20 PLANTS AND TREES. 



flowers. But the view of the lake and of the richly culti- 

 vated neighbouring valleys is beautiful, and their aspect is 

 wonderful after sunset, when thousands of aquatic birds, 

 herons, flamingoes, and wild ducks cross the lake to roost 

 in the islands, and the broad zone of mountains w r hich 

 surrounds the horizon is covered with fire. The inhabitants, 

 as we have already mentioned, burn the meadows in order 

 to produce fresher and finer grass. Gramineous plants 

 abound, especially at the summit of the chain ; and those 

 vast conflagrations extend sometimes the length of a thou- 

 sand toises, and appear like streams of lava overflowing 

 the ridge of the mountains. When reposing on the banks 

 of the lake to enjoy the soft freshness of the air in one of 

 those beautiful evenings peculiar to the tropics, it is delight- 

 ful to contemplate in the waves as they beat the shore, the 

 reflection of the red fires that illumine the horizon. 



Among the plants which grow on the rocky islands of the 

 iake of Valencia, many have been believed to be peculiar 

 to those spots, because till now they have not been dis- 

 covered elsewhere. Such are the papaw-trees of the lake ; 

 and the tomato* of the island of Cura. The latter differs 

 from our Solanum lycopersicum ; the fruit is round and 

 small, but has a fine flavour ; it is now cultivated at La 

 Victoria, at Nueva Valencia, and everywhere in the valleys 

 of Aragua. The papaw-tree of the lake (papaya de la 

 laguna) abounds also in the island of Cura and at Cabo 

 Blanco ; its trunk shoots higher than that of the common 

 papaw (Carica papaya), but its fruit is only half as large, 

 perfectly spherical, without projecting ribs, and four or five 

 inches in diameter. "When cut open it is found quite filled 

 with seeds, and without those hollow places which occur 

 constantly in the common papaw. The taste of this fruit, 

 of which I have often eaten, is extremely sweet.f I know 

 not whether it be a variety of the Carica microcarpa, de- 

 scribed by Jaequin. 



The environs of the iake are insalubrious only in times 

 of great drought, when the waters in their retreat leave a 



* The tomatos are cultivated, as well as the papaw-tree of the lake, 

 in the Botanical Garden of Berlin, to which I had sent some seeds. 



f The people of the country attribute to it an astringent quality, and 

 call it tapaculo. 





