24 VIEWS OF NATURE. 



the charming valley of Aragua, which produces an abundance 

 of indigo, sugar, and cotton, and, what is perhaps the most 

 singular of all, even European wheat. The southern margin 

 of this valley is bounded by the beautiful Lake of Valencia, 

 the ancient Indian name of which was Tacarigua. The con- 

 trast presented by its opposite shores gives it a striking re- 

 semblance to the Lake of Geneva. The barren mountains of 

 Guigue and Guiripa have indeed less grandeur and solemnity 

 of character than the Savoy Alps; but, on the other hand, 

 the opposite shore, which is covered with bananas, mimosaa, 

 and triplaris, far surpasses in picturesque beauty the vineyards 

 of the Pays de Vaud. The lake is 10 leagues, (of which 20 

 form a degree of the Equator), i.e., about 30 geographical miles, 

 in length, and is thickly studded with small islands, which 

 continually increase in size, owing to the evaporation being 

 greater than the influx of fresh water. Within the last few 

 years several sandbanks have even become true islands, and 

 have acquired the significant name of Las Aparecidas, or the 

 ''''Newly Appeared" On the island of Cura the remarkable 

 species of solanum is cultivated, which has edible fruit, and 

 has been described by Willdenow (in his Hortus Berolinensis, 

 1816, Tab. xxvii.). The elevation of the Lake of Tacarigua 

 above the level of the sea is almost 1400 French feet (according 

 to my measurement, exactly 230 toises, i.e., 1471 English feet) 

 less than th.e mean height of the valley of Caracas. This lake 

 has several species of fish peculiar to itself,* and ranks among 

 the most beautiful and attractive natural scenes that I am 

 acquainted with in any part of the earth. When bathing, 

 Bonpland and myself were often terrified by the appearance 

 of the Bava, a species of crocodile-lizard (Dragonne?}, hitherto 

 undescribed, from three to four feet in length, of repulsive 

 aspect, but harmless to man. We found in the Lake of Va- 

 lencia a Typha, perfectly identical with the European bulrush, 

 the Typha angustifolia a singular and highly important fact in 

 reference to the geography of plants. 



In the valleys of Aragua, skirting the lake, both varieties of 

 the sugar-cane are cultivated, viz., the common Cana criolla, 

 and the sp cies newly introduced from the South Sea, the 

 Cana de Otaheiti. The latter variety is of a far lighter and 



* See my Observations de Zoologie et a" Anatomic comparee, t. ii., 

 pp. 179181. 



