153 



entirely different from that of 1000 years ago, we observe al- 

 ready at the present day in various parts of Brazil a great 

 change in the character of the vegetation from the influence 

 of the cultivation of the soil. 



A very extensive portion of Brazilian America, says M. de 

 St. Hilaire, has changed its physiognomy; a large Fern (Pteris 

 caudata) and Saccharum Sap& replace the grotesque forests, and 

 in the immeasurable open spaces all the plants appear to fly be- 

 fore the Capim godura (Melinis minutiflord) . European, Afri- 

 can, and North American plants follow on the other hand the 

 steps of man. Nevertheless, the primitive vegetation presents, 

 in the province of Minas Geraes, such great differences, that 

 distinct appellations have been given to them. The whole 

 land is divided into Matos and Campos. The woods are either 

 primitive (Matos virgens] or formed by man. The Catingas 

 are less luxuriant woods which yearly throw off their leaves ; 

 they have been admirably described by M. v. Martius. The 

 Carrascos are lower wood which consists of tall shrubs 3 

 to 4 feet high ; the Carrasquenos form a transition between 

 the Carrascos and the Catingas ; their trees are higher than 

 in the former. The Campos are plains which, covered with 

 herbs, surround the Matos ; they are original or produced 

 by man on the soil of destroyed forests. It must not however 

 be thought that the above-mentioned distinctions of the Bra- 

 zilian vegetation are so accurately defined as is stated in 

 books : we shall everywhere find transitions from the one to 

 the other, and even from the Carrascos to the true Campos. 



M. de St. Hilaire then gives an interesting account of the 

 physiognomy of the vegetation which is presented in the dif- 

 ferent above-mentioned districts of the province of Minas 

 Geraes, of which our German naturalists, who have travelled 

 in those countries, have given such beautiful descriptions. 



In Hooker's Companion to the Botanical Magazine for 

 the year 1837 3 we also find some very important memoirs for 

 the geography of plants, of which, however, I can only men- 

 tion the names, as they enter too much into special details for 

 me to give extracts of them here. Above all, the beautiful 

 memoir of Allan Cunningham* must be mentioned, which 



* Florae Insularum Novae Zelandiae Precursor ; or a Specimen of the 

 Botany of the Islands of New Zealand. Companion, ii. p. 222, 337 and 358, 

 and continued in the Annals of Natural History. 



