reservoir, blue in the
sunhght, and on my right the
trunks of the forest trees gleamed
white amidst the dark green,
glittering foliage. Silent and rigid, __^^-_v^^^®^>^ ^^^^P^^^0^^

a black Pipra, with blood-red head, " "* '^""^ "^^ ■

was sitting in a bush. Fig. 26.— Leafcutting Ants or Sauvas,

But a procession was passing carrying several fragments of leaves,

along the SunUt path; a long accompanied by their Soldiers

, . p . /T- ^\ (natural size)

chain 01 ants was passmg (rig. 20).

These yellow insects one and all bore scraps of leaves in their
mandibles ; for the most part these fragments were larger than the
ants themselves, so that at a cursory glance they looked like green
parasols with six legs, staggering and stumbUng along the path.

Many of these insects appeared to be collapsing under a too lofty
parasol, but indefatigably they struggled on under their burdens,
with a persistence which no obstacles dismayed.

I followed the procession, and soon came to a place where the
wanderers turned aside into some short grass, and made for a low,
sandy knoll, in which a hole yawned. One by one I watched them
disappear into the dark interior of this hole. I pushed the point of
my umbrella a httle way into the opening; the startled bearers
flinched aside, and suddenly some larger ants ran out and rushed
at my umbrella, their powerful pincers wide open; in a moment

303

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

they had clambered up it, and their jaws were cHnched upon it,
and upon my trousers. These were the defensive forces of the Sauvas'
nest, the soldiers. Only with difficulty could these infuriated insects
be detached ; many of them allowed their bodies to be pulled in
two rather than release their hold, and some hours later, long after
I had returned home, I found some Sauva soldiers whose jaws were
still clinched on my umbrella.

A Sauvas' nest is a large subterranean dwelling, extending many
yards in all directions. In the centre, like the crater of a volcano,
rises a yellow hill with an entrance-hole, surrounded by smaller
hills, like parasitic craters. All the galleries run down to an average
depth of a yard or more, where the real nest with its many chambers
begins, of which I shall presently have something to say. It appears
that the depth of the nest is that of the stratum of the subsoil in
which the temperature remains uniform. Under special circumstances
the Sauvas build their nests in a different manner; for example,
on a hillside near Olinda I found that the chambers lay at a con-
siderably greater depth, while on the shores of the lagoons of brackish
water they were nearer the surface, doubtless on account of the
danger of inundation.

I have excavated several nests of the Sauva ant : not alone, of
course, for that would have been beyond my powers. The first
requisite is equanimity, for the Sauvas defend themselves when
attacked, and the bite of their soldiers draws blood. In the northern
portion of the State of Pernambuco twelve men once worked for
six hours with their mattocks, and even then they did not succeed
in exposing the whole of the nest. On the land of the agricultural
college of the monastery the students came to my assistance ; and
I admired the way in which these vaHant young men, with rolled-up
trousers, hewed and shovelled while the blood ran down their legs,
for the excavated city was naturally swarming with ants, and the
excitement of the soldiers was indescribable. One of the students
in particular, Edysio by name, was indefatigable, and always in the
best of tempers ; a most attractive type of Brazilian.

When, after prolonged effort, one reaches the actual centre of the
nest, the mattock lays bare chamber after chamber, and one sees,
lying in the dark holes, lumps as big as one's fist, of a very loose
texture, and looking rather like sponges; but so fragile that when
one takes them out they immediately crumble into dust. The Sauva
has hundreds of such chambers ; all are connected by cross-galleries
of various diameters, so that the whole nest is Like a mine.

304

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

The spongy lumps are usually a greyish-white in colour, but some
are green, and from these one can readily understand what the ants
do with the fragments of leaves which they carry into the nest. One
sees, too, that numbers of very small ants are always busily occupied
with these lumps. These are not, however, young ants ; for the ants
belong to the Hymenoptera, and these, like the beetles, butterflies,
moths and flies, grow only while they are larvae — that is, grubs or
caterpillars. In this stage they moult, and each time they burst
their old skin they emerge rather larger than before. The period
of growth is terminated by the last skin but one, which is discarded
by the pupa. During pupation all the organs are, as it were, dissolved
and transmuted, and when the pupa splits open in the last moult
of all the perfect and sexually mature insect emerges, which is dis-
tinguished from all the stages of its youth by the possession of wings,
and a wholly different shape, and a different way of life.

Even among the ants the males and females have wings ; only the
workers, who are really females in whom the sexual organs are
stunted, have renounced their wings, as they would hamper them
in their subterranean activities. Among the Sauvas we find a whole
series of workers of different sizes, whose physical form is determined
by the work which they perform in the community. The large
Sauvas are the formidable soldiers; the medium-sized workers
procure leaves and divide them ; the smallest work in the sponges.

When the medium-sized workers have brought the leaves into the
nest, they are divided as finely as possible, and gathered into heaps.
But this is only a preliminary, for these heaps do not represent the
food of the Sauvas; they are merely beds of compost for their
vegetables. For these remarkable insects are gardeners, and cultivate
fungi of a species which no longer exists in the natural state.

Consequently, the ants have always to fetch their fungi from other
chambers. These reveal the fact that they have been long established
by the grey colour of their spongy contents. They are completely
filled with the mycelium of the fungus ; and the ants pull out a little
bunch of this mycelium, carry it to the heap of green compost, and
plant it there. Presently the fungus begins to grow on the new heap,
and pierces it through and through with its filaments of mycelium.
Gradually little globular nodules form on this mycelium; to my
naked eye they were barely visible as tiny white dots. The discoverer
of this curious fungus, Moller, called these nodules "kohlrabis" ;
another name for them is "ambrosia." The extraordinary thing is
that the "kohlrabi" is as truly a product of myrmecine fungiculture

u 305

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

as our cabbages and cauliflowers are products of human agriculture.
For as soon as the ants are prevented from gaining access to their
sponges of mycelium the "kohlrabis" disappear, and the fungus puts
forth long aerial filaments, so that the whole mass has a mildewed
appearance. Moller has actually shown that the fungus will produce
pinkish hat-shaped toadstools, about as tall as one's finger, very like
an ordinary mushroom. The ants, however, prevent the outgrowth
of filaments by constantly biting them off as they sprout ; a task
to which the smallest of the Sauvas have to devote themselves night
and day. And they have also to see to the extermination of "weeds."
For with every scrap of leaf a host of other spores — as one calls the
reproductive corpuscles of the fungus — are introduced into the nest ;
and all these must be carefully removed. When the heap of leaf-
mould has lost its nutritive properties it is torn out of the mushroom-
bed bit by bit, while the gaps are filled up with fresh masses of
triturated leaves. Even the outer aspect of a Sauva nest is enough
to show that the ants are never idle ; into one hole wanders a pro-
cession of workers, each bearing a scrap of green leaf, and from
another emerges an equally unbroken chain of workers who throw
the debris of exhausted leaf-mould on to rubbish-heaps ; a spectacle
which always puts one in mind of a mine or a smelting works, where
debris is constantly being cast away.

The mushroom-nurseries are the actual dwelling-rooms of the
Sauvas, and the "kohlrabis" are their only nourishment. When I
have been investigating a Sauvas' nest I have always emptied out
the whitish sponge-like masses and looked through them, for in them
I have found all the forms of workers, the white, maggot-like, shiny
larvae, and the equally white pupae, in which one can already
recognize the whole formation of the ant. In the mushroom-nurseries
the workers pluck the "kohlrabis," eat them themselves, and feed
the larvae — or other ants which have so much to do that they have
no time to feed themselves. This the ants do by regurgitating the
food, masticated and mixed with saliva, into the mouths of other
ants. In addition to their own stomach, these creatures actually
possess a "social crop" ! This is the first to be filled when they eat,
although they derive no profit from it, for it is used only for feeding
others. Only when they have accomplished this, their first of duties,
do they open a valve between the two stomachs, when the social
crop allows a Httle food to fall into the personal stomach ; and only
then can it be digested by the ant itself With their social stomachs
the ants put the most enthusiastic Socialists to shame !
306

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

But the mushroom-nurseries conceal things even more remarkable
than ants in all stages of development. I found in them the most
extraordinary guests ; for example, a Rhinoceros Beetle of respectable
dimensions, which is always found in the nests of the Sauva, and
there passes through all the stages of its development. The maggot-
like larva is as safe from attack by the ants as the grub of the Rose-
beetle in the nests of our Wood-ants ; the exhalations of this creature
have a perfectly horrible odour. In the warm leaf-mould which
collects under the mushroom-beds the larvae grow in safety, and feed
to repletion. Certain Cockroaches too have a predilection for the
nests of the Sauva ; I, however, found none, but I did discover a
Mole-cricket, which may, of course, have got there by accident. The
most remarkable creature I found was a reddish-brown Carabid
(Fig. 27), with its larvae, which, when I sent it to the well-known
expert on the parasites of ants' nests, the Rev. Professor Wasmann,
greatly interested the worthy Father. Hereto-
fore no Carabid had been known to inhabit an
ants' nest — at all events, no Carabid of such

dimensions (| inch in length). And this beetle,

^** J /-I 1 Fig. 27. — TheSauvas

which Wasmann has named Coeloxenus guest, Coeloxenus

Guentheri, after myself, was of a quite peculiar Guentheri, showing

species! It had long bristles on its wing-covers, the hairs which
, . , , T , 1 1 1 • • . J 1 exude an intoxicat-

which, when I held the msect agamst a dark jngsap

background, could plainly be seen as a yellow

bloom. By these hairs the beetle betrays itself as a true myrmecaean

guest and parasite, for they exude a sweet, intoxicating sap, which is

greedily Ucked off by the ants, and explains why the pugnacious

insects tolerate this stranger in their midst.

Carabidae had never before been observed as genuine guests of

the ants, but beetles of another family have long been known in

this capacity. These are little beetles of the Staphylinidae family or

Rove-beetles, whose wing-covers hide barely half the body. These

StaphyUnidae which are found in ants' nests have also yellow hairs,

but they bear them on the side of the body. These beetles are so

completely assimilated to the ants that many of them can no longer

feed themselves. Indeed, these extraordinary insects have even

learned the ants' "language," in which they express themselves by

different movements of their antennae. When a worker ant is about

to hasten past one of these beetles, the latter will approach her and

beseechingly stroke her head with its gently quivering antennae,

when the ant immediately places her mouth to the beetle's mouth,

307

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

and regurgitates into its throat a little food from her "social crop."
When the ant has satisfied her guest she considers herself well
rewarded for her trouble : she draws a bunch of the beetle's yellow
hairs through her mouth, delighting in the sweet exudation.

This juice is the alcohol of the ant community, and as a result
of drinking it the ants become more and more addicted to it, neglect
their duties to their own brood, and feed only the beetles and
their insatiable larvae; and the latter repay their hosts but ill, for
there are species among them which devour the eggs and larvae of
the ants.

The reader will now ask how it is possible to ascertain that the
exudations of the beetles intoxicate the ants. Wasmann has answered
this question by some very fascinating experiments. He kept the ants
and beetles in artificial nests, under glass, and he always observed
that the ants, if their nest (which was usually covered) was suddenly
exposed to the light, immediately raised their bodies in the posture
of defence, and opened their mandibles. But such of the ants as were
sucking the hairs of the beetles could not be diverted from their
pleasant occupation. In the case of the large Carabid which I found
in a Sauvas' nest, it seemed to me that I could taste, with the tip
of my tongue, the sweetness of the secretion exuded from the hairs.
In the interest of science I would willingly have undertaken to test
in my own person the intoxicating effect of the juice, but I should
have needed more beetles than were ever at my disposal !

Still other guests have been found among the Leafcutting Ants,
of which to-day perhaps a hundred species are known. There are
small cockroaches, which climb on to the backs of the Sauvas and
lick them, the ants quietly permitting them to do so. The ants are
less contented with certain other beetles, of which we do not yet
know whether, in unguarded moments, they do not fall upon the
ants or their brood. According to Wasmann such treachery is very
probable, since the soldiers often attack them, angrily but in-
effectually, since their mandibles glide off the flattened scutum,
and cannot grasp the head, which is always held down out of reach.
Such "defensive" forms of Coleoptera are not unknown among
other species of ant. As a rule, indeed, they escape the attention of
the ants, for the beetles living in the dark fungus-chambers resemble
their hosts in outward shape and distribution of hair, while other
forms, which lurk by the entrances, where the light falls on them,
have even assumed the coloration of the Sauvas ; in short, they have
resorted to mimicry. These last beetles have been seen to hurry to
308

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

and fro in a warlike manner, with their tails in the air, emitting,
at the slightest touch, a strong-smelling fluid; but they hid them-
selves from the soldiers and workers, and were apparently watching
only for the defenceless winged sexual forms.

The different species of Leafcutting Ant display very great differ-
ences in the arrangement of their fungus-gardens. In many forms
these are as large as a man's head ; in others the gardens hang down
from the roof of the cliambers. Many species even manure the fungus
with caterpillar-dung instead of with leaf-mould. Others, again, dig
trenches in the soil, and cover them with leaves and dry twigs.

But how, we may ask, does the fungus find its way into a newly-
founded ants' nest? Well, the nest is founded by a fertilized female,
in silent solitude. These ants are not accompanied by blustering
swarms, like those that escort the queen bee; they seem to have
learned their lessons from the silence and darkness in which they
live. The nuptial flight alone affords a striking and conspicuous
spectacle.

Among the ants, as among the bees, the workers are females,
whose sexual organs are stunted by a special diet, while their weapons,
those tools which they carry with them in the form of their mandibles,
have developed all the more vigorously, together with their remark-
able instincts, so that in these respects they are greatly superior to
the males. On the other hand, the sexually mature females, or
queens, have to do very much more than is required of the queen bee.

When the breeding-season approaches thousands of male and
female ants rise into the air ; for at this critical period of their lives
both the sexual forms are endowed with wings, an inheritance
from their wasp-like forbears (Plate 29, II, 13). The swarm rises
high into the air, and the union of the sexes is consummated in the
midst of a swirling dance, while the sun glitters on their transparent
wings.

In the case of the Sauvas, however, fertilization appears to take
place in the old nest — that is, underground. But the queen may not
seek the open air immediately after her nuptials; she has first of
all an important duty to fulfil. Quietly she enters one of the fungus-
nurseries, and takes into a specially formed pocket in her gullet a
tiny tuft of fungus. Now she is ready for her journey ; she walks out
of the nest and unfolds her wings.

In Pernambuco, and a few months earlier in Sao Paulo, I en-
countered the Sauvas at their breeding-season; and on every side,
on the paths and in the meadows, I saw females of the size of a

309

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

bumble-bee creeping over the ground. On the rail-posts and bushes
sat Bemtevis, Scissors-grinders and other birds, filling their crops
with these "l9as" ; lizards pursued them, and people collected them,
and gave basketfuls of them to their hens ; so that the foundation
of a new colony is for the Sauva female a desperately dangerous
business. But for the infinite creative powers of Nature, which make
up for the wastage by thousands of fresh wanderers, there would
soon be no ants left.

Even on her way to her new home the queen loses her wings,

or she breaks them off herself, as
troublesome appendages, for her next
task is to bury herself, and her long
wings would be in the way. At last
she finds a suitable place, and dis-
appears into the earth. And it is when
she is underground that her real work
begins. Gut off from the entire woild,
the queen must rely on herself alone.
But here, at least, she is no longer
threatened by the enemies that beset
her on the surface. She immures her-
self completely, excavating a little hole
with a domed roof, which has no exit
to the outer world.

The first thing the queen does in
her new home is to disgorge the tuft
of fungus which she has brought with
her, and she at once begins to manure
it with her own excrement (Fig. 28).
This she does in the most thorough
and ingenious manner. She pulls out a scrap of fungus from the
growing mass (as Jakob Huber observed in Para), presses it against
her anus, from which at the same moment a drop of fluid exudes,
replaces the manured fragment, and presses it down with her feet.
But how can the queen produce these excretions, since in her solitary
cell she has nothing to eat? Well, she eats some of her own eggs;
indeed, she eats no less than 90 per cent, of all she lays.

But those eggs which are spared develop, and presently the first

larvae appear. These too are given their own brothers and sisters

in the egg as their first nourishment, and their mother's method

of administering this diet is as follows : she tickles the larva with

310

Fig. 28. — Sauva queen in her
closed burrow. Above, she is
holding a tuft of fungus to her
abdomen, in order to manure
it ; below, she is returning It to
its place. {After the instantaneous
photographs of Jakob Huber,
natural size)

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

her antennae until its mandibles begin to move, whereupon she
thrusts an egg between them, often hastening the feeding process
by giving the larva a few kicks. The egg is torn open by the sharp
mandibles of the larva, and its contents enter the creature's mouth.
Huber ascertained that it takes a fairly large larva three to five
minutes to suck an egg.

As soon as the larvae have pupated, and the first young workers
have emerged from the pupae, the latter help the queen in her
work; in other words, they let their droppings fall on the fungus-
bed. "It is amusing to see," says Huber, "how the insects carefully
feel the spot in question after depositing their dung, and how at
times the mother-ant comes and inspects the work accompUshed
with an air of satisfaction, feeling the place and hastily licking the
fungus round about it."

The queen has now accomplished her most important task; she
need work no more at building the nest, and she is relieved even of
the task of feeding the larvae. For eight or ten days she is constantly
at work; then, with her duties, even her supremacy is taken from
her. Now the workers excavate a gallery in the wall of the under-
ground colony, and for the first time the air of the outer world
enters the dismal chamber. The queen is allowed to eat no more
eggs ; they are taken from her as they leave her body, and tended
by the workers. At the same time the workers begin to make their
journeys to the surface; the industrious creatures climb up various
plants, cut a circular fragment out of the nearest leaf, until it hangs,
so to speak, by a thread, seize it in their mandibles, tear it off, and
carry it down to the ground and into the nest. Here the first beds of
compost are made, fungus is planted on them, and on the "kohlrabis"
which presently sprout from it the larvae are fed, and the queen also.
It is hunger that persuades her to this alteration of her diet. From
this time onwards she is only an egg-laying machine, and is able
to devote all her energies to the business of laying. Thus from day
to day the community becomes more populous.

Is it not marvellous that the queen should provide herself with
food before migrating from the nest, and should yet refrain from
eating this food, but, in order to guard it, should not hesitate to
slay her children, that she may preserve the precious substance for
the future State? Truly the Leafcutting Ants are an eloquent example
of the silent operation of an inner Power in the creations of Nature.
And I hope I shall be forgiven if I confess that during my attempts
to fight this insect I was always troubled by my admiration for them,

311

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

although the Secretary of State assured me that if I could discover
a means of exterminating the Sauvas I should soon be a millionaire.
Hitherto no such means has been discovered. Gassing the nest, or
pouring carbon disulphide into it, never kills more than a portion
of the widespread community ; moreover, the clever insects immedi-
ately block their galleries, or even build a second nest, to which they
retire with their brood and their fungus-beds, having first cut these
latter into little pieces. During such removals observers have noted
with astonishment that on reaching the top of a little elevation the
insects have allowed their burdens to roll down the slope, to be caught

by other workers, thereby accelerating
the speed of the removal.

Terrible damage is done by the
Sauvas. Many a planter has had
reason to despair who one day has

Fig. 29.— Soldier of the Driver looked with Satisfaction on a freshly-
Ant, Eciton Burchelli (slightly 1^1 r ^ j ^1

enlarged) planted nursery 01 trees, and on the

following morning has found only

bare stems. One can hardly hope to console him by the statement

that the destroyers of his plantation are among the most wonderful

creatures on earth !

Even the smallest of creatures becomes powerful when it combines
with its fellows, and when all are inspired by a common will. One
can find no better evidence of this truth than a second extraordinary
Brazilian ant. In the depths of the forest, in the State of Pernambuco,
I first made acquaintance with the Driver or Migratory Ant, which
the Indians call Taoca, and the entomologists Eciton. Like a running
brook, a yellow flood of insects tumbled over the ground, now surg-
ing over the stones, now disappearing in the shadow of the Bauhinia
leaves. Even Edysio, the valiant student of whom I have already
spoken, fled from the neighbourhood of these ants, whose bite burns
like fire. And indeed, if one examines the soldiers of the Taocas,
one is thoroughly startled by the unexpected sight of two hooks,
as sharp as needles, and despite their slenderness, as soHd as steel
(Fig. 29). These tweezers, these curved tongs, are longer than the
insect's head. The workers have smaller pincers, and as in the case
of the Sauvas, there are workers of different sizes. There are many
species of Migratory Ant ; among them are some which have small
eye-spots only, while others are completely blind, or rather, eyeless.
312

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

These last, however, despite their lack of the visual sense, have no
difficulty in finding their way when they travel in procession. With
incredible celerity they dig covered trenches in which they can
hurry along in the dark. Bates and Belt are our chief authorities
on the life-history of the Migratory Ants, while Vosseler has written
of the African Siafu.

All the Driver Ants are famed for their predatory raids, in which
they cover considerable stretches of country. The whole animal
world is thrilled with terror when the reddish-yellow armies are on
the march. In one species the column is four to six ants wide, while
another rushes forward in dense masses. Behind them is a serpen-
tine army many thousands strong; Vosseler, indeed, estimated the
strength of a tribe of the African Driver Ants at over a million !

A wild flight begins when the Taocas appear. Grasshoppers and
locusts leap aside; beetles rush forward, but the terrible ants are
quicker; in a trice the victim is struggUng in the steely forceps of
the soldiers, and the next moment it is cut into pieces. The fragments
of booty are quickly handed over to the workers, who carry a larger
or smaller joint according to their size. Here an insect clambers
desperately up a grass-stalk, but the enemy is after it, and soon it
too is seized, killed and dismembered, and its several parts are
balanced on the mandibles of the workers. Only the clever Spiders
know of a way of escape ; they climb a tree, run to the end of a
bough, let themselves down by a thread, and hurry away as fast
as their long legs will carry them, while fooUsh insects cower upon
the ground and sham dead, but cannot thereby evade their fate.

Now the army comes to a standstill : a fallen tree-trunk bars the
way. But already attacking columns are formed, and every hole and
crevice in the tree is searched, yielding a very rich booty ; for here, in
silent seclusion, the fat larvae of beetles are eating their fill. Suddenly
the unsuspecting creatures are seized in their asylum, and are cut
to pieces before they have fully reaHzed their danger. A wasps' nest
which has been built in the tree-trunk is overrun; the paper shell
is torn open and the brood seized. In vain the savage humming of the
infuriated wasps ; as soon as one of them tries to use her sting she
is lost; she is seized, and cut to pieces. Even birds' nests and their
contents are not safe from the Taocas ; and the African Driver Ants
are said to kill and eat ducks and hens, and it is even on record
that a leopard once fell a victim to them. Nevertheless, the settlers
are not hostile to these terrible ants. Once they have been through
a house — which the owner, of course, has to leave in all haste, taking

313

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

with him his domestic animals — there is not an insect left in it ; even
the most carefully hidden bugs are dragged out of hiding, and the
very last flea captured, and the planter contentedly returns to a
scavenged house.

Just as a company of raiding lions is followed by vultures, so
when the Taocas march through the forest the "Ant-birds" gather
from all directions. With its red eyes the "Papa taoca" or "Fire-eye'*
gazes down from its perch upon the passing multitude, and catches
the insects that escape to the right and the left; so that many a
locust who deems himself already safe is seized by the bird and
borne away through the air (Plate 28, 23). Most of the "Ant-birds"
appear to be interested only in the prey of the Taocas, but there
are some that eat the ants themselves, when the robber is himself
a victim.

Some species of Migratory Ant confine their attacks to other ants.
Bates watched the small Legion Taoca fall upon a nest of Timber-
ants; in two hours the nest was cleared of all its contents — ants,
larvae and eggs; all were dissected and carried off. Sometimes, of
course, the ants thus attacked defend themselves, and then there
are terrible battles, whose severity is revealed by a battle-field of
mutilated corpses. One observer witnessed an attack upon a nest
whose defenders boldly rushed upon the foe and pressed the Taocas
into the ground with their feet ; a method of defence which appears
to have been successful.

It is the scent of the leaders that guides the following army. If
one throws a little sand on the trail, the ants coming up swarm to the
right and the left, but soon gather together again, and, when they
have recovered the scent, go forward with renewed confidence. The
Taocas have been seen to make living bridges. Difficult crossings
are effected as follows : the ants pile themselves up on one another
in several layers, and the rest pass across this living wall. Even
running water is covered in a similar fashion. The foremost ants
are swept away by the hostile element, but those that follow, as soon
as they lose their footing, seize one another with their long legs,
which are furnished with strong claws, until at last a long chain
is formed, which is carried away by the current, but is at last able
to anchor itself somewhere. If the two sides of the watercourse can
be joined by such means, the whole army crosses this living bridge.
In the case of inundations the Driver Ants are said to save themselves
by forming themselves into balls, which float on the water, the brood
and the sexual forms being safe in the interior of the ball, where not

314

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

a drop of water reaches them. Such behaviour has been observed
also on the part of the Leafcutting ants.

The Migratory Ants have even migratory nests. Taocas have
often been found in hollow trees or bushes, gathered together in
dense masses, the queen and the brood being in the centre of the
mass. Passages are left in the living walls, which are used by the
workers who carry provisions into the nest; for raiding parties are
sent out from such nests, and return to them laden with booty.
Often, too, the nests of alien species are utilized after the rightful
inhabitants have been destroyed.

The removal from such nests is effected with the greatest care;
for on such occasions no raid is in question, but only a migration.
Nothing is killed, for the workers have enough to do to carry the
brood, and the soldiers station themselves on either side of the
migrating host, protecting it from alien enemies, and to all appear-
ances overseeing and arranging everything. The blind species build
covered corridors from the old nest to the new, so that the precious
brood may be transferred without exposing it to sun or rain.

The Migratory Ants, like other species, have guests of alien orders,
and of these Wasmann has described an incredible number. The
guests of these ants are, perhaps, even more remarkable than those
of other species, for they are not merely housemates, but accompany
their hosts on their marches, hurrying onward in the midst of the
hurrying armies. Some, which are really domestic animals, are seen
only during a removal from an old nest to a new one ; but there are
also hunting companions, who take part in the raids of their hosts,
and try to snatch the debris of their booty.

There must, of course, be something about all these insects which
prevents the ants from attacking them. There are thickset beetles
with long legs, Histeridae, who are protected by their physical
formation, for the mandibles of the ants glide off their rounded,
thickly-armoured bodies, and their legs are out of reach, since the
moment they are attacked these beetles draw them under their
bodies. Many of these beetles are content to live on the crumbs
that fall from the raiders' table ; others vary their diet by devouring
the dead bodies of their hosts, or even by attacking the living ants.
But such beetles are not always protected by their peculiar formation.
In the case of the Xenocephalus, a Staphylinid or short-winged
beetle which is generally seen doing the goose-step, quite unmolested,
in the midst of the marching army, having evolved a sort of pro-
tective roof to its body, on which the jaws of the ants can take no

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

hold, Wasmann found that the legs and antennae had sometimes
been mutilated. Probably the beetle, while cUmbing some little
eminence, had fallen over on its back, and the ants, now seeing
the under side of its body, reaUzed that it was not so unassailable
as it had pretended, and snapped at its struggling limbs.

