On the Population of Brazil.

"One enumeration alone affords positive "results; and it is that of 1797 and 1798."Before that time the bishops were obliged "to send to the king, as grand-master of the "order of Christ, and consequently spiritual head "of the Colonies at fixed periods, a state of the "population of their dioceses. These states "were drawn up in the tribunal of the orders "called at Lisbon meza da consciencia. I was "enabled to see and examine the results of "the last state sent to king Joseph, about the year 1776. This state only contained some"what more than 1,500,000 souls: now the

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bishops only included the souls of the commu“nion, because according to the established "custom, the curates kept a register of these

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persons alone, on account of the smallness of "the fees exigible. All the inhabitants below "ten years of age were consequently not in "these lists, and the Indians already reduced "or added to the missions, but not baptised,

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were omitted in the same manner. With"out fear of exaggeration, I believe I may say that at that period (in 1776) the total population was nearly 1,900,000 souls. "The enumeration of 1798 was made with great care, but has never been published,

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" and I have received none of the particu"lars of it. I have it however from the best authorities, that it gave more than three "millions, which is not very surprising, be"cause in Brazil the institutions, and perhaps also the manners, are singularly fa"vourable to population. The government "has always very liberally given lands to "colonists, and never sold The sys

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any.

"tem of slavery adopted by the Portugueze "has a tendency to multiply the negroes: "no nation imports a greater number of fe"male negroes, and is more attentive to the bringing up of the children. As to the Indians, it was formerly remarked by La "Condamine, that the civilization of the "Portugueze Indians was very superior to “ that of the Spanish Indians. Several years “ after the voyage of the French astronomer, King Joseph adopted an important political

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measure, assimilating in every thing the ، Indians to the Portugueze whites. This "measure has not met with any opposition "from the public opinion; the reduction of "the remaining Indians has gone on rapidly " and prosperously. The emigration from

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Europe has continued without any encouragement; and according to the Portu"gueze custom, people have gone to Brazil "to settle, and not for the sake of making

"their fortune and returning to the mother"country.

"For some years past, details respecting the

population of Brazil have been published in "several French journals, which appear to "be the results of the enumeration of 1798.

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According to these journals, the population of "Brazil consists of 800,000 Whites, 1,000,000 "of Indians, and 1,500,000 Negroes, in all "3,300,000. If we add the natural augmen"tation in a space of eleven or twelve years, "I am persuaded that the actual population "of Brazil must be nearly 4,000,000.”

Note of M. Correa de Serra.

On the Plants cultivated in New Spain.

I shall bring together under this head a few notes relative to Botany and Agriculture; and I shall arrange them in the order according to which the different objects have been treated in the ninth and tenth chapters of this work.

The Prunus avium (vol. ii. p. 416) is undoubtedly a native of Europe; but the Prunus cerasus, which is a very distinct species, was brought to Rome by Lucullus. All the varieties which we cultivate belong to one or other of these two species of cherries.

The Cycas circinalis (vol. ii. p. 437) can

only be classed among ferns. According to the beautiful work of Mr. Brown on the Plants of the Islands of the Pacific Ocean, the Cycas is the representative of a new group of plants which may be designated under the name of Cycadees*, and which according to M. Richard is strongly related to the family of the Coniferi.

In my researches respecting the history of the Ignames (vol. ii. p. 128) I have made no mention of the first voyage of Cabral, in the account of the navigation of Pedro Aliares, published by Cadamusto. It was not consequently on the Coast of Peru, as I was led to suppose, but in the Southern Hemisphere, that Ignames were seen by the Portugueze Admiral (Grynæus, p. 47, 67, and 215). Cadamusto, designated the famous Admiral Pedro Alvarez Cabral†, under the name of "Petrus quidam Alieres "ac Abrilus Fidalcus." He calls Brazil, which is the Land of the Holy Cross of Cabral, Insula Psittacorum. (Grynæus, p. 94.)

The Helianthus tuberosus (topinambour) was formerly known in France by the name of Canada Trufle. North America, to the coast of the Gulph of Mexico, is the country of the Helianthoides.

According to M. Willdenow, Loureiro has

* Prodromus Flora Nove Hollandice, vol. i. p. 846. † Herrera, Dec, I. Lib. IV. Cap. VII.