the ΓΟΥ female have reniform stigmas, and a 3 to 6 celled ovary. | and at the time of the Reformation it ceased entirely. In The fruit is round, and about the size of an orange; it has the early part of the 19th century the repairing of the at hick yellowish rind, and a light, spongy, and very bitter cathedral was taken in hand, and in 1842 the building of pup, which furnishes the colocynth of druggists. The seeds, fresh portions necessary for the completion of the whole which number from 200 to 300, and are disposed in vertical structure was commenced. The cathedral, which is in s on the three parietal placenta of the fruit, are flat and the form of a cross, has a length of 480, a breadth of 282 ovoid, and dark-brown; they are used as food by some of feet; the height of the central aisle is 154 feet; that of the tribes of the Sahara, and a coarse oil may be expressed each of the towers, when completed, will be upwards of 500 from them. The foliage resembles that of the cucumber, feet. The heaviest of the six bells weighs 11 tons. In the and the root is perennial. The plant has a wide range, choir the heart of Mary de' Medici is buried; and in the beng found in Ceylon, India, Persia, Arabia, Syria, North adjoining side-chapels are monuments of the founder and Africa, the Grecian Archipelago, the Cape Verd Islands, other archbishops of Cologne, and the shrine of the three and the south-east of Spain. The term pakkuoth, translated kings, which is adorned with gold and precious stones. vild gourds" in 2 Kings iv. 39, is thought to refer to The very numerous and richly-coloured windows, presented the fruit of the colocynth; but, according to Celsius, it sig- at various times to the cathedral, add greatly to the nifes a plant known as the squirting cucumber, Ecbalium pugans. The commercial colocynth consists of the peeled and dried fruits, which are imported from Aleppo, Smyrna, Mogador, Spain, and other localities. In the preparation of the drug, the seeds are always removed from the pulp. Its active principle is an intensely bitter glucoside, colocynthin, CH84023, soluble in water, ether, and alcohol, and decomposable by acids into glucose and a resin, colocynthein, CH54013. Colocynth is a drastic purgative, and in large doses the powdered drug or its decoction has an inflammatory action on the intestines, and may produce fatal effects. It is administered in combination with aloes, smmony, cardamoms, and potassium sulphate, also with lembane. Colocynth was known to the ancient Greek, Roman, and Arabic physicians; and in a herbal of the 11th century, written in Saxon (Cockayne, Leechdoms, &c., vol. i. p. 325, Lond., 1864), the following directions are given as to its use:-"For stirring of the inwards, take the inward neshness of the fruit, without the kernels, by weight of two pennies; give it, pounded in lithe beer to be drunk; it stirreth the inwards." COLOGNA, a town of Italy, in the province of Verona, 20 miles south-east of the city of that name on the Frasana Canal. It has a cathedral, and carries on an extensive trade in hemp, silk, wine, grain, and almonds. Population, 7000. Plan of Cologne. 1. St Cunibert's Church. 3. St Ursula's Church. 6. Government Palace. J. BARTHOLOMEW SC 16. St Martin's Church. 17. Synagogue. 18. Church of the Apostles. 19. Bank. 20. Civil Hospital. 21. Casina 22. St Maria's Church. 23 Gürzenich (Merchant's Hall) 24. St Mauritius's Church. COLOGNE, German KÖLN or CÖLN, the chief city of Rhenish Prussia, and a fortress of the first rank, capital of a government of the same name, is situated in the form of a half circle on the left bank of the Rhine, 45 miles N.N.W. of Coblentz, in 50° 56' 29" N. lat., 6° 57′ 52" E. long. It is connected with the suburb of Deutz, on the opposite side of the Rhine, by a bridge of boats nearly 1400 feet long, and by a handsome iron bridge which serves both for railway and street traffic. Although when viewed from a distance the city has a picturesque aspect, it is very irregularly built, and the older streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty. The most important squares are the Heumarkt, Neumarkt, Altmarkt, and Waidmarkt. There are two railway stations. the Central, near the cathedral, and the Pantaleon. There are also two stations in Deutz. The cathedral or Dom, the principal edifice and chief object of interest in Cologne, is one of the finest and purest monuments of Gothic architecture in Europe. It stands on the site of a cathedral commenced about the beginning of the 9th century by Hildebold, metropolitan of Cologne, and finished imposing effect of the interior. (See ARCHITECTURE, vol. ii. under Willibert in 873. This structure was ruined by the p. 431.) Many of the churches of Cologne are of interest Normans, was rebuilt, but in 1248 was almost wholly both for their