THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE. 329 



following a road or cleared path. My first lesson was 

 on the slope of a little hill some three hundred feet 

 in height that overlooks the town. I was told that 

 there was a path on the farther side, but, seeing the 

 ground partly open, with trees of small stature not 

 much crowded together, I resolved to follow the 

 straight course. The ascent cost me over two hours 

 of hard work, and I accomplished it only with the 

 help of a sharp knife, by which to cut through the 

 tangle of vegetation. In the midst of this I was 

 surprised to find tall fronds of our common English 

 bracken {Pteris aquilina), a fern that has been able to 

 adapt its constitution to all but the most extreme 

 climates of the world. The little hill that cost me so 

 much labour had been completely cleared ten years 

 before, so that all the trees and shrubs had grown up 

 since that time. 



The first excursion recommended to every stranger 

 at Petropolis is that to the Falls of Itamariti. I went 

 there twice, varying somewhat my course — the first 

 time with a horse, which I found quite unnecessary 

 and rather an incumbrance ; the second time alone. 

 The falls are not very considerable. A stream so 

 slender that it can be passed by stepping-stones falls 

 over two ledges of granite rock, together about forty 

 feet in height ; but, framed in a mass of the most 

 luxuriant tropical vegetation, the whole forms a lovely 

 picture. For some reason which I did not learn, the 

 forest on the slopes of the lower part of the glen 

 below the falls had been felled just before my visit, 

 and its beauty had vanished, but fortunately the arm 

 of the destroyer was arrested before reaching the falls 



