ceæ; the aroides, several kinds of ferns, and the Cyperus BOOK Americanus are more numerous in Brazil than in Guyana, XCI. and some of the salicornia, which have been lately discovered yield a great quantity of barilla. M. de Saint Hilaire informs us that of twenty different plants that were collected at Benguela and Angola in Africa, there was only one which he could not find in the vicinity of Rio Janeiro.* The coasts are covered with mangles, which are for the most part common to the tropical countries of both contiThe Rhizaphora mangle L. is worthy of notice, its seeds begin to shoot before they are detached from the tree, and the roots descend until they strike into the ground; thus a thick grove is sometimes formed from a single plant. nents. The numerous palms in this country may be seen at a Variety of short distance from the shore, several are even more lofty palms. and majestic than those in India. The Cocas butiracca is cultivated by the inhabitants on account of its butter, which can only be obtained when the temperature of the atmosphere is lower than twenty degrees of Reaumur; if the weather be warmer, it is dissolved into oil. The leaves of cabbage palm are nutritive and agreeable to the taste. The coppice wood on the hills near the bay of Rio Janeiro consists mostly of crotons. The Bignonia leucoxylon is often covered with flowers in the course of the year, and the country-people suppose that rain may be expected shortly after its blossoms appear. The Brazilian myrtle is distinguished at a distance by its silver coloured bark. The Icica-heptaphylla, and the Copayfera officinalis are valuable on account of their precious resins. The Jaca, the Jaboticaba and Gormichama, are different fruit trees, belonging to the family of myrtles; although the inhabitants of Rio Janeiro eat these fruits, strangers dislike their resinous and acid taste, The Morea northiana has been transplanted in the gardens of Europe; it was discovered by Sir Joseph Banks, *Lettre de M. Auguste de Saint Hilaire, MS. BOOK when he touched at Rio Janeiro in company with Captain Cook. A beautiful shrub with dazzling red flowers was called the Bourgainvillia Brasiliensis by Commerson to perpetuate the name of his illustrious commander. The Lecythis ollaria grows in the woods of S. Yoâo Baptista, and reaches generally to the height of a hundred feet; the branches on its summit are covered in summer with rose-coloured leaves, and white blossoms. Its nuts are as large as a cannon ball; they are enclosed in a loose covering, from which the seeds fall out, when the fruit is sufficiently ripe; it is not always safe to remain in the woods during a storm, for on these occasions many of the nuts fall to the ground. The Indians are fond of the seeds, they sometimes eat them raw, when roasted they serve as a substitute for bread. Parasitical The forests are incumbered with parasitical plants, strings of the leafless milky bind-weed descending from the highest trees twine round their trunks, and gradually destroy them. Other plants of the same nature, as the Passiflora laurifolia, are remarkable for the beauty of their flowers. plants. Superior quality of A Portuguese writer affirms that no country possesses the wood, so excellent wood for ship-building as Brazil. "All our engineers," he adds, "are aware of the superior quality of the tapinhoam, the peroba, the Brazilian pine, the cedar, the wild cinnamon tree, the guerrama and the jequetiba. Some of these woods resist the action of water, others that of the atmosphere; and the olive, as well as the Great size pine, are well adapted for masts. Many of the trees arrive of the trees. at an extraordinary height, but they are exposed to a thousand dangers; their roots, extending along the surface, never sink deep into the earth; a strong breeze often breaks the trunk as well as the branches, and a tree rarely falls without destroying many others. La Condamine takes notice of the canoes formerly used by the * Da Acunha de Coutinho's Essay on the Commerce of Portugal. Carmelite missionaries on the Amazons. He measured one BOOK that was made from a single tree, and found it to be about XCI. thirty feet in length and four or five in breadth. Rocca Pitta makes mention of these canoes in his history of America; their diameter was about sixteen or eighteen palms, they had from twenty to twenty-four banks of oars, and were loaded with six hundred tons of sugar.* .