VERA CRUZ. 371 
nounce by their freshness the elevation at which 
the strata of clouds, suspended over the ocean, come 
in contact with the basaltic summits of the cordil- 
leras. A little higher the banana ceases to yield 
fruit. At the height of San Miguel pines begin to 
mingle with the oaks, which continue as far as the 
plains of Perote, where the cereal vegetation of Eu-- 
rope is seen. Beyond this, the former alone cover 
the rocks, the tops of which enter the region of per- 
petual frigidity. 
At the foot of the cordillera, in the evergreen fo- 
rests of Papautla, Nautla, and S. Andre Tuxtla, 
grows the vanilla, the fruit of which is used for 
perfuming chocolate. The beautiful convolvulus, 
whose root furnishes the jalap of the apothecaries, 
grows near the Indian villages of Colipa and Mis- 
autla. The pimento-myrtle is produced in the woods 
which extend towards the river of Baraderas. On 
the declivities of Orizaba, tobacco of excellent qua- 
lity is cultivated ; and the sarsaparilla grows in the 
moist and shady ravines. Cotton and sugar of ex- 
cellent quality are produced along the greater part 
of the coast. 
In this intendancy are two colossal summits,— 
the voleano of Orizaba, which after Popocatepetl is 
the highest in New Spain, and the Cofre de Perote, 
which is nearly 1312 feet more elevated than the 
Peak of Teneriffe. In its northern part, near the 
Indian village of Papautla, is a pyramidal edifice 
of great antiquity situated in the midst of a thick 
forest. It is not constructed of bricks, or clay mixed 
with stone, and faced with amygdaloid, like those 
of Cholula and Tectihuacan ; on the contrary, the 
materials employed have been immense blocks of 
