AROMATIC TREES 



251 



great force during the dry months ; the hotter the weather 

 the stronger is the breeze, until towards the end of the 

 season it amounts to a gale, stopping the progress of 

 downward-bound vessels. 



Some of the trees which grow singly on the campos 

 are very curious. The caju is very abundant ; indeed, 

 some parts of the district might be called orchards of 

 this tree, which seems to prefer sandy or gravelly soils. 

 There appear to be several distinct species of it growing 

 in company, to judge by the differences in the colour, 

 flavour, and size of the fruit. This, when ripe, has the 

 colour and figure of a codlin apple, but it has a singular 

 appearance owing to the large kidney-shaped kernel 

 growing outside the pulpy portion of the fruit. It ripens 

 in January, and the poorer classes of Santarem then re- 

 sort to the campos and gather immense quantities, to 

 make a drink or * wine ' as it is called, which is considered 

 a remedy in certain cutaneous disorders. The kernels 

 are roasted and eaten. Another wild fruit-tree is the 

 Murishi (Byrsomina), which yields an abundance of small 

 yellow acid berries. A decoction of its bark dyes cloth 

 a maroon colour. It is employed for this purpose chiefly 

 by the Indians, and coarse cotton shirts tinted with it 

 were the distinctive badges of the native party during the 

 revolution. A very common tree in the Ilhas do Mato 

 is the Breio branco, which secretes from the inner bark 

 a white resin, resembling camphor in smell and appear- 

 ance. The fruit is a small black berry, and the whole 

 tree, fruit, leaf, and stem, has the same aromatic frag- 

 rance. By loosening the bark and allowing the resin to 

 flow freely, I collected a large quantity, and found it of 

 great service in preserving my insect collections from the 

 attacks of ants and mites. Another tree, much rarer 

 than the Breio branco, namely the Umiri (Humirium 

 floribundum), growing in the same localities, distils in 

 a similar way an oil of the most recherche fragrance. 

 The yield, however, is very small. The native women 

 esteem it highly as a scent. To obtain a supply of the 

 precious liquid, large strips of bark are loosened and 

 pieces of cotton left in soak underneath. By visiting 

 the tree daily, and pressing the oil from the cotton, 

 a small phial containing about an ounce may be filled 

 in the course of a month. One of the most singular of 

 the vegetable productions of the campos is the Sucu-uba 