age and for the monuments and works of art destroyed by fire. The foundation of the present cathedral they contain. In St Peter's are the famous altar-piece by was then laid by Conrad of Hochstaden. The original Rubens, representing the Crucifixion of St Peter, several plan of the building has been attributed to Gerhard von other works by Lucas of Leyden, and some old German Rile. In 1322 the new choir was consecrated, and the glass-paintings. St Martin's, built between the 10th and bones of the three kings were removed to it from the 12th centuries, has a fine bapistery, and paintings by Du place they had occupied in the former cathedral. After Bois and Honthorst; St Gereon's, built in the 11th century Conrad's death the work of building advanced but slowly, on the site of a Roman rotunda, is noted for its mosaics 8. St Andreas's Church. 13. Church of the Minorites. 15. Rathhaus (Town Hall). 25. St Peter's Church. 26. Tempelhaus (Exchange) 28. St Pantaleon Church. and glass and oil paintings; the Minorite church, commenced in the same year as the cathedral, contains the tomb of Duns Scotus. Besides these may be mentioned the Pantaleon church, a 12th century structure, with a monument to Theophania, wife of Otto II.,; St Cunibert, in the Byzantine-Moorish style, completed in 1248; St Maria im Capitol, the oldest church in Cologne, dedicated in 1049 by Pope Leo IX., noted for its crypt, organ, and paintings; St Cecilia, St Ursula, and St George. Other public buildings are the Gürzenich, the former meeting-place of the diets of the German empire, built between 1441 and 1474, the great hall of which is capable of accommodating 3000 persons; the Rathhaus, which dates from the 13th century; the Tempelhaus, built partly in the 12th century; the Museum Wallraf-Richartz, in which is a collection of paintings by old Italian and Dutch masters, together with some works by modern artists; the Zeughaus or arsenal, situated on Roman foundations; the Government buildings, erected by Bircher in 1830; the archbishop's palace, three gymnasia, several normal and commercial schools and literary and scientific institutions, and three theatres. university, founded in 1388, was suppressed by the French during their occupation of the country. The walls which surround the city are about seven miles in circuit. Outside the walls, to the north side, are the Zoological and the Botanical Gardens. Cologne has a considerable trade in corn, wines, hides, and rape-seed with Holland, Belgium, and other countries; and steamers ply regularly between the city and the ports on the Rhine. The principal manufactures are cotton yarn and stuffs, hosiery, woollens, silks, tobacco, sugar, soap, wax-lights, starch, malt, dyes, white-lead, porcelain, carpets, brandy and spirits, eau-decologne, and leathern and metal wares. In 1815 the population of Cologne was 47,000; in 1871 it amounted to 129,233, or, if that of Deutz be included, about 141,000. The Cologne occupies the site of Oppidum Ubiorum, the chief town of the Ubii, and there in 51 A.D. a Roman colony was planted by the Emperor Claudius, at the request of his wife Agrippina, who was born in the place. After her it was named Colonia Agrippina or Agrippinensis. Cologne rose to be the chief town of Germania Secunda, and had the privilege of the Jus Italicum. Both Vitellius and Trajan were at Cologne when they became emperors. Statues, sarcophagi, and other Roman remains, and portions of the old Roman walls have been found at Cologne. About 330 the city was taken by the Franks, and in 475 it became the residence of the French king Childeric. In 870 it was annexed to the empire. The bishopric was founded in 314, the archbishopric about the end of the 8th century; in the 14th century the archbishops were made electors of the German empire. The last elector, Maximilian, died in 1801. Cologne was besieged by Emperor Henry V. in 1160, and by Philip of Swabia in 1201. From 1452 to 1474, having taken part with England, it was excluded from the Hanseatic League, of which it was one of the most important and wealthy cities. The intolerance of its magistrates in expelling Jews and Protestants, and the closing of the Rhine navigation in the 16th century by the Dutch, contributed to its decline. This last restriction having been removed in 1837, the trade of Cologne has greatly improved. In 1794 Cologne was taken by the French; it was ceded to them by the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801, and from that time till 1814, when it was restored to the Prussians, it was the capital of the department of the Roer. COLOMBIA, or, according to the official title, the Republic of the United States of Colombia, is a modern confederation in South America, consisting of the nine states of Antioquia, Bolivar, Boyacá, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Panamá, Santander, and