68 



SOUTH AMERICA— THE ANDES REGIONS. 



but little grown, although the leaf is scarcely inferior to that of Cuba. One of 

 the most costly operations on the plantations is the uprooting of the para-grass, 

 which, although yielding an excellent fodder, grows with a vigour that threatens 

 to stifle the more valuable sugar-cane. Most of the agricultural and commercial 

 life of the island is centred on the west coast, where are situated the two largest 

 towns, now connected by a railway and by a regular line of steamers. The east 



Fig. 22.— Teinidad. 

 Scale 1 : 1,300,000. 



West oF G 



Depths. 



to 12 

 Fathoms. 



50 Fathoms 

 and upwards. 



30 Miles 



side, facing the Atlantic and the trade winds, is almost a solitude destitute of 

 towns or harbours. 



Besides its agricultural and commercial importance, Trinidad has a certain 

 value in the eyes of the restless South American populations, as a place of refuge 

 for political exiles and fugitives from Venezuela and the other Spanish republics. 

 In former times it was also the headquarters of British military operations in 

 the AVest Indies. Many an expedition was here organised during the wars of 

 independence, and from this station English traders may now command the 

 entrance of the Orinoco, one of the great highways to the interior of the continent. 



