FAUNA OF COLOMBIA. 167 



mittent fevers, the scourge of the Colombian hot lands. The cedron is also 

 believed to be an antidote against poison, like the armtolochia riiigem, the guaco 

 (tnikaiiia), and a dozen other forms. 



The Indians are acquainted with plants which yield fast dyes, but the only 

 dyewoods at present exported are the roco (bija ore/lana), and some "red" and 

 " yellow " woods, of the same species as those of Brazil, Nicaragua, and Cam- 

 peachy. Timber, such as that of the oak and of so many other species peculiar 

 both to the tropical and temperate zones, is scarcely used even on the spot. The 

 systematic destruction of plants yielding rubber and bark is trifling compared 

 with the havoc caused in clearing land for permanent or temporary settlement. 

 Thus are formed the so-called pajomilea, vast grassy savannas, which replace the 

 primeval forests on the higher slopes of the Cordilleras. 



Even the orchids, of which Colombia possesses some of the very finest varieties, 

 are threatened with extinction by the European and American collectors. Some of 

 the most gorgeous specimens have already become extremely rare, and districts 

 which formerly abounded in these forest glories now yield only a few ordinary 

 forms after days of search. One of the collectors tells us that during a campaign 

 of two months he had 4,000 trees felled to secure about 10,000 of the odonto- 

 glossuin ; * and of these how many perished before reaching their destination ? 

 Henceforth the species will have to be perpetuated chiefly in the European con- 

 servatories, where they never assume the biilliant hues and wondrous shapes that 

 they develop in their native woodlands. Fortunately, the simpler but often very 

 lovely wild flowers, which are not bought for their weight in gold to adorn the 

 European gardens, will still survive. Such is the thyhaudia, or quere me (" love 

 me"), which is found only near Cali, in the Salado valley, and which the lads 

 and lasses exchange in token of affection. 



Fauna of Colombia. 



The Colombian fauna, no less rich than its flora, is specially distinguished foi 

 the amazing variety of smaller animal forms, birds, fishes, and insects. Like 

 North America, this region had also its gigantic mammals, whose numerous 

 remains are found, amongst other places, in the Campo de Gigantes (" Giants' 

 Field"), on the Bogota plateau. The Zulia valley also abounds in the bones of 

 megatheriums, glyptodons, taxodons, and fossil horses. According to some 

 naturalists the mastodons would appear to have survived till recent times on the 

 elevated plateaux. The complete skeleton of one of these animals has been 

 discovered in an artificial salt-spring of Indian construction near Concordia, west 

 of the Rio Cauca. It had evidently been overwhelmed by an enormous landslip, 

 and was found lying in the stone channel through which the salt water was 

 conveyed to the boiling-house. The tusks measured five feet in length, and were 

 in a good state of preservation.! 



The present mammals — such as apes, bats, and vumpires ; pumas, jaguars, and 



* Albert Millican, Travels and Adventures of an Orchid Hunter. 



t R. B, White, Journal of the Anthropological Institute, February, 1884, p. 244. 



