187 
known varieties of that species, in its partiality for a particular 
climate. It does not succeed in the vallies near the coast, 
where no difliculty is experienced with the common sorts, and 
I tried in vain to raise it near Valparaiso, although it is 
said to be abundant at Baldivea, in the south of Chili, where 
the climate is not unlike that of the higher parts of Peru. 
My plants grew luxuriantly, and flowered, but they produced 
no tubers. I did not see any in cultivation in Peru, nor 
could I learn that the mode of culture was different from that 
of the common potatoe. I merely understood that care is 
taken to earth up the plants repeatedly; or, when the stems 
are about a foot high, they are laid horizontally and earthed 
over, perhaps in order to encourage the formation of tubers 
from the buds. The people, “however, said, that it was 
not to any particular treatment that they attributed the 
successful cultivation of the plant, but entirely to the climate 
of the hilly country, (femperamento de la sierra.) — See 
Appendix A. 
On the 24th, St. John’s day, a great part of the population 
of Canta and Obrajillo assembled at the church of the latter to 
hear mass. The walls of the building were decorated with 
large bouquets and festoons of flowers, and the interior was 
lighted up by a great number of candles, mostly furnished 
by the poor Indians, who are taught to consider such con- 
tributions as part of their religious duties. Among other 
Ornaments, we were struck by a unique display of small 
flags, formed of coloured cotton handkerchiefs of different 
Patterns, from the looms of Manchester and’ Glasgow, 
fastened to canes that were stuck into the walls. There was 
not room within the church for all those assembled, and many 
knelt in the open air before the door, where they remained 
till the mass was said; and during the whole time, six Indian 
girls were dancing, and singing in the Quichua language, 
in the midst of them. When the unfortunate aborigines of 
ese countries were first subjugated by the Spaniards, in 
order to insure their attendance at the festivals of the Catholic 
Church, the priests allowed them to use the songs and 
dances they had been accustomed to at their own feasts, 
