xsiccation, the soil is extremely
arid, and will neither bear trees nor plants of any kind; unless when
irrigated by means of canals, when it produces almost every vegetable in
astonishing abundance. By these artificial means of cultivation, the
fruits and grains of Europe thrive with extraordinary perfection, and
come a month earlier to maturity than in Chili; and the wines produced
in Cujo are very rich and full-bodied.

This province is intersected by three rivers which have their sources in
the Andes, the San Juan, the Mendoza, and the Tunujan. The two former
are named from the cities which are built on their banks. After a course
of from 75 to 90 miles, these rivers form the great lakes of Guanasache,
which extend above 300 miles from north to south, and their waters are
afterwards discharged by the river Tunujan into the south-eastern desert
Pampas. These lakes abound with excellent fish of several kinds, and
they produce a sufficient quantity of salt to supply the whole province
of Cujo. The eastern part of this province, called La Punta, is watered
by the rivers Contaro and Quinto, and several smaller streams, and is
quite different in its climate and temperature from the western part
near the Andes. The plains of La Punta are covered with beautiful trees
of large size, and the natural herbage grows to such a height in many
places as to conceal the horses and other cattle which roam at large in
these extensive plains. Thunder storms are exceedingly violent and
frequent, continuing often for many hours, accompanied by incessant and
immoderate rain.

Among the vegetable productions of Cujo, one of the most remarkable is a
species of palm, which never exceeds eighteen feet high, putting forth
all its branches so near the ground as to conceal the trunk. The leaves
are extraordinarily hard, and terminate in a point as sharp as a sword.
The fruit resembles the cocoa-nut, yet only contains a few hard round
seeds, with no edible kernel. The trunk of this tree is very large, and
is covered by a coarse outer bark of a blackish colour which is easily
detached. Below this, there are five or six successive layers of a
fibrous bark resembling linen cloth. The first is of a yellowish colour,
and of the consistence and appearance of sail-cloth. The others
gradually decrease in thickness, and become whiter and finer; so that
the innermost is white and fine like cambric, but of a looser texture.
The fibres of this natural cloth