MANTEUOLA. 147 



made in the thick forest abounding in cedraelas, brow- cuap. xiv. 

 neas, and fig-trees. Tliey were struck by the woody po,.pT~ 

 excrescences, which, as far as twenty feet above the plants. 

 ground, augment the thickness of the latter. Some of 

 tliese trunks were observed to be twenty-three feet in 

 diameter near the roots. 



At the plantation of Tuy the dip of the needle was ixpcftua 

 41*6°, and the intensity of the magnetic power was "^'^'^''^* 

 indicated by 228 oscillations in ten minutes. The vari- 

 ation of tho former was 4° 30' N. E. The zodiacal 

 iight appeared almost every night with extraordinary 

 brilliancy. 



On the 11th, at sunrise, they left the plantation of Departure 

 Manterola, and proceeded along the beautiful banks of [erojit*'^"" 

 the river. At a farm by the way they found a ncgress 

 more than a hundred years old, seated before a small 

 hut to enjoy the benefit of the sun's rays, the heat of 

 which, according to her grandson, kept her alive. As 

 they drew near to Victoria the ground became smoother, 

 and resembled the bottom of a lake the waters of which 

 had been drained off. The neighbouring hills were coqj- Varied 

 posed of calcareous tufa. Fields of corn were mingled cui'i^^ition. 

 with crops of sugar-canes, coffee, and plantains. The 

 level of the country above the sea is only from 676 to 

 640 yards ; and, except in the district of Quatro Villas 

 in the island of Cuba, wheat is scarcely cultivated in 

 large quantities in any other part of the equinoctial 

 regions at so low an elevation. La Victoria and the 

 neighbouring village of San IMatheo yielded 4000 quin- 

 tals or 3622 cwt, annually. It is sown in December, 

 and is fit for being cut in seventy or seventy-five days. 

 The grain is large and white, and the average produce is 

 three or four times as much as in Europe. The culture 

 of the sugar-cane, however, is still more productive. 



Proceeding slowly on their way, the travellers passed indications 

 through the villages of San Matheo, Turmero, and ofpi«spen:y. 

 Maracay, where every thing was indicative of prosperity. 

 *' On leaving the village of Turmero," says Humboldt, 



