Early on the following morning we made an excursion to a mountain called the Pedra Bonita, immediately opposite the Gavea. In our way thither we visited the coffee plantations of Mrs. Moke, and Mr. Lescene. They adjoin each other, and were then considered the best managed near Rio. The great coffee country is much farther inland, on the banks of the Rio Parahiba. The trees are planted from six to eight feet apart. Those plants which have been taken from the nursery with balls of mould round their root are found to bear fruit in about two years, whereas those which have been detached from the earth do not produce till the third year, and a greater proportion of the plants die. They are planted when about a foot high, on the slopes of the hills, in the alluvial soil from whence the virgin forest has been cleared. They are only allowed to grow to the height of from ten to twelve feet, so that the crop may lie within reach. Till the trees are in full bearing, one negro can take charge of, and keep clean, two thousand plants: but afterwards only half that number is allotted him. Large healthy coffee trees have been found to produce as much as from eight to twelve pounds of coffee; the average produce, however, varies from a pound and a half to three pounds. When the berry is ripe, it is about the size and colour of a cherry; and of these berries a negro can collect about thirty-two pounds daily. In the course of the year there are three gatherings, but the greater part of the crop ripens during the dry season. The berries are spread out to dry in the sun, on large slightly convex floors; the dry shell is afterwards removed, either by mills, or by a series of large wooden mortars. It is only in some few estates in Brazil that the pulper is seen, which is so commonly used in the West Indies and Ceylon, for taking off the pulp from the fresh berries. Nothing is more beautiful than a coffee plantation in full bloom; the trees come into flower at the same time, but the blossoms do not last more than twenty-four hours. Seen from a distance the plantation seems covered with snow; and the flowers have a most delightful fragrance.
By the side of a stream which flows through the valley where these plantations are, we noticed a nettle-like tree, with a stem eight inches in diameter, and nearly twenty feet high, which proved to be a new species of Bæhmeria (B. arborescens, Gardn.). For a considerable way our ascending path was bordered with bitter orange trees, the shade afforded by which was no less acceptable than their fruit was grateful; for the juice though a little bitter is not disagreeably so. Both here, and in many other parts about Rio, this bitter kind of orange grows apparently wild; it is called the wild orange by the Brazilians (Laranja da Terra), but it is certainly not indigenous. Thence, we came to a tract where the original forest having been felled, was replaced by a thick wood of young trees, consisting chiefly of arborescent Solanums, Crotons, Vernonias, &c., while great numbers of Cecropia peltata and palmata reared their heads above the rest, conspicuous at a great distance from their white bark, their large lobed leaves, the snowy under-surface of which, when agitated by the wind, gives the tree the appearance of being covered with large white blossoms.
Near the summit of the Pedra Bonita, there is a small Fazenda, or farm, the proprietor of which was then clearing away the forest which covers it, converting the larger trees into charcoal. From the massive trunks of some of them which had just been felled, we obtained some very pretty Orchideous plants, and several of the larger denizens of the forest, found to belong to the natural orders Melastomaceæ, Myrtaceæ, Compositæ, and Leguminosæ. The ascent of the Pedra Bonita is made from the north side. Immediately on emerging from the forest, and attaining the summit, a most magnificent view of the surrounding country presented itself. It was then nearly sunset, so we had but little time for botanizing. We only saw enough to convince us that the vegetation of the top of this mountain had a very different character from those of any others we had visited near Rio: resembling more, as I have since ascertained, that of the mountains of the interior. A few days afterwards we made another journey to it, but on this occasion the whole mountain was enveloped in clouds, the minute globules of which they were composed being distinctly visible, as they swept past under the influence of a strong breeze which was blowing from the north. A great part of the top we found to be covered with the beautiful lily-like Vellozia candida, on the branches of which grew a pretty Epidendrum, with rose-coloured flowers. Along with the Vellozia grew two beautiful subscandent species of Echites,[2] one with large dark violet-coloured flowers, the other with white ones of a similar size. They both exhale an odour not unlike that of the common primrose, but more powerful. On the edge of a precipice on the eastern side, we found, covered with its large rose-coloured flowers, the splendid Cattleya labiata, which a few days before we had seen on the Gavea.