* Different kinds of wood are exported to Europe; the royal navy of Portugal is built of Brazilian timber. The trade of Bahia, and several other sea ports, consists chiefly in ship building. The inhabitants not only supply the whole of Portugal with trading vessels, but sell them to the English. A merchant ship may be had in Brazil for half the sum that it costs in Europe. This country exhibits an endless variety and profusion in its productions, which form a striking contrast to the constant poverty of species, that distinguishes the forests of the north. But it cannot be denied that these Rapidity of tropical plants are subject to a more rapid dissolution than their those in our own countries; they arrive sooner at maturity and sooner at decay. None of the trees reach that old age to which they attain in colder climates, the changes from life to death pass in quicker succession. Many causes contribute in producing this effect; even the rich and fertile soil appears unable to furnish sufficient nourishment to its unnumbered productions. Plants with such exuberance of life impede each other's progress; it often happens that trees, after reaching a considerable height are checked by the counteracting force of more powerful neighbours. The finest plants suddenly decay, are eaten by ants or other insects, and fall at last to the ground. If a regular system of forest cultivation take place in these thinly peopled woods, it will for a long period be less necessary to plant trees than to remove them from each other. Many of the Plants used plants in Brazil are used in dying; there are three kinds in dying. of the famous Brazilian wood, the Brazil mirim, the * America Portugaeza, Book I. p. 58, 59. growth. XCI. BOOK Brazil rozado, and the Brazilletto. The first is considered the best, the second has received its name from its rosy hue, the third is not so valuable as the other two. A decoction of Brazil mirim is of a rich purple colour, and it is rendered black by being mixed with vitriol and lime. The dyer's lichen, and other plants of the same nature grow throughout the country, but they are most common in Minas Garaes, and at no distant period they may prove a valuable acquisiAlimenta- tion to commerce and the arts. Cassada or mandioca is the ry plants. principal nourishment of the inhabitants; ignames, rice, maize, and wheat are cultivated, but agriculture is still in its infancy. Mr. Mawe states, as a proof of the fertility of the soil, that the average return of Indian corn is as two hundred to one; each plant of mandioca produces from six to twelve pounds of bread. The marobi, an indigenous plant, yields a great quantity of oil. The low grounds abound in melons, gourds, and bananas; lemons, guavas, and different kinds of oranges grow along the coast. The mangaba tree is only observed in the vicinity of Bahia, and the inhabitants of that district make an agreeable beverage of its fruit. The province of St. Vincent is famed for its pine apples, and the fruit of the ibipitanga tree resembles the cherry. The culture of sugar, coffee, cotton, and indigo has of late years made considerable progress, but the famous Brazilian tobacco is only raised in the district of Cachoeira, which is about fifteen leagues from Bahia. That district is extensive, and its inhabitants do not consider the culture of tobacco so profitable as that of cotton. Aromatic plants, spices, &c. The banks of the Madeira, the Xingu, and Tocantins are covered in many places with immense forests of cocoa trees, and the tendrils of the vanilla are seen clinging like ivy round the highest branches. This country produces the Capsicum frutescens and different sorts of pepper, the wild cinnamon tree, and the Brazilian cassia. Many plants are useful in medicine; some species in the family of compositæ are said to be specifics against the bite of serpents; of these the Mikania guaco is considered XCI. the best. The ipecacuanha plant grows in the greater part BOOK of the Sierra do Mar; it is gathered by Indians and negro slaves during the whole of the year, but principally after the rainy season, for the roots are then more easily pulled, on account of the softness of the ground. The jaguar, the tapir, the pecara, the agouti, and many Animals. other animals in Brazil are common to Peru, Paraguay and Guyana; but some are not found in these countries, and of this sort are different kinds of simiæ. The Simia rosalia has been confounded with the Simia pithecia, although they do not resemble each other. Brazil is the only part of the American continent, in which the titi or Simia jacchus L. has been seen. The Simia apella and the Simia ædipus, the last of which is the smallest species of the ape, are indigenous to the country. There are also several varieties of bats; the Vespertilio sorcinus and vampire bat are the most dangerous; the latter is a formidable enemy to horses, mules, and oxen; when it attacks them during the night, it fixes generally on the jugular vein, and is supposed to lull the pain of its bite by flapping its wings all the time it sucks the blood. Two species of sloths, the aii and uncii or the Bradypus tridactylus, and didactylus, are not uncommon in some parts of the country. Linnæus imagined that the first of these was indigenous to the East Indies, but Buffon has proved that it has been only observed in South America. The gayest butterflies proclaim the return of summer; the blue shining Menelaus, the Nestor, the Adonis and Laertes wander in the woods, or group together on the cool banks of rivers. The Brazilian birds are distinguished for the variety Birds. and splendour of their plumage. The red, blue, and green parrots frequent the tops of trees. The galinaceous jacus, the hoccos, and different kinds of pigeons, haunt the woods. The oriols resort to the orange groves, and their centinels, stationed at a distance, announce with a screaming noise the approach of man. Chattering manakins mislead the hunter, and the metallic tones |