444 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



elevation of tlie ground ; but a 

 sliglit reflection on the distribu- 

 tion of plants in the Cordilleras 

 of the torrid zone will lead us to 

 conceive, that the summits of New 

 Andalusia are very far from reach- 

 ing the superior limit of the trees, 

 which in this latitude is at least 

 1800 toises of absolute height. 

 The smooth turf of the Cocollar 

 begins to appear at 350 toises 

 above the level of the sea, and the 

 traveller may contrive to walk 

 upon this turf, till he I'eaches a 

 thousand toises of height. Far- 

 ther on, beyond this band covered 

 with gramineous plants, we found, 

 amidst peaks almost inaccessible 

 to man, a small forest of cedrela, 

 javillo,* and mahogany. These 

 local circumstances induce me to 

 think, that the mountainous sa- 

 vannahs of the Cocollar and Tu- 

 rimiquiri owe their existence only 

 to the destructive custom the na- 

 tives have of setting fire to the 

 woods, which they want to con- 

 vert into pasturage. Thus, where 

 during three centuries grasses and 

 alpine plants have covered the 

 soil with a thick carpet, the seeds 

 of trees can no longer germinate 

 and fix themselves in the earth, 

 though the birds and winds waft 



* Hura crepitans, of the family of 

 the euphorbiums. The growth of its 

 trunk is so enormous, that Mr. Bonp- 

 land measured vats of javillo wood, 

 14 feet long, and 8 wide. These vats, 

 made out of one log of wood, are 

 employed to keep the guarapo, or 

 juice of the sugar-cane, and the me- 

 Jasses. The seeds of javillo are a 

 very active poison, and the milk that 

 issues from the petioles when broken 

 frequently produced inflammation in 

 our eyes, if by chance the least quan- 

 tity penetrated between the eyelids. 



them continually from the distant 

 forests into the savannahs. 



The climate of these mountains 

 is so mild, that at the farm of Co- 

 collar the cotton and cofFee-tree, 

 and even the sugar-cane, are cul- 

 tivated with success. Whatever 

 the inhabitants of the coasts may 

 allege, hoar frost has never been 

 found in the latitude of 10°, on 

 heights scarcely exceeding those 

 of the mount D'Or, or the Puy de 

 Dome. The pastures of Tumiri- 

 quiri become less rich in propor- 

 tion to the elevation. Wherever 

 scattered rocks afford shade, li- 

 chens and some European mosses 

 are found. The mclastomah gua- 

 cito,* and a shrub, the large and 

 tough leaves of which rustle like 

 parchment f when shaken by the 

 winds, rise here and there in the 

 savannah. But the principal or- 

 nament of the turf of these moun- 

 tains is a liliaceous plant with 

 golden flowers, the marica marti- 

 nicensis. It is generally observed 

 in the province of Cumana, and 

 Caraccas, only at four or five 

 hundred toises of elevation. J The 

 whole rocky mass of the Turimi- 

 quiri is composed of an alpine 

 hmestone.like that of Cumanacoa, 

 and a pretty thin strata of marl 

 and quartzose sandstone. The 

 limestone contains masses of brown 

 oxidated iron, and carbonat of 



* Melastoma xarithostachyum, 

 called guacito at Caraccas. 



f Paliscourearigida, chaparro hovo. 

 In the savannahs, or llanos, the same 

 Castilian name is given to a tree of 

 the family of the proteaceas. 



X For example, in the Montanna 

 de Avila, in the road from Caraccas 

 to La Guayra, and in the Silla de 

 Caraccas. The seeds of the marica 

 are ripe at the end of December. 



iron. 



