walk, and the negroes were compelled to carry him bodily,
to the nearest house.

The colony of Petropolis proved to be situated in the depth of a virgin
forest, at an elevation of 2500 feet above the sea-level. At the time of
Madame Pfeiffer's visit it was about fourteen months old, having been
founded for the special purpose of providing the capital with fruits and
vegetables which, in tropical climates, will thrive only in very elevated
situations. It was, of course, in a very rudimentary condition, the mere
embryo of a town; but the country around it was very picturesque.

* * * * *

Madame Pfeiffer's second excursion was into the interior; and it opened
up to her a variety of interesting scenes,--as, for instance, a manioc-
fazenda, or plantation. The manioc plant, it appears, throws off stalks
from four to six feet in height, with a number of large leaves at their
upper extremities. The valuable portion of the plant is its bulbous
root, which frequently weighs two or three pounds, and supplies the place
of corn throughout the Brazils. It is washed, peeled, and held against
the rough edge of a mill-stone, until it is completely ground into flour.
This flour is collected in a basket, steeped thoroughly in water, and
afterwards pressed quite dry by means of a press. Lastly, it is
scattered upon large iron plates, and slowly dried over a gentle fire. At
this stage it resembles a very coarse kind of flour, and is eaten in two
ways;--either mixed with hot water, until it forms a kind of porridge; or
baked in the form of coarse flour, which is handed round at table in
little baskets.

She also saw a coffee plantation. The coffee-trees stand in rows upon
tolerably steep hillocks. Their height ranges from six feet to twelve;
and they begin to bear sometimes as early as the second, but in no case
later than the third year. They are productive for at least ten years.
The leaf is long and slightly serrated, and the flower white; while the
fruit hangs down like a cluster of grapes, and resembles a large cherry,
which varies from green to red, then to brown, and almost black. While
red, the outer shell is soft; but eventually it becomes perfectly hard,
until it may be compared to a wooden capsule. Blossoms and ripe fruit
are found on the same tree at the same time; so that a crop may be
gathered at almost any season of the year. After the berries are
plucked, they are spread out in spacious areas enclosed by a w