4/0 Informal ton respecting Botanical Travellers, 



very rare here. On our return in the afternoon, I saw by the road- 

 side many specimens of Amaryllis Belladonna. A few miles further 

 Ave passed through a natural shrubbery, consisting chiefly of Esch- 

 weilcra patvifolia, beautifully in flower. Shortly afterwards I ob- 

 tained the blossoms of a small tree, bearing large yellow flowers, 

 which I first saw to-day, and found to be Cochlospermum serratifo- 

 lium. DC. (Wittehbachia insignis of Martius). It grows from 12 to 

 15 feet high, with straight upright branches; and at the period of 

 inflorescence is almost destitute of foliage, the small quantity that 

 does appear being confined to the not-flowering boughs ; while the 

 size and golden hue of the blossoms give the tree a very striking ap- 

 pearance. 



Shortly after my return from Catnia I spent a day at the country- 

 house of James Stewart, Esq., a merchant of Pernambuco, to whom 

 I had brought introductions from Rio. His residence is about a 

 mile further than Dr. Loudon's, and being fond of horticulture he 

 possesses a good garden. During a walk which I took with him in 

 the neighbourhood, I collected more flowering specimens, and also 

 ripe seeds of Cochlospermum serratifolium, with a species of Echites (?) 

 twining on its branches, and bearing pink- coloured and sweet-smell- 

 ing blossoms. We also met with several small trees of a Sapindus in 

 bloom ; and in a low wood was Acacia tortuosa, a much-branched 

 shrub, about 15 feet high. Near this place I was highly gratified 

 by seeing for the first time the Gustavia augusta in flower, many of 

 whose noble pink blossoms were expanded, and were as large as those 

 of the white water-lily, while numbers were just ready to burst. 



Close to the coast, and about thirty miles north of Pernambuco, 

 there is a small island called Itamanca ; which on account of its pecu- 

 liar flavour, and the abundance and superior quality of the fruit pro- 

 duced there, is designated as the garden of Pernambuco. Of course I 

 was anxious to visit a place of which I heard so many praises, and for 

 this purpose I started on the morning of the 13th of December, and 

 considered myself peculiarly fortunate in having the company of Mr. 

 Oliver Adamson, a young gentleman from Glasgow, who is in a mer- 

 chant's office at Pernambuco. He is particularly fond of the study 

 of nature, and collects plants for one of his relations. To make the 

 voyage to Itamanca, we hired a jangada, one of the raft boats which 

 are so common in this part of the Brazilian coast. It consists of six 

 pieces of a very light kind of wood, a species of Apeiba, each about 

 twenty-five feet long and two feet in circumference, pinned and lashed 

 together. The jangada commonly carries one large sail, and is 

 manned by three men. The model of one which Dr. Loudon gave 



