to which they devote themselves are naturally of a primitive and childish character. There are two of these, however, which especially struck me, and of which I shall speak hereafter—those of the sorcerer (feticeiro) and the ant-destroyer, (formigueiro.)
BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE.
Fields of coffee-plants, sugar-cane, or cotton, and rich pasture-grounds extend around the fazenda for the space of several square leagues. Beyond these are large belts of forest never yet infringed upon. These forests are traversed by paths or picadas, which commonly, and especially in the stormy season, are nothing but a mass of deep holes, muddy gullies, fallen trees, and beds of dust. But what splendor of landscape! What harmonious skies! Now half-wild herds of mules or cattle meet the eye upon abandoned plantations transformed into pastures, (pastos;) now oases of verdure, sheltered from the sun's rays by the vaulting branches of the trees, the sweet odors of which fill you with delight. Above your head little monkeys frolic on the llianas with cunning grimaces, whilst beneath the sombre green of the leaves myriads of birds with gay plumage sing their joys, their booty, or their love. At intervals an araponga, perched upon an old trunk stricken by time or storms, drowns all this music with his sonorous notes. This wild and virgin nature, which only a few years ago might be contemplated at the very threshold of Bahia and Rio Janeiro, day by day recedes. Coffee feeds upon the soil, and, like the Indian and the jaguar, the forest disappears before the colonist and civilization.
CLEARING THE GROUND.
The method of preparing the ground is the same for all sorts of cultivation. The wood or shrubbery that covers the land intended for culture is set on fire, If it is a virgin forest, the operation lasts sometimes for whole weeks. Frequently a storm sets in which interrupts the whole work. It is then recommenced on the following days and proceeded with till the trees have all fallen and the greater portion of them are reduced to ashes. When the work is to be done upon a declivity or hillside, trunks of trees are placed crosswise at certain distances, to prevent the rains from washing gullies in the soil. This mode of clearing, so different from our methods, and which has been so much condemned by Europeans, is the only one practicable in Brazil. The axe is powerless against its teeming growths. Its woods, rendered exceedingly hard by the enormous quantity of lignite constantly condensed from the sap in the cells of the tree, resist the best tempered tools, and would unavailingly exhaust the forces of the negro. On the other hand, there are no roads, no outlets for the profitable employment of this wealth of wood. Fire, therefore, is the only agent for disencumbering the soil. To this we may add, that the ashes thus obtained form the best fertilizer imaginable; they are, so to speak, the quintessence of the soil, prepared by the slow elaboration of ages, and returned to the common reservoir. This method, however, has its inconveniences. Frequently, especially if a wind spring up, the fire extends to the neighboring plantation. The means employed in such cases to arrest the conflagration is worthy of notice. A gang of negroes place dry fagots at a little distance from the burning masses, in a line parallel to the field they wish to preserve, and apply the torch. The air between the two fires, rapidly becoming hot and rarified, rises and leaves a void, which, drawing in the flames, prevents them from extending further in the opposite direction.
UNHEALTINNESS OF BURNING FORESTS.
Effects of another kind are produced on the men themselves, and the vicinity of burnt forests has a pernicious influence on delicate constitutions. The clouds of gas, disengaged by the fire for weeks over an immense extent of terri-
