280 ABUNDANCE OF COTTON. Chap. XXI. 



tinsel, and accompanied by a band of musicians who performed 

 very well. At this meeting Mr. Canto communicated to the 

 company some ideas which I had penned on the dignity of 

 labour, and the superiority of free over slave labour. The 

 Portuguese gentlemen are now in a transition state from 

 unlawful to lawful trade, and, having been compelled to 

 abandon the slave-trade, are turning their attention to cotton, 

 (^6) coffee, and sugar, as new sources of wealth. There is already 

 much more cotton in the country than can be consumed ; 

 much larger quantities would be produced if only there was a 

 market for it, but now it is common to cut down cotton-trees 

 as a nuisance, and cultivate beans, potatoes, and manioc in 

 their stead. I have the impression that cotton, which is 

 deciduous in America, is perennial here ; for the plants I saw 

 in winter were not dead, though going by the name Algodao 

 Americana, or American cotton. The rents paid for gardens 

 belonging to the old convents are here merely nominal, 

 varying from one shilling to three pounds per annum, but in 

 the immediate vicinity of Loanda higher rents are realized 

 which none but Portuguese or half-castes can pa}\ 



We were delayed some time longer by the illness of Seke- 

 letu's horse, which was seized with inflammation, and died 

 under it. The change of diet may have had some influence in 

 producing the disease ; for I was informed by Dr. Welweitsch, 

 an able German naturalist, whom we found pursuing his 

 labours here, that, out of fifty-eight kinds of grasses found at 

 Loanda, only three or four exist here, and these of the most 

 diminutive kinds. The species of grasses of Golungo Alto, 

 twenty-four in number, are nearly all gigantic. Indeed, 

 gigantic grasses, climbers, shrubs, and trees constitute the 

 chief vegetation of this region. 



November 20th. — An eclipse of the sun, which I had anxiously 

 looked for with a view of determining the longitude, happened 

 this morning, but the cloudy state of the sky precluded the 

 possibility of making any observations. The greatest patience 

 and perseverance are required in order to effect this object 

 during the rainy season. Before leaving I had an opportu- 

 nity of observing a curious insect which inhabits trees of the 

 fig family (Ficus), upwards of twenty species of which are 

 found here. Seven or eight of them cluster round a spot on 



