156 BAND A ORIENTAL chap. 



A niata bull with a common cow, or the reverse cross, produces 

 offspring having an intermediate character, but with the niata 

 characters strongly displayed : according to Senor Muniz, there 

 is the clearest evidence, contrary to the common belief of 

 agriculturists in analogous cases, that the niata cow when 

 crossed with a common bull transmits her peculiarities more 

 strongly than the niata bull when crossed with a common 

 cow. When the pasture is tolerably long, the niata cattle feed 

 with the tongue and palate as well as common cattle ; but 

 during the great droughts, when so many animals perish, the 

 niata breed is under a great disadvantage, and would be 

 exterminated if not attended to ; for the common cattle, like 

 horses, are able just to keep alive, by browsing with their lips 

 on twigs of trees and reeds ; this the niatas cannot so well do, 

 as their lips do not join, and hence they are found to perish 

 before the common cattle. This strikes me as a good illustra- 

 tion of how little we are able to judge from the ordinary habits 

 of life, on what circumstances, occurring only at long intervals, 

 the rarity or extinction of a species may be determined. 



November igth. — Passing the valley of Las Vacas, we slept 

 at a house of a North American, who w^orked a lime-kiln on 

 the Arroyo de las Vivoras. In the morning we rode to a 

 projecting headland on the banks of the river, called Punta 

 Gorda. On the way we tried to find a jaguar. There were 

 plenty of fresh tracks, and we visited the trees on which they 

 are said to sharpen their claws ; but we did not succeed in 

 disturbing one. From this point the Rio Uruguay presented 

 to our view a noble volume of water. From the clearness and 

 rapidity of the stream, its appearance was far superior to that 

 of its neighbour the Parana. On the opposite coast, several 

 branches from the latter river entered the Uruguay. As the 

 sun was shining, the two colours of the waters could be seen 

 quite distinct. 



In the evening we proceeded on our road towards Mercedes 

 on the Rio Negro. At night we asked permission to sleep at 

 an estancia at which we happened to arrive. It was a very 

 large estate, been ten leagues square, and the owner is one of 

 the greatest landowners in the country. His nephew had 

 charge of it, and with him there was a captain in the army, 

 who the other day ran away from Buenos Ayres. Considering 



