394 



A JOUENEY IN BRAZIL. 



and purposes, that the Acaras are Sunfishes, the Xipho- 

 rhamphus (Pira pucu) Pickerels, and the Curimatas genume 

 Carps. Now, may not a similar relation exist between 

 the families of plants belonging to the North and those 

 forming the most prominent vegetation of the South ? 

 What are the tropical trees which take the place of our 

 elms, maples, lindens ? By what families are our oaks, 

 chestnuts, willows, poplars, represented under the burning 

 sun of the equinoctial regions ? The Rosaceae in the tem- 

 perate and the Myrtaceae in the tropical regions seem to 

 me such botanical equivalents. The family of Rosaceae 

 gives to the North its pears, its apples, its peaches, its 

 cherries, its plums, its almonds ; in short, all the most 

 delicious fruits of the Old World, as well as its most beauti- 

 ful flowers. The trees of this family, by their foliage, play 

 a distinguished part in the vegetation of the temperate zone, 

 and impart to it a character of their own. The Myrtaceae 

 give to the South its guavas, its pitangas, its aragas, the 

 juicy plum-like fruit of the swamp-myrtles, many of its 

 nuts, and other excellent fruits. This family, including 

 the Melastomaceae, abounds in flowering shrubs, like the 

 purple Queresma and many others not less beautiful ; 

 and some of its representatives, such as the Sapucaia and 

 the Brazilian nut-tree, rise to the height of towering trees. 

 Both of these families sink to insignificance in the one 

 zone, while they assume a dignified port and perform an 

 important part in the other. If this investigation be ex- 

 tended to the shrubs and humbler plants, I believe the 

 botanist who undertakes it will reap a rich harvest." 



The day after to-morrow we leave Par4 in the Santa Cruz 

 for Ceara. It will be like leaving a sort of home to say good 

 by to our kind friends in the Rua de Nazareth. We have 