Certain insects whose presence is dangerous are sometimes found
migrating in the midst of the ants. There are flies whose wingless
females march with the column, while the males hover above them.
These flies have no particular resemblance to the ants, nor are their
bodies protected; but they exude a fluid secretion much appreci-
ated by the ants, for which reason they are tolerated. This does
not prevent them from repaying good with evil. While an ant is
contentedly licking such a fly, the latter abuses its confidence by
calmly fastening an egg upon its body. From this a larva emerges
which bores into the ant's body, and proceeds to devour it in the
usual manner of such parasites, leaving the vital organs to the last.
Another fly is the Apocephalus; this is a parasite on other species
of ants. As a larva, it eats its way into the head of its unfortunate
victim, and continues to eat until the head falls off, when it lives
in the head as a snail Uves in its shell, so that the observer is amazed
to see severed heads mysteriously moving about in the midst of the
ants. There are also Ichneumons, which resemble the ants, being
wingless, and which, though they are tolerated, or even licked and
guarded by the ants, lay their deadly eggs in their hosts' bodies.

The most remarkable companions of the Migratory Ants, however,
are those guests — for the most part Staphylinidae — which have
assumed the outward likeness of their hosts. Wasmann has told us
how perfectly this "mimicry" is adapted to the ends in view. He has
shown that the guests of the blind Migratory Ants resemble them
in form and hairiness — that is, in peculiarities which the ants can
recognize by touch — whereas in the company of the "sighted'*
Drivers they adopt a "visual mimicry," inasmuch as they resemble
their hosts chiefly in respect of their colour. Even among the Ich-
neumons of which I have spoken there is one species, the Mimopeia,
which in shape and colour exactly resembles the sm.allest of the
reddish-brown workers of one of the Migratory Ants — which can
both see and feel. Another species, which lives with one of the blind
Migratory Ants, has actually adopted the form of these ants, the
abdomen being attached by a stalk, though its colour is quite
different.

But the supreme examples of mimicry are found among the
316

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

Staphylinidae. According to the faculties of the ants with which
they associate — some being able to see, and others only to feel —
they adopt a "tactual" or "visual" mimicry. Wasmann very rightly
observes that we must not assume that the ants mistake the beetles
for their own kind. We must look at the matter from another angle.
The more alien the form or appearance of the creatures encountered
by these ferocious insects, the more likely are they to fall upon them.
But anything that evokes familiar emotions tends to appease the
pugnacious ants : in which they are by no means peculiar !

Now, in the ants the most important sensory organs are the
antennae; and in these two senses are united, in a manner for
which we human beings can find no counterpart. With their an-
tennae, or rather with the hairs situated on the nerve-terminals of
the antennae, the ants are able to smell, though their sense of
smell is presumably something quite different from ours, which is
connected with our respiratory organs. But the ants also feel with
their antennae. When two ants meet, we see them at once feel one
another; that is the first thing they do. By touch they express their
need of food ; by touch they appeal for help. The ants' language
is dependent on these subtly evolved organs.

If an ant encounters a beetle, the first thing it does is to feel the
latter with its antennae. And if with these antennae it feels an ant-
like body, with the thorax connected by a kind of stalk to the rounded
abdomen, and if this creature also emits a familiar scent, the ant
receives the impression that it is dealing with one of its own species ;
the beetle feels like one of its own brothers and sisters, and the ant
is not excited, but appeased. In the case of "sighted" ants, of course,
the colour of the insect must not disturb this reassuring impression.
If, moreover, the beetle possesses hairs which exude a sweet, intoxi-
cating juice, the aggressive humour of the ant is entirely subdued,
the pleasant emotions are intensified, and when the beetle in turn
strokes the head of the ant with its feelers the same instinct is
awakened as would be evoked by similar caresses from the antennae
of a sister-ant ; the deluded insect applies her mandibles to those
of this amiable comrade, and regurgitates food into its mouth.

Thus, the Ecitophya, a beetle, is like a spider when seen from
above, but its profile is that of an ant, its body sinking in at the waist ;
its coloration resembles that of the equally large workers of Burchell's
Taoca, a sighted Migratory Ant, which this beetle accompanies on
its hunting expeditions. Another beetle (Labidominus), which ac-
companies a blind Migratory Ant, actually clinging to its hosts, in

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A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

order to be carried along, mimics the ant by the carriage of its
abdomen, so that the inquiring antennae follow the same outline

as that presented by the ant's own body. But the
finest mimic among these ant-resembling beetles
is the Mimeciton (Fig. 30) ; it is, indeed, one of
the most remarkable mimics in the insect world.
This beetle has an egg-shaped abdomen, which,
as is usual in the Ants but not in the Beetles, is
connected with the thorax by a narrow bridge.
The thorax too is like that of an ant, and even

1G.30.— im ci , j^ head and antennae are equally ant-like. No
a Beetle which ^ .

mimics an Ant. one who saw this insect for the first time would

{After Wasmann, en- imagine that it was a beetle. The Mimeciton is

^''^^^ a thoroughgoing parasite; it has a covering of

hairs which exude a sweet juice, and it knows how to beg for food

with its antennae. Only its rust-red colour distinguishes it from the

shiny black ant, but in the latter the sense of sight has almost

completely disappeared.

This example shows that the mimicry of the ants' guests is not

adopted with a view to the birds that catch the insects which flee

before the advancing columns of ants. The guests need protection

only from their hosts, for these form a living wall that protects all

those creatures that take part in their predatory expeditions, or are

merely fed by them.

Another singular chapter of the lives of the Brazilian ants is that
which deals with the relations of the ants
to the plants of Brazil.

Far above the ground, in the boughs of
the Brazilian trees, and especially in the
inundation areas of the Amazon basin,
anchored in the forks of the branches,
which have apparently grown through
them, are lumps of earth, overgrown by
epiphytic plants (Fig. 31). These veritable
hanging gardens are of varying sizes, but Fig. 3 1 . — Ant-garden on the
some are as large as a man's head. It branch of a tree. {After Ule,
has been discovered that these lumps of ^^ ^ )
earth, with their epiphytic plants, are ant-gardens. The so-called
Aztec ants are the insects which carry the earth up the trees, sow
318

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

the plants, and as they grow, surround their roots with yet more
earth. The advantage which the ants derive from this sort of garden-
ing is that their hanging nest is reinforced and anchored by the
roots of the plants.

Another kind of Aztec ant inhabits the interior of the trunk of the
Imbauba-tree, and the extraordinary thing about these ants is that
the tree does half the ants' work for them (Fig. 32). On the exterior
of the slender stem we see, at short intervals,
little pits, which the ant has only to bore a
little deeper in order to obtain convenient
access to the interior. The interior of the tree is
hollow, and divided into chambers by lateral
partitions, and in these too the ants bore holes.
But the Imbauba-tree in question also provides
its guests with food. Under the axils of the large,
lobated leaves grow cushions of small egg-shaped
bodies. These are rich in oil and albumen, and
are eagerly devoured by the ants. The coloniza-
tion of the Imbauba-tree is effected as follows :
fertilized females make their way into the
chambers, and each founds a colony of her
own. Subsequently all these are united by
breaking through the dividing-walls ; the super-
fluous queens are killed, and only one remains,
who estabhshes herself in the upper part of the
trunk. There is only one species of Imbauba
that serves the ants as a dwelling.

For a long while it was believed that the ants
and the tree stood in a relation of symbiosis,
inasmuch as the Imbauba offers the ants board
and lodging, while they protect its foliage from
Leafcutting ants and other enemies. Directly
one taps on the trunk the ants rush out, ready for battle. Recent
observations, however, have shown that the ants will allow other
insects to graze on the foUage undisturbed; even the Sloth is un-
molested ; and Woodpeckers are actually attracted by their presence.
We must assume, therefore, that the evolution of this "Ant-
Imbauba" has been conditioned by other factors, and that the Aztec
ants have merely acquired the instinct to make practical use of
the advantages which it offers.

There are Acacias whose large hollow thorns provide dwellings

319

Fig. 32. — Section of
an Imbauba-tree,
inhabited by ants.
E, entrance - hole.
Beneath, the trunk
is laid open, in
order to show the
compartments, with
communicating
apertures; f, a
cushion of food. To
the right, a leaf of a
Tococa, with "ant-
pouches." {After
Schimper and Schit-
mann, reduced)

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

for certain ants, while little protuberances situated on the tips
of the pinnate leaves are eaten by the insects. And the leaves of
certain species of Melastomaceae — of whose handsome foliage,
brightly variegated, or covered with a symmetrical network of
veins, I have already spoken — have developed two bladder-like
dilatations on the upper side of the leaves, provided with correspond-
ing openings on the under side (Fig. 32, right). These "Ant-pouches"
serve as a dwelling for a small, irritable species of ant; perhaps
these guests protect the plants against certain enemies; but the
problem awaits further examination.

Some 450 species of ants are known in Brazil ; one encounters ants

at every step; they are found under almost
every stone, and are far more plentiful than in
Europe.

In Brazil, too, the Ants are all the more
conspicuous in that certain species, like the Bees
and Termites, build plainly-visible nests in trees.
The material of such nests is a tough paper,
consisting of wood-fibres and triturated wood,
consolidated by means of a fluid secreted by
the glands of the upper jaw. These again are
Aztec ants ; but quite a number of other species
make nests of papier-mache, sometimes brittle
and woody, sometimes thin as paper, and elastic,
according to the proportions of the woody
material and the adhesive substance. There are
even species which utilize the dung of cows and
horses in building their nests.

These nests often look like great tumours on
the bark, and they are sometimes of consider-
able size. The nest of the Beard Aztec looks
like a giant's beard. It hangs from the boughs

in a great mass of long tubes, and presents a most curious spectacle

(Fig. 33)-

Certain ants make their nests of living leaves, still growing natur-
ally on their twigs. These ants approach the site of their intended
nest in company. They take up their positions in an orderly row
on the edge of a leaf, and all together grasp the edge of the opposing
leaf, drawing it up to the leaf to which they are clinging. If the
320

Fig. 33. — Tubular
nest of the Beard
Aztec. Beneath, a
Capy vara or Water-
Pig

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

leaf is too distant for the ants to seize it unaided, they form chains
in order to reach it, just as they do in building a Hving bridge. When
the edges are touching, something so astonishing happens that the
scientist who first observed the procedure — this was in India, but
the ants were of a similar species — could not believe his own eyes.
A few of the ants run back into the nest, and presently reappear,
each carrying a maggot-like larva between her mandibles. They
press the mouths of these larvae to the edge of the one leaf, and then
transfer it to the edge of the other; meanwhile the larvae exude
some of the silk of which they subsequently spin their cocoons, so
that a thread is spun between the two leaves, adhering to the spots
to which the mouths of the larvae were pressed.

Thus the "Weaver Ants" actually make use of tools: a rare
procedure in the animal kingdom as a whole, but absolutely un-
heard of in the insect world ! And in order that they may perform
their work, the larvae have been endowed with particularly well-
developed silk-glands: four large sacs, which run the whole length
of the body. As the ants constantly ply their living shuttles from
leaf to leaf, the threads emerging from the mouths of the larvae,
crossing one another in all directions, finally form a solid fabric,
which can be cut with a pair of scissors, and binds the edges of the
two leaves together. More and more leaves are thus woven together,
and at last a green hollow sphere of leaves hangs from the tree, and
in this the Weaver Ants live.

The Sarasaras are widely distributed in Brazil; the red-legged
species builds semi-spherical nests above the surface of the ground,
which, if one cuts them open, reveal a very intricate structure of
superimposed galleries of a paper-like substance. The Cupim ants
eagerly devour termites, and are therefore useful. One day it was
reported that an ant had been discovered which ate the generally
detested Sauva. Over and over again these "Cuyabana" ants were
actually imported by planters, and they did really drive out the
Leafcutting Ants, but only to replace them, and overrun the orchards,
on whose foliage plant-lice were to be found. For the favourite food
of these, as of other ants, is the sap which the plant-Hce suck, and
sprinkle over the leaves in the form of their saccharine excretions.
These warlike creatures naturally protect the plant-lice from their
enemies, and so assist these pests to multiply undisturbed. The
Cuyabanas, moreover, make their way into dwelling-houses, and
have sometimes made it so uncomfortable to remain in them that
the planters have tried to find buyers for their estates.

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THE COMMUNITY OF THE ANTS

I myself have searched for ants which might be hostile to the
Sauvas. Near a Sauvas' nest on the monastery farm stood a small
tree on which lived some large black ants which sucked the sap of
plants. If I brought a Sauva to this tree these ants immediately
seized and killed it, or at least dragged it away, hurrying down the
trunk of the tree. Undoubtedly these ants protected the trees, yet
they would not fight the Sauvas in their nest. I often noticed,
at night, when the black ants began to spread over the ground,
that if they approached a Sauvas' nest they were defeated or put
to flight by the soldiers.

There were similar battles when a nest of small black ants was
uncovered on excavating a Sauvas' nest. When the terrified Leaf-
cutting Ants entered the black ants' nest they were at once attacked
by ten or twenty of the dwarfs, and slain. For that matter, the Sauvas'
nest contained a number of nests of other species. Embedded in the
midst of the fungus-chambers was a thick ball of clay, which was the
nest of a species of Termite (Syntermes), and the walls of this nest
were traversed by the tiniest galleries, which were themselves the
dwelling-place of a thieving ant, Solenopsis Eduardi. The Solenopses
had just produced their sexual forms, and the winged ants were
pouring forth in all directions. There are thriving ants in the nests
of yetot her species ; the thieves are always smaller than their hosts,
and the galleries leading to their nest are so narrow that no other
ants can enter them. Accordingly, when they are pursued by their
hosts they have only to withdraw into their corridors. There they
are safe. Many of these thieving ants are very dangerous housemates;
they slip unawares out of their hiding-places, to seize an egg or a
larva of the larger species, and hasten back to safety with their booty.

In the interior of Pernambuco I encountered the giant of the
Brazilian ants (Dinoponera grandis, Plate 29, II, 11). The workers
of this powerful species are an inch and a quarter in length. These
black ants wander singly over the soil of a freshly-planted cotton-
field, in which they have excavated their galleries; here they feed
their larvae on the fragments of dissected insects, and they do this —
unlike other ants — without first swallowing the food themselves, and
then disgorging it! The group to which these ants belong betrays,
by yet another peculiarity, the fact that it stands at the lowest level
of myrmecaean evolution ; namely, like the wasps they carry a sting
at the tip of the abdomen, whUe the higher ants have lost their sting,
and have retained only the poison-glands. They bite their victims
with their pincers, and then squirt their "formic acid" into the

323

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

wound. This poison is deadly to most insects, and paralyses others.
The Dinoponera is feared on account of its sting, which is said to
be followed by fever.

Cautiously I captured a few of these black insects, and took them
back to Olinda. There I kept them for a long time in large glass jars.
They were perfect tigers in insect form. Butterflies, and even bees,
which slid fluttering down the glass walls, were caught by the ants,
who pursued them, moving their heads from side to side. Then,
with their antennae, they pressed the head of the captive to the
ground, and against their own abdomen, which was recurved until
the deadly poison was injected into the victim. Whatever insect was
given them, these savage ants pursued it immediately, and did not
rest until they had killed it.

XVIII

THE TERMITES

x\fter a long absence a householder returns home. He unlocks
the door, opens it, and sees with pleasure that all is just as he left
it. Contentedly he drops into the nearest rocking-chaii — an article
of furniture seldom absent from a Brazilian sitting-room — and finds
himself lying on the floor, with the debris of the chair strewn around
him, like fragments of touchwood.

"'Cupim, que diabof" cries the prostrate man, angrily. And indeed,
the sight of the damage done by the "Cupim," the Termites, is
enough to drive one to despair. These insects, which abhor the light,
eat their way up from the floor into chairs and tables, but always
leave an outer layer, thin as a sheet of paper, so that they may still
remain in the dark ; and then they transform the furniture into mere
phantoms that collapse at a touch. Books too are difficult to preserve
in Brazil ; in all the Ubraries one sees the traces of these six-legged
miners.

Nevertheless, one cannot but admire the industry and perseverance
of these little insects ; and one has many opportunities of doing so, for
in Brazil one comes upon the nests of termites at every step. In the
trees are large black balls, as big as a man's head (Plate 30), which
are made of wood-pulp, like the ants' nests of which I have spoken.
The material of these nests exhibits vermiform convolutions and all
sorts of little prominences : it is brittle, so that one can break off"
pieces with one's knife. But the Termites also build nests of earth.
On travelling by rail from Rio to Sao Paulo one sees, in many
districts, numbers of hillocks, more or less pointed, rising from the
ground. These consist partly of clay and partly of earth, or a mixture
of the two ; sometimes too masses of wood-pulp are added. These
hillocks attain considerable dimensions, although the BraziUan
termitaries cannot compare with the AustraHan, among which
turret-like nests twenty feet in height have been observed: the
largest examples of animal architecture known. Escherich justly
remarks that the achievements of these httle insects teach us con-
vincingly what a social sense and a communal Ufe devoted to common
labour can accompUsh.

The Termites are much feebler and more dehcate than the Ants ;
they do not possess the solid armour of the latter, but are soft-

325

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

skinned insects. On account of their colour they are often called
"White Ants," but this description is misleading; the Termites are
quite unrelated to the Ants, but are rather relatives of the Cock-
roaches. The difference between them is seen most plainly in their
mode of development. In the case of the Ants, a grub-like larva
emerges from the egg, and grows through several moults until it
pupates ; then, from the pupa, crawls the mature insect. In the case
of the Termites the larva which creeps out of the egg already
resembles the adult insect; it has six legs, and only the wings are
lacking. These, however, do not make their appearance suddenly,
but are susceptible even in the young larvae, and grow larger with
every moult. Since the worker termites have no wings, they resemble
the larvae; one may therefore regard them as immature forms
whose development has been arrested. Unlike the
worker bees and ants, the termite workers are of
both sexes.

But among the Termites too the workers are the

soul of the nest, and its real rulers. They are its

architects; it is they who bring in the food; they

feed all the other forms of citizens ; they guard and

P _ tend the eggs, and keep the nest clean. Accordingly,

mite Soldier they constitute the greater part of the population of

(Termes in- the termitary. And even the maintenance of the

?"^ ^^\"^ numerical strength of this population is left to them.

It is within their power to turn worker larvae into

sexual forms if the nest has need of more males and females ; it is also

within their power to transform the larvae of sexual insects into workers

before they have completed their development. If there is an excess

of any form of termite a radical remedy is applied : the surplus

insects are eaten, or simply killed.

As far as we know, it is the food that determines the development
of this or that form of termite. It has even been ascertained that the
intestinal parasites of the termites play a certain part in their develop-
ment ; it has been found that in the adult termites these are numerous,
whereas they are lacking in the larvae which are being reared as
sexual reserves ; so that it seems as though their presence hinders
the development of the organs of generation. By feeding the larvae
on pure saliva the termites are able to prevent the appearance of
parasites in their intestines, and as a result the generative organs
are enabled to develop.

The nest is defended by the soldiers (Fig. 34). One makes the
326

THE TERMITES

acquaintance of these insects immediately if one disturbs a termites'
nest, or begins to destroy it. In a moment termites with large heads
make their appearance. The dark yellow colouring of the head
betrays the fact that it is more solidly protected than the body, and
as a matter of fact it contains the muscles which operate the man-
dibles. During my visit to Ceylon I learned something of the termite
soldiers when one day I opened a clay nest. The soldiers rushed
out in such numbers, and bit so viciously, that my hand was actually
bristling with their little bodies, all standing tail upwards. As a
rule the soldier's valour is repaid by death. It will not release its
hold once it has closed its mandibles ; if one tries to remove it the
body comes away in one's fingers. The termites of Ceylon do no

Fig. 35. — Soldier {left) and Worker of Eutermes Rippertii

{greatly enlarged)

more than irritate the skin, but the warlike African termites bite
until the blood flows in streams, as the zoologist Escherich experi-
enced in his own person.

Unlike many species of ants, the termites are not aggressive, and
their soldiers are equipped for defence rather than for attack. With
their great heads they close the entrances to the nest ; if any other
insect approaches they lay about them blindly with their open
mandibles. But there are soldiers in whom aggression and self-
protection are identical. In the Brazilian Jumping Termite the
soldiers close their long mandibles so quickly that one hears them
click, and the insect is thrown back into the gallery by the recoil.
In other species the soldiers sound the alarm in case of danger.
They quickly rap on the ground with their heads, and those behind
them repeat the movement; in some species the resulting sound is
said to resemble that emitted by the rattlesnake.

327

NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

The soldiers of the Eutermes family, to which those termites belong
that build spherical nests of black papier-mache in the trees, have
quite a different appearance. They have no pincer-like mandibles;
but the front of the head is drawn into a point, giving the insect
a most singular appearance (Fig. 35). A corrosive mucus appears
to be secreted by the spike or "nose," and if one angers a community
of such termites the result is a mass attack of the "Natsuti" ; one
is simply overrun by the insects, which cause an unpleasant irritation

all over one's body. The soldiers of these
termites often give the workers an encour-
aging dig with their proboscis, in order to
spur them to greater diligence, and in general
they act as a kind of police-force.

Let us now examine the interior of a
termites' nest. Here is a great lump of the
trunk of a tree (Plate 30) ; we will try to
detach it, working from the edge. First we
break away a thin covering layer ; under this
is a second layer, equally brittle, which
contains a number of round cells. Adjoin-
ing these are the dwelling proper and the
brood-chambers of the community. We find
small chambers which shelter the larger
larvae, and others which serve as store-
rooms. The fourth stratum contains flattened
cells for the younger larvae and the eggs,
and from this, by means of galleries which
traverse the whole nest, the central and
most vital portion of the nest is reached.
This may be recognized by the very solid
wall which has to be broken through; it is like a central kernel
(Fig. 36, V). In the midst of this kernel is the royal chamber, a
large, flattened cell with a domed roof.

From this centre the life of the community radiates ; from this
centre it is renewed. For in the royal chamber lives the queen, the
fruitful female. Anyone who sees her for the first time will be amazed
by her extraordinary form (Fig. 37). To begin with, her size is im-
pressive, for compared with the other termites she seems a very
giantess. But her shape is even more singular. The fat white body
is the monstrously dilated abdomen, grotesquely swollen by the
masses of eggs that fill it and are constantly being removed. On
328

Fig. 36. — Schematic re-
presentation of a nest
of Eutermes Rippertii
(in section)

I. Covering layer; II.
Stratum of small cells ;

III. Stratum of larger
cells, for fungus-heds, and
the larger, winged larvae ;

IV. Stratum of flattened
cells for eggs and brood ;

V. Queen's cell. {After
Holmgren)

THE TERMITES

this body the head and thorax, with its six legs, look like the little
knot at the end of a sausage. With such a figure it is of course im-
possible that the queen should ever leave her cell ; even if she could
force her way through the galleries — which are all much narrower
than her body — her monstrous abdomen would make all progress
impossible when she reached the outer world.

But the queen is not alone in her cell. Her spouse shares her
quarters with her. The male selected for breeding purposes has thus
a better time of it than among the bees and ants, for he does not
pay for the pleasure of the nuptial flight with his life, but is permitted
to accompany his queen to the royal chamber. This peculiarity of
the Termites is explained by the fact that in the case of these insects

^^/fN_^ -^^^^1^

Fig. 37. — Termite Queen, with vast abdomen, surrounded, fed,
cleansed and licked by Workers, and guarded by a ring of
Soldiers. Beside her is the "king." {After Escherich)

a single act of fertilization does not suffice the queen for the period
of her life ; on the contrary the king has to be constant in his duty.
The fertility of the termite female is consequently inconceivable.
Escherich has calculated that in the course of her ten years' life
the queen lays a hundred million eggs.

And actually, if one watches the queen in her cell, one sees that
once in every two seconds an e^gg emerges from the opening in her
abdomen. It is instantly grasped by one of the workers who con-
stantly surround the queen, and even climb upon her body, and is
borne out of the press, cleansed, and carried to the adjacent chambers,
the nurseries, for further tending. The process is repeated with
mechanical regularity. Since the stream of eggs never ceases, the
workers have constantly to leave the chamber, and since among
them there are those whose duty it is to feed the queen — a few of
them are always busy about her mouth — the great number of workers
in the queen's chamber is readily explained.

329

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

But there is no aristocratic repose in the royal chamber, and the
workers have no excessive respect for the queen; for that matter,
the latter serves the termites as a sort of sweetshop ! From time to
time large drops of a clear fluid exude from the queen's abdomen, and
these are at once eagerly licked up by the workers. Even the perspira-
tion springing from the obese body during its strenuous labours is
licked up, and when the queen grows old, and perspires no longer,
the workers do not scruple to bite into her skin and tear away whole
shreds of it.

It is part of the workers' duty to cleanse and feed the king also.
Straddling he stands beside his spouse, like her, larger than the
workers, who run between his legs, while he admonishes them from
time to time, by butting them with his head, not to neglect him.
Some smaller soldiers run to and fro among the workers, acting as
police and overseers, while a ring of larger soldiers surrounds the
whole throng, from which the abdomen of the queen rises like a
mountain, all their mandibles being directed outwards, in order to
defend her against any impertinent intrusion.

A monotonous existence, to spend all her life in a dark cell,
and lay an egg every two seconds ! Only in her youth, and then only
once, does the queen see the light of day. When the time has come
for the termite community to multiply, the whole nest is full of
thousands of winged males and females, who await in all the chambers
and corridors the signal for nuptial flight. First of all workers
and soldiers appear outside the nest, and make sure that no danger
threatens ; then they hurry back, and the signal is heard ; and now
the winged throng discharges itself like pattering raindrops from a
thundercloud. Once in Ceylon I had the good fortune to witness
the departure of these white insects, not unlike our Mayflies in
appearance. In the uncertain glimmer of a stormy evening sky
whole clouds of these insects rose into the mysterious darkness, their
glittering wings filling the air with a shimmer of mother-of-pearl.
But the sheer beauty of the spectacle was spoiled when I drew
nearer. The ground was covered with fat toads and lizards and other
creatures : some had climbed half-way up the tree ; they were all
busily swallowing, and the termites thronging forth on their nuptial
flight left their dark corridors not for the cool open air, but for the
jaws of a devouring enemy.

If one happens to be sitting by an open window with a lamp on
the table when a swarm leaves its nest anywhere in the neighbour-
hood, the table is immediately covered with the fat white insects.

330

THE TERMITES

If there is food on the table one has to send it away, for all the dishes
are full of a struggling broth of termites. In view of the innumerable
dangers which threaten the sexual forms on their emergence, it is
only by a mass migration that a new community can be founded.

If at length a pair of termites have escaped the perils of the
nuptial flight, they are still by no means in safety. From the limpid
air they fall to the ground. From aerial they have become terrestrial
creatures, and the first thing they do is to spread out their four
wings, and break them off by twisting their abdomens. Male and
female are now wingless, and in this form they begin their honey-
moon. The female stalks on ahead ; the male follows ; creeping over
the irregular surface of the soil, they are beset by a thousand dangers,
to which many a pair of lovers fall victims.

At last our two termites have found a suitable site. They bore
their way, according to their species, into the earth, or the bark
of a tree, or what not, in order to prepare the nuptial chamber;
for the termites do not wed in the air. And even in the nuptial
chamber union does not take place at once; there is first a long
"engagement," for only gradually do the insects become sexually
mature. When the female is at length fertilized the already swollen
abdomen gradually attains even more enormous dimensions. But
for a long while yet the two have to keep house alone, cleansing the
eggs and feeding the larvae ; it is, on an average, a year before the
larva has become a worker, so that it is a long time before the off-
spring reared are so far advanced that they can take over the labours
of the community, and, above all, enlarge their native home.

