ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 



1057 



near the river, for the bctfer trans- 

 porting their products to Porto Se- 

 guro, &c. The whole- land besides 

 (extending both ways to the next 

 sea-ports) is entirely neglected"; al- 

 though finely watered with small 

 streams in every part, where the 

 cane, cotton, and mandiock, would 

 grow with scarcely any labour, as 

 well as the immense variety of other 

 tropical produce : in short, where 

 nature spontaneously oH'ers her gifts, 

 and invites the hand of man. But 

 this beautiful country, one of the 

 iinest in the world, is entirely lost 

 through want of inhabitants, of cul- 

 tivation, and of industry ; mines of 

 wealth being buried, far exceeiling 

 all their mineral or metallic ones. 



" Absorbed in these reliections, I 

 rode along, our party returning 

 very silent, probably chagrLaed at 

 their want of success in discovering 

 the presumptuoua lassal who had 

 dared to touch or think of so pro- 

 hibited an article as gold ; but though 

 the bird was flown, his rich nest re- 

 mained. They found out the stream 

 on Avhose margin the gold had been 

 discovered : guards were directly 

 appointed over it, and all approach 

 to its banks interdicted, in the dread 

 name of her most faithlul majesty ; 

 while a further s.ample was taken 

 for accurate inspection and assay 

 on the arrival of the commission at 

 Bahia. 



" Late in the evening we arrived 

 at Porto Seguro, and 1 was re- 

 manded to prison, completely ex- 

 hausted." 



From being the possessor of a 

 small medicine chest, Mr. Lindley 

 was repeatedly called upon to mi- 

 nister to the diseased .both in the 

 town and adjoining country, which 

 enabled him to make observations 

 which he could not otherwise have 



Vol. XLVII. 



done. In one of his visits of this 

 description, to a sick planter, who 

 chiefly cultivated the mandiock, that 

 invaluable I'oot which forms the 

 farinha, or bread of South America, 

 he had an opportunity of minutely 

 viewing the whole process of pre- 

 paration, which he describes as fol- 

 lows : — 



" Mandiock is a knotted shrub 

 that runs to the height of six feet 

 and upwards, but withoutbranches; 

 the root, which is the oidy useful 

 part, somewhat resembles a parsnip, 

 but is much larger. It is planted 

 by cutting the body of the shrub 

 into short lengths, and sticking them 

 into the earth, when they imme- 

 diately reshojt, and, after growing 

 for about twelve months, the root is 

 perfectly formed, but varies in size 

 accordiij^e; to the fertility of the 

 ground, from one to twenty inches 

 in diameter, and from six inches to 

 two feet in length. The roots being 

 pulled up, and the exterior bark 

 cut oti', a farinaceous substance re- 

 mains, milky and glutinous ; this is 

 rubbed to small pieces against a 

 rasping wheel covered with per- 

 forated copper, and received into a 

 trough below ; it is then dried in 

 shallow pans over a slow fire, till 

 all moisture is evaporated, when it 

 appears a dry granulated substance, 

 and is ready for use. Tapioca is 

 the juice of the root drained from 

 the raspings, and granulated in like 

 manner over a slow tire. 



" Farinha was in use among the 

 Indians of South America at the 

 time of its discovery, and imper- 

 ceptibly adopted by its conquerors, 

 wheat not agreeing with the soil, 

 and mandiock being cultivated at 

 an hundredth part of the labour and 

 expence." 



Our author is particularly severe 



U Y upon 



