156 Voyage of the Novara. 



whilst the requisite timber is brought from Norway and North 

 America. The value of the labour employed during 1856 

 amounted to nearly £90,000. — We proceeded hence past the 

 islands of Salinas and Honorio, and between the island 

 of Baretto and the eastern shore of the bay, as far as the 

 luxuriant island of Paqueta, on the lovely shores of which we 



landed. It has a circumference of five miles, and is inhabited 

 by 16,000 persons, who convert shells into chalk; nearly all the 

 houses on shore are chalk-kilns. During the dry season this 

 island is the favourite Sunday resort of the Jluminenses, as the 

 Rio do Janeirians delight to call themselves. From this sweet 

 spot the steamer carried us to the north side of the bay. In 

 the back-ground, the Organos mountains now appeared in all 

 the majesty of their imposing outline, whilst on one of the pro- 

 jecting ridges, the church San Francisco de Croara forms an 

 extremely picturesque object. 



The more the northern portion of the bay is approached, 

 the more romantic becomes the panorama of the mountains : 

 from this point stand out in their fidl grandeur the Scrra da 



