88 



Earth is far more alluring in the eyes of the vul- 

 gar, than that which is the produce of agricultu- 

 ral industry, favored by the fertility of the soil, 

 and the mildness of the climate. 



To the North- West of the Hacienda del Tuy, 

 in the northern range of the chain of the coast, 

 we find a deep ravine, called Quehrada Seca, be- 

 cause the torrent, by which it was formed, loses 

 it's waters through the crevices of the rock, be- 

 fore it reaches the extremity of the ravine. The 

 whole of this mountainous country is covered 

 with a thick vegetation. We there found the 

 same verdure as had charmed us by it's fresh- 

 ness in the mountains of Buenavista and Las 

 Lagunetas, wherever the ground rises as high as 

 the region of the clouds, and where the vapours 

 of the sea have free access. In the plains, on 

 the contrary, as we have observed above, many 

 trees are stripped of a part of their leaves during 

 the winter ; and when we descend into the val- 

 ley of the Tuy, we are struck with the almost 

 hybernal aspect of the country. The dryness of 

 tlie air is such, that the hygrometer of Deluc * 



* The following is a series of hygrometrical observations, 

 which I made in the valleys of the Tuy and Aragua, in the 

 shade, the whalebone hygrometer having been carefully re- 

 duced to the point of extreme humidity. Hacienda de Man- 

 terola (altitude 295 toises). On the 11th of February, at 

 1 o'clock ; hygr. 36'8°, therm, cent. 26*6° : at 4 ; hygr. 

 347°, th. 27'&°: at 12 (midnight), hygr. 388°, th, 22-5*' 



