202 



to facilitate an acquaintance with the natural productions of 

 one of the most interesting portions of the globe. 

 I am, my dear Sir, very faithfully, yours, 



A. Cruckshanks. 



[The following additional remarks came too late to be 

 printed in their proper places. — Ed.2 



It is chiefly in the middle province that the Palm of Chili 

 (Micrococcos) is found. It is not a common tree, being 

 very partially distributed ; but several estates owe much of 

 their value to the number of Palms upon them, and al- 

 though the stem is useless, the leaves, sap, and fruit yield a 

 large income to the proprietor. For thatching houses, the 

 leaves are considered better and more durable than any 

 other material; the sap, boiled down to a syrup, is used 

 as a substitute for honey, and has a very agreeable flavour; 

 and the small cocoa-nuts, about an inch in diameter, of 

 which every tree produces a great number, are highly 

 esteemed, and form a considerable article of export to Peru. 

 A curious method is employed to free the nut from the 

 green husk in which it is enveloped, a process that was 

 formerly attended with a great loss of time and labour. A 

 number of cows and oxen are driven into an enclosure, 

 where a quantity of the fruit is spread, and being very fond 

 of its husk, they immediately begin to feed on the fruit, 

 only slightly masticating it in the first instance, and swal- 

 lowing the whole; afterwards, while chewing the cud, the nuts 

 are rejected ; and when the meal is finished, a heap of them is 

 found before each of the animals, perfectly free from the 

 husk, the cattle being thus supplied with food at a season 

 when little grass remains on the hills, at the same time that 

 they effectually perform a very useful operation. 



APPENDIX A. 



While on this subject, I would say a few words on the question so often 

 agitated, concerning the native country of the Potatoe. Mr. Lambert, in 

 the 10th vol. ofBrande's Journal, and in the Appendix to his splendid Work 



