Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 3 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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The Form Of This Plant Reminded Us
Of The Vadgiai Palm-Tree Which Covers The Rocks In The Cataracts Of
The Orinoco, Balancing Its Long Points Over A Mist Of Foam.
Here, as
in every place where the population is concentrated, vegetation
diminishes.
Those palm-trees round the Havannah and in the
amphitheatre of Regla on which I delighted to gaze are disappearing by
degrees. The marshy places which I saw covered with bamboos are
cultivated and drained. Civilization advances; and the soil, gradually
stripped of plants, scarcely offers any trace of its wild abundance.
From the Punta to San Lazaro, from Cabana to Regla and from Regla to
Atares the road is covered with houses, and those that surround the
bay are of light and elegant construction. The plan of these houses is
traced out by the owners, and they are ordered from the United States,
like pieces of furniture. When the yellow fever rages at the Havannah
the proprietors withdraw to those country houses and to the hills
between Regla and Guanavacoa to breathe a purer air. In the coolness
of night, when the boats cross the bay, and owing to the
phosphorescence of the water, leave behind them long tracks of light,
these romantic scenes afford charming and peaceful retreats for those
who wish to withdraw from the tumult of a populous city. To judge of
the progress of cultivation travellers should visit the small plots of
maize and other alimentary plants, the rows of pine-apples (ananas) in
the fields of Cruz de Piedra and the bishop's garden (Quinta del
Obispo) which of late is become a delicious spot.
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