192 



produce of which exceeds 10,000 quintals*. 

 The capsules of the cotton tree, when the wool 

 has been separated, are carefully burnt ; as 

 those husks, if thrown into the river, and expos- 

 ed to putrefaction, yield exhalations, which are 

 thought very noxious. The culture of the cacao- 

 tree has of late considerably diminished. This 

 valuable tree bears only after eight or ten years. 

 It's fruit keeps very badly in the warehouses, 

 and becomes mouldy at the end of a year, 

 notwithstanding all the precautions employed 

 for drying it. This is a great disadvantage to 

 the planter. On these coasts commerce with 

 neutrals is sometimes prohibited, sometimes 

 permitted under certain restrictions, accord- 

 ing to the caprice of the ministry of Madrid, 

 and the greater or less courageous resistance 

 of the governors. The demands for the same 

 kind of merchandize, and the prices, which are 

 regulated by the frequency of these demands, 

 undergo consequently the most sudden varia- 

 tions. The planter cannot take advantage of 

 these variations, because the cacao does not 

 keep in the warehouses. Thus the old trunks 



* Nouv. Esp., T, ii, p. 745. The exportation of cotton 

 in 1800 from the two provinces of Cumana and Barcelona 

 amounted to 18,000 quintals ; the port of Cariaco alone 

 furnishing six or seven thousand. In 1792 the total expor- 

 tation was only 3900. The mean price of the quintal is 

 from eight to ten piastres. 



