BRAZIL WOOD.
The wood from which is extracted the beautiful red dye, which is so much esteemed in Europe, is, I believe, generally supposed to be peculiar[184] to the country to which it has given a name[185]. It is often called in Pernambuco (from whence, I imagine, that it is exclusively exported) pao da Rainha or Queen’s wood, owing to the circumstance of the trade in it being a government monopoly; and it is exported to Europe on account of the Crown. No care has been taken to prevent a scarcity of the wood, and indeed its ultimate extirpation; it is cut down unmercifully wherever it is met with by the officers who are appointed for this purpose, without any regard being paid to the size of the tree. No plantations have been formed of it, and consequently it is now rarely to be seen, within many leagues of the coast. The labour which is required in obtaining it is now considerable, for the weight of the wood renders its conveyance very difficult upon the backs of horses, and this is the only manner in which it can be carried. The pay which is given by the government to the carriers is below the usual rate for work equally laborious, and therefore a wide source of oppression is afforded. The carrier receives with his load a slip of paper, declaring the weight of the wood which he is conveying; this is to be presented by him at the Intendencia da Marinha, or dock-yard at Recife, and he must wait until the wood is again weighed and the paper countersigned, before he can return home. These men are delayed sometimes for several days, before they are permitted to return; and they find that it is their interest to make many presents to the inferior officers, that they may be quickly dispatched. Here the old system of indifference to what is just, still most glaringly continues. This account of the treatment of the men who convey the wood, I received from several who had been employed in the business.
If the trade in the wood was to be laid open, it would only tend to its scarcity still more speedily than under the existing system; but as soon as it became scarce it would be rendered an object worthy of cultivation: however, as long as it is to be obtained in its wild state, and enormous profits can be made, the government will probably continue to supply the market on their own account. Every sugar plantation might cultivate a great number of these trees, without any additional land being required to be cleared for the purpose of planting them. The fences of the Cercados, or fields, might be strengthened by the addition of the Brazil inserted at intervals; instead of other trees being used in this way.
I never saw the plant, but I have heard it described in the following manner. It is not a lofty tree; and at a short distance from the ground, innumerable branches spring forth and extend in every direction in a straggling, irregular, and unpleasing manner. Practice is requisite to obtain a knowledge of the tree, for the valuable portion of it is the heart, and the outward coat of wood has not any peculiarity. The leaves are small, and never cover the branches luxuriantly.[186]
The Tatajuba, or Fustic.—This is a species of wood producing a yellow dye, which is well known in England. It is of spontaneous growth. A demand has lately been made for it, and destruction has followed wherever the plant can be met with.
The Feijam or Kidney Bean is planted in April and May with the mandioc. It is much used in the neighbourhood of the coast by the free part of the population, but is not produced in sufficient quantities to form a common food for the negroes. When it is cooked with the juice of the pulp of the coco-nut it makes a most excellent dish. In the cotton districts it forms one of the chief articles of the negroes’ food.
Milho, or Maize, is planted with mandioc, and sometimes in the cane fields; but as the best crop is obtained by planting it with the mandioc in January, few persons sow it at any other time. In the inland districts it is sown with the cotton, and in such situations yields more plentifully than in the lands which border upon the coast. Boiled maize is a common breakfast for the slaves in the cotton districts; the dish resembles thick peas’ soup, and is far from being unpalatable if sugar or treacle is added. The people call it angu de milho.
The Banana Plant is too well known to take up much space here. There are in Pernambuco three species of it; the banana curta or short banana; this is a small fruit, not exceeding two inches in length;—the banana comprida or long banana, which is the plantain;—and lately the third species has been introduced, and has obtained the strange name of the banana de quatro vintems or four vintems banana, because the clusters of the fruit are so large that each cluster may be sold for four vintems,—rather more than 5d. I do not think that as much utility is derived from the plant as it is capable of affording; it is not so generally used as a food by the negroes, as it ought to be. The banana curta, with dry farinha, is a common breakfast among people of colour.[187]
The Batatas.—Of these there are several species; but that which I had the most opportunities of seeing was the batata roxa or purple potatoe, which is so called from the purple tinge of the pulp after it has been boiled; this is the best of the tribe. The taste is pleasant, and would be still more so if it was not rather sweet. The batata is a creeping plant, and is re-produced from the roots, or from the sprouts of the branches. If the branches of roots that have been pulled up remain upon the ground, and a shower of rain falls soon after they have been broken off, their vegetation will recommence. The batatas are at present planted more as a luxury for the planter’s house than as food for the negroes; but I do not think that there is any plant which is more capable, or even so capable, of affording assistance to the mandioc as this; and perhaps it might supply its place. The mandioc should be supplanted, if any thing else could be discovered to answer the purpose of a staple article of food; for it is uncertain in yielding its crops, and requires the best land. To neither of these disadvantages would, I rather think, the batata be found subject. The European potatoe has been planted, in several instances, at Pernambuco; the first crop is as well tasted as the roots from which it was produced, but the potatoes were small; a second crop, being obtained from the same family of roots, has been sweetish, and on advancing, the potatoes become still more similar to the batata of the country[188]. Yet the plants appear to be totally different from each other, for the Brazil batata or potatoe is produced from a creeper.
