ASCENT OF THE TOCUCHE. 7 



300. 



perpendicular wall of solid rock, of more than thirty thirm feet, 

 down rushes a stream of water splitting in the air and producing 

 a constant shower, which renders this lovely spot singularly and 

 deliciously cool. Nearly the whole extent of this natural wall is 

 covered with plants, among which you can easily discern numbers 

 of ferns and mosses, two species of Pitcairnia, with beautiful 

 red flowers, some aroids, various nettles, and, here and there, a 

 Begonia. How different such a spot would look in cold Europe ! 

 Below, in the midst of a never-failing drizzle, grow luxuriant 

 ardisias, aroids, ferns, costas, heliconias, centropogons, hydro- 

 cotyles, cyperoids, and grasses of various genera tradescantias 

 and commelynas, billbergias, and, occasionally, a few small 

 rubiaceae and melastomaceae. 



From near this spot we may start to ascend the Tocuche, our 

 highest mountain it is about 3,100 feet. There I shall be af- 

 forded another opportunity of pointing out some natural beauties. 

 Through dense forests composed of some of our choicest 

 timbers, such as the locust, poui, and cedar, with here and there 

 a wild plum-tree or a sterculia, and in which the under-wood is 

 made up of melastomaceae (Glidemia and Miconia), rubiaceae, 

 peppers, grasses, and cyperaceae you reach, about 1,500 feet 

 higher up, a region where the aspect of the woods begins to 

 change. Winds must blow here with great violence, at times, 

 since the ground is strewed with small branches ; humidity also 

 is greater, as indicated by the number of mosses and ferns that 

 clothe the trunks of the trees. Here is a kind of bamboo 

 (Chusquea), a climbing plant which is not to be met with in the 

 lower parts, and also very rarely on other mountains. The 

 growth and size of the trees decrease as we gradually ascend 

 higher and higher until w 7 e reach the summit, where they become 

 stunted and scarce, being replaced by a small palm (G-eonoma). 

 Here occurs a new and interesting vegetation w 7 hich exhibits some 

 of the characters of the mountain districts of South America, as 

 described by Humboldt, and others ; here, also, w T e meet with 

 one or two tree-ferns of a goodly size, a Thibaudia, and the 

 beautiful Utricularia Montana, growing on trees like other 

 parasites. Nearly all the stems are covered with jungermannias 

 and mosses, ferns and small orchids ; some spots are covered, 

 exclusive of all other plants, with another bambusaceous grass, 

 viz., the Platonia Elata. 



