758 



able varieties of density, specific gravity, and 

 more or less resinous qualities. All that is 

 wanting in this country is a wood fit for masts, 

 light, elastic, and with parallel fibres, such as is 

 furnished by the coniferse of the temperate re- 

 gions, and of the lofty mountains of the tropics. 

 After having passed the little forts of Vieja 

 Guayana, the bed of the Oroonoko again widens. 

 The state of cultivation of the country on the 

 two banks affords a striking contrast. On the 

 north is seen the desert part of the province of 

 Cumana, steppes {Llanos) destitute of habita- 

 tions, and extendingbeyond the sources of the Rio 

 Mamo, toward the tableland or mesa of Guanipa. 

 On the south we find three populous villages be- 

 longing to the missions of Carony, namely, San 

 Miguel de Uriala*, San Felix, and San Joaquin. 

 The last of these villages, situate on the banks of 

 the Carony immediately belowthe great cataract, 

 is considered as the embarcaderooi the Catalonian 

 missions. On navigating more to the east, be- 

 tween the mouth of the Carony and Angostura, 

 the pilot should avoid the rocks of Guarampo, 

 the sandbank of Mamo, and the Piedra del Ro- 

 sario. From the numerous materials which I 

 brought home, and from astronomical discus- 

 sions, the principal results of which I have indi- 

 cated above, I have constructed a map of the 



* See above, p. 709. 



