Rio de Janeiro 65 



I had set apart this day for a visit to the city. I 

 resolved that I would begin by calling upon Dr. Orville 

 A. Derby, the Director of the Geological Survey of 

 the country. Dr. Derby holds an enviable position 

 among the citizens of the Brazilian metropolis, where 

 he has resided for forty years. He was one of the trusted 

 scientific advisers of the late Emperor, Dom Pedro II., 

 and has been active both under the empire and the 

 republic in developing the resources of the land, 

 which he has made his home. His unfailing kindness 

 to men of science who visit Brazil, and his great learning 

 have won for him a host of admiring friends, and I 

 felt that it was a privilege as well as a duty to call upon 

 him to express in person my cordial appreciation of 

 the services he had rendered to Mr. John D. Haseman, 

 whom the Carnegie Institute sent to Brazil in 1908, 

 and who for nearly three years had served us there as 

 a field naturalist, making many interesting discoveries. 



I found Dr. Derby at the hotel where he resides, 

 and at leisure for the day. We lunched together, 

 and my host exerted himself to select from the volumin- 

 ous bill of fare viands characteristic of the country. 

 Among other things we had some delicious shrimps 

 fresh from the sea, quite equal in flavor to the best 

 New England lobsters. We had boiled cabbage-palm 

 and fried plantains, dishes not known outside of the 

 tropics. The Brazilian cheese was very good, and I 

 was informed that dairy products are beginning to be 

 exported in considerable quantities from Rio de Janeiro. 

 The coffee was veritable nectar. Three-fourths of the 

 coffee consumed by mankind comes from Brazil, and 

 the art of brewing a good cup of coffee is certainly 

 understood in Rio. 



After luncheon we repaired to the Geological Museum, 



