

BENEFICENCE OF KATUBE. 49 



a>ftj.a, the sap of which much resembles curdled milk, and 

 ailbrds a salubrious nourishment." 



Amidst the great number of curious phenomena which I 

 have observed in the course of my travels, I confess there 

 are few that have made BO powerful an impression on me 

 as the aspect of the cow-tree. Whatever relates to milk 

 or to corn, inspires an interest which is not merely that 

 of the physical knowledge of things, but is connected with 

 another order of ideas and sentiments. We can scarcely 

 conceive how the human race could exist without farina- 

 ceous substances, and without that nourishing juice which 

 the breast of the mother contains, and which is appro- 

 priated to the long feebleness of the infant. The amy- 

 laceous matter of corn, the object of religious veneration 

 among so many nations, ancient and modern, is diffused in 

 the seeds, and deposited in the roots of vegetables ; milk, 

 which serves as an aliment, appears to us exclusively the 

 produce of animal organization. Such are the impressions 

 we have received in our earliest infancy : such is also 

 the source of that astonishment created by the aspect of 

 the tree just described. It is not here the solemn shades 

 of forests, the majestic course of rivers, the mountains 

 wrapped in eternal snow, that excite our emotion. A few 

 drops of vegetable juice recall to our minds all the power- 

 fulness and the fecundity of nature. On the barren flank 

 of a rock grows a tree with coriaceous and dry leaves. Its 

 large woody roots can scarcely penetrate into the stone. 

 For several months of the year not a single shower moistens 

 its foliage. Its branches appear dead and dried ; but when 

 the trunk is pierced there flows from it a sweet and nourish- 

 ing milk. It is at the rising of the sun that this vegetable 

 fountain is most abundant. The negroes and natives are 

 then seen hastening from all quarters, furnished with large 

 bowls to receive the milk, which grows yellow, and thickens 

 at its surface. Some empty their bowls under the tree 

 itself, others carry the juice home to their children. 



marked by Spanish writers that there are some which pour out a milky 

 juice which soon grows solid, like gum, affording a pleasant odour; and 

 also others that give out a liquid which coagulates like cheese, and which 

 they eat at meals without any ill effects). Descriptio Indiarum Ocidew- 

 talinm, lib. 18. 



VOL. II. B 



