648 BOTANICAL NOTES, 
mountain lies on the left hand side, and assuming the 
measurement of Humboldt, it ought to be 7,365 feet above 
this point. One would suppose it to be much lower, but an 
uninterrupted mass of snow, where scarcely any object inter- 
venes to relieve the eye, has the effect of ostensibly diminish- 
ing distance. I, many years ago, found this to be the case, 
on visiting, for the first time, the coast of Greenland, where 
both sea and land lie concealed beneath a bare expanse of ice 
and snow. 
Having crossed the southern flank of Chimborazo, and 
arrived at the little village of Mocha, a distance of about four- 
teen leagues, we enter a wide valley, of which the two main 
ridges of the Cordillera constitute the boundary. Towards 
the north, and on the road to Quito, are situated the villages 
of Ambato, Latacunga, and Mulaló, all of which have, at dif- 
ferent periods, suffered from the volcanic eruptions of Tun- 
guragua and Cotopaxi; a circumstance which has also con- 
tributed to impart to the whole valley a rather barren and 
desolate appearance. A continuance of several months’ 
drought usually destroys every trace of vegetation, excepting 
such plants as extract nourishment from the succulent Ame- 
rican Aloe, which, by the bye, thrives exceedingly well 
on these sandy plains; as also a few species of the genus 
Cactus. 1 have observed two varieties of the Agave, distin- 
guished by the colour of their foliage; the one being of the 
usual glaucous tint, and the other a bright green. The 
latter I have seen in the hot country near the sea-coast, 
but neither will grow at an elevation that exceeds 10,000 
feet. Of trees, the Capuli (Prunus salicifolia) attains a 
large size; and on the road from Ambato to Latacunga, 
(8,800 feet) we meet with Schinus Molle, the trunk of which 
exudes a species of resin. A few bushes of Baccharis 
Chilca, Dodonea viscosa, (No. 273), and extensive patches 
of Arundo nitida, make up the rest of the vegetation. The 
cultivated plants consist of Indian corn, barley, pease, quinoa, 
and lucerne, hedged in by fences of Agave. The length of 
the valley, from Riobamba to Callo, is about twenty-eight 
