A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL 



looming menacingly above the waves of the forest, the gigantic 

 rock known as the "Finger of God" rises into the sky. Shortly after 

 this the summit of the range is reached. 



When one is able to obtain a distant view from such an "Alto da 

 serra" a magnificent panorama unfolds itself From the steep flanks 

 of the range, above which rounded summits and jagged peaks rise 

 on either hand, one looks out over the wide green plain, on which 

 only a few houses are visible, to the pale blue of the bay with its 

 islands. Beyond the bay rise the intricate serrations of the further 

 mountain-range, with the Sugarloaf, Corcovada and the Tijuca 

 peak, all blue against the heavens, like a silhouette with bold, 

 rhythmic outlines. 



On entering the virgin forest one must not, in the tropics, expect 

 "the shadow of the primeval forest" such as is often described in 

 fiction. The tropical forest is full of light, and observant travellers 

 — Schomburgk in South America and Haberlandt in Java — have 

 already drawn attention to the fact that the third characteristic of 

 the tropical forest is its brightness. The Indian jungle, like the 

 Brazilian forest, is full of light to the very ground (Plates 12 and 13). 

 For as we have seen, the tropical trees have fewer leaves than ours, 

 because they have all the year at their disposal for building their 

 tissues, and are able to perform their task still more thoroughly by 

 reason of the greater power and constancy of the sunlight. Moreover, 

 the leaves of most of the tropical trees have a glossy upper surface, 

 in order to mitigate the power of the sun, and thus the virgin forest 

 is full of gleams and flashes of light. A photograph can hardly 

 represent it with any fidelity, because the glittering leaves photo- 

 graph as white and give the impression of snow (Plates 13 and 14). 

 Lastly, the leaves of tropical trees prefer to turn their edges to the 

 sun, rather than allow the light to fall on their whole surface, as 

 otherwise they would be overheated. The European trees, on the 

 other hand, prefer the horizontal position ; and this is particularly 

 noticeable in the case of the beech-tree. The boughs of this tree arc 

 perfectly horizontal, and the leaves are set horizontally on the twigs. 

 The result is that the ground is shadowed by the emerald screens, 

 leaf touching leaf and arresting the sunHght. In beech-woods only 

 those plants grow which can thrive in the shade, and a solemn 

 twilight prevails in the woodland cathedral. When the beech grows 

 it stifles the growth of other trees. The Oldenburg forest, for example, 

 will gradually transform itself into a beech forest, since the ancient 

 oaks and ashes and hornbeams are gradually reaching the age-limit 

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