Geographical position of Santo Domingo.--Physical geography.--The
inhabitants.--Mixed races.--Negroes and Indians compared.--Women.
--Establishment of the Chontales Gold-Mining Company.--My house and
garden.--Fruits.--Plantains and bananas; probably not indigenous to
America: propagated from shoots: do not generally mature their
seeds.--Fig-trees.--Granadillas and papaws.--Vegetables.
--Dependence of flowers on insects for their fertilisation.--Insect
plagues.--Leaf-cutting ants: their method of defoliating trees:
their nests.--Some trees are not touched by the ants.--Foreign
trees are very subject to their attack.--Method of destroying the
ants.--Migration of the ants from a nest attacked.--Corrosive
sublimate causes a sort of madness amongst them.--Indian plan of
preventing them ascending young trees.--Leaf-cutting ants are
fungus-growers and eaters.--Sagacity of the ants.

CHAPTER 6.

Configuration of the ground at Santo Domingo.--Excavation of
valleys.--Geology of the district.--Decomposition of the rocks.
--Gold-mining.--Auriferous quartz veins.--Mode of occurrence of the
gold.--Lodes richer next the surface than at lower depths.
--Excavation and reduction of the ore.--Extraction of the gold.--
"Mantos".--Origin of mineral veins: their connection with intrusions
of Plutonic rocks.

CHAPTER 7.

Climate of the north-eastern side of Nicaragua.--Excursions around
Santo Domingo.--The Artigua.--Corruption of ancient names.
--Butterflies, spiders, and wasps.--Humming-birds, beetles, and