Tolima, and comprising a considerable portion of the territory of the old Spanish vice-royalty of New Granada. It is bounded on the N. by the Caribbean Sea, on the E. by Venezuela, on the S. by Ecuador and Brazil, and on the W. by the Pacific. It thus extends from 12° 20′ N. to 2° 30′ S. lat., and from 65° 50' to 83° 5' W. long.,-its total area being roundly estimated at 500,000 square miles, or more than double that of Spain and Portugal. About four-fifths lies to the north of the equator. On the Atlantic it possesses a coast line of upwards of 1000 miles, richly furnished with bays and natural harbours. Proceeding westward from Calabozo Creek, in the Gulf of Maracaibo, the first inlet of real importance which we discover is the Bahia Honda, which is well protected from the strong winds of the east and north, but is rendered unsuitable for the establishment of a port by its lack of drinkable water. Passing by the Bay of El Portete, we next reach the ports of Riohacha and Dibulla, of which the former is of considerable commercial importance as a centre of exportation, though it is greatly surpassed by that of Santa Marta, which is the next to break the coast-line. Santa Marta is situated at the side of the Cienega Lagoon, which stretches 25 miles from south to north, with a breadth of 11 from east to west, has communication with the lakes of Pajaral and Cuatro Bocas, and, though rather shallow, can be navigated by flat-bottomed steamboats. At the mouth of the Magdalena lies the port of Barranquilla, and a short distance to the west that of Sabanilla, one of the most active along the whole coast. After these comes the splendid Bay of Carthagena, known for centuries to all navigators of the Caribbean; and still further to the west the coast is broken by the port of Zapote, the Bay of Zispata, the Gulf of Morrosquillo, and finally by the noble Gulf of Darien, with the estuary of the Atrato and the ports of Turbo, Guacuba, Candelaria, &c. Along the isthmus are the Mandinga Creek; the Bay of Portobells, so famous in the history of Spanish America; the modern port of Colon, or Aspinwall, at the entrance of Navy Bay; and the now decadent port of Chagres. The coast-line of the Pacific is hardly so important as that of the Atlantic except along the isthmus, where it forms the great Bay of Panamá, with the subordinate inlets of Parita Bay on the west and the Gulf of San Miguel on the east. Along the remainder of the line are Cupica, San Francisco, Solan, Palmar, and Charambira (the last obstructed by a bar) the large Bay of Malaga, protected by the Isla de Palmas, with the harbours of Guapi and Izcuandé, the Bay of Pasa Caballos, the harbour of Tumaco, and in the Island of Gorgona the fine harbour of Trinidad. The western part of Colombia is one of the most moun tainous districts in the world; its eastern extension belongs to the great plains of the Orinoco and the Amazon. The mountains are all more or less directly portions of the system of the Andes. Entering at the south from the territory of Ecuador, they form an extensive plateau from which a large number of rivers take their rise. The portion known as the paramo of Cruz Verde has, according to Stein heil, an elevation of 10,975 old Paris feet, or about 11,695 English feet. From this table land the system breaks up into three ranges, which stretch north through nearly the whole length of the country, with a general parallelism of direction least maintained by the eastern portion. Of these ranges the loftiest at first is the Central, or the Cordillera of Quindiu, which contains the snow peaks of Huila, Ruiz, and Tolima, the culminating peak of the Andes north of the equator; but in 5° 5' N. lat, where this range sinks down, the Eastern rises to the snow limit, and is the most elevated of the three Cordilleras The Eastern Cordillera, or the Cordillera de la Suma Paz runs north-east to the paramos of Pamplona, from which it sends out a branch to meet the massif of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. In its passage through the state of Santander it attains in the Alto de el Viejo an altitude of 12,965 feet, in Alto de el Trio of 9965, and in the Boca del Monte of 12,735. The Sierra Nevada is said te reach a height of 23,779 feet, and it is certainly covered with perpetual snow over a large part of its summit. The Wester Cordillera, or Cordillera de Choco, is the least remarkable of the three, and has been worn down in many places nto what are comparatively mere rounded hills with easy passages between; it continues northward, however, much farther than the central chain, and in fact extends right through the Isthmus of Panamá. The llanos or plains of the Orinoco extend castward from the slopes of the Cordillera de la Suma Paz. As far south as the