BOTANICAL EXCURSION TO SALINAS. 379 
the two main ridges of the Cordillera, which constitute its 
eastern and western boundaries. Of all the towns or vil- 
. lages it is perhaps the most recent, from the circumstance of 
. the ancient city having been in 1797 destroyed by an earth- 
quake, a catastrophe still fresh in the memory of the older 
inhabitants. The few that escaped established themselves 
in the present site, and the entire population, chiefly Indian, 
. may probably amount to 10,000 souls. The climate is cool 
. and remarkably dry, the soil barren in the extreme. By the 
. aid of artificial irrigation, a few vegetables and fields of 
. lucerne are cultivated; but the market is chiefly supplied 
from the mountains, the produce of the several farms, there 
situated, being transported on mules and “ Hamas.” 
On the 5th May, 1844, I set out on an expedition to 
. Salinas, an Indian village on the western flank of Chimborazo, 
. and was consequently obliged to cross the much frequented 
path called the * Arenal’ and descend to Guaranda. Leaving 
. Riobamba, the main road for the first two leagues is scarcely 
.. discernable from the loose-blowing sand that conceals the 
= tract. There is a scanty vegetation of Cactus, three species, 
_ Agave Americana, and a few bushes of Dodonea viscosa (No. 
. 917). As we approach the base of Chimborazo, the face of 
country improves considerably. Showers descend from 
the Cordillera. There is an abundant pasturage of native 
Srasses, and Cerealia are successfully cultivated. Among the 
Agricultural products peculiar to these regions are the 
. "quinoa" and “ oca,” (Chenopodium and Tropeolum), two 
. Plants used, from time immemorial, by the Indian population. 
3 Tropeolum produces its tubers at 12,000 feet, and the 
; Chenopodium ripens its seeds at a scarcely inferior eleva- 
. I passed the night at the farm house of San Juan, a large 
. state better calculated for the rearing of cattle than for the 
. Production of grain; its elevation cannot be less than 11,000 
| On the road side grew a large Cactus with round 
- branches, and a thick trunk clothed with moss (Tortula). 
His employed as a fence, and is I believe the hardiest plant 
