dN SOUTH AMERICA. 



319 



tion, consequent upon improved tastes, naturally 

 gave birth to those arts and luxuries of life which 

 ministered to the new wants of the successive ge- 

 nerations of settlers^ who thus silently but steadi- 

 ly advanced the country to its present condition. 



Large and beautiful cities were built ; sea-ports, 

 guarded by strong fortresses, were constructed 

 along the coasts ; roads of communication united 

 the different provinces, and rendered even the 

 ridges of the Andes passable ; while mines of gold 

 and silver poured their treasures over the whole 

 I world. Along with the improvements in agricul- 



ture came the rich productions of other lands, 

 such as wheat and barley, the vine and the olive, 

 the great importance of which to the grateful soil 

 of a new country has been so well illustrated by 

 the divine honours paid in early times to those 

 persons by whom they were originally introduced 

 into Europe. 



In addition to these gifts, to which South Ame- 

 rica owes her plentiful harvests, the conquerors 

 brought over the horse, the cow, the mule, the 

 sheep, the hog — all of which, though formerly 



