The Naturalist in Nicaragua: A Narrative of a Residence at the Gold Mines of Chontales; Journeys in the Savannahs and Forests; with Observations on Animals and Plants in Reference to the Theory of Evolution of Living FormsE. Bumpus, 1888 - 403 pages |
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Page 54
... maize is ripe , and is gathered when dry , and stowed away , generally over the rooms of the natives . A second crop is often sown in December . Maize is very prolific , bearing a hundredfold , and ripening in April . From the most ...
... maize is ripe , and is gathered when dry , and stowed away , generally over the rooms of the natives . A second crop is often sown in December . Maize is very prolific , bearing a hundredfold , and ripening in April . From the most ...
Page 55
... MAIZE AND MANDIOCA EATERS . 55 Ch . IV . ] above the level of the sea ; and in the same country it has been found in tombs apparently more ancient than the earliest times of the Incas . * In Mexico it was known from the earliest times ...
... MAIZE AND MANDIOCA EATERS . 55 Ch . IV . ] above the level of the sea ; and in the same country it has been found in tombs apparently more ancient than the earliest times of the Incas . * In Mexico it was known from the earliest times ...
Page 56
... Maize has been introduced by the Portuguese , but it has no native name , and is used mostly for feeding cattle and fowls , scarcely at all for the food of the people . This fundamental differ- ence in the food of the indigenes points ...
... Maize has been introduced by the Portuguese , but it has no native name , and is used mostly for feeding cattle and fowls , scarcely at all for the food of the people . This fundamental differ- ence in the food of the indigenes points ...
Page 57
... maize and cacao , any native name . - As soon as we passed Pital we entered the great forest , the black margin of which we had seen for many miles , that extends from this point to the Atlantic . At first the road lay through small ...
... maize and cacao , any native name . - As soon as we passed Pital we entered the great forest , the black margin of which we had seen for many miles , that extends from this point to the Atlantic . At first the road lay through small ...
Page 67
... maize , plantains and bananas form the prin- cipal sustenance of the natives . The banana tree shoots up its succulent stem , and unfolds its immense entire leaves with great rapidity ; and a group of them waving their silky leaves in ...
... maize , plantains and bananas form the prin- cipal sustenance of the natives . The banana tree shoots up its succulent stem , and unfolds its immense entire leaves with great rapidity ; and a group of them waving their silky leaves in ...
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Common terms and phrases
amongst ancient animals ants Atlantic attacks beautiful beetles birds branches bushes butterflies carried cattle Central America Chontales colour continued couvade covered crossed dark Depilto dogs Ecitons feet flowers forest fresh-water fruit glacial period gold grass green Greytown ground hills humming-birds Indians inhabitants insects islands Jinotega journey Juigalpa lake land larvæ leaf-cutting leaf-cutting ants leaves Libertad live lodes longicorn look maize Masaya Matagalpa Mexico miles mineral mines mountain mules Nahuatls natives nearly nest Nicaragua night numerous o'clock Ocotal passed plains plants prey probably quartz quartz veins rain range reached resemblance Rio Frio river road rocks rocky San Ubaldo Santo Domingo savannahs seen side slope soon Spaniards species spiders steep stones surface Teustepe tion told Totagalpa town trachyte travelling trees tropical America valley variety vegetation Velasquez wasp whilst wings young
Popular passages
Page 173 - As we see those animals, whose instinct compels them to live in society and obey a chief, are most capable of improvement, so is it with the races of mankind. Whether we look at it as a cause or a consequence, the more civilized always have the most artificial governments.
Page 353 - ... at Caraccas, as well as at Calabozo, preparations were made to put the place into a state of defence against an enemy, who seemed to be advancing with heavy artillery. Mr. Palacio, crossing the rio Apura below the Orivante, near the junction of the rio Nula, was told by the inhabitants, that the "firing of cannon...
Page 316 - I had an opportunity of proving in Brazil that some birds, if not all, reject the Heliconii butterflies, which are closely resembled by butterflies of other families and by moths. I observed a pair of birds that were bringing butterflies and dragonflies to their young, and although the Heliconii swarmed in the neighborhood and are of weak flight so as to be easily caught, the birds never brought one to their nest.
Page 321 - Loc. cit. p. 321. show that he does not court concealment. He is very abundant in the damp woods, and I was convinced he was uneatable so soon as I made his acquaintance and saw the happy sense of security with which he hopped about. I took a few specimens home with...
Page 26 - ... communicated the intelligence to the others. They rushed to the rescue : some bit at the stone, and tried to move it ; others seized the prisoner by the legs, and tugged with such force that I thought the legs would be pulled off — but they persevered until they got the captive free. I next covered one up with a piece of clay, leaving only the ends of the antennae projecting. It was soon discovered by its fellows, which set to work immediately, and by biting off pieces of the clay soon liberated...
Page 29 - ... in necessity — and though no man has anything, yet they are all rich ; for what can make a man so rich as to lead a serene and cheerful life free from anxieties, neither apprehending want himself...
Page 57 - On each side of the road great trees towered up, carrying their crowns out of sight amongst a canopy of foliage, and with lianas hanging from nearly every bough, and passing from tree to tree, entangling the giants in a great network of coiling cables. Sometimes a tree appears covered with beautiful flowers which do not belong to it but to one of the lianas that twines through its branches and sends down great rope-like stems to the ground. Climbing ferns and vanilla cling to the trunks, and a thousand...
Page 59 - ... less the crimsons, purples, and yellows of Canada, where the dying foliage rivals, nay, excels, the expiring dolphin in splendour. Unknown the cold sleep of winter ; unknown the lovely awakening of vegetation at the first gentle touch of spring. A ceaseless round of ever-active life weaves the fairest scenery of the tropics into one monotonous whole, of which the component parts exhibit in detail untold variety and beauty.
Page 29 - ... necessity; and though no man has anything, yet they are all rich; for what can make a man so rich as to lead a serene and cheerful life, free from anxieties; neither apprehending want himself, nor vexed with the endless complaints of his wife? He is not afraid of the misery of his children, nor is he contriving how to raise a portion for his daughters, but is secure in this, that both he and his wife, his children and grandchildren, to as many generations as he can fancy, will all live both plentifully...
Page 221 - The leaf-catting ants attacked the young plants and defoliated them ; but I have never seen any of the trees out on the savannahs that are guarded by the Pseudomyrma touched by them, and have no doubt the acacia is protected from them by its little warriors. The thorns, when they are first developed, are soft, and filled with a sweetish, pulpy substance; so that the ant, when it makes an entrance into them, finds its new house full of food. It hollows this out, leaving only the hardened shell of...