If we examine the architecture of the individual species of the
Brazilian termites, we shall find very great differences. There are
artless termites which merely gnaw passages and shallow chambers
under the bark of trees, and others that make similar nests in the
soil. In the papier-mache nests built in trees we find structures with
a nucleus, the royal cell, around which the others are arranged in
strata. The "ant-hills" of the South American terrestrial species are
built in storeys ; in the fourth storey a cell is set aside for the royal
pair, but there is no special central nucleus.

I have already spoken of underground nests ; when describing the
nests of the Sauva I mentioned a spherical clay termitary. In such
nests the chambers are arranged like the steps of a spiral staircase.
There are spherical nests which lie on the surface of the soil, and

331

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

there are also mixed nests : in short, we find the greatest variety of
architectural forms.

The termites make covered galleries from their nests to the
places from which they fetch their building-material or food. They
dread the light; indeed, a great proportion of their workers and
soldiers are blind. But in order that their activities may not be
wholly confined to the hours of the night, the termites build long,
branching galleries on the surface of the soil, which run up trees,
and enter rooms, ending on the planks of the floor, or against a
table, through which they eat their way, still further extending their
runs. If we destroy such a corridor the white insects appear imme-
diately and proceed to repair it, and in a little while the passage is
again roofed over.

Neat and artistic though the nests and galleries of the termites
may appear, their building-material seems to us both strange and
repulsive. The Brazilian naturalist Fritz Miiller was the first to
observe the manner in which one arboreal termitary was repaired
when partially destroyed. At first a few soldiers appeared; under
their protection the workers came forward; they felt the breach,
and turned round, when each excreted a brown vermiform dropping.
Dung was here the building-material employed; and as a matter
of fact it is the material employed by the majority of the termites.
Now and again a termite regurgitates undigested material, but as
a rule it has already passed through the intestine of another termite ;
for these insects think nothing of devouring the dung of their
comrades.

If, however, we look more closely into the origin of this building-
material it begins to seem less repulsive. If we cut off the abdomen
of a worker termite, we find that the intestine is always full of wood-
pulp or earth, according to the species. These substances are swallowed
only to be transmuted by the bowel into building-material, and we
understand that Nature has confided to the bowel of the termite
the work of preparation which we perform in a tub or pit when we
mix loam and water with the necessary mortar. Fritz Miiller's
observation, that the spherical arboreal nest of the termites is
really nothing more than the latrine of a whole termite nation,
need not, therefore, fill us with disgust, for the termite's excretions
have very httle in common with animal dung.

Further, it must be noted that such nests are not built on the tree,
as would seem to be the case at first sight; on the contrary, they
grow out of the tree. Creatures of darkness, the termites emerge

THE TERMITES

from the interior of the trunk ; it is the wood of this trunk that passes
through their bowels and is ejected into the outer air. The earthen
nests also are built in a similar fashion; the termites excavate
galleries in the subsoil, eating the earth, so to speak, and ejecting
it from their bowels at the surface. With such a method of nest-
building, the more chambers are excavated, the thinner the
dividing partitions become, and as all the material removed is
utilized for further building operations, it may pass several times
through the bowels of the diligent architects.

As for the actual food of the Termites, they are anything but
particular; it is precisely because they eat anything that their
mandibles can triturate when they enter a house — wood, paper,
leather, textile fabrics — that they are so destructive. Like the Ants,
the Termites do not eat only for themselves, but also in order to feed
king and queen and larvae, and others of their kind ; they either
regurgitate the food into the mouth of the hungry insect, or they
excrete it, when the recipient sets its mouth to the anus of its
benefactor. But there are termites, members of the Termes family,
which cultivate fungi after the fashion of the Sauvas. They prepare
cavities in their nests, which soon become filled with brittle, spongy
masses ; in the fresh state these are moist to the touch. These are the
compost-beds for the fungi ; they consist of vegetable matter, wood
and leaves, which have passed through the intestines of the termites.
The fungus cultivated by the termites is of another species to that
grown by the Sauvas ; but in this case two special nodules are pro-
duced, which are rich in albumen, and constitute the diet of the
whole race.

Like the Ants, the Termites are friendly only to the members of their
own community ; inmates of another nest are, as a rule, promptly
attacked and torn to pieces, and on occasion the termites too fight
pitched battles of a deadly character. Very often, and especially in
the case of the species whose soldiers are "Nasuti," the workers are
the real fighters, while the soldiers only give orders and spur them
on. But skirmishes between "Nasuti" have been observed, in which
these curious warriors spat so persistently out of their frontal faucets
that the one side was eventually covered in stringy slime and glued
to the ground.

Termites recognize the inmates of their own nest by the "nest-
odour" which clings to them. Once, when a worker was washed

333

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

and dried and returned to its nest, a group of astonished soldiers
immediately surrounded it, but they took care not to touch the
strange-smelling creature. Suddenly one ran back into the nest;
apparently it wished to report the presence of the stranger, and ask
for instructions. Shortly afterwards a worker appeared, felt the
supposed stranger with its antennae, convinced itself that the in-
truder had not the smell which it was a point of honour for any
inmate of that nest to emit, bit its head, and ran off. Possibly it
reported the case, and some other worker thought the punishment
insufficient ; at all events, a second worker appeared, bit the unfor-
tunate insect's head off, turned round, and deposited its dung on
the corpse, as a sign that the foreign body, having been suitably
disposed of, might now be immured.

But there are also alien inhabitants of the termitary. As I have
already related, I found a termites' nest enclosed in a nest of Sauvas,
and in the termites' nest were the galleries of the thieving Solenopses.
These thieving ants are everywhere frequent in termitaries, and
they are dangerous guests, for ever slipping out of their narrow
galleries, in which they are safe, and stealing whatever they please.
Very often there are several species of such ants in a single termitary,
indeed, six different species of ants have been found in one and the
same nest, but a few of these lived entirely to themselves, so that a
relation of mutual tolerance had developed.

One species of termite, which builds nests of earth, seems
actually to be on friendly terms with a certain species of ant, an
attitude which is apparently based on the exchange of mutual
benefits, for the ant finds a convenient dwelling provided in the
nest built by the termites, and valiantly protects not only the nest,
but its hosts, against the intrusion of other ants. For the ants are
wellnigh the most terrible of all the termites' enemies, which
include anteaters, armadillos, woodpeckers and other birds, lizards,
toads, wasps, and predatory beetles. The Driver Ants will clear out
a termitary to the last egg, and during their wedding-journey the
nuptial pairs of termites are only too often the prey of ants, from
which nothing can successfully hide. Indeed, many ants wait at the
exits of the termitary at the season when the sexual forms fly from
the nest, seizing and tearing to pieces every winged termite the
moment it shows its head. The stingless bees, on the other hand,
which are given to invading the nests of the arboreal termites,

334

THE TERMITES

although they deprive their hosts of a great part of their dwelling,
may possibly afford them some protection.

But species of quite other classes of insects find their way into
the termites' nest. As among the ants, so among the termites we
find guests which, in appearance, and presumably even in their
odour, imitate their hosts. I myself found a remarkable beetle
which I recognized as such only because I happened to remember
Wasmann's illustration of the insect. It is a long, lanky creature,
with a soft abdomen, and two long membranous hind-wings, which,
as in the winged termites, stand out from the body, while the fore-
wings are small. Its unusually large eyes must help it to find its
way about in the dark nest, and it is quite ^^^^ ^^.

possible that its termite-like form, which would ^^^W""*^^
reassure its hosts on their examining it with ^^^^^.^
their feelers, enables it to steal eggs and "^J^^^^^^^^

The Staphylinidae, of which, as we have ^fe^^^3-^^'t^?#

seen, "defensive" forms occur in ants' nests, \^ar^ri^

are not unknown in the termitary. They are ^fir

distinguished by their sohd scutum and flat D

conical form, which makes it impossible for I

the termites to seize hold of them. The genuine Fig. 38. — A Fly, the

guests of the termites are for the most part f "^'* °^ *^^ Termites
J. .... , , , ^ , (Termitomastus lep-

distmguished by a monstrous abdomen, the toproctus. W, W,

back of which rises high above the level of wings transformed in-
the thorax, and bulges over the latter in front. *° handles. {Enlarged,
One beetle of this kind has been named the

"Maid of Honour," on the supposition that the insect was ap-
pointed, on account of its "graceful figure," to keep the royal pair
company, and that the termites took a purely intellectual joy in its
comeliness ! Perhaps the discoverer of this beetle was thinking of the
Hottentot women, whose abnormally fat buttocks are reckoned a
beauty by the men of that race.

It was once more Wasmann who corrected this all too poetical
assumption. According to him, the enlargement of the abdomen of
these guests of the termitary has no other purpose than to make the
insects fat, so that they constantly perspire, when they can be Hcked
by their sweet-toothed hosts. There are flies, too, which are received
as guests for the sake of their exudations. And these flies have really
touched the highest point of the evolution of insect guests.

The transformation of the bodily form of these flies is so unpre-

335

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

cedented that it was a long time before even so great an expert as
Wasmann recognized the insects as flies. Their wings are long,
narrow, and curved. They serve not only as balancing-poles when
the insect is running; they are used by the termites as the handles
by which these living bottles are carried when their hosts wish to
enjoy a little orgy. The abdomen is enormously distended, for these
flies are given plenty to eat ; the termites see to this, for the excrement
of these insects is a delicacy to their hosts. Consequently they are
for ever feeding and cleansing their singular guests : by no means
to the profit of the community. The excrement of these flies is a
mere luxury, and it so intoxicates the termites that they forget their
duties for it.

The reader will involuntarily compare the indulgence of the ants
and termites in such intoxicating juices with the consumption of
alcohol by human beings, and its enervating effects. And it is indeed
a remarkable fact that social life, which multiplies the achievements
of man, and gives the greatest possible protection to the indi-
vidual, should prepare the soil for the phenomena of degeneration.
It is as though Nature wished to remind us that even States are
not enduring phenomena in the eternal flux and change of terrestrial
affairs, but that the more secure they seem on the outside, the more
menacingly does the germ of destruction grow at their very heart.

XIX

SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS

X o the traveller who is bound for the tropics the astonished ques-
tion is still often put, whether he is not afraid of "the wild beasts."

Those who know the tropics will smile at this question, and the
matter-of-fact traveller, if he is asked to relate the dangers he has
passed through, will think of illnesses and accidents, and difficulties
caused by human beings, but not of the so-called "wild beasts."
Neither the elephants, leopards and bears of Ceylon, nor the jaguars
and pumas of Brazil prevented me from wandering all day long,
and even by night, through forest and jungle and plain, often alone,
and almost always unarmed. I never had the slightest fear of being
eaten, and as the reader sees, I was not eaten. In the virgin forest
of the highlands of Ceylon I often heard the leopard growling from
the thicket, and the dogs, if any were with me, squeezed themselves
between my legs, for they knew perfectly well that if they swerved
a few paces aside they would find themselves in the fangs of the
great cat, which has a particular liking for dogs' flesh. Only once
was I possibly in danger. I was driving along a road that ran through
extensive woods, when an elephant was reported; he had taken up
his position a little way along the road, and it was said that more
than once he had simply made mincemeat of anyone or anything
that came in his way. For this elephant was a so-called "rogue";
that is, an old male who had been turned out of his herd, and was
therefore, as an animal to whom society means more than anything
else, quite justly infuriated. But on this occasion the elephant did
not appear.

But I will not speak of my own unpretending travels; I will
rather appeal to an African explorer who has travelled in absolutely
unexplored and quite uncivilized regions. I mean the late Professor
Georg Schweinfurth, who spent a great proportion of his eighty-nine
years in Africa. Looking back over his life, he declared that the only
occasion on which he could remember to have been in deadly peril
was during the bombardment of Alexandria by the British fleet in
1882, when he was living in the heart of the revolted city. The other
great African explorers have expressed themselves in similar terms,
and Gerhard Rohlfs, the most successful explorer of the Sahara,
stated that he had never so much as caught sight of a lion.

Y 337

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

The so-called "wild beasts" have always avoided man, but it is
in these days of long-range rifles that they have really taken to hiding
themselves, or decamping as fast as they can, since they can no
longer count on an approximately equal fight. Dangerous wild
animals are now found only in books of juvenile fiction, whose
writers have no particular scruples as to what they offer their readers.
There you may find such descriptions of lions and tigers as would
naturally come from the pen of a reader of sensational fiction.
What an excellent thing it would be if our books for boys, instead
of constantly rehashing crude and antiquated tales of imaginary
perils, were to describe the more fascinating aspects of animal life !

But while the ordinary traveller through forest or plain need have
no fear of danger from wild animals, the hunter, I need hardly say,
should not neglect ordinary precautions. A hunting expedition will
persistently follow up the great cats, or elephants, or rhinoceroses,
or what not, tracking them in order to kill them. That many animals
attempt to defend themselves when brought to bay is hardly to their
discredit ! Almost any animal, if it can see no way of escape, will
turn on the aggressor. An animal driven into a corner is always
dangerous, whether it be a lion or a rat. A case is on record of
a rat which, having been chased about a room and finally driven
into a corner, suddenly turned and sprang at its persecutor and bit
through his jugular vein.

But the snakes, the snakes, you say !. Thousands of human beings
die of snake-bite in India every year !

Well, one must not assume, without further inquiry, that every
report of death from snake-bite is to be accepted as true. The Indian
natives are not fond of calling in the police when a murder is com-
mitted for jealousy or some other motive ; they prefer to give out
that the death was due to snake-bite. It is said that this fact explains
the high statistics of death from snake-bite. However this may be,
in respect of the danger to life from the Indian snakes, I will refer
the reader to a writer who knows his India. Mahatma Gandhi says,
in his Guide to Health: "Even to-day, in respect of snakes our super-
stition knows no bounds. Experience has taught us that snakes
never attack of their own accord, but that they use their fangs only
in self-defence when they are in some way molested or irritated.
We must not forget that the snakes were created by the same God
Who made us also, and all other creatures. Thousands of yoghis
and fakirs are to-day living, like St. Francis, in the forests of Hindo-
stan, among lions and tigers and snakes, but we have never yet
338

SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS

heard of their becoming the prey of these creatures. I have a pro-
found conviction that a man will not be attacked by other living
creatures as long as he himself leaves them undisturbed."
So says the Hindu sage : let us learn of him !

Many fairy-tales have been told of the dangerous character of the
great Pythons.

It is, of course, generally realized that the larger serpents are not
venomous, but many of us have read with a shudder how the long
body of the Boa constrictor suddenly winds itself round the traveller
in the forest, and how its coils draw closer and closer together until
finally his bones begin to break.

A reasonable man ought to ask himself with what possible object
a snake would break a man's bones? A snake overpowers only such
creatures as it can eat, and no snake has yet ever swallowed a man.
The Stories of gigantic serpents that coil themselves about human
beings must be relegated to the region of fables.

In addition to a few rarer species, Brazil possesses two giant
snakes. One of these is the Sucury or Anaconda. This is one of
the largest snakes in the world; specimens have been measured
which were 24 feet in length, and I saw a very large Sucury in
the zoological gardens of Rio. The Sucury is a water-snake, and
is helpless on the land. The Amazon is its favourite haunt, but it
has become rarer even there by reason of constant persecution, for
very few men can bring themselves to allow their boat to pass a
snake resting on an overhanging bough without firing at the reptile.

The other giant snake, the Giboya, Cobra do veado or Boa
constrictor (Plate 31, i), is a terrestrial reptile. I have often come
across this snake, though the specimens which I encountered
were not fully grown. The adult boa is as a rule about 13 feet in
length. Once we found a boa on the windowsiU of the sacristy of
the deserted monastery at Monte (Plate 19). I induced him to creep
into a large box, and delightedly took him home with me. During
the rest of my stay in the monastery the snake lived in my room,
and became quite tame, so that I found it hard to part with him.

Such a Giboya is a magnificent reptile. I was never tired of ad-
miring the rich and deHcate pattern of his skin — a pattern of spots
and chains in various shades of reddish or blackish brown, upon a
background of grey, brown and yellow. The tail in particular,
brown, yellow, and almost blood-red, glowed with colour, and the

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SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS

whole lithe body was washed over with a wonderful metallic lustre.
Especially after moulting this snake was really astonishingly beautiful.
He was very clean ; his droppings were white and dry, and seemed to
consist entirely of lime from the bones of his victims.

It was not easy to find suitable prey for the boa, and we had to
invent various traps for rats and mice before he could be fed. Then
all went well, and the boa was frequently given three mice in rapid
succession. I had no trouble in getting him to eat. He took his meals
in the dark ; for the boa is a nocturnal reptile.

If I dropped a mouse into the snake's cage, the following drama
was played: The prisoner scampered uneasily to and fro, scarcely
noticing its dangerous companion, and finally sat in a corner and
cleaned itself. Now the snake slowly and silently crept closer; his
cat-like eyes sparkled, and his tongue darted out as though feeling
its way. With a jerk the head assumed the proper position of attack.
Now the mouse became aware of its peril ; it ceased to move, sitting
rigid and silent, not because it was "fascinated" by the snake's eyes,
but because instinct told it that immobility might save it, since the
reptile does not recognize a motionless quarry. So for some time the
two creatures faced one another, the mouse in the corner, the snake
in front of it, his neck retracted like a spiral spring.

At last the mouse grew tired of the comedy; thinking that the
danger was over, it tried to escape ; but at its first barely perceptible
movement the snake lunged forward in a flash; the mouse was
seized and snatched back, and in a moment the snake had noisily
thrown two or three coils round it. One saw these coils contract
twice or thrice ; the black eyes of the mouse protruded, the whiskers
quivered once or twice, and the victim was motionless : stifled in
a few seconds, before it realized what was happening.

Now the narrow head of the snake, which had quite disappeared,
emerged again, and wandered over his coils, seeking the victim's
head. The boa uncoiled himself, and touched the mouse here and
there with his tongue; an action which may have given rise to the
legend that snakes beslaver their prey. It looked as though the boa
was delighting in his booty ; he rubbed his nose on the soft fur, and
smoothed it all over, constantly touching it with his tongue, and even
passed his open mouth a few times over the body. He seemed to
derive a peculiar pleasure from touching the rosy little mouth of
the mouse.

Now he pressed the still somewhat distorted body of the mouse
straight, opened his jaws wide, and pushed them over the mouse's

341

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

nose. He pressed his body closer to his booty; the mouth reached
forward, right and left, until half the mouse had disappeared ; then
the snake lifted his head, and one saw that the neck was laid in
coils, pressing the body down; the mouth remained open, since it
had nothing to chew, and so the victim slipped down, until at last
the tail disappeared as though of its own volition, so that it looked
as though the mouse was voluntarily entering the dark gullet. At
last all was over, except for several yawns, and the robber lay still,
while in his body the swelling which marked the position of the
mouse moved slowly backwards.

The habits of the snakes are adapted to the habits of their prey.
The Sucury, the Giboya, and the venomous snakes hunt mammals,
and as these — and especially the smaller species — are nocturnal in
habit, the snakes in question go about their business by night. The
eyes of both these groups, with their long, vertical pupils, betray
the fact that their visual organs are adapted to the darkness. But
since their victims might quickly disappear in the darkness, they
must somehow be prevented from making the attempt. The
Sucury and Giboya prevent their escape by surrounding them
with their coils; the venomous snakes by injecting their deadly
poison.

The harmless snakes — with the exception of the Boas and Ana-
condas— have large, round eyes, adapted to use by day; their very
expression seems to us innocent. The round eye, and the tail that
gradually tapers to a sharp point, enable us at once to distinguish
the harmless Goral-snake (Plate 31, 10, 11) from the venomous
species. The latter (Plate 31, 12) has a fat, truncated-looking tail,
and its eyes are very small, lest it should injure them while burrowing
in the ground — in search, as a rule, of other snakes.

A snake which one often exhumes while excavating the nests of
the Sauva ants is the "Two-headed Snake," the "Cobra das duas
cabe9as" (Plate 31, 8). This creature looks like a very large white
earthworm. Because when alarmed it curls its tail up to its head,
the Brazilian countryfolk believe that it has two heads, both of
which are venomous, and that it bites first with one and then with
the other. In reality the snake is perfectly harmless ; indeed, it is
not really a snake at all, but belongs to the Lizards; to a group
which has lost its feet, like our Blindworm or Slowworm. Neverthe-
less it has been given a bad name, and has suffered under it, just
342

SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS

as the harmless Gecko has suffered as a result of its popular name
of viper, "Vibora."

The snakes which seek their food by day are not venomous ; they
have no need of venom, since their prey — consisting chiefly of frogs,
toads, lizards and other snakes — has little chance of escape in the
daylight. These diurnal snakes are often exceedingly beautiful.
There is a whole series of green snakes, uncommonly slender and
graceful, which writhe through the grass like flashes of emerald
light. On my first day in Olinda I saw a glittering Emerald Snake
(Plate 31, 3) in the garden. Another green snake, Philodryas olfersi,
has a red streak down the back, and a black stripe across the eye;
and a third has two yellow lines running the length of the body.
These snakes, which are fond of climbing trees, feed on lizards.

Another Brazilian snake is the Liana Snake or Cobra cipo (Plate
31, 2). I found this snake in Seringal, Pernambuco. It deserves its
name; it is long and slender as a liana or a whip-lash. More than
six feet in length, it writhes so quickly through the bushes that one
sees little more than a flash of its lustrous greenish-brown body. The
round eye, exceptionally luminous, gleams like a topaz in the long,
narrow head. The Liana snake eats frogs and toads.

The large toads of Brazil must constitute the diet of a number
of snakes, and it is astonishing that they are nevertheless so plentiful.
In the villages, during the rains, you may see them under the ver-
andah steps, often several at a time, or hopping along by the walls.
Even for large snakes they represent a respectable mouthful, and
it was a horrible spectacle to see our Xenodon swallowing one of
these toads in the monastery garden. It was often a full hour before
the snake had pushed its jaws — no wider than two fingers — over
the victim, which was as large as one's two fists, and the head at
length disappeared with a few last notes of distress. But it must
not be forgotten that in the snake the bones of the head, which
in the other vertebrates are laminiform, constitute an open, articu-
lated structure, so that the back of the head can be expanded until
it will pass over an object of many times its normal circumference.
The Xenodon snake, when alarmed, spreads itself out quite flat,
till it looks like an empty skin surmounted only by a low crest.

A common Brazilian snake is the large Ganinanha (Plate 31, 4) ;
another common snake, handsomely marked with black and yellow,
is the enemy of the poultry-farmer; and a third lives on lizards.
The habits of all these non-venomous snakes are somewhat similar,
so that I need say no more about them. But I must say something

343

Plate XXIX (I)

MIMICRY

(i) The nauseating and little persecuted Heliconid, Lycorea atergates. (2) The
female of Perhybris pyrrha, which mimics Lycorea, though the male (3) is a
perfect Pierid, except that the incipient black and yellow mottling of the under-
wing is very faintly perceptible on the upper surface. (4) The nauseating Heliconius
eucrate, imitated by (5), the Pierid, Dismorphia arsinoe, which still retains traces
of white on the hind-wings, (6) Leptalis amphinoe, and (7) the moth Pericopis
crescides, which flies by day. All these insects are coloured black, reddish yellow
and bright yellow. (8) The nauseating hyaline butterfly, Methone confusa.
(9) The Pierid butterfly, Dismorphia orisi, which mimics it. The tinge of white
on the hind-wings is more or less concealed by the usually more retracted position
of these wings. (10) A Wasp. (11) A butterfly, Isandra utriera, which mimics this
wasp. (12) The black and yellow beetle, Calopteron bifasciatum. (13 to 15) Capri-
corn beetles which mimic the latter. Pteroplatys, Lophonoceras hirticonis, and
Tropidosoma spencii.

Plate XXIX (II)

INSECTS WHICH MIMIC LEAVES AND TWIGS, AND SOME OTHERS

(i) Praying Mantis, a Locustid with green leaf-markings and a mildew-like patch
on the fore-wings, which alone are visible in the nesting position. (2) Fore and
hind wing of the Locustid, Pterochroza arrosa ; the first showing perfect leaf-
markings of green, brown and white, while the hind-wing shows a characteristic
recognition-mark. (3) The Bark-bug, Phloea corticaria. (4) The Leaf-bug, Diactor
bilineatus. (5) Stick-Weevil. (6) Cicada or Cigarra. (7) Larval form of same,
(8) Lantern Beetle or Fire-fly, Pyrophorus noctilucus. (9) Perandra mandibularis,
which fells trees with its mandibles. (10) The Palm- Weevil, Rhynchophorus
palmarum. (11) The Giant Ant, Dinoponera grandis. (12) Sauva soldier.
(13) Sauva queen. (14) A Hornet, Pepsis albomaculata. (15) A Fly which mimics
it, but which has only two wings; beneath these are small balancers. (16) A
Locustid Stick-insect.

Photographed from specimens collected and compared by the Author, and a few
specimens from the Natural History Museum of Freiburg, photographed by
Emil Engel, Freiburg i. Br. {about one-half natural size)'

344

Plate XXIX

(l) MIMICRY

(ll) INSECTS WHICH MIMIC LEAVES AND TWIGS, AND SOME OTHERS

SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS

of one more non-venomous snake : the Brazilian's eyes light up at
its very name, and he cannot sufficiently praise it. This snake is
the Mussurana.

The Mussurana (Plate 31, 9) is a very beautiful snake; its black
scales have the gloss of lacquer, and each is surrounded by a white
border; the whole reptile looks as though cast in bronze. But it is
not for its beauty that it is honoured. The Mussurana is famed as
an auxiliary in the campaign against the venomous snakes, and in
particular the Jararacas. For this reason Mussuranas are kept at
the Snake Institute of Butantan, of which I shall presently say
something ; and there, if a Jararaca is thrown to a Mussurana, one
may see the latter immediately seize the venomous snake, quite
regardless of its fangs ; in wild confusion the writhing bodies lash
to and fro ; the Jararaca defends itself desperately but unavailingly ;
at every pause the jaws of the victor gain a surer hold (9), and
presently only the tail of the victim is left protruding from the other's
mouth. The Mussurana can find its prey anywhere; it knows at
once if there is a venomous snake in its pen, and proceeds to drag
its victim out of its hiding-place, or to pursue it if it attempts to
climb.

I have already said that the traveller in India or Brazil need not be
constantly in dread of the fangs of venomous snakes. I will once
more explain why.

In the first place, the venomous snakes, as one may tell by their
cat-like eyes, are nocturnal reptiles ; if one sees them at all by day
they will be basking in the sun ; but they are then uncertain in their
movements, as they cannot see plainly ; and I myself have found
that a Rattlesnake, if one teases it with one's outstretched foot,
usually misses the boot when it strikes.

Secondly, the boots worn by Europeans are a protection against
venomous snakes ; it would be an extraordinary thing if the snake's
fangs should penetrate the leather. Even so, most of the poison
would be wiped off the fangs as they passed through the sock, and
only a remnant would enter the flesh. As a rule, the venom is
deadly only if the snake bites the unprotected skin. But everything
depends on the interval which has elapsed since the snake last used
its fangs, or the amount of virus which has accumulated. Since the
native peasants and field-workers always go about bare-footed, they
have more reason to fear snakes. When they are working all day on

345

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

the coffee-plantations in the hills, or in the forests of recent growth
(capoeira), they may happen to tread on a snake, since these
reptiles are often found hidden under the leaves on the quiet and
sunny hillsides. Dr. E. Bethke, during one year's practice in Espirito
Santo, saw or heard of ten or twelve fatal cases of snake-bite. He
himself — having arrived in good time — treated thirty to forty cases
with serum prepared at Butantan, and always with complete success.

