528 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



Esculent plants are grown in 

 great profusion and variety. Here 

 is a favouritebulbousrootcalled the 

 Cara, which is equal to the best 

 potato, and even more farinaceous ; 

 it grows to about live inches in 

 diameter, and affords excellent 

 food either boiled or roasted. Here 

 are fine cabbages, salad herbs, tur- 

 nips, cauliflowers, artichoites, and 

 potato? ; the latter, though very 

 good, are little used : the sweet 

 potato is in greater request among 

 the natives. Maize, beans, green 

 peas, and every species of pulse 

 flourish amazingly. Fowls are 

 cheap ; we bought some at three- 

 pence and sixpence each ; small 

 pigs from one to two shillings, and 

 flicthes of bacon, cured after the 

 mode of the country, at about 

 two-pence per pound. Turkies, 

 geese, and ducks are abundant, and 

 reasonable in price ; the latter are 

 of the Muscovy breed, enormously 

 large, some weighing ten or four- 

 teen pounds. Here is a singular 

 breed of cocks ; they resemble the 

 common English in plumage and 

 shape, but they crow very loud, 

 and continue their last note for a 

 minute or two. When their voice 

 is good, they are much esteemed, 

 and are sent for as curiosities, from 

 all parts of Brazil. The cattle are 

 in general good, considering that 

 so little attention is paid to feeding 

 them; when their pastures are full 

 of grass, they are tolerably fat, but 

 when otherwise they become lean. 

 A drove may be bought at 24*. or 

 30*. a head ; beef at about a penny 

 orthree-halfpente per pound. The 

 curriers have a singular method of 

 blackening cow-hides and calf- 

 skins : when they have prepared 

 them for that operation, they 

 search for some uiud-hole at the 

 bottom ef a ferruginous stratum, 



a ditch for instance ; with the mufl 

 thej' cover that side of the skin 

 required to be stained; and they 

 prefer this material to the solution 

 of copperas, probably with reason, 

 as the sulphate of iron formed by 

 the decomposed pyritts acts more 

 mildly in this state than when ap- 

 plied in the common way. 



The horses are very fine, and in 

 general docile; when well trained 

 they make excellent chargers. 

 Their size is from twelve and a 

 half to fourteen bands and a half, 

 and they vary in price from three 

 pounds to twelve. Mules, as we 

 have before observed, are consi- 

 dered more useful beasts of burden. 

 The breed of sheep is quite unat- 

 tended to, and mutton is rarely or 

 never eaten. Here is a very fine' 

 and large breed of goats, whose 

 milk is generally used for domestic 

 purposes. The dogs are very in- 

 different, and of no distinct race. 



Description ofRio de Janeiro. 



(From the same.) 



Rio de Janeiro has been so of- 

 ten described by former travellers, 

 that, were I to confine myself to 

 the supply of what they have omit- 

 ted, or to the correction of their 

 mis-statements, my task would be 

 speedily performed ; but, as I have 

 uniformly chosen to write freely 

 from my own observations rather 

 than follow the track of othefrs, I 

 shall trespass on the reader with a 

 more detailed account than he 

 might perhaps require. It will, 

 however, be recollected that the 

 period at which I visited this ca- 

 pital being a political sera in the 

 annals of Brazil, is sufficiently in- 

 teresting to excuse if not to justify 

 me iu the attempt to improve upon 

 descriptions 



