on which countless herds of cattle, sheep, and horses graze.
There is very little land cultivated even close to the town.
A few hedges, made of cacti and agave, mark out where
some wheat or Indian corn has been planted. The features
of the country are very similar along the whole northern
bank of the Plata. The only difference is, that here the
granitic hills are a little bolder. The scenery is very
uninteresting; there is scarcely a house, an enclosed piece of
ground, or even a tree, to give it an air of cheerfulness
Yet, after being imprisoned for some time in a ship, there is
a charm in the unconfined feeling of walking over boundless
plains of turf. Moreover, if your view is limited to a small
space, many objects possess beauty. Some of the smaller
birds are brilliantly coloured; and the bright green sward,
browsed short by the cattle, is ornamented by dwarf flowers,
among which a plant, looking like the daisy, claimed the
place of an old friend. What would a florist say to whole
tracts, so thickly covered by the Verbena melindres, as, even
at a distance, to appear of the most gaudy scarlet?

I stayed ten weeks at Maldonado, in which time a nearly
perfect collection of the animals, birds, and reptiles, was
procured. Before making any observations respecting them,
I will give an account of a little excursion I made as far
as the river Polanco, which is about seventy miles distant,
in a northerly direction. I may mention, as a proof how
cheap everything is in this country, that I paid only two
dollars a day, or eight shillings, for two men, together with
a troop of about a dozen riding-horses. My companions
were well armed with pistols and sabres; a precaution which