38 TRINIDAD. 



lating, and a considerable part of it flat. It does not appear 

 that any other valleys than the above-mentioned are known, 

 except the Valley of Labranche and that of Guaracara, in the 

 central range. 



Trinidad, being a comparatively newly-settled island, presents 

 in many parts the appearance of a wild unreclaimed country. It 

 is covered with dense and lofty forests, the heavy appearance of 

 an endless woodland being only broken here and there by vast 

 savannahs, or by the efforts of agricultural industry, — except, 

 perhaps, at the Naparimas, where an extensive district is under 

 uninterrupted cultivation. Even where cacao and coffee are cul- 

 tivated, the country still preserves the appearance of forest-land, 

 since those plants are protected by the shade of the " Bois Im- 

 mortel/'' a tree which attains a considerable size. 



A cacao plantation forms of itself a most charming prospect. 

 The trees are planted at twelve or fifteen feet apart, and range 

 from about twenty-five to thirty-five feet in height. The leaves 

 are large and, when young, of a violet-red hue; whilst from 

 the larger branches and the stem hang red, yellow, green, or 

 dark crimson pods, — the " Immortel M itself forming a striking 

 feature . in the scenery. In January and February the latter 

 exchanges its leaves for a thick covering of bright red blossoms, 

 the ground underneath being literally carpeted with flowers, 

 whilst birds of various species, and of the most brilliant plumage, 

 join in gay concert above. Several other trees become, at certain 

 periods, like the "Immortel/' a regular mass of flowers. Those 

 of the Poui are of a brilliant yellow ; of the Roble, an orange 

 colour, and with the f ragrancy of the wall-flower ; others, again, 

 are white, pink, or violaceous. 



The bamboo grows in clusters of hollow jointed reeds, and 

 forms, as it were, an immense sheaf, about fifty feet high, from 

 six to ten feet in diameter, and containing above one hundred 

 stems, surmounted by a foliage resembling an assemblage of 

 waving plumes. Sometimes they grow on each side of a river 

 for several miles, their feathery summits uniting overhead at 

 intervals, in immense arches. 



From some of the hills the view is often most beautiful. At 

 the foot of the hill extensive cane-fields ; a little further, that red 

 tract marks out a cacao plantation, beyond which is the Caroni 

 savannah ; and further yet, the expanse of the placid gulf, with 



