=Cotton= grows wild in many parts of the country, and is cultivated in a number of States. The average crop is about 4,000,000 pounds of seeded cotton, half of which is raised in Aragua and Carabobo. Zulia produces the best cotton, with longer fibre, nearly one-fifth of the crop. Lara, Portuguesa, and the States of the East supply the rest. The cotton is sown in June or July and harvested in the dry season, December to March. It is freshly planted every year in connection with vegetables, the receipts from which cover the cost except for that of gathering; so that the industry furnishes a desirable opportunity for immigrants with small or no capital. About $200,000 are invested in cotton growing. =Coconuts= are indigenous in Venezuela; and in the regions of Zulia, Carabobo, Bolívar, Barcelona, and Cumaná, there are broad plantations. Over $1,000,000 is invested. =Wheat= is grown to some extent and fine crops are produced; but much more land is available in the high table-lands and valleys of Western Venezuela so that home consumption could easily be supplied. With improved methods, machinery, etc., it might even become a staple export. =Corn= is cultivated everywhere in all kinds of soil from sea level up to 9000 feet, but it grows best between 1500 and 3000 feet. About 75,000 acres are devoted to its production; 150,000 tons are raised, some being exported. It is the real bread plant of the country especially in the interior. =Beans= in large variety are produced, black beans being greatly in demand and some exported. =Indigo= was once cultivated and in 1802 was exported to the value of $2,500,000, but its production was abandoned owing to higher returns from coffee. =Vanilla= grows well in the rich lands of Falcón, Lara, Bolívar, Zamora, and Anzoátegui. Its cultivation might be developed. FORESTRY The forest resources are inexhaustible but hardly touched, the zone comprising about half of Venezuela of which 98 per cent is virgin territory. Nearly three-quarters of this area is public land, over 100,000 square miles. With more capital and labor, better means of transport, and modern implements and machinery a great development will result. The chief forest products are rubber, balatá, tonka beans, divi-divi, and various medicinal plants. There are many dyeing and tanning plants, and gums and resins abound. In the forests a great amount of timber exists including the finest varieties; but as usual these are scattered, and with present facilities, difficult to get out with a profit. Of the 600 species of wood 5-10 per cent are marketable. 145 varieties used for ornamental purposes and 20 kinds of woods and barks suitable for dyeing and tanning were exhibited at the Chicago Exposition in 1893. The great mora tree, three feet in diameter, is excellent for ship building; mahogany, rosewood, and other trees of hard wood abound.