202 INFLUENCE OF THE FOREST ON SPRINGS. 
mistaken for a real one. And liere lies tlie practical point of 
the question ; for if it is once established that clearing dimin¬ 
ishes the volume of streams, it is less important to know to what 
special cause this effect is due. * * * I shall attach no 
value except to facts which have taken place under the eye of 
man, as it is the influence of his labors on the meteorological 
condition of the atmosphere which I propose to estimate. 
What I am about to detail has been observed particularly in 
America, but I shall endeavor to establish, that what I believe 
to be true of America would be equally so for any other con¬ 
tinent. 
“ One of the most interesting parts of Venezuela is, no 
doubt, the valley of Aragua. Situated at a short distance from 
the coast, and endowed, from its elevation, with various cli¬ 
mates and a soil of unexampled fertility, its agriculture em¬ 
braces at once the crops suited to tropical regions and to 
Europe. Wheat succeeds well on the heights of Victoria. 
Bounded on the north by the coast chain, on the south by a 
system of mountains connected with the Llanos, the valley is 
shut in on the east and the west by lines of hills which com¬ 
pletely close it. In consequence of this singular configuration, 
the rivers which rise within it, having no outlet to the ocean, 
form, by their union, the beautiful Lake of Tacarigua or Valen¬ 
cia. This lake, according to Humboldt, is larger than that of 
Neufchatel; it is at an elevation of 439 metres [= 1,460 
English feet] above the sea, and its greatest length does not 
exceed two leagues and a half [= seven English miles]. 
“ At the time of Humboldt’s visit to the valley of Aragua, 
the inhabitants were struck by the gradual diminution w T hich 
the lake had been undergoing for thirty years. In fact, by 
comparing the descriptions given by historians with its actual 
condition, even making large allowance for exaggeration, it 
was easy to see that the level was considerably depressed. 
The facts spoke for themselves. Oviedo, who, toward the 
close of the sixteenth century, had often traversed the valley 
of Aragua, says positively that New Valencia was founded, in 
1555, at half a league from the Lake of Tacarigua; in 1800, 
