572 MR. weir's JOURNxVL 



a fine bignoniaceous shrub {Portlandia sp), & to 10 feet high. 

 This is now in full bloom ; the flowers are purple, or nearly lilac, 

 and are produced in great abundance. The plant is beautiful, 

 and is wm-th cultivation. 



Dec. 28th, — Lefc the village, taking a bye-road which leads 

 direct to the foot of the range of bills. Three leagues from 

 Perisicaba had to cross a river of considerable size and swollen 

 by the rains. Great difficulty in getting across; and a little 

 further on we were obliged to take shelter in a fazenda on the 

 river-side from a thunder-storm, with very heavy rain. 

 * . Dec, 2Qth. — Started again early in the morning on the direct 

 road for the hills ; but after getting about a couple of leagues 

 on we were intercepted again by a river, which was so much 

 swollen that we could not cross it. There was no alternative but 

 to turn back the way we liad come, and have again taken up our 

 quarters for the night at the fazenda of Sao Lorenza. There is 

 another way of getting to the Mcrros (hills), but it is not so direct 

 — by taking the road for the village of Ilio Claro, which stands 

 on the campo to the north of the range of hills, and about or 

 7 leagues distant from it at its nearest point, T am informed 

 that there are bridges over all the streams on the i^oad to the 

 village, and from there the route will be chiefly over campo. 



Dec, 30f/i.— Left the fazenda again by the road for Kio Claro, 

 For about a league the country is wooded — or rather for about 

 half a league in a line directly perpendicular to the course of the 

 river. Our route lay in an angular direction through this wooded 

 track for, as I have said, about a league, when for about another 

 league and a half it lay over a dry level campo thickly covered 

 with the common Brake {Ptevis aqailina)^ and with scarcely any- 

 thing else. After passing this we again entered the wood bordering 

 the river wc had left in the morniiifr, 



. There is a rustic wooden bridge over the stream, and, having 

 crossed this, another half league brought us again out of the 

 wood on to another campo of small size, on which stands the vil- 

 lage of Rio Claro. The other side of the campo is bounded by 



the forest that borders the river which gives its uaa^e to the 

 village. 



{To he continued) 



fj 



