NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



41S 



Arasuahy. The small district which is washed by the Parahybuna and 

 the Parahyba, and bounded by the Serro of Mantequeira naturally, be- 

 longs to the Province of Rio de Janeiro. 



We travelled through a fine country, but upon roads badly laid 

 out, for they led us, three or four times, over elevations of seven or 

 eight hundred feet, which might easily be avoided. Nevertheless this 

 unnecessary labour was recompensed by the pleasure it afforded us, while 

 looking widely around on landscapes of peculiar richness and delicacy. 

 In different points, some lovely cones lift their heads clothed with 

 deep green forests, whose names are unknown to the Portuguese, 

 because, standing out of the road, they are inhabited only by Gentio. 

 The ascents in our track, though frequent, are not difficult, and the 

 woods almost clear of those Sippos, or strong species of wood-bind, 

 which form so singular a feature in the forests near to the coast. We 

 now had advanced into a pastoral country, and observed cattle grazing 

 around ; among them the cows were small, but finely bred ; and we 

 met a large drove of oxen, travelling to the slaughter-house of the 

 capital. We noticed also about a hundred mules, conveying to the 

 same emporium almost as many loads of bacon and cheese. The gun, 

 besides some common birds of the country, brought down a Parrot 

 which was unknown to any person of our troop. It was larger than 

 any species of Paroquet or Terrivel, with which we were acquainted, 

 and smaller than the Brazilian Papagaio ; its general colour was, as usual 

 among birds of this tribe, green ; the head a dark brown, which gradu- 

 ally became lighter toward the neck ; round the eye was a narrow grey 

 circle ; the throat was yellowish green, the neck and upper part of the 

 breast blue, lower down green, and the belly a bright red ; the wing 

 joints were marked with a spot of vivid scarlet, and the feathers of the 

 wing were blue; near the root of the tail, both above and below, was 

 a patch of deeper red, or ochery colour, the tail itself a yellowish 

 green like the throat. 



We have again increased our elevation full six hundred feet ; and 

 found the Thermometer, at one in the afternoon, only 76"; at ten at 

 night it was 63° ; at six the next morning 54". The nights and mornings 



