BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 215 



hills which branch off from this great Serra are mostly cover- 

 ed with wood ; and the intervening lowlands, with rough, 

 stout grasses and bushes. From the great lieat and general 

 want of water, the woody districts are the most susceptible of 

 cultivation. In this hilly country? however, the sky is by no 

 means so cloudless and glaring, nor the weather so settled, as 

 on the plain ; and towards the western slope of the moun- 

 tains, more rain and dew fall than on their easterly sides. 

 The rainy season begins in January, and lasts till April here; 

 while in the southern provinces, near the sea, it commences 

 in September. During its continuance, everytliing becomes 

 verdant, and flowers appear in profuse abundance ; but 

 from August to December, the heat and drought reduce the 

 whole country to a dead and barren plain. This state of 

 climate, and its accompanying consequences on the country, 

 extend from Ceara to the northern half of the province of 

 Piauhy. The Sertanejos give both to this vegetation and cli- 

 mate, the term Agreste ; in contradistinction to the vegetation 

 which they call Mimosa, a name which they (singularly, to 

 our ideas,) apply to the climate also. The custom of bestow- 

 ing the same appellation on cause and effect, is remarkable, 

 and shows the faculty of observation with which the SertanS' 

 JOS are endowed. Both the Agreste and Mimosa districts are 

 liable to suffer, perhaps once in ten or twelve years, when 

 there has been a scanty rainy season, or none at all, from ex- 

 cessive drought; the earth then rends into deep chasms; 

 vegetation is utterly destroyed ; the wild animals of the forest, 

 and the numerous herds which belong to the natives, alike 

 perish; and the inhabitants are driven by hunger and thirst, 

 to emigrate. In the year 1792, a drought commenced in the 

 province of Ceara, that lasted till 1T96, and annihilated all 

 the domestic animals and many of the people. For a long 

 time honey was the only article of food ; and, as might be ex- 

 pected, numerous diseases followed the use of it, and swept 

 off thousands of poor creatures; while from seven parishes the 

 whole population emigrated, leaving not even a single indi- 

 vidual behind. If the reader is inclined to question the ac- 



