IS VARIOUS PAETS OF THE GLOBE. 153 



tuberous roots, similar to a black turnip-radish, many of which 

 I sent to England, but they do not seem to have vegetated. 



No. 6. — J7ie Vegetation of the Province of Piauhi/, in Brazil, 

 and the District of Rio Preto. By George Gardner, F.L.8., 

 Director of the Royal Botanic Gai'dens, Ceylon. 



The province of Piauhy is a large flat tract of country, which, 

 from the nature of its soil and climate, is only adapted for the 

 rearing of cattle. It is only in its northern parts that some large 

 plantations of cotton exist. It is separated from the province of 

 Ceara by the mountain range already spoken of, and on the west 

 it is bounded by the Rio da Parnahiba, which separates it from 

 the province of Maranham. It is of great length, extending 

 from north to south between the second and twelfth degrees of 

 south latitude. Tlie fazendeiros, or farmers, of this province 

 divide it, from the nature of its vegetation, into two great re- 

 gions. To the first of these they give the name of Campos 

 3Iimosos, and to the other that of Campos Agrestes. The 

 Mimoso country is that which lies between the low countiy of 

 Piauliy and the upper parts of the low mountain range tliat 

 bounds it on the east. The forests which cover it are Catinga ; 

 and, as Martins has well observed, the general vegetation is dis- 

 tinguished by the tenderness of fibre, rigidity of the leaves, the 

 presence of liairs, stings, or prickles, smaller flowers, thicker, 

 and frequently milky juice. The grasses are for the most part 

 annual, are generally of a brighter green colour, and have more 

 tender and pliant leaves than those peculiar to tlie Campos 

 Agrestes. They consist of various species of Paspalus, Pani- 

 cum, Gymnopogon, Vilfa argicta, Cenchriis elegans, Calotheca 

 barhata, Chcetaria capillaris, Promus spicatus, &c. The cattle 

 reared in these districts bring much higher prices than those 

 from the Agreste. The Campos Agrestes are for the most part 

 more open than the others, and the grasses, which are mostly 

 perennial, are much ranker and coarser, consisting chiefly of 

 different species of Andropogon and Trachypogon. Although 

 much of the forest of these tracts is also Catinga, the trees are 

 mostly different from those in the Campos Mimosos. There are 

 also, sometimes, large swampy tracts in the Agreste country, in 

 Avhich grow clusters of the Buriti palm. The cattle in the 

 Agrestes are less liable to suffer from droughts than those which 

 feed in the Campos Mimosos. From Vaze da Vaca, a journey 

 of twenty-one days brought us to the city of Oeiras, the capital 

 of the province of Piauhy. On this journey I did not meet witii 

 many trees in flower. One of the most remarkable of these was 



