I KIKNCES CONTINUED. \ 07 



others wailed their turn f<>r emph>\ im-nt. a little mi ..IK- - id--. \\'ith tin- it r< mediabh- indolence of 

 the pe.ms, it is \ve||, perhaps, that these ph.ir_'hs an- retained; for tin- - implement . 



northern hemisphere \\..iil.l ! moment hy the pehl.h-s that < nstitute no large a 



portion .f the stratum, and hy the roots ..f cspinos which 1 n cut down. Although 



charcoal made from the last will ivadily sell l'..r hall' :i dolhir the bushel, an English 

 gentleman ltiiniciliated here told me he had vainly endeavored t<, _ t rid of them on his 

 estate hy oU'eiin^ them as Drifts to the peons. And thus routs and round stones both great 



tnoet -remain in the soil, every now and then compelling the ploughmen to m 

 or, as is more ^nierally done, the two sticks are lifted and set d wn a^ain <iti the other 



the furrow being continued in the fame line. A wall entirely of adohc *, or of round pebble- 



sti'iies and mud, separates cultivated fields from th<- highways ; and occasional fences of the 

 same description divide pasturage and irrain-fields. Flocks of sheep and herds of neat cattle 

 are ipt'ite numerous, though not as extensive as on the haciendas lying ahoiit the base .,f the 

 mountains farther south, where cows and horses are numhcred hy the thousand, and a good 

 slice]) may lie bought for seventy-live cents. 



Kxcept the orange, with its ever present foliage, flowers, and fruit, and the almond (An 

 communis), cypress, and other evergreens in the gardens, there were no trees in t'.,lia'_"- ,,M the 

 plain. Neither the poplar nor the varieties of willow had yet put forth their 1 It w 



believed there never have been (in modern times) any native trees on the plain north of the 

 .Maypu. except Kspinos; and the only specimens of other kinds to be found are on the hills and 

 mountain sides. But of herbage with delicate flowers, and extensive patches of the luxuriant 

 Carda (Dipsacus fullonum), wherevt-r the eye turned there was a profusion. Even the top of 

 the mud walls presented a verdant band, amid which gay-colored birds were carolling their 

 spring chants. 



The porous character of the surface permits rain to pass off from the roads without great 

 detriment; and, except where the soil was more clayey than sandy, they were in tolerable 

 condition, so that the party I had joined reached their hunting-ground after a drive of two 

 hours. They had selected the base of a hill between the Andes and western range, pretty well 

 clad with shrubbery. The three speeded forthwith on their errand of destruction, returning 

 near sundown with about as many birds as one member of the party could eat on the following 

 day. Not that there were not wild pigeons (Columba araucana) enough, with occasional glimpses 

 of partridges (Nothura perdicarid), an abundance of doves (C. aurita), loycas (Sturneila niilt- 

 taris), robins (Turdus falklandica) , horned plovers (Vanellus cayannensis), hawks, an eagle 

 (Pontoactus melanoleucus) or two, and a huge condor; but the pigeons and partridges were the 

 only true game, and they were too wary to be caught napping. We were desirous to obtain 

 his majesty of the Andes, the condor ; but as our supply of ammunition was small, we concluded 

 to salute him in a body; and as this was not agreeable, he gave us wing bail before we had 

 approached within telling distance. Eagles, too, are not every-day birds; and next to the feat 

 of shooting a condor, that of shooting an eagle would have been the most to boast of. At each 

 individual there were fair chances, and one of the party claims that his bird was struck and 

 alighted on the hills mortally wounded; for myself, I confess to having fired two barrels very 

 deliberately at another, which flew awa\ without so much as winking at the storm of impotent 

 pellets sent after him. With other varieties, however, there was greater success, and I suc- 

 ceeded in bagging a pair of each as specimens. 



The pigeon is quite one third if not one half larger than the North American bird, and ite 

 flesh when young is very tender. Its plumage is darker and somewhat differently marked from 

 its relative, having a delicate white i in-- around the neck of the male bird. They go in large 

 flocks, are not easily approached by hunters as inexperienced as ourselves, and in flying from hill 

 to hill were generally beyond the range of our guns. The natives take them in such numbers that 

 four of them may often he purchased in market for a real. The dove, in form, size, and color, 

 is almost precisely the pigeon of Carolina ; and the lo\ a is our meadow-lark in form and action, 



