REMARKS ON DESERTS. 



163 



hardly ever falls for months. He even doubts whe- 

 ther the first sight of the Andes or of the llanos ex- 

 cites most astonishment ; for as mountainous coun- 

 tries have a similarity of appearance, whatever may 

 be the elevation of their summits, the view of a very 

 elevated range is perhaps not so striking as that of 

 a boundless plain, spread out like an ocean, and on 

 all sides mixing with the sky. 



It has been said that Europe has its heaths, Asia 

 its steppes, Africa its deserts, and America its savan- 

 nas ; and these great divisions of the globe have been 

 characterized by these circumstances. But as the 

 term heath always supposes the existence of plants 

 of that name, and as all the plains of Europe are not 

 heathy, the description is incorrect. Nor are the 

 steppes of Asia always covered with saline plants, 

 some of them being real deserts ; neither are the 

 American llanos always grassy. Instead of desig- 

 nating the vast levels of these different regions by 

 the nature of the plants which they produce, it seems 

 proper to distinguish them into deserts • and steppes, 

 or savannas, by which terms would be meant plains 

 destitute of vegetation, or covered with grasses or 

 small dicotyledonous plants. The savannas of North 

 America have been designated by the name of prai- 

 ries or meadows ; but the phrase is not very applica- 

 ble to pastures which are often dry. The llanos 

 and pampas of South America are real steppes, dis- 

 playing a beautiful verdure in the rainy season, but 

 during great droughts assuming the aspect of a des- 

 ert. The grass is then reduced to powder, the 

 ground cracks, and the alligators and serpents bury 

 themselves in the mud, where they remain in a state 

 of lethargy till they are roused by the showers of 

 spring. On the borders of rivulets, however, and 

 around the little pools of stagnant water, thickets 

 of the Mauritia palm preserve a brilliant verdure, even 

 during the driest part of the year. 



The principal characteristic of the savannas of 



