SOUTH AMERICA. gl9 



enchanting climate, (with the exception of a few of the 

 tropical fruits,) all the fruits that are most esteemed, 

 ripen in the open air, in great perfection. In fact, I 

 believe that the climate is surpassed by none in the 

 world, not even by that of Italy or the south of France. 

 It experiences neither the sultry heat of summer, nor 

 ihe chilling blasts of winter. The air so pure, that pu- 

 trefaction can scarcely be said to take place; we ob- 

 served the remains of several dead animals, which 

 seemed to have dried up, instead of going to decay. 

 Flesh wounds are said to heal with difficulty, from the 

 same cause. 



After leaving this place we continued our ride in a 

 different direction; the air cool and refreshing. The 

 ground gradually rises on retiring from the town. 

 I was reminded of the magnificent scite of our capital, 

 the city of Washington. But nothing excited my sur- 

 prise so much as the amazing fertility of the soil. It is a 

 light, rich, black mould, superior even to our best river 

 bottoms; and this is its general character over the 

 whole country. Cotton, the sugar cane, Indian corn, 

 and grain of every kind, would be equally congenial 

 to this soil and climate, where pasturage has hitherto 

 been almost the exclusive employment, and which ren- 

 ders it impossible for a country to be populous. This 

 province alone is capable of containing a population 

 as great as France, and yet the number of its inhabit 

 tants, at no time exceeded sixty or seventy thousand. 

 We remarked as we rode along, growing about on the 

 plains or commons, great quantities of a species of 

 thistle, which is cut down, dried, and made into fag- 

 gots for fuel, in consequence of the scarcity of wood. 

 Dried animals, horses, sheep; &c. are made use of for 



