LATELY INTRODUCED INTO ENGLAND. 259 



it has lived in the open air for four years without shelter, and 

 has all the appearance of being well adapted to the climate of 

 England. The country in which it grows is, indeed, more cold 

 and stormy than any part of Great Britain, as is shown by the 

 following account of it, given by Mr. Lobb in one of his letters 

 to Messrs. Veitch : — 



" During my absence I visited a great part of Chiloe, most 

 of the islands in the Archipelago, and the coast of Patagonia for 

 about 140 miles. I went up the Corcobado, Caylin, Alman, 

 Comau, Reloncavi, and other places on the coast, frequently 

 making excursions from the level of the sea to the line of per- 

 petual snow. These bays generally run to the base of the central 

 ridge of the Andes, and the rivers take their rise much further 

 back in the interior. The whole country, from tlie Andes to the 

 sea, is formed of a succession of ridges of mountains gradually 

 rising /rom the sea to the central ridge. The whole is thickly 

 wooded from the base to the snow line. Ascending the Andes 

 of Comau, I observed from the water to a considerable eleva- 

 tion the forest is composed of a variety of trees, and a sort of 

 cane so thickly matted together that it formed almost an im- 

 penetrable jungle. Further up, amongst the melting snows, 

 vegetation becomes so much stunted in growth, that the trees, 

 seen below 100 feet high and 8 feet in diameter, only attain the 

 height of 6 inches. 



" On reaching the summit no vegetation exists — nothing but 

 scattered barren rocks which appear to rise amongst the snow, 

 which is 30 feet in depth, and frozen so hard that on walking 

 over it the foot makes but a slight impression. 



" To the east, as far as the eye can command, it appears per- 

 fectly level. To the south, one sees the central ridge of the 

 Andes stretching along for an immense distance, and covered 

 with perpetual snow. To the west, the whole of the islands, 

 from Guaytecas to the extent of the Archipelago, is evenly and 

 distinctly to be seen. 



" A little below this elevation the scenery is also singular and 

 grand. Rocky precipices stand like perpendicular Avails from 

 200 feet to 300 feet in height, over which roll the waters from 

 the melting snows, which appear to the eye like lines of silver. 

 Sometimes these waters rush down with such force, that rocks of 

 many tons in weight are precipitated from their lofty stations 

 to the depth of 2000 feet. In the forest below everything 

 appears calm and tranquil ; scarcely the sound of an animal is 

 heard ; sometimes a few butterflies and beetles meet the eye, but 

 not a house or human being is seen. On the sandy tracts near 

 the rivers, the lion or puma is frequently to be met with ; but 

 this animal is perfectly harmless if not attacked." 



T 2 



