64 A NATURALIST IN THE GUIANAS 



should be on the wane ? That there should be any pro- 

 sperity at all speaks volumes for the natural resources of 

 Venezuela. 



The principal exports of Ciudad-Bolivar are hides, 

 rubber, tonca-beans, feathers, and copaiba oil. The hides 

 come from the towns of the llanos,^ those vast plains 

 which extend in a northerly direction, from the left bank 

 of the Orinoco to the mountain range on the Atlantic, 

 and stretch towards the west as far as the very Andes 

 themselves. Rubber, tonca-beans, and copaiba are forest- 

 products from the wooded region on the right bank and 

 around the headwaters of the stream. The feathers, 

 known in the trade as ospreys, are sent from the country 

 on the banks of the Apure and the Arauca. The swamps 

 in the vicinity of these rivers are the abode of numberless 

 flocks of wild-fowl, of which two varieties of egret are 

 abundant. It is from these egrets that the feathers which 

 form so expensive an article of commerce are obtained. 

 The small egret (Ardea candidissima) produces the most 

 valuable plumes ; from the larger birds {Ardea garzetta) 

 a coarser feather is obtained which is not so much 

 appreciated, but the wily dealer can sort his plumes so as 

 to introduce a fair proportion of the inferior article with- 

 out danger of detection. Quite a number of birds have to 

 be slaughtered to produce a pound of feathers, only a few 

 drooping plumes from the backs of the birds being taken. 

 The season for collecting extends through the months of 

 June, July, and August ; that is, through the mating and 

 breeding period. The egrets are wary birds and difficult 

 of approach except when they are nesting or rearing their 

 young, and it is at this time that the collector obtains his 

 feathers. The persistence with which the same localities 



' Plains covered with grass are called llanos in Venezuela. 