Vichada they form an almost complete level, destitute of trees, and affording abundant pasturage; while further south they are covered with forests, display considerable irregularity of surface, and are not unfrequently broken by steep rocks rising to a height of from 300 to 600 feet. The fundamental formations throughout Colombia are igneous and metamorphic, the great masses of the Cordilleras consisting of gneiss, granite, porphyry, and basalt. In many places the Carboniferous strata have attained considerable development, though they have been thrown into strange confusion by some unknown disturbance. Volcanic forces are still at work, as is shown by occasional earthquakes, and also by such phenomena as those at Batan near Sogamoso, where the subterranean heat is great enough to affect the local climate. Glaciers are still extant in the Paramo del Ruiz, and possibly in some of the other snow-clad heights. The slopes of the various Cordilleras are frequently covered with deep beds of gravel; and the valleys are full of alluvial deposits of very various periods. The rivers have in many instances cut remarkable passages for themselves through the mountains; and, according to Codazzi, the Sogamoso has at one time been the outlet of a vast series of lakes which he believed to have occupied the highlands of Bogotá, Tunja, and Velez. The rivers of Colombia belong almost entirely to the great Atlantic versant; but they are distributed by the principal water-shed in very various directions. The two most important are the Magdalena or Rio Grande and the Cauca, which both flow from south to north through nearly the entire length of the country, the former occupying the valley between the Eastern and the Central Cordilleras, and the latter that between the Central and the Western. They unite about 130 miles before reaching the sea, but they so long maintain an independeut course that neither can fairly be regarded as a mere tributary of the other. The Magdalena takes its rise in a small lake called the Laguna del Buey or Ox Lake, situated in the plateau of Las Papas. It receives from the right hand the Suaza, the Rio Neiva, the Cabrera, the Prado, the Fuzagasinga, famous for the falls of Tequendama, the Bogotá, the Carare, the Opon, the Sagamoso, itself a considerable stream, and the Rio Cesar, a fine river from the Sierra Nevada; and from the left the La Plata, the Paez, the Saldaña, the Cuello, the Guali, the Samana, or Miel, the Nare or Rio Negro, and various minor tributaries. The Magdalena is one of the most important water highways of the country, in spite of the fact that its current is so rapid as to make the upward voyage both difficult and tedious. From Honda, where the progress is interrupted by rapids, a native boat takes only about three days to reach the sea, while no fewer than six weeks are spent, even when the water is low, in returning against the stream. Steamers of from 50 to 200 tons burden, however, have plied regularly since 1833 between Honda and Barranquilla. The Honda rapids can be surmounted by haulage, and steamers descend them in safety, though there is a fall of 20 feet in two miles, and of 16 feet in the first. Above this point the channel is clear about half-way to the Sour ce; and though the traffic is still mainly carried on by native boats and rafts, a German named Alexander ekbecker succeeded, in 1875, in taking a large steam We boat-the "Moltke "-three times to the town of Neiva. The Cauca rises to the west of the source of the Magdalena, in the Lake of Santiago, in the paramo of Guanacas. In the upper part of its course it flows through a volcanic region, and its waters are so impregnated with sulphuric and other acids that they are destructive of fish. These acids are mainly contributed by the headstream of the Rio Vinagre or Vinegar River, which rises in the Purace volcano. The principal tributaries are the Piendamó, the Ovejas, the Palo, the Amaime, and the La Vieja, from the Central Cordillera; and the Jamundi and a large number of minor streams from the Western. After the junction of the Cauca and the Magdalena the united stream attains an imposing breadth; but it breaks up into several channels before it falls into the sea. The River Atrato, which disembogues in the Gulf of Darien and separates the main branch of the Eastern Cordillera from the isthmian ranges, is of high importance, not only in itself as an actual means of communication, but as affording, in the opinion of many engineers, one of the most feasible means of forming an interoceanic canal. So important was it regarded by Philip II. that its navigation was forbidden in 1730 on pain of death; and the prohibition was not removed for a considerable period. The account, however, so frequently repeated, of the possibility of passing from the Atlantic to the