72 



NORTH AMERICA. 



A solitary epidendron inhabits the branches of the magnolia near Savanna. In the same neigh 

 borhood is found the Pinckneya, a plant closely allied to the Jesuit's bark of Peru ; and thf* 

 woods are filled throughout the Carolinas, Florida, Alabama, &c., with dense masses of the. 

 gigantic long-moss {Tillandsia usneoides)^ which hangs from the branches of the trees. 



Jn southern Mexico we enter the tropics, and in all the valleys and plains, where the tempe- 

 rature is not lowered by accidental causes, the usual vegetation of such latitudes occurs. Palms, 

 bananas (Musa paradisiaca) , plantains (J\Iusa sapientum) , and yams, yield the natives an abun- 

 dant supply of food. Besides these and tire other common articles of cultivation by the inha- 

 bitants of tropical countries, such as coffee, indigo, sugar-cane, and maize (which here finds 



its native home), the cacao-tree (Theobroma 

 cacao), from whose seeds chocolate is prepay 

 ed, is a most important species ; pine-apples are 

 wild in die woods ; the American aloe (Jlgave 

 Jlmericana) , yields an intoxicating drink, and 

 great numbers of cactuses occupy the dry sit- 

 uations, where little else will grow. In the 

 low woods of Honduras are found enormous 

 forests, containing an abundance of mahogany 

 (Swietenia JMahogani) and logwood trees. 

 It is here also that the tamarind and the lignum 

 vitse ( Guiacum ojjicinale) are found ; the va- 

 nilla [Epidendron vanilla) and the jalap {Con- 

 volvulus Jalapa)^ which derives its name from 

 the city of Xalapa, near which it principally 

 abounds. 



But in the highlands of Mexico this vegeta- 

 tion disappears ; the eatable nasturtium ( Tro- 

 pceoluni esculentum) , and the wood-sorrel ( Ox- 

 alis tubcrosa) supply the place of the yam ; 

 mahogany trees give way to oaks, and the sin- 

 gular hand tree ( Cheirostemon) ; while the pine 

 tribe finds its most southern hmits, and the her- 

 bage is composed of genera either resembling 

 or identical with those of more northern re- 

 gions. 



10. Animals Most of the American quadrupeds are of a distinct species, even when 

 they bear the same name with those of the eastern contmeni. 



The bison (Bos Jlmericanus) is a species of ox found only in North America, and is distin- 

 guished by the hump on its 

 shoulders, and the length and 

 fineness of its hair, which is 

 sometimes manufactured into 

 hats and coarse cloth. It was 

 formerly found over a great part 

 of the continent from 30° to 

 60^ N., but is now never seen 

 to the east of the river Missis- 

 sippi. The flesh is tender and 

 well-flavored, and the tongue 

 and hump are considered great 

 delicacies. The skins, dressed 

 with the hair on, are familiarly 

 known as buffalo robes, the an- 

 imal being generally though im- 

 properly called buftalo. The 

 ijison has been domesticated, 

 and in a wild state does not at- 

 tack man, unless when wounded 



.1 crave Americana. 



American Bison. 



