450 Foreign J^otices. 



through this wood, we suddenly came upon another cleared valley con- 

 taininsthe niins of several cottages. This, we were told, had been the 

 first si^e of ihe settlement; but as the Germans were forbidden to cut 

 any more wood in this direction, they moved their quarters a few years 

 ago to the ])\ace from which we started. Near these dismantled dwel- 

 lings we found plenty of pine-apples, and refreshed ourselves with some 

 which were ripe, sheltering ourselves from the sun under the shade of 

 an out-iioiise which had formerly served as a i)lace for the manufacture 

 of Mandiocia. Moist situations in this neighl)orhood aftbrded plenty of 

 Conlnuhia spicata, while in dry, sandy and bushy ])laces were a few 

 pl.inrs of a species of Cyrlopodiimi in flower. In the wood I observed 

 a fine tree covered with Jong spikes of bright yellow flowers, of which, 

 having procured specimens. I found it to be a species of Vochysia, with 

 verticillate leaves. Near the same place were many trees, especially by 

 a small stream, o{ Moronobea coccinea, loaded with their globular crim- 

 son blossoms; and, in returninjr, I collected a yellow-flowered Palicott- 

 rea, called 'Malto redo,' which is not, however, the same plant as is 

 known at Rio <le Janeiro by the name of 'Erva do Rato.'' 



" Shortly after mv return from Catnia, I spent a day at the country- 

 house of James Stewart, Esq., a n)erchant of PernaiTibuco, to whom I 

 had i)rnught introductions from Rio. His residence is about a mile fur- 

 ther than Dr. Loudon's, and, beina fond of horticulture, he possesses a 

 good garden. During a walk which I took with him in the neighbor- 

 hood,! collected more flowering specimens, and also ripe seeds of Coch- 

 lospermum serratifoliimi, with a species of Echiles (?) twining on its 

 branches, and bearing pink-colored and sweet-smelling blossoms. We 

 also met with several small trees of a Sapindus in bloom; and in a low 

 wood was .ficacia torliiosa, a much branched shrub, about fifteen feet 

 high. Near this place I was highly gratified by seeing for the first time 

 the Gustavia ttngusta in flower, many of whose noble pink blossoms 

 were expanded, and were as large as those of the white water-lily, whde 

 numbers were just ready to burst. 



"Close to the coast, ami about thirty miles north of Pernambuco, there 

 is a small island called Itamanca; wliich, on account of its peculiar fla- 

 vor, and the abundance and superior quality of the fruit produced there, 

 is designated as the garden of Pernambuco. Of course I was anxious 

 to visit^'a i)lace of which I heard so many praises, and for this purpose I 

 started on the morning of the 13th of December, and considered myself 

 peculiarly fortunate in having the company of Mr. Oliver Adamson, a 

 young gentleman from Glasgow, who is in a inerchnnt's office at Per- 

 nambuco. He is i)articularly fond of the study of nature, and collects 

 plants for one of his relations. To make the voyage to Itamanca, we 

 hired a jan2;ada, one of the raft boats which are so conunon ni this i)art 

 of the Brazilian coast. It consists of six pieces of a very light kmd of 

 wood, a species of Apeiba^ each about twenty-five feet long and two 

 feet in circumference, i)inned and lashed tosrether. 'J'he janirada com- 

 monly carries one large sail, and is manned by three men. Theniodel 

 of one which Dr. Loudon gave you, when he last came home, wdl best 

 convey an idea of this most insecure looking kind of boat; and had I not 

 been rei)eatedly assured that, primitive as the construction appears, 

 these vessels are perfectly safe, 1 should have felt some hesitation in em- 

 barking upon one of them. Having got our luggage, pa]»er, &c. prop- 

 erly jdaced, so as to be out of the reach of the water which constantly 

 ■washes over these rafts, we commenced our voyage. The wind almost 

 always blows at this season from the north, so that it was rii;ht airainst us, 

 cbliirins us to beat up so as to keep between the coral reef and the shore, 

 the distance between w hich varies from a quarter of a mile to two miles, 

 all the way from the town of Receife to the island of Itamanca. At four 



