ON THE AMAZON. rb! 
a place in the Brazilian Materia Medica. The ashes of the wood are 
used with Andiroba oil for making vegetable soap; as are also the 
ashes of the Xiriuba tree, and of the skin of the fruit of the Cacao. 
No. 16. Sieve called a “ Gurupema," made by the Indians near 
Para, and used chiefly in the manufacture of * Assai.” It is made 
from a plant called Uarumd4. 
No. 17. Sipó, called ** Tíimbo-titica," from forests at Tanaü, on the 
Rio Acara, near Para. September 1849. This is considered the 
toughest and most flexible of all the Sipos, and is extensively used 
as a substitute for string. (I send the leaves: flowers or fruit I have 
not yet seen.) 
No. 18. Siphonia elastica, Pers. (Seringueira, Bras.) (Wood ; 
leaves and flowers.) Tanaii, on the Rio Acara, a confluent of the 
Rio Para. September 1849. This tree, which produces the genuine 
Caoutchouc, is one of the largest and handsomest in the forest. When 
growing in rather open situations, it is branched almost from the very 
base. The milk is much thinner than that of the Cow-tree, and falls 
away in drops from any incision that is made in the bark. Much more 
is yielded by the trunk than by the branches. 
No. 19. Leaves and bark of the celebrated ** Caraipé,”* or pottery- 
tree, from Caripi on the Rio Para. August 1849. The Caraipé tree | 
is exceedingly straight, slender, and lofty, attaining a height of 100 ft. 
before it sends forth a branch, and with a diameter at the base not 
exceeding 12-15 inches. The wood is so hard that our tools would 
not enterit. In making the Caraipé pottery, the purest clay is pre- 
ferred, as it takes up the greatest quantity of the bark; this quality 
of clay is procured from the beds of the rivers and igaripés. The 
accompanying specimens were made for me by an Indian woman, 
residing on the Igaripé Castanhal at Tanaü, and consist of nearly 
equal portions of clay and the powdered bark of the Caraipé. They - 
will bear almost any amount of heat. The two panelas are used for 
heating milk, boiling eggs, and similar purposes: much larger — 
are often made. The smallest utensil is a rough model of a Fogaréiro, 
or chafing-dish, such as is to be seen in nearly every house in the 
country ; over this the panelas, &e., are heated. 
* ipa angustifoli i probability ; of which Aublet says, “ Les 
aiitem oec tn ig er ey écorce, 2c d pec terre moe pour 
faire leur poterie.” 
VOL. II. » 
