BY THOMAS BELT, F.G.S.

AUTHOR OF
"MINERAL VEINS," "THE GLACIAL PERIOD IN NORTH AMERICA," ETC. ETC.


"It was his faith--perhaps is mine--
That life in all its forms is one,
And that its secret conduits run
Unseen, but in unbroken line,
From the great fountain-head divine,
Through man and beast, through grain and grass."

LONGFELLOW.

[Dedication of the First Edition.]



TO

HENRY WALTER BATES,

WHOSE ADMIRABLE WORK,

"THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS,"

HAS BEEN MY GUIDE AND MODEL,