GEAR A. 453 
them, and we sat waiting, and losing the best hours 
of the morning, till, in their own good time, men and 
beasts reappeared. We were at last on the road at half 
past eight o'clock ; but, unhappily, it was just during 
our two hours of inaction that the rain, which had been 
pouring in torrents all night, had ceased for a time. We 
had scarcely started when it began again, and accompanied 
us for a great part of the way on our long three leagues' ride. 
We came now for the first time on the Carnauba palm 
(Copernicia cerifera), so invaluable for its many useful 
properties. It furnishes an admirable timber, strong and 
durable, from which the rafters of all the houses in this 
region are made ; it yields a wax which, if the process 
of refining and bleaching it were understood, would make 
an excellent candle, and which, as it is, is used for 
light throughout the province ; from its silky fibre very 
strong thread and cordage are manufactured ; the heart 
of the leaves, when cooked, makes an excellent vegetable, 
resembling delicate cabbage ; and, finally, it provides a 
very nourishing fodder for cattle. It is a saying in the 
province of Ceara, that where the Carnauba palm abounds 
a man has all he needs for himself and his horse. The 
stem is tall, and the leaves so arranged around the sum- 
mit as to form a close spherical crown, entirely unlike 
that of any other palm.* 
If we had to lament the rain, we were fortunate in not 
having the sun on our journey, for the forest is low and 
affords but little shade. The road was in a terrible con- 
dition from the long-continued rains, and though there 
* For a very interesting treatise on this palm, and the various branches 
of industry it may be made to subserve, see " Notice sur le Palmier Carnauba," 
par M A. de Macedo, Paris, 1867, 8. 
