Almost every part of this district abounds in medical plants, gums, resins, roots, and barks, which, if duly at tended to, would augment incalculably the riches of the inhabitants, and produce the most essential benefits to mankind. The quantity of sarsaparilla which grows here is more than sufficient for the consumption of the whole of Europe ; sassafras and liquorice abound in the neighbourhood of Truxillo ; squills arc found on the sea beach of Lagunetas ; storax in the jurisdiction of Coro ; cassia in almost every part of the country ; gayac on the coast ; aloes arc raised in Carora ; a species of quinguina is obtained on the mountains ; in short, the pharmaco poeia of both the continents might be supplied from the vegetable stores of the Caraccas. In this enumeration of the native productions of this genial soil, we must not omit the vanilla, produced from a creeping plant, which, like the ivy or wild vine, entwines around trees. This plant, which requires uncultivated and moist ground cover ed with large trees, grows in great plenty in the forests of St Philip and Truxillo, on the banks of the Tuy. It is worth about 100 francs a pound ; and the province of Venezuela alone, might, with some attention, be made to produce 20,000 pounds weight of it in a year. To pro pagate this valuable plant, nothing more is necessary than to insert some cuttings in the earth near a tree ; they soon take root, and entwine firmly around it. A surer method to prevent the decay of the plant, is to graft the cuttings in the tree itself, about twenty inches above the ground. In the same list with vanilla may be placed wild cochineal, which grows in great quantities in the departments of Coro, Carora, and Truxillo. To be en abled to form a proper estimate of its value, the reader may consult a memoir lately published at Paris by M. Brulev, an intelligent and ingenious planter in Caraccas.
Nor does the animal kingdom, in this luxuriant coun try, yield to the vegetable in profusion and value. Within the captain-generalship of Caraccas, 200,000 horned cattle, 180,000 horses, and 90,000 mules, roam over the plains and vallies. Sheep are innumerable; and deer abound, particularly in Coro, Carora, and Tocuyo. In short, the account which M. Depons, after a long resi dence in this country, haS given of its fertility and pro ductions, amply warrants his assertion, that there are few countries to which Nature has been more lavish of her favours.
The fertility, as well as the beauty of these delightful regions, depends, perhaps, in no inconsiderable degree, on the number of fine rivers which pour down in all di rections from the mountains. Not a valley is without its river, which, if not always large enough to be navigable, is at least sufficient to irrigate plantations, and would af ford wonderful facilities to many important branches of manufactures. Those which have their source in the chain of mountains, flowing from south to north, are dis charged into the sea ; while those which spring from the southern declivities of the same mountains, traverse, in a southern direction, the whole extent of the intermedi ate plains, till they resign their tributary streams to the majestic Oronoko. The former, strongly fenced in by their banks, and happily favoured in their progress by the declivity of their channels, seldom overflow, and when they do, their overflowings are not tong or detri mental. The latter, flowing through smoother grounds,
and in shallower beds, mingle their waters during a great part of the year, and lose all appearance of rivers in the general inundation. All these rivers dwindle into insignificance when compared with the Oronoko, which, with the exception perhaps of the Amazons, is the largest river in the world. The particular description of this mighty river, with its tributaries, we must reserve for a future occasion, and shall, in the mean time, content our selves with enumerating a few of those streams, which Depons has thought worthy of a particular description.
At sixteen leagues west from Cora is the river GUI CUES, navigable for canoes and sloops for six miles from its mouth. Twenty-five leagues to the east of Guigues. the river TOCUYO discharges itself into the sea. Its source is about fifteen leagues south of Carora, upwards of sixty leagues from the coast, and it is navigable as far as Hanagua, about forty leagues from its mouth. Its vicinity furnishes abundance of timber fit for every kind of building ; and it flows through a fertile, but ne glected country. Ten leagues to winnward of the Tocuyo is the mouth of the AROA, of which the navigation is neither easy nor beneficial, though its course be upwards of forty leagues. Reascending along the coast, we come to the mouth of the YARACUY, three leagues distant from that of the Aroa. It has a course of forty leagues, but does not become navigable till within two leagues east of St Philip. From that point it is very useful for the conveyance of the produce raised in the valleys of St Philip, and the plains of Barquisimeto, which is sent by sea to Porto ]kilo, the nearest port. There is no river of importance between the Yaracuy and the TUY, which falls into the ocean thirty leagues east of the port of Gnayra. The source of this river is in the mountains of San Pedro, ten leagues from Caraccas. After flowing through several extensive and fertile vallies, it is aug mented by the junction of the Gnayra, and being thus rendered navigable, serves for the transportation of the produce with which these vallies abound, particularly cacao, which is there of the finest quality. No river to of the 'Puy fixes the traveller's attention till he reaches UNA R A, the line of division between the govern ments of Caraccas and Cumana. It pursitcs a northerly course for about thirty leagues, and is navigable about six leagues from the sea. All that deserves to he men tioned of the NEvEnt and the Al A NZ.1N A It US, is, that the one is seventeen leagues, and the other twenty-seven east of the Unara ; the former is too rapid and powerful to he navigated far, the other is too S111:111 to admit es en small vessels more than a mile from its mouth. The latter stream washes the city of Cumana, to which, how ever, it is of little consequence. AR.. passing Cumana, we meet the Gulf of Cariaco, which receives, besides several other streams, a river of the same nione. This river passes by the city of Cariaco, about two leagues from the gulf, and is only thus far navigable, nor always even so fir : for as it receives a considerable quantity of rain water, in dry weather it heroines shallow, and, in rainy weather, is subject to inundations, wnich are ex tremely inconvenient to the city. A tradition prevails among the Guayqneris Indians, that the Gulf of Curiae° was formed by earthquake.