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countries of the north had long led me to believe, 

 that cows, under the torrid zone, did not yield 

 rich milk ; but my abode at Cumana, and espe- 

 cially an excursion through the vast plains of 

 Calabozo, covered with grasses, and herbaceous 

 sensitive plants, convinced me, that the rumi- 

 nating animals of Europe become perfectly ha- 

 bituated to the most scorching climates, provid- 

 ed they find water and good nourishment. The 

 milk is excellent in the provinces of New Anda- 

 lusia, Barcelona, and Venezuela ; and the but- 

 ter is better in the plains of the equinoctial zone, 

 than on the ridge of the Andes, where the Alpine 

 plants, enjoying in no season a sufficiently high 

 temperature, are less aromatic than on the Py- 

 renees, the mountains of Estremadura, and those 

 of Greece. As the inhabitants of Cumana prefer 

 the coolness of the sea breeze to the appearance 

 of vegetation, they are accustomed to no other 

 walk than that of the open shore. The Spa- 

 niards, who are accused in general of no predi- 

 lection for trees, or the warbling of birds, have 

 transported their prejudices and their habits into 

 the colonies. In Terra Firma, Mexico, and 

 Peru, it is rare to see a native plant a tree, 

 merely with the view of procuring himself shade ; 

 and if we except the environs of the great ca- 

 pitals, walks bordered with trees are almost un- 

 known in these countries. The arid plain of 

 Cumana exhibits after violent showers an extra- 



