276 TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 



S. Francisco. Much gold twenty-two carats fine was 

 formerly obtained by washing the iron-stone flotz 

 on the land belonging to a large fazenda on the 

 road, built in the style of a cloister. In general, 

 the whole Serra de Antonio Pereira agrees in its 

 component parts, and the nature of its strata with 

 the auriferous Morro de Villa Rica; for it likewise 

 consists of white quartz-slate with strata of mica- 

 slate containing ironglance, and a far-spread man- 

 tle of stratified red iron-stone. 



Among the plants which grow on this moun- 

 tain*, and seem peculiar to the iron-stone flotz 

 formation, we observed in great abundance the 

 soft grass (Capim mellado t) which is common 

 in Minas Geraes, and is a favourite food of the 

 horses and mules on account of its tenderness, 

 and the oily down which covers it, but makes 

 them short-winded if taken for too great a lengtl 

 of time. The gold mines of Antonio Pereira were 

 very productive a few years ago ; thus one Mineiro 

 with a shaft sixty feet deep, gained in two months 

 24,000 crusadoes ; but as the work was undertaken 

 without science or care, the earth suddenly fell in 



* Laurus erythropus ; Bauhinia ferruginea ; Abatia tomen- 

 tosa, nob.; Byrsonima nitidissima, Humb.; Banisteria versicolor; 

 Vanillosma firmum ; Lisianthus pulcherrimus ; Phyllanthus ro- 

 bustus ; Mikania glauca, nob. ; several rhexiae, palicurese, and 

 gualteriae. 



f Tristegis glutinosa, Nees. (Agrostis glutinosa, Fisch. ; Su- 

 ardia picta, Schrank.) 



!i 



