OF THE PERU YI AN ANDES. 5 



lines laid down bj Humboldt for tlie vast region lying within 

 eight or ten degrees on either side of the equator must be exten- 

 sivelj modified; and^ as regards the Peruvian Andes, my brief 

 experience satisfied me that received opinions require no less 

 considerable correction. 



On first sallying forth on the morning after my arrival at 

 Chicla, I found with surprise that all the conspicuous types of 

 vegetation belonged to the temperate, and not to what naturalists 

 designate as the alpine zone. Five species of Calceolaria^ Alon* 

 soa, a beautiful Clematis, a large Lupinus forming dense masses 

 on the slopes, a large red-flowered Echeveria, several conspicuous 

 species of Bidens, fruticose species of Solanum, a Nicotiana^ 

 Yerhena diffusa^ and many others of similar character, all pro- 

 claimed the prevalence of a temperate climate in which frosts 

 are rare and of short duration. The impression thus received 

 was confirmed when I was able to compare the vegetation at this 



level with that of the true alpine zone, about 2000 feet higher 

 than Chicla. Of 46 species hastily gathered at the upper station, 

 only eight were common to Chicla, and of these, three only could 

 be reclvoned as characteristically alpine, viz. : — Draha siliquosa^ 

 AlcJiemilla pinnata, and Saxifraga cordillerarum. It is needless 

 to say that in all countries the limits in altitude of zones of 

 vegetation are subject to vai iation from local causes, and it is use- 

 less to attempt great accuracy. Judging, however, from my own 

 observation, I should place the lower limit of the alpine zone on 

 the western aide of the Peruvian Andes between 12,500 and 

 13,000 English feet above the sea, sometimes, perhaps, even above 

 the latter limit. In ascending the valley above Chicla, at a height 

 rather exceeding 13,000 feet, we passed a farm-house where corn 

 of some iind had been sown, and where some trees of Samhucus 

 peruviana^ probably planted, had reached a height of 25 or 30 

 feet. This, which is the sole representative of arboreal vegeta- 

 tion in the upper valley, could scarcely tbrive in the true alpine 

 zone. 



The explanation of the relatively high extension of the tem- 

 perate flora in this region is naturally to be sought in climatal 

 conditions, which are in many respects peculiar. Observations 

 of the thermometer are, indeed, not forthcoming; but there is 

 abundant proof that the oscillations of temperature are very 

 moderate throughout tbe year, and that, although the nights are 

 always cool, frost is scarcely known. Between the 21st and 24th 



