MR, weir's journal. 589 



D 



the level land below the Serra. The height of this fall, the 

 greatest of the series, is fully 100 feet. The \vater, making only 

 a single leap, pours with a noise like thunder into a large circular 

 basin below, the boil and foam of which has suggested to the 

 people the name of " Agua Branca." 



At a place about 200 yards below the fall, by the help of the 

 trees which grow out of the cracks in the rock, and the roots 

 which crawl over its surface, we were enabled to descend to the 

 bottom of the precipitous ravine, where the still angry water 

 rushes boiling and surging among the stones, as if struggling to 

 escape from the scene of so much turmoih In the bed of the 

 river, in front of the large caldron into which the water falls, lie 

 several large mis-shapen masses of rock, which have fallen from 

 the sides of the ravine. Around and under these, by many narrow 

 . channels, the water finds its way from the basin, and it is only 

 at a considerable distance down the ravine that it is again united 

 . into a single stream. 



In order to get a good view of the fall, we had to wade up the 

 river, sometimes up to the middle in water, till we reached these 

 fallen rocks. In a narrow doorway, between two of them, the 

 force of the wind from the falling volume of water is so great 

 that it is impossible to look in that direction for more than a 

 second at a time. 



On each side of the ravine the rocks are draped with Philo- 

 dendrons, Pothoses, and Ferns. Among the latter I collected 

 specimens of No. 198, a curious little species. The fertile fronds 

 are doubled back and united at the edges, forming a sort of capsule 

 containing the spore-cases. A species of Gesnera was also thickly 

 scattered over the wet rocks, and higher up, in drier parts, a 

 pretty white-flowered Gloxinia. Of this and the Gesnera I col- 

 lected all the tubers I could reach. 



Nos. 196 and 197 I collected near the top of the fall. The 

 former is a tall-growing Acanthad, with blue flowers ; the latter 

 Aristolochia galeata, apparently somewhat different from No. 98. 



Feb. 18th and IQth. — Very wet days; impossible to do any- 

 thing out of doors. 



Feb, 20^/t. — ^Weather a little better, but far from fine. Made 



an 



Growing among the grass on the drier parts of the campo were 

 two plants of No. 199 {EpistepMion sp.), a terrestrial Orchid, 

 the flowers of which are very pretty, although the specimens I 

 found were both much damaged by the rain ; the sepals and 



VOL. ir. 



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