98 Rivero and Boussingault on the Milk of the Cow-Tree, 
equinoctial regions,-— a tree which gives a kind of milk entirely 
analogous to that of the cow, and which, for that reason, has 
been called Cow-Tree. This singular juice, on account of its 
similitude to the milk of animals, in the place of which, Mr Hum- 
boldt has seen it used for every domestic purpose on the farm of 
Barbula, — has been admired by every traveller. Mr Humboldt, 
in the description he has given of it, says, I confess, that, among 
the great number of curious phenomena, I have observed in 
the course of my travels, there are few which have made a 
stronger impression on my mind than the cow-tree. All that 
has any connection with milk, all that relates to cereals, inspires 
us with an interest which is not simply that of the knowledge of 
causes, but which is connected with another series of ideas and 
feelings. We cannot, without difficulty, believe, that the hu- 
man species can exist without farinaceous substances, nor with- 
out the nutritious milk contained in the bosom of a mother, 
which is intended for the long weakness of infancy. The star- 
chy nature of grains, — an object of religious veneration among 
so many ancient and modern nations, is disseminated in the 
seeds, and deposited in the roots of vegetables ; milk appears 
exclusively to be the production of animal organisation. Such 
are the impressions we have received in childhood, and such 
is the cause of the astonishment we feel at the sight of the 
tree we are going to describe. Here our emotion is not caused 
by the dark thick solitudes of woods, nor by the majestic courses 
of rivers, nor by those mountains covered with eternal snow ; but 
a few drops of a vegetable juice, make us sensible of the power 
and fecundity of nature. On the barren declivities of a rock 
grows a tree, whose leaves are dry and coriaceous. Its thick lig- 
neous roots scarcely enter the rock ; for several months in the 
year rain scarcely waters its fan-shaped leaves. The branches 
appear dry and dead. But when an incision is made in the 
trunk, a sweet and nutritious milk flows from it. It is at the 
rising of the sun that the vegetable liquid runs most abundant- 
ly. Then the natives and Negroes are seen to come from all 
parts, provided with vessels, to receive the milk, which becomes 
yellow, and thickens at the surface. Some empty their vessels 
under the same tree ; others carry them to their children. It is 
like a shepherd distributing to his family the milk of his flock. 