Accidents happen, then, if snakes and human beings are not on
their guard. We must get rid of the idea that snakes bite for the
pleasure of biting, and that they will even seek for human victims,
or run after them. All living creatures prefer to be left alone, and
when approached by man their first impulse is to escape. As a rule,
however, one comes upon a snake when it is rolled up in a flat coil,
with its head in the centre: a position which does not facilitate
rapid flight. If one walks round a rattlesnake when it is thus coiled
up, the head constantly follows the enemy; a curious and rather
uncanny sight. At the same time the snake sounds its shrill rattle
in warning. Even this rattle shows that the snake prefers to give
warning rather than bite. The rattle consists of a varying number
of telescoped rings on the tip of the tail, which, when the rattle is
sounded, is lifted and quickly shaken to and fro, when the rings
grate on one another and produce the characteristic sound. The
Jararaca too shakes its tail to and fro when excited, and if it is sur-
rounded with dry leaves, as is commonly the case, a warning sound
is produced which is very like the rattle of the rattlesnake.

Every snake has its individual temperament; and it is important
that one should understand this, as the degree of danger depends
upon it. In Ceylon the extremely venomous Spectacled Cobra was
not so greatly dreaded as the Tik Palonga, a viper six feet in length.
The latter is extremely nervous, is easily startled, and will then bite
at once, while the Spectacled Cobra has a quieter temperament. It
is fond of entering houses — indeed, a Cobra once visited me in my
bedroom — and will even creep into bed, being a lover of warmth.
But its human bedfellow is not therefore doomed to death ; one may
even kick the snake without being bitten. I kept some Spectacled
Cobras for a long while in Ceylon, and convinced myself of their
placidity. It is precisely this quality which has made them the favour-
ites of the fakirs. If one quietly takes hold of the snake one can place
it in a basket. For that matter, the explorer De Grijs was able to
do the same thing with the venomous Coral Snake of Brazil. Only
sudden and irregular movements alarm the reptiles. I once learned
346

Plate XXX

TERMITES' NEST ON THE LAND OF THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, TAPERA

DRAWING VIRUS FROM A RATTLE-
SNAKE, BUTANTAN INSTITUTE

SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS

in my own person that it is always well to keep one's head. In Olinda
one evening I shpped my bare feet into my slippers and went over
to the washstand, when I felt something nibbling my foot. At first
I took no notice of it, but when I began to wash myself it spread
over all my toes, and on my drawing off my slipper to see what was
the matter, a long millipede, as thick as my finger, ran out of it.
Had I torn off my slipper in alarm the creature would have bitten
me, and a Scolopendra of this species is venomous.

The last and best insurance against the dangers of snake-bite in
Brazil is the Butantan Institute. This Institute is one of the principal
sights of Sao Paulo, and is much visited. One takes the "Bond" at
the Pra9a da Se, from which all the electric trams start, and rides
through streets bordered with low houses and shaded by Grevilleas,
privet trees and cedrellos. The tram stops at Pinheiros, a suburb
with a dusty market-place surrounded by houses in the course of
construction, and the journey is continued in a cab. Now the land-
scape grows more beautiful; the meadows beside the road are
bounded by hills, and by the wayside the Brazilian ragwort blooms
yellow, the Brazilian broom puts forth its triangular shoots, and the
vervain uplifts its spires of pretty blue flowers.

A door opens, and we are in Butantan. A pretty botanical garden
covers the gently undulating ground; here are glass-houses and
laboratories and a fine herbarium. The Institute itself is a white
building with laboratories and a museum in which one can study
all the snakes and their enemies.

But the most singular thing about the Institute is the open space
before the entrance. A low wall, behind which is a running stream,
surrounds a lawn from which rise domes of Portland cement, which
are intended to represent termitaries, for these, in Brazil, are the
favourite refuge of the snakes. And before these grey domes the brown
venomous snakes are lying, large and small, many of them moving
about. The largest venomous snake of Brazil, the Surucucii, 13 feet
in length (Plate 31, 17), is rarely to be seen, but here are the
Jararaca (16) with the dark horse-shoe markings on its flanks, the
Labaria (14), also known as the Jararaca, the finely ornamented
Urutii (13), the sharp-snouted Cotiarinha, the Golden Urutu, with
handsome boa-like markings, the Lachesis (19), and above all the
Rattlesnake or Cascavel (18), its body marked with beaded lozenges.
Now one of the officials climbs the wall and crosses the water, and
with a hook pulls other snakes out of their dwellings, until at last
they are swarming at his feet. He grasps a rattlesnake, lifts it up,

347

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

seizes its head, and presses its cheeks together (Plate 30), so that
the venom trickles from the fangs into a bowl held beneath it.
This virus is injected into horses, in gradually increasing doses,
until they become immune, when a serum is prepared from their
blood. There are special sera — for example, rattlesnake serum — and
a mixed serum with which any snake-bite may be treated. One
carries a phial of this serum on one's travels, and a small hypodermic
syringe. If one is bitten by a venomous snake one injects a little
serum into the skin round the wound, or between the wound and
the heart, and one may then be sure that no serious results will
ensue. The Butantan Institute is therefore a national blessing.

Much more unpleasant than the venomous snakes, and beyond
comparison more dangerous, are the bloodsucking insects of Brazil.
If I am asked what dangerous creatures there are in India and
Brazil I do not speak of the tigers, leopards, jaguars and snakes,
but only of the mosquitoes. These are the enemies which one really
has reason to fear in the tropics, for they are the carriers of malaria,
and the still more dangerous yellow fever.

But here again the reader must not be too greatly alarmed. One
thinks of mosquitoes as particularly formidable insects. As a matter
of fact there are plenty of mosquitoes in Europe. The species that
carries malaria may be found in Baden. When the disease itself is
not prevalent the mosquitoes cannot convey it, and are therefore
harmless. But when during the war malaria was introduced into
certain war prisoners' camps from South Russia, malaria made its
appearance here and there among the people of Baden, as I saw
with my own eyes.

The conveyance of malaria is effected as follows : In the blood of
a malarial patient live millions of tiny living creatures. These make
their way into the red corpuscles of the blood, multiply therein,
and wander off into other corpuscles, while the corpuscles thus
attacked are decomposed, so that each time the parasites multiply
the patient has an attack of fever. If the malarial mosquito bites
a person suffering from malaria, it sucks in the parasites together
with his blood, and these become encysted in the wall of the insect's
intestine, and presently their offspring find their way to the salivary
glands of the insect. With the saliva of the mosquito, which the
insect injects into the wound in order to prevent the blood from
coagulating, the malarial parasites enter the blood of a healthy
348

SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS

person, and make their way into the red corpuscles, and he too
falls ill of malarial fever.

In order to be inoculated with malaria the mosquito must first
bite a malarial patient, that is, malaria must exist in the neighbour-
hood. But this is by no means the case all over Brazil, so that
thousands and thousands of Brazilians are bitten by mosquitoes
without falling ill. And it must not be supposed that mosquitoes
are a pest only in the tropics! Neither in Ceylon nor in Brazil
have I suffered from mosquito-bites as I have done at Karlsruhe
or in Alt-Breisach. In Brazil I encountered whole swarms of mos-
quitoes only in Ribeirao; at night they hummed round my bed,
but I spread the mosquito-net which I always carry with me over
my bed, and I was not bitten. One should always have a mosquito-
net at hand in Brazil, except perhaps in the large towns and the
mountains, for one is in greater danger of mosquito-bites at night,
since the malarial mosquitoes do not begin to bite until it is dark.
My good mosquito-net served me well when I was in southern
Pernambuco, in a bad malarial district, for quinine prophylaxis
(fifteen grains every Friday, and half as much on Sunday) is not
certainly effective unless one continues it for six months after leaving
the malarial region.

Worse than malaria is yellow fever. This is conveyed by a mos-
quito speckled with black and white, which has a dark triangle on
its back. This insect is given to biting as twilight falls, and, as Dr.
Lutz observes, is both shy and importunate. Yellow fever, which
is generally fatal to Europeans — two German ladies died of it
while I was in Pernambuco — was formerly the scourge of Brazil,
especially in the seaports, and at one time in Santos the sailors
could escape death only by taking the train directly they landed,
and going to a sanatorium in the mountains, returning only after
their vessels had been laden by natives, whereupon they went
aboard and weighed anchor. New-comers were particularly liable
to the worst form of the disease. The business men of Rio had
discovered that they remained in health if they only worked in
Rio, and went to Petropolis to pass the night. The embassies too
established themselves in Petropolis.

It is owing to Dr. Oswaldo Cruz that Rio and Santos are to-day
free from yellow fever, and that only isolated cases occur from time
to time in the northern ports. Actual epidemics are things of the
past. Dr. Cruz accompanied the campaign against the fever by a
campaign against the mosquitoes. To-day his work is still carried on

349

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

in the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, which looks over the bay from one
of the suburbs of Rio : a fine building in the Moorish style. Through-
out Brazil, moreover, an Assistencia publica has been organized, and
in each State there is a Department of Hygiene. I saw in OUnda
how carefully and thoroughly the foci of infection were attacked.
The infected house is at once marked by a yellow flag, which
means that no one may enter it. It is then, with the neighbouring
houses, completely covered with great linen cloths — in the case of
one-storied houses this is possible — and is then "gassed" with
poisonous vapours, so that all the mosquitoes are killed. Every day,
moreover, officials visit all the houses in that quarter of the city,
in order to drain any accumulations of water, or to disinfect them,
or place small fish in them ; these are a species of carp, which will
live even in the smallest puddles, and devour the mosquito larvae.
In the monastery these fish were placed in the cistern on the roof
which supplied the house with water. And it is the law in Rio that
every garden pond or stream must contain fish.

When I travelled by the electric tramway from Recife to Olinda,
through the mangrove swamps, the hands and faces of the passengers
wer sometimes covered with tiny black flies, which sucked their
blood and gave rise to an unpleasant irritation. The Brazilians call
these flies, which are no bigger than a pin's head, "Maruim" or
"dust." We have just such midges in Germany. Their larval state,
like that of the mosquito, is passed in the water.

I never suffered while in Brazil from the gadflies or Motucas. In
some parts these buzzing flies are said to make themselves unpleasant.
One species of gadfly, the "Bicho berne," is greatly dreaded. Its
eggs are deposited not only on the hides of cattle, but also on the
skin of human beings. From these eggs maggots emerge, which grow
and feed under the skin, while a large boil forms over them. When
the maggots turn in the wound which they have made they are
said to cause acute pain. Dr. Bethke, a physician of Espirito Santo,
assured me that the people extract the maggot by laying a piece of
bacon on the place ; it eats its way through this, as it can no longer
obtain any air. At a later stage the maggot bites its way out in any
case, falls to the ground, and pupates. It is a remarkable fact that
these flies do not lay their eggs directly on their victims, but on the
necks of other flies or mosquitoes. These rub them off* on men and
animals, who receive the parasites without knowing how they arrived.
Many gadflies convey disease. In the interior of Brazil donkeys and
other draught animals suffer from a lameness of the hip-joint, known

350

SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS

as 'Teste de cadeiras," which is conveyed by gadflies. Blowflies lay
their eggs on sick, wounded and dying animals, and the maggots
increase their sufferings. Human beings also suffer from infections
carried by maggots, especially an infection of the nose, known as
myasis.

In the Sertao I was warned that I might have a nocturnal visitor,
but it did not appear. This was a large black and red spotted bug,
the Barbeiro, compared with which our European bed-bug is a
harmless insect. The latter, imported from Europe, is said to infest
many houses in southern Brazil; in Pernambuco I saw one only.
The Barbeiro is said to give a very painful bite, and to withdraw a
considerable amount of blood. Another species of bug conveys a
dangerous disease, known as Chagas' disease, after the physician who
discovered its cause. In his campaign against the Barbeiro man is
assisted by another species of bug,
whose larva covers itself with dust and
dirt, and in this mask of dirt creeps
up to other insects, seizing them un-
awares and devouring them.

Strangely enough, I never saw any- p^^ gg.-Female Sand-flea or
thing of two other bloodsuckers, of Jigger {enlarged). Beside it,
which many travellers, and more par- the natural size, the foot of a

1 , . T ^ J 1 I. mouse with sand-flea under

ticularly naturalists and explorers, have ^^^ ^^.^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^

painful experience. One of them is the

tick, or Garrapato, which is related to the spiders ; it lurks in the
bushes, and being brushed off" on to the skin, it sinks its proboscis in
its victim's flesh, and sucks his blood until its body swells to the size
of a pea. There are also certain red ticks, known as Mucuim or
Muidos, which are so small that one simply cannot extract them,
and is forced to bear the irritation until they take their departure
or die. Many wooded districts are so full of ticks that the traveller
is quickly covered with them, as though with a pustular eruption.

A troublesome inhabitant of Brazil is the Sand-flea, Bicho de pe
or Jigger (Fig. 39) . The fertilized female of this insect bores into the
feet of human beings, its favourite spot being under a toenail; at
first it is hardly visible, but gradually its abdomen grows to the
size of a pea. Its presence first makes itself felt by the intolerable
itching caused by its digging and bloodsucking activities, but if the
Sand-flea is not at once extracted inflammation and suppuration
ensue, which may necessitate the amputation of the toe, or may
even have fatal results. From Brazil the Sand-flea has been exported

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to West Africa, and in the course of twenty-five years it has spread
over the whole continent, reaching even the East Coast; and on
Lake Victoria Nyanza whole villages were depopulated by this
horrible pest, for which the natives could find no remedy. The
insect lives in the dust of houses and streets. Once its presence has
become perceptible, it is best — or so I was assured in north-eastern
Brazil — to get a negro to extract it. The negroes use the long knife
which they always carry, employing it as a
weapon, a table-knife, and a toothpick, and with
the greatest dexterity they cut the insect out of
the toe.

Travelling through Pernambuco, and also in
other parts of the interior of Brazil, one often sees
people standing about the railway-stations whose
bloodless faces, jaded bearing and fatigued ex-
pression are at once conspicuous. These people
are suffering from a malady very common in
Brazil, and which, after syphiHs, is doing more
than any other to undermine the health of the
nation. The extirpation of these two diseases is
the most important, but also, perhaps, the most
difficult problem before the country, and one
that must be solved if its future is to be
prosperous.

This disease, which in Brazil is almost a
national pestilence, is caused by an intestinal
parasite, the hookworm. It is about two-fifths of
an inch in length, and it anchors itself, with its
formidable teeth, to the mucous membrane of
the small intestine (Fig. 40). This worm abso-
lutely eats its way into the wall of the intestine,
which, being wounded by its teeth, begins to
bleed, and it is to this constant loss of blood that the pallid
complexion of the sufferers is due. It seems, however, that certain
toxic symptoms of the disease are caused by the juices which the
worm injects into the wound.

The eggs produced by the female hookworm reach the outer
world in the dejecta, and develop in the moist soil. From the soil
the tiny larvae (Fig. 40) may find their way back into the mouth;
and this is especially possible in the case of persons whose work
brings them into contact with the soil, as, for example, the men

z 353

Fig. 40. — Head of
Hookworm from
human intestine.
T, teeth, 0, oeso-
phagus ; g, glands.
Beneath, the lar-
val state, showing
gut and el ngated
sacs, the rudi-
ments of the
generative organs

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

employed in boring the St. Gotthard tunnel, who, like the West-
phalian miners, suffered severely from the hookworm disease.
Cleanliness of the hands, particularly before eating, is therefore the
surest means of avoiding infection. But it has been discovered that
the larvae can bore their way through the pores of the skin, reaching
the intestine by way of the blood-stream. Bare feet — so common
in the interior of the country — will afford the larvae an opportunity
of penetrating the skin. Water should never be drunk unless it has
been boiled — especially as typhus prevails in many parts of Brazil.

There are also certain microscopic worms which, like the malarial
parasites, are injected into the blood of human beings by mosquitoes.
There they multiply enormously, giving rise to terrible abscesses and
monstrous swellings of certain parts of the body. This disease is
known as filariasis or elephantiasis. Persons afflicted with filariasis
often join the lepers, with their eroded faces, in the railway-stations,
thrusting their hands in at the windows of the carriages and begging
for alms : a terrible spectacle.

I must say something of one more South American bloodsucker.
Even in the Middle Ages news of its existence reached Europe, and
excited people's imaginations to such purpose that they saw in it
the embodiment of a phantom of whose terrible deeds they had read
in ancient legends.

Who indeed would not shudder if he was told the following
story? A man lies sleeping in bed; suddenly, through the open
window, a huge bat enters on soundless wings. It flies along the walls,
rising and falling, in ever-narrowing circles; now it settles on the
sleeper's breast, fanning him softly with its grey wings, while its
teeth bite through his skin. The fanning cools the wound, and the
gentle draught lulls the victim into sounder sleep. When the creature
has drunk its fill it rises into the air, flies out of the window, and
disappears into the night.

In this form the story of the vampire made its way all over the
world; and although the statement that the bat fans its victim has
not been confirmed, so many travellers have asserted that they have
been bitten that one cannot doubt the existence of the bloodsucking
bat. I myself saw vampires in Olinda ; they even came into my room,
but they could not have bitten me, even had they wished to do
so, as I slept under a mosquito-net. On the other hand, they did
draw blood from the backs of the donkeys in the stable ; the wounds

354

SNAKES AND BLOODSUCKERS

were visible in the morning; and two vampires were shot and
brought to me whose stomachs still contained blood.

As I have told in another chapter, I was always glad to see the
bats which came to my room to eat the cockroaches. They were
not, of course, so numerous as those which Bates saw at Para,
where the swarms of bats literally filled the air of his room and ex-
tinguished the lamps. At night the traveller was awakened by the
bats that were creeping all over his body, filling his hammock; he
caught as many as he could, and flung them against the wall;
nevertheless, in the morning he found a bite on his hip.

Other travellers too have told of bites on the throat, the breast,
the hips, or the toes. But these were always small and benign wounds,
and according to those best entitled to judge, the amount of blood
subtracted from horses and other domestic animals is not such as
to injure their health. According to the most recent information,
the bats which suck blood — that is, the Leaf-nosed Bats — are only
occasional bloodsuckers, their usual diet consisting of insects and
fruits. There are ninety species of bats in Brazil, which, by the exter-
mination of mosquitoes, the fertilization of certain flowers which have
adapted themselves to their visits, and the propagation of fruit-trees,
whose seeds they sow after eating their fruit, make themselves so
useful that one must not allow oneself to be prejudiced against them
by the few occasional bloodsuckers among them.

XX

THE BRAZILIANS

JO ROM my very first days in Brazil until my departure I always
felt at home in the country, and when, on returning from the
Argentine, I once more went ashore at Santos, and wandered at
will through the warm, fragrant air of the tropics, under the palms
and banana-trees, and between the pretty gardens and the pleasant
houses, meeting cheerful human beings of every shade of complexion,
I knew once more such a pleasant, comfortable feeling as when one
revisits intimate friends with whom one has lived as though in one's
own house.

And how comfortably I Hved, even in Brazil ! In my room in the
monastery of Olinda I sat at ease in my rocking-chair, book in
hand, cooled by the gentle breeze that blew from the luminous
green ocean, which ever and again attracted my gaze. Slowly the
great, glittering crowns of the coconut-palms waved against the blue
sky, and with silent, gliding flight the black vultures passed over
the garden.

In the Benedictine monastery at Rio I lived in a lofty cell with a
cross-vaulted ceiling. The great foursquare building rose from a
steep headland that ran out into the bay, so that as one wandered
along the wide verandah one could look out in three directions
over the bay with its islands, and the vessels entering and leaving,
and the picturesque girdle of beautiful mountains, until the sun
sank, and the coloured signal-lamps began to glow, while beaded
strings of light began to creep along the curves of the water-
front.

Inside the monastery a broad cloister, with its great pillars and
arches, surrounded a green garden of palm-trees in which the
orange plumage of the ibises glowed like flowers. A contrast to
these two old monasteries was off'ered by the modern "Sao Bento"
in Sao Paulo. The great facade, with its calm, rigid outlines, rises
from the busiest square of the city. At the back of the building
is a ravine, across which a viaduct flings its arches. All is airy and
modern; the gymnasium which has been built on to the main
fabric is bright and sunny, and is even provided with a swimming-
bath. But the whole is dedicated to the service of the church, with
its wall-paintings and its magnificent organ. The constant proximity

356

THE BRAZILIANS

of the church, which is an organic part of the monastery, and is,
so to speak, the beating heart of the foundation, makes a stay in
Sao Bento an intimately moving experience.

But I often stayed in private houses also, and my longest visit
was to the house of a fellow-German and his Portuguese wife, who
lived in Rio. From the rooms of this house one walked into a great
garden, which ran down a steep slope, and between the great green
leaves of the trees and bushes of the garden shimmered the blue
waters of Guanabara Bay. Here, while working on the lawn, I had
only to look up to deUght my eyes with the sight of the many-hued
butterflies or the glittering humming-birds. And in Pernambuco
and Parahyba I was often a guest in private houses. I stayed with
friends in the small country towns, with the manager of a cotton or
sugar factory, or with the owner of an engenho or fazenda. As a pleasant
climax to all this profuse hospitahty I spent six weeks in the spacious
home of a medical friend in Buenos Aires.

The more primitive the houses in which I stayed, the less influenced
by European civihzation, the more interesting I found them. The
hospitable manners of the old chivalrous Portugal were best preserved
in the tropical North-east, where they have blended with the equally
famed hospitality of the ancient lords of the land, the Indians.
In the quiet, free, unconstrained life of these parts of Brazil, far
from the bustle of modern life, the old customs have preserved a
youthful vitaUty which must always be attractive to a guest.

In the airy dining-room I would sit in lively conversation with
the master of the house. On my left stood a negro girl, whose duty
was to change our plates ; on my right the lady of the house. She did
not eat with us, for she was fully occupied in preparing my food for
me, in removing the bones from the fish and game, in selecting the
best cuts, and when I had finished one dish, in offering me the next.
Since in Brazil it is usual to eat three meat courses, followed by
sweets, fruit, and cheese with marmalade, and ending up with
black, sweet, fragrant coffee, one is in no danger of going hungry.
I always found the food most appetizing, for in the old-fashioned
Portuguese household there is invariably an excellent cook. The
country, too, offers a rich abundance of food : a wealth of delicious
fruits, lobsters, great prawns, game, and so forth. Sucking-pigs are
much appreciated, and of feathered game the "Peru" — that is the
turkey — holds the first place; it is commonly served with bacon

357

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

A national dish consists of a fowl cooked in its own blood, the meat
thereby becoming black. I have already mentioned the feijoada,
a stew of beans.

I always admired the Brazilian housewife when confronted by
the arrival of a number of guests. When I was travelling with the
Secretary of State in the interior of Parahyba, I found two acquain-
tances in the train, whom I introduced, and who were invited to
accompany us. They accepted the invitation, but remarked that
they were expecting to meet two friends at one of the next stations.
These two were invited to join us, and when at last we reached the
house of the young manager and his wife there were eight of us,
and we stayed for several days. In Brazil it is a simple matter to put
people up for the night. One is at first surprised to see two great
hooks hanging from the walls in each corner of every room, and
even in the drawing-room. They are not ornamental, but they
serve a useful purpose, since by means of these hooks hammocks
may be slung in the corners, so that a large number of guests can
be accommodated. At dinner the housewife goes from chair to chair,
or sits in her own chair, filling the plates, which are then carried
round by negresses. In many houses the whole black staflf of the
kitchen stands in the doorway, listening contentedly to the conversa-
tion, and watching the diners without any feeling of envy ; in others,
people even come and lean over the window-sills, neither asking for
anything to eat nor receiving anything, but joining in the con-
versation. Who or what they were I was never able to make out.

There is something free and unconstrained in the Brazilian's hospi-
tality which sets the guest at his ease. My friends in the city were
often visited by relatives while we were at table ; they settled them-
selves in the rocking-chairs and joined in the conversation. They were
free to eat with us if they chose ; that was regarded as a matter of
course ; there was no invitation, and no compulsion ; each did as he
pleased. I myself was welcome in this house at any hour ; I could
eat with my friends, or go into the garden, or play the piano, or
tilt myself to and fro in a rocking-chair and read; in short, they
allowed one to do as one pleased, and thereby exercised the
pleasantest form of hospitahty imaginable.

I used often to visit a Brazilian lady in whose house I felt
thoroughly at home — her son had made the passage out with me.
On my first visit I saw a coloured servant stirring maize porridge
over a coal fire, and learned that the stirring must be continued,
without interruption, for an hour. I marvelled at the endurance
358

THE BRAZILIANS

of the old negress, who had been in the house since the days of
slavery. When I returned to the house after a walk by the sea, I
found in my room a plate containing a sample of this porridge.
And often, if I took part in any festive gathering, flowers were sent
to me afterwards, or the best fruits were picked for me, so that I
realized that the true Brazilian puts his heart into his hospitality,
and is always thinking of what he can do to give his guest pleasure.
This hospitality, indeed, is exercised even by people who according
to our lights have no reason to show it. When I travelled by the
electric tramway from Olinda to Recife, and wished to pay my
fare, the conductor not infrequently informed me that it had already
been paid; and when I asked him who had paid it he replied that
it was paid by a gentleman sitting behind me, who had already got
out. The Brazilian who on entering a train or railway-carriage sees
an acquaintance sitting in front of him, or one whom he knows to
be — as I was — a guest of his country, has the courtesy to pay this
passenger's fare with his own. Even in the cafes my check was often
paid in this way, though I never knew who paid it. A Brazilian
would not think it becoming to light a cigar in a railway-carriage
without offering one to his neighbour.

When I asked myself why I found these manners so pleasant, it
seemed to me that they reminded me of the old days in my own
Fatherland, before the haste and bustle of to-day had come into
being, and when there was more room to move, so that such customs
were still possible. To live in Brazil was like living again in the
Germany or the Europe of a century or two ago !

Then with us too people had more leisure; life was not so noisy
and insistent in its demands, and the individual had not yet become
a mere cog-wheel in a great machine, unable to do much more
than reel off the work allotted to him.

In Brazil — and I am referring here to those regions that are
somewhat remote from the large centres which are in touch with
Europe — a man is something more, even in the eyes of the Govern-
ment, than a profession, or perhaps even a mere title. He is valued
as a personality, and his subsequent position, even if this be official,
depends very largely on whether his is a congenial character. It was
characteristic that when I received my appointment (as I was later
informed) some anxiety was expressed as to whether or not I was
married. In Brazil one simply has to be married; otherwise one

359

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

would be regarded with suspicion; people would think that there
must be something amiss ! In this respect I was able to fulfil my
hosts' expectations; but not, unfortunately, in another. At my age
a Brazilian is not only married, but has ten to sixteen children!
Here again old-world conditions prevail.

