Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-20

MONTEvIDEO.

Grasses remain green and succulent the year
around furnishing the best of pasturage In
Uruguay, as well as In Argentina, the pastoral
wealth is due to the fertilizing constituents Of
''pampa mud" geologically associated with
gigantic antediluvian animals. whose remains
abound in these regions There are few for
ests, except along the river banks and the
sierras have no trees worth mentioning. But
every hillside is covered with sbrubs-myrtle,
acacia. rosemary, mimosa and the ceibo, with
ITS scarlet biooms-whiie the valleys are fra
grant with bay and laurel, and carpeted with
crimson verbenas and other brilliant flowers.
Medicinal plants are particularly numerous.
including the poppy; ,gentian, camomile
sarsaparilla. Some Of the rivers SO i'm
pregnated with the roots of the latter as to
possess sanitary qualities for bathing purposes,
and the people who drink their waters are said
to be exempt from any skin diseases arising
from impurities of the blood. The great Rio
Negro (biack river) got its name from tine fact
that at certain seasons of the year 1t is black
banks
DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF TREES
Among indigenous trees are the willow. alder,
poplar. acacia aud aloe. The absence of pine,
oak and FIR is singular in temperate zone, but
those trees utterly refuse to grow In Uruguay,
though often planted and nursed by foreigners.
Within the last quarter century the eucalyptus
has been introduced from Australia, and row
IN the enyirons OF Montevideo there are hun
dreds OF groves and hedges of this ugliest tree
on earth-gaunt, scraggy, housekeeping,
their long roots upturnlng pavements and
foundation walls and impoverishing the soil for
yards around so that nothing else will grow In
their nelghborhood. There Is also the algarroba
tree, from whose pods the natives distili a kind
OF chicha, not at all like the chicha OF Peru and
Chile, made from corn wheat or grapes. The
tree is said to make excellent timber and cattle
thrive upon its leaves and buds Then there is
the limbo tree, in great demand for canoes, its
big trunk, which Is generally hollow, being
easily scooped out, when the rude boat is ready
for the fisherman. The black and white urun-
day is near relation to rosewood, furnishing
logs often fifty feet long 1t is said to resist de-
cay in most remarkable manner. posts and
beams of il remaining sound after two centuries
of use. i. is capable of beautiful polish, as is
also the mimosa and aloe. The quebracho is
akin TO sandal wood, the guayabo is q substi-
tute fox box wood and palms of several varie-
ties furnish the poorer classes with thatch for
their houses. The long, tough leaves make ex-
cellent roofing, shedding rain perfectly.
There are no scorpions. centipedes or taran-
tulas here to frighten unwary travellers, but
enormous spiders are alarmingly common and
are said TO be yenomous- The only dangerous
reptiles are rattlesnakes, and they are chiefly
confined to the stony lands of Las Minas and a
queer little viper called ia vivora de Ia cruz
because on its head are marks in the form of q
cross. Punas are found near the Brazilian
frontier and along the banks of the larger
rivers; the ounce pronounced ween-ce), a
small tiger. roams the wooded islands, and
there are wild cats, water hogs, tapirs, deer,
foxes and millions of the little ammadillos amt
eaters, here called mulitas, or little mules'),
sole remnants of the ancient mastodons and
mylodons The ostrich (Rhea Americana
roams the plains. There are paroquets in the
thickets and water fowl on the lagoons; part
ridges, Quail, several specimens OF the vulture
tribe and tail, lean, rutfied crows. The streams
are full OF fish, and 1t is asserted that $50 spe-
cies are found on the seacoast.
POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.
Politically the country is divided into nine
teen departments, that of Montevideo being
smallest, though it contains one-quarter of the
total population. The original Indian element
has almost disappeared from Uruguay, and 30
has the negro population, which at one time
was considerable. All this section was once
occupied by the Guaranis, who ranked next to
The lneas and Araucanians as among the best
)f the South American races They were still
numerous when the Jesuit missions were de-
'troyed Tin l767), and having been trained by
The priests TO habits Of implicit obedience were
peaceful. industrious and patriarchaI people.
hey have been supplanted by half-breeds,
rom whose ranks come the class known as
'Guachos," and the Guachos in their turn are
'eing rapidly supplanted by European immi-
,rants.