1832.] MALDONADO. 51 



the two succeeding years. To prevent useless repetitions, 

 I I will extract those parts of my journal which refer to 

 the same districts, without always attending to the order 

 in which we visited them. 



Maldonado is situated on the northern bank of the Plata, 

 ' and not very far from the mouth of the estuary. It is a 

 most quiet, forlorn little town ; built, as is universally 

 the case in these countries, with the streets running at 

 right angles to each other, and having in the middle a 

 large plaza or square, which, from its size, renders the 

 scantiness of the population more evident. It possesses 

 scarcely any trade ; the exports being confined to a few 

 hides and living cattle. The inhabitants are chiefly land- 

 owners, together with a few shopkeepers and the necessary 

 tradesmen, such as blacksmiths and carpenters, who do 

 nearly all the business for a circuit of fifty miles round. 

 The town is separated from the river by a band of sand- 

 hillocks, about a mile broad : it is surrounded, on all other 

 sides, by an open, slightly-undulating country, covered by 

 one uniform layer of fine green turf, on which countless 

 herds of cattle, sheep, and horses graze. There is very little 

 land cultivated even close to the town. A few hedges, 

 made of cacti and agave, mark out where some wheat 

 or Indian corn has been planted. The features of the 

 country are very similar along the whole northern bank 

 of the Plata. The only difference is, that here the granitic 

 hills are a little bolder. The scenery is very uninteresting ; 

 there is scarcely a house, an enclosed piece of ground, 

 or even a tree, to give it an air of cheerfulness. Yet, after 

 being imprisoned for some time in a ship, there is a 

 charm in the unconfined feeling of walking over bound- 

 less plains of turf. Moreover, if your view is limited to 

 a small space, many objects possess beauty. Some of 

 the smaller birds are brilliantly coloured ; and the bright 

 green sward, browsed short by the cattle, is ornamented 

 by dwarf flowers, among which a plant, looking like the 

 daisy, claimed the place of an old friend. What would 

 a florist say to whole tracts so thickly covered by the 

 Verbena melindres, as, even at a distance, to appear of 

 the most gaudy scarlet ? 



I stayed ten weeks at Maldonado, in which time a nearly 

 perfect collection of the animals, birds, and reptiles, was 

 procured. Before making any observations respecting 



