20 
PLANTS AND TREES. 
flowers. But the view of the lake and of the richly culti- 
vated neighbouring valleys is beautiful, and their aspect is 
wonderful after sunset, when thousands of aquatic birds, 
herons, flamingoes, and wild ducks cross the lake to roost 
in the islands, and the broad zone of mountains which 
surrounds the horizon is covered with fire. The inhabitants, 
as we have already mentioned, burn the meadows in order 
to produce fresher and finer grass. Gramineous plants 
abound, especially at the summit of the chain ; and those 
vast conflagrations extend sometimes the length of a thou- 
sand toises, and appear like streams of lava overflowing 
the ridge of the mountains. When reposing on the banks 
of the lake to enjoy the soft freshness of the air in one of 
those beautiful evenings peculiar to the tropics, it is delight- 
ful to contemplate in the waves as they beat the shore, the 
reflection of the red fires that illumine the horizon. 
A mong the plants which grow on the rocky islands of the 
iake of Valencia, many have been believed to be peculiar 
to those spots, because till now they have not been dis- 
covered elsewhere. Such arc the papaw-trees of the lake ; 
and the tomato* of the island of Cura. The latter differs 
from our Solanum lycopersicum ; the fruit is round and 
small, but has a fine flavour; it is now cultivated at La 
Victoria, at Nueva Valencia, and everywhere in the valleys 
of Aragua. The papaw-tree of the lake (papaya de la 
laguna) abounds also in the island of Cura and at Cabo 
Blanco ; its trunk shoots higher than that of the common 
papaw (Carica papaya), but its fruit is only half as large, 
perfectly spherical, without projecting ribs, and four or five 
inches in diameter. When cut open it is found quite filled 
with seeds, and without those hollow places which occur 
constantly in the common papaw. The taste of this fruit, 
of which I have often eaten, is extremely sweet. + I know 
not whether it be a variety of the Carica microcarpa, de- 
scribed by Jacquin. 
The environs of the lake are insalubrious only in times 
of great drought, when the waters in their retreat leave a 
* The tomatos are cultivated, as well as the papaw-tree of the lake, 
in the Botanical Garden of Berlin, to which I had sent some seeds. 
f The people of the country attribute to it an astringent quality, and 
call it tapaculo. 
