EXPORTS. 



271 



Tonka beans, arrobas, 4 a $5 00 - - $20 00 



Grade de piraiba, * " 1 350 - - 350 



Plank, feet, 10,000 2| - - 250 00 



22,975 00 



In this last list there appears to be no carajuru, pitch, farinha, 

 tapioca, or planking for vessels. In place of these we find a greater 

 variety of hammocks, bird-skins, tiger-skins, guarana, grade de paraiba, 

 and boards. This last article, however, was only furnished for one year; 

 the saw-mill was burned, and no one seems disposed to take the specu- 

 lation up again. 



The Brazilian nutmeg (Puxiri) is the fruit of a very large tree that 

 grows in great abundance in the low lands (frequently covered with 

 water) that lie between the rivers Negro and Japura, above Barcellos, 

 a village situated on the banks of the first-named river. Its value 

 seems to have increased between the dates of the two tables, or between 

 the years 1840 and 1850, from one dollar the arroba to five. The 

 fruit is round, and about the size of our common black walnut. Within 

 a hard outer shell are contained two seeds, shaped like the grains of 

 coffee, though much longer and larger, which are ligneous and aromatic, 

 and are grated for use like the nutmeg of commerce. It is not equal 

 in flavor to the Ceylon nutmeg; but this may be owing to the want of 

 cultivation. 



Tonka beans (Cumaru) are found in great abundance on the upper 

 waters of the Rio Negro. This is also the nut-like fruit of a large tree. 

 It is the aromatic bean that is commonly used to give flavor to snuff. 



I thought it a curious fact that nearly all the valuable fruits of this 

 country are enclosed either in hard ligneous shells, or in acid pulps ; 

 and judge that it is a provision of nature to protect them from the vast 

 number of insects with which this region abounds. Thus we have the 

 coffee and the cocoa enveloped in an acid, mucilaginous pulp, and the 

 Castanhas de Maranham, or Brazil nuts, the Sapucaia nut, the Guarana 

 the Puxiri, and the Cumaru, covered with a hard outer shell, that 

 neither the insects nor the monkeys are able to penetrate. 



refreshing drink. It is said to be a stimulant to the nerves, and, like strong tea 

 or coffee, to take away sleep. It grows principally on the banks of the upper 

 Tapajos, and is much used by the inhabitants of Matto Grosso. 



* This is isinglass, taken from a fish called piraiba. I heard in Para of a fish 

 called gurijuba, which yielded an isinglass worth sixteen dollars the arroba. 



