greatest Heights of the Himalayah and Uppct Peru. 4 V 



of the gardens ; it has been brought from Bolivia, and would 

 form a great addition to the summer flora of our gardens, but 

 would require protection in winter. 



It is difficult, indeed impossible, to determine for the westeru 

 side the height to which the tree vegetation reaches in southern 

 Peru, because the acclivity of the Cordillera is too steep, and 

 at the same time devoid of soil. In northern Peru and in Quito, 

 tree-shrubs extend to a height of 13,000 feet. Tunguragiia 

 is covered with shrubs at a height of 13,317 feet; but at an- 

 other place, on the eastern side, towards Maranon, woody 

 plants occur nearly at a height of 14,000 feet; these plants, 

 however, belong to the region of shrubs which again passes into 

 the region of alpine plants. The same remark holds good 

 regarding an observation occurring in Poeppig's account o? 

 his tour.* It is there stated, on the authority of a report on the 

 Canal of Tacna, by B. Scott, an engineer, that on the plateau 

 which may be termed the Plateau of Tacora, very considerable 

 woods occur at a height of 14,899 feet; that the Cicnega de 

 Nohusuma is partly surrounded by trees belonging to these 

 woods, although, according to Mr Scott's own observations, it 

 lies at a height of 14,930 English feet. It is there said, that 

 even the northern acclivity of the snowy mountain of Tacora is 

 covered to the same height with similar trees. As I have my- 

 self seen all these places, and have formed an entirely different 

 idea of their vegetation, it is necessary that I should offer some 

 remarks on the subject. The account by Mr Scott was pub- 

 lished by Poeppig about a year and a half after the appearance 

 of the report of my journey ; it may hence be regarded as a 

 newer and more correct description ; but I must repeat, that on the 

 whole plateau of Tacra, although I always travelled during the 

 day, and had very clear weather, I did not see a single tree, 

 not even a tree-like shrub. It is only low bushes, mostly syn- 

 genesian, of remarkable forms and abundantly covered with re- 

 sin, that constitute the woody vegetation of this plateau, which 

 reaches a height of 14,800 to 16,000 feet (as at the water-shed 

 between Rio Uchusuma and the Rio Moure). Small thorny 

 shrubs of the Solanaceae belonging to the rarest species of this 

 family, Leguminosaj with juniper-like leaves, Wilsonia?, the 



• Vol. ii, p. 80. 



