RIO JANEIRO. 5] 



others, it was yet found to offer many objects of interest, and we 

 believe of novelty, particularly in the waters of this bay. 



In Rio, the vegetation seems to fix the attention above all other 

 things, especially of those situated as we were in the harbour, having 

 it continually before one's eyes ; and I can well understand the depri- 

 vation Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander must have experienced in 

 their visit. Our naturalists remarked that although the productions 

 are still American in character, the same families prevailing, often the 

 same genera, yet they were entirely distinct in species from those 

 of other parts of the continent. As an example the Furcrcea takes 

 the place of the Mexican Agaves. The Furcroea is a peculiar plant, 

 and attracts attention by its bayonet-shaped leaves, branching up in 

 every direction ; some of these are ten or twelve feet in height and ten 

 inches in diameter. This plant, with the well-known Cecropia, with 

 its candelabra branches, and the prevailing yellow blossoms of the 

 trees, give a peculiar and lively character to the landscape and woods, 

 when compared with the dull sombre hue of our own forests. 



Here, as in all tropical climates, the truth of the remark made by a 

 botanist, " that every thing grows into shrubs and trees," is obvious. 

 Herbaceous plants are rare, and annuals may be said to be almost 

 wanting. The fruit trees were generally seen bearing fruit and flowers 

 at the same time. This was the case, as observed by one of our 

 party, even in the cultivated apple on the Tejuca Mountains. 



The vegetation near the coast differs considerably from that of the 

 inland country. Plants are more dense and succulent, species and 

 tribes have little of a local nature ; yet particular kinds of palms and 

 bamboos are found in separate groups on the top of the Organ 

 Mountains, but this is only a slight exception to the general rule, 

 which nature seems to have adopted in the distribution of plants over 

 the country. This character strikes the observer forcibly in the 

 Cecropias, Caesalpinia brasiliensis, and several Melastomas, which are 

 rarely seen in pairs. 



The Botanic Garden is in a flat situation, backed by a high ridge 

 of mountainous land. In front, is a lake of brackish water, which 

 forms a considerable bay, and communicates with the sea by a narrow 

 inlet. The entrance to the garden has a mean appearance, and does 

 not correspond with the broad promenades within, which are planted 

 with trees on each side. The whole is laid out in the old Dutch 

 style; seats, arbours, and houses are cut out of Arbor vita? {Thuja 

 orientalh). Terrestrial Orchidese are cultivated in earthen vases 

 placed in rows in the herbaceous ground, which appeared to have been 

 once planted after the Jussieuean, or natural system, but is now some- 



