128 RESIDENCE AT CARACCAS. 



cold at night is more felt on account of its being 

 usually accompanied by a misty sky. Rains are 

 very frequent in April, May, and June. No hail falls 

 in the low regions of the tropics, but it is seen here 

 every fourth or fifth year. 



The coffee-tree is much cultivated in the valley, 

 and the sugar-cane thrives even at a still greater 

 height. The banana, the pineapple, the vine, the 

 strawberry, the quince, the apple, the peach, to- 

 gether with maize, pulse, and corn, grow in great 

 perfection. But although the atmospheric consti- 

 tution of this alpine vale be favourable to diversified 

 culture, it is not equally so to the. health of the in- 

 habitants, as the inconstancy of the weather and the 

 frequent suppression of cutaneous perspiration give 

 rise to catarrhal affections ; and a European, once 

 accustomed to the violent heat, enjoys better health 

 in the low country, where the air is not very humid, 

 than in the elevated and cooler districts. 



The travellers remained two months at Caraccas, 

 where they lived in a large house in the upper part 

 of the town, from which they had an extensive view 

 of the mountain-plain, the ridge of the Gallipano, 

 and the summit of the Silla. It was the season of 

 drought, and the conflagrations intended to improve 

 the pasturage produced the most singular effects 

 when seen at night. 



They experienced the greatest kindness from all 

 classes of the inhabitants, and more especially from 

 the captain-general of the province, M. de Guevara 

 Vascongelos. Caraccas being situated on the con- 

 tinent, and its population less mutable than that of 

 the islands, the national manners had not undergone 

 so material a change. Notwithstanding the increase 

 of the blacks, says Humboldt, at Caraccas and the 

 Havana, we seem to be nearer Cadiz and the 

 United States than in any other part of the New 

 World. There was nothing to be seen of the cold 

 and assuming air so common in Europe; on the* 



