NORTH AMERICA. 
The Ca&us opuntia is very tall, erect, and large* 
and ftrong enough to bear the weight of a man : 
fome are feven or eight feet high : the whole plant 
or tree feems to be formed of great oval comprefled 
leaves or articulations ; thofe near the earth conti- 
nually increafe, magnify and indurate as the tree 
advances in years, and at length lofe the bright 
green colour and gloffy furfatce of their youth, ac- 
quiring a ligneous quality, with a whitim fcabrous 
cortex. Every part of the plant is nearly deftitute 
of aculea, or thofe fafcicles of barbed briftles which 
are in fuch plenty on the common dwarf Indian Fig. 
The cochineal infects are feeding on the leaves. 
The female of this infect is very large and flefhy, co- 
vered with a fine white filk or cottony web, which 
feels always moift or dewy, and feems defigned by 
nature to protect them from the violent heat of the 
fun. The males are very^fmall in comparifon to the 
females, and but very few in number : they each 
have two oblong pellucid wings. The large poly- 
petalous flowers are produced on the edges of the 
laft year's leaves,, are of a fine fplendid yellow, and 
are fucceeded by very large pear-fhaped fruit, of a 
dark livid purple when ripe : its pulp is charged 
with a juice of a fine tranfparent crimfon colour, 
and has a cool pleafant tafte, fomewhat like that of a 
pomegranate. Soon after eating this fruit, the urine 
becomes of the fame crimfon colour, which very 
much furprifes and affrights a ftranger, but is attend- 
ed with no other ill confequence ; on the contrary, it 
is efteemed wholefome, though powerfully diuretic* 
On the left hand of thofe open forefts and favan- 
nas, as we turn our eyes fouthward, fouth-weft 
and weft, we behold an endlefs wild defert, the 
upper ftratum of the earth of which is a fine white 
fand, with fmall pebbles, and at fome diftance ap- 
M pears 
