196 The Andes aj^d the Amazon. 



bananas, plantains, yucas,* yams, sweet potatoes, rice, beans, 

 corn, lemons, oranges, chirimoyas, anonas (a similar fruit to 

 the preceding), pine-apples, palm cabbages, gnavas, gua- 

 yavas, castor-oil beans, coffee, cacao, cinnamon. India-rub- 

 ber, vanilla (two kinds),! chonta-palm nuts, sarsaparilla, con- 

 trayerva (a mint), tobacco (of superior quality), and gua- 

 yusa ; of woods, balsam, red wood, Brazil wood, palo de cruz, 

 palo de sangre, ramo caspi, quilla caspi, guayacan (or " holy 

 wood," being much used for images), ivory palm, a kind of 

 ebony, cedar, and aguana (the last two used for making 

 canoes) ; of dyewoods, same (dark red), tinta (blue), terriri, 

 and quito (black) ; of gums, estoraque (a balsam) and copal, 

 besides a black beeswax, the production of a small (Trigona) 

 bee, that builds its comb in the ground ; of manufactures, 

 pita, hammocks, twine, calabashes, aguardiente (from the 

 plantain), chicha (from the yuca),:|: sugar and molasses (from 

 the cane, which grows luxuriantly), and manati-lard ; of 

 minerals, gold dust. The gold, in minute spangles, is 

 washed down by the rivers at flood time, chiefly from the 

 Llanganati Mountains. The articles desired in exchange 

 are lienzo, thread, needles, axes, hoes, knives, fish-hooks, 

 rings, medals, crosses, beads, mirrors, salt, and poison. 

 Quito nearly monopolizes the trade ; though a few canoes 

 go down the IS'apo to the Maranon after salt and poison. 

 The salt comes from near Chasuta, on the Huallaga ;§ the 

 urari from the Ticuna Indians. It takes about twenty 



* Sometimes called yuca duke, or sweet yuca, to distinguish it from the 

 yuca brava, or wild yuca, the mandioca of the Amazon, from which farina is 

 made. The yuca is the beet-like root of a little tree about ten feet high. It 

 is a good substitute for potatoes and bread. 



t Vanilla belongs to the orchid family, and is the only member which pos- 

 sesses any economical value. It is a graceful climber and has a pretty star- 

 like flower. t In Peru, the liquor made from yuca is called masato. 



§ Rock-salt is found on both sides of the Andes. " The general character 

 of the geology of these countries would rather lead to the opinion that its or- 

 igin is in some way connected with volcanic heat at the bottom of the sea." 

 — Darwin's Observations, pt. iii., p. 235. 



