Mr. Treherne expressed great pleasure at seeing Mr. and Mrs. Jardine again, telling them he had a capital journey, and that the beautiful air of the open country, as he rode along, had given him quite an appetite for luncheon. He was very fond of plants and flowers, and, indeed, something of a botanist as well. During his stay he expressed a wish to see the coastline and shores of La Plata, and said how greatly he would enjoy an expedition there some fine day, when it was not too hot. Mr. Jardine could not accompany him, but he asked me to do so, and we arranged for an early start, as the shore of the estuary lay a good long way beyond the furthest point of the estancia in that direction, so that going there and back made a certain distance to ride. I again offered him "Carnival," as he seemed to like him so much, and I rode a bay horse belonging to the estancia. When we got beyond our own camp we passed through a kind of open wood with thinly-scattered "tala" trees. These were not large, much in shape of a prickly shrub, although on or near the banks of a river these trees grew much larger, and their wood was greatly used both for fencing and firewood. As we progressed the soil got poorer, until at last we came to what were really sand-dunes. These were undulating, and of large extent, and as we passed along my companion noticed every here and there rather a deep dell, with shrubs growing in it. Here the sand was deep, so we dismounted and led our horses, and leaving his with me, and going down into one of these, he was surprised to find it quite bright with flowers, "Petunias," and "Lantana," whose improved relations, he said, were great favourites in English gardens. We then were able to remount our horses, and so proceeded slowly on to the shore of the Estuary de la Plata. Here the outlook was most attractive. Nothing, not even a sail, visible on the wide waters, shining like silver in the sunshine on that early summer afternoon. A wide expanse of sand like the sea-shore stretched east and west, golden in colour, and hard and firm to ride on. Bordering this, along the edge of the dunes, were a row of large cacti, the kind you see in flower-pots in England, but here ten to fifteen feet high, with beautiful crimson blossoms in full bloom, hanging in profusion on the edge of their pendant branches. Here we unsaddled and tied up the horses beneath their shade. I soon had a fire lighted to keep off the flies, and also to warm some coffee I had brought with us. Our luncheon, too, was welcome, and we enjoyed it greatly. After a rest and a smoke we again saddled up, and had a good gallop on the sands, which the horses seemed to enjoy every bit as much as we did. We returned by a somewhat different route, turning towards the river bank, and following it during the latter portion of our ride. When crossing the camp, I pointed out the patches of verbena, some scarlet and some white, which in places