MR. weir's journal. 7S9 



Jaragua. This hill, uhicli I till very lately supposed to be the 

 Caballo Blanco, is about 1300 feet above the lerel of the Tiete, 

 and something more than 4000 feet above the sea. The north- 

 yve^t side, from which the ascent is made, is bare and sloping, 

 although rather steep. The chief vegetation is grass and the 

 common brake (Pteris aqxdlina) ; but on the eastern and southern 

 sides it is more precipitous and partly wooded. Among the 

 withered grass, on the very summit, I found No. 249, a small 

 white-flowered Melastomad [Meisuera sp), and No. 251 {Zygope- 

 taluin Macl-aii), an Orchid, with rather pretty flowers; the sepals 

 and petals being greenish-white with purplish-brown blotches, and 

 the lip white with purple streaks. I met with nothing else in 

 flower. ^ 



June Gth, — Went back to OIha da Agua, Immediately in 

 front of the venda where I am staying, in th'e side of a hill, is a 

 strong spring of beautiful clear water, which, running clown into 

 the valley beneath, forms there a small lake, the whole sur- 

 face of ^^hicl^ is covered with a luxuriant crop of watercresses. 

 This plant is very common in all the small streams about this 

 locality : the people eat it as a salad and also boil it as a substi- 

 tute for spinach, 



June Qth, — Left St. Paul's for Campinas. 



June 12th. — Have now got to within three leagues of Campi- 

 nas. Collected on the road seeds of a Bignonia, which I take 

 to be No. 95 (a climbing Bignoniad), but am not quite certaiu' 

 that it is that species. 



June 13i/i. — Arrived at Campinas. 



Jime lAth, — Went out to collect seeds of No. 69 (a climbing 

 Bignoniad). The plant bears plenty of capsules, many of them 

 apparently ripe and shedding seed in abundance; but, on examin 

 ing the seeds, I found them to be quite useless, I examined 

 hundreds of trees, and could not get a single good seed. Some of 

 the unripe capsules seem to contain good seeds; so that, if I do 

 not find any near Brotas, where the plant grows plentifully, I 

 have still hopes of getting a few here. 



June }5th. — Went ont to the river Jaguari to look for seeds 

 of No. 79. I got a few ripe and good seeds, but by far the 

 greater proportion of them are in the same state as those of No. 

 69, being entirely destitute of the fleshy nucleus of perfect seeds. 

 I am much disappointed, for I came here thinking I was sure of 

 finding as much seed as I wanted of this. On tlie road back I 

 made a diversion in order to see if No. 76 had nny ripe seeds at 



VOL. IF. 3 U 



