A YOUNG NATURALIST. 



271 



" Because a dragon guards the entrance to these countries where 

 nature lavishes its choicest gifts." 



" A dragon % " 



" Yes, the yellow fever. A terrible malady which corrupts the 

 blood, and selects the most robust frames for its victims. The 

 negro only can labour under this burning sun ; where even an 

 Indian is overcome by the marsh fever.'' 



" Are we liable to catch these fevers ? " 



"We should be in danger if we stayed here till the rainy 

 season." 



" How that tree is loaded with fruit ! " said Lucien, interrupt- 

 ing me. 



" They are the Mexican medlars. To-morrow we will come 



and gather some of them. Five or six different species of their 

 genus grow in these virgin forests. These beautiful trees 

 produce various fruit which is more or less in request. That 

 which has attracted your attention— the Scij)ota achras — is espe- 

 cially well known. It is considered the most wholesome of all 

 the tropical fruits, and from the trunk of the tree oozes out the 



