117 



constantly foggy, the sun remains whole days 

 without action ; and toward the beginning of 

 the night, fresh breezes descend from the Sierra 

 del Guacharo into the valley. 



Experience has proved, that the temperate 

 climate and rarefied air of this spot are singu- 

 larly favorable to the cultivation of the coffee- 

 tree, which is well known to flourish on heights. 

 The prefect of the Capuchins, an active and 

 enlightened man, has introduced into the pro- 

 vince this new branch of agricultural industry. 

 Indigo was formerly planted at Caripe, but the 

 small quantity of fecula yielded by this plant, 

 which requires strong heats, caused the culture 

 to be abandoned. We found in the Conuco of 

 the community many culinary plants, maize, 

 the sugar cane, and five thousand coffee-trees, 

 which promised a fine harvest. The friars were 

 in hopes of tripling the number in a few years. 

 W&'i cannot help remarking this uniform ten- 

 dency, which manifests itself at the beginning 

 of civilization, in the policy of the monastic 

 hierarchy. Wherever convents have not yet 

 acquired wealth, in the new continent, as for- 

 merly in Gaul, in Syria, and in the north of 

 Europe, they exercise a happy influence on the 

 clearing of the soil, and the introduction of ex- 

 otic vegetables. At Caripe, the Conuco of the 

 community presents the appearance of an ex- 

 tensive and beautiful garden. The natives are 



