The Republic of Salvador. 75 



frivolous as the inhabitants of Leon and Puntarenas. They sing 

 and dance and make love like veritable children of the sun. 



The Andes of Salvador form a highly volcanic central range 

 with no less than sixteen volcanic peaks from four to eight 

 thousand feet high. The volcano Isalco near Acjutla is always 

 in eruption, and the traveler can constantly see the fire and 

 smoke, and hear the roar of ejected lava. Salvador pos- 

 sesses also many lakes and rivers, as for instance the lakes Guija 

 and Llopango and the river Lempel and San Miguel. There are 

 many considerable cities antl towns in the interior, and among 

 others are Sosonatte, Santa Ana and San Miguel. The richness 

 of the country consists mainly of the products I mentioned be- 

 fore, and especially of tobacco, the bert in Central America. 

 The mineral wealth is not great, although there are some silver 

 and iron mines near Santa Ana and Tabanco. 



The government of the republic is carried on by a president, 

 vice-president and two ministers. The legislature consists of 

 two chambers, an upper one ot twelve senators and a lower of 

 twenty-four representatives. The standing army is only 1,000 

 men, though in case of necessity everybody is called to arms. 

 In the last struggle with Guatemala ( 18S5) Salvador in the short 

 space of a few days had an army of 12,000 men, and what an 

 army it was the battle of Chalchnapa has shown. — M. Lopalecki. 



NATIVE PLANTS OF A (/STKALIA. 



Australian plants have proved in many cases equally well 

 adapted to the soil and climate of the Pacific Coast. The direc- 

 tor of the Technological Museum, Sydney, furnishes an interest- 

 ing book on the useful plants of that continent, from which we 

 glean the following notes of some, as yet unknown to this coast. 



It may not be generally known that Australia produces an in- 

 digenous hop, which in the early days of settlement, was exten- 

 sively used tor making yQwsi and beer. 



Eucalyptus dumosa yields a kind of manna, which is eaten by 

 the natives in some parts of Victoria. It is the nidus of an insect 

 and is a starch-like substance resembling small shells, white or 

 yellowish-white in color and sweet to the taste. 



The settlers of Tasmania obtain a kind of cider from a species 

 of gum, and another species (Eucalyptus Viminalis) also yields a 

 sweet manna. 



The nati\e cherry (Exocarpus Capressiformis), has excited 

 considerable attention in Europe from the fact that, contrary to 

 the usual order of things, the stones grow outside of the fruit. 



Baron \on MuUer recommends the culture of Geitonoplesium 

 cymosuiu as a substitute for aspargus. 



The native peach or quandong, Fasauns accumiuatus, makes 