High officials are not addressed as "Privy Councillor" or "Excel-
lency," but by their Christian name and the title of Doctor. The
use of the Christian name is general ; a pleasant custom, for which
I have always envied the Russians, though they, of course, add the
father's name. In Pernambuco even the directory gave the Christian
names in alphabetical order. These are susceptible of greater
variation and more individual than the family names, and are so
chosen that they are not constantly recurring. I, of course, was
Dr. Conrado, and was always so addressed by planters, officials
and others, even on first acquaintance. If I went up the great public
staircase into the Government palace of Recife, I was free to enter
unannounced the room of the Secretary of State, whose doors,
like its windows, were always open. Behind his great desk sat the
Secretary ; I myself sat down on a sofa, which, as a rule, already
had one or more occupants ; coffee was served, and sooner or later
one was able to sit behind the desk by the Secretary's side and
discuss one's business with him. I often had occasion to admire the
uniform courtesy extended to one and all; this is a trait in which
the Brazilian is incontestably superior to the European. Even to the
beggar, if one cannot or will not give to him, one must apologize
with a "Desculpe" (Excuse me!). An acquaintance told me that he
was once talking to a beggar in Spain, when the man suggested
that they had better not stand in the sun, but go into a cafe. There,
however, the foreigner was not permitted to pay for the beggar,
or even for himself: to do so would have offended the beggar's sense
of honour.

The Brazilian is more sensitive and emotional than the European,
and the ill-success of diplomatists and persons who have a mission
to fulfil or wish to form connections in Brazil may often be explained
by their ignorance of this peculiarity. I know of many cases in
which a too openly displayed frigidity has meant failure to achieve
the ends desired. No South American will put up with superciliousness
or arrogance, and such qualities are quite out of place there. I have
known many men of sterling worth in Brazil, whose hearts were
full of kindness, and to whom envy and falsity were unknown;
more particularly, indeed, among the simple countryfolk. In South
360

THE BRAZILIANS

Pernambuco I was once three days in the company of a peasant-
farmer. He reminded me constantly of a knight or fidalgo of old,
with his noble features. His manner of expressing himself, and his
ideas, were in harmony with the outer man. Each day we ate our
lobsters together, and drank our coconut milk, and our farewell,
accompanied by the usual Brazilian embrace — the Brazilians lay
their arms round one another's shoulders and pat one another on
the back — was genuinely cordial. The unspoiled humanity which
one so often encounters in Brazil is one reason why one always feels
a certain longing to return thither.

The Brazilian has a great love of liberty ; he will stand no infringe-
ment of his rights, neither will he put up with insolence. This is
true even of the children. Corporal punishment of children is
unheard of, and one can see that it is never administered. There are
children in Brazil of incomparable charm and lovableness and
grace ; but they are, of course, more serious and precocious than
European children. The careless effervescence of youthful energy,
the joy in childish games, the confidence of our European children,
all of which often survive even in maturity, are much rarer in Brazil.
In many respects — for example, in their dramatic talent and their
skill in reciting — even the youngest Brazilian children are truly
astonishing. Expressive movement is of course natural in a country
where speech is so often supported or even replaced by gesture.
No Brazilian schoolgirl would recite a poem without appropriate
gestures.

Even the students of the School of Agriculture would suffer no
hard words, as a new teacher once learned to his cost, for he came
near to ruining the college. There was an army officer on the staff
of the college, who had to train the students as reservists during
their course. Even he addressed them always in amiable terms,
as a comrade; and there was a delightful scene when the students
left on the completion of their training ; the flag before which the
reservists took the oath of loyalty was held — a characteristic touch —
by a beautiful girl. The Brazilians are highly patriotic. The flag is
always saluted with uncovered head; all stand when the National
Hymn is played, and it may be played only on solemn occasions.

Another beautiful trait is the family loyalty of the Brazilians.
Poor relations are taken into the Brazilian home without hesitation ;
reverence is paid to parents, and the young people kiss even an
uncle's hand. Young girls are the object of special veneration, and
this gives them a more confident and friendly bearing towards the

361

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Other sex, which heightens the charm of the essentially attractive,
often extremely pretty, and always graceful young creatures. It is,
of course, a general practice to heighten the complexion with artificial
colour, and in the train from Sao Paulo one morning, as the dawn
was breaking after an all-night journey, I was able to witness this
process, and no one seemed to take exception to my presence. In
Brazil women have a better opportunity of dressing becomingly
than in Europe, as the climate always permits of thin clothes and
light colours, which suit their graceful figures. The "Gariocas," as
the ladies of Rio de Janeiro are called, are even able to leave their
houses in bathing-costume and cloak, and walk through the city,
or ride in the trams, and enter the water of the bay at some suitable
spot. The Brazilians are extremely decent when bathing, even in
the most secluded neighbourhoods; as regards the children this
virtue is sometimes carried almost to excess.

It is an old custom that a young man may not enter the house
of his beloved until he is betrothed to her; before this they may
converse over the garden hedge, but only at a becoming distance.
I was touched to see that even the servants follow this custom.
The black cook of one of my hosts received her admirer every
Sunday afternoon. The two conversed for hours, but she stood
always three yards inside the hedge, and he three yards outside,
A lady who had for years been a governess in the north of Portugal,
where similar customs prevail, told me that she once asked a lovable
old gentleman why he had never married. "I am hoarse," he
replied ; and when she gazed at him in astonishment, he explained :
"Yes, the lady I loved lived on the third floor, and she could not
hear what I said from that height."

Another most attractive characteristic of the Brazilians is their
quietude. People often scoff at the paciencia of the Brazilians ; and
in business life the prevalent use of this word may indeed have
unfortunate results. For myself, I grew accustomed to it. I remember
standing for half an hour beside the peasant-farmer of whom I have
spoken, before the door of our hut, while the horses were being
caught on which we were about to ride. "Leva, leva!" cried the
good man; in other words, "Catch him!" — and "Que diablo!"
each time a horse got away. Many a Brazilian would stand thus for
hours before he himself would lift a hand. One of the most frequent
gestures of the Brazilian is to hold out the hand with outstretched
fingers. It means : "Patience !"

But after all, in such a great and wealthy country as Brazil there

362

THE BRAZILIANS

is seldom need for extraordinary haste, and the climate is not
favourable to excessive speed or excitement. People always think
that the Southern peoples are more vivacious and even more noisy
than we are, but this is by no means the case. That great con-
noisseur of women, Maupassant, chose a thin Englishwoman when
he wished to describe a passionate type. The streets of the cities of
north-eastern Brazil are very much quieter than ours. There is no
pushing and elbowing when the electric trams stop to take on
passengers. Those waiting enter the tram as they stand in the queue.
There is no crowding at the booking-offices of the railway-stations
or the counters of the post-offices. In Recife the clerk of the post-
office was acquainted with me, and often entered into conversation
with me, but those waiting behind me never grew impatient. And
one day, when I was travelling by rail, a lady entered the carriage,
accompanied by a Httle boy who was holding a tin trumpet. The
child had no sooner sat down than he put the trumpet to his mouth
and blew it, with all the strength of his lungs, for a full hour (I timed
him by my watch). No one indignantly turned round to protest;
the child might have blown his trumpet for another hour if he had
not left the train. In Brazil people are allowed to do as they please ;
people are not so ready with prohibitions and demands as with us.
I feel inclined to advise nervous invalids to make a stay in Pernam-
buco or Bahia, as a cure.

Of course, the Brazilians have less excitement in their lives than
we have ; above all, there is no direct taxation ! Tariffs and customs
duties provide the revenue. The whole life of the country has given
the people a repose whose charm is doubled by their amiability.
For example, it is not usual to talk loudly in the electric trams;
a loud voice at once stamps the speaker as a foreigner. I was always
charmed by the repose of the great city of Recife, and especially
on travelling homewards, through the quiet night, by the electric
tramway, from friends who lived at a distance of about an hour
and a half. It is true that I often regretted the absence of music,
which one seldom hears among the people; and yet the calm sea
along the shore of OUnda, and the wide inlets which traverse Recife,
might have been made for boating trips with singing and the music
of guitars !

All the time I was in the North-east I never heard an angry
word, never witnessed a quarrel. It is true that I was living in
the peace of the cloister. And this peace accompanied me even in
the more vivacious and Europeanized South. Here I experienced

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NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

it all the more profoundly when I climbed the steps of my monastery
in Sao Paulo and opened the wrought-iron door, above which stood
the solemn word : Pax.

Even in Brazil, of course, life has its dark side. I myself witnessed
a military revolution in Sao Paulo, and I know there is much in
the system of government and other institutions which is in need
of improvement, and that in Brazil, as in other countries, politics
often arouse reprehensible instincts. And this wealthy country still
harbours much poverty and wretchedness. Whether one goes north
or south on leaving Recife, one passes through wide mangrove-
swamps, from which countless islands emerge, which are often so
small that they have room only for a negro's cabin, and at high
tide the hut alone stands out of the water. Nevertheless, in those
latitudes poverty has at least one advantage over her grey Northern
sister; no one suffers from cold, and clothes cost but little. The food
problem, too, is less serious ; fish and meat, and above all fruits, are
cheap; and in a high temperature less food is required than in
Europe.

Above all, the children of the poor have a better time in Brazil.
They are always in the open air, and know nothing of ill-ventilated
rooms or cellars. The naked negro urchin has quite a comfortable
time. And he is never thrashed ! After all, how should he be naughty?
He cannot tear and soil his clothes, for he has none, and there is
no fragile crockery, no windows to break; fever and other illnesses
are his only source of suffering.

The house of a field-worker, negro or otherwise, is quickly built.
A wooden framework is erected, and filled in with sun-dried bricks ;
the roof is thatched with palm-straw (Plate 24). The distribution
of the rooms is the same as in the houses of the small towns and
villages. The latter are built in terraces, and consist of a ground-
floor only. From the street one enters the "Sala d'espera" or
reception-room : two windows, right and left — unglazed, of course —
and the door in the middle ; and the door consists of two leaves,
so that the householder or housewife can lean over the half-door and
look out into the street. In this room is a table, with a row of chairs
on either side, and against the wall is a sofa. This arrangement is
made with a view to c ffec-drinking when callers drop in. From
the reception-room a passage leads to the back of the house. On
either side is a bedroom; the bedrooms have no windows, but they

364

THE BRAZILIANS

are not without light, as the rooms have no ceiHng, being covered
only by the common roof, from which a certain amount of light
is reflected into the rooms in the middle of the house. At the back
are the kitchen and the dining-room. The back yard is enclosed
by a closet and a room with a shower-bath, and a lean-to for the
mule or donkey. When I was in Pernambuco such a house cost
60 milreis (at that time 30s.) monthly, and could be bought for
3,000 milreis {£']^).

Living was not dear. I noted these prices in a small country
town (Rio Branco) : 36 eggs, a shilling ; milk, 2^ litres (over half a
gallon) for sixpence; five live young pullets, one and sixpence; a
kilogram of pork (about two and a quarter pounds), ninepence. In
the large towns food was of course dearer, and since I was in Brazil
prices have risen. But by planting fruit-trees, and especially banana-
plants, anyone can obtain food at little cost and with little labour.

Most of the towns and villages are provided with electric light,
and so abundantly that they are blazing with light all night. The
people light even the outside of the houses, and the churches are
picked out with lights at night. The governmental buildings are
kept in good repair, but the railway-stations, as a rule, leave much
to be desired. Very different were the delightful railway-stations in
Ceylon; these were little gems, with an incomparable display of
flowers, for which the Government offers annual prizes. And although
in the towns there are often very beautiful parks, the rural roads
lack the shade-trees which would complete the charm of the open
country. In this particular Ceylon is worth imitating. There the
country roads are shaded by a wonderfully beautiful tree, whose
branches extend, parasol-wise, far over the causeway, bearing an
open fohage of pinnate leaves, so that they give shade, and yet not
so much as to prevent the roadway from drying. At night the leaves
close, condensing the moisture of the atmosphere, shaking it off
when they open in the morning, and thereby equably sprinkling
the roadway. Ceylon has expended much labour on the planting
of these trees, but now, with their soft shade, through which the
sun casts splashes of light on the red surface of the roads, they
contribute essentially to the captivating charm of the green island.
And the comical thing is that the native home of these Guancos or
"rain-trees" is Brazil !

Nature, in giving the tropics the glowing heat of the sun, gave
also the means of mitigation. She has produced fig-trees that spread
their boughs horizontally, and over such a distance that they are

365

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capable of roofing a street, as one may see in Buenos Aires. Certain
Leguminosae — the "parasol" acacias, of which there are hundreds
of species — are still better adapted for planting in avenues ; their
boughs slant upwards on either side of the street, forming a sort
of Gothic vault ; and their foliage is deUcate, and not so dense as to
cast a deep shade and prevent a road-surface from drying. Europe
may well envy the tropics their shade-trees ! In Brazil their value is
as yet imperfectly reaUzed. One often sees avenues of King-palms,
but these give no shade ; they have a solemn and dignified appearance,
and the rows of their columnar stems have an architectural appear-
ance. The Australian Grevilleas and Eucalyptuses are out of place
in Brazil. Not so the Oitys, which are planted in many of the streets
of Sao Paulo.

Brazilian trees should be given the preference; they truly adorn
the landscape. The true-born children of the country are always in
tune with it. The best way of preserving the beauty of Brazil is to
be indefatigable in learning the lessons of Nature. Since the essential
character of the tropical forest is variety, so in making new planta-
tions many species of trees should be planted together.

In Brazil there is as yet little understanding of the value of a
loving respect for the beauty of the landscape. This struck me
especially in Petropolis. The little town is of course delightful, but
how much it would gain were the heights that overlook its streets
covered not with copsewood or "bush," but with the old, noble
virgin forest, made accessible by footpaths ! In whatever direction
one leaves Petropolis, the many bare heights strike a discord with
the rich articulation of the landscape, whose formation is faintly
reminiscent of the Black Forest; and even the planning of the
streets fails to harmonize with the structure of the landscape. On all
sides there are red embankments or cuttings, and even the houses
do not always grow harmoniously from the landscape. That acme
of tastelessness, the corrugated iron roof, is not seldom to be seen
in the loveliest surroundings, and even in the gardens !

Young copsewood, in Brazil, is often predominantly grey in
colour, and the uniform height of its foliage seems doubly unnatural
in a country of virgin forests. In Europe even the copses delight us
with their tender green; but in Brazil the vigorous, glossy, deep
green of the tropical forest appears only when the trees have grown
to a considerable height ; and one sees it in its perfection only when
trees of many species are growing together. Great bamboo thickets
are always pleasing as roadside hedges.
366

THE BRAZILIANS

Surfaces of broken turf, extensive quarries, and gaping wounds in
the red earth give the landscape a mean and infertile aspect; all
the more so as no luscious foliage fills the intervals with its verdant
veil. In Brazil, even more than in Ceylon, I always found that
the discords which man introduces into the landscape are sensibly
greater than in Europe. Land which is devoted to a single crop, and
cultivated solely with an eye to profit, or land which has already
been abandoned and is lying waste, may, if for hours it lies on either
side of the Une, make a railway-journey a positively painful ex-
perience. One breathes more freely when the train once more
passes a section of untouched forest. Cool, refreshing rain after long
drought is not more welcome.

For these reasons it is most important that the Brazilian Govern-
ment should create a special department for the preservation of
natural beauty. This should advise not only the rural authorities,
but also the cities. In some of the residential quarters the architects
have been guilty of positive orgies of building. Here stands a house
with Moorish arches and a turret, as though the owner had acquired
a harem ; beside it rises a Florentine palace, then a Roman dwelhng,
and an Old German timber-framed house. These harmonize neither
with one another nor with the capital of Brazil. What a different
aspect would Rio have worn had she adapted her architecture to
the incomparable landscape ! The best foundation for a harmonious
renaissance of the cities of Brazil is the simple, fine old Portuguese
Colonial style (Plate 32).

How often Brazilians have said to me, full of pride : "Isn't Sao
Paulo quite a European city?" I have always replied that it was
not desirable that Brazil should be an echo of Europe, but that one
would, on the contrary, have reason for pride if a Brazilian city
were genuinely Brazilian in appearance, and as little European as
possible. For Brazil has a personality of its own, and the value of
this personality is such that it ought to be stamped upon the whole
country.

If we compare Brazil with Germany, we note the following points
of difference :

The German people has been settled for thousands of years on
its own soil. From the German forest it emerged into the light of
history; in the forest its personality and its character were formed.
The forests and rivers, the mountains and valleys of the Fatherland

367

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

were the environment and formed the actors of the German sagas
and folk-tales ; in the folk-songs of our people we hear the rustle
of our trees and the song of our birds ; and even our German folk-
lore and art and architecture evolved in contact with Nature, and
the more homegrown they were, the more harmonious were the
forms which they assumed. Thus, in Germany Nature and the
people have always been united; their relation has been like that
of mother and child, and to this relation we owe the best that is
in us, the best that we have achieved.

There have indeed been seasons of estrangement from Nature ;
we are passing through such a period even now; and there have
always been times when German art was at its feeblest. But the
whole inheritance of native art and culture is still ours, and in all
parts of Germany, despite much destruction, Nature, the eternally
youthful, still survives, with her rustling forests, her flower-bedecked
meadows, and the song of her birds. And there have been and will
always be those among us to whom the emergence of all that is
truly German from the German land itself was and will always be
a thing to remember, a thing to hold fast; those who will hand on
this inheritance from the days of old to the generations yet to come.

It is otherwise in Brazil. Modern Brazil is not evolving in a living
relation to the Brazil of antiquity. There is a great rift in the history
of the country: the year 1500. The old immemorial evolution was
suddenly cut short; the new is the child of an alien hemisphere,
which has transplanted its achievements in a foreign continent
without seeking to achieve an organic relation to the country. Thus,
the architecture introduced was Baroque: a style born of the
European spirit, which had neither time nor opportunity to make
itself at home in a land of such alien character.

More : the new arrivals, the white conquerors of America, had
no intention of creating a new home ; for them the newly-discovered
country was a land of colonies, which they sought to exploit with
all possible speed, in order to return home with their gains, and
consume them in Europe. And even to-day this point of view is by
no means extinct in South America. Even to-day there are many
who regard the country merely as an object of exploitation, and
who seek their pleasures in the great cities of Europe, or in those
South American cities which are striving to form themselves on the
European pattern.

A third injury is inflicted by the accelerated tempo of the century.
The new-comer feels that he has no time to naturalize himself in
368

Plate XXXII

THE OLDEST HOUSE IN BRAZIL, PARAHYBA

A HOUSE IN RECIFE

THE BRAZILIANS

the country, to become a living part of it ; and many things which
were perhaps worthy to strike root in the soil are swept away by
their successors. The growth of the cities is proceeding at such a
pace that men are forced to build where and how the opportunity
offers. In Sao Paulo a house is finished every hour. Thus, even in
such a vast country as Brazil, too hasty settlement and too rapid an
increase of the population are deepening the gulf between Nature
and human activities.

Once — namely, before the close of the fifteenth century — this was
otherwise. Then America had her own people, which, having sprung
from her soil, had evolved, and developed its culture, in intimate
relation with its natural environment. That the Indians were
capable of building up a high civilization they showed in Peru and
in Mexico. In the La Plata Museum (Plate 26) I saw a collection
of vases found in the province of Catamarca, in Northern Argentina,
whose refinement of form and nobiUty of design were worthy of
all admiration. The more we learn of the ancient Indian civilization,
the more intolerable is it to remember that the crushing of this
civilization by the conquerors has deprived us of a promising and
irretrievable bough of the tree of human evolution, and robbed us
too of the harmonious evolution of the continent from the soil of
its own past.

From this point of view I am forced to regret that Columbus ever
discovered America. If only the Europeans had arrived a few
centuries later they would have been readier to receive the treasures
offered them, and the Indians might have been able to develop
their States and their defences to such a point as to retain their
country for themselves. America would then indeed have been a
New World for us, an individual work of art, and would have
exerted a fascination equal to that of India, which, as I myself have
often felt, does not excel Brazil in natural beauty, but only in the
fact that the works of man have in the course of the centuries har-
moniously taken their proper place in the landscape, down to the
cultivated fields, the cities, and the people themselves, with their
clothes and their customs. All these are Indian, and so the impression
produced by the whole is individual and consistent.

It will be objected that the civihzation of the Brazilian natives
was by no means equal to that of Peru and Mexico. But who can
say that a people has not the power of evolving? As a forest folk,
the Indians of Brazil had as little reason as the Germans to erect
buildings of stone. As regards their character and their abilities,

2 A 369

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

such an expert as Koch Griinberg gives a favourable enough report ;,
and of the Guarani Indians both history and Hterature record
much that is commendable. Of their love and care of animals
I spoke in my eleventh chapter; as regards their knowledge of
Nature, H. von Ihering writes : "Just as the North American Indian
attracts our attention by the skill in tracking and the sensitive
powers of observation which guide him when on the war-path, or
hunting, so the Tupis and Guaranis are deserving of our interest,
and even our admiration, by reason of their thorough knowledge of
the flora and fauna of the country."

Even to-day every visitor to Brazil will be forced to acknowledge
the Indians' subtle understanding of the Brazilian flora and fauna
if he will consider the significance of the names which the majority
of animals, plants, rivers and mountains bear as their Indian
inheritance. Like the faint echo of harpstrings these names tell
us of the lovable people who were once the rulers of the beautiful
land, and at the same time its children, born of its womb.

More than a hundred years ago Brazil underwent yet another
transformation, and this was like the rising of a sun, that throws its
beams far into the future. Brazil is now no colony, but an independent
State. The Brazilian people have taken their destiny into their own
hands; everywhere one meets with signs of fresh developments;,
from year to year the prospects of agriculture, industry, trade,
communications, science and art become more full of promise;
in short, all is prospering. The Brazilian loves the country; many
of the townspeople are endeavouring to settle in the rural districts ;
and I met landowners who assured me that they were preparing
to make their estates their home, and to regard them not only as
a business venture, but as a recreation. Such landowners are the
best of all citizens.

No one who visits Brazil will have doubts as to the future of the
State. Brazil is one of the four empires of the earth which can
produce within their own limits all that they require. I took some
pains to convince myself that the people were everywhere doing
their utmost to make themselves independent of the outer world ;
and I must say that my experimental purchases of Brazilian body-
linen, clothing, and "National silks," were entirely satisfac-
tory. In view of this progressive transformation Europe should
avoid still further increasing her industries. The world's face is

370

THE BRAZILIANS

changing, and the sooner people adapt themselves to this change
the better.

But as history teaches us, the increasing wealth of a people by
no means safeguards its future. More important is the physical and
spiritual power that such a people draws from its country. Such a
power is a living force, and like all living things, it evolves, organically,
from its environment. Brazil must create her own, home-grown
civilization, and in order to do this she must re-knit the threads
which were broken at the time of the conquest, and bind the new
Brazil with living bonds to the old Brazil of thousands of years ago.

This is by no means a hopeless task; on the contrary, its solution
is already silently taking shape. In Rio, August Herborth has
endeavoured to awaken interest in the ancient Indian art by his
Deutsch-Brazilianischen Illustrierten (Hamburg). He believes that this
art, which was born of an incredibly rich imagination in the inven-
tion of forms and motives — he has already classified 700 different
elements — may now be destined to initiate a new period of national
Brazilian art. The virgin forest was the cradle of this art ; and thus
we see that many departments of human activity, all rich in promise
for the future, are united at their source — which is Nature. In this
connection we find that the Indian names of natural objects form
a connecting-link with the days of old, and so do many of the
customs which have come down to the Brazilian people of to-day,
and so does the blood which the present owners of the country
have inherited from its ancient lords. The Secretary of State of
Parahyba told me that the blood of all three races flowed in his
veins; and he added that it should interest me, as a naturalist, to
know that Brazil's solution of her racial problem differs from that
adopted by other countries. In North America the gulf between
black and white is deliberately kept open, and since the negroes are
multiplying rapidly, there might in time be a fight for supremacy.
In Brazil the black race would be gradually and peaceably absorbed,
since it would receive no fresh recruits. As a matter of fact, I was
able to observe all the stages of this process. The last vestiges of
negro forefathers, as I was able to observe for myself, are often the
slightly protruding eyes and the frequent, open-throated laugh.
Even among the half-castes, the mulattoes, and still more frequently
among the "Morenas," who have one-fourth part, or even less, of
black blood in their veins, there are individuals of great physical
beauty, especially of the female sex, whose large black eyes and
absolutely flawless and beautifully coloured brown skin make a

371

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

profound impression on the beholder. And whatever one's attitude
may be to the racial problem, since Brazil is for the most part a
tropical country, and since of all races the black is best adapted to
life in the equatorial zone, who knows but what the black element
is essential to the future of the Brazilian people ?

But far more abundantly than negro blood the blood of the
Indians flows through the veins of the Brazilian people; in some
regions indeed the latter seems to be reverting to the Indian type.
For this the climate may be in part responsible. Indian forefathers
are by no means regarded with distaste; indeed, as in Spanish
America, many old families point with pride to the Indian chieftains
in their family tree.

As Jose de Alencar, in his admirable works, gave new life to the
old Brazil and its Indian inhabitants, so, it is to be hoped, the pithy
Indian tales of animals may become better known to the children
of to-day. Above all, may the love of Nature of these old rulers of
the land be awakened, with equal vitality, in the hearts of the present
inhabitants ! Then Brazil will cherish its own beauty ; for the people
that has learned to find happiness and wisdom in Nature will not
fail to protect her. The best security for the future is a genuine love
of one's homeland. Lastly, commerce with Nature can but ennoble
a people, for the heart that beats in sympathy with each lovable
living creature increases its power of loving, and the harmony of
Nature clears the vision for the eternal values.

With such wishes for the future of Brazil I will close this book.
These wishes I expressed also in the lectures which I ventured to
give in Brazil as I improved my knowledge of the Portuguese
language. And by such hints I believe I am repaying my amiable
hosts more effectively than by the fact that I helped them in their
campaign against a few of their agricultural pests.

INDEX

Abacate, Persea gratissima (Lauraccae), 139

Abacaxi or Pineapple, Ananas sativus (Bromeliaceae), 107, 140

Abrolhos, the, 31

Acacias, 366

Acara or Chanchito, Cichlasoma facetum, 274

Actaeon, Megasoma actaeon, 279

Aden, 48

"Aeroplane butterflies," 217-20

Agave. The native Agave, which is cultivated in plantations, is Fourcroya foetida.
The leaves, after crushing, maceration, washing and drying, yield the aloe
fibres which are sometimes known to commerce as "Mauritius hemp," as
the Agave is extensively cultivated in Mauritius. Fibres are obtained also
from the great Mexican Agave, the Sisal Agave, and the Maguey Agave
(Agave americana). These fibres are used for making ships' cables, ham-
mocks, sacking and other textile fabrics, and the useful varieties of Agave
are cultivated in all parts of the tropics. The Agave Americana is widely
distributed as an ornamental plant, and since it is able to endure a certain
amount of frost, it has become so common in Italy that on the Riviera the
green tuft of leaves, from the midst of which the tall inflorescence rises into
the air, has become a characteristic plant. 1 16

Ageronia, see Rattle-Butterfly.

Agouti, see Cutia.

Agrias, 217

Alarm frog, Hyla crepitans, 1 1 6

Albatross, 49-50

Alligator, see Caiman.

Alma do gato, see Anum.

Aloe, see Agave.

Alto da Serra, 91, 98, 106, 108, 199

Amazon Parrot. The yellow-faced species is Amazona ochrocephala ; the blue-
faced, Amazona aestiva. The all-green bird with a fine red on the back
between the wings is Amazona festiva. 125

Ameixas, 136

Anaconda, see Sucury.

Ananas, see Abacaxi.

