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180 COW-TREE. 
tains less muriate of soda. As the employment is very 
unhealthy, the poorest persons alone engage in it. 
The defence of the coasts of Terra Firma was main- 
tained at six points, the castle of San Antonio at Cu- 
mana, the fortifications of La Guayra, Porto Cabello, 
Fort St Charles, and Carthagena. Next to Cartha- 
gena the most important place is Porto Cabello. The 
harbour is one of the finest in the world, resembling 
a basin or little inland lake, opening to the westward 
by a passage so narrow that only one vessel can an- 
chor at a time, and is defended by batteries. The 
upper part of it is marshy ground filled with stag- 
nant and putrid water. At the time of Humboldt’s 
visit the number of inhabitants was 9000. 
Leaving Porto Cabello on the 1st March at sun- 
rise, our travellers were astonished at the number of 
boats which they saw laden with fruit for the mar- 
ket. They returned to the valleys of Aragua, and 
again stopped at the farm of Barbula. Having 
heard of a tree, the juice of which resembles milk, 
and is used as an article of food, they visited it, and 
to their surprise found that the statements which had 
been made to them with respect to it were correct. 
It is named the palo de vaca or cow-tree, and has 
oblong pointed leaves, with a somewhat fleshy fruit 
containing one or sometimes two nuts. When an 
incision is made in the trunk, there issues abundant- 
ly a thick glutinous milky fluid, perfectly free from 
acrimony, and having an agreeable smell. It is 
drunk by the negroes and free people who work 
in the plantations, and the travellers took a consi- 
derable quantity of it without the least injurious 
effect. When exposed to the air, this juice presents 
on its surface a yellowish cheesy substance, in mem- 
