of the Canary Islands. 9 
from those of the continent. This is actually the fact, inas- 
much as they afford no less than thirty-three peculiar species. 
On the north coast of Patagonia, from the Bay of San Blas 
to the peninsula of San Josef, that is, from 20° to 23° S.L., 
the author discovered eighteen species of Foraminifera, of 
which five occur also in the Malvinas; there thus remain thir- 
teen species which are peculiar to this part of America. 
In order to follow up this comparison, let us now direct our 
attention to the opposite side of America. Multiplied obser- 
vations shew, that near Valparaiso, in Lat. 34° S., the number 
of species varies in an extraordinary degree, according to the 
localities. In the sand of the Bay of Valparaiso, where the 
weakness of the current would lead us to suppose that light 
bodies must be accumulated in large quantity, two species only 
of Foraminifera were found; but, on the other hand, on the 
opposite side of the point Cormillera, where the current is very 
perceptible, investigations made at a depth of 12 to 20 yards, 
on a bottom covered with corals, yielded a large number of 
Foraminifera. Hence it results, that the Foraminifera are 
more numerous where the current is powerful than in still 
bays. It is also ascertained that this difference depends more 
on the natural constitution of the bottom than on the currents, 
inasmuch as sandy and muddy coasts are less favourable for 
the Foraminifera, whereas the localities rich in corals are 
well calculated to give development to great masses of these 
animals. In Chili twelve species of Foraminifera were col- 
lected, of which eight are peculiar to that region. The other 
four not only extend to the coasts of Bolivia, but are also met 
with in the Equatorial regions. We may assume that certain 
species are confined to certain limits of temperature, while 
others, less dependent on temperature, are transported by cur- 
rents to all the shores of South America. 
When we unite together the species of Arica and of Callao, 
the harbour of Lima, that is, from L. 12° to 15° S., in order 
to compare them with those of 34°, we have fourteen, of which 
four occur also at Valparaiso, and four which extend northwards 
as far as Payta, and to the Equator. Thus there are only 
eight peculiar species; a proof that the Foraminifera of the 
Peruvian coast agree partly with those of the temperate re- 