Anartia, 217

Andaassu, Joannesia princeps (Euphorbiaceae), 68

Androgynous flowers, 231

Angelim. There is sweet Angelim, Angelim doce (Andira fraxinifolia), and bitter
Angelim, Angelim amargoso (Andira anthelmintica). The wood of the
latter is so bitter that if one saws it the bitter taste lingers in one's mouth
for days (Leguminosae). 77

Angico, Piptadenia colubrina, and P. rigida, 68

Animal Geography, R. Hesse, Tiergeographie auf okologischer Grundlage. Jena, 1924,
Z. Dahl, Grundlagen einer okologischen Tiergeographie, Jena., 1921. Th. Arldt,
Die Entwicklung der Kontinente und ihrer Lebewelt, Leipzig, 1907. R. v. Ihering,
Archhelenis und Archinotis, heipTAg, 1907-13. 138-61

Anona. Several species: Pinho (Anona squamosa), Ox-heart, Coragoa de boi or
Fructa de conde (Anona reticulata), Cherimolia (Anona cherimolia), also

373

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

known as Queen-heart. Lastly, Guanabano or Sapadilla (Anona muricata).
Anonaceas, 139

Ants. The most recent authority is Professor A. Forel, Le monde social des fourmis,
Geneva, 192 1-3. See also K. Escherich, Die Ameise, Brunswick, 191 7; M.
Wheeler, Ants, New York, 1913; and Wasmann, Das Gesellschaftsleben der
Ameisen, Munich, 1915. For Brazil, Th. Borgmeier, Estados tnyrmecologicos.
S. Paulo, 1922. 195-6, 303-24

Ant-acacia, Acacia sphaerocephala, 319-20

Ant-birds, Formicariidae. Very numerous and useful birds, like the dark blue
Choca (Thamnophilus coerulescens), Papaformigas (Formicovora rufa),
Fire-eye, Papataoca (Pyriglena atra and leucoptera), Galinha do matto
(Formicarius ruficeps). 196, 314

Anteaters. The Great Anteater, Tamandua-bandeira (Myrmecophaga tridactyla),
the Lesser Anteater, Tamandua (Tamandua tridactyla), and the Small
Anteater, a climbing animal with prehensile tail, Tamandua-i (Cyclopes
didactylus), 169-70, 182

Ant-gardens, of Azteca, Ulei olitrix, Traili, Camponotus femoratus, Crematogaster
limatus. The plants are mostly Bromeliaceae and Gesneriaceae. — See Ulele,
Die Ameisen-gdrten im Amazonasgebiet. Englers hot. Jahrbuch, 1902. 318-19

Ant-head Flies, see Flies, 316

Ant-Imbauba, 319

Antler Fern, Platycerium. Some of the Polypodia too develop special leaves and
form "flowerpots." 109

Ant-purses in the Melastomaceae, Marita, Myrmedone, Tocaca, 319-20

Ant-Wasps, Mutillae. In Sao Paulo, Mutilla cephalotes, reminiscent of the Sauva
ants, 281-2

Anum. The black bird is Crotophaga ani ; the spotted bird is Guira guira. The
Almo do gato is Piaya cayana. These cuckoos do not lay their eggs in
other birds' nests ; they incubate them, sometimes in communal or social
nests, 154, 258

Aphides, 282

Apocephalus, 316

Ara^a do Brejo, see Posoqueria.

Araceae, Caladium bicolor, marmoratum and pictoratum, 102

Arapa^u, Tree-creeper, Dendrocolaptes picumnus, do bico curvo (with curved
bill), Xiphorhynchus falcularius, 161, 175

Arapaima or Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas), 176

Araponga, also Ferreiro, Procnias (Chasmorhynchus) nudicoUis, snow-white with
green throat, more common in the South; Ch. variegatus with brown
wings in the North, 250

Araucaria, Pinheiro, Araucaria brasiliana. In the cones are seeds as large as
almonds, which when cooked taste like chestnuts. Swine are fattened in
the araucaria woods. The two other Conifers of Southern Brazil are
Podocarpus Sellowii and P. Lamperti, whose "needles" are so broad that
they may be regarded as leaves. The needles of Sellowii are reminiscent
of willow-leaves, 85, 134

Ariraba, Centrolobium tomentosum, 68

Aristolochia gigantea. The bloom of A. ornithocephala is like a bird's head. The
root-stock of A. anguicida, "Snake-killer," is given as an antidote to snake-
bite. A. brasiliensis is called Milhome, and A. cymbifera Jarrinha, 236, 239

Armadillos, Tatii verdadeiro (Tatus novemcinctus), Tatu do sul (Dasypus sex-
cinctus), Tatu bola (Tolipeutes tricinctus), and the rare, large Tatii canas-
tra (Priodontcs giganteus), 169-70, 182

374

INDEX

Artichoke, Topinambur (Helianthus tuberosus). From North America (Com-

positae), 144
Arums (Araceae), 82, 239
Asparagus Beetle, Crioceris asparagi, in Java C. subpolita. Hesse's calculations

concerning, 1 63
Assude, storage-tank, 129 «

Aztec ants, 318-20
Azure bindweed, Thunbergia azurea grandiflora (Acanthaceae). Also Ipomoea

caerica and I. purpurea (red). (Convolvulaceae), 97, 98

Bactris. The fruits of these palms are edible. The Maraja is Bactris Maraja. The
Pupunha-palm (B. or Guilielma speciosa) is cultivated by the Amazon
Indians, its fruits being roasted like our chestnuts, 84

Bacurdu, see Nightjars.

Bagre = Catfish. The Incubating Catfish is Arius commersoni.

Bahia, 26, 30, 31, 47

Bahia morpho, see Morpho bahiana.

Baixada, 71

Ball-nested Wasps, Polybia scutellaris and micans. The wasp with the bag-
shaped nest is Polybia rejecta, 293-4

Balsam plum, see Caja.

Bamboo Palm, Palmeira bambu, Areca lutescens. The Raffia Palm, which occurs
in Africa and about the mouths of the Amazon, is likewise known as a
Bamboo Palm. — These palms have only a short stem, or even none, but
the leaves grow to a length of 60 feet and more ; they are the longest leaves
known. 135

Bamboos, 82

Banana (Musa sapientum and paradisiaca, Musaceae), probably from India.
The Dwarf Bananas, about six feet in height (M. Cavendishi) come from
South China. 121, 14 1-2

Banana do brejo, see Monstera.

Banyan, 78-9

Barata, cockroach, Periplaneta americana, 28

Barata do mar, Rock- or Water-louse, Ligia, related to the Wood-louse; a crus-
tacean, 47

Barba do velho, see Greybeard.

Barbeiro, see Wedgenosed Bug.

Bark-bug, Phloea corticaria, 224, 287

Barriguda, Chorisia ventricosa. Another species is known as Paina de seda, the
seeds being embedded in a silky cotton. These trees belong to the Silk-
Cotton trees (Bombaceae), 122

Batata doce or Sweet Potato, Ipomoea batatas (Convolvulaceae), from Central
America. The Batata has to some extent replaced the culture of a similar
tuberous plant, which is related to the Irises, the Yam (Dioscorea triloba,
bulbifera and others ; Dioscoreaceae) . The Batata ingleza is our Potato,
Solanum tuberosum. 143

Bat-fish (Malthidae), 47

Batrachians, 17

Bats, bloodsucking, see Vampires. The bats which fly over the water and catch
fish and shrimps belong to the genus Noctilio (leporinus). 59, 354-5

^'Batumen," 299

Bauhinia (Leguminosae), 81, 95—6

375

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Bean, Black, Feijao preto, Phaseolus derasus (Leguminosae), from America, 142

Beard Aztec (ant), 320

Bees, Brazilian, Melipona. Names of some of the Brazilian bees are : the "Eye-
lickers," Lambe olhos, M. Duckei and others ; the Lemon Bee, Limao,
Iraxim, M. hmao; the "Fire-biter," in Brazilian Cagofogo, a bee with a
painful bite, M. tataira ; Jaty, M. jaty ; Bora, M. clavipes ; Jatahy mosquito,
M. mosquito; Sloth-bee, Pregui9a, M. Butteli; Mandaguary, M. coerulea;
Cupira, in termitaries, M. cupira ; the Dog-bee, Cachorro, M. argentata
and fulviventris ; Irapuan, M. ruficrus ; Irussii mineiro, M. subterranea ;
Urussu, M. scutellaris; Mandary, M. interrupta; Mandassaia, M. anthi-
dioides. — See J. v. Ihering, Biologic der stachellosen Bienen Brasiliens. ^ool.
Jahrbiicher, Abteilung Systematik, 1903; A. Ducke, Die Stachellosen Bienen
Braziliens, ibid., 1925, 126, 289-90, 294-302

Bee-ants, Camponotus abdominalis, 301

Beetles, 176, 227

Begonia, 98

Bemtevi, Pitangus sulphuratus Maximiliani, 59, 161, 195, 196, 250, 310

Benedictine monastery, Olinda, 21, 27-8, 356

Benjamin fig, 79

Bicho berne, Dermatobia hominis, 350

Bicho de pe, see Sand-flea.

Bell-bird = Araponga.

Bignoniaceae, a family consisting chiefly of tropical plants. In Europe the Catalpa
(C. bignonioides), with its huge heart-shaped leaves and beautiful rosy-
white flowers, has been introduced from the Southern regions of North
America; and so has the Trumpet-flower (Tecoma radicans), a creeper
which, like ivy, climbs by means of rootlets, and bears handsome red
flowers. In Brazil the family is represented by the Jacaranda, the Pau
d'arco or Bow-wood tree, and the Ipe, 70

Bird's-nest Fern, Asplenium nidus, forms a sort of crater for the collection of
humus with its close-fitting fronds, 109

Bird-spider, Carangue jeira. The black species is Grammostola actaeon ; in the
forest I saw the brown Lasiodora, hurrying over the ground like a little
hairy bear. 284-5

Bishop's Heliconia (Heliconia episcopalis), one of the Musaceae. The handsome
flowers open in succession, from below upwards, 74

Bladder-kelp or bladder-v^rack, Fucus, 55

Bladder wort, Utricularia nelumbifolia (Lentibulariaceae), 108

Blue Raven, Cancao or Urraca, Cyanocorax cyanopogon, 125, 196

Boa constrictor, see Giboya.

Bombycidae, 226, 279

"Bond," the, 26

Borboleta, Hedychium coronarium. Borb. amarella, Hed. flavescens, from
Southern Asia, has run wild in Brazil (Zingiberaceae), 71

Boto, 49

Bo-tree, Ficus religiosus, 81

Bougainvillea, Primavera, 238

Bow-wood tree, see Pau d'arco, 70

Brassolis astyra, a Butterfly, related to the Morphidae, 154, 191, 193

Braiina, Melanoxylon brauna (Leguminosae), 77

Brazilian broom, Bacharis genistaloides, 347

Brazil-nut tree, BerthoUetia excelsa (Lecythidaceae), 77

Brazil-wood, Pau brasil, Caesalpinia echinata, 76

INDEX

Breadfruit tree, Arctocarpus incisa, from upper India and the East Indies, and
naturalized by the natives of Polynesia, where it is possible to live almost
entirely on this fruit. 80, 143

Brehm's Tierleben, 4th ed., Leipzig, 191 8

Brejo, 115

Brenthidae, Weevils, 227

Bromelias. Aregalia princeps; the inner side of the leaves is red. In A. nidularium
the rosette is marked with red. The Coral Bromelia is Aechmea fulgens
discolor. Vriesea psittacina and V. carnata have red flowers. The Rock
Bromelia, Gravata de pedra, is Aechmea nudicaules. 102, 106-110, 121,

19O5 239

Bronze Bees. The genus Euglossa, with a suctorial proboscis whose length exceeds
that of the body, which has a splendid metallic lustre, usually green, 207

Bronze Wasps, Chalcidinae. In Southern Brazil and Paraguay, Phlebopenes
splendidulus, with blue head and thorax, copper-red abdomen, with
blackish-green tip; in Sao Paulo, Smicra bergi, 207, 283

Brood, care of and forethought for, 266 et seq.

Bugs, Persevejos (Hemiptera), 207, 224-5, 35^

Bumble-bees, Mamangaba, Bombus cayennensis and carbonarius; the strong-
smelling species B. violaceus, 295

"Bundle-nester," see Curutid and Turucuhe.

Burity, Mauritia vinifera (Pahnae), is used for making wine. The fruit has a
handsomely ridged rind, 84

Burnet-moths, Zygaenidae and Syntomidae. The moth mimicking a wasp is
Trichura caudata, 221-2

"Bush cables," 94

Bush-knife, 97

Butantan, 345-8

Cabochinho, Sporophila nigroaurantia, 257

Caboclo, 1 1 9

Cabo Frio, 33

Cacao, Theobroma cacao (Sterculiaceae), 80, 146

Cacti ; Chandelier cactus or Facheiro, Cereus candelabriformis ; Chique-chique,
Cereus setosus; Fig Cactus, Prickly pear, Opunta brasiliensis, O. mono-
cantha, and other species ; Melon Cactus, or Coroa de frade, Melocactus
communis. 105-6, 120-1, 126, 241

Cagasebito, Polyoptila livida, a pretty black and white bird, 153

Cajd. Cajd manga, Spondias dulcis, from Polynesia ; Caja mirim, Spondias lutea,
a native of America and West Africa (Anacardiaceae), 137-8

Cajii, see Cashew.

Caiman. America is the land of Alligators and Caimans; Crocodiles are found
only in Central America and the northern part of South America, parti-
cularly the Orinoco, where the Crocodilus americanus is found. Humboldt
measured a specimen which was over 16 feet in length, and Bonpland one
nearly 23 feet in length. In the south-east of the United States the Missis-
sippi Alligator has its home. It is bred in Florida for the sake of its skin. Of
the South American Caimans the Black Caiman (Caiman niger), the
Spectacled Caiman (Caiman sclerops) and the common Jacare (Caiman
latirostris) are the most frequently seen. 59-61, 190

Caladium, 82

Caligo, 183, 191

377

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Camarao, prawns, which swim or bury themselves in the sand ; they are larger than
the European prawns (Palaemon potitinga, Macrobrachium and Penaeus
brasiliensis). In fresh water, Palaemon jamaicensis. Before the discovery of
Brazil whole tribes of Indians lived on prawns, which they called "Poty." 47
Cambara, Lantana mista (Verbenaceae), 155-6
Campeche, Haemotoxylon campecheanum (Leguminosae), 77
Campina grande, 1 18-20
Campos, 1 14

Canary, Canario do Ceard, Sicilis flaveola. Fringillidae, 189, 248
Candiru, 176
Canella commum, Ocotea variabilis; Can. oarda Nectandra puberula (Laura-

ceae), 77
Cangamba, see Skunk.
Caninanha, Phrynonax sulphureus, 343-4

Canna or Flowering Rush; the yellow Canna is C. lutea, the orange-red, C.
indica, gigantea and speciosa. Cannaceae, related to the Bananas (Musa-
ceae), not to the Liliaceae, 238
Caoutchouc tree, 68
Cape pigeon, Daption capensis, 50
Capim, see Grass.
Capoeira, 1 15
Capricornidae, 221, 227

Capucin monkeys : Cebus capucinus from Guayana, Cebus apella, Cebus fatuellus,
Cebus cirrifer, and Cebus azarae from Brazil, where they are known as
Macaco Prego, Mico de Tapete, and Caiarara, 174, 267
Capyvara, Spanish Carpincho, Hydrochoerus capybara ; fortunately for the
animal, the flesh is not good eating; but the skin is used by saddlers. 58,
172, 201
Caracara or Carancho, Polyborus tharus, 127
Carangeijo = Crab.

Carapicho, Cenchrus echinatus, tribuloides and others (Gramineae), 124.
Caravella (Physalia arethusa), one of the Hydromedusae, really belongs to the
social polyps (Siphonophores). All the polyps of the colony are connected
by a system of ducts. The symbiotic fish is Nomeus gronovii, 43-5
Cardboard Ants, see Pasteboard Ants.
Cariri, 120

Carnauba or Carnaubeira. Copernicia cerifera (Palmae), 12 1-2
Carnivora, 127-8, 177
Carpenter-Bee, see Wood Bee.
Carrapatos, see Ticks.

Carrixa or Cambaxirra, Troglodytes musculus, 22, 28, 255
Caruaru, 53, 11 7- 18
Cascavel, see Snakes, Venomous.
Cashew, 40-1, 82-3
Cassava, 143

Cassia obovata, also introduced into India; Cassia grandis, Mari-Mari (Legumi-
nosae), 98, 239
Cassidinae, 203

Castor-oil plant, Ricinus, Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae), 156
Catfish, see Bagre. The Surubi pintado is a Catfish over 6 feet in length ; another
Catfish is the Jahii (Paulicea lukeni) ; the Armoured Catfish is Callichthys
pictus, and the brood-rearing Catfish is Arius commersoni, 275-6
Cat-frog, Phyllomedusa Iheringi and other species, 272

INDEX

Catingas, 114

Catingeiro, or Capim gordura, or Capim mellado, Melinis minutiflora, of African

origin, cultivated as forage, and also common in the wild state (Grami-

neae), 133
Cat's-claws, Bignonia unguiscati and B. argyro violacea (Bignoniaceae), 93-4
Caua, Urubutinga urubutinga, a black bird of prey with white rump, 216
Cavallo do cae, see Hornets.

Caviidae, to which the Cutias and Capyvaras belong, 172
Cavy, wild, Preya Cavea aperea ; the Moco (Cerodon spixi) is rather larger ; in

the rocks, Cerodon rupestris. 127
Caxas, 150

Ceara = Caoutchouc ; see Manitoba.
Cedro, Cedrella odorata (Meliaceae), 77

Centropogon surinamense (Campanulaceae), 239 '

Cereals: Wheat, Trigo, Triticum sativum; Oats, Aveia, Avena sativa; Barley,

Cevada, Hordeum sativum, 145
Cereus, 241

Ceylon, 25, 26, 38, 60, 79, loi, 114, 121, 131, 155-6, 250, 253, 327, 330, 346, 365
Chacaras, 145

Chagas, see Wedge-nosed Bug.
Chameleao, 59
Characinidae, 175-6
Checheou. A large, handsome bird, black and yellow. Cassicus persicus, or C.

cela. In Southern Brazil there is a bird about half as large, Cassicus chry-

sopterus, known as Melro. 59, 216, 256
Cherimolia, see Cacti.

Chicken-eating snake, Spilotes pullatus, 343
Chinchilla, Chinchilla brevicaudata and C. laniger, 173
Chique chique, see Cacti.
Chrysomelidae, 203
Cicada, Cigarra, in Brazil the genera Tibicina and Zamara predominate, 86-7,

183, 225, 251-2
Cipo tape, 98
Cipos — Lianas, 88, 97
Clamatores, 253
Climate, 64-5
Climbing Bamboos. Various species: Athrocstachys capitata, Merostachys Kun-

thiana, Guadua, and ArthrostyUdium. See Schenck on Lianas. 91
CUmbing Ferns. The Lygodiae are principally confined to the Old World, but

they occur also in America, and even overflow the tropical zone. The

Japanese Climbing Fern is cultivated as an indoor plant. In the Lyg.

articulatum of New Zealand the climbing stem reaches a length of

100 feet. 9 1
Climbing Grass, see Scleria.
Climbing Palms, 91
Clover, dependent on bees, 233
Clubfoot, Oedipoda, Locust, 261
Coata, 175
Coati, 178-9

Cobra, see Snakes ; Cobra cipo, see Liana-snake, 346
Cobra das duas cabegas, see Two-headed Snake.

Cockchafer ; the golden species is Plusiotes ; a nocturnal insect, and rare, 207
Cockroach, Green, Panchlora viridis, 287

379

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Coconut-palm, Cocos nucifera, 38-40

Cocoon, 279

Coffee, Cafe, Coffea arabica, liberica and others (Rubiaceae), 147-8

Coffee-beetle, Stephanoderes coffeae (Bruchidae), 149

Coffee-fungus, Ceylon coffee-leaf disease ; Hemileia vastatrix, 148

Coffee-scale, Cerococcus parahybensis, 149

Coffer-fish, 46

Colaenis, 217

Conrmelina deficiens, belong to the Commelinaceae, to which the "Jew's beard,"
Tradescantia, whose leaves resemble those of Commelina, likewise belongs,
240

Condor, 54

Conifers. In Southern Brazil there are three conifers, Araucaria brasiliensis and
two Podocarpi, P. Lamberti and P. Sellowii, in which the "needles" are
flat, with midribs, and in the latter tree so large that they remind one of
willow-leaves. 85

Copra, 40

Coracao de boi, see Anona.

Coral Snake, Cobra corral. The venomous forms are Elaps corallinus and E.
frontalis ; the non-venomous forms are Erythrolamprus Aesculapii and
Oxyrhopus trigeminus, 342

Corcovado, 36, 134

Coroa de frade, see Cactus.

Cotinga or Anambe, Cotinga cincta, a glorious blue v^dth violet throat and violet
stripes over the belly, 1 75

Cotton, Algodao, Gossypium (Malvaceae). In Brazil, Gossypium barbadense,
hirsutum, Brasiliensis and their hybrids. No less than 40 species are dis-
tinguished, of which 7 are wild in Australia and the Polynesian Archi-
pelago; the others are native to Upper India, California, Mexico, Yucatan
and Brazil. The West-Indian cotton is G. barbadense, from which the
perennial variety, "Moco," is derived. The crude cotton, G. hirsutum, also
known as "Upland Cotton," comes from Mexico ; it is cultivated chiefly in
the Southern United States. It is an annual ; it is cut down at harvest-time
and replanted each year. Two-thirds of the world's cotton-crop is yielded
by this plant. Cotton is recorded as having been first cultivated in India
about 800 B.C. ; in the New World the culture of the plant must have
evolved independently, as it was already cultivated long before the dis-
covery of America. 1 5 1-4

Cotton-bug, Oxycarenus hyalinipennis, 191

Crabs. The crabs occurring in the mangrove-swamps belong to the genus Uca
(leptodactyla, vocator). To another genus belongs Ucides cordatus, the
food of the working classes in Rio. When the English were once about to
land on Hispaniola in the West Indies, the land-crabs coming down to the
sea to lay their eggs made such a clatter with their claws that the English
commanders believed that Spanish cavalry were approaching, and drew
off" again. It is said that a feast of crabs is still held annually in this island.

54-7
Crayfish, Lagosta. Palinuris argus, laevicauda, guttatus, 47

Crocodile, 60-1

Croton (Euphorbiaceae), 120

Crustacea, see Crabs, Prawns, Lobsters, Camarao.

Cruz, Oswaldo, 349

Cuckoo-bees, nomads, 295

380

INDEX

Cuckoos, see Anum.

Cucujo, see Fireflies, Luminous Beetles.

Cumbani, Dipteryx odorata (Leguminosae), 77

Cupim, see Termites.

Cupim ants, Leptogenys, 321

Curutid, Synallaxis cinnamomea (PI. 28, 19), known also as Cazaca di couro, or

Sacy-Perere, 86, 161, 251
Cuti^ or Agouti, Dasyprocta aguti and azarae, 136, 173
Cuyabana, Pronolepis fulva. See report by G. Morevia, Entomologia Agricola Brasi-

leira, Rio de Janeiro, 1921, 321

Danaidae, 163, 164, 220

Death's head monkey, Saimiri sciureus, 1 74

Decker, Siegfried. ^zWiSao Paulos Gartenwelt. Gartenschonheit, Berlin, March 1923.98

Deer. The largest species of South America deer is the Swamp-deer, the "Cervo,"
equal in size to the European Red Deer, but with forked antlers, each point
or limb being further ramified (Odocoilus dichotomus). On the open
grassy plains lives the Pampas Deer or Veado branco (Odocoilus bezo-
arcticus), the size of a Roebuck, with low, complex antlers. The Guemals
(Hippocamelas) are found more in the Andes and Patagonia; but the
Brockets are genuinely Brazilian. With their unbranched spikes of antlers
and their very small, slender bodies they remind one of antelopes ; but the
Brazilians call the Brocket a Roebuck, Veado. There is a grey Brocket
(Mazama nemorivaga) on the plains and a red Brocket (Mazama rufa) in
the bush and forest. 177, 267

Dendroblum (Orchids), 105

Didonis, 217

Dinoponera (ant), 323

Dione moneta, 207

Dirt-bug, Opisicoctus (Reduvius) personatus, 351

Dismorphia, 219

Diver, Podylimnus podiceps. The beak has two cross-bands, and a black streak
runs to the eye, so that the face has a mask-like aspect. 1 1 9

Dolphins. There is a special dolphin which frequents the brackish water of bays
and estuaries (SotaUa brasiliensis). In the Amazon and other rivers of
South America is a fresh-water Dolphin with a beak-Uke snout. This
species is known as Inia or Bufeo (Inia geoffroyensis), 49

Dragonflies, with red wings, Heterina pudica, with golden-yellow wings, black at
the tips, Thore boliviana, 207, 261, 280

Dragon-tree, Dracaena marginata and Cordyline terminalis, with handsomely
marked leaves. Humboldt's description of the Dragon-tree of TenerifTe is
well known. The age of this tree was formerly estimated to be 5,000 to
6,000 years. 134

Driver Ants, see Migratory Ants.

Drones, 299

Ducks, Cabocia duck, Dendrocygna discolor. Its relative, the Marreca-apahy, D.
viduata, has a white head and black neck. In Southern Brazil and the
Argentine is found the pretty Blue-winged Duck, Querquedula cyanoptera.

"9
Dung-beetles. Most of the Scarabaeidae of Brazil belong to the genus Phanaeus, 287

Eciton, see Migratory Ants.

Eclectus pectoralis, New Guinea parrot, 215

381

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Edentata, 168-9

Eel, 116-17

Egret, 164, 180

Eichhornia, belongs to the Pontederiaceae, and is related to the Liliaceae. Besides
the Eichhornia crassipes described, the Agua-pe or "Water-foot," there is
the Eichhornia azurea, with a blue inflorescence, and Pontederia cordata,
known in Brazil as Murure (PI. 27, bottom, right). 42, 58, 1 18-19, ^5^

Elateridae, 228

Electric Eel, 1 75

Elephant-Beetle, Megasoma elephas, 1 76

"Elephant-Louse," 41

Emerald Bee, see Euglossa.

Emerald Snake, Cobra verde, Philodryas aestiva, Shotti, Olwersi. Burnished
Snake, Oxybelis fulgidus, 343

Endosperm, 39

Engenhos, 145, 150

Entada scandens, 97

"Enxada," cultivation by, 145

Epiphytes, 100-12

Espigo de Sangue (Balanophoraceae), to which the Lophophytum mirabile
belongs, whose spadices, according to Warburg, may reach a weight of
30 lb. In Helosis guyanensis the spadices are borne on steles. Langsdorffia
hypogaea has antler-shaped stems in the bast of the host, and flowers like
those of certain thistles. 1 1 1

Espirito Santo, 31, 114

Eucalyptus. There are 160 species, mostly natives of Australia (Myrtaceae), 155-7,
366

Euglossa cordata and smaragdina, a Bee wdth long proboscis : see W. A. Schulz,
Allg. Zeitschr.fiir Entomologie, 1901. 295

Euphorbia pulcherrima, see Parrot-Flower.

Euphorbias, 67-8, 120, 121, 134, 237-8

Facheiro, see Cacti.

Fan-palms. These are the palms with fan-shaped leaves. A certain Banana-plant,
whose leaves are gathered into a fan-shaped crown, is also called a Fan-
palm in Brazil : Ravenala madagascariensis.

