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THROUGH THE FOREST. 199 larger than the common sort, and yielding a wood darker and more durable than what is ordinarily seen in the mar- ket There were also more mango-trees than might hâve been expected at this distance from the sea ; a beautiful white lichen enveloped their trunks like a fur ; but in spite of their luxuriant foliagc and delicious fruit, Harris said that there was not a native who would venture to propagate the species, as the superstition of the country is that *' who- ever plants a mango, dies ! '* At noon a hait was made for the purpose of rest and re- freshment During the afternoon they arri ved at some gently rising ground, not the fîrst slopes of hills, but an insulated plateau which appeared to unité mountains and plains. Notwithstanding that the trees were far less crowded and more inclined to grow in detached groups, the numbers of herbaceous plants with which the soil was covered rendered progress no less difficult than it was before. The gênerai aspect of the scène was not unlike an East Indian jungle. Less luxuriant indeed than in the lower valley of the river, the végétation was far more abundant than that of the tem- perate zones either of the Old or New continents. Indigo grew in great profusion, and, according to Harris's repré- sentation, was the most encroaching plant in the whole country ; no sooner, he said, was a fîeld left untilled, than it was overrun by this parasite, which sprang up with the rank growth of thistles or nettles. One tree which might hâve been expected to be common in this part of the continent seemed entirely wanting. This was the caoutchouc. Of the various trees from which India- rubber is procured, such as the Ficus prinoides, the Cas- tilloa elastica, the Cecropia peltata, the Cailophora utilis, the Cameraria latifolia, and especially the Siphonia elastica, ail of which abound in the provinces of South America, not a single spécimen was to be seen. Dick had promised to show Jack an India-rubber-tree, and the child, who had conjured up visions of squeaking dolls, balls, and other toys growing upon its branches, was loud and constant in his expressions of disappointment. •* Nevcr mind, my little man," said Harris ; " hâve