VENEZUELA 



This Republic is bounded on the south by Brazil, on the north 

 by the Caribbean Sea, east by the Atlantic, British Guiana, 

 and Brazil, and west by Colombia ; it is 700 miles north and 

 south, and 650 miles west and east. It has a population of 

 2,600,000. 



The area of Venezuela is variously given between 394,000 

 and 600,000 square miles, but the larger figure includes terri- 

 tory whose possession is not definitely settled, or which has 

 only been approximately surveyed. 



The great llanos or plains are a marked physical feature of 

 Venezuela. At one time they were the home of huge herds 

 of cattle and horses. They are covered with rich natural grass, 

 with some wooded areas, and the general elevation above sea- 

 level is about 400 ft. Due to the flat and uniform surface, the 

 llanos are inundated in the rainy season from the waters of 

 the Orinoco to the extent of thousands of square miles, or 

 connected with a network of connecting channels. 



It is a magnificent cattle -rearing country, and at the present 

 time possesses about 2,000,000 head, mostly small and wiry. 

 It is a country that should easily run 20,000,000. It has 

 already exported frozen beef, and promises to increase its 

 shipments. 



The plains are thickly studded with low trees, and the 

 Orinoco, the great water highway of Venezuela, is fringed in 

 its lower course with magnificent evergreen forests. Vene- 

 zuela is the home of the cow tree, which yields large quantities 

 of nutritious, thick milky juice. Countless herds of cattle 

 once were supported on the grassy llanos, but there has been 

 a great decrease in the numbers through the murrain and 

 other causes. The llanos or pampas occupy a fourth of the 

 country lying between the Orinoco and the northern moun- 



207 