Pacific versant by means of a canal, excavated about 1788 in the Raspadura ravine by some enterprising monk, seems to have little or no foundation. The Atrato rises in the slopes of the Western Cordillera, has a course of about 300 miles, and a breadth, during the last 96 miles, of from 750 to 1000 feet. Its depth in this lower part of its passage varies from 40 to 70 feet or even more. At Quibdó, 220 miles from the embouchure, it is still 850 feet wide and 8 to 20 feet deep; and as the fall of the river is only about 3 inches to a mile, steamboats can pass as far as the confluence of the San Pablo and Certigui, 32 miles above Quibdó. Of those rivers that belong to the Orinoco system the most important are the Guaviare, the Meta, and the Vichada. The first is formed of the Guayavero and the Iriwida, which flows from the mountains of Tunahí; and the principal tributaries of the second are the Chire, the Casanare, and the Lipa. Of those that belong to the Amazon are several tributaries of the Rio Negro branch, and the Caquita, or Japura. This last rises in the eastern slopes of the same table-land which gives birth to the Magdalena and the Cauca; and its principal affluents are the Pescado, the Caguan, and the Apoponi. Though belonging to Colombia only by its head waters, there is another tributary of the Amazon which bids fair to be of great importance to the country as a means of communica tion with Brazil. This river, the Rio Iça or Potumayorises in the Andes in the province of Pasto, under 2° N. lat., has a total length from its source to its confluence of 932 miles, receives in its course 36 affluents, of which several would afford passage for steamboats, and waters a region that abounds in gum elastic, sarsaparilla, cocoa, nut-wood, Pasto resin, gold, and other means of wealth. Its depth is from 7 to 34 feet during low water, and twice as great during flood; at some places it has a breadth of 1300 feet, and its current is from 3 to 4 nautical miles an hour. A steamer only takes 10 days to pass from the confluence with the Amazon to the mouth of the Guamués; and this place is only 80 or 90 miles from the province of Pasto. The opening up of this route is due to Raphael Reyes, a full account of whose exploration will be found in Petermann's Mittheilungen for 1876. The only rivers that remain to be noted are those of the isthmus; and these are chiefly of importance for their bearing on the question of interoceanic communication. The principal VI. -- 20 Lakes. Minerals. are the Chagres, disemboguing in the Atlantic, and the | Pamplona, and forms an important Government mono- Many of the Colombian rivers take their rise in moun- Colombia is distinctively a mineral country, and the list of its productions in this department includes gold, silver, platinum, copper, lead, iron, mercury, and antimony, limestone, potash, soda, magnesia, alum, and salt, coal and asphalt, emeralds, amethysts, and amber. Many of the most important deposits are as yet untouched, owing mainly to the defective state of internal communication, and even those that have been worked have proved much less remunerative from the same cause. Gold especially is very widely diffused; it was freely used by the natives before the arrival of Europeans, and formed a valuable source of revenue to the Spanish Government, who employed thousands of negroes and Indians in the task of collection. It is principally obtained from alluvial deposits; and in some districts there is hardly a stream that would not furnish its quota. Hydraulic appliances were introduced about 1870 in some of the workings; and a more systematic treatment is being gradually adopted. Antioquia is the most important gold-producing state in the confederation; the total value of gold and silver exported from the capital in 1875 was 2,403,241 dollars; there were upwards of eighty lode mines at work in 1875; and 15,000 men and women are employed in the mining. The silver frequently occurs in very rich lodes; but, owing it would seem to various economical causes, many of the mining operations have been unsuccessful. The " Santa Anna " mines in Tolima, which were worked from 1826 to 1873 (for some years under the direction of Mr Robert Stephenson, the railway engineer), yielded during that period about £700,000 worth of ore, but ultimately proved a failure. The "Frias " silver mine, belonging to the Tolima Mining Company of London, yielded in 1875 300 tons of ore valued at £100 per ton. The emerald mines are remarkable as being the only known source of the genuine stone. They are situated at Muzo, in the state of Boyacá, in the Central Cordillera, to the north of Bogotá. Soon after the Spanish Conquest they were worked on a large scale by the Government; but towards the close of the 18th century it was found that it cost 6500 pesos