GEAR A. 



453 



them, and we sat waiting, and losing the best hours 

 of the morning, till, in their own good time, men and 

 beasts reappeared. We were at last on the road at half 

 past eight o'clock ; but, unhappily, it was just during 

 our two hours of inaction that the rain, which had been 

 pouring in torrents all night, had ceased for a time. We 

 had scarcely started when it began again, and accompanied 

 us for a great part of the way on our long three leagues' ride. 

 We came now for the first time on the Carnauba palm 

 (Copernicia cerifera), so invaluable for its many useful 

 properties. It furnishes an admirable timber, strong and 

 durable, from which the rafters of all the houses in this 

 region are made ; it yields a wax which, if the process 

 of refining and bleaching it were understood, would make 

 an excellent candle, and which, as it is, is used for 

 light throughout the province ; from its silky fibre very 

 strong thread and cordage are manufactured ; the heart 

 of the leaves, when cooked, makes an excellent vegetable, 

 resembling delicate cabbage ; and, finally, it provides a 

 very nourishing fodder for cattle. It is a saying in the 

 province of Ceara, that where the Carnauba palm abounds 

 a man has all he needs for himself and his horse. The 

 stem is tall, and the leaves so arranged around the sum- 

 mit as to form a close spherical crown, entirely unlike 

 that of any other palm.* 



If we had to lament the rain, we were fortunate in not 

 having the sun on our journey, for the forest is low and 

 affords but little shade. The road was in a terrible con- 

 dition from the long-continued rains, and though there 



^ For a very interesting treatise on this palm, and the various branches 

 of industry it may be made to subserve, see " Notice sur le Palmier Carnauba," 

 pai M A. de Macedo, Paris, 1867, 8°. 



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