reached the group of sought-for trees, surrounded in all directions by 
others no less wonderful to look upon than themselves. The natives 
Jost no time in making a deep incision into the bark of one, down to the 
very wood, from which burst forth the Milk, white and limpid as that of 
the cow, sweet to the palate and accompanied by an aromatic smell, 
but leaving a strong clammyness on the lips, and, upon the tongue, a 
slight bitter. In a quarter of an hour, we filled two bottles with the 
produce of a couple of trees ; for as our visit happened to be made during 
the wane of the moon instead of its increase the lacteal fluid did not 
flow so freely as it is said to do when drawn during the latter-named 
stage.” 
” The trunk of the Palo de Vaca from which the drawing was made, 
measured somewhat more than twenty feet in circumference at about 
five feet from the root. This colossal stem ran up to a height of sixty 
feet, perfectly uninterrupted by either leaf or branch; when its vast 
arms and minor branches, most luxuriantly clothed with foliage, spread 
on every side, fully twenty-five or thirty feet from the trunk, and rising 
to an additional elevation of forty feet, so that this stupendous tree was 
quite a hundred feet high in all. I saw others still larger ; but the 
state of the weather drove us from our position. The leaves, when in 
a fresh state, are of a deep dark and polished green, nearly resembling 
those of the Laurel tribe, from ten to sixteen inches long, and two or three 
inches wide. The specimens sent, will enable you to form a botanical 
description of the foliage, as the portion of bark will do of that 
part of the tree; the wood, forming the body of the trunk, is white, very 
close-grained and hard, resembling the box-wood of Europe. The soil 
which these trees inhabit is dark and rich, and must be damp or very 
‘wet all the year round.” 3 aia 
“T have been promised by one of the Indians who accompanied me, 
that he would keep a look out for the fruit of the tree and send me 
some, when I shall have the satisfaction of forwarding a few specimens 
to you. But, with regard to the flower, or the flowering season of the 
tree, I have made enquiries over and over again, from persons who 
reside in the vicinity of other trees of the kind, in different parts of 
Venezuela ; but they tell me that no one ever saw or heard of the Cow 
Tree flowering.” 
The imaginary statement of the tree not flowering may be accounted 
for by the nature of the blossoms, being in all likelihood small and incon- 
spicuous, as in so many of the Urticex, to which Nat, Order it is pro- 
bably correctly referred; though whether it be a true Brosimum as Mr. 
Don is inclined to Suppose, or a new Genus, as Humsotpr has suggest- 
ed, must yet remaina doubt. The leaves are large and handsome, and of 
a rich and somewhat velvety green hue. The Jruit had the outer coat 
so much broken, that I will not venture to describe what is as faithfull 
Tepresented as the nature of the specimens would allow. The bark of 
the larger branches is singularly yellow, as shown in our figure. ; 
Tas. 3723. A landscape, in which the Cow Tree forms a remarkable 
feature, from a drawing by Sir Ropert Ker Porter. 
Tas. 3724. Fig. 1. Portion of a large Branch, and f. 2, portion of a lesser 
Branch with foliage from the living plant in the Glasgow Botanic Garden, 
nat. size.—3. Fruit. 4, The same laid open. fig. 5. Seeds laid open, nat. 
size; received from MarTHEWw Pearce, Esq. 
