Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/157

Rh V E N V E N 139 solidly cemented together. The surface is afterwards smoothed, polished, and finished as in dealing with solid cabinet woods. VENEREAL DISEASES. See PATHOLOGY, vol. xviii. p. 404, and SURGERY, vol. xxii. p. 20. 1;,IV. VENEZUELA, 1 a federal republic in South America, lying between about 57 and 73 30 W. long, and 1 40 and 12 26 N. lat. The republic claims that the area of its territory is 632,807 square miles ; but the boundaries i are not yet definitely fixed, and its area is consequently uncertain. In the south-west it claims large tracts extend ing to the south of the equator, which are also claimed by Colombia and Ecuador ; and in the east it claims from British Guiana the upper valley of the Essequibo, together with all the territory on the left bank of that river below the influx of the Rupununi. Of the total area claimed only about 439,000 square miles are actually under Vene zuelan administration. Physical Features. A branch of the eastern chain of the Andes enters Venezuela in the west about 7 N. lat., and under the name of the Sierra Nevada de Merida proceeds north-eastwards towards Triste Gulf. This branch consists of parallel chains enclosing elevated valleys, in one of which lies the town of Merida at the height of 5400 feet, over looked by the highest summit of the chain (Picacho de la Sierra, 15,000 feet). The sierra contains the water-parting between the basin of the Orinoco and those of the small rivers on the north-west. Hence it may be considered to terminate where the Rio Claro, the stream on which Bar- quisimeto stands, after rising on its western slopes flows eastwards into the basin of the Orinoco. Beyond the Claro 1 &amp;gt;egin two parallel ranges known as the Maritime Andes of Venezuela, which stretch east and west along the coast. The valley between these two ranges is the most densely peopled part of Venezuela. Within it lie the town of Valencia (1800 feet), the Lake of Valencia (1400 feet), and the town of Caracas (3000 feet). Above Caracas the highest peak of the system, Pico de la Silla, rises to 8740 feet. Behind the wide bay between Cape Codera and Cumana there is an interruption in the Maritime Andes ; but both ranges reappear between Cumana and the Gulf of Paria. West of the Maritime Andes low ranges (3500- 5000 feet) trend northwards from the end of the Sierra de Merida towards the coast, on the east side of the Lake of Maracaibo, while the region on the west of that lake consists of lagoon-studded lowlands. East and south of the Sierra de Merida and the Maritime Andes the Venezuelan territory consists mainly of the basin of the Orinoco. This region is for the greater part of its extent thinly populated and little known. It consists of two portions, a vast hilly or mountainous area, densely-wooded, in the south-east and south, and level plains in the north-west between the Orinoco and the Apure and the mountains. The latter is known as the llanos of the Orinoco, a region described by Humboldt as a vast &quot;sea of grass,&quot; with islands of wood scattered here and there. Since the time of Humboldt, however, the aspect of these plains would seem to have changed very considerably. On the occasion of Appun s visit in 1850 trees seem still to have been comparatively rare ; but a different aspect was presented when Dr P. Jonas visited the llanos in 1878. From the Galera, the southernmost range of hills north of the Orinoco basin, the traveller saw a vast plain thickly grown with low trees, among which the chaparro was chiefly represented. Few places were quite destitute of trees, and these of small extent. As far as Calabozo (about one-third of the dis- 1 The name means &quot; little Venice,&quot; and is a modification of the name of Venecia (Venice), originally bestowed by Alonzo de Ojeda in 1499 on an Indian village composed of pile-dwellings on the shores of the Gulf of Maracaibo, which was called by him the Gulf of Venecia. tance between the hills and the Apure) it was now chaparros (evergreen oaks), now mimosas, which were the prevailing feature of the landscape, though other trees were not rare. But towards the south the open grass-covered spaces in creased in number and area. To the south of Calabozo woods of considerable extent were seen. This change in the character of the landscape is due to the decline of horse and cattle rearing in the llanos, partly in consequence of political disturbances and partly of a murrain which broke out in 1843 among horses, mules, and asses, and in that and several subsequent years reduced their numbers by several