40 FLOWERS. 



From the juice pressed from the flowers of this 

 plant, the natives prepare a very pleasant and refresh- 

 ing beverage, called " pulque," of which they are 

 very fond, and it is said to be quite nutritious and 

 wholesome, although, if taken in large quantities, it 

 produces the same effect as brandy. 



The drug called aloes is the thickened juice of a 

 species of aloe, which grows abundantly near the 

 Cape of Good Hope. It is procured by cutting the 

 leaves in pieces, and pressing and boiling them ; after 

 which the juice is allowed to cool, when it becomes 

 hard. 



How few, who look upon the thick spiny leaves 

 of the Aloes, as they stand in our green-houses, ever 

 reflect upon the great usefulness of this plant to the 

 natives of America ! 



Hanging in gay festoons about the venerable trees 

 of the American forests, the various kinds of Passion- 

 Flowers form objects of splendor which arrest the 

 attention of the traveller. In this, their native soil, 

 they grow to much greater perfection than when kept 

 in our green-houses ; and their large starry blossoms 

 hang down in profusion among the branches, or clasp 

 by their strong tendrils the immense trunks of the 

 trees. 



There are upwards of forty species found growing 

 in various parts of the world, varying greatly in their 

 color and appearance. Some are very strong and 

 robust plants, sending out long stout stems which lay 

 hold of anything within their reach; and in the 

 summer season, when their growth is rank and rapid, 



