File:Humbolt's travels and discoveries in South America (1846) (14777179071).jpg

Identifier: humboltstravelsd00humb (find matches)
Title: Humbolt's travels and discoveries in South America
Year: 1846 (1840s)
Authors: Humboldt, Alexander von, 1769-1859
Subjects:
Publisher: London, John W. Parker
Contributing Library: University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Digitizing Sponsor: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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wn over thewhole province for the enormous extent of its branches,which form a hemispherical top six hundred and four-teen feet in circumference. The zamang is a beautifulsiDecies of mimosa, whose tortuous branches divide byforking. Its slim and delicate foliage is agreeably de-tached on the blue sky. We rested a long whilebeneath this vegetable arch. The trunk of the Guayrazamang, which grows on the road from Turmero toMaracay, is not more than sixty-four feet high, andnine and a half feet in diameter; but its real beautyconsists in the general form of its top. The branchesstretch out like the spokes of a great umbrella, andall incline towards the ground, from which they uni-formly remain twelve or fifteen feet distant. Thecircumference of the branches or foliage is so regular,that I found the different diameters two hundred andfive and one hundred and ninety-eight feet. One sideof the tree was entirely stripped of leaves from theeffect of drought, while on the other both foliage and
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South American Indigo Factory HACIENDA DE CUKA. 91 flowers remained. The branches were covered, withcreeping plants. The inhabitants of these valleys, andespecially the Indians, have a great veneration for theGuayra zamang, which the first conquerors seem tohave found nearly in the same state as that in whichwe now see it. Since it has been attentively observed,no change has been noticed in its size or form. Itmust at least be as old as the dragon-tree of Oro-tava. Near Turmero and the Hacienda de Cura, thereare other trees of the same species, with larger trunks;but their hemispherical tops do not spread so widely. At the Hacienda de Cura, which is seated on theborders of the Lake of Valencia, our travellers passedseven days, in a small habitation surrounded bythickets; and here they were agreeably sm-prised notonly at the progress of agriculture, but at the socialaspect of the district. Their host Count Tovar, andother great landholders following his example, hadbegun to let out sma

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