a favourite that its loss was
now mourned by every one, and its absence caused them to feel as though
one of the company had been left behind. Several times during that day
poor "titi" was the subject of conversation; indeed, they could hardly
talk about anything else. Little Leona was quite inconsolable; for the
pretty creature had loved Leona, and used to perch on her shoulder by
the hour, and draw her silken ringlets through its tiny hand, and place
its dainty little nose against the rich velvet of her cheek, and play
off all sorts of antics with her ears. Many an hour did "titi" and
Leona spend together. No wonder that the creature was missed.

During the whole of that day they travelled through a country covered
with dense forest. The river was a full half-mile wide, but sometimes
there were islands, and then the current became narrowed on each side,
so that in passing, the balza almost touched the trees on one side or
the other. They saw many kinds of trees growing together, and rarely a
large tract covered with any one species of timber, for this, as already
remarked, is a peculiarity of the Amazon forests. Many new and curious
trees were noticed, of which Don Pablo gave short botanical descriptions
to the others, partly to instruct them, and partly to while away the
hours. Guapo, at the rudder, listened to these learned lectures, and
sometimes added some information of his own about the properties of the
trees, and the uses to which they were put by the Indians. This is what
is termed the popular part of the science of botany, and, perhaps, it is
more important than the mere classification of genera and species, which
is usually all the information that you get from the learned and
systematic botanists.

Among the trees passed to-day was one called the "volador"
(_gyrocarpus_). This is a large forest tree, with lobed leaves, of a
heart-shape. But it is the seeds which are curious, and which give to
the tree the odd name of "volador," or "flier." These seeds have each a
pair of membranaceous and striated wings, which, when the seeds fall,
are turned to meet the air at an angle of 45 degrees; and thus a
rotatory motion is produced, and the falling seeds turn round and round
like little fly-wheels. It is altogether a curious sight when a large
volador is shaken in calm weather, to see the hundreds of seeds whirling
and wheeling towards the ground, which they take a considerable time in
reaching. The