with sea-weed. By the side of many of these nests a small
flying-fish was placed; which, I suppose, had been brought
by the male bird for its partner. It was amusing to watch
how quickly a large and active crab {Graspus), which inhabits
the crevices of the rock, stole the fish from the side of the
nest, as soon as we had disturbed the birds. Not a single
plant, not even a lichen, grows on this island; yet it is inhabited
by several insects and spiders. The following list
completes, I believe, the terrestrial fauna: a species of
Feroiiia and an acarus, udiich must have come here as parasites
on the birds; a small brown moth, belonging to a
genus that feeds on feathers; a staphylinus (Quediiis) and
a woodlouse from beneath the dung; and lastly, numerous
spiders, which I suppose prey on these small attendants
on, and scavengers of the waterfowl. The often-repeated
description of the first colonists of the coral islets in the
South Sea, is not, probably, quite correct: I fear it destroys
the poetry of the story to find, that these little vile insects
should thus take possession before the cocoa-nut tree and
other noble plants have appeared.
The smallest rook in the tropical seas, by giving a foundation,
for the growth of innumerable kinds of sea-weed and
compound animals, supports likewise a large number of fish.
The sharks and the seamen in the boats maintained a constant
struggle, who should secure the greater share of the
prey caught by the lines. I have heard, that a rock near the
Bermudas, lying many miles out at sea, and covered by a
considerable depth of water, was first discovered by the circumstance
of fish having been observed in the neighbourhood.
F e r n a n d o N o r o n h a , F e b . 2 0 t h .—As far as I was
enabled to observe, during the few hours we staid at this
place, the constitution of the island is volcanic, but probably
not of a recent date. The most remarkable feature is
a conical hill, about one thousand feet high, the upper part
of which is exceedingly steep, and on one side overhangs its
base. The rock is phonolite, and is divided into irregular
columns. From the first impression, on viewing one of
these isolated masses, one is inclined to believe, that the
whole has been suddenly pushed up in a semi-fluid state.
At St. Helena, however, I ascertained that some pinnacles,
of a nearly similar figure and constitution, had been formed
by the injection of melted rock among the yielding strata;
which thus formed the model for these gigantic obelisks.
The whole island is covered with wood ; but from the dryness
of the chmate there is no appearance of luxuriance. At some
elevation great masses of the columnar rock, shaded by
laurels, and ornamented by a tree covered by fine pink flowers
like those of a foxglove, but without a single leaf, gave a
pleasing effect to the nearer jrarts of the scenery.
B a h i a , o r S a n S a l v a d o r . B r a z i l , F e b . 29t i i .— The
day has past delightfully. Delight itself, however, is a weak
term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first
time, has been wandering by himself in a Brazilian forest.
Among the multitude of striMng objects, the general luxu-
uriance of the vegetation bears away the victory. The elegance
of the grasses, the novelty of the parasitical plants, the
beauty of the flowers, the glossy green of the foliage, all
tend to this end. A most paradoxical mixture of sound and
silence pervades the shady parts of the wood. The noise
from the insects is so loud, that it may he heard even in a
vessel anchored several hundred yards from the shore; yet
within the recesses of the forest a universal silence appears
to reign. To a person fond of natural history, such a day as
this, brings with it a deeper pleasure than he ever can hope
again to experience. After wandering about for some hours,
I returned to the landing-place ; but, before reaching it, I
was overtaken by a tropical storm. I tried to find shelter
under a tree which was so thick, that it would never have
been penetrated by common English rain; but here, in a
couple of minutes, a little torrent flowed down the trunk.
It is to this violence of the rain we must attribute the verdure
at the bottom of the thickest woods : if the showers
were like those of a colder clime, the greater part would be
m