Village books

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The environs of Pernambuco are very pretty. You see country houses in all
directions, and the appearance of here and there a sugar-plantation
enriches the scenery. Palm-trees, cocoanut-trees, orange and lemon groves,
and all the different fruits peculiar to Brazil, are here in the greatest
abundance.
At Olinda there is a national botanical garden: it wants space, produce and
improvement. The forests, which are several leagues off, abound with birds,
beasts, insects and serpents. Besides a brilliant plumage, many of the
birds have a very fine song. The troupiale, noted for its rich colours,
sings delightfully in the environs of Pernambuco. The red-headed finch,
larger than the European sparrow, pours forth a sweet and varied strain, in
company with two species of wrens, a little before daylight. There are also
several species of the thrush, which have a song somewhat different from
that of the European thrush; and two species of the linnet, whose strain is
so soft and sweet that it dooms them to captivity in the houses.


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