436 
VECxETATION OE 
species of trees composing them. Instead of extensive 
tracts covered with pines, or oaks, or beeches, we scarcely 
ever see two individuals of the same species together, 
except in certain cases, principally among the Palms. 
A great extent of flooded land about the mouth of the 
Amazon, is covered with the Muiti Palms {Mauritia 
Jlexuosa and M. vinifera), and in many places the Assai 
{Euterpe edulis) is almost equally abundant. Generally 
however the same species of tree is repeated only at dis- 
tant intervals. On a road for ten miles through the 
forest near Para, there are only two specimens of the 
Masseranduba, or Cow-tree, and all through the adjoin- 
ing district they are equally scarce. On the Javita road, 
on the Upper Uio Negro, I observed the same thing. On 
the Uaupes, I once sent my Indians into the forest to ob- 
tain a board of a particular kind of tree ; they searched 
for three days, and found only a few young trees, none 
of them of sufficient size. 
Certain kinds of hard woods are used on the Amazon 
and Rio Negro, for the construction of canoes and the 
schooners used in the navigation of the river. The dif- 
ficulty of getting timber of any one kind for these ves- 
sels is so great, that they are often constructed of half- 
a-dozen different sorts of wood, and not always of the 
same colours or degrees of hardness. Trees producing 
fruit, or with medicinal properties, are often so widely 
scattered, that two or three only are found within a 
reasonable distance of a village, and supply the whole 
population. This peculiarity of distribution must pre- 
vent a great trade in timber for any particular purpose, 
being carried on here. The India-rubber and Brazil- 
