BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 225 



cawing and screaming past us, and the great Ann [Crotopha- 

 gus major. Lath.,) frequently uttered its stammering cry from 

 the banks of the Caninde, which we now crossed for the last 

 time, in order to pursue the remainder of our way on its 

 right bank. In the vicinity of Ilha, as well as at Castello 

 and MocamhOy the ground frequently exudes common salt 

 and saltpetre ; these are the most northern places in which 

 we have met with, or heard of, these substances in our travels; 

 but the Brazilians possess these important productions of the 

 soil in many districts besides. The common salt here is 

 much mingled with other and injurious ingredients, often 

 producing diarrhaea, and similar disorders. 



The lower we descended into the delightful bushy valleys 

 through which the Rio Caninde pursues its way, the more 

 strikingly was the vegetation marked with the character here 

 called Agreste ; — grayish-green tufts of ^;'ass, numerous trees 

 of the genera Qualea, Phceocarpits, Jacaranda, ^c, their 

 branches, peculiarly crooked in their growth, reminded us of 

 what we had been accustomed to see at Minas; and finally, 

 our old acquaintance, the Buriti Palm, appeared and greet- 

 ed us. The soil consists of reddish sandstone, often mixed 

 with courses of quartz and layers of liver-coloured sandstone ; 

 and it rises into many low green bush-covered hills, flat at 

 top, and ascending one over another like terraces. 



On the 3d of May, at sunset, we reached the capital of 

 Piauhy, the Ciudade de Oeiras, whose irregular rows of 

 houses meet the traveller's eye, when he has gone round the 

 last hill. The worthy Capitan Major, Senor Joao Nepomuce- 

 no de Castello Branco, descended from the early conquerors 

 of this country, had already kindly provided for us, and a 

 house stood ready for our reception. In the person of the 

 governor, Colonel Balthazar de Souza, we had cause to re- 

 spect a man of learning and amiable manners; who, though 

 on the point of departure for the scene of his new appoint- 

 ment, as governor of the Province of Espiritu Santo, omitted 

 nothing which could render our residence in Oeiras both im- 

 proving and agreeable. 



Oeiras, now the capital of the province of Piauhy, was, in 



Journ. ofBot. Vol. IV. No. 29, October, 1841. 2v 



