160 
a Polygala, a coarse blue-flowered Lathyrus, and a low-creeping 
buckthorn. 
On the last day of October I accompanied the botany class 
of the National College of Medicine on an excursion to an estancia 
near Santa Lucia belonging to an uncle of one of the students. 
Some of the young men were dressed in gaucho costume— 
ponchos, or blankets, of guanaco wool, with a hole in the centre 
through which the head is passed, very loose trousers confined 
tightly about the ankle, and broad-rimmed hats. Nearly all of 
them carried sheath knives, some of which were thrust in beauti- 
fully embossed silver scabbards, and the saddles of some of the 
horses awaiting our arrival at Santa Lucia station were provided 
with large silver stirrups. 
The country surrounding Santa Lucia is slightly undulating, 
although at first glance it appears a flat plain. It is cut up by 
numerous winding streams of which the banks are thickly bor- 
dered by small trees and dense thorny shrubs. On the estancia 
to which we went, besides large herds of cattle, horses and sheep, 
we saw a number of ostriches (Rhea Americana) feeding on the 
tender Medicago. We were given several of their newly laid 
eggs from which very good omelets were made. For this pur- 
pose the yolk alone is commonly used; but I had an omelet 
made of both the yolk and the white, which proved excellent, 
An omelet made from a single egg was sufficient for five people. 
I expected to find the flavor strong, but it was as delicate as that 
of a hen’s egg.’ Ostrich eggs may be bought in the markets of 
Montevideo, where festoons of the blown shells are also for sale, 
usually associated with wreaths of blooming aerophyte Tillandsias, 
These wreaths are very pretty ornaments. The Tillandsias com- 
monly sold are of two species—one with spikes of flowers of a 
pale canary color, the other with violet flowers surrounded by 
crimson bracts. Specimens which I took on board ship con- 
tinued blooming for several weeks. A third species, with large 
white flowers, called the Clavel del Aire (Carnation of the air), 
was very fragrant. It also continued blooming for a long time, 
hanging in the captain’s cabin. 
There were no vegetables raised on the estancia which we 
visited. While there, our food consisted of mutton, beef, good 