Tobacco is planted upon almost all the sugar-plantations, and by a majority of persons of the lower classes, for their own use. A considerable quantity is imported from the southern provinces of Brazil into Pernambuco. The ants do not molest the plant, but in the parts of the country which are much infested by these insects, the peasants mix the seed of the tobacco with wood ashes before they strew with it the ground which they are about to sow. The ants have an antipathy to the ashes, and thus the seed is preserved.
Rice is very little cultivated in Pernambuco; but at Maranham it forms the second object of trade. The use of it in Pernambuco is inconsiderable, from the idea that it is unwholesome for the negroes; and indeed I never met with any of the Africans who preferred it to other kinds of food.
Coffee and Cacao are yet planted as experiments, for their introduction into Pernambuco is recent.[189]
Ipecacuanha.—Although this is at present only to be found in a wild state, I have inserted it here, for it must shortly take its place among cultivated plants. The small quantity exported is procured by the Indians and other persons of the same rank and habits of life, in the thickest woods. It thrives most in the shade. The plant is destroyed also by many of the larger kinds of game, to which it serves as food. There are two species of it which are distinguished by the names of white and black Ipecacuanha; the latter is that which is used for medicinal purposes in Europe[190]. The white is used by the Brazilians in colds and coughs, and is taken to purify the blood after a fever.
Ginger is indigenous, but is now rarely to be found in a wild state[191]. The white ginger is that which is in general use.
Malagueta Pepper is a small shrub which is to be seen under the eaves of almost every cottage. The pods are of a bright scarlet colour, of about one inch in length, and one quarter in breadth. It is a hardy plant; for although it droops under excessive drought, it is seldom destroyed by it. Often are to be seen at the same time, and upon the same bush, the blossoms, and the green and the ripe scarlet pods. Wherever this shrub springs up care is taken of it; for the people of all ranks are from habit almost unable to eat their food without the malagueta. The pods are bruised when about to be used, and either form an ingredient in every dish, or they are served up in all the sauces[192]. The pimenta de cheiro, or scented pepper, is likewise common, but it requires more care in rearing, and is a smaller shrub than the malagueta. The pods are of a bright red in general, but sometimes they are, naturally, of a pale yellow colour; they are round, and about the size of a crab apple.
Tea is stated to be indigenous in Brazil[193]. A priest of considerable reputation as a botanist, told me that he had discovered this plant in the neighbourhood of Olinda; but afterwards again he informed me that he was afraid he had been too sanguine.[194]
Horticulture has of late years been rapidly improving, and the markets of Recife are now well supplied with vegetables and roots. The gardeners are chiefly Portugueze, from the provinces of the mother country, or from the Azores. Peas[195], cabbages, and several other kinds of European vegetables and roots are to be purchased, besides others which are peculiar to the country, such as mandubims and yams. The European onion produces a small root of an oblong form[196], which is known in Pernambuco under the name of cebolinho, as the diminutive of cebola, an onion. The vine is to be seen in many of the gardens in the neighbourhood of Recife and of Olinda; and formerly there were a great many at Conception upon the island of Itamaraca, but few now remain. No wine is made. The fruit trees are some of those which are common to the southern parts of Europe, such as the orange[197], the fig, and others, but no olives; besides these, there are the manga, the jack, and a numerous list, some of which have been mentioned incidentally in the course of this volume; but I have tarried already too long upon this branch of my subject, and must now proceed to something else.
A Planter and his Wife on a Journey.