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knots, or rather the interior cells of the trunks 

 of bamboos, supply ladders ; and facilitate in a 

 thousand ways the construction of a hut, and 

 the fabrication of chairs, beds, and other arti- 

 cles of furniture, that compose the wealth of a 

 savage. In the midst of this lavish vegetation, 

 so varied in it's productions, it requires very 

 powerful motives, to excite men to labour, to 

 awaken him from his lethargy, and unfold his 

 intellectual faculties. 



The cacao-tree and cotton are cultivated at 

 Barbula. We there found, what is very rare in 

 that country, two large cylindrical machines for 

 separating cotton from it's seeds ; one put in 

 motion by an hydraulic wheel, and the other by 

 a wheel turned by mules. The majordomo of 

 the farm, who had constructed these machines, 

 was a native of Merida. He was acquainted 

 with the road, that leads from Nueva Valencia, 

 by Guanare and Misagual, to Varinas ; and 

 thence, by the ravine of Callejones, to the 

 Paramo de Mucuchies and the mountains of 

 Merida covered with eternal snows. The no- 

 tions he gave us of the time requisite for going 

 from Valencia by Varinas to the Sierra Nevada^ 

 and thence by the port of Torunos, and the 

 Rio Santo Domingo, to San Fernando de Apure, 

 were of infinite value to us. It can scarcely be 

 imagined in Europe, how difficult it is to obtain 

 accurate information, in a country where the 



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