Book I. AGRICULTURE IN SOUTH AMERICA. 199 



the delicious sea breezes of the coast. During the rainy season (which is the tropical 

 winter) the nights are sometimes chilly ; and, although the thermometer is seldom lower 

 than 68 or 65, the warmth of a fire is found desirable. This coldness is principally felt 

 in Minas Geraes (the most mountainous part in Brazil), and in the other provinces beyond 

 Rio de Janeiro. In comparison of the extent of the country, the rivers are very few ; 

 and nearly throughout the interior there is a general deficiency of water, even for the 

 purposes of life. During the dry or summer season the heat is excessive, yet it is 

 neither unhealthy nor very oppressive, being mitigated by the sea breeze, which usually 

 sets in about half past seven or eight o'clock in the morning, and continues until sunset. 

 1233. The vegetable productions of Brazil are numerous and important. The 

 extensive cultivation of the sugar-cane and cotton plant has, of late years, given an 

 importance to its commerce far greater than that of any other neighbouring state. The 

 sugar plantations are confined to a short distance from the coast, on account of the 

 superior quality of the soil (a red clayey loam), and the difficulty of conveyance in a 

 country where regular carriage roads do not exist. Cotton thrives best on those 

 poor, sandy, and dry lands, which are met with at a distance from the sea ; it is, there- 

 fore, cultivated only in the interior, and is brought to the coast on the backs of mules and 

 horses, frequently from a distance of 150 miles. Coffee has not yet been cultivated 

 very extensively, although it thrives remarkably well, particularly near Rio de Janeiro ; 

 wheat is only produced in the milder provinces of the South, and even there but spar- 

 ingly. Indeed, the " staff* of life," throughout the greatest part of Brazil is the man- 

 diocca, known in the West Indies by the name of cassava ; the root, being divested of 

 its poisonous juices by pressure, is rasped or ground so as to resemble sago ; and, being 

 boiled, forms the principal sustenance of the great mass of the people. The cultivation 

 of the plant is easy ; it will thrive both in the richest and poorest soil, and vast quantities 

 are grown in the sandy (or tabulara) tracts of Paraiba, Maranham, and Pemambuco. 

 As we approach the southern provinces, the mandiocca in some measure gives place to 

 the maize or Indian corn, which, although less nutritious, is much esteemed both by 

 man and beast : its culture however is more confined, as it requires a good soil and 

 frequent moisture, llice is grown but sparingly, and not in sufficient quantities to 

 make it an article of commerce. Besides these esculent vegetables, there are many 

 others, either indigenous, or introduced by the Portuguese from their African posses- 

 sions ; among these may be reckoned the ochro, the different species of Capsicum, yams, 

 and love apples. I believe the potato is unknown in Brazil ; several attempts were 

 made in 1817 by the English residents of Pemambuco and Bahia, to cultivate this root 

 from the English stock ; but they were completely unsuccessful. The tobacco of Brazil 

 is well known : very extensive tracts in the vicinity of Bahia are entirely covered with 

 this plant, which flourishes best in a light sandy soil ; although great attention is paid to 

 its cultivation, the leaves are dried in a careless way, and the subsequent operations 

 conducted in a most slovenly manner. The fruits are in great variety : besides those 

 common to the West India Islands, and other parts of tropical America, as the cocoa nut, 

 pine-apple, plantain, banana, mango, jack, custard apple, orange, and citron, there 

 are several others peculiar to this country, and only known by Indian names. Those 

 above enumerated are only to be met with near the coast ; but the cashew tree, so valu- 

 able for the astringent qualities of its fruit, covers extensive tracts in the interior of 

 Pemambuco and Paraiba, where the soil is loose, sandy, and arid. In similar situatioris 

 are also to be seen many kinds of guava. While the fruit of the larger species of passion 

 flower (Passiflora) is much esteemed for the coolness and delicacy of its pulp, the 

 European fruits, which thrive so well on the table land of Mexico, and on the sides of 

 the Cordilleras of Chile, wither and die beneath the fervour of a Brazilian sun. The 

 vine, indeed, is sometimes seen in the gardens of the rich ; and there is no doubt but 

 that it might be cultivated with complete success in the southern provinces ; but this 

 has been hitherto prevented by that short-sighted policy of the mother country, which 

 prohibited both the vine and the olive from being planted in any of the colonies. 

 Agriculture and gardening, in short, are here in their infancy. There is, indeed, a botanical 

 garden both at Rio de Janeiro and Pemambuco ; but the first is neglected, and the 

 last, existing (in 1816) only in name, is a wilderness. The private gardens of the 

 higher classes usually consist of orange, citron, and lime trees, planted in rows, 

 intermixed with a few heavy earthen pots of China-asters, pinks, and other common 

 plants of Europe, here esteemed because they are exotic ; while, as in other countries, 

 the most lovely creepers and flowering shrubs grow in the thickets and fences, 

 totally disregarded. The woods and forests abound with innumerable medicinal 

 plants, as the castor, two species of contrayerva (Dorstenfa rotundifolia and pernam- 

 bucana of Arruda), the pinao, the angelim (^Skolembra pemambuc^nsis Arru.), and many 

 otliers, the names and qualities of which, the Brazilians, from some unaccountable fancy, 

 studiously conceal from Europeans, although they willingly administer them as pre- 

 pared medicaments when applied to. The most valuable dyeing wood is that bearing the 



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