To anybody accustomed to travelling in equatorial countries it seems
amazing, on returning to civilization, to find what curious notions
people have of the tropical forest. Even in the case of writers of
distinction I could quote many passages which are painfully ridiculous.
One of the greatest modern Italian writers, for instance--who, by the
way, in one of his latest novels, copied almost word for word many pages
from my books--added the poetic touch that in the tropical forest flowers
were found so large that they could not be picked, and fruit so enormous
that no human tooth could bite it! Again, the majority of people believe
that it is impossible to go through the forest without cutting your way
all the time--the "cutting a way through" meaning to most people the
constant chopping down of trees of all sizes, undergrowth, bamboos,
_liane_, and other creepers. As a matter of fact, any experienced
traveller has much less trouble in going through the forest than people
imagine. This is not the case with people unacquainted with the forest,
or with people whose sense of observation is not much developed. One can
go sometimes for miles through the dense forest without once using knives
at all; although necessarily a knife must be carried, as there are
places where a cut from its blade will make passing through more
comfortable. This is particularly true of the Brazilian forest. The
forests of that country, especially in the central region where I was
then travelling, were wonderfully clean, when once you entered them,
although, when seen from the river, they appeared impenetrable. Near the
water, owing to the moisture, there was frequently a thick but narrow
belt--only a few metres wide--of dense growth. Beyond it, when you were
in the forest itself, nothing grew under the trees, and the ground was
just as clean as the best kept English park. One could walk in comfort
without the slightest trouble, an occasional well-applied blow with the
heavy-bladed knife disentangling in a second an interfering _liana_ which
might stand in one's way.