94 
Flora op Piraka in the Rainy Season. 
previously soiiglit in vain now smiled at me in wanton fulness. Particu- 
uaily noticeable amongst sucli were tlie CUioriu, Marica, Hibiscus, 
several Mchistoma and Pliascohis; the glorious A)iiasonia erecta Linn, 
til., Pavouia speciosa, Evolvuhis scrieeiis Sw. and E. glomeratus N. ab 
E.; the equally lovely Xei(rocarpii m longifoJiioii, whose beautiful blos- 
soms formed a pleasant break in tlie green savaunali earpet to which a 
good deal was contributed by the small ÄIi/rt(tc(<i liushes covered with 
wliite flowers; the Bi(/iioiii<i liathed in red; the ])eculiar Ainphilophlnm 
paniculatum ; and a wonderful ALstrocmoia that proved a new species, 
Alstroemeria {Botnnrc<t) fiiscata Klotzsch. On the other liand a white 
girdle of the JonidiiDu Ifoiihoii Ilumb. Konp. so peculiar in the form of its 
blossoms, and of tlie existence of which until now, owing to its withering 
away during the dry season, I had not even had a ])resentiment sur- 
rounded the edges of the wooded oases. The Brazilians eraydoy the roots 
under the name of Praya <la proia or Praya bianca as a remedy for diar- 
rlioea, and at the same time sell it as real Ipecacuanha because of its pro- 
ducing similar results. 
2:^6. Even in Pirara, tlie seeds brought to germination by the wet, 
grew in such marvellous profusion that the settlement otherwise kept so 
clean became a regular pasture. Especially conspicuous were Si/nedrella 
vodlflorfi Oiaertn. and Porop]n/lhi »i- ('llipfiriim Tass. that covered the 
village gounds like a felt over wliich the Pnssiflorn foctida stretched its 
long tendrils, while the different greens of a number of grasses such as 
the rieoma fiuuinrush Aubl., Cisftompeloa unherrnaia Klotzsch, and 
several Solanum. MUiios^n and Casftia supjdied an extremely vai-ied col- 
ouration. Even the small hitlierto leafless cotton shrubs around Pirara 
had put on a new dress. 
237. With the sprouting of these plants, however, there appeared a 
new tit-bit for the Indian, a caterpillar, which, according to its marking 
had much resem])lance to that of our Cabbage-white {Tachypiern hras- 
.<<ic<ir.) They again disappeared just as quickly as they came, for within 
8 to 12 days they had already completed their period of growth and 
changed into a chrysalis. These caterpillars and chrysalids were collected 
and devoured by old and young quite as industriously and keenly as the 
winged ants. So as to provide the father and mother with dessert at the 
mid-day meal, the children would shew themselves especially keen at 
gathering them, during the course of which these caterpillars with a 
piece of cassava bread would be stuck in such 'quantities in tlu'ir mouths, 
that the overflow of the disgusting juice ran down out at the corners. 
When the little boys and girls w^ith their bit of cassava went off in the 
morning accompanied by their monkeys to the fruitful field of their choice 
tit-bit, there was as little difference between the industry of the former 
and that of the latter, as when the female occupants of the houses, sitting 
one behind the other searched their hair for game, and instantly crushed 
between their teeth each morsel as it was caught. Each country has its 
own customs. 
2.'^S. While the damp and sultr\^ atmosphere tlius called to life real 
wonders in the vegetable kingdom, it exerted in the very opposite sense 
