MR. WEIK's journal. 503 



to-morrow, should the weather continue fine, taking with me 



four boxes I have brought here to hold my plants. I can there 



employ my time better than at Campinas, and shall be on the spot 



to collect a quantity of the Cattleyuy that abounds there, as soon 



as they are dry enougla. I have also a few other things to 

 collect there. 



March iQth. — Stalled for Itu this morning. The road in a 

 most deplorable state. At the river Capivari, about 400 yards 

 of the road is more than knee deep in water. One of my mules 

 stuck in the mud here, and unfortunately all my dried plants got 

 immersed in the water, the paper being completely saturated. 

 On getting to tLe other side of the water, I unpacked the box, 

 and spread a- great part of the paper in tlie sun to dry, but we 

 had scarcely laid it out when it began to thunder. I was obliged 

 to put it ail in the box again, wet as it and the plants were, for I 

 knew that the rain was not far off. We had scarcely got on the 

 road again when it began to come down in torrents, and it con- 

 tinued to rain very fast all the afternoon. It was an hour after 

 dark when we arrived at Indiatuba, where there is a venda. 

 There I got a fire made, and dried the plants by it as well as 

 possible ; many of them are considerably damaged, but not quite 

 so bad as I feared, 



^ March 17th. — Stayed at the venda to-day, and gave the plants 

 n second drying at the fire. I^ think they are now quite dry 

 again. It still continues wet. 



March ISth, — Started again this morning, and arrived in Itu 

 early in the afternoon. ' Weather still wet. 



March ^Ist, — Showery day. Went out on an excursion over 

 the campo ; the most conspicuous plants there now are. No. 201, 

 a splendid Melastomad {Lasiandra ?), and No. 902 [Nes(£a 

 sp.), a white-flowered shrub. These often grow together in great 

 quantities. Acres and acres of the campos and rolling grass 

 lands are in a blaze of white at present with the latter, studded 

 here and there with a large plant of the former, loaded with large 

 panicles of its splendid purple blossoms* 



I collected specimens of No. 224, a tall species of Solidago 

 with yellow flowers, found scattered over the campo. 



March 22n<i. — This morning giving promise of being dry 

 during the day, I started on an excursion to the i-ange of hills, 

 which commencing near the Serra do Mar, run in a south- 

 westerly direction past Jundiahy to Itu, Parts of these are 



jet covered with virgin forest; other parts are cleared, and 



