165 



of our marshes. It is only after a careful exa- 

 mination, that we recognize each of these plants 

 for distinct species*, peculiar to the new con- 

 tinent. How many plants of the Straits of Ma- 

 gellan, of Chili, and the Cordilleras of Quito 

 have anciently been confounded, on account of 

 their analogy in form and appearance, with the 

 productions of the northern temperate zone ! 



The inhabitants of the valleys of Aragua often 

 inquire, why the southern shore of the lake, 

 particularly the South-West part toward Agua- 

 cates, is generally more shaded, and of fresher 

 verdure, than the northern side. We saw, in the 

 month of February, many trees stripped of their 

 foliage, near the Hacienda de Cura, at Mocundo, 

 and at Guacara ; while to the South-East of 

 Valencia every thing presaged the approach of 

 the rains. I believe, that in the early part of 

 the year, when the Sun has southern declination, 

 the hills that surround Valencia, Guacara, and 

 Cura, are scorched by the ardour of the solar 

 rays; while the southern shore receives with 

 the breeze, when it enters the valley by the 

 Abra de Porto Cabello, an air that has crossed 

 the lake, and is loaded with aqueous vapour. 

 On this southern shore, near Guaruto, the finest 

 plantations of tobacco in the whole province are 



* Potamogeton tenulfollum, chara compressa, typha tenuifolla. 

 lb. vol i, p. 45, 83 ? and 370. 



