Vegetation.
The territory does not only count with its native trees the wood of which is employed in the industries and the rural economy; but all over its fertile soil do grow, reproducing themselves, and perfectly accustomed to the climate, nearly all the trees of the other regions.
Among the native trees there are the nandubay, that has the property of petrifying itself under the ground, the urunday, the lapacho, the viraro, the coronilla, the espinillo, quebracho, tala, araza, the carob-tree, the black laurel, the timbo, guaviyu, copal, the white, red, brown and yellow willow, the mataojo, paraiso, the wild acacia, the ceibo and many others, the wood of which may be employed for making all kinds of casks and buildings, and also for burning.
"The riches of the forests in this country," says Dr. Ordonana, perpetual secretary to the Rural Association, "belong to two distinct categories. The first one extends itself along the banks of the rivers and rivulets of the interior of the Republic, and the other is a consequence of the sediments, ground and sands brought down by the rivers that form the Plate, which, stopped by the banks of low Uruguay, give birth to plants like those described by clever botanists as Azara and Bomplan, as belonging to the regions of the Pilcomayo, Parana and Paraguay.
"The trees are generally represented by a great many out of which no wood can be made, and small shrubs that give fruits, used in other times by the natives, gums and resins, stuffs used for weaving and dyeing, and a great many twining plants, among which there are the hisipo, of yellow flowers, and also the ilex-mate.
"None of the plants we mention here have been considered, until now, worth being scientifically cultivated, although our Society has claimed for it many times, because, neither private persons nor private congregations, without the help of the government, can afford the establishment and maintenance of experimental farms, which are the true guides for studies and observations.
"We have preferred here cultivating foreign trees, whilst we had here a great many much better than they, as for their wood, shade and elegance.
"The private efforts of men we cannot forget have changed the aspect of our forests and also of the cattle of the country, by enriching it with new seeds and new plants and employing the combined means of nature and of work."
In many departments the palm tree is found, also many kinds of fruit and ornamental trees. There are trees, shrubs and herbs with medicinal properties and good for dyeing and weaving, and also resinous, aromatic and alkaline ones.
The series of the plants with healing properties is long; there may be found the sarsaparilla, the marshmallow, the liquorice, the rhubarb, the camomile, the wild celery and many other plants, which it would be too long to enumerate here.
Among the fruit trees accustomed to this climate there are: the orange tree, the apple tree, the pear tree, the apricot tree, the pomegranate tree, the peach tree, the cherry tree, the lemon tree, the plum tree, the nut tree, the quince tree, the olive tree, the medlar tree, the almond tree, the chestnut tree, the fig tree, the date palm, etc., etc.
Among the other classes we find the poplar, the cypress, the elm, the oak, the plantain, the acacia, the eucalyptus, the cedar, the magnolia, the white mulberry tree, etc.
As for the cereals and vegetables, all kinds of them grow here perfectly and abundantly. Wheat, maize, barley, lucerne, are the principal rural products. The chick-pea, the French bean, the gray pea, the bean, the sugar-pea, the hastings, the lentils, the potatoes, the Spanish potatoes, the carrot, the radishes, the turnips, the pumpkins, the beet root, etc., and all kinds of pot herbs, the watermelons, the melon and the strawberry grow also abundantly.
The grape vine, the flax, the tobacco, the canary seed, the cotton, the anise-seed, the hemp, the currin seed, the peanuts and many other classes give good results. During these last years the nursing of the vine, the olive, the lucerne, and the tobacco has spread itself a great deal.
As for the flowers, there is such an immense variety of them and such a plenty that the Republic has deserved the name of "The country of sun and flowers." The industry of nosegays and crowns has reached an unheard-of development. Beside the garden plants that belong to the country, they nurse here all the varieties known in Europe.
The environs of Montevideo count a great many important establishments dedicated to the commerce of plants, ornamental and fruit trees, all of the most valuable kinds.