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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



left dry ; and this fact is doubted by no one. The inhabi- 

 tants of Fuqaene all know that the village was built near 

 the lake, whilst now it is nearly a league off. Formerly 

 they procured wiihout difficulty the wood for building 

 purposes, the adjacent mountaias bemg covered with timber 

 proper to these cold regions, to a certain height. The oak 

 of the Cordilleras {encino) abounded there; the laurels 

 {myrica) also abounded, from which they extracted a large 

 quantity of wax. Now, these mountains are almost wholly 

 denuded of wood, and it is principally the working of the 

 salt springs of Taosa and Enemocon that has been the cause 

 of the rapid destruction of the woods in the neighbourhood 

 of Ubate and Fuquene. To these authentic facts, which I 

 might if necessary multiply, it will doubtless be replied, 

 that the disappearance of the waters, however incontrover- 

 tible it may be, might have taken xilace without the clearing 

 of the forests. They may strictly maintain that the drying- 

 up of the waters is to be ascribed to a totally different 

 cause, to us unknown ; and that we must range it among 

 the numerous phenomena of which we can prove the reality, 

 but that it is not given to us the power to explain. 



I have not cited here, as I might have done, in respect to 

 the Lake of Valencia, a recrudescence of the waters, occasioned 

 by the abf.ndonment of cultivation, and the re-appearance of 

 new woods. I might, however, urge in favour of the opinion 

 I defend, the slowness of the drjing-np in the Valley of 

 Fuquene, since thefellingof the trees ceased. The cultiva- 

 tors finding those fertile tracts, formerly left dry by the 

 retiring lake, no longer forming themselves so rapidly, 

 endeavour to obtain directly what they obtained by the effect 

 of clearances. It was for this object that, iu 1826, some 

 speculators proposed a scheme for draining entirely the 

 bottom of the Valley. I prefer, however, to bring forward a 

 proof of another kind, by shewing that those lakes which 

 are in such a position that no clearance of the woods has 

 taken place in their vicinity, have displayed no alteration 

 in their level. 



I shall begin with the Lake of Iota, because that it is not 

 very far from Fuquene, that it is found in similar geologi- 

 cal circumstances, and that it is at the same lime the most 

 singular of the lakes of New Grenada. 



The Iota is situated upon a very elevated point of the 

 Cordillera of Sogamoso ; its altitude approaching to nearly 

 4,000 metres. At this height vegetation almost entirely 



disappears. Here and there we see dispersed over the grey 

 rocks some of the plants which characterise the region of 

 the Paramas, such as saxifrages, frelejoues (frail cheeks), 

 covered with a thick down, and those grasses, similar to dry 

 straw, which has given to the Savannah the title of Pajonales. 



The lake is nearly circular, and Piedraheita, who visited 

 it in 1652, states it to be two leagues m diameter. Its 

 waters, when they are raised by the ^vind, form waves which 

 render navigation dangerous. A tradition, much anterior 

 to the discovery of America, gives residence in the lake to a 

 marine monster, and this it is who agitates the water, and 

 pours it over the road passing along the shore. 



Persons worthy of credit have assured me that they have 

 seen on the surface of the lake, not a monster as the 

 Indians assert, but a mass of water rise suddenly, and 

 communicate in falling so great an agitation to the body of 

 the lake that its waves instantly inundate the road over 

 which travellers must pass. Every one will call to mind 

 m this description a phenomenon analogous to the seiches 

 of the Lake of Geneva. The Indians xireteud to be able to 

 predict, by the aspect of the atmosphere, the approaching 

 agitation of the water, or, as they say, when the lake will 

 get angry. It is then prudent to avoid traveling on its 

 shore. In 1662 the road passed, as it still does, quite on 

 the shore of the lake, and the seiches, which succeeded each 

 other then with as much frequency as at present, rendered 

 the passage quite as dangerous, the road running between 

 the lake and a wall of high rocks. The waters wash the 

 same rocks, and then- level has experienced no more 

 change than that desert and barren country that surrounds it 



Perhaps it vn.\\ not be considered necessary to bring into 

 the discussion the description of a lake placed at the extreme 

 limit of vegetable life. 



Apprehending that the example which I have selected, 

 because it appeared a striking one to me, may be rejected, 

 just because it is taken from the midst of a rocky country 

 stated to be destitute of vegetation, I feel myself compelled 

 to describe new lakes less elevated than that of Iota, the 

 waters of which have remauied stationary for centuries, 

 although they are placed in the centre of a country enriched 

 by its agricultm-e, but whose aspect has never changed. It 

 is near the equator, in the Province of Quito, that I have 

 studied them. 



CTo he continuedj 



NOTES IN THE PARIS PALACE OF INDUSTRY. 



In the first place, what a magnificent building ! how 

 precisely adapted in every part for the purposes of a 

 show like this ! How can we manage in London with- 

 out a similar permanent pavilion, conveniently situated, 

 ■within reach of all visitors, whether from the busy 

 streets of the city, the residences of the West End, or 

 from the railways which surround us at all quarters .' 

 Tben how tastefully and agreeably is the central nave 

 laid out in garden beauty and pleasantness, with objects 

 of art to deck the scene, and so much space provided 

 for air and light, that the presence of the cattle classes, 

 in long colonnades of substantial stalls, distributed 

 around the floor of the immense palace, offends 

 not the most delicate sensibility of visitors ; and the 

 vast assemblage of people perambulate without crowd- 

 ing or annoyance, to inspect the wonders at their 

 pleasure. The stalls are so admirably arranged, that, 

 while I can walk straight through the classes of cows 



or of bulls of all the different breeds, without break or 

 interruption, I find all the animals of each breed in the 

 same neighbourhood, only occupying different aisles or 

 standing-places, according to their sex or age ; an ar- 

 rangement which facilitates the comparison of the breeds. 

 Again, what excellent sheds and pens for sheep and 

 swine outside the building ! and what complete stables 

 for the great show of horses in another part of the 

 palace grounds ! Or, in the implement department, 

 what a facility it is, to have the different varieties of im- 

 plements or machinery classified and placed together ! 

 and in the galleries, how orderly is the arrangement of 

 the myriad products, and contrivances, and stands for the 

 display of artistic objects ! I buy a catalogue, and find 

 in its ample, large-typed pages, an arrangement which 

 pleases me ; for the French have a talent for analysis, 

 and the orderly marshalling of details. The show of 

 breeding animals is not all under one management, the 



