Chap. III. 



FORESTS OF THE TERRA FIRMA. 



169 



land, which appears only at long intervals, but extends 

 sometimes for 

 many miles along 

 the borders of the 

 river. The coast 

 at these places is 

 sloping, and composed of red or 

 variegated clay. The forest is 

 of a different character from that 

 of the lower tracts : it is rounder 

 in outline, more uniform in its 

 general aspect ; palms are much 

 less numerous and of peculiar 

 species — the strange bulging- 

 stemmed species, Iriartea ventri- 

 cosa, and the slender, glossy- 

 leaved Bacaba-i (CEnocarpus mi- 

 nor), being especially charac- 

 teristic ; and, in short, animal 

 life, which imparts some cheer- 

 fulness to the other parts of the 

 river, is seldom apparent. This 

 "terra firme," as it is called, 

 and a large portion of the fertile 

 lower land, seemed well adapted 

 for settlement ; some parts were 

 originally peopled by the abo- 

 rigines, but these have long since 

 become extinct or amalgamated 

 with the white immigrants. I 



. _>•: 



Bulging-stemmed Palm : Pashiuba barrigudo (Iriartea ventricosa). 



