RIO DE JANEIRO, IN THE LAND OF LURE 



171 



blue," crowned by the reddish brown of 

 weather-beaten tiles. 



In the gardens of these homes tower 

 royal palms, great jaqueira trees heavy 

 with fruit, wide-spreading mangos, and 

 South Brazilian Parana pines with 

 straight betasseled branches. These no- 

 ble trees, foreign to Rio's hills, tell us 

 that the gardens were planted back in the 

 first Dom Pedro's day, or perhaps in the 

 time of his father, Dom Joao the Sixth. 



RIO HONORS THE MOTHER OF BRAZIL'S 

 BEAUTIFUL PALMS 



In 1808 Portuguese royalty fled from 

 Napoleonic despotism in Europe to set 

 up its court in Brazil, and the following 

 year the prince regent, afterward Dom 

 Joao VI, imported the royal palm of the 

 Antilles and planted it in the botanical 

 gardens of Rio. Here the original palm 

 still stands. 



"Our Mother Palm was sick some 

 years ago," a Brazilian told me, "and we 

 were greatly alarmed lest she should die. 

 From this single specimen have come all 

 the wonderful palms which beautify our 

 parks and avenues. We treated our 

 royal patient with .care, gave her a me- 

 dicinal bath, and she recovered." 



I went out to call on this historic tree. 

 With all its one hundred and twelve feet 

 of height, it does not look hardy. The 

 director of the botanical gardens, how- 

 ever, assured me that it is now free from 

 the ravages of insects and will live for 

 many years. On the railing surrounding 

 the palm is a plaque with this inscription : 



Oreodoxa Olcragea. 



Planted by Dom Joao VI. 



The Palm Mother. 



Those of her species are 

 cultivated in the country. 



Near the palm is a bust of Dom Joao, 

 whose forethought and love of gardens 

 greatly enriched the flora of Brazil. Dur- 

 ing his reign, valuable Asiatic trees, such 

 as the mango, jaqueira, breadfruit, and 

 tamarind, and many of the Old World 

 flowering trees which glorify Rio's hills, 

 then came to Brazil through Portugal's 



far-flung colonies in Asia and Africa; or 

 were brought from Cayenne, in French 

 Guiana, then known as the Isle of 

 France, where the French maintained a 

 botanical garden from a very earlv 

 period. 



In the old gardens are other marks of 

 bygone days besides the venerable trees. 

 Here and there is a wall faced with blue 

 and white Dutch tiles, which found their 

 way to Brazil when Holland invaded its 

 northern coast, in the seventeenth cen- 

 tury. On some of the tall gate-posts 

 stand big blue or yellow porcelain orna- 

 ments in the form of pineapples, im- 

 ported from Portugal one hundred or 

 more years ago. "They bring good luck 

 to the household," an old servant told me. 



Color runs riot. The purple bougain- 

 villea here grows to be a tree ; the flam- 

 ing poinsettia becomes a giant bush. 

 There is the glowing coral vine ; the 

 hibiscus in red and in rose ; the violet and 

 lavender manaca. Brilliant variegated 

 crotons border the paths. Most conspic- 

 uous are the gorgeous flowering trees, 

 such as the native cassia, or "golden 

 shower," whose yellow clusters resemble 

 the wistaria ; the W r est Indian salmon 

 and red frangipani of fragrant memory ; 

 and the flamboyant, or royal pointiana of 

 Madagascar, the joy of the garden. 



SOME OF THE CITY'S CLIFF DWELLINGS 

 ARE ENTERED FROM THE ROOF 



To me the modern architecture of the 

 city houses is much too ornate. Rio de 

 Janeiro is like a lovely woman, who needs 

 little embellishment. Here buildings on 

 simple lines are best. All the houses, 

 however, have the redeeming quality of 

 varied and vivid coloring, which, com- 

 bined with terra-cotta earth and emerald 

 foliage, forms one of the most attractive 

 features of the city. While terra-cotta. 

 in soil, roofs, and garden walls, is the 

 predominating tone, almost every shade 

 is represented in this iridescent town. 



Many of the new homes cling to the 

 hillside below the street and are entered 

 from the roof. Others of these cliff- 

 dwellings perch high above the thorough- 

 fare and are reached by a long flight of 

 steps or by elevator on an inclined plane. 

 Some bear the name of the lady of the 

 manor over the front door — "Villa Ro- 



