ASCENT FROM MATUCANA. 77 



the singular effect of producing temporary blindness 

 in those who handle the foliage, and I had been 

 assured by Mr. Nation that he had verified the state- 

 ment by experiment* We were here in the inter- 

 mediate zone, wherein many species of the subtropical 

 region are mingled with those characteristic of the 

 Andean flora. Hitherto the most prevalent families, 

 after the CoinpositcB, had been the Solanacece and 

 Malvacece. These have many representatives in the 

 Andean flora, but henceforward were associated with 

 an increasing proportion of types of many different 

 orders. 



As we continued the ascent in the afternoon our 

 locomotive began to show itself unequal to the heavy 

 work of the long-continued ascent, whether owing to 

 defects in construction or, as seemed more probable, 

 to the bad quality of the fuel supplied. Two stop- 

 pages occurred, required, as we learned, to clear out 

 tubes. A considerable ascent was then achieved by a 

 detour into a lateral valley above Matucana, returning 

 to the Rimac at a much higher level, as is done on 

 the Brenner line between Gossensass and Schelleberg. 



Up to this time the scenery had fallen much below 

 my anticipations. Owing to the nature of the rocks, 

 there was an utter deficiency in that variety of colour 

 and form that are essential elements in the beauty of 

 mountain scenery. A still greater defect is the entire 

 absence of forest. Along the course of the Rimac 

 