IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE GLOBE. 195 



of which, after being deprived of part of tlieir water and 

 acidity by exposure to the sun,* are eaten instead of potatoes, 

 which do not grow well in the valleys hereabouts. 



On the loth of May I arrived at Sorata, which I had been told 

 was situate in the midst of a country rich in Quinquinas ; but 

 the lilampo, on the sides of which the small capital of tlie pro- 

 vince of Larecaja is situated, does not present on tliis side any 

 forest, unless indeed the poor woods (Matorrales), through which 

 I passed on my way to Hilabaya, are dignified by that name. I 

 thought it better under these circumstances to proceed to Tipoani 

 and Guanai, from which Sorata is separated by the great 

 Cordillera. 



Ascending then the sides of the Illampo as far as the perpetual 

 snow, I gained the eastern side and then followed the course of 

 the Rio Tipoani. I need not describe this journey, which though 

 extremely difficult was very interesting, as much from its scenery 

 as its vegetation, which in these damp valleys much resembles 

 that of the province of Jungas. Before arriving at Tipoani the 

 forests become less thick, and are soon replaced by regular 

 Campos broken, as in Brazil, by different-sized masses of tall 

 vegetation, and only distinguished from those already describetl in 

 the greater irregularity of the ground ; these are the Pajonales 

 of the Bolivians; the meadow Quinquina {Cinchona Josephiand) 

 is one of their principal ornaments. 



On the 1st of May I left the unhealthy town of Tipoani on a 

 raft of seven poles tied together, on which I was swiftly carried 

 by the torrent to Guanai, a village of the Lecos Indians, situate 

 at the confluence of the Rio Mapiri. The next day I continued 

 my voyage along the latter river as far as Tumache, where I 

 was told I should find some virgin forests of Quinquina. A long 

 day's journey over steep mountains, covered with thick im- 

 penetrable forests, had to be undertaken before I could attain my 

 object. I was, however, successful in finding a species of 

 Cinchona^ which I afterwards named C. Boliviuna, growing in 

 company with a Laplacea, the bark of which resembles that of 

 some Quinquinas, and is used for the purposes of adulteration ; 

 on this account I gave it the name of L. quinodcrma. Several 

 species of Palms and arborescent Ferns abound in the same 

 places. 



Regaining Guanai, I again took to my raft and forced my 

 way along against the current of the Rio Mapiri, until I came to 

 the village of the same name : from this place I made my way 

 through Climbers and Bamboos, which filled the forests here- 

 abouts, in the direction of Apolobamba. It was whilst on this 



* This, if continued long enough, converts all the acid matter of the 

 tuber into saccharine substances, just as we see in the ripening of fruit, 



r 2 