Farinha, 142-3

Favelliera, Pachystroma acanthophyllum, a Euphorbia, 124

Fazendas, 129, 145-57

Feijoada, 142

Ferns, climbing, 91

Ferreiro. i. Araponga (Procnias nudicollis). 2. Turucuhe (Synallaxis ruficapilla)
and the larger Phacelodomus rufifrons (PI. 28, 22 and 20). 3. Hammer-
frog (Hyla faber). 126, 130, 187-8, 251, 270, 271

Field-wasp, Polistes ; for example, P. versicolor, 292-3

Fig, fertilisation of, see Fig-wasp.

Fig-cactus, 126, 242

Fig-tree, Ficus (Moraceae), 10 1, 243-4

Fig-wasp, Blastophaga brasiliensis, for seven Brazilian figs. They belong to the
Chalcididae, 243-4

Filaria, Filaria Bancrofti, a threadworm, 354

Finches, 257

"Finger of God," Dedo do Deus, 72

382

INDEX

Fire-eye, Papa Taoca (Taoca = Driver Ant), (PI. 28, Fig. 23), Pyriglena leu-
coptera and atra (Formicariidae), 196, 314

Fireflies, 227-9

Fish, 175-6, 274-6

Flame Acacia or Flamboyant (Poinciana regia) from Madagascar (Leguminosae),
24, 132

Flat-headed Catfish, Aspraedo laevis, 276

Fleabane, Meladinha Hyptis, of which there are 300 species in Brazil (Labiatiae) ;
the kind common in Olinda is, according to Hoehne, a Ruellia (Acan-
thaceae), 97, 151, 240

Flesh-eating Plants, 108

Flies, 227

Flies, among Driver Ants. The species described is Ecitomyia Wheeleri. The
"Ant-head Fly" is Apocephalus, 316

Flor de quaresma = Lent-flower, 7 1

Flower-clock, a, 239

Flowers, 230 et seq.

Fly-flower = Aristolochia.

Flying-fish (Exocoetus volitans). Its pursuer is a Tunny, Thynnus pelamys, in
colour a splendid steely blue, with an iridescent shimmer of red and green,
which the Brazilians call the Bonito (simply "the Beautiful"). This great
fish pursues its prey with vigorous leaps, and often catches it in the air, 45

Forest twilight. Dr. E. Snethlage speaks of the green twilight of the Amazon
forest, but she is presumably contrasting the forest with the sunlit steppe.
I cannot think that the Amazon forest, consisting likewise of sparsely-
foliaged trees, would differ greatly in this respect from that of North-
eastern Brazil. 72-3

Forest, virgin, 63-87

at Kubany. Goeppert, Skizzen zur Kenntnis der Urwdlder Schlesiens, etc. {Nova
Acta, Leop. Acad. 1868). Wessely estimates that decay occurs in 150-200
years. The best authority on forests is K. Rubner, Die pflanzengeographischen
Grundlagen des Waldbaus, Neudamm, 1925. 68-9, 75

Forked Fern, Gleichenia linearis, with 30 species, generally distributed throughout
all warm regions, 74

Fox, Raposa or Aguarachain Canis (Pseudalopex) azarae, 127, 178

Foxes, 127

Frango d'agua, see Waterhen, Hyacinthine.

Freycinetia, 99

Frigate-bird or Joao grande, Alcatraz (Fregata aquila) ; in Brazil usually Fregata
minor, 49

Frogs, 259-60, 270

Frutta pao, see Breadfruit.

Fungi in nests of Leafcutting Ants, see Sauvas.

Gadflies, Motucas, Tabanus importunus, leucaspis, triangulum, mexicanus, Ere-

phopsis leucopogon, Dicladocera, 285, 350-1
Gaivoto = Seagull.

Gallo da Campina, Cardinal finch (Paroaria gularis), 125, 130
Gall-Wasps, 243-4
Gamba, see Marsupials.
Gamelleira, see Tree-Strangler.

Gannet, Atoba or Mergulhao (Sula leucogaster), 49
Gaturamo, Euphonia violacea, 257

383

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Gecko, see Vibora.

Grcnipapa, Genipa americana (Rubiaceae), 139

Gesneriaceae, 102

Giant Ant, Dinoponera grandis, 323

Giant Bean, Entada scandens; in Brazil, Entada polystacha (Leguminosae), 97

Giant Beetle (Buprestid), Euchroma gigantea, 86

Giant Fly, Motuca (Acanthomera picta) and a Giant Hawk-fly (Midas), 227

Giant Owl-moth, Erebus agrippina, 226

Giant Toad, Bufo maximus and marinus, 260

Giboia, Cobra do veado (Boa constrictor), 164, 339-42

Glyptodon, 169

Goatfoot Bindweed, Ipomaea pes caprae. Creeping over the sand, and sinking
roots at intervals, it attains a length of more than 100 feet. The Sweet
Potato belongs to this group of plants (Convolvulaceae). 43

Goeldi's Frog, Hyla Goeldii, 272-3

Golden Butterfly, Diona moneta. The species in which the underside of the wings
is pure gold in colour is Argopteron aureipennis, 207

Golden Rain, Brazilian, Cassia silvestris (Leguminosae), 131

Golden Wasps, in Brazil Chrysis sexdentata and others, 292

Gourds, Maxixe, Cucumis anguria, a spiny (native) gherkin, the size of a plum,
eaten cooked ; Pepino (Cucumis sativa) from Asia, Abobora (Cucurbita
pepo) in many varieties; a favourite kind has red pulp. 144

Gramma convallaria, 133

Grapefruit, Citrus hystrix, var. decumana; the fruit is often as large as a man's
head, 139

Grapes, 146

Grass, known in Brazil by the Indian name of Capim. In the tropics there are
many species of grass, but they do not play so important a part as with us,
and do not so greatly affect the character of the landscape. But the Campos,
the steppes, in dry regions and in the south of Brazil, are naturally covered
with grass; we find the Aristida family, Cortaderia (Gynerium), Selloana,
Gynerium saccharoides, the "Uva grass," Bouteloua racemosa, and the
Andropogon or Beard-grass. The following species are valued as fodder:
Panicum monostachyum, Stenotaphrum glabrum, Sporobolus indicus,
which also yields a straw for hat-making; Bromus unioloides, Leptochloa
virgata, Melinie minutiflora and others. Also a species of wild barley
(Pariana). 133

Grasshopper, see Locustidae,

Grauna, Aaptus chopi, 256

Gravata, see Bromelia.

Gravata frog, Brachycephalus ephippium, 107

Greenlet, Virio, Pachysilvia and Cyclorhis, stands between the Flycatchers and
the Shrikes (Virionidae), 226

Greybeard, Tillandria usneoides (Bromeliaceae), 102, 109-10

Grison vittatus, 178

Gryptotherium, 169

Guanabara Bay, 32, 35

Guanco, "Rain-tree," Pithecolobium saman (Leguminosae), 365

Guapuvuru, Schizolobium excelsum (Leguminosae), 136

Guarand, Paullinia cupana (Sapindaceae). The seed is extremely rich in caffein.
147

Guariba — Howler Monkey.

Guayave, guava, Psidium guayava (Myrtaceae), 140

384

INDEX

Guinea-pigs, wild, Preya Cavea aperea ; the Moco (Cerodon spixi) is rather larger.

The Rock Cavy is Cerodon rupestris. 173, 197, 201
Gurundi, Tachyphonus coronatus, 256

Haberlandt. Eine botanische Tropenreise. Leipzig, 1910, 67

Hammer Frog, see Ferreiro.

Harpalyce (Galegeae), Butterfly-flower, 97

Hawkmoths, 164, 234-5, 240

Hawkweed, Hieracium (Compositae), 156

Hectorides, 216-17

Hedgehog-fish, 46

Hedge-sparrow, see Carrixa.

Heliconidae, 86, 191, 218-220

Hercules Beetle, Dynastes Hercules, 176, 278

Herons. Brazil boasts of a large number of magnificent herons. The Soc6 is
Ardea cocoi, the Soc6-y, Ardetta erythromelas ; Garga azul, Florida coe-
rulea. The Silver Heron or Egret (Gar9a real) has been terribly persecuted
in South America, in order that women may decorate their hats with its
feathers or aigrettes. A few dealers are enriched, a number of women wear,
for a short time, what they believe to be an adornment, and a living
creature of dazzling loveliness is destroyed for ever. In the more sparsely
inhabited regions of Brazil the following herons are found: the Night
Herons (Taquiry), Nycticorax tayazuguira, the Bittern, Reed-drummer or
Socoboi, so called from its roaring, bull-like voice (Tigrisoma lineatum),
and the curious Boat-billed Heron (Cancroma cochlearia). The family of
the Storks is also well represented : for example, by the Tuyli-yii (Tantulus
loculator) and the Jabini (Mycteria mycteria) with black head and rosy
collar, but otherwise white. The Brazilian Stork (Cegonha) is like our Ger-
man Stork, but larger (Euxenura magoary). The Red Ibis of the Amazon
is one of the loveliest birds on earth. 58, 119, 180

Herzog, Th., Vom Urwald zu den Gletschern des Cordillere, Stuttgart, 1923. 90

Heteropteris, in 100 varieties; Malpighiaceae, 98

Hibiscus, 131

Hippa, a Crayfish, like the River Crayfish, but red, 159

Histeridae, Beetles, living with Driver Ants, for example, Xylostega coUigii, 315

Hoatzin, or Agana, Opisthocomus hoazin, 1 75

Hoehne, A Flora de Brazil Rio, 77

Hokko or Mutiim, Crax carunculata, Mitua mitu and others, 175, 186

Honey, 234, 298

Honey-ant, Cryptocerus elongatus, 301

Honey Wasp, Nectarina mellifica. And, according to Ducke, Polybia occiden-
talis stores honey in unfavourable weather. 294

Hookworm and Hookworm Disease, 353-4

Hornets. The large Black "Cavallo do cae" is Pepsis albomaculata ; P. pertys is
even larger. Sphex ingens is another very large hornet. 1 26, 284-6

Hortensia (Hydrangea opuloides), Saxifragaceae, 134

Howler Monkey, Coata ; Ateles paniscus, geofiroyi and other species, 174, 21 1-12

Hudii, Momotus momota, a fine gaily-coloured bird, in form resembling our
Magpie, but with a toothed bill. Another species (M. microstephanus) has
a peculiar habit of sitting quite still, but the long tail-feathers, blue and
green, and rimmed with black, move constantly to and fro, about once
every second, so that it is pertinently called "the Pendulum Bird," Passaro
pendulo. 196

2B 385

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Humming-Birds, 98, 135, 161, 180, 183, 206, 235, 237, 261

"Hyacinth," Alophia, an Iris, 240

Hyacinthine Waterhen, Frango d'agua verde e azul, Porphyriola Martinica,

118-19
Hylaea (Rubiaceae), 98

Ibis, Red, Guani, Eudocimus ruber, 208

15a, Sauva queen, 309—11

Ichneumons. The small black wasps which prey on the Rosy Caterpillar are
Apantheles balthazari and Parisierola nigrifemur. The larger wasps were
Bracon pinus. Larger forms are Ophion and other Braconidae, and Crypton
macrocereus. The entomologist Costa Lima of Rio has published many
details concerning these wasps, mostly in the Archivos da Escola superior de
Agriculima e Medicina veterinaria. See vol. iii, 191 9. 153, 282-3

Idaeus, butterfly, Papilio idaeus, 280

Iguana or Chameloa, Iguana tuberculata, 59, 86

Ihering, see Bees, and Animal Geography, also 162, 167

Imbauba, Chandelier-tree or Ant-tree, Imbauba branca, Cecropia hololeuca;
Imbauba do brejo, Cecr. lyratiloba, 318

Imbuia, a species of Tecoma, 77

Imhambii, Tinamus tao, Crypturus and Odonthophorus in the forest; in the
steppe, the "Partridge" (Rhynchotus rufescens), 175, 186, 213-14

Indians, the, 369-70

Inga, Inga marginata, cinnamomea and others, 77

Ipe, Tecomaipe, Ipe amarello, yellow-wood, Tecoma lapacho (Bignoniaceae), 77

Intimidation, 221

Ipomaea floribunda. The Ipomaeae have magnificent flowers, and are cultivated
in hot-houses and elsewhere as "Morning Glories" (Convolvulaceae), 97

Irara, Galictis barbara, 1 78

Iris or Sword-lily, 74, 199

Ironwood, 68

Ita line of steamships, 29

Jabiru, Mycteria mycteria, 136

Jaboticaba, Myrciaria (also Eugenia) jaboticaba and cauliflora (Myrtaceae), 79

Jaca, Arctocarpus integrifolia, from Upper India (Moraceae), 79, 138

Jacamar, Guamunbi, Galbula rufoviridis, 186, 206, 215

Jacaranda, in several species : brasiliana, caroba, cuspidifolia, mimosaefolia (these
two are also called Caroba) ; yields the dark Jacarandd- or Palisander-wood
(from Pau santo, "holy wood") for furniture and piano-cases. The same
name, however, is given to the wood of the Leguminosae, Machaerium and
Dalbergia, which are known as Jacarandd preto (Dalbergia nigra) and
Jacarandd-tree (Machaerium allemani), 81, 92

Jacard, see Caiman.

Jacii, Penelope jacucaca, superciliaris and others, 175, 186

Jacytdra, Desmoncus polyacanthus ; another species, D. horridus (Palmae), 92, 93

Jaguar, On9a pintada (Felis onza), 128, 177-8, 203

Jahu, 148

Jambo and Jambolao, Eugenia jambos and jambolana (myrtaceae), 80, 132

Jandaya, Conurus jendaya, with yellow head and throat, red belly, green back
and long tail, and Conurus cactorum, with green back, yellow belly and
bluish wings ; also Eupsittacula aurea, 1 25

386

INDEX

Jangada, 23

Japii, Ostinops decumanus, 256

Jararaca, see Snakes, Venomous, 128, 347

Jassana, or Pia^oca, Ja^gana ja^^ana, 1 19

Jatobd, Hymenaea courbaril, 68, 77

Joao do barro, 161

Joanninha, a fish, Crenicichla lepidota and others ; the name is also given to a

Cockchafer, 274
Joazeiro, Zizyphus joazeiro (Rhamnaceae), 124
Juca, Cassalpina ferrea, var. cearensis (Leguminosae), 124
Jurubeba, Solarum paniculatum (Solanaceae), grows profusely on waste land

and scree, like our Nightshade.

Kaki fig, Diospyros Kaki, from Eastern Asia (Ebenaceae), 138

Kapok-tree, 79

Keel-tailed Lizard, Tropidurus hispidus, 41

Kerner von Marilaun, Pflanzenleben, 3rd ed., by A. Hansen. 3 vols. Leipzig, 1921.

Kingfisher, Great, 59, 1 19, 215

Kinkajou, 178

Knight Butterflies, Papilio, a group with strikingly beautiful forms, 216

Laburnum, 131

Lagarta rosada — Rosy caterpillar.

Lantern-beetles, Vagar lume or Pyrilampos (Lampyrinae). In America there are
more forms than in all the rest of the world together; as long ago as 1870
450 species were known. At Rio, Photuris lumifera is common. The Cucujo,
the large lantern-beetle, one of the Elateridae, is Pyrophorus noctilucus.
The luminous larva and the female with the glowing red head and thorax
and the 10 pairs of blue or yellow luminous spots are Phengodes (Hie-
ronymi). The male of this beetle (Telephoridae) flies. The "Lantern-
bearer," Fulgora laternaria and lucifera, in Brazilian a gitiranaboia, belongs
to the Hemiptera. 227—9

Larvae, 226

Laurel, 77

"Leaf-bloomers," Phyllanthus speciosus and other species. Phyllanthus nobilis
is known in Brazil as Perola vegetal. The Phyllanthi belong to the
Euphorbiaceae. 238

Leaf-bugs, 278

Leaf-butterflies, Anaea phantes, with blue, Siderone Ide with red-striped, Siderone
Clara with yellow upper surface. Also Coenophlebia Archidona mimics a
leaf with the under-wings, which show, when the wings are closed, leaf-
stalk and midrib, 22-6

Leafcutting Ants, see Sauva.

Leaf-locusts, Pterochroza. The species with brown wings is P. colorata; with
green, P. cristata ; with green, and withered tips, P. arrosa ; with eyes on
the hind-wings, P. ocellata. 223-4

Leguan, 59, 86

Leguminosae, 78, 81, 366

Lemonade, 140

Lemons. The small round lemon of the Tropics is the Limonelle, Citrus medica,
var. acida, usually called the Lime. Its juice is exported to Europe. 139-40

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Lent-flower = Flor de queresma.

Lepidoptera, 217, 225

Liana Snake, Cobra cipo, Herptodryas carinata, 203, 343

Lianas, Cipo or Trepadeira, climbing plants. The classic work on Lianas is

Schenck's Beitrdge zur Biologie und Anatomie der Lianen, in Botanisthe

Mitteilungen aus den Tropen, Vol. V, Jena, 1892. 88-99
Lime, see Lemons.

Lion Monkeys, Leontocebus rosalia, 174
Liszt Monkey, see Oedipus Monkey.
Locustidae. Grasshopper, Gafanhoto. The large forms are Tropidacris cristata

and Tr. grandis. Migratory Locusts, Schistocerca paranensis. The wingless

larvae are known as Hoppers (Saltoes), and they too migrate, devastating

the country, 223-4, 261
Lontra or Ariranha = Otter (Pteronura braziliensis), sometimes over 6 feet in

length, 178, 181
Loro = Monk-parrot.

Louro, various Lauraceae of the Ocotea and Nectandra families, 77
Love-lilies, or Agapanto, Agapanthus umbellatus, from South Africa (Liliaceae),

135
Luminous Beetles, see Lantern-beetles.

Lung-fish, Lepidosiren paradoxus, 275

Lutz, Dr., 270

Lycenidae, 158

Macacheira, 143

Macaiba-palm, Acroconia intumescens (Palmae). The fruit looks like a crab-
apple, and tastes of egg ; it is not very good eating, and has a hard kernel,
42

Ma9ambira, Bromelia, 121

Macaws, 175, 193, 213

Maceio, 29

Macrosila cluentius, a moth with long proboscis, 234

Madras Bulbul, Pycnonotus haemorrhous, 155

Magnolia (Magnoliaceae), 80

Mahogany. The best wood is furnished by Swietenia mahogani from the Antilles
(Meliaceae). 77

Maize, Milho, Zea mais. Probably came from Mexico. From maize meal Maicena
and Mondamin are made. 145

Malaria, 348-9

Malarial mosquito. Anopheles of various species, 348-9

Mamangaba, see Lobster.

Mamangaba (Bee), 295-6

Mamao, see Tree-melon.

Manatee, Ox-fish, Lamantin, Peixe boi, Trichechus inunguis in the Amazon,
manatus on the coast ; but the latter sometimes enters the rivers, 1 93-4

Mancinella-tree, Hippomane m., Euphorbiaceae, 124

Mandarin, Tangerine, Citrus nobilis, 139

Mango-tree, Mangifera indica from India ( Anacardiaceae) , 79, 82-3, 137

Mangrove. In Brazil two families of these trees occur, Cassipomea and Rhizo-
phora. Rh. mangle is the most frequent species. 57-8, 82

Manitoba, Manihot Glaziovii (Euphorbiaceae), 68

388

INDEX

Manioc, Manihot utilissima, the poisonous species, which has to be roasted, and
Manihot dulcis or aipi, the non-poisonous species. The starch of the manioc-
tubers is the tapioca of commerce, the starch-grains being coagulated by
heat (Euphorbiaceae) . 142-3
Mantis, Louva deos, many species (Mantidae), 224
Mantis-flies, Mantispa. In Wasps' nests Symphrasis myrapetrella is reared, 224,

281
Maparajuba, Mimusops maparajuba (Sapotaceae), 139
Maple, Acer platanoides (Aceraceae), 1 17
Mara, Dolichotis patagonica, 1 73

Marsupial Frog, Nototrema oviferum, pygmaeum, 273

Marsupials. The largest forms are the Mucura, the Timbii or Gambd, in the
Argentine known as Comadreja (Didelphis aurita, marsupialis and para-
guayensis). Smaller forms are the Quicas or Chichicas (Metachirus and
Caluromys), while the Catitas (Marmosa pusilla and Perammys domestica)
look like shrew-mice. The Water-opossum is the Cuica d'agua (Chiron-
nectes minimus). 167-9
Martin-fishers, related to our Kingfishers: Br. Martim pescador or Ariramba.
The large Martin-fisher is Ceryle torquata; the smaller species are C.
amazona, ovida, americana, aenea. 59
Maruim, Pinus or Polvora, Simulium, 350

Massaranduba, Mimusops. M. do rio, Mimusops alata ; M. do Pard, M. Huberi ;
M. do Ceard, M. rufela, M. verdadeira, VituUaria procera (Sapotaceae). 77
Mate, Ilex paraguayensis (Aquifoliaceae), 146-7
Megatherium, 169
Melastomaceae, 320
Melocactus, 117, 126
Metamorphosis, 91
Methone, 218

Migratory Ants, Formiga de correicao or Taoca, Eciton family (Dorylinae). The
largest is Eciton rapax ; Eciton legionis attacks Camponotus ; Eciton hama-
tum and Eciton Burchelli are the real Driver Ants ; the latter is the species
which I observed. Concerning their guests, see Flies, Staphyhnidae,
Ichneumons, Histeridae, and Ants, and the literature relating thereto. —
The first to describe them were Bates, The Naturalist on the River Amazon,
and Belt, The Naturalist in Nicaragua, London, 1874. 312-18, 334
Migratory Locusts, see Locustidae.
Mimeciton, 318
Mimicry, Q.iQ et seq.
Mimosa, 81, 155-6, 239
Mistletoe (Loranthaceae), no

Monk Parrot, Loro or Catorra (Myiopsitta monachus), 187
Monkeys, 173-5
Monocotyledons, 84
Monsoon, 24

Monstera deliciosa or Philodendron pertusum. The fruit, reminding one of a
pineapple, but full of small spines, is eaten as "Banana do brejo." 80, 90, 93
Morenas, 371

Morpho, 181, 191, 193, 207, 216

Morpho Bahiana. The Morphidae, with their blue, lustrous wings, as large
as a man's hand, are perhaps the loveliest butterflies in the world.

59» 216
Mosquitoes, 348-9

389

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Motiica, a Gadfly, Lepidoselaga crassipes. The Hornet which paralyses it and

feeds its larvae upon it is Monedula signata. 285, 350-1
Mulungu, Erythrina mulungii and reticulata (Leguminosae), 132
Multiplication, 184, 293

Mummer-Beetle, Erotylus histrio; mimicked by Poecilopeplus corallifer, 221
Mussurana, Rhachidelus brasili, 192, 345
Muturus, 216
Myasis, 351

Nandidae: Polycentrus Schomburgki, 275

Natural life, protection of, 18 1-2

Nectar, 234

"Nectar-flowers," 234

Neotropinae, 217

Nephila clavipes, a large greenish-white Spider, 208

Nettle, Jatropha urens (Euphorbiaceae), 42

Nictheroy, 34, 36, 46

Nightjars, 213-14

Nillu, Strobilanthes pulcherrimus (Acanthaceae), 82

Nine-o'clock Bindweed, Turnera, nearly related to the Violaceae; Turnera

ulmifolia is found all over South America, 43
Nova Friburgo, 85, 108, 133-4
Nove horas = Nine-o'clock Bindweed.
Nutria, Swamp-beaver, Myocaster coypus, 172
Nuts, coco-, 38-9 ; Brazil-, 77

Ocelot or Leopard-Cat (Fehs pardalis). There are also the similar Long-tailed
Cat (F. Wiedi) and the Tiger-Cat (F. Tigrina). 178

Oedipus Monkey, Leontocebus oedipus, 2 1 1

Oil palm, Dende (Elaeis guienensis). The fruit-cluster, in its spathe, looks like a
basket full of orange-yellow plums, and may weigh as much as a hundred-
weight. The principal distribution of this palm is in Africa ; as a source of
vegetable oil its importance is constantly increasing. Warburg inclines to
think that its original home was America. 42

Oiticica, Pleragina umbrosissima, 124

Oititiroba, Vitellaria or Lucuma revicoa, also Peroba branco (Sapotaceae).

Oity, Moquilea tomentosa (Rosaceae), 366

Olinda, 21, 26, 54, 112, 201, 207, 212, 240, 350, 354, 356

Ombii, Phytolacca dioica (Phytolaccaceae), 79, 241

Oncidium (Orchids), 105

Operculate Snail, 272

Orange (Citrus aurantium) probably comes from China. First brought to Por-
tugal in the sixteenth century; then to Italy. 139

Orchid-mould. S. Decker recommends, for growing orchids in pots, a mixture of
the roots of Polypodium or Osmunda, and sphagnum moss in equal parts,
a lump of charcoal the size of a hazelnut, and a little leaf-mould. 104-5

Orchids, 102-6, 132, 234-5, 241-2

Organ Mountains, 36, 160

Organism, Nature as an, 183

Organists, Euphoniidae, 256

Oriole, Crested, 59

Otter, see Lontra. m

Owl Moth, 226 1

iff

INDEX

Paca, Agouti paca, 173, 197, 201, 203

Pachiuba palm, Iriartea exorrhiza (Palmae), 84, 136

Painted Lady, 164

Palisander = Jacarandd.

Palm-beetle, Rhynchophorus palmarum, 279

Palm-lily, see Yucca.

Palms, 79, 83-4, 134, 366

Palm-wasp, Pseudochartergus, 293

Palmito, 84
jussara, Euterpe edulis (Palmae), 142

Palmyra palm, 79
growth of, 84
climbing, 91

Pandanus, 99

Papa capim, Sporophila coerulescens, 257

Papagaio, see Parrot-bush.

Papaja, see Tree-Melon.

Para Nuts, see Brazil-nut tree.

Para Rubber-tree, see Seringueira.

Parahyba, 358

Parasites, 100-12

Parasol Acacia, 366

Parasol Fig, Arvore parasole, Ficus Roxburghii (Moraceae), 79

Parasol Wasp, Apoica pallida, 293

Parrot-bush, Euphorbia (Poinsettia) pulcherrima (Euphorbiaceae), 134, 237

Parrot-fish, Balistes vertula. Trigger-fish, or Catapult-fish, so called because it
spits out water, and is thereby able to bring down insects perched on twigs
above the water. By means of a dorsal spine (the trigger) the fish is able to
fix itself in the crevices of the rocks. The name of Parrot-fish is given also
to certain fish with hard beaksj the Scaridae, which are splendidly arrayed
in blue and white and red. They are mostly good eating. 47

Parrots, 123, 136, 208, 215, 268

Partridge, Perdiz, Rhynchotus rufescens (Tinamidae), 186

Passion-flower, Maracuja, Passiflora coerulea, alata, edulis and other species.
Passiflora quadrangularis has splendid red flowers and fruits as large as
melons, which are good eating. The 300 species of Passion-flower are
mostly native in America; a few species are native in Polynesia. 42, 98,
140, 231

"Pasteboard Ants," Camponotus, Aztece, Dolichoderus, 320

"Pasteboard Wasps," 293-4

Paternoster Pea (Abrus precatorius), in all tropical countries (Legimiinosae), 42

Pau Brazil = Brazil-wood.

Pau d'alho, Galexia gorazema (Phytolaccaceae).

