It is always in slow motion under the heat of the tropic sun: and no wonder if some of the cottages have sunk right and left in such a treacherous foundation.

A stone or brick house could not stand here: but wood and palm-thatch are both light and tough enough to be safe, let the ground give way as it will.
The soil, however, is very rich.

The pitch certainly does not injure vegetation, though plants will not grow actually in it.

The first plants which caught our eyes were pine-apples; for which La Brea is famous.

The heat of the soil, as well as of the air, brings them to special perfection.