3934 Journal of a Voyage 



to mind associations of country strolls in our colder climes, of the 

 green orchard where we romped in our boyhood, of the lane of our 

 village where we were wont to dream on sunny evenings, and pick a 

 spike of plantain-seeds for our sister's canary-bird ; such sensations 

 can only be felt — they cannot be described. Mosquitos are not nu- 

 merous at La Guayra, so that I could sleep with all my windows open, 

 and without a mosquito-net. The European vegetables are eaten 

 here, being cultivated round Caraccas, where the temperature is much 

 lower. Many pigs, of a dirty gray colour, long in shape, very flat on 

 the ribs, very hairy all over, and with thin crooked legs, are running 

 about the streets ; and many may be seen in the huts of the negroes, 

 living pele-mele with men, women, squalid children and screeching 

 parrots. These pigs, when of a good size, are worth 5s. each. Ox- 

 meat sells at about 3s. the five-and-twenty pounds ; it is brought to 

 market from the Llanos of the interior. Sharks are very numerous on 

 this coast ; and I cannot understand what led Humboldt to state that 

 they are not dangerous here, as they are very much dreaded by all the 

 native sailors and boatmen, and accidents caused by them are nume- 

 rous. Walking, or rather clambering, around the place next day, I 

 saw some small humming-birds, numbers of the Caraccas vultures fly- 

 ing in pairs, turtle doves, and small yellow-banded and green-chinned 

 lizards. I found in the gneiss a vein of quartz, containing blue car- 

 bonate of copper, and a substance which looked much like Halloysite. 

 April 1. I hired a mule to go to Caraccas. I followed the old road 

 over the mountains, so well described by Humboldt ; a new one has 

 since been made, which takes a long circuit round the mountains, so 

 as to follow the valleys. On the way I noticed a beautiful plantation 

 of cocoa-trees near the sea-shore ; and as I ascended the steep and 

 tedious path, which winds irregularly up the mountain side, I was 

 delighted with the singing of birds : turtle doves of two kinds ran 

 familiarly before me on the road. I first passed through the forest of 

 Cactuses, among which were numerous fine Mimosas, Agaves, &c. 

 As I ascended, the air became cooler, and small forms of ferns and 

 Lycopodiaceae were common ; also a pretty Gesneria, some Melasto- 

 mas, a Bignonia, a large Arum, a Tradescantia, a Pteris, or something 

 that looked very like our P. aquilina ; a small yellow-flowered Oxalis, 

 and a delicate pink-coloured terrestrial Orchis, also attracted my at- 

 tention. I remained two days at Caraccas, visiting the town and its 

 environs ; a description of all I noted there would lead me too far for 

 this paper. Everything interests one in these distant lands. In a 

 walk through the market-place, I saw conical loaves of brown sugar, 



