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Show 10 ST. PAUL'S ROCKS. Feb. 1832. with sea-weed. By the side of many of these nests a small flying-fish was placed; which, I suppose, had ~een brought by the male bird for its p~rtner. lt~was amus1~g t? wat~h how quickly a large and actlve crab ( Graspus), whiC~ mhab1ts the crevices of the rock, stole the fish from the s1de of the nest' as soon as we had disturbed the birds. Not a. s.i ng. le plant, not even a lichen, grows on this island; yet ~tIS I_D-habited by several insects and spiders. The followmg list completes, I believe, the terrestrial fauna: a species of Feronia and an acarus, which must have come here as parasites on the birds ; a small brown moth, belonging to a genus that feeds on feathers ; a staphylinus ( Quedius) 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 rock 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 hav-e 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. FERNANDO NoRONHA, FEB. 20TH.-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 Feb. 1832. FERNANDO ::\"ORONHA. 11 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 climate 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 parts of the scenery. BAHIA, OR SAN SALVADOR. BRAZIL, FEB. 29TH.- 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 striking objects, the generalluxuuriance of the vegetation bears away the victory. The ele- t gance 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 be 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. Mter 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 |
