"that he never saw a Sloth take to his heels in such earnest, but the expression would not do, for the creature has no heels."

So much for this harmless unoffending quadruped. He holds a conspicuous place among the animals of the New World, and is the only creature that passes life suspended by his feet from the branch of a tree. The monkey and the squirrel will seize a bough with their foree-paws, and pull themselves up, or rest, or run upon it, but the Sloth, after securing a firm hold, still remains suspended, and glides beneath one branch till he can lay hold of another. Whenever Waterton observed him in his native wilds, whether at rest, or asleep, or on his travels, he continually maintained his position. It is even evident that he cannot be at ease in any situation where his body is above his feet*.

Sloths are also frequent in the woods of Terra Firma. They frequent the caoba, the cedar, the maria, and the balsam, though carefully avoiding the deadly manchineel, with its delicious-looking fruit. Nor is this extraordinary instinct confined to the Sloth; all animals instinctively pass it by. The squirrel eyes it askance in his rapid bounds; monkeys, when gambolling through the forest, never cling to the branches of this dreaded tree; the weary elk lies not down to rest beneath its shade; nor does the smallest bird pluck from off its trunk a fibre or a moss with which to construct its nest. The hospitable Habella de Carthagena is, on the contrary, sought by every living creature.

* WATERTON's Wanderings. First and third Journey.

MANCHINEEL AND HABELLA.

1611

Indians hasten to gather its almond-like fruit as a never-failing remedy for the bite of malignant ser pents; birds nestle at the fall of night among its branches; and various animals resort beneath its shade as to a place of rest. Yet the habella often grows at a short distance from the manchineel: the same earth nourishes the roots of each, the same soft summer winds play among the branches, the same warm sun brings forth the greenness in the leaves, and the varied hue of the blossoms; yet how great the difference! One bears a poisonous apple, the other a sweet nutritious fruit. Tamarinds and medlars, cassias and bananas, bejucos and palms, also grow in the same soil, and are equally dissimilar.

But among the various productions of Terra Firma, vegetation displays its greatest luxuriance in the palm; groups of these noble trees lift their heads far above the towering branches of innumerable others, and form a grand perspective on the mountains. One produces the cocoa, another dates, a third, called palma real, a small unpalatable fruit, the fourth a kernel of delicious flavour. Palm wine is equally extracted from the different species, and both Negroes and Indians well know how to make that incision in the trunk from which the sap exudes. Habellas also, of which we have just spoken, differing in size and colour, are abundant in the forests, in those parts especially which are the haunt of venomous serpents. Those who frequent the forests, either to fell the trees or hunt the game, never fail to eat a little of the nut fasting. Thus protected, they go without apprehension to their work, and fearlessly explore the tangled thickets, or walk

M

beside the margin of those swampy places which invariably harbour the most dangerous reptiles. So extremely subtle is the juice of the habella-nut, that those who eat of it are not afraid to encounter them; and it is said that if they have even omitted the usual precaution, a small quantity eaten immediately after being bitten, effects a ready cure.

Innumerable vegetables, which grow beneath the shelter of the forest, or along their sunny borders, also continually arrest the attention of the naturalist. Beautiful flowers, too, are there, and many of those elegant species which are cultivated in our greenhouses. You may see them hend beneath the rapid tread of the light-hearted squirrel, and often, swift as the eye can follow it, a path is made through acres of elegant mimosas, smooth as a lawn over which the scythe has passed, while on either side the slender stems bend and tremble, as if they feared the return of the rash intruder. There are also various other vegetable productions of exquisite beauty and fragrance, but as yet no Linnæus has arisen to number and describe them. Travellers speak with admiration of the perpetual verdure of the woods, the luxuriancy of the pastures, the towering height of the majestic mountains, and the variety of splendid trees, standing either singly or in groups, which seem to emulate one another in producing delicious fruits throughout the year. Some resemble those of Spain, others are peculiar to the country, while among them innumerable birds of gorgeous plumage, with such quadrupeds as frequent dry places, and of which the fur is generally spotted, glance by with rapid flight, or bounding step,

displaying themselves in contrast with the vivid green of the vegetation that surrounds them.

Pines grow profusely either wild or cultivated. The plant which produces the pine-apple, so called from its resemblance to the cones of the European Pine, often rises about three feet in height, terminated by a dazzling crimson-coloured flower. Nested in the centre of the flower, appears a little greenish-looking apple, and as this increases, the lustre of the flower begins to fade, and the leaves expand, as if to form for it a base or ornament. As the apple still continues to grow on, a crown of beautifully-tinted leaves adorns the head, which gradually enlarges, till the fruit attains perfection. But no sooner does the crown cease to grow, than the fruit begins to ripen, and its greenish tint soon changes to a bright straw colour. Then also, does it first acquire that delightful fragrance which often discovers its place of growth, though concealed from the eye by arborescent ferns, or closely-matted creepers. Prying monkeys love this delicious fruit; squirrels also would seek to regale themselves with its refreshing juices, and in so doing they would not wait till it was fully ripe. But the Pine Apple is guarded with small thorns, which effectually repel them. When it is fit to gather, these dry and soften, and the fruit is easily obtained. The crown, which formed a kind of apex, becomes itself, when sown, a new plant, and the rind, infused in water, produces a cooling liquor, which possesses all the properties of the fruit. Guayabas, also, graceful and fragrant plants; Guineos and Papagas resembling lemons, Guanabanas, Melons, Sapotes, and

Mameis, Limes, and Tamarinds, are seen along the margins of the streams, or in the sunny valleys, or up the rugged flanks of those bold mountains, of which the outlines appear against a sky of the purest blue.

The sea coasts, though generally abounding in roots and grain, fruits and flowers, are sandy, and scarcely anything will grow there except the Mangrove. Shooting forth collateral branches which bend down, take root, and then spring up, a single mangrove will cover in a few years an extensive