Colombia between the Years 1820 and 1830. 15 
heck scone only to soft pastures, are hardened 9 on a pony. 
soil. 
The breed of sheep, like that of llamas, is limited to ‘the loftier 
regions of the Cordillera; while goats multiply more readily, on. 
such parts of the low country as are both hot and bargems4 a = ge: 
the province of Coro, where they form the chief we — 
habitants. ‘ ees sh 
But while nature facilitates the dispersion over “the | globe of 
certain species of animals, she seems to limit others by an impas-_ 
sible barrier. The dog undergoes the fate of his European mas- 
er; his sagacity and strength decay in a hot climate, and the 
breed dwindles rapidly into an animal totally inferior in habits 
and organization. The foresters accordingly, and the Indians of 
the lowlands, who are accustomed to the chase of the wild hog, 
bring dogs for the purpose from the mountains, where, though 
the Spaniards are by no means curious in this particular, a strong 
species of greyhound, more or less degenerated, is to be met with, 
and is used in the highlands for stag-hunting. 
The influence of temperature, and consequently of local eleva- 
tion, on vegetable life, was first examined in Colombia by a na- 
tive of Bogota, the unfortunate and illustrious D. José Caldas, 
who fell a victim to the barbarity of Murillo in 1811, in conse- 
quence of which his numerous researches in natural history were 
almost entirely lost, with the exception of some papers published 
in the Seminario de Bogota in 1808, and fragmeuts still existing 
in MS. or casually preserved and printed in Europe, to one of 
which I shall presently have occasion to refer. Humboldt trav- 
elled through South America about the same time that Caldas was 
directing the attention of his countrymen to physical science, and 
his investigations have fortunately been subjected to a less rigor- 
ous destiny. - His admirable treatise, “‘ De distributione Planta- 
rum geogzraphica,’ has left for future observers little but to 
corroborate the accuracy of his views and multiply facts in illus- 
tration of his theories. 
When we begin our observations from the level of the sea, 
we find certain families of plants which scarcely ever rise to 
above 300 or 400 feet: the “Sandalo,” producing the balsam of 
Tolu, the Lecythis, the Coccoloba, the Bombax, the Rhizophora 
Mangle, the Manchineel. A second and more numerous class 
push on to about 2,000 feet of elevation ; such are the Plinia, 
