106 



tooth- ach, and the gnilhue^ much esteemed as a 

 purifier of the blood. 



Tobacco, called by the Indians piithem, is of two 

 kinds, the cultivated and the wild. The cultivated 

 is subdivided into the common tobacco, which is 

 equal to the best Brazilian, and the little tobacco 

 (nicotiana minima) whose leaves resemble those of 

 the Cretan dittany ; its fructification is like that of 

 the common kind, but the tobacco itself is much 

 stronger, and more violent in its effects. 



Sect. V. Grasses, — The banks of the rivers and 

 Other moist places produce in general a great num-- 

 ber of reeds and rushes, many of which are unknown 

 to botanists. A species of the latter, which I have 

 called scirpus ellchnarius^ serves to make wicks for 

 candles. This rush grows to the height of about 

 four feet ; the stem is round ; from the top protrude 

 three sword-shaped leaves, in the midst of which 

 are four globulous spikes or heads. 



From a species of rush, produced in the vailles of 

 the Andes, the Araucanians manufacture baskets of 

 so close a texture as to hold water, which are em- 

 ployed for many domestic purposes. Of these great 

 numbers are sold at the annual fairs in the Spanish 

 provinces. But notwithstanding I have been assu- 

 red by many that the plant employed in this manu- 

 facture is a real rush, from, examination I am more 

 inclined to believe it a species of cane, as its fibres 

 are woody, and the whole substance very solid. 



Among those rushes whose characters are well 

 defined, the solid rush of Chili deserves to be no- 



