Amidst the great number of curiousphenomena which I have observed in thecourse of my travels, I confess there arefew that have made so powerful an im-pression on me as the aspect of the cowtree. Whatever relates to milk or to corn,inspires an interest which is not merelythat of a physical knowledge of things,but is connected with another order ofideas and sentiments. We can scarcelyconceive how the human race could existwithout farinaceous substances, and with-out that nourishing juice which the breastof the mother contains, and which is ap-propriate to the long feebleness of the in-fant. The farinaceous matter of corn, theobject of veneration among so many na-tions, ancient and modern, is diffused inthe seeds and deposited in the roots ofvegetables; milk, which serves as an ail-ment, appears to us exclusively the pro-duct of animal organization. Such arethe impressions we have received in ourearliest infancy; such is also the sourceof that astonishment created by the aspectof the tree described. It is not here thesolemn shades of forests, the majesticcourse of rivers, the mountains wrappedin eternal snow, that excite our emotion.A few drops of vegetable juice recall toour minds all the powerfulness and fe-cundity of nature. On the barren flankof a rock grows a tree with coriaceousand dry leaves. Its large woody rootscan scarcely penetrate into the stone.For several months of the year not a sin-gle shower moistens its foliage. Itsbranches appear dead and dried; butwhen the trunk is pierced, there flowsfrom it a sweet and nourishing milk. Itis at the rising of the sun that this vege-table fountain is most abundant. Thenegroes and natives are then seen hasten-ing from all quarters, furnished withlarge bowls to receive the milk, whichgrows yellow and thickens at its surface.Some drain their bowls under the treeitself, others carry the juice home to theirchildren.