THE VICTORIA REGIA. 581 



sidered dangerous to drink much of it, however refreshing a 

 small quantity may be. It soon thickens, and forms a tena- 

 cious glue, which can be usefully employed in cementing 

 crockery. A decoction of the bark is employed as a red dye 

 for cloth. The fruit, also, is largely consumed ; while the 

 wood is excessively durable in water. 



MONKEYS' DRINKING-CUPS BRAZIL-NUT TREE. 

 Two lofty trees, closely allied to each other the Lecythis 

 ollaria and the Berth olletia excelsa produce enormous cap- 

 sules full of nuts. The first, called the sapucaya, yields these 

 curious capsules known as cuyas de maccao, or monkeys' 

 drinking-cups. At the top is a circular hole, to which a 

 natural lid fits exactly. On the nuts becoming ripe the lid 

 is loosened, and the heavy cup falling to the ground, the nuts 

 are scattered far and wide, when they are eaten by numerous 

 animals on the watch for them. The collectors, therefore, 

 have difficulty in obtaining them. The other tree, known 

 as the Brazil-nut tree, produces similar wooden vessels ; but as 

 they have no lid, they fall entire to the ground, and are thus 

 preserved till human beings come to collect them, when they 

 are shipped to England and other parts of the world. 



THE VICTORIA REGIA. 



On the surface of the tranquil pools, amid the recesses of the 

 forest, float the wide-spreading circular leaves of the magnifi- 

 cent Victoria regia, like vast dishes their edges turned up all 

 round with beautiful flowers rising amid them. The colour 

 varies from the velvety white outer petals through every 

 shade of rose to the deepest crimson, and fading again to a 

 creamy yellowish tint in the heart of the flower. The natives 



