74 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [ Sess. LXXIV. 
cattle. The nuts which fall from it are devoured by pigs 
with great enthusiasm. Where the ground is damp, one 
may find a species of Ribes, a handsome climber, the “ coile ” 
(Lardizabala biternata), or the pink Mutisia (M. dierfolia). 
The commoner forms of timber used for building purposes 
in Valparaiso are the native “roble” and “rauli” (Notho- 
fagus obliqua and N. procera respectively), from the south 
of Chile. “Alamo” or French poplar, grown in the country, 
is used where a soft wood is required, as in ceiling mouldings. 
The best wood used for building purposes is that of the 
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga Douglasir), known commercially 
as “Oregon pine,” which is imported in large quantities 
from North America. 
Though native trees about Valparaiso grow very slowly, 
most of the trees introduced from abroad grow with 
extreme rapidity. Among them we see Araucaria excelsa 
from the Norfolk Islands, Cwpressws macrocarpa from 
California, Hucalyptus, Casuarina and Grevillea from 
Australia, and Pinws canariensis from the Canary Islands. 
The French poplar is of very great value to the Chilian 
farmer. The trees are planted, about two feet apart, at the 
edge of each irrigation canal, and are of such rapid growth 
as to be ready for cutting when about fourteen or fifteen 
years old. They are then sold standing, or cut into boards 
by the farmer himself with a portable saw bench. Besides 
yielding timber, the lines of poplars protect the cattle in 
summer from the sun, and in winter from storms of rain 
and wind. In some districts the poplars are attacked by 
that beautiful but destructive parasite, the “quintral” 
(Loranthus tetrandus), which is spread from tree to tree 
by birds. As in the case of its British relative, the mistletoe, 
the “quintral” berry has very viscid juice, which prevents 
the bird eating the fruit from swallowing the seeds. These 
it scrapes from its beak on to a branch, where they adhere 
and germinate. When firmly rooted, the parasite destroys 
whole avenues of poplars. The weeping willow, also 
planted beside streams and canals (where it grows with 
singular luxuriance), is similarly attacked. In the neigh- 
bourhood of Valparaiso, it was only after careful search that 
I found the parasite growing on a native host (Discaria 
sp.), although rampant on the alien poplars and willows. 
