72 MISSIONS OF CAE1. 



probably resembles in its chemical properties birdlime, the 

 vegetable principle obtained ii-om the berries of the mistletoe, 

 and the internal bark of the holly. An astonishing abun- 

 dance of this glutinous matter issues from the twining 

 branches of the vejuco de guayca when they are cut. Thus, 

 we find within the tropics a substance in a state of purity, 

 and deposited in peculiar organs, which in the temperate 

 zone can be procured only by artificial means. 



We did not arrive until the third day at the Caribbee 

 missions of Cari. We observed that the ground was less 

 cracked by the drought in this country than in the Llanos 

 of Calabozo. Some showers had revived the vegetation. 

 Small gramina, and especially those herbaceous sensitive- 

 plants so useful in fattening half-wild cattle, formed a thick 

 turf. At great distances one from another, there arose a 

 few fan-palms (Corypha tectorum), rhopalas* (chaparro), 

 and malpighiasf with coriaceous and glossy leaves. The 

 humid spots are recognized at a distance by groups of mau- 

 ritia, which are the sago-trees of those countries. Near the 

 coast this palm-tree constitutes the whole wealth of the 

 Guaraon Indians ; and it is somewhat remarkable that we 

 also found it one hundred and sixty leagues farther south, 

 in the midst of the forests of the Upper Orinoco, in the 

 savannahs that surround the granitic peak of Duida.J It 

 was loaded at this season with enormous clusters of red 

 fruit, resembling fir-cones. Our monkeys were extremely 

 fond of this fruit, which has the taste of an over-ripe apple. 

 The monkeys were placed with our baggage on the backs of 

 the mules, and they made great efforts to reach the clusters 

 that hung over their heads. The plain was undulating 

 from the effects of the mirage; and when, after travelling 

 for an hour, we reached the trunks of the palm-trees, 

 which appeared like masts in the horizon, we observed with 



* The Proteacese are not, like the Araucaria, an exclusively southern 

 r.rm. We found the Rhopala coraplicata, and the R. obovata, in 2 30', 

 and in 10 of north latitude. 



^ A neighbouring genus, Byrsonima cocollobeefolia, B. laurifolia, near 

 Matagorda, and B. ropalsefolia. 



$ The moriche, like the Sagus Rumphii, is a palm-tree of the marshes, 

 not a palm-tree of the coast, like the Chamserops humilis, the commoa 

 cocoa-tree, and the lodoicea. 





