ON THE ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 275 



chonads, among- which grow many large species of herbaceous 

 ferns, and several Palms. About the middle Palms and tree- 

 ferns abound : some of the latter, which are mostly Alsophilas 

 and Cyatheas, reaching to the height of from 30 to 40 feet. At 

 an elevation of about 2000 feet a large species of Bamboo (Bam- 

 busa Tagoara, Mart.) mingles with the forest trees in great 

 profusion. The stems of this gigantic grass are often 18 inches 

 in circumference, and attain to a height of from 50 to 60 feet. 

 They never, however, grow perfectly upright, the tops of them 

 curving gradually down till they sometimes nearly reach the 

 ground. 



The Fazenda at which I resided during my stay in the moun- 

 tains, belongs to Mr. March, an Englishman. His estate em- 

 braces an extent of country which contains some 64 square 

 miles, and is principally intended for the breeding of horses. 

 The greater part of it is still covered with virgin forest, that 

 which is cleared consisting of pasture-land and several small 

 farms for the cultivation of Indian corn, French beans, and 

 potatoes. Plentiful crops are yielded by the two former, but 

 the produce of the latter is neither so abundant nor so good as 

 it is in England. He likewise possesses a large garden, which 

 is under the management of a French gardener. In it may be 

 seen nearly all the European fruits and vegetables growing in 

 the greatest perfection. The Peach, the Olive, the Fig, the 

 Vine, the Apple, the Pear, the Orange, all produce fruit more 

 or less abundantly. The Strawberry yields but little, and the 

 Gooseberry no fruit at all. Excellent crops of Cauliflower , 

 Cabbage, Asparagus, Artichokes, Celery, Turnips, Carrots, 

 Pease, Onions, &c., are freely produced and sent weekly to the 

 city market. At this elevation the climate is very much cooler 

 than it is at Rio. In the months of May and June the thermo- 

 meter has been known to be as low as 32° just before daybreak ; 

 the lowest at which I observed it myself was one morning at the 

 end of May, when at 8 o'clock a.m. it indicated 39°. The 

 highest to which it rose during the six months I resided there 

 was in the end of February, when one day it indicated 84^ at 

 noon. The hot season is also the season of rains, and it is then 

 that the mass of the Orchids, and almost every other tribe of 

 plants, come into flower. From these facts cultivators ought to 

 take a lesson in the cultivation of the productions of this and of 

 similar regions. If the difference of temperature between the 

 season of wet and that of flowering be so great in the state of 

 nature, it must be obvious, that to grow them well artificially, a 

 somewhat similar state of things ought to be observed. The 

 greater part of the Orchids which are sent to England from the 

 Organ Mountains grow in the region of the above temperature, 



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