Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/198

184 profusion of flowers, many of which are most delicately coloured, (particularly the varieties of the Convolvulus kind;) while the plumage of the birds, of which, in some places, the woods are full, is hardly less brilliant than the flowers themselves. Flocks of Parrots and Macaws are seen in every direction, with Cardinals, Cĕnsōntlĭs, or mockingbirds, and a thousand others, the names of which, in any language, I cannot pretend to give; Deer too, occasionally bounded across the road; but of the Jăgūārs, (Mexican Tiger,) and other wild animals, we saw none, although their skins are to be met with in great abundance. Throughout the Tierra Caliente, not one hundredth part of the soil has been brought into cultivation; yet in the Indian cottages, many of which I entered, I always found a plentiful supply of Indian Corn, Rice, Bănānăs, Oranges, and Pine-apples, which, though certainly not equal to those of the Havanna in flavour, seemed to us, when heated with travelling, a most delicious fruit. Of the Bănānă I am not an admirer; its taste reminded me of sweet pomatum, and I gave it up after a very short trial. All these fruits are produced, with little or no labour, on a spot of ground in the vicinity of the cottage, which, though apparently too small to support a single individual, is usually sufficient, with the addition of a few Frijoles, (beans,) and a little Chile from the Interior, to provide for the subsistence of the whole family. For this indeed, not much is required.