THE WONDERS OF VEGETATION. 55 



recalls that of strawberries eaten with fresh cream. 

 From an incision made in the trunk a white milk 

 pours forth, perfectly liquid, agreeable to the taste and 

 without any odor. The natives habitually live upon 

 it. The officers of the Chanticleer, whose surgeon, 

 Mr. Webster, was the first to discover this tree, con- 

 stantly used it during their stay in the ports, like or- 

 dinary milk, both in tea and coffee. 



This tree is very tall ; its bark is dark brown and 

 the leaves are large and oval. 



The crew of the Chanticleer having kept some 

 of this milk in bottles, found that at the end of two 

 months it had separated into two parts, the one 

 liquid, light yellow, and with a slightly sour odor, the 

 other solid, white and insipid, insoluble in water or in 

 alcohol. This substance would burn easily, giving 

 forth a brilliant green flame ; it appeared to consist 

 for the most part of wax, and contained none of the 

 animal matter which abounds to such an extent in the 

 coagulated parts of the milk of the polo de vaca or 

 cow-tree. 



This milk-bearing tree, at first and still quite com- 

 monly called Galactodendron dulce, is in reality the 

 same tree as the polo de vaca, now known by its bo- 

 tanical name of Brosimum Galactodendron, and be- 

 longs to the family of fig-trees. There are, however, 

 on the coast several other trees which give forth 

 milky juices and are often confounded with the lat- 

 ter. For instance, in the neighborhood of Maracaibo, 

 the Clusia Galactodendron pours forth a milky 

 stream very agreeable to the taste ; but the milk is 



