138 SOUTH AMERICA 



more flowery, poorer in palms, but richer in tree lianas 

 and broad -leaf epiphytes ; the foliage of the tall trees 

 is smaller and harder. The best- known constituent is 

 the para- (Brazil) nut tree (bertholletia or castanha), 

 and where it becomes abundant, the forest takes the 

 name of ■ castanhal \ Here again cacao-trees grow wild 

 in the undergrowth. The tall primaeval forest is often 

 burned down to allow of temporary plantations of sugar- 

 cane, maize, or mandioca, and in its place soon rises 

 a dense, ungainly brush, made of all the undergrowth 

 plants and shrubs. Until the forest proper has been 

 restored this brush is called the ' caapuera ' or ' capoeira '. 

 The caa-guazu is as yet little known, thanks to its 

 forbidding nature. It is to all appearances but sparsely 

 inhabited, most of the settlements being along the rivers, 

 for waterways are the sole means of communication. 

 Only wild tribes of Indians wander amid the fastnesses 

 of the overwhelming forest, at perpetual war with the 

 intruder, and living a lazy, primitive life, much like that 

 of the dwarfs of the African selva. On the west, the 

 selva merges into the ' montana ' hill-forests of the Andes. 



On the low and slowly rising watersheds between the 

 large tributaries, the backwoods of the Great Forest are 

 thinner, lighter, and lower, a condition approaching that 

 of the backwoods of Central Africa. This appears to 

 be the case also with the unexplored low tablelands ex- 

 tending from the Madeira to the Tocantins, where large 

 campos or parklands are believed to stretch between 

 the wooded valleys. 



Thus vegetation seems to be arranged in broad belts 

 from the rivers: the igapii,the caa-guazu, the lighter forest 

 or woodland, and the campo. In the forest, the collec- 

 tion of rubber and castanha occupies several thousands 

 of natives. 



