482 



BRAZIL. 



the eye by the liglAness of its doubly-feathered leaves and its large golden-colored flowers ; the 

 lofty trumpet-tree (Cecropia peltata) rises with its smooth, gray stem, and spreads out at top 

 into verticillate branches, bearing at their extremities large tufts of silvery-white leaves. Here 

 and there the dark crown of the Brazilian pine {Jlraucaria imhricata) , among the lighter green, 

 appears as a stranger among the natives of the tropics ; while the towering stems of the palms, 

 with their waving crowns, are an incomparable ornament to the forests ; the manicot palm and 

 the charita, the cocoa palm {Cocos nucifera)^ from the cairo or outer part of whose fruit ropes 

 of great strength are made ; the piacaba palm [Jlltalea funiferea) ^ whose leaves are an excel- 

 lent substitute for hemp, are some of this latter family. The cacao {Ihcobroma)^ or chocolate 

 tree, from the kernel of wliich chocolate is made, seems to be an aboriginal native of Brazil, 

 although it is extensively cultivated in other countries. The Brazil-wood of commerce (Cces 

 alpinia Brasiliensis) ; the soap trees, with their shining leaves ; the slender Barbadoes cedar ; 

 the tapia, or garlic pear-tree ; the Bertholletia excelsa, producing the delicious Brazil nut, from 

 15 to 20 kernels of which are enclosed in a thick, outer rind ; the copaifera, yielding the balsam 

 copaiva ; the cannon-ball tree [Couroupita Guianensis), remarkable for the size and beauty of its 

 crimson blossoms, and its enormous fruits, the husks of which so closely resemble a cannon-ball, 

 that one might imagine a company of artillery had bivouaced under its shade, a resemblance 

 heightened by the loud noise caused by their bursting ; the cow tree { Galactodendron utile), 

 yielding a wholesome and palatable vegetable milk ; the arnotta (Bixa orellana), much used in 

 this country, under the name of otter, for coloring cheese ; are a few of the innumerable natives 

 of the Brazilian forests. The capsicum annuum, yielding the cayenne pepper ; the quassia 

 amara, furnishing a valuable bitter drug ; the pungent and odoriferous vanilla {V. aromatica) ; 

 the bejuco, a powerful preservative from the eflects attending the bites of poisonous reptiles ; 

 the ipecacuanha (Ccphcclis ipecacuanha) , whose root is an invaluable drug ; the Tonquin bean 

 [Diptcrix odorala), much prized for its delicate, aromatic seed; the Quinado Rio [Coutarea 

 speciosa) , and the carqueja [Baccharis gencslelloides), valuable for their anti-febrile qualities , 

 the sarsaparilla, noted for its vai'ious virtues, are among the economical plants. To complete 

 this imperfect notice of a Brazilian wilderness, we may add, from the account of an eyewitness 

 the following sketch of its animal life : " Among the branches, monkeys of every description 

 gambol and spring from tree to tree by means of the bejuco, which has obtained from this cir- 

 cumstance, its Indian name of monkey's ladder. Parrots and macaws, with toucans and other 

 airds of beautiful plumage, complete this splendid picture, and fill the air with discordant 

 icreams, to which the raetahic note of the darra or bell-bird, responds at measured intervals, 

 AOVf sounding close to the ear, and now dying away in the distance. Large and small-winged 

 outterflies sport above the waters. Up the small creeks, which are completely embowered 

 oy magnificent evergreens, are seen pehcans, spoon-bills, and garzons or gigantic cranes, all 

 busily employed in fishing. When to this is added the occasional appearance of that tyrant 

 of the stream, the alHgator, floating in conscious superiority among the bulky manatis and the 

 more agile toninos, which are incessantly rising and blowing in shoals, the scene may be some- 

 what imagined, but cannot be adequately described." 



8. J\hnerals. Gold and diamonds have been the substances for which Brazil has been 

 mostly famed. There are extensive gold mines in the country, which have not been worked. 

 Considerable quantities of gold have been taken from the beds of rivers. It is generally found 

 in small grams, which are mixed with pebbles and gravel. The gravel is taken up in bowls 

 and washed by hand. A fifth part of the gold obtained is set aside as the emperor's due. 

 The quantity obtained annually in Brazil, is estimated at about 5,000,000 dollars. The prin- 

 cipal diamond district is that of Serro do Frio, or the cold mountains, which are situated on 

 the highest ridge of that range, which runs nearly parallel to the coast of Brazil, and attains it^ 

 greatest height about 300 miles distant from the shore.* The largest and most valuable diamond 



The diamond-works are in the vicinity of Tejuco, a 

 town containing 6,(100 inhabitants, who are chiefly indebt- 

 ed to them for support. The principal establishment is 

 situated on the river .Tijitonhonha, a tributary of the Rio 

 Grande. Thore are others situated on the river Velho, a 

 branch of the Francisco, and on the Rio Pardo, as well as 

 several other small streams beloniring to this elevated 

 tract. The Rio Pardo, Uiough small and insignificant in 

 its appearance, has produced as large a quantity of the 

 most precious gems as any river in the district. The Jiji- 

 lonhonha, which is formed by the junction <if several 



streams, is about as broad as the Thames at Windsor, and 

 is generally from 3 to 9 feet deep. At the time Mr. Mawe 

 visited these works, they were working at a curve of the 

 river, from which the stream was diverted by a canal cut 

 across the tongue of land round which it winded, the for- 

 mer course of the river being stopped just below the head 

 of the canal, by an embankment across its channel formed 

 of several thousand bags of sand. The river being both 

 wide and deep, and occasionally subject to overflow, the 

 embankment must be made so strong as to resist the pres- 

 sure of the water, admitting it to rise to the height of 4 of 



