186 



palm-trees, which resembled by their appearance, 

 and their leaves spread like a fan, the chamerops 

 humilis of the coast of Barbary. The trunk 

 however rises to twenty-four and sometimes 

 thirty feet high. It is probably a new species 

 of the genus corypha * ; and is called in the 

 country palma de sombrero, the footstalks of the 

 leaves being employed in weaving hats, that 

 resemble our straw hats. This grove of palm- 

 trees, the withered foliage of which rustles at the 

 least breath of air ; the camels, that feed in the 

 plain ; the undulating motion of the vapours on 

 a soil burnt by the ardour of the Sun ; give the 

 landscape an African aspect. The aridity of the 

 land augments as the traveller approaches the 

 town, after passing the western extremity of the 

 lake. It is a clayey soil, that has been levelled 

 and abandoned by the waters, The neighbour- 

 ing hills, called the Morros de Valencia, are 

 composed of white tufas, a very recent limestone 

 formation, immediately covering the gneiss. It 

 is again found at Victoria, and on several other 

 points along the chain of the coast. The white- 

 ness of these tufas, which reflect the rays of the 

 sun, contributes greatly to the excessive heat felt 

 in this place. Every thing seems smitten with 

 sterility ; scarcely are a few plants of cacao found 

 on the banks of the Rio de Valencia ; the rest of 



* Corypha tectorum ; Nova Gen., vol. i, p. 299, 



