28 BULLETIN: MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 
a burnt over tract of Butia palms, where beside one of the milky 
streams we encamped for the night. My mule had given out during 
the afternoon and was towed into camp tied to the tail of a sound 
animal. In the forest along the trail I observed a small wild tobacco 
plant from four to five inches high, which our head camarada termed 
“fumo dos Bugres.’”’ A pair of papagaios flew over the camp at sun- 
set and a few mosquitoes buzzed about our fire of araucarian knots. 
The Brazilian pine (Araucaria brasiliana), when young, resembles 
in its branching habit the other members of the Coniferae; but 
it scarcely attains full height before its branches become crowded 
towards the top by the dropping off of the low ones. An old tree thus 
presents a clean bole with usually one but sometimes two great whirls 
of branches at or near the top and recurved upwards. Upon the fall 
of a dead tree frequently as much as ten feet of the upper extremity of 
the prostrate trunk is a mass of highly resinous knots which remain 
undecayed for years after the surrounding wood has disappeared. 
In the wettest weather a fire of these knots can be quickly made. 
Along the line of railway in southern Paran4 the knots are used for 
fuel on the locemotives, and bins of these combustible, inflammable 
stores of the araucarian forest are frequently seen at the railway 
stations. The young trees when not over four to six feet high present 
an appearance very unlike the adult form with its smooth bole and 
palm-like apical whirl of branches with leaves growing in large clusters 
at the ends of the branches. The young tree is thoroughly covered 
with broad pine leaves resembling small Cordaites. On the branches 
these leaves point outward and upward, but those on the bole which 
are still larger bend sharply downward at the point of attachment 
and present sharp needle-like points to stay the progress of any small 
climbing mammal which would find equal difficulty in reaching the 
main stem of the tree by descending one of the branches. This 
apparent adaptation of the foliage to protection from arborescent 
animals in the young stage of the plant is a devise the use of which I 
did not observe, for on account of the nocturnal habits of most of the 
animals of the Brazilian forest and the noise made by the approach 
of our troop of mules we saw during the day no wild mammals 
whatever. 
September 2nd.— For over two hours after leaving last night’s 
camp, our route lay through the forest on the south slope of the Serra 
do Espigao. About 11 a. M. we emerged on a more travelled trail 
along which we passed several huts. Late in the afternoon the sick 
mule lay down and we were forced to abandon the animal, as our 
