Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/67

61 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO N. W. AMERICA. 61 I collected ferns of all kinds from the minute Trichomones & Hymenophyllum to the gigantic Polypodia, & the variety of Salana & Piper [?] was sufficient to satisfy the most zealous botanist. I had also an opportunity of seeing the beautifull Iguana heterolepina [?] ; this beautifull lizard feeds on leaves & fruits & is a much prized luxury among the people of Rio. The procuring of reptiles was a haz- ardous undertaking & I only procured one snake which was reckoned one of the most venomous species about Rio. On my return to town I made rather a curious appearance, I had a large vasculum on my back, my pockets were filled with the granite of Rio ; my hat out- side & inside was pinned full of insects & both my arms full of plants. My next excursion was to the botanic gar[d]en at Bota Fogo. It is about 6 miles from town, & is finely situated at the foot of a range of lofty hills. & has a distant view of the ocean. It occupies a large space of ground & is more a nursery for introducing foreign plants than a scientific garden. This garden may boast of several in- teresting plants, as the breadfruit, cloves, tea, & other valuable oriental vegetables. I had a note to Mr. Harris the curator of the garden & from him expected much botanical [information] of which I was dissapointed by his absence. In the town there is a sort of botanic garden which serves as a public walk and possesses a few inter- esting plants. From the great number of foreigners that frequent Rio & from the short distance between it & Europe, the society is probably much superior to that of any of the other Spanish or Portugese colonies of S. America. When a naturalist visits Rio he will not fail to find agreeable so- ciety & to find many, who though they may not be natu- ralists themselves will give their countenance to all who are engaged in such pursuits. Indeed science seams to