winter, the leaves of the thistles are large and luxuriant, 
and the whole’ surface of the country has the rough appear- 
ance of a turnip field.. The clover at this season is ex- 
tremely rich and strong ; and the sight of the wild cattle, 
grazing in full liberty on such pasture, is beautiful. In 
spring, the clover has vanished, the foliage of the thistle has 
extended across the ground, and, the country still looks as 
if covered with a rough crop of turnips. In less than a 
month the change is most extraordinary; the whole region 
becomes a luxuriant wood of enormous thistles, which have 
suddenly shot up to a height of ten or eleven feet, and are 
all in full bloom. The road or path is hemmed in on both 
sides ; the view is completely obstructed ; not an animal 
is to be seen; and the stems of the thistles are so close to 
each other, and so strong, that independent of the prickles 
with which tag ame armed, they form an impenetrable bar- 
rier. The sudden growth of these plants is quite astonish- 
ing ; and though it would be an unusual misfortune in 
military history, yet it is really possible that, an invading 
army, unacquainted with this country, might be imprisoned 
by these thistles, before it had time to escape from them. 
The summer is not over before the scene undergoes another 
rapid change ; the thistles suddenly lose their sap and ver- 
dure, their heads droop, the leaves shrink and fade,: the 
stems become black and dead, and they remain rattling 
with the breeze one against another, until the violence of 
the pampero or hurricane levels them with the ground, 
where they rapidly decompose and disappear,—the clover 
rushes up, and the scene is again verdant.” Paris 
Fig. 1. Portion of a Leaf, nat. size. 2. Floret. 3. Stamens, 4. Hair 
from among the Florets of the Receptacle —Magnified. 
