GREAT ZAMANG TREE. 
501 
bifurcation. Its delicate and tender foliage was agreeably 
relieved on the azure of the sky. We stopped a long 
time under this vegetable roof. The trunk of the zamang 
del Guayre,* which is found on the road from Turmero to 
Maracay, is only sixty feet high, and nine thick; but its 
real beauty consists in the form of its head. The branches 
extend like an immense umbrella, and bend toward the 
ground, from which they remain at a uniform distance of 
twelve or fiiteen feet. 'The circumference of this head is so 
regular, that, having traced different diameters, I found 
them one hundred and ninety-two and one hundred and 
eighty-six feet. One side ot the tree was entirely stripped 
of its foliage, owing to the drought; but on the other side 
there remained both leaves and flowers. Tillandsias, loran- 
these, Cactus Pitahaya, and other parasite plants, cover its 
branches, and crack the bark. The inhabitants of these 
villages, but particularly the Indians, hold in veneration the 
zamang del Guayre, which the first conquerors found almost 
in the same state in which it now remains. Since it has 
been observed with attention, no change has appeared in its 
thickness or height. This zamang must be at least as old 
as the . Orotavn dragon-tree. There is something solemn 
and majestic in the aspect of aged trees ; and the violation of 
these monuments of nature is severely punished in countries 
destitute of monuments of art. We' heard with satisfaction 
that the present proprietor ot the zamang had brought an 
action against a cultivator who had been guilty of cutting 
off a branch. The cause was tried, and the tribunal con- 
demned the offender. We find near Turmero and the Haci- 
enda de Cura other zamangs, having trunks larger than 
that ol Guayre, but their hemispherical heads are not ot 
equal extent. 
The culture and population of the plains augment in the 
direction of Cura and Guacara, on the northern side of the 
lake. The valleys of Aragua contain more than 52,000 
inhabitants, on a space thirteen leagues in length, and two 
in width. This is a relative population of two thousand 
souls on a square league. The village 01 rather the small 
The mimos of La Guayre ; zamang being the Indian name for the 
genera mimosa, desmanthus, and acacia. The place where the tree ia 
found 13 culled El Gu.ayre, 
