NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



47 



Fruits were produced and sold in much the same way ; of these 

 Oranges and Bananas were the most wholesome and plentiful, and con- 

 sequently the most in use. Pines and Melons were abundant, though 

 not in an equal degree ; as were different sorts of Pumpkins, especially 

 that great comfort of warm countries, the Water-Melon. The Guava, is, 

 in form, something like the Citron, but smaller ; it is often eaten raw» 

 and both the pulp and the fleshy rind make an excellent sweetmeat. 

 The cultivation of Grapes was prohibited, that there might be no inter- 

 ference with the chief produce and trade of Portugal, and therefore these 

 were scarce and dear. The Wines in common use were of the poorest 

 sorts, which the vineyards of Portugal and Spain produce ; the better 

 ones of the mother country were seldom seen, even in the houses of those 

 who were best able to pay for them. 



From the accounts, which have been given of Cattle, it will be 

 concluded that milk was scarce and poor. If maintained in a somewhat 

 better state than that, in which it might have appeared if left to itself, 

 by being placed under the police, as to its quality ; it could not be ex- 

 pected that the quantity should thereby be increased. And with all the 

 superintendence, which it received, few things were more common than 

 its adulteration by the mixture of some thickening articles. Cheese was 

 made in the district of Minas-Geraes, but against the rivalry of English 

 Cheshire it stood no chance, except in the want of ability to afford the 

 price of the latter. The Butter in use was generally Irish, and its state 

 may be conjectured, without much danger of material error. 



The way in which many of these articles were sold, has already been 

 noticed. Besides the shops, there was in the whole city, only one wooden 

 building, answering, in some measure, to our shambles. There were no 

 market days, according to the sense in which we use the phrase. It is 

 difficult, perhaps impossible, to speak of the price of provisions with any 

 degree of accuracy ; it depended so much on a fluctuating supply, and 

 an almost equally uncertain demand. It depended still more on the 

 relative value of money, which was more unsteady than the supplies 

 themselves. When the city received a vast accession of inhabitants* 



