crura and A. rumicifolia. These sandy 
_ shores also abound with a large species of 
Opuntia, Triumfetta semitriloba, and se- 
.. veral small frutescent species of the genus 
. Sida, Where the ground becomes rocky, 
the vegetable forms again differ. The pe- 
.. culiarities of such places may be well re- 
. marked upon a small promontory that juts 
out into the Bay, about two miles South 
of Rio. It rises to about one hundred and 
filty feet above the sea, and is partly cul- 
tivated and partly clothed with its natural 
vegetation, which exhibits itself in the 
shape of large shrubs and herbaceous 
plants, reaching to the very edge of the 
sea, On the rocky parts, which are appa- 
tently quite destitute of soil, several an- 
gular Cacti spread out their grotesque 
limbs, and on its nearly perpendicular face, 
great quantities of a Brassavola and a 
small species of Tillandsia have taken up 
their abode. Where a little vegetable 
mould has accumulated, a Gesnera, an 
Epidendrum, the lovely Vellosia candida 
and its smaller, though equally beautiful, 
_ congener, Barbacenia purpurea, vegetate 
: ànd bloom in the utmost luxuriance ; and 
~ Where the soil is deeper, there a natural 
shrubbery exists, consisting of several 
kinds of Melastomacee, Myrtacee, Lan- 
lanas, Crotons, Bignonias, a shrubby Oz- 
alis, Clusia alba, and some woody Com- 
posite. Rising above these again, are a 
p trees, ofa spiny species of Bom- 
DM ^ a few of Cleome arborea. 
e principal plants seen by road- 
sides and in waste places, are several fru- 
ag Malvacee, Asclepias Curassavica, 
nos of Stachytarpheta, Phlomis of- 
B ans, Loasa parviflora, Gomphrena 
"asiliensis, a Leonurus ?, Buddlea Bra- 
Cu : ts, Hydrocotyle Asiatica, a Verbena, 
p E Bignonias and Cleomes, 
n ulcis, Senebiera pinnatifida, 
Ww. 8. Do, Stellaria ida, Sonchus 
» Some Grasses and Ferns ; while, 
ver there is moisture, various Jus- 
? 
Where 
blo = Seen unfolding their yellow 
UI 
The hedges by the road-sides, which 
mostly formed of Mimosas, Opuntias, 
BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 
347 
Pereskias, and not unfrequently of Limes, 
are festooned with innumerable climbers, 
the many-tinted blossoms of which, while 
they gratify the sight, equally regale the 
sense of smelling by the delicious odours 
they exhale. They chiefly consist of va- 
rious species of Convolvulus and Ipomea, 
a Rubus, Dalechampia, Mikania, Verno- 
nia, Eupatorium, Aristolochia, Paullinia, 
Bignonia, Passiflora, and Cucurbitacee. 
It must, however, be observed, that these 
do not all flower at once, but present a 
continual succession of bloom. 
“ The low hills near the city are mostly 
cleared, and wherever it is practicable, 
brought under cultivation; but the sides 
and summits of the loftier ones are still 
covered with virgin forests, the larger trees 
of which are fast falling, for the purpose 
of fire-wood, under the axe of the wood- 
man. The deep valleys intersecting the 
mountain-ranges, are the chief seats of 
agricultural industry, and some of them, 
particularly in the immediate neighbour- 
hood of Rio, are thickly studded with ha- 
bitations, surrounded by plantations of 
Coffee, Oranges, Bananas, and Mandi- 
occa. No large rivers empty themselves 
into the Bay, nor into the sea near the 
city; a few rivulets, which take their rise 
in the neighbouring mountains, are all that 
exist. From one of these, the city is sup- 
plied with water, conveyed for nearly ten 
miles in an arched aqueduct that winds 
along the side of the high land on which 
the mountain, called the Corcovado, is 
based. As there is a path by the side of 
the aqueduct for its whole length, it con- 
stitutes an excellent field for the Botanist 
as well as Entomologist, and was a favour- 
ite resort of my predecessors, Spix and 
Von Martius, to whom it yielded a rich 
harvest of both plants and insects. 
« On the 24th of October, a party con- 
sisting of Mrs. Miers, her sister, Miss Place, 
and young Mr. Miers and myself, set mat 
on an excursion along the whole length of 
the aqueduct. From my journal I proceed 
to extract the notes which I took 
ately on our return :—' After reaching the 
head of the Sarangeiras Valle about two 
