BOOKS AND CURRENT LITERATURE 129 



Geography of the Peruvian Andes. — The Yale Peruvian Expedi- 

 tion of 1911, carried out under the direction of Prof. Hiram Bingham, 

 was devoted to .surveying and geographical reconnaissance along the 

 73d meridian, which here cuts obliquely across the entire South Amer- 

 ican Cordillera. Some of the results of this expechtion have just been 

 pulilished bv Dr. Isaiah Bowman in a form and style which render 

 them of interest to- a wide audience.^ In addition to presenting the 

 results of topographic surveys Dr. Bowman has given an extended ac- 

 count of the development of the physiographic features of the Peruvian 

 Andes, with special attention to the results of glaciation and the erosion 

 produced by snow. The greatest interest of the book, however, lies 

 in its description of the varied topography and chmatic conditions of 

 southern Peru, and in its vivid portrayal of the manner in which the 

 distribution of races of men is controlled by these conditions and by 

 the character of the domesticated plants and animals which it is pos- 

 sible to maintain under each of these sets of conditions. 



The plains at the eastern base of the Andes are covered by heavy 

 tropical forest of the monsoon type, which extends up to elevations of 

 3000 to 4000 feet. The direction of the trade winds is such as to bring 

 heavy precipitation and extremely moist conditions to the eastern slopes 

 of the mountains, carrying the forests up to elevations of 10,000 feet 

 and more. The alpine grasslands and shrubbery extend to altitudes as 

 great as 17,000 feet, where Indian shepherds maintain the loftiest 

 permanent dwellings that are known in any part of the world. The 

 Pacific slopes of the Cordillera are extremely varied, being lightly 

 forested at middle elevations, particularly on shaded slopes, and occu- 

 pied by an extremely hght scrub at lower elevations. The deep and 

 narrow valleys are the seats of the principal populations and of the most 

 intensive agriculture. Some of them are situated in moist climates, 

 while others are advantageously located for irrigation. The coastal 

 strip presents extremely desert conditions. 



In Peru the vertical limits of the cultivation of familiar economic 

 plants between latitudes of 13° and 16° S. are much higher than in the 

 mountainous regions with which we are more famihar. The banana 

 and the orange are both grown up to about 6000 feet, and sugar cane 

 up to 8000 feet in the valley of the Salcantay. Corn is grown in the 

 Cuzco basin at 11,000 feet, wheat is grown at 12,000 feet, and barley 

 at 13,000 feet, while the cultivation of the native strains of potato is 



1 Bowman, Isaiah, The Andes of Southern Peru. Pp. 336, figs. 204, maps 7. 

 New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1916. 



THE PLANT WORLD, VOL. 20, XO. 4 



