8 



TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON 



convolvuluses climb over the hedges, as well as several most 

 beautiful Bignonias or trumpet-flowers, v/ith yellow, orange, or 

 purple blossoms. But most striking of all are the passion- 

 flowers, which are abundant on the skirts of the forest, and are 

 of various colours, — purple, scarlet, or pale pink : the purple 

 ones have an exquisite perfume, and they all produce an 

 agreeable fruit— the grenadilla of the West Indies. There are 

 besides many other elegant flowers, and numbers of less con- 

 spicuous ones. The papilionaceous flowers, or peas, are 

 common ; cassias are very numerous, some being mere weeds, 

 others handsome trees, having a profusion of bright yellow 

 blossoms. Then there are the curious sensitive plants 

 i^Miniosd)^ looked upon with such interest in our greenhouses, 

 but which here abound as common wayside weeds. Most of 

 them have purple or white globular heads of flowers. Some 

 are very sensitive, a gentle touch causing many leaves to drop 

 and fold up ; others require a ruder hand to make them exhibit 

 their peculiar properties ; while others again will scarcely show 

 any signs of feeling, though ever so roughly treated. They 

 are all more or less armed with sharp prickles, which may 

 partly answer the purpose of guarding their delicate frames 

 from some of the numerous shocks they would otherwise 

 receive. 



The immense number of orange-trees about the city is an 

 interesting feature, and renders that delicious fruit always 

 abundant and cheap. Many of the public roads are lined 

 with them, and every garden is well stocked, so that the cost 

 is merely the trouble of gathering and taking to market. The 

 mango is also abundant, and in some of the public avenues is 

 planted alternately with the Mangabeira, or silk cotton-tree, 

 which grows to a great size, though, as its leaves are deciduous, 

 it is not so well adapted to produce the shade so much 

 required as some evergreen trees. On almost every roadside, 

 thicket, or waste, the coflee-tree is seen growing, and generally 

 with flower or fruit, and often both ; yet such is the scarcity of 

 labour or indolence of the people, that none is gathered but a 

 little for private consumption, while the city is almost entirely 

 supplied with coffee grown in other parts of Brazil. 



Turning our attention to the world of animal life, what first 

 attract notice are the lizards. They abound everywhere. In 

 the city they are seen running along the walls and palings, 



