6i 



north and south branches, respectively, of (he Amazon, as sides, 

 meeting at a point near Manaos. As to the forests of the 

 Amazon, he explained that they "are not dark and gloomy in 

 the sense of our conifer forests — no mass efifects of one type of 

 tree or plant, but many diverse kinds in a small area, making 

 foresting problems difiicult. The trees were mostly of the 

 hardwood type, their woods often rare and beautiful in coloring. 

 The forests are full of 'perching,' i. e., epii)hytic cacti, peppers, 

 orchids, members of the pineapple family, and ferns, fastened 

 to the trunks and branches and in the crotches of large trees. 

 Floral displays in these forests are rare^-only occasionally a 

 bright daub of color from a single blooming tree or vine, — usually 

 yellows, purples, reds and bright oranges — but the monotonous 

 green as one drifts down the rivers on rafts or on steamers 

 becomes very tiresome — one becomes 'green-tired.'" 



"Many strange wild fruits and drugs are found in this region; 

 in the upper Amazon basin chocolate or cacao grows wild with 

 its pumpkin-colored pods and purple seeds. The orchid, vanilla, 

 with yellow flowers and scented pods, clambers over and up the 

 trees in many places. The common vanilla substitute is also 

 there — the tonka bean tree. 



Besides the harvesting of Brazil nuts, another industry is the 

 collection of wild rubber; and although this now represents only 

 a small per cent of the world's supply — the great bulk at present 

 coming from the plantations of the Dutch East Indies and the 

 Federated Malay States — yet it still holds the highest rank for 

 quality. Two kinds of rubber are common: the Hevea or Para 

 rubber, known as 'goma' and Castilloa or 'caucho' — the latter 

 only half as valuable as the former. The Hevea tree is tapped 

 from year to year, but in the case of Castilloa, the whole tree is 

 cut down." 



Among other interesting plants described by Dr. White were 

 the Balsa tree, famous for its light wood, the Annotto tree, whose 

 fruit yields the dye used commonl}^ to color our butter, and the 

 Brazil nut tree, whose nuts form such an important article of 

 commerce. 



Dr. White found that the main feature of the climate was its 

 everlasting sameness — during the rainy season, continual rains 

 day after day — and during the dry season, perpetual sunshine; 



