Natural history -- Nicaragua; Nicaragua -- Description and travel
At the head of the tramway, near the entrance to the San Benito
mine, we planted about three acres of the banks of the valley with
grass. In clearing away the fallen logs and brushwoods, many
beetles, scorpions, and centipedes were brought to light. Amongst
the last was a curious species belonging to the sucking division of
the Myriapods (Sugantia, of Brandt), which had a singular method of
securing its prey. It is about three inches long, and sluggish in
its movements; but from its tubular mouth it is able to discharge a
viscid fluid to the distance of about three inches, which stiffens
on exposure to the air to the consistency of a spider's web, but
stronger. With this it can envelop and capture its prey, just as a
fowler throws his net over a bird. The order of Myriapoda is placed
by systematists at the bottom of the class of insects; the sucking
Myriapods are amongst the lowest forms of the order, and it is
singular to find one of these lowly organised species furnished
with an apparatus of such utility, and the numberless higher forms
without any trace of it. Some of the other centipedes have two
phosphorescent spots in the head, which shine brightly at night,
casting a greenish light for a little distance in front of them. I
do not know the use of these lights, but think that they may serve
to dazzle or allure the insects on which they prey. We planted two
kinds of grasses, both of which have been introduced into Nicaragua
within the last twenty years. They are called Para and Guinea
grasses, I believe, after the places from which they were first
brought. The former is a strong succulent grass, rooting at the
joints; the latter grows in tufts, rising to a height of four to
five feet. Both are greatly liked by cattle and mules; large
bundles were cut every day for the latter whilst they were at work
on the tramway, and they kept in good condition on it without other
food. The natural, indigenous grass that springs up in clearings in
the neighbouring forest is a creeping species, and is rather
abundant about Santo Domingo. It has a bitter taste, and cattle do
not thrive on it, but rapidly fall away in condition if confined to
it. They do better when allowed to roam about the outskirts of the
forest amongst the brushwood, as they browse on the leaves of many
of the bushes. This grass is not found far outside the forest, but
is replaced on the savannahs by a great variety of tufted grasses,
which seem gradually to overcome the creeper in the clearings on
the edge of the forest; but at Santo Domingo the latter was
predominant, and although I sowed the seeds of other grasses
amongst it, they did not succeed, on account of the cattle picking
them out and eating them in preference to the other.
There were many other paths leading in different directions into
the forest, and I shall describe one of them, as it differed from
those already mentioned, leading to the top of a bare rock, rising
fully 1000 feet above Santo Domingo.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account