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during the greater part of the year. It is only for a short 

 time in winter that an evanescent vegetation of annual and 

 bulbous plants of considerable beauty appears where- 

 ever there is soil for them to root in. This, however, 

 vanishes, as if by magic, in a very few days after the mist is 

 dissipated, and the sun regains its power. 



But though the aspect of the surrounding country is so 

 cheerless and forbidding, it is impossible to imagine a more 

 agreeable climate than that of the vallies of Peru. In sum- 

 mer, the thermometer stands at 74° or 76°, very seldom 

 risino- to 80°: and in winter it is not often down to 60°. 

 The cool south breeze, though it blows less strongly than in 

 Chili, becoming mixed with a warmer and more humid 

 atmosphere, slightly diminishes its transparency, without 

 producing any perceptible haze; the effect is only visible in 

 the greyish tint of the still unclouded sky, but it is sufficient 

 to moderate the power of the sun's rays. Those who have 

 been in the East and West Indies, where the meridian heat 

 is intolerable, are surprised at the comparative coolness 

 of the coast of Peru, arising from this cause. Although 

 Lima is only 12° from the Line, I felt no inconvenience 

 from the heat at noon, when the sun was vertical. * 



From the perpetual spring that reigns in these vallies, the 

 vegetation is exceedingly luxuriant; almost every cultivated 

 plant, from barley to rice^ and sugar-cane, comes to perfec- 

 tion; there is no rain nor violent wind to interrupt the 

 labours of the field, and so favourable is the climate at all 

 seasons, that the cane may be planted and cut every day in 

 the year. On arriving at one of these vallies, the traveller is 



* It must, however, be acknowledged, that this delightful climate is less 

 healthy, especially to foreigners, than many others that are less agreeable. Al- 

 though free from yellow-fever, cholera, and other fatal diseases common in 

 Tropical climates, few people reside long on the coast of Peru without being 

 attacked by intermittent fever, and having once suffered from it, they are liable 

 to a continual recurrence of the complaint, which gradually undermines the 

 constitution. A voyage to Chili, and a short residence there, is considered a 

 specific for the cure of this disease, if resorted to before any organic mischief has 

 been occasioned by it. 



