200 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. 



name of the country : the monopoly which the crown assumed, of cutting and export- 

 ing it, was so arbitrary and vexatious, that it has been used as fire-wood by many of 

 the planters, to conceal from the revenue officers that it was found on their lands. Its 

 produce has long been gradually diminishing, and unless some judicious measures are 

 adopted, this valuable wood will be totally lost in a few years. There are many other 

 beautiful woods fit for ornamental furniture, but none are so well known as the rose 

 wood (said to be a species of Jacardnda), which of late years has become so fashionable 

 in this country. Numerous species of laurel and myrtle abound in the forests ; the 

 Mimosa sensitiva, or sensitive plant, will sometimes form impenetrable thickets on the 

 sides of the ponds and rivers ; while the various species of Amaryllis, as also the crimson 

 passion flower, are more particularly natives of the southern provinces. 



1234. The botanists of Europe have long been unacquainted with the plant which produces the true 

 Ipecacuana ; and even those who have recently travelled in Brazil appear to have fallen into some mistakes 

 on this subject. In fact, there are two plants essentially very different, but which, from possessing the 

 same medicinal qualities, have long passed under the same name, even in Brazil. The opinion of the 

 accurate Arruda, whose name as a botanist may rank with the first in Europe, but who lived arrf 

 died in Brazil, may be considered, on this question, as decisive. He considers the true ipecacuana, or 

 Ipecacuanha preta of the natives, as belonging to a new genus. This plant he calls Ipecacucma officinalis 

 {Cent. Plant.); it grows in the southern provinces, and requires shade. The other, called by the Bra- 

 zilians the white sort (/. Branca), is the PombaZia Ipecacuanha of Vandel : this is found in considerable 

 abundance in the sandy tracts of Pernambuco and Paraiba, and its root, when dried and pounded, is 

 much used in these provinces as a gentle purgative; it likewise promotes perspiration, and possesses 

 stimulant qualities. {Swainson's MSS!) 



12.35. The pot tree {Lecythis ollhria) is one of the greatest ornaments of the woods ; its immense stem 

 is above a hundred feet high, and spreads into a majestic and vaulted crown, which is extremely beauti- 

 ful in the spring when the rose-coloured leaves shoot out, and in the flowering season from the large white 

 blossoms. The nuts, which have a thick shell, are of the size of a child's head, with a lid which is loose 

 all round, and which at length, when the weight of the fruit turns it downwards, separates, and lets the 

 seed fall out. In a high wind it is dangerous to remain in the woods on account of these heavy nuts 

 falling from so great a height. The seeds are collected in great quantities by the Indians, who are 

 extremely fond of them, and either eat them raw, or preserve them roasted and pounded, in pots, and 

 the shells themselves are used as drinking cups. {Spix, vol. ii p. 222.) 



1236. Dr. Arruda has described several of the most valuable of those indigenous plants whose fibres are 

 adapted for economic pttrposes. The most important of these are, 1. The caroJl {'Rromhlia variegata Ar.), 

 found in great abundance in the Sertoens of Paraiba and of the northern provinces : the fibres of the 

 leaves are of two kinds ; from one, a very strong cordage is made, while the other is manufactured by 

 the fishermen into nets, and sometimes into a coarse cloth, when care is taken in preparing the thread. 

 2. The Crauata de Rede (Bromelnx sagcnJiria Ar.) is confined to the maritime parts of Pernambuco and 

 Paraiba ; the leaves are from six to nine feet long, and the fibres so strong, and at the same time so fine, 

 that cables made from them are much superior in strength to those of Europe, while they are equally 

 well adapted for sail-cloth or stockings. The most delicate fibres, however, are those procured from 

 the leaves of the ananas (Bromeha Ananas), as they are capable of being manufactured into cloth of 

 a superior quality. Other plants possess the same qualities, though in an inferior degree. The Bra- 

 zilian government has hitherto paid little attention to these matters. {Stcainson's MSS.) 



1237. Brazil likewise produces a species qf croton, the- leaves of which are sometimes used as a substitute 

 for the tea of China. Some years ago, the government evinced a great desire to introduce and cultivate 

 the genuine tea plant, and actually induced several Chinese to settle near Rio de Janeiro, for the purpose 

 of superintending its culture: the plan, however, from some jealousy or mismanagement, was abandoned 

 before it had received a fair trial. A similar project was formed tor introducing the cochineal insect, 

 but which, from similar causes, proved equally abortive. There is every reason to believe, however, that 

 both would have succeeded under proper management. {Swainson's MSS.) 



1 238. The live stock of Brazil chiefly consists of horned cattle, which are pastured in great 

 numbers in the interior of the southern provinces. The hides are sent to Europe : and 

 the flesh, after being cut into long stripes and dried in the sun, becomes an article of 

 considerable internal commerce. Paraiba and Rio Grande are particularly celebrated 

 for this traffic. Fresh meat, even in maritime towns, cannot always be had, and is at all 

 times dear. Swine are good, but sheep and goats are almost unknown. 



1239. Cavies of different species, porcupines, armadillos, and other wild animals, abound 

 in some of the forests ; most, if not all, are eaten by the native Indians and the Bra- 

 zilians : the former do not even 

 reject the monkeys. In some parts 169 

 of the interior are small ounces, 

 but they seldom show themselves 

 by day. Hammocks made of net- 

 work are universally preferred to 

 beds ; and from being of little va- 

 lue, they are generally possessed by 

 the poorest natives, who suspend 

 them between beams in the house, 

 or trees in the open air. (fg. 169.) 

 (lb.) 



1 240. Cayenne or French Guiana, 

 is a fertile country, and has been 

 long well cultivated by the colonists. The climate is salubrious ; the surface of the 

 country is not mountainous, but abounds in hills and forests ; the soil is in general 

 uncommonly fertile, and the productions it yields are of excellent quality. The Cayenne 

 pepper (Capsicum annuum, and other species) is a noted produce of this country, and, 

 with sugar, cocoa, coffee, indigo, maize, cassia, and vanilla, forms the chief article of its 



