464 



noctial productions. The sugar-cane is culti- 

 vated with success, even at heights exceeding 

 that of Caraccas ; but in the valley, on account 

 of the dryness of the climate, and the stony 

 soil, the cultivation of the coffee-tree is prefer- 

 red ; which there yields little fruit indeed, but 

 of the finest quality. When the shrub is in 

 blossom, the plain extending beyond Chacao 

 presents a delightful aspect. The banana-tree, 

 which is seen in the plantations near the town, 

 is not the great platano harton; but the varieties 

 camburi and dominico, which require less heat*. 

 The great plantains are brought to the market 

 of Caraccas from the haciendos of Turiamo, 

 situate on the coast between Burburata and 

 Porto Cabello. The highest flavoured pineap- 

 ples are those of Baruto, of Empedrado, and of 

 the heights of Buenavista, on the road to Vic- 

 toria. When a traveller ascends for the first 

 time to the valley of Caraccas, he is agreeably 

 surprised to find the culinary plants of our 

 climates, the strawberry, the vine, and almost 

 all the fruit-trees of the temperate zone, grow- 

 ing by the side of the coffee and banana-tree. 

 The apples and peaches esteemed the best come 

 from Macarao, or from the western extremity 

 of the valley. There, the quince-tree, the trunk 

 of which attains only four or five feet in height, 



* See ch. ii, vol. i, p. 1 18, 119. 



