Book I. 



AGRICULTURE IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



201 



very fertile ; and all the appearances of fertility may be ascribed, not only to the rains 

 and warmth of this climate, but also to the low and marshy situation of the country, 

 which prevents the intense lieats from destroying vegetation, and to the extreme richness 

 of the soil, particularly in those parts that are cultivated by European industry. 



1217. The principal products of Surinam are tobacco, sugar, coffee, cocoa, cotton, and 

 indigo. The Quasia tree, or bitter drug, used by the porter brewers, grows wild in 

 the woods, and was first exposed for r^ o> 2 



sale by a native called Quas, after ..^"'^^-^^^^i^^S^^ 210 ^-^-rr-. 



whom the tree is named. The cab- /^^^^i^^^^^^^-^^^^r"^^ ^^7 f / /^'~\^ 



bage tree is abundant, and besides ^^^-^""^ i f n ,^^j\ 

 the tender leaves produces a beetle ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ /I ^ iJ^ ^\ \<i ^^ 

 (fig. 210 a.) the larva of which (^)^2^^"^^^^ '^^Ik' 



is eaten by the natives as a luxury. ^ ^ 

 A very interesting account of this colony is given by captain Stedman, (Journal, 4fc. 

 2 vols. 4to. 1 794.) who filled an important military situation there for several years. This 

 gentleman, in the midst of the most arduous duties, contrived to make himself tolerably 

 comfortable. He built a country house there (Jig. 211.); kept a wife, pigs, bees, sheep. 



211 



and cattle, and liad 

 children and slaves. He 

 lived by turns with his 

 family in a house, and 

 with strange women in 

 the woods, where he 

 slept in hammocks 

 (fig. 212.) and adopted 

 many of the practices 

 of the natives. He 

 made many sketches, 

 and kept a journal ; and 

 after many years full of 



interesting adventures with the rebellious natives, and of endearing scenes with Joanna 



212 



C^ 



his local wife, he came home and wrote a very entertaining account of what he had seen 

 and done. (See Stedmans Surinam, 2 vols. 4to. 1794.) 



1218. Amazonia is an extensive, unconquered, or at least uncivilized country. In so 

 far as it is known, its climate is more temperate than might be expected from its geogra- 

 phical position. The surface of the country is clothed in most places by interminable 

 forests, and its immense river is well known. The soil of a small settlement formed by 

 the Portuguese, is very fertile, and produces corn, grain, and all kinds of tropical fruits ; 

 besides a variety of timber, as cedar, brazil-wood, oak, ebony, iron-wood, log-wood, and 

 other dyeing woods ; and also cocoa, tobacco, sugar-canes, cotton, cassava root, potatoes, 

 yams, sarsaparilla, gums, raisins, balsam of various sorts, pine-apples, guavas, bananas, 



&c. The forests abound with wild honey, and also with tigers, wild boars, buffaloes, 

 deer, parrots, and other curious birds {fig. 213.), and game of va- 

 rious kinds. The rivers and lakes afford an ample supply of fish, 

 sea-cows, and turtles ; but the alligators and water serpents render 

 fishing a dangerous employment. The trees, fields, and plants, are 

 verdant throughout the year. 



1219. Patagonia consists for the greatest part of open deserts and 

 savannahs, with a few willow trees on the rivers. It seems t6 en- 

 joy a temperate, but rather cool climate; but separated in tlie 

 middle by the vast mountains of the Andes, one part of it differs 

 widely from the other. To the northward of La Plata, this part of 

 South America is covered with wood, and stored with an inexhaus- 

 tible fund of large timber : but to the southward of that river, the 

 eye can scarcely discover a smgle tree or shrub fit for any mechani- 



213 



