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Cordillera, all conspire to increase the sadness of the scene, 

 which looks as if a neutral tint vv^ere passed over the whole 

 landscape. But all this is amply compensated by the 

 beauty of the nights in fine weather, especially on the hills 

 above the town, which command a view of the snowy ranges 

 that surround the plains of Bourbon ; the colour of the sky 

 is deep indigo, and the stars shine with a splendour that 

 can be but faintly conceived by those who have witnessed 

 their brilliance on a clear frosty night in Britain. 



Few plants are to be found in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of Pasco; those which occur most frequently are 

 grasses, a few Gentians, Lupinus nubigenus, and some 

 CompositcB. The latter are generally found on the plains 

 and without stems ; the lower part of the flower being com- 

 pletely imbedded in the turf. The pappus of IVerneria 

 rigida is used as tinder. The Gentians are most common 

 on the limestone rocks. The state of my health prevented 

 me from proceeding to the vallies eastward of Pasco, which 

 had been my intention when I left the coast: this was the more 

 mortifying, as I was within two days journey of Huanuco, 

 the centre of the district from which Ruiz and Pavon 

 obtained the greatest part of their collections. While in 

 Pasco, I received several letters from Dr. Poeppig, who 

 crossed the Cordillera about a fortnight before us. He had 

 suffered severely from the puna, and continued dangerously 

 ill during the few days he remained in Pasco, from whence 

 he passed on through Huanuco, to Pampayaca, the most 

 remote estate on the river Hualluga. Previous to leaving 

 Chili, this accomplished and enterprising Naturalist had spent 

 eight months in exploring the interior of the province of Con- 

 cepcion, and had examined the Flora of an extensive district 

 in the mountains adjacent to the volcano of Antujo, where no 

 Botanist had ever before penetrated. Dr. Poeppig's Chilian 

 collections are among the most extensive and valuable ever 

 made in South America. In Peru, his intention was to 

 examine the productions of the country bordering on the 

 river Hualluga, and then to endeavour to descend by tiuit 

 stream to the Amazons, and return by way of Para to Europe. 



