338 NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



making my visit to Tijuca. That place lies among 

 the hills north-west of the city, about nine hundred 

 feet above the sea, and the distance is quite incon- 

 siderable ; but the arrangements for visitors are 

 inconvenient. A tramway runs over the flat country 

 to the foot of the hill, and from the terminus the 

 remainder of the way is accomplished by carriage or 

 omnibus. But no luggage is taken by the tramway, 

 and this has to be forwarded on the previous day. 

 When I reached the station, about eleven a.m. on the 

 2 1 St, I had an unpleasant quarter of an hour, during 

 which it appeared that the case containing most of 

 my Petropolis collections was lost or mislaid. At 

 length it was found lying in an outhouse ; no omnibus 

 was available, but I soon succeeded in hiring a carriage 

 to convey me to Tijuca. 



The country between the city and the lower slopes 

 of the hills is covered with the villas of wealthy 

 natives, many of them large and handsome houses, 

 each surrounded by a garden or pleasure-ground. In 

 these grounds the mango, bread-fruit tree, and others, 

 with large thick leaves giving dense shade, were in- 

 variably planted ; and here and there palms, of which 

 I thought I could distinguish four or five species, 

 gave to the whole the aspect of completely tropical 

 vegetation. Amidst the mass of trees, it was rarely 

 possible to get a glimpse of the exquisite scenery 

 surrounding Rio on every side, and it was only towards 

 the top of the hill that I gained a view of the bay. 

 Tijuca lies on the farther, or westward, slope, nearly 

 surrounded by forest, and consists of only a few 

 houses, of which the chief is White's Hotel. As I 



