I04 Voyage of the Novara. 



its character to the grandeur or magnitude of its trees ; the 

 peculiar charm of the landscape arises more from grasses, 

 ferns, shrubs, and different kinds of moss, all of which grow 

 so rank and luxuriant, that the rocks, chasms, and abysses 

 overgrown with them, appear like so many swelling cushions, 

 or as if laid with soft velvet carpets in all directions. The 

 different shades of green indicate the characteristics of suc- 

 cessive zones of vegetation. Through the lower parts of the 

 valleys run the beds of those mountain waters which, though 

 nearly dried up in the summer, swell in the winter into tor- 

 rents. Along these are scattered the straw-thatched huts of 

 the natives, surrounded by vineyards and fields planted with rye, 

 barley, potatoes, yams, and in the lower parts with single bananas. 





