COWS IN TUE TOltRID ZOND. 
156 
leaves,* and particularly cassias, the number of which is so 
great in South America, that we collected, in our travels, 
more than thirty new species. 
On leaving the Indian suburb, and ascending the river 
southward, we found a grove of cactus, a delightful 
spot, shaded by tamarinds, brazilettos, bombax, and other 
plants, remarkable for their leaves and flowers. The soil 
here is rich in pasturage, and dairy-houses built with reeds, 
are separated from each other by clumps of trees. The milk 
remains fresh, when kept, not in the calabashesf of very 
thick ligneous fibres, but in porous earthen vessels from Ma- 
niquarez. A prejudice prevalent in northern countries had 
long led me to believe, that cows, under the torrid zone, did 
not yield rich milk ; but my abode at Cumana, and especially 
an excursion through the vast plains of Calabozo, covered 
with grasses, and herbaceous sensitive plants, convinced me 
that the ruminating animals of Europe become perfectly 
habituated to the hottest climates, provided they find water 
and good nourishment. Milk is excellent in the provinces of 
New Andalusia, Barcelona, and Venezuela; and butter 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 
Pyrenees, on the mountains of Estremadura, or of Greece. 
As the inhabitants of Cumana prefer the coolness of the sea 
breeze to the sight of vegetation, their favourite walk is the 
open shore. The Spaniards, who in general have no great 
predilection for trees, or for the warbling of birds, have 
transported their tastes and their habits into the colonies. 
In Terra Eirma, Mexico, and Peru, it is rare to see a native 
plant a tree, merely with the view of procuring shade ; and 
if we except the environs of the great capitals, walks bordered 
with trees are almost unknown in those countries. The arid 
plain of Cumana exhibits after violent showers an extraordi- 
nary phenomenon. The earth, when drenched with rain, and 
* The Spaniards designate by the name of dormideras (sleeping plants), 
the small number of mimosas with irritable leaves. We have increased 
this number by three species previously unknown to botanists, namely, 
the Mimosa lmmilis of Cumana, the M. pellita of the savannahs of Cala 
bozo, and the M. dormiens of the banks of the Apure. 
t These calabashes are made from the fruit of the Crescentia cujetc. 