Pau d'arco, Tecoma heptaphylla. Pau d'arco means Bow-wood; the tough wood
is used for making bows, 70, 93

Pau de ferro, see Ironwood.

Pau de Jangada, Apeiba tibourbou, belongs to the Lindens (Tiliaceae), 23

Peacock Moth, 236

Peccary, two species, the CoUared Peccary or Catete (Pecari tajacu), and the
White-bearded Peccary or Queixada (Tayassu pecari), 177, 267

Penguins, 49-51

Pepper, 142

Perandro, 279

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Periquito, parrakeets. In Sao Paulo, Brotogerys titica. The smaller Sparrow

Parrakeet, Psittacula passerina, 136
Pernambuco, 21, 23, 40, 86-7, 97, 103, 249, 258-60, 305
Pernambuco-wood = Brazil-wood.

Peroba, about 30 species of the family Aspidospermum (Apocyanaceae).
Peste de cadeiras — Gadfly.
Petropolis, 85, 133, 366

Petropolis Frog, Hylodes petropolitanus, 272
Phanaeus, 183, 202
Phylloxera, 152-3, 155
Phytocrene lianas, 90
Picuda, Sphyrena picuda, 48
Pieridae, 217

Pigeons. In the Sertao, Rolinha cascavel (Scardafella squamosa) and the larger
Pomba do Sertao (Zenaida auriculata). On the coast, and in the gardens,
are many doves and pigeons, among them the charming rosy-brown Pigmy
Dove, Chamaepelia passerina, Rola pequena. The larger pigeons are called
Jurity. 125
Pigmy Frog, Hyella tenera and minuta, 271

Pill-wasps or Mud- wasps; in Brazil, for example, Eumenes canaliculata, 291-2
Pinho, Araucaria brasiliensis, see also Anona (Pinaceae), 139
Pintasilgo, Spinus ictericus, 257
Pipa, Pipa americana and cururu, 273-4
Pipridae or Manaquims, among them the Rendeira (Pipra rubrocapilla), Velho

(P. leucocilla), Uirapuru (Chiroxiphia pareola), 214, 216, 303
Piranha, Pygocentrus piraya, 175

Pitanga, Eugenia uniflora; also E. edulis and others (Myrtaceae), 138

Plane, see Maple Plant-lice, 278

Plover, Massaricao, Numenius hudsonicus and Aegialitis coUaris. The black and
white peewit is Himantopus brasiliensis and mexicanus, 50, 118

Pollen, 231 et seq., 241-2

Pollen-flowers, 234

PoUinia, 242-3

Polygala, 199

Polyphagous species, 192

Posoqueria (Rubiaceae). P. acutifolia, Bacopary miuda, P. calantha, Ara^a do
brejo ; P. latifolia, A^ucena do matto ; R. fragrans, 243

Potter-bird, Joao de barro, in the Argentine Horneiro, Oven-builder, Furnarius
rufus ; in the North-east, F. figulus ; in Amazonas, F. tricolor. 161, 188, 251

Potter-wasps, Trypoxylon albitarsius and SceHphron fistulare, 285

Prepona, 217

Preya, see Guinea-pig.

Primavera or Sempre lustrosa, Bougainvillea spectabilis with bright red, B.
glabra with deep wine-red blooms (Nyctaginaceae), 93, 98

Protective coloration, 213 ef seq., 225-6

Puma, 177-8

Puma or Silver Lion, On^a, Ounce (Felis concolor), 127

Pupae, of ants, 305

Pyrostegia (Bignoniaceae), 98

Pyrrhalina filamentosa, 275-6

Quail, Cadorna, Nothura maculosa (Tinamidae), 186

Quebracho branco, Aspidospermum quebracho bianco (Apocyanaceae).

INDEX

Quebra foice, Calliandra axillaris and Tweedii (Leguminosae), 239
Quiabo, Hibiscus esculentus (Malvaceae), in India, Bandaca, in North America,
Okra; in English, Lady's-finger, or Bamia, in French Gombo, 142

Rabo de Rato, see Whip Cactus.

Raccoon or Maopelada, in S. America the Crab Raccoon (Procyon cancrivorous),
so called because it eats crabs, 178

Rat's-tail, see Whip Cactus.

Rattan, Calamus rotang (Palmae), 89, 92

Rattle Butterfly, Ageronia arethe, black with blue markings, and white cross-
bands; A. arethusa with white borders, 261

Rattle-frog, 259

Rattlesnake, see Snakes, \'enomous, 128, 203, 345, 347-8

Recife, 21, 22, 26, 155, 209, 266, 364

Red soil, 200

Redbeak, Bico vermelho, Patativa, Sporophila leucoptera hypoleuca, 257

Relogio = Nine-o'clock Bindweed.

Resin-Frog, Hyla resinifictrix, 273

Rhea, Ema, Nhandu, Rhea macrorhynca, 127

Rice, Arroz, Oryza sativa, a plant of ancient cultivation, mentioned 2700 B.C. ;
with 1,400 sub-species, among them some that can be grown on dry soil,
such as the so-called Mountain Rice, 145

Ricinus, Castor-oil plant, R. communis (Euphorbiaceae), 156

Ringed Plover, Massarico, Aegialitis coUaris, 1 1 8

Rio de Janeiro, 24, 32-7, 247-9, 356-7

Rodents, Roedores, Rodentia, 161, 17 1-3, 200

Roedeer, see Deer.

Rohnha, see Pigeon.

Rompe gibao, Bumelia sertorum (Sapotaceae).

Root-climbers, 93

Rosa de madeira, 1 1 o

Roses, 131

Rosy Caterpillar, Gelechia gossypiella (Tineidae), 152-3, 1,55, 191, 196

Rosy Hibiscus, H. rosa sinensis (Malvaceae), 131

Rubber-tree, 243

Rupicola, Cock-of-the-Rock, 208, 263

Sabia, Sabia una, Platycichla flavipes, Sabid branco, Turdus amaurochalinus,
Sabia laranjeira, Turdus rufiventris. There is also a grey "Mocking-bird,"
Sabia da Praia, Mimus lividus. 254-5

Saguim or Silk -monkey, Callithrix iacchus, 41, 86, 137, 174, 266-7

Sahy or Sugar-bird, Cyanerpes cyaneus (Coerebidae), is one of the most beautiful
birds on earth (PI. 28, i). It is a deep blue, with a light-blue cap, and
satin-yellow on the wings. 180, 257

Saint Francis's Girdle, Cordao de Sao Francisco, Leonotis nepetifolia (Labiatae).

Sand-bees, 126

Sand-crab, Ocypoda arenaria, 43, 54-6

Sand-flea, Bicho de pe. Jigger (Dermatophilus penetrans), 351-2

Sand- wasps, 126

Sanha9us, Tanagers. The light-blue Sanhagu is Tanagra cyanoptera (also epis-
copus). The yellow Sanha^u is Calospiza flava, the Coconut Sanhagu
Tanagra palmarum. The Rainbow Tanager (Sete cores) is Calospiza tri-
color. 136, 180, 206, 213, 257

393

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Santos, 33, 53

Sao Paulo, 23, 24, 149, 200, 364, 356, 367

Sapo, Toad, 260

Sapoty, Achras sapoto from Central America (Sapotaceae), 139

Sapucaja, Lecythis pisonis; Sap. branca or mirim, Lee. lanceolata (Lecythi-
daceae), 77

Sardsara, red-legged, Camponatus rufipes, 321

Sauva, Leafcutting Ant ; in Brazil the commonest species is Atta sexdens. Smaller
species are Acromyrmex niger, subterraneus, etc. The fungus cultivated is
Rhozites gongylophora. The chief authorities on the life of the Atta are
Bates, Belt {see Migratory Ants), A. Moller, Die Pilzgdrten einiger sudameri-
kanischer Ameisen, Jena, 1893 ; Von Ihering, Berl. Ent. ^eitschrift, 1895, etc. ;
and J. Huber, Biol. Z^ntralbl., 1905. 126, 191, 196, 303-312, 321, 331

Sauva's Guests, the. The Carabid beetle which I discovered, Coeloxenus Guen-
theri, belongs to the Orthogoniinae, which was already known to furnish
certain inhabitants of termitaries. The Rhinoceros beetle is Coelosis
sylvanus; the Cockroach riding on the backs of ants is Attaphila Bergi
(parasitic on Acromyrmex Lundi). Among the Staphylinidae there are
Cordylapsis tuberculata, Plociopterus atticida, and at the entrance to
nests, GlenxiS biplagiatus. For literature, see Ants, Staphylinidae, 307—8

Scarabaeidae. Dung-beetles, mostly with horns or antlers, which form pellets or
balls of dung in which they lay their eggs. The large brilliant forms belong
to the Phanaeus family. 183, 202-3, 206-7

Scarlet Tanager, Tie-fogo, Pipira (Rhamphocoelus brasilius), 212

Scissors-bird, Muscivora tyrannus, 195-6

Seagulls, 50

Seal fishery, 50

Sea-bladder, see Caravella.

Sea-lion (Otaria byronia), 49

Sea-urchins, 159.

Sebito, Certhiola or Coereba chloropyga, a small brown bird with grey throat
and yellow belly, 153, 196, 257

Seitz, Die Grossschmetterlinge der Erde, Vol. V. Die amerikanischen Tagfalter,
Stuttgart, 1922, 158

Self-fertilization, 232

Semfim, Sacy, Peitica, Tapera naevia, 258

Sensitive Plant, see Mimosa.

Seriema, Cariama cristata, 127, 136

Sering^eira, Rubber-tree (Hevea brasiliensis), also called Arvore da borrache,

243
Serrador, Volatinia jacarini, 120

Sertao, the, 1 1 3-30

Serum, anti-snakebite, 348

Sesostris, Papilio Sesostris, especially well represented in the Amazon basin, 216

Seven-hued Tanager, see Sanha9us.

Sharks, Tubarao. According to Alipio de Miranda Ribeiro {^oologia Brasilica,
S. Paulo) the dangerous Sharks are the Tintureira (Galeocerdo maculatus)
and the Annequin (Carcharodon carcharias), which grow to a length of
32 feet. Less dangerous is Carcharias lamia. The Shark is usually accom-
panied by the Pilot-fish (Naucrates ductor), a small striped fish, which
swims before the Shark, in order to warn the latter of the presence of
its prey. 47-8

Shrimp — Camarao, 47

394

INDEX

Silk-cotton Tree, Bombzix malabarica, also Chorisia speziosa, Paina da seda ; in

the Argentine known as Samohxi. The true Kapok tree is Ceiba pentandra

(Bombaceae), 79
Silk-weeds or Milk-weeds ( Asclepiadeae) , 242
Silver Monkey, 2 1 2
Singing-birds, 253
Siriri, Tyrannus melancholicus, 250

Skunk, Gangamba, Surilho (Conepatus chilensis), 178, 192
Sleeper, Dorminhoco, Bucco maculatus. In Sao Paulo, Bucco chacuru. Belongs to

the Bearded Cuckoos or Sloth-birds (Bucconidae), 125, 215
Slender Frog, Paludicola gracilis, 271
Sloth, Pregui9a, Two species : the widely distributed Ai (Bradypus tridactylus),

and in the North the Unau (Choloepus didactylus), which has only 2 toes

on the forefoot, and only 7 cervical vertebrae ; another species has only 6.

136, 169-171, 319
Sloth-bird, Dorminhoco (Bucco), see Sleeper.
Sloth-moth, Bradypodicola Hahneli, a Pyralid, 278
Snail, Operculate, Caramujo, AmpuUaria striata and caniculata. A snail with a

long trumpet-Uke shell, as big as a man's fist, which is met on damp paths,

is Bulimus ovatus. There are many other species. 272
Snakes, green, see Emerald Snakes.

non-venomous. Xenodon Meremii, Neuwiedi, Guentheri, Helicops angulatiis,

339
venomous. Besides the Goral-snakes (Elaps corallinus and frontalis) there are

the following venomous snakes in Brazil : Surucucil or Surucucu pico da

jaca (Lachesis muta), Jararaca, Jararacucu (Lachesis lanceolata), Labaria,

Jararaca (Lachesis atrox), Urutu, Cruzeiro (Lachesis alternata), Jararaca

do rabo branco (Lachesis Neuwiedi), Cotiarinha, Furta-cor (Lachesis

itapetiningue), Urutu dourado, Surucucu tapete (Lachesis jararacucii),

Cascavel, Rattlesnake (Crotalus terrificus), 128, 175, 221, 337-348

"Soap-cassia." Lavo prato, Cassia medica, said to yield lather for washing dishes
(Legumlnosae), 98

Soco, 119

SofTrer, 125, 256

Soldado, 256

Solitary Bees, Tetralonia bifasciata ; a larger bee, Gentris collaris ; there are many
others.

Sparrow, European (Passer domesticus), 247-8

Specific Markings (Species recognition-marks), 216

Spiders, 207-8, 284-5

Spores, 306

Spurges, see Euphorbias.

Squirrel, Gachinguele, Guerlinguetus aestuans, 1 73

Stamens, 231

Stanhopea (Orchids), 104

StaphyJinidae, 307, 316-17, 335

Starling (Icteridae), 247-8, 253-6

Indian, Acridotheres melanosternus, 250

Stick-insect, Phasmos. Proscopia punctata and other species. The Stinking Stick-
insect is Phasma putridiun, 224

Stigma, 231

Strategus aloeus (beetle), 279

Sucuni, Joao bobo (Bucco chacuru), a Sloth-bird, 186

395

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Sucury, Anaconda (Eunectes morinus), 339, 342

Sugar-cane, Canna de assucar, Saccharum officinarum (Gramineae), probably

derived from India, where it is still more largely cultivated than elsewhere

(excepting Cuba). There are various species; one is known as Canna

patriotica or Canna federal, as the cane is striped with green and yellow,

the colours of the Brazilian flag. 115, 150-1
Sugar-Cicadae. Silvestri was the first to observe Cupira Bees (Melipona pallida)

sucking the larvae of a Cicada (Aethalion reticulatum). But one may see

the Irapuan doing likewise, and I have also caught the Urussii in the act.

301
Sugar-beetle, Besouro da canna, Podalgus humilis and Ligyrus fossator (Scara-

baeidae), 287-8
Sugarloaf, The, 34-7, 160
Sumaiima (Ceiba pentandra, also Eriodendron anfractuosum). Belongs to the

Bombaceae or Silk-cotton trees. The capsules contain a fine downy cotton,

known commercially as Kapok, and which is so light that it is especially

adapted to the filling of lifebelts. 79
Surucua (Trogon viridis), a bird with brilliant red, blue, green and yellow

plumage, and a toothed bill, 206
Surucuru, 347
Swallows, Andorinha; the most frequent are Panyptila cayennensis and Diplo-

chelidon cyanoleucus, 189
Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio thoas brasiliensis, 192, 216, 237
Swamp-crab, see Crabs.
Sweet Potato, see Batata doce.

Sword-beetle, a Dung beetle, Phanaeus ensifer, 287
Symbiosis, 105
Syntermites, in Sauva nest. According to Wasmann the insect I foimd is probably

a new species, Syntermes inquilinus, 334-5
Syphilis, 353
Syrinx, 253

Tacuare = Climbing Bamboo, 91

Talipot Palm, Corypha umbraculifera, 116

Tamandua, see Anteater.

Tambaqui (Hoplosoma), one of the Characinidae, with palatable flesh. Occurs
in the Amazon, 194

Tanagers, see Sanhagus.

Taoca, see Migratory Ants.

Tapir, Anta, Tapirus terrestris, 165, 177, 267

Tartaruga, see Tortoises.

Tatayba, Firewood, Chlorophora tinctoria (Moraceae).

Tatii, see Armadillos.

Tea (Cha da India), Thea sinensis (Theaceae) from Eastern Asia, 146

Teju or Lagarto, Tupinambis teguixin, 214

Temperature, 64-5

Tendrils, 94-6

Teque-teque, Todirostrum poliocephalum (Tyrannidae), 187

Termites, Cupim. Nils Holmgren, in his study of the South American termites
(Zool. Jahrbiicher, Systematik, 1906), gives 55 Brazilian species. The different
species are most readily distinguished by their nests. Calotermes (canellae,
rugosus) makes mere tunnels in trees. Anoplotermes makes galleries and
chambers in the soil. Of the earthen nests, according to Heyer, the "ant-

INDEX

hills" of the large termites (Cornitermes cumulans and similis) consist of
loam ; those of the medium-sized termite (Eutermes fulviceps) of loam and
earth, those of the small termites (Anoplotermes ater and morio) only of
earth. Anoplotermes turricola builds a turret-like nest. Eutermes Rippertii,
rotundiceps, chaquimayensis and others build paper nests on trees. Fungi
are cultivated in the "hills" of the very common Termes dirus. Termes
saliens and riograndensis, like the Ant, Odontomachus, are able to leap
backwards on snapping their mandibles. For a comprehensive account of
the life of the Termites, .ye^ K. Escherich, Die Termiten, Leipzig, 1909. 165,

325-36
Termite-guests, Solenopsis Edwardi,, a thieving Ant; also Brachymyrmex and
Monomorium. With Eutermes fulviceps lives the harmless Ant Cremato-
gaster alegrensis. Camponotus personatus and termitarius defend the
termitary. The Beetle which resembled a winged sexual Termite is Atrac-
tocerus termiticola. Of Staphylinidae with defensive forms there are Termi-
topsenius and Eupsenius. Timeparthenus is the Staphylinid with the
bloated abdomen; the Fly described is Termitomastus leptoproctus ; it
lives with Anoplotermes reconditus. For literature, see Termites and Ants.

335-6

Tern, Trintareis, Sea-swallow, 50

Terra roxa, 200

Tertiary Period and Deposits, 1 65-6, 1 76

Teu-teu, see Plover.

Therezopolis, 85, 133

Thoas Butterfly, see Swallowtail.

Thorn-Cicadae (Membracidae) . A two-spined form of Hemiptycha punctata and
Umbolca spinosa, 225

Thorny Spider, Gasteracantha Kochi, broader than it is long, and bears large
double spikes on the hinder part of the body, 208

Thrush, see Sabia.

Thunbergia = Azure Convolvulus, 98

Thyme (Labiatae), 120

Thynnus Wasp, Thynnus cornulus, Sao Paulo. This group does not occur in
Europe. 281

Ticks, Ixodes, HaemaphysaUs, Amblyoma humerale, Margaropus microplus,
Ornithodorus talage and rostratus (Carrapato do Chao), 351

Ticotico, Brachyspiza capensis or Zonotrichia pileata (Fringillidae), 166, 248

Tiger-cat, see Ocelot.

Tiger-Orchid, Stanhopea tigrina, 241

Tijuca, 24, 85, 87

Timbii, see Marsupials, 168

Tirucalli, Euphorbia tirucalli, from Africa. In Brazil there are hedges of Euphor-
bia, known as Avoloz. They are common in the interior, near Caruarii. 238

Tortoise, see Turtles and Tortoises.

Tortoise Beetles. These beetles (Cassidinae) belong to the Leaf-beetles (Chryso-
melidae), which in Europe also have golden-green representatives. The
species described as covering its offspring is Omoplata pallidipennis. A
metallic-green Brazilian sp>ecies (Desmonota variolosa) is often set in gold
or silver, like a gem, 203

Toucan, 175, 215

Tovaca, Chamaeza brevicauda (Formicariidae), 258

Toxodon, 172

Tree-cactus, see Cactus.

397

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Tree-climbing frogs, Dendrobatcs trivitatus and tinctorius. The poisonous
exudation of the latter is used by the Indians in their arrow-poison.

Tree-creepers, Dendrocolaptidae, i6i

Tree-ferns, in Brazil the species Alsophila taenitis, plagiopteris and phalerata, 85

Tree-frogs, 270-3

Tree-melon, Mamao (in English, Papaw or Pawpaw), Carica papaya, probably
from Mexico, but now distributed throughout the Tropics, as it grows
readily from seeds, 140-1, 213, 241

Tree-porcupine, Coendu villosus and prehensibilis, 173

Tree-stranglers. For the Tree-strangling Figs the section Urostigma has been
established, but they still bear their old name of Fig (Moraceae). The
Brazilian Gamelleira is Ficus doliaria. There are also Tree-stranglers
among the American Clusiaceae (Abano, Clusia fluminensis) belonging to
the Guttiferae ; some of them are epiphytes, which seems to point to the
derivation of the stranglers from the Figs. Now, of course, the Clusia grows
upwards from the ground. It first supports itself upon a tree, preferably a
Palm, when an adhesive gum exudes from the wounded bark. The plant
forms fleshy leaves, which are so heavy that they crush the shoots. These
rub against and wound one another, adhere together, and finally coalesce,
and as the process continues a trellis is formed, which grows closer and
closer, and at last becomes a closed tube. Martius saw whole ranks of
Macaiba-palms whose crowns emerged most strangely from the flower-
and leaf-covered tubes in which they were imprisoned. This Clusia
alba does not injure the palm, as a palm-tree does not increase in girth.
111-12

Trepadieras = Lianas.

Treub's works, in the Annalen von Buitenzorg, vol. 3 and elsewhere, 83

Trigger-fish, see Parrot-fish.

Trintareis, see Tern.

Trumpet-flower, creeper, Tecoma radicans (Bignoniaceae), 93

Tropical gardens, 131-44

Tropics, the, 64

Tubarao, a shark.

Tucunar^, Cichla temensis and ocellaris, 274

Turucuhe, Synallaxis ruficapilla, 187-8, 251

Tuyu-yia or Cabe^a de pedra (Stone-head), Tantalus americana.

Turtles and Tortoises. In Brazil, Tartarugas. The most important of the Brazilian
turtles is Podocnemys expansa, frequent in the Amazon, whose tender
meat (tasting like veal) is a staple food. It is found also in Eastern Brazil.
In the rivers and ponds of Central and Southern Brazil are the Kdgados or
Snake-necked Turtles (Hydromedusa tectifera) and other species. An
amphibious Tortoise is the Aperema (Geoemyda punctularia) ; and a
land-tortoise which lives chiefly in the forests is the Jaboty (Testudo tabu-
lata). Of the marine turtles, the Suruana or Scaly Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
lays its eggs on the shore ; other marine turtles are Chelonia imbricata or
the Hawksbill Turtle (which yields the best tortoise-shell) and the Logger-
head (Caretta caretta). 47

Two-headed Snake, Cobra das duas cabe^as, Amphisbaena, alba, really a
lizard, 342

Tyrants, Tyrannidae, so called on account of their confident bearing, and because,
like the Bemtevi, they give notice of anything that attracts their attention,
and so seem ro rule the whole neighbourhood. Among the Bemtevis are
Pitangus sulphuratus Maximiliani, P. lictor (Bemtevi pequeno), Tyrannus

INDEX

melancholicus (Siriri) and Muscivora tyrannus (the Scissors-bird or Tesoura.
with its forked tail), i6i, 175, 187, 195

Underwings, 208

Ungulates, 167, 172

Urtiga do urubu, see Favelleira.

Urubu, Catharistes urubu. The species with the yellow head is Cathartes bur-

rovianes, and that with the red head C. aura. The Urubu rei is Gypagus

(Sarcorhampus) papa. 53-4, 190, 201, 216

Vaccinaceae, 102

Vampire. The bloodsucking Bats of Brazil belong to the Leaf-nosed Bats (Phyllo-
stomidae). Desmodus rotundus and Diphylla ecaudata are genuine blood-
suckers, while the large Vampire (Vampirus spectrum) , whose wings have
a spread of 28 inches, has not yet been detected in sucking blood. 354-5

Vanilla, Vanilla planifolia (Orchids). The true Vanilla comes from Mexico. The
family has many species in all tropical countries, 106, 146

Veado, Brocket, 267

Vegetable Springs, Phytocrene, large, hirsute lianas of Southern Asia, related to
the Villaresiae of Brazil, whose leaves yield a substitute (Congonha) for
Mate or Paraguay tea (Icacinaceae), 90

Venus'-hair Fern, Adiantum capillus Veneris. There are perhaps 80 species of
Andiantum in the Tropics. In Europe they are employed in making up
bouquets of flowers, or grown in grottoes, 135

Vibor, Gecko, Hemidactylus mabuia, a nocturnal lizard, 28, 343

Victoria, 32

regia (Nymphaceae), 136, 239

Vine, Vinis vitifera, 146

Vira bosta, called also Corricho: Molothrus bonariensis. The Ringed Starling,
Cassidix oryzivora, is likewise said to foist its eggs on other birds, 189

Viscacha, Visacia viscacia. The animal known to commerce as the Mountain
Viscacha is the Legidium peruanum, 1 73

Vulture = Urubu.

Vulture-nettle, see Favelleira.

Wagtail, 187, 258

Wallace, 67

Warburg, Die Pflanzenwelt, Leipzig, 1913-22, 291-4

Wasps. See Hornets, Ichneumons. For a good summary, see A. Ducke, Uber

Phylogenie und Klassifikation der sozialen Wespen. ^ooL Jahrbiicher Systematik,

1914.
Water-bugs, the large brown Belostoma, and Zaitha fluminea, 287
Water-cockroach, see Barata do mar.
"Water-fleas," 202
"Water-foot," see Eichhornia.
Waterhen, Gallinula galeata, 119

Water-louse, Water-cockroach, Rock-louse, see Barata do mar.
Water Marjoram, Brazilian, Eupatorium laevigatum (Compositae).
Water-opossum, 167
Water-weevil, Hydrotimetes natans, 280
Wax-plants, Flor de cera, Hoya carnosa, from India, so called because of its

pretty wax-like flowers, 1 92
Weaver Ants, in Brazil Camponotus senex, observed by Goeldi ; in India, Oeco-

phylla smaragdina, 321

399

A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL

Wedge-nosed Bug, 351

Weevils, Curcullionidae. Brazil has many handsome species, especially in the

genus Cyphus, 207
Whales : the commonest Brazilian species is Megaptera nodosa ; more rarely,

Balaena australis, 49
Whip-cactus, 106
Whistling Frogs, Leptodactylus typhonius. The large species about Rio is L.

ocellatus. The male has monstrously thick arms. 259, 271
"White Ants," see Termites.
Wild Cats, Pampas Cat (Felis pajaros) in Rio Grande do Sul; also the Yagua-

rundi or Gato mouriscopreto (FeUs yaguarundi) and the Eyra or Gatto

vermelho (Felis eyra), 178
Wild Dog, Cachorrhinho do matto, Vinagre (Speothos venaticus). There is also

a South American jackal, which the Indians succeed in taming : the Mai-

kong (Canis thous), 178
Wild Swine, see Peccary.

Wolf, Lobo or Guara, Canis (Chrysocyon) jabatus, 178

Wolf-beetles, Lycinae. These beetles exude nauseating juices. The beetle men-
tioned is Calopteron bifasciatum; the mimics are Tropidosoma Spencii,

the Capricorn, Lophonocerus hirticornis, and the butterfly Pionia lycoides,

220-1
Wolf Spider, Lycosa, 281

Wood-bee, Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa, some 30 species, 42, 295
Woodpecker, 195: 215, 319
Worker Bees, 299

Xarque, 142
Xenocephalus, 315
Xenodon, 343

Yellow fever, 348-350

Yucca, in various species ; the finest, which the Brazilians call Cyrio da nossa
Senhora, is the Gloria Palm-lily (Yucca gloriosa). The moth which fer-
tilizes the Yuccas is Pronuba yuccasella, 244-6

Zaboticaba, 138

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