572 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 
made known to his Excellency, the President, General 
Ballivian, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the 
object of my journey to Bolivia. A few days afterwards, I 
had the honour of an interview with his Excellency, who 
received me with unexpected kindness, and most gene- 
rously promised to provide me with letters to all the Prefects 
or Governors of the various Departments of the Republic, 
which I received previous to my departure from Chuquisaca, 
and I have in all parts met with every attention from the 
authorities. After the receipt of this, you will please do me 
the favour, either verbally or by letter, to present my most 
sincere and grateful thanks to his Lordship, the Earl of 
Aberdeen, for the favour and most essential service he has 
conferred upon me, 
“I shall now attempt to give you a brief idea of what 
I have done in this singular, and in some parts, inte- 
resting country. On the 13th of September, I landed in 
Cobija, the only commercial port which the Republic pos- 
sesses, and during the few days I remained there, I made an _ 
excursion up the dry, lofty and arid mountains which run - 
parallel with the coast nearly the whole length of the - - 
Desert of Atacama. Along the coast, and at the base of 
those mountains scarcely a plant exists: itis not possible 
for a person, who has not seen this place, to picture to them- 
selves a spot so awfully barren. The only vegetation that 
is to be seen, at a distance, is a tall erect species of Cereus, 
which, if I am not mistaken, is the C. Coguimbensis of | E 
Molina, for I have found the same species at Coquimbo. 
There are two distinct species found about Coquimbo with | 
enormous long spines, but although in this respect they 
agree, their seed-vessels are widely different. The Cobija 
plant produces a large pear-shaped fruits, covered with long 
green or greyish hair, which are termed “ Pasas canas" by 
the natives, and, in certain seasons of the year, form the - = 
food of the Chinchilla. The other.species alluded to yields 
around smooth seed-vessel destitute of hair. After having 
ascended this ridge of mountains to the elevation of 1500 
