FINALES 229 



the protoplasm of the plant cells under the stimu- 

 lus of a touch is not without parallel in certain 

 other plants where the quality is developed to 

 even greater refinement, notably in the fly-catch- 

 ing blossoms of some well-known species. In that 

 case the weight of a small insect causes the flower 

 to close upon and imprison its victim. The 

 Mimosa soon regains its lost "freshness" if not 

 further molested. 



The red soil about the base of the sierras like 

 that of the famed Vuelta Abajo is very rich in the 

 elements required for the finest quality of tobacco, 

 and to this purpose the greater part of the valley 

 is devoted. Cultivation is often extended to the 

 very base of the mountain walls. Here the alter- 

 nate crop is corn and malanga. The valley area 

 is divided into a great number of small farms of 

 not over twenty or thirty acres, upon most of 

 which is a small palm-thatched hut or bohio. 

 Each household must obtain its supply of water 

 from the nearest river, and this is accomplished 

 by the laborious process of dragging a barrel upon 

 runners by horse or oxen, to and from the source, 

 sometimes quite a mile away. This labor is 

 constantly going on, usually under direction of 