thousands. Geology. Geologically the chief mountain ranges of Venezuela are all similar in structure. The nucleus of the Sierra Nevada de Merida is formed of plutonic or metamorphic rocks (granite, syenite, gneiss, crystalline schists, &c.), and this series is continued through out the northern chain of the Maritime Andes. Stratified rocks belonging to the Cretaceous system are found on both sides of the plutonic nucleus of the former range, and are those chiefly seen in the southern chains of the Maritime Andes. Most of these deposits belong to the upper members of the Cretaceous system ; but the lower members come to the surface in considerable patches west of the Sierra Nevada de Merida, and in the chains just referred to. Tertiary and Quaternary deposits (generally as compact marl, sand, shingle, and conglomerate) are spread over nearly all the llanos, as well as round the Gulf of Maracaibo, and in the plains drained to the north by the Unare, between the two sections of the Mari time Andes. The hills and mountains east of the Orinoco, accord ing to Humboldt, Schomburgk, and Codazzi, seem to be mainly composed of granite, syenite, and other crystalline rocks. Climate. The climate and vegetation are such as might be ex pected from the tropical situation of the country. But Venezuela, as well as the rest of tropical South America east of the Andes, is directly exposed to the trade-winds. The temperature is thereby considerably moderated, and no such extremes of heat are to be met with as are experienced in the corresponding latitudes of northern Africa. The more populous parts of Venezuela are, how ever, hotter than the maritime districts of Guiana, being less directly exposed to the Atlantic breezes. At La Guaira the mean temper ature of the year is 85 Fahr. ; at Caracas, only 10 miles distant but 3000 feet higher, it is 71 2 Fahr.; and the greatest extremes that have been observed at the latter station since 1868 are 83 - 4 and 48 Fahr. At both stations the hottest periods are the middle of April and the end of August, when the sun is in the zenith. Everywhere there is a well-marked distinction between a dry and a rainy season, the latter occurring in the English summer months, when the sun is in the northern hemisphere and the force of the trade-wind on the north coast of South America is considerably slackened. At La Guaira the rainy season proper lasts only three months (May to August) ; but this season lasts longer in the mountains and in the llanos. Fauna. The fauna includes among the mammals the rodents and carnivores common to the rest of tropical South America. The manatee is met with nearly everywhere on the coast. In all the rivers are to be found caymans, electric eels, rays, and caribs, the last (Pygocentrus piraya, P. nigricans, P. niger, Miill.) consist ing of several species of savage and voracious fishes armed with two rows of very sharp teeth. Among the venomous serpents are the striped rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus), Lachesis mutus, an ally of the rattlesnakes, and a rather rare species of Cophias. Among the non-venomous sorts the commonest are the boa constrictor, the anaconda (Eumctes murinus), and the Coluber variabilis. Among birds is a singular form known from its note as the bell-bird (Chasmorhijnchus carunculatus}. Coral banks abound on the coast ; like the waters which surround the roots of the mangroves, these teem with marine life, and are peculiarly rich in beautifully coloured crustaceans. Swarms of locusts sometimes commit great ravages among the fields and plantations. Flora. The lower slopes of all the mountains arc clad with the richest tropical vegetation. Amidst an endless variety of dicoty ledonous foliage trees, interlaced by numerous twiners ahd climbers and adorned with epiphytic orchids, Tillandsix, aroids, and Lor- anthaccse, grow numerous palms and tree-ferns, up to the height of about 3500 feet. From among the forest trees may be singled out for mention the silk-cotton tree (Bombax Ociba), the mango (Mangi- fera indica), the samau (Inga saman), remarkable, like the last- mentioned, less for its height than for the extent and density of the shade which it casts, the cow-tree (Brosimum Gnlaclodcndron), and the Altalca sjicciosa, this last being one of the finest orna ments of the palm tribe, a tree whose stem, 40 feet in height, carries erect on its crown leaves which also grow to a height of 40 feet, with a breadth of 8 feet. The mouths of the Orinoco and many parts of the coast are rendered unhealthy by mangrove swamps, which are no doubt partly to blame for the yearly recurrence of