NATURAL HISTORY. 



601 



is bounded by a limestone hill. 

 The land rises imperceptibly to- 

 wards the east and descends gra- 

 dually se^eral fathoms towaids 

 the west, until it reaches that 

 ti"act of country which produces 

 the Cacao (cocos butiracea). The 

 bed of the valley is formed of 

 chalk ; it is situated about 250 

 fathoms above the level of the 

 sea. 



The village of Lalagunilla is 

 situate in the south of the valley ; 

 its inhabitants, a strong laborious 

 people, are Indians, whose only 

 occupation is agricidture and the 

 extraction of the Urao. 



Nearly in the centie of the val- 

 ley is the lake which receives the 

 rain water that descends from the 

 neighbouring moimtains ; but as 

 even during the greatest drought 

 the lake never becomes dry, it is 

 supposed that it has some springs 

 which supply it with water, in- 

 dependent of the rains. Its di- 

 mensions in the rainy season, in 

 the widest part, are two hundred 

 and ten fathoms by one hundred 

 and six. On the eastern side, 

 where the waters ai'e deepest, its 

 depth never exceeds three fa- 

 thoms. To prevent inundations 

 to the neighbouring cottages, a 

 drain is cut on the south-east 

 side, which carries the waters 

 into the Chama. On the eastern 

 side the waters arc very shallow, 

 and being contracted in width, 

 give to the lake a somewhat oval 

 form. It is on this side that 

 many aquatic plants are found. 

 The air of the \alley being very 

 dry, the climate mild, the sky se- 

 rene, the country in a high state 

 of cultivation, and the view of La 

 Sierra Neveda truly sublime, a 

 residence here is delightful, and 

 many families from Merida and 



the environs constantly pass some 

 months of the year at Lalagimilla. 

 The waters of the lake are im- 

 pregnated with carbonate of soda, 

 which crystallizes in the dry sea- 

 son, and is in that state by the 

 Indians called Urao. The ex- 

 traction of this salt, which is em- 

 ployed at Venezuela to prepare 

 the Mo or inspissated juice of to-' 

 baccoj has been long known and 

 practised at Lalagunilla. At the 

 end of the last century, when the 

 Court of Madrid monopolized tlie 

 cultivation of tobacco, the right 

 of extracting the Urao fell like- 

 wise to the crown. On the east 

 side of the lake a magazine was 

 erected for receiving the Urao, and 

 another building as a residence for 

 the Tenienfe v'lsitador, or captain 

 of Gens d'armes, in whom was 

 vested the government of the lake, 

 with a view to prevent a species 

 of smuggling which the Indians 

 aie much inclined to practise, by 

 secretly withdrawing the Urao. 



The water of the lake is of a 

 yellowish green coloui', of a sa- 

 ponaceous quality, alktdine taste, 

 and peculiar smell. There is no 

 appearance of tish of any kind 

 in these waters : the only living 

 Cicature I coidd observe was an 

 insect on the borders of the lake, 

 which appeared to me a species 

 of spider. 



These waters having a strength- 

 ening quality, convalescents re- 

 sort thither ia the morning to 

 bathe, and derive great benefit 

 from them in some cutaneous 

 diseases. In many disordeis in- 

 cident to horses they are likewise 

 very elKcacious. 



When the period for the ex- 

 traction of the Urao arrives, 

 which is every two years, those 

 Indians of Lalagunilla^ who are 



devoted 



