74 RIO JANEIRO. 



plished, although with difficulty. On this trip they met with fallen 

 timber, but the Brazilian woods, in general, were remarked as being 

 much more free from it than our own. No change in the vegetation 

 was observed. The route through this pass is much more difficult for 

 travellers than that of Estrella, but to the admirer of nature more 

 interesting. From the base to the summit of the mountains the virgin 

 forest extends. The main chain here is much broken ; the peaks 

 appear more in the form of columns or pipes, and are quite inaccessible, 

 casting a dark shade upon the deep and wooded valleys beneath. After 

 being hospitably entertained they came back, crossing over to the 

 island of Pagueta, where they had an opportunity of examining the 

 large heaps of the shells fished up out of the bay, for the purpose of 

 burning for lime, and were not a little surprised at the numbers of 

 different genera which composed them. 



The results of these two expeditions were the addition of a great 

 number of very interesting plants to our collection. These will be 

 treated of in the Botanical Report. 



A few days before our departure, we made a trip to the top of the 

 Corcovado. The naturalists, who were of our party, observed that 

 almost a total change had taken place in the plants since their last 

 visit, about a fortnight before. I took with me the necessary instru- 

 ments to measure its height, and we all amused ourselves with 

 collecting plants, insects, lizards, &c. We took the road that turns 

 off near Gloria, and even before we began to emerge from the city, 

 several novel kinds of ferns were observed growing on the house-tops 

 and walls. We soon entered coffee plantations, groves of bananas, 

 tamarinds, mangroves, and orange trees. A vast variety of plants 

 were pointed out to me by Mr. Brackenridge, among them the 

 beautiful Vochysia, with its splendid yellow blossoms, showing con- 

 spicuous among the rest. After a fatiguing walk we reached the top. 

 The last quarter of a mile, or the last rise to its summit, causes one to 

 become somewhat breathless in a hot day ; but when the top is gained, 

 it is worth all the labour of climbing, and amply repays for the 

 exertion. 



The whole of the magnificent harbour, the city and environs, lay 

 beneath our feet. A bird's-eye view is had of every thing, grouped 

 in the most pleasing variety ; and nothing strikes one so forcibly as 

 the white sandy beaches of Botofogo and Praya Grande, with the 

 beautiful blue of the sea washing on them. The many lakes, the 

 castellated peaks, and the variously shaped, craggy, and broken hills, 

 are all softened by the light and airy green vegetation, creeping up 

 their sides so as to melt them almost into one. The harbour was 



