THE SUB-TROPICAL ZONE. 139 



only a few mimosas mark the course of some 

 scanty wLter- course, dried up in the hotter 

 months. These vast deserts are termed the 

 Karroo, and Mr. Campbell remarked to Mr. 

 Moffat, after travelling several days across 

 them, " Sir, it would require a good pair of 

 spectacles to see a blade of grass in this world." 

 The Karroo has been well described by one 

 who lived near its borders, and has often trod 

 its surface 



" A region of emptiness, howling and drear, 

 Which mankind hath abandon'd from famine and fear : 

 Which the snake and the lizard inhabit alone, 

 And the bat flitting forth from his old hollow stone : 

 Where herb, nor shrub, nor tree takes root, 

 Save poisonous thorns that pierce the foot, 

 And the bitter melon, for food and drink, 

 Is the pilgrim's fare by the salt lake's brink ; 

 A region of drought, where no river glides, 

 Nor rippling 1 brook with osier'd sides, 

 Nor reedy pool, nor mossy fountain, 

 Nor shady tree, nor cloud-capp'd mountain, 

 Are found, to refresh the aching eye ; 

 But the barren earth, and the burning sky, 

 And the blank horizon, round and round, 

 Without a living sight or sound, 

 Tell to the heart, in its pensive mood, 

 That this is nature's solitude." 



In North America, the lovely magnolias, the 

 elegant but poisonous kalmias, both so de- 

 servedly prized by florists, and various species 

 of pine and oak, are some of the characteristic 

 plants of this zone. On the Lower Mississippi 

 there are vast forests of cypress ; species of 

 laurel, walnuts, sassafras, willow, and poplar, 

 also cover the banks in places. In the southern 

 part of the United States, trees with shining 

 broad leaves and splendid blossoms, such as the 

 magnificent magnolias, and tulip trees often one 



