To the thistles called tunas, or Indian figs, you may add the _cardones_, or _cerei_, the trunk of which is large, and tall, with a spungy, and brittle pulp. In the place of branches and leaves there grow on them other stalks, both thick, and long, which are thorny on every side, full of juice, and straight upright. They bear white flowers, and oval-shaped fruit larger than a goose's egg, which produce a red colour, and are eaten by the Indians with impunity. In the deserts of Paraguay, I have often traversed immense woods of _cardones_. The honey which bees deposit in them is very famous in Europe. Every part of the cardo is converted into medicinal uses, both by the Europeans, and Americans. There are many species of cardones, of strange, and monstrous forms. Some creep on the ground, others stand upright. The most remarkable is the large, thorny, Peruvian cereus, which is twenty feet high, and one foot thick. Its trunk has various corners, and channels, as it were, together with knobs, and thorns. The bark is green, and the pulp fleshy, and under it lies a ligneous substance, the pith of which is white, and juicy. It bears but few flowers. If you wish to know more of this cereus, it is to be seen in the gardens of princes. VARIOUS SPECIES OF THE CARAQUATA. Many species of this plant are commonly to be met with in Paraguay. I will briefly mention those with which I am best acquainted. The caraquatà guazù, or the great caraquatà, is supported by a short thick root. It consists of about twenty very thick leaves, dentated on both sides, remarkably sharp, and about two feet in length, in the midst of which rises a stalk, like a trunk, five, and often more feet high. The top of it is crowned with yellow flowers. The Indian women spin threads of the fibres of the leaves, as others do of flax, or hemp, and weave them into cords, cloths, and nets. But no time, or art can make these threads perfectly white, nor will they hold any colour with which they may be dyed. Creditable authors write that in the province of Guayana such beautiful stockings are woven of this same thread, that they are sometimes preferred to silk ones in France for strength, and softness. Another kind of caraquatà, very like the former, is seen in the woods, but it cannot be spun into threads. In the woods of Mbaèverà, the Indian women who inhabit there make thread, and garments, not of the caraquatà, but of the bark of the tree pinô, after it has been properly cleaned: for the webs woven of the thread of this bark, after being exposed for sometime to the sun, and frequently sprinkled with water, become beautifully white and will retain any colour with which they are dyed, extremely well. It is much to be lamented that this tree pinô is found in the larger woods only, and is not to be seen in many parts of Paraguay. Another caraquatà of a different shape produces a kind of artichoke, or anana. It bears fruit of a scarlet colour, and has plenty