162 MIMOSA. 



beside the margin of those swampy places which 

 invariably harbour the most dangerous reptiles. So 

 extremely subtle is the juice of the habella-nut, that 

 those who eat of it are not afraid to encounter 

 them ; and it is said that if they have even omitted 

 the usual precaution, a small quantity eaten imme- 

 diately after being bitten, effects a ready cure. 



Innumerable vegetables, which grow beneath the 

 shelter of the forest, or along their sunny borders, 

 also continually arrest the attention of the naturalist. 

 Beautiful flowers, too, are there, and many of those 

 elegant species which are cultivated in our green- 

 houses. You may see them bend beneath the rapid 

 tread of the light-hearted squirrel, and often, swift as 

 the eye can follow it, a path is made through acres of 

 elegant mimosas, smooth as a lawn over which the 

 scythe has passed, while on either side the slender 

 stems bend and tremble, as if they feared the return 

 of the rash intruder. There are also various other 

 vegetable productions of exquisite beauty and fra- 

 grance, but as yet no Linnaeus has arisen to number 

 and describe them. Travellers speak with admira- 

 tion of the perpetual verdure of the woods, the 

 luxuriancy of the pastures, the towering height 

 of the majestic mountains, and the variety of 

 splendid trees, standing either singly or in groups, 

 which seem to emulate one another in producing 

 delicious fruits throughout the year. Some resem- 

 ble those of Spain, others are peculiar to the country, 

 while among them innumerable birds of gorgeous 

 plumage, with such quadrupeds as frequent dry 

 places, and of which the fur is generally spotted, 

 glance by with rapid flight, or bounding step, 



