forests in our Atlantic States. According to the accounts of intelligent residents, it is easily traversed in any direction. The accounts of difficulties have probably arisen from the second growth on spots that have once been cleared, where the bamboos are intertwined so as to render the woods almost impassable, and this has no doubt been taken for the primeval forest.

The nature of the Brazilian forest will account for so little being known of its botany. The trees are in fact inaccessible, the trunks being from seventy to one hundred feet high, before the branches appear, so that the latter can only be got at by felling. The view of the forest is truly remarkable. Trees of immense growth intermingled with others of less size, presenting to the eye the most singular and fantastic forms imaginable. The roots of climbing plants, dangling between their straight trunks, resembled the tackling of a ship.

A little incident that occurred to these gentlemen will show the difficulties to be encountered in obtaining specimens. They had observed for a few days a beautiful yellow flowering tree, that was very conspicuous in the forest. Believing that it could be easily come at, they made the attempt to reach it, but without success, finding it, instead of being low, a high and inaccessible tree. They then directed their steps to others, but were disappointed again. Determined not to be foiled in their pursuit, they again went off in search of others in sight; these, to their surprise, were on the opposite side of a river. Nothing daunted, Mr. Brackenridge crossed it, though deep, and endeavoured to scale the tree. What had appeared near the ground, now proved a tree of some sixty feet in height, with a smooth and slippery bark; and he returned to his companion empty-handed. Dr. Pickering next made the attempt. After crossing the stream with difficulty, he reached the desired object, and endeavoured to climb, but after reaching some forty feet, was obliged to acknowledge himself vanquished. They continued their return, and when near Padre Luiz's house, they found a small tree of the same kind they had been searching for, which proved to be a species of Caesalpinia.

At Padre Luiz's they again passed the night, and the next day endeavours were made to reach one of the pointed peaks of the Organ Mountains. In this Dr. Pickering succeeded, though it did not prove the highest. On their way they found many interesting plants; among them the Epiphytic Orchideæ, slender Cecropias, rising to the height of one hundred feet without a limb, arborescent fern trees forty feet in height, and numerous parasitical plants hanging from the various trees in great profusion; Bromelias, Bignonias, &c. On reaching the top, he found trees stunted and gnarled of about thirty feet in height.

A good idea will be given of the richness of the Brazilian Flora by the fact, that when mounted in the tree-top, he collected specimens of three flowering trees not before seen, and three species of mistletoes.

The same afternoon they reached Estrella, but found their guide had not procured any passage for them. They, however, succeeded after some difficulty in procuring one, set out before sunset, and reached Rio the next morning by three o'clock, having been greatly tormented by the musquitoes, and a minute fly, which was even more troublesome.

Finding that the repairs had not proceeded so rapidly as I anticipated, I readily gave permission for a second jaunt, which they undertook in the direction of Piedade. Piedade is on the eastern side of the bay, nearly opposite to Estrella. On landing, they proceeded to Trexal, at the foot of the mountain, sixteen miles from Piedade, where travellers may get good lodgings, &c., for Brazil. The next day they took the route by the pass to Mr. March's. The summit of this pass commands a magnificent and extensive prospect, and is called Buena Vista. They reached the Fazenda of Mr. March about midday. It is situated in a beautiful valley, immediately behind the main ridge, and between two mountains. The houses were overflowing with visiters, who had assembled to pass the holidays. This estate is large, embracing some thirty miles square, but only a very small proportion of it is cultivated. A large number of negroes were about the establishment, and every thing is kept in perfect order. It is a place of fashionable resort for the inhabitants of Rio, especially the English. The houses were comfortable after the Brazilian style. The garden and grounds are laid out on the English plan, and well stocked with very fine fruits, peaches, apples, pears, plums, gooseberries, all of which come to perfection. Of vegetables, they have potatoes, cabbage, turnips, carrots, beets, onions, parsnips, celery, and lettuce. Bananas will not ripen, the temperature being frequently as low as 40°. Mr. March said his houses were situated three thousand one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the sea, and the peaks in the vicinity are about one thousand feet higher. To the westward he pointed out a peak said to be eight thousand feet in altitude, and which is the highest of the range. So far as is known, no one has gained the summit, although Mr. Gardner, an English botanist, by following the tracks of the tapir, had reached within a few hundred yards of it, after two days' hard labour, and found that the vegetation resembled that of temperate climates. Time did not admit of our gentlemen making the attempt. All that could be done was to ascend the hill pointed out by Mr. March, in the vicinity of his house, as never having been ascended, and which is one thousand two hundred feet above it. This was accom10

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plished, although with difficulty. On this trip they met with fallen timber, but the Brazilian woods, in general, were remarked as being much more free from it than our own. No change in the vegetation was observed. The route through this pass is much more difficult for travellers than that of Estrella, but to the admirer of nature more interesting. From the base to the summit of the mountains the virgin forest extends. The main chain here is much broken; the peaks appear more in the form of columns or pipes, and are quite inaccessible, casting a dark shade upon the deep and wooded valleys beneath. After being hospitably entertained they came back, crossing over to the island of Pagueta, where they had an opportunity of examining the large heaps of the shells fished up out of the bay, for the purpose of burning for lime, and were not a little surprised at the numbers of different genera which composed them.

The results of these two expeditions were the addition of a great number of very interesting plants to our collection. These will be treated of in the Botanical Report.

A few days before our departure, we made a trip to the top of the Corcovado. The naturalists, who were of our party, observed that almost a total change had taken place in the plants since their last visit, about a fortnight before. I took with me the necessary instruments to measure its height, and we all amused ourselves with collecting plants, insects, lizards, &c. We took the road that turns off near Gloria, and even before we began to emerge from the city, several novel kinds of ferns were observed growing on the house-tops and walls. We soon entered coffee plantations, groves of bananas, tamarinds, mangroves, and orange trees. A vast variety of plants were pointed out to me by Mr. Brackenridge, among them the beautiful Vochysia, with its splendid yellow blossoms, showing conspicuous among the rest. After a fatiguing walk we reached the top. The last quarter of a mile, or the last rise to its summit, causes one to become somewhat breathless in a hot day; but when the top is gained, it is worth all the labour of climbing, and amply repays for the exertion.

The whole of the magnificent harbour, the city and environs, lay beneath our feet. A bird's-eye view is had of every thing, grouped in the most pleasing variety; and nothing strikes one so forcibly as the white sandy beaches of Botofogo and Praya Grande, with the beautiful blue of the sea washing on them. The many lakes, the castellated peaks, and the variously shaped, craggy, and broken hills, are all softened by the light and airy green vegetation, creeping up their sides so as to melt them almost into one. The harbour was

covered with its busy and now tiny fleets, and many of its large islands looked as but specks on its flat surface. The day was beautifully clear, and the refreshing sea-breeze just what we could desire. The tower and observatory have been destroyed. To form an idea of the beauty of Rio and its environs, it is necessary to mount to the top of the Corcovado, or some high peak in its neighbourhood.

After finishing our observations, and fully satisfying ourselves with the beautiful scene, we descended to the Belle Rue, where we enjoyed a rest and lunch. We returned to the city by the way of the Aqueduct late in the afternoon, all greatly delighted with our day's jaunt, which, beside the amusement, had proved quite a profitable one in the way of collections.