﻿52 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 78 



the country here having been devastated by long-continued over-graz- 

 ing. A stop at Itumerin in the Serra da Espinhaqo. to the south of 

 Joazeiro, was productive of a good collection. 



Rio de Janeiro was reached a second time January 9, midsummer. 

 Several days were spent on Corcovado, Pao de Assucar, and the 

 other hills of the coast range ; then with a party from the Jardim 

 Botanico of Rio de Janeiro, l\Irs. Chase visited Ttatiaia, one of the 

 two disputed highest points in Brazil. From the railroad the party 

 traveled on horseback, with pack animals. A night was spent, going 

 and returning, at the Florestal, a station where the Jardim Botanico 

 is carrying on work on Monte Serrat, affording opportunity for col- 

 lecting in this typically tropical forest country. From Monte Serrat 

 to the summit of the mountain and for some miles beyond on the 

 Minas Geraes side the country is a Federal reserve under the charge 

 of the Jardim Botanico. One day was spent making the ascent from 

 Monte Serrat to a rest house just below timber line, at an altitude of 

 about 2, TOO meters. The third day the party ascended the Agulhas 

 Negras (" Black Needles "). the culminating point of Itatiaia. This 

 was long known as the highest point in Brazil and was said to be 

 2,994 meters in altitude. Recent measurements, however, give about 

 2,830 meters. From the summit the three days return journey was 

 made on foot, collecting the grasses. The high campos above timber 

 line were covered with grasses, large and small. The trail borders 

 and mountain slopes also yielded abundant collections. 



From the end of the rainy season in early February to the end of 

 the fall in May was spent in the State of Minas Geraes. The flora 

 here is very different from that of the regions earlier visited. The 

 high hills are covered to a certain extent with oj^en or brushy campos. 

 From about Bello Horizonte northward and eastward this campos 

 type was seen at its best and was the richest grass country anywhere 

 observed. Agriculture in Minas is far in advance of that in Pernam- 

 buco and Bahia. There are good roads in some parts far in the 

 interior, and one sees clean cultivation and good-looking animals. 



A few days each were spent at Lavras, Oliveira, Lagoa Santa, and 

 Vaccaria in the Serra de Cipo, and a day each was spent in the moun- 

 tains about Ouro Preto (formerly called Villa Rica) and Itacolumi. 

 On April 10, Mrs. Chase left the Zona de Campos for Vigosa in the 

 Zona de Matto, to the east. Here Dr. P. H. Rolfs, formerly direc- 

 tor of the experiment station at Gainesville, Florida, is establishing a 

 school of agriculture for the State of Minas Geraes. Of special inter- 

 est was a row of thrifty little chaulmoogra trees. There is much 

 leprosy in Brazil, hence the importance of these trees. 



