-■* 



14 Meteorological Ohsei^vations made in 



The Quitean Andes afford iis another powerful illustration of 

 this view of the subject. The following is the line of elevations 

 between Q.uito and Chimborazo : 



Quito .... 9,537 feet 59^ Fahr. 



o 

 o 



Llactacunga , • 10;285 57 



Hanibato ... 



61 



Riobamba . . 9,377 57^ 



Guaranda . . . 9,075 58^ 



The roads which descend to the coast of the Pacific are few, 

 almost impassible^ and lead to no seaport of importance except 

 GuayaqniU Journeys thither are undertaken with fear and hesi- 

 tation J and the character of the Scrraiios is marked with all the 

 traits of isolation resulting from the geography of the country. 



Next to the direct influence exercised by climate on the frame 

 of man, we may consider it relatively ta the facility it aiTords of 

 nourishing him^ and advancing his progress in civiHzation. Tlie 

 most important presents made by the Old to the New World are 

 cattle and cerealia. The only domesticated quadruped known 

 to the Indians was the llama, which furnished, like the sheep, with 

 thick wool, unwillingly descends or is propagated in the sultry 

 lowlands. The horned cattle of Europe^ on the contrary, have 

 multiplied almost equally on the plains as on the paramos. On 

 the farm of Antisana, for instance, at an elevation of from 12,000 

 to 16,000 feet, there is no less than 4,000 head. The herds rais- 

 ed on the plains of Venezuela, as on the Pampas of Buenos 

 Ayres, are, or were previous to the revolution, almost countless. 

 Two immense magazines of animal food are thus placed at the 

 two extremes of temperature, in situations uninterfered with by 

 agricultural labor. The horse has been destined to fi:?ure in the 

 political changes of the New World. The fear and respect with 

 which he inspired the natives at the period of the Conquest is 

 well known. Horses have since multiplied prodigiously in all 

 parts of the country, but more especially in the plains of Venezu- 

 ela. There, during the war of independence, Paez, and other 

 guerilla chiefs, at the head of an irregular cavalry, and maintained 

 by the cattle, defied the efforts of the Spanish infantry, and kept 

 alive the embers of the revolution. 



The best kinds of horses are those that are bred in the lowlands, 

 and brought to the mountains at about four years old, where they 



hardihood 



and 