The following year, on my return from the Organ Mountains, I again visited this spot, and found that a great change had taken place. The forest, which formerly covered a considerable portion of the summit, was now cut down and converted into charcoal; and the small shrubs and Vellozias which grew in the exposed portion, had been destroyed by fire. The progress of cultivation is proceeding so rapidly for twenty miles around Rio, that many of the species which still exist, will in the course of a few years, be completely annihilated, and the botanists of future times who visit the country, will look in vain for the plants collected by their predecessors.
Other excursions to the islands in the bay, and to Jurujuba, on the opposite side of it, were also productive of many interesting species of plants. It was at the latter place, on dry bushy hills, that I first saw the really beautiful Buginvillea spectabilis growing wild. It climbs up into the tops of the bushes and trees near which it grows, and the brilliant colour of the flowers, which it produces in the greatest profusion, renders it conspicuous in the woods at a great distance. This, as well as the equally beautiful Bignonia venusta, are much cultivated as ornamental climbers in the suburbs.
Before leaving Rio, I visited the Botanic Garden, and the Museum of Natural History. The former, as has already been observed, is situated at the foot of a valley near the sea, about eight miles to the south-west of the city. It is more a public promenade than a Botanic Garden, for, with the exception of a few East Indian trees and shrubs, and a few herbaceous European plants, there is but little to entitle it to that name. Of the immense number of beautiful plants indigenous to the country, I saw but few. The European botanist is, however, well recompensed for his visit, by the sight of some large Bread-fruit trees and the Jack, with its much smaller entire leaves, and monstrous fruit pendent from the stem and large branches. There are also some fine Cinnamon and Clove trees. Near the centre of the garden several clusters of Bamboos, with stems upwards of fifty feet in height, give it a marked tropical character. The avenue which leads up from the entrance, is planted on each side with the pine-like Casuarina. It is on a piece of ground, about an acre in extent, on the left hand side of this avenue, that the Tea plants grow which were imported from China by the grandfather of the present Emperor. It was thought that the climate and soil of Brazil would be suitable for its cultivation, but the success of the experiment has not equalled the expectations which were formed of it, notwithstanding that the growth of the plants, and the preparation of the leaves, were managed by natives of China accustomed to such occupations. In the province of San Paulo a few large plantations of Tea have been established; that belonging to the ex-regent Feijó, containing upwards of 20,000 trees. The produce is sold in the shops at Rio, and in appearance is scarcely to be distinguished from that of Chinese manufacture, but the flavour is inferior, having more of an herby taste. It is sold at about the same price, but it is now ascertained that it cannot be produced, so as to give a sufficient recompense to the grower, the price of labour being greater in Brazil than in China. To remunerate, it is said that Brazil Tea ought to bring five shillings per pound.
The National Museum of Natural History was founded by Don John the Sixth. It gives but a poor idea of the vast stores of animated nature which exist in the country. Like many other Museums, more attention has been given to the cases than to their contents. The collection is contained in a building of moderate size, in the Campo de Santa Anna. There are some eight apartments which visitors are allowed to enter: one of these is devoted to the dresses, ornaments, arms, &c., of the aborigines of Brazil; another contains a number of cases of stuffed birds, foreign as well as indigenous, badly prepared, and but few of them named; another has a few mummy cases ranged along one side of it, from one of which the body has been taken and placed in a glass case; the bindings have been unrolled from the head and feet, and both these parts are fully exposed. There are also in this room a very limited collection of coins and medals, and a few paintings, one of which is a full-length portrait of the founder. Another apartment contains a few cases of quadrupeds, chiefly monkeys. Two rooms are allotted to a collection of minerals, which is the most extensive as well as the most interesting portion of the contents of the institution; the specimens are mostly European. The Museum is thrown open to the public every Thursday, from ten till four o’clock, and appears to be well frequented.