340 NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



dose of castor oil and aconite administered by a 

 friend. In the following year he experienced a more 

 serious attack, and had been treated by a doctor of 

 good repute, mainly with tartar emetic. It appears 

 that professors of the healing art in Brazil regulate 

 their charges, not by the amount of time or labour 

 which they give, but by the estimated value of the 

 patient's life. If he survives, it is considered that the 

 remuneration should be in the nature of salvage — a 

 considerable percentage on the amount of his income. 

 In the present case the young engineer had been 

 required to pay a fee of i^i8o. In some cases, where 

 the doctor's demand appeared utterly unreasonable, 

 foreigners have attempted to appeal to the tribunals, 

 but it appears that the results of litigation have not 

 encouraged others to resort to the protection of the 

 law. 



In answer to my inquiries, most of my informants 

 made light of the difficulties of exploring the interior 

 of Brazil, but they agreed in the opinion that much 

 time must be given by any traveller wishing to break 

 new ground. Even in the more or less fully settled 

 provinces, the spaces to be traversed are so great, and 

 the means of communication so imperfect, that a 

 large margin must be left for unexpected delays. 

 One gentleman, who had travelled far in Goyaz and 

 Matto Grosso, assured me that he had never en- 

 countered any difficulty as to provisions. Three 

 articles of European origin are to be found, so he 

 assured me, at every inhabited place in the interior — 

 Huntley and Palmer's biscuits, French sardines, and 

 Bass's pale ale. 



