Pampas of Buenos Ayres to Tucuman. 97 



of the river is tracked as far as the eye can reach by the 

 abundance of willows that line the banks. There are, how- 

 ever, no beautiful slopes and rich holms here, such as grace 

 the shores of the Clyde. We halted this day at the deserted 

 posthouse of Lobaton, where I found the vegetation bearing 

 a striking similarity to that which prevails around Bahia 

 Blanca, distant more than 1100 miles. 



27th. We crossed the little river called Salado de Ruiz Diaz, 

 whose flat sides, white with a saline incrustation which crushes 

 like frost under the foot, are denuded of vegetation for at least 

 a hundred yards on either side the stream. At this place we 

 had entered the province of Cordova for 20 miles, and after 

 passing the river pursued a constantly rising road till we came 

 to a posthouse bearing the same name as the river and situated 

 at a considerable elevation. The land all around is very bare 

 of herbage and dry, but gay with a species of Oxalis and the 

 beautiful little Nierembergia gracilis. I also found the Eupa- 

 torium affine, a charming dwarf perennial. The well was the 

 deepest I had seen on the road, 21 feet, but the water was ex- 

 cellent. We passed through a dry and thinly inhabited coun- 

 try, but looking agreeable from its natural clumps of Algaro- 

 bas, &c. The Rio Corcouneon with its row of willow trees 

 lay on our right, its windings marked by these trees ; and our 

 road being straight, sometimes it was close to us, at other times 

 far distant. We saw several deserted houses and unoccupied 

 land, though the latter was of good quality; and passed 

 through the town of Fraile Muerto, situated close to the river, 

 where there were some spots of fine maize, pompions, French 

 beans and tomatos, the latter an indispensable article here. 



30th. Having pursued our journey up the river and gene- 

 rally almost parallel to its course for nearly 100 miles, we 

 crossed it at Esquina del Ahogada, where its name changes 

 from Corcouneon to Rio Terzero, it being the third river from 

 Cordova going to Buenos Ayres. Here commenced a strange 

 change in the face of the country, a dense forest prevailing for 

 a vast distance, chiefly consisting of Algarobas, of which there 

 were several beautiful varieties. The tops of these trees are 

 often charmingly adorned with the purple flowers of a species 

 of mistletoe, whose blossoms are frequently more than an inch 