to extract 1000 pesos worth of emerald, and they were consequently abandoned (see Ezpeleto's report in Relac. de los Vireyes, p. 347). After the war of independence the mines were appropriated by the republic, from which a French company obtained a monopoly from 1864 to 1874. During this period the stones found a ready market in Paris, where green was the imperial colour. Since the expiry of the contract the mines have been demonopolized. The emeralds are found in two distinct layers of calcareous bitumen, the upper of which is black and friable, and the under compact. In the upper the emeralds occur in "nests," in the lower in veins, and usually in the neighbourhood of bands of fluor-spar. The finest stones may be worked up to a value of £20 a carat; the worst sorts are only worth about 5s. Coal is pretty generally distributed throughout the republic, and the great bed of Cali probably extends to the Pacific. Rock-salt is obtained in the table-lands of Bogotá, Tunja, and poly. Though Colombia is situated within the tropics, and, in fact, as we have seen, is crossed by the equator in its southern limits, its great irregularity of surface and its extensive coast lines develop a great variety of climatic conditions. A comparatively short journey transports the traveller from the sultry valley of the Magdalena, where the water grows tepid and the stones burning hot in the sun's rays, to the summits of a mountain where the snow lies cold from year to year. In the table-lands and valleys of the Eastern and Western Cordilleras, at a height of 800 to 9500 feet above the level of the sea, there are two dry seasons and two rainy, the former commencing at the solstices and the latter at the equinoxes, while in the lowlands both of the Pacific and the Atlantic seaboard there is only one dry and one rainy of six months each. In the Gulf of Darien and the Isthmus of Panamá there is no such distinction, and rain occurs in any part of the year. The greatest mean temperature in the country is about 86° Fabr. and the lowest in the inhabited parts of the Cordilleras is about 44°. At Honda, which is about 1000 feet above sea-level, the daily range of the thermometer is only from 8° to 12°, and the annual not more than 20°. "Th hottest place," says Mosquera, to whom we are largely indebted, "which I have found in New Granada, is the port of Ocaña, where I have on several occasions seen the thermometer in the shade at 104° Fahr." In the llanos c the Orinoco the mean annual temperature is about 80° Fahr., while in the forest district to the south the average is about 8 higher. In the latter the rain is distributed throughout the year, while in the former the seasons ar distinctly marked, and from November till April the rais fall in torrents accompanied with dreadful thunderstorms In keeping with this variety of climate the Colombian flora ranges from purely tropical forms in the lowlands u to purely Alpine or boreal types in the mountains. Th tree limit on Tolima, in the Central chain, is 10,36 feet. The country abounds with extensive forests, in whic timber of gigantic proportions waits for the settler's are Besides several of the common species of palm trees which are found as high as 2500 feet above the sea, there are two remarkable species, the Ceroxylon andicola, Palma de Cera or Wax-palm, and the Oreodoxa regia, or Palmita de Azufral, which in company with the oak, frequently clothe the Cordilleras to a height of 6000 or 8000 feet. They are both of extreme beauty, and the former shoots up about 180 or 200 feet. From the Sierra Nevada and other districts are obtained logwood, Brazil-wood, atd fustic; and the Myroxylon toluifera, from which the balsar of Tolu is collected, grows luxuriantly on the banks of the Rio Negro. Excellent Indian-rubber is obtained from the Castilloa elastica, a lofty and luxuriant tree, which occurs in considerable abundance in Panamá, Cauca, and other states The quantity and quality of the material might be greatly increased and improved, as the collection is still in the hands of a very rude and careless class of men. Under the superintendence of Mr Cross the tree is being introduced into British India. Cinchona of six or seven different varieties is common throughout the country,—the elevation most favourable for its growth being between 7800 and 9000 feet above the sea. Of other medicinal plants there may be mentioned the aloe, the sarsaparilla, the albataque, and the vine of the cross. The cotton plant grows in many parts and yields an excellent fibre; indigo is indigenous; and an almost endless variety of fruits are found throughout the country. wild The fauna is perhaps hardly so rich as the flora, but it does not fall far behind. Of monkeys there are at least seventeen distinct species; the feline race is represented by seven or