" Se bes ye Oe iy eer . é * 
, haley ; : exh 4 Shag 7 yg, : 
+0 Yer ara t ti bd : 
ar NGr LS | re cae Ht, | 
Wee Sey SOR ‘ t ‘ e rf 
: ey ps Fae eee t ‘ sd y f 
ae hc » , , - 
; ; r 
{ 
Botanical Geography. on 4 SI 
- Since the emancipation of the slaves, these crops have been 
-- to a considerable extent replaced by pasture land; and even - 
the meadows are being changed by the introduction of foreign 
grasses, 
17. The Cts-equatorial Region of South America. 
The shores of this region are covered with dense 
forests, while in the interior of the continent, where the sea-. 
_ winds have been deprived of moisture by the action of the 
. chains of mountains, extend the great savannahs of Guiana, 
and the boundless llanos of Venezuela, covered by an ex- 
traordinarily rich fauna, and characterised by a sharp contrast 
of dry and moist seasons. ‘These forests, which clothe 
especially the shores of the Amazon, are mostly evergreen, 
with but few Conifers, and marked bv Passifloracez, Pipe- 
_ races, Phytelephas, Tabernemontana, and a great variety of - 
_ palms. The savannahs are grass plains sprinkled but sparingly 
with trees ; in the spring they resemble the northern prairies, 
splendidly gay with the most brilliant flowers ; while in the ° 
autumn they produce thinly-sown corn-crops, till the com- 
mencement of the rainy season brings again the grass and 
the flowers. The llanos are grass plains often entirely 
destitute of trees, sometimes dry deserts, at others flooded | 
by continuous rain. 
18. The Amazon Region. 
_ The uniformity of a tropical temperature, and the regu- 
lar increase of moisture, produce on the banks of the 
Amazon and neighbouring streams a forest-region known as 
‘Hyleea.’ In the main stream the greatest height of the 
water exceeds the lowest by as much as from 13 to 17 
metres ; and since tne shores are perfectly flat, the forest is 
flooded every year on both sides of the river to a breadth 
of several geographical miles. This tract of country is 
_ known as ‘igapo,’ consisting of forests in which the trunks 
i, G62 
ip 
ete hip ® 
Pel 
Pm 
