65 
balsam of Peru (myroxylon peruiferum) and the ocozotl pro¬ 
ducing a gum very similar to the true amber. 
Innumerable species of fruit trees also luxuriate here, 
among which are found two kinds of vine bearing fine fla¬ 
voured grapes, the plantain, the orange tree, two species of 
spontaneous cocoa (theobroma cacao) and the sapota tree of 
various kinds. The abundance of these is so considerable, 
especially that of the mammee sapota, that the Indians are 
accustomed to cut down the tree to gather the fruit more 
readily. 
There are likewise several kinds of indigoferas; the bixa 
orellana, from which the annotto is extracted, the sarsaparilla 
(smilax sarsaparilla), the ginger (amomum zingiber), and two 
kinds of vanilla, very common, and of which no use whatever 
is made. This precious plant is also found in great abun¬ 
dance on the hills west of Petapa. 
The Cerro Atravesado has on its summit a table-land, at 
the northern extremity of which rises an isolated peak. It is 
covered with excellent pasture grass, and a splendid wood of 
ocotes. The fissures by which the table-land is intersected 
are constantly supplied with delicious water by the frequent 
rains, and when these are considerable, the superabundant 
water falls perpendicularly over the western side, forming a 
cascade nearly three thousand feet in height. The edges of 
the fissures are richly ornamented with zamias, ferns, and 
orchidacias of great beauty. 
The southern side of the most elevated portion of the chain 
is profusely covered with majestic oak trees. 
To the right of the upper Coatzacoalcos, or river del Corte, 
are found in astonishing abundance various kinds of pines, 
and among them it would appear is the pinus abies which the 
Spanish Government used to send to the dockyard at the 
Havannah for the construction of masts for ships. According 
to Don Tadeo de Ortiz many of these trees are from six to 
twelve feet in diameter, and of a prodigious height; they are 
found at the very banks of the river. The plains watered by 
the rivers Malatengo, Chichihua, and Almoloya (the latter of 
which takes in its lower course the name of Guelaguesa) are 
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