BUBUEBS OF THE CITT. 



the closing and dilatation of the petioles, contrasts with tho 

 rest, which is whitish and fendilated. It appears like two 

 columns, the one surmounting the other. The palma real of 

 the island of Cuba has feathery leaves rising perpendicularly 

 towards the sky, and curved only at the point. The form of 

 this plant reminded us of the vadgiai palm-tree, which covers 

 the rocks in the cataracts of the Orinoco, balancing its long 

 points over a mist of foam. Here, as in every place where 

 the population is concentrated, vegetation diminishes. Those 

 palm-trees round the Havannah, and in the amphitheatre 

 of Eegla, on which I delighted to gaze, are disappearing by 

 degrees. The marshy places which I saw covered with 

 bamboos, are cultivated and drained. Civilization advances ; 

 and the soil, gradually stripped of plants, scarcely offers any 

 trace of its wild abundance. From the Punta to San Lazaro, 

 from Cabana to Regla, and from Rcgla to Atares, the road is 

 covered with houses, and those that surround the bay are of 

 light and elegant construction. The plan of these houses is 

 traced out by the owners, and they are ordered from the 

 United States, like pieces of furniture. When the yellow 

 fever rages at the Havannah, the proprietors withdraw to 

 those country houses, and to the hills between Eegla and 

 Guanavacoa, to breathe a purer air. In the coolness of 

 night, when the boats cross the bay, and owing to the phos- 

 phorescence of the water, leave behind them long tracks of 

 light, these romantic scenes afford charming and peaceful 

 retreats for those who wish to withdraw from the tumult of 

 a populous city. To judge of the progress of cultivation. 

 travellers should visit the small plots of maize, and other 

 alimentary plants, the rows of pine-apples (ananas) in the 

 fields of Cruz de Piedra, and the bishop's garden (Quinta 

 del Obispo), which of late is become a delicious spot. 



The town of the Havannah, properly so called, surrounded 

 by walls, is only 900 toises long, and 500 broad ; yet more 

 than 44,000 inhabitants, of whom 26,000 are negroes and 

 mulattoes, are crowded together in this narrow space. A 

 population nearly as considerable occupies the two great 

 suburbs of Jesu-Maria and La Salud.* The latter place does 

 not verify the name it bears ; the temperature of the air 

 is indeed lower than in the city, but the streets might 

 Salud signifies Health. 



