VEGETABLE PKODUCTIONS. 
409 
Rains are extremely frequent at Caracas in the months 
of April, May, and June. The storms always come from 
the east and south-east, from the direction of Petare and 
La Valle. No hail falls in the low regions of the tropics; 
yet it occurs at Caracas almost every four or five years. 
Hail has even been seen in valleys still lower ; and this 
phenomenon, when it does happen, makes a powerful im- 
pression on the people. Palls of aerolites are less rare with 
us than bail in the torrid zone, notwithstanding the frequency 
of thunder-storms at the elevation of three hundred toises 
above the level of the sea. 
The cool and delightful climate we have just been des- 
cribing is also suited for the culture of equinoctial pro- 
ductions. The sugar-cane is reared with success, even at 
heights exceeding that of Caracas ; but in the valley, owing 
to the dryness of the climate, and the stony soil, the cul- 
tivation of' the coffee-tree is preferred : it yields indeed but 
little fruit, but that little is of the finest quality. When 
the shrub is in blossom, the plain extending beyond Chacao 
presents a delightful aspect. The banana-tree, which is 
seen in the plantations near the town, is not the great 
Platano harton; but the varieties ccmburi and domvnico, 
which require less heat. The great plantains are brought 
to the market of Caracas from the haciendas of Turiamo, 
situated on the coast between Burburata and Porto Cabello. 
The finest flavoured pine-apples are those of Baruto, of 
Empedrado, and of the heights of Buenavista, on the road 
to Victoria. When a traveller for the first time visits the 
valley of Caracas, he is agreeably surprised to find the culi- 
nary plants of our climates, as well as the strawberry, the 
vine, and almost all the fruit-trees of the temperate zone, 
growing beside the coffee and banana-tree. The apples and 
peaches esteemed the best come from Maearao, or from the 
western extremity of the valley. There, the quince-tree, 
the trunk of which attains only four or five feet in height, 
is so common, that it has almost become wild. Preserved 
apples and quinces, particularly the latter,* are much used 
in a country where it is thought that, before drin ki n g 
water, thirst should be excited by sweetmeats. In pro- 
portion as the envirous of the town have been planted with 
“ Dulce de manzana y de membrillo,” are the Spanish names of 
these preserve*. 
