790 ME. WEIR*S JOURNAL. 



^ 



present. I found that the old stems which were flowering when 

 I was here before, had been all laid prostrate by the water in the 

 wet season, and partially covered with mud, but the plants have 

 sent up numerous young stems, which are now in full flower, and 

 in another month or two will be bearing ripe seeds, and I hope to 

 be able to collect some on my return ; but the great difficulty in 

 collecting seeds is to be on the spot at the right moment. This 

 species I think may do as a bedding plant in England. 



June IQth. — To-morrow morning intend to start for India- 



■ tuba. 



June nth, — Left Campinas in the morning, and reached India- 

 tuba about four in the afternoon, in order to collect some seeds of 

 No. 84, a Melastomad, having marked some flowering plants of 

 it when there before. 



June 18th. — Out to-day collecting seeds of No. 79 (a pretty 

 climbing Bignoniad). I have just hit the right time for this; its 

 fruit, a black berry, is perfectly ripe, and falls on the slightest 

 touch. I have collected a considerable quantity of them, all, 

 indeed, that I could find. 



Jime IQth, — Engaged all day in getting the seeds out of the 

 fruit I collected yesterday. This is rather a tedious job, as they 

 have to be done one by one by hand, and none of the fruit have 

 more than two seeds, many of them only one perfect one. 



June ^Oth. — Started this morning for Itu, where I had 

 marked in the campo a few seeding plants of No. 118 (Dipla- 

 denia 5j?.). On aiTiving at the place, however, I was much 

 chagrined to find that the campo has all been recently burned, 

 and all the plants destroyed — all the more so, because it seems 

 to be almost impossible to send home the large fleshy roots of 

 this beautiful species. I took a number with me to Santos 

 from here before, but they were all more or less decayed when 

 I arrived there. I collected some seeds of No. 233 (a yellow- 

 flowered shrubby Cassia), and some specimens of No. 252 (jS/pAo- 

 campylus ??p.),from wet ditches. No. 253, a climbing leguminous 

 shrub, with spikes of scarlet flowers, from thickets on the road- 

 side, and of No. 254 (Cordia sp.), a small tree with beautiful 

 white, sweet-smelling flowers, from the campo near Indiatuba. 



June 21st. — Returned to the fazenda of Senhor Tibiri^'a. In 

 the afternoon he went out with me to the campo, to show me a 

 Small cucurbitaceous plant (called Melan^ia do campo) which 

 grows here. It is remarkable for having no tendrils. Senhor 

 Tibiri^a has recently sent specimens and seeds of this to Paris, 



