TO VILLA DE ST. SALVADOK. 



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of the cocoa family : its trunk is a tall, slender, annulated shaft ; at 

 the top of which a small crown of eight or ten feathery bright green 

 leaves, waves aloft in the air : under this beautiful crown there is, 

 on the silver grey trunk, a protuberance of the bright green colour 

 of the leaves, in which lie the young leaves, rolled and folded toge- 

 ther ; they contain within them the tender yet undeveloped flowers ; 

 but the flowers already formed break out under the green capsule. 

 This protuberance, or capsule, containing the fresh leaves, when cut 

 away from the trunk, is found to be in the inside so tender, that it 

 may be eaten raw ; but when boiled, it affords a much more agree- 

 able food. We found the wood to be very hard, and it cost us much 

 trouble to cut down the tree with the wood-knife. The tucu?n-])a\m, 

 also, was now in blossom, in marshy places : and in the open sandy 

 spots, a beautiful new kind of stachi/tarpheta, and a handsome globu- 

 lar cactus, like the mammillaris, which has on its upper surface white 

 wool, enveloping the small deep red blossoms. Mr. Sellovv considers 

 this plant to be a new species. 



Our ornithological collections did not receive any great addition 

 here ; for we found little that was new, except some marsh birds. On 

 the low bushes, along this whole coast, is heard the sabiah (the coast- 

 thrush, turdus Orpheus, Linn.), which, with very modest plumage, 

 has so fine a voice, that it may be considered as one of the first 

 singing-birds of Brazil. Upon the buildings, the little whitish gecko, 

 (probably Daudin's gecko spinicauda), which runs up and down the 

 perpendicular walls, was very common ; as well as the lizard with the 

 black collar*; they are common in the w^hole country that I have 



* Stellio torquatus : it seems to be related to, or identical with, the stellio quetz-paleo of 

 Daudin. This species varies much in the colour. When young, it has long dark stripes 

 down the back, which disappear as it grows old : it then changes to a silver grey, tinged 

 with purple and copper-colour ; and sometimes has brighter spots : the mark of the species, 

 however, always remains ; this is a longish dark spot, on the side of the neck, in front ot 



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