eight, including the puma and the jaguar; there are two species of bears; the alligator swarms in the Magdalena and some of the other rivers; deer are common at various elevations; the sloth, the armadillo, the guagua (Cœlogenus subniger), the opossum, and the cavy prevail in the forests; and the tapir or danta wanders in the higher regions. Among the birds may be mentioned the condor and ten other birds of prey, several species of swallows, numerous varieties of parrots, paroquets, lories, and cockatoos, cranes and storks, the pleasant-singing tropial, and the strangely-coloured sol-y-lune, which takes its name from the figure of the sun and moon on its wings. The boa constrictor, the yaruma, the cascabel, and various other serpents are frequent enough in the warmer regions, but are not met with at a greater height than 5400 feet above the sea. Insects are abundantly represented, the most important practically being the ants, which in some districts, as for instance the isthmus, are almost a plague. Turtle abounds on the coasts; and pearl-oysters are the object of a very considerable fishery. Agriculture holds the first place among the industries of Colombia; but the methods employed are still of a very rude description. Maize, wheat, and other cereals are cultivated on the elevated plains; rice, cotton, tobacco, sugar, coffee, cocoa, yams, arracacha, and bananas in the coast region. Tobacco is especially successful in Ambalema, Carmen, Palmira, Jiron, and Morales, and it forms an important export. In the plains of the Orinoco and the undulating savannahs of Panamá the breeding of cattle and horses is largely carried on by the creole inhabitants, and several of the Indian tribes are also in possession of valuable herds. Beyond such common (almost domestic) trades as hand-weaving, dyeing, tanning, and basket-making, there is almost no manufacturing industry in the country, though the basis for future development has been laid by the establishment in Bogotá of glass-works, distilleries, a cigar-factory, and a sulphuric acid factory. One product of the domestic industry alone finds its place in the list of exports-namely, straw hats, usually known. as jipijapa or Panamá hats. The raw produce, however, is largely exported; the principal articles being cinchona bark, indigo, coffee, cotton, tobacco, silver ore, hides, and the minor items-ivory-nuts, ipecacuanha, and balsam of Tolu. The relation between the exports and imports and the variations of amount from year to year will be seen by the following table: 8,253,806 10,500,000 The national government of Colombia is republican, -the main basis of the constitution being a scheme drawn up in 1863 after the model of the United States of North America. The executive Lower is exercised by the president and four ministers or secretarios. The presidential elections recur every two years; the choice is determined by a majority of the states; and the new president enters on office on the 1st of April. The secretaries have charge respectively of the four departments of Home and Foreign Affairs, Finance and Public Works, Treasury and Credit, and War and Marine. The legislative power of the federation is divided between a house of representatives elected by universal suffrage, and a senate of 27 members, or three from each state. The number of the representatives depends on the size of the state-population, one being allowed for every 50,000 inhabitants, and one for the remainder if it reaches 20,000. In 1875 there were in all 61 representatives. There is a supreme court at Bogotá, conducted by a resident, four judges, and a procurator-general; the judges are elected by the legislative houses of the nine states. There is no state church, and full religious liberty prevails. The predominant profe ssion, however, is the Roman Catholic, and an archbishop is lished at Bogotá. The national income is very small; but it been steadily increasing for a number of years. In 1869-70 it 2,883,758 pesos (about 4s. value); in 1870-71, 3,573,570; 1871-72, 3,178,446; in 1872-73, 4,000,000. The taxes are esta as as very light,-by far the greater part of the revenue accruing from the custom-houses established at Buenaventura, Carlosama, Cartagena, Cucuta, Rio Hacha, Sabanilla, Santa Marta, Jumaco, and Turbo. In 1872-73 the various receipts were-customs, 2,775,450 pesos; salt monopoly, 799,213; Panamá railway, 250,000; postal service, 67,609; telegraphs, 10,627; mint, 18,000; national property, 72,595; ecclesiastical property, 6506. The customs would yield a still greater return were it not for smuggling, which prevails largely, especially at Cartagena. The tariff hitherto in use divides articles into classes, which pay so much per kilogramme; and thus the burden of the duty falls most on inferior goods. The saltworks yielded, in 