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teen feet. The circumference of this head is so 

 regular, that, having traced different diameters, 

 I found them one hundred and ninety-two 

 and one hundred and eighty-six feet. One side 

 of the tree was entirely stripped of it's foliage, 

 owing to the drought ; and on the other side 

 there remained at once leaves and flowers. 

 Tillandsias, lorantheae, cactus pitahayas, and 

 other parasite plants, cover it's branches, and 

 crack the bark. The inhabitants of these vil- 

 lages, but particularly the Indians, hold in ve- 

 neration the zamang del Guayre, which the 

 first conquerors found almost in the same state 

 in which it now remains. Since it has been 

 observed with attention, no change has appeared 

 in it's thickness or height. This zamang must 

 be at least as old as the Orotava dragon-tree. 

 There is something solemn and majestic in the 

 aspect of aged trees, and the violation of these 

 monuments of nature is severely punished in 

 countries, that are destitute of monuments of 

 art. We heard with satisfaction, that the pre- 

 sent proprietor of the zamang had brought an 

 action against a farmer, who had had the temerity 

 to cut off a branch. The cause was tried, and 

 the tribunal condemned the farmer. We find 

 near Turmero and the hacienda de Cura other 

 zamangs, the trunks of which are larger than 

 that of Guayre, but their hemispherical head is 

 not of equal extent. 



