Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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I Have Often
Observed At Sea, But In A Smaller Degree, A Similar Effect Of The
Wind On The Colour Of The Serenest Sky.
We know less exactly the mean temperature of Caracas, than that of
Santa Fe de Bogota and of Mexico.
I believe, however, I can
demonstrate, that it cannot be very distant from twenty to
twenty-two degrees. I found by my own observations, during the
three very cool months of November, December, and January, taking
each day the maximum and minimum of the temperature, the heights
were 20.2; 20.1; 20.2 degrees.
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 impression
on the people. Falls of aerolites are less rare with us than hail
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 describing is
also suited for the culture of equinoctial productions. 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 cultivation 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 camburi and dominico,
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 culinary 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 Macarao, 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,* (* "Dulce de manzana y de membrillo," are
the Spanish names of these preserves.) are much used in a country
where it is thought that, before drinking water, thirst should be
excited by sweetmeats. In proportion as the environs of the town
have been planted with coffee, and the establishment of plantations
(which dates only from the year 1795) has increased the number of
agricultural negroes,* the apple and quince-trees scattered in the
savannahs have given place, in the valley of Caracas, to maize and
pulse.
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