1869-70, 136,568 cwts., of which 81 per cent. was obtained from Cundinamarca, 18 per cent. from Boyacá, and 1 per cent. from the territory of San Martin. The postal service is Communi still in a very backward state, and the charges are very high; but cation. this cannot be otherwise till the road system of the country has been developed. Rapid progress, however, is being made by several of the states in this preliminary undertaking. In April 1875 there ing from Honda to Bogotá, and from Ambalema to Manizales. were upwards of 1000 miles of telegraph, the principal lines stretchIn 1873 the total number of telegraphic messages amounted to 500,000. In the less populous districts the maintenance of the they are frequently damaged by the monkeys, who use them for lines is very costly, as not only are the wires stolen by thieves, but gymnastic purposes. The only two railways actually in operation are the Panamá line (46 miles), and the line between Sabanilla and Barranquilla (17 miles); but great efforts are being made, both by the central Government and by the separate states, to construct for some of the most important. lines throughout the country, and contracts have already been made The national property consists mainly of waste lands, which are allotted to applicants on very liberal terms. A great deal of the church property confiscated by the republic has been sold; some of it is rented out; and many of the convents are used for public offices. The public debt amounted, in 1875, to 10,105,500 dollars, of which 10,000,000 are the old debts of the war of independence, which pay an interest of 44 per cent. The English debt of 1863 has been cleared off. There is no national navy, and the armed force in time of peace only amounts to 1420 population. The separate states have their own constitutions and men; in time of war the states have to furnish 1 per cent. of their governors, and they differ considerably in their political tendencies. The educational condition of Colombia has hitherto been very instruction was taken from the hands of the clergy and intrusted low; but, by a law published in 1870, the management of public to the state, a complete reform of the school system was effected, teachers were introduced from Europe, and compulsory education was adopted. In this last point Colombia has taken the lead in 1873, with an attendance of about 21,500; in Bolivar, 44; in the New World. In Antioquia 486 schools were in operation in Boyacá, 208 (public schools), with 9000 pupils; in Cauca, 229, with 9925; in Cundinamarca, 338, with 16,489; in Magdalena, 100, with 2968; in Santander, 300, with 11,974; in Tolima, 100 Scho schools and 3640 scholars. In Panamá the state of education is The expense is borne partly by the special states and partly by the not so good, but public schools are being established there also. national treasury, which devotes 317,120 dollars annually to this purpose, assigning 200,000 to subsidize the states, and 117,120 to the institutions for the higher education. These include the national university, the Vasquez academy, and schools of engineering, natural science, &c., established in the federal capital, state colleges, and normal schools. Education. It can hardly be said that Colombia possesses a national litera- Literature," ture, the writing and printing hitherto effected serving mainly the immediate purpose of the day. Its inheritance of the Spanish language, however, leaves it in vital contact with one of the older literatures of Europe, and frees it from the painful, though, it might be, fruitful necessity of working its way through confusion of dialects to a recognized national speech. Such intellect as the country has spared from war and political activity has mainly been directed to the natural sciences, which found their first footing on Colombian soil through the labours of the celebrated Don José Celestino Mutis. Of those who have attained a greater or less degree of faine in this department, it is sufficient to mention Zea, Cabal, Caldas, Pombo, Cespedes, Camacho, Lozano, and Codazzi; Restrepo and Mosquera have contributed to the history of their country. In several of the more important cities journalism is pretty well represented, and the Government is about to establish. a magazine for the purpose of diffusing a knowlege of Colombian affairs. The population of the territory of the present republic at the Native time of the Spanish Conquest consisted of a large number of inde- tribes. pendent tribes of very various degrees of civilization. Of these several have totally disappeared as separate unities; others have been in large measure Hispanicized both in language and in habits; many still retain their separate dialects, organization, and customs, and some are even now as opposed to the European movement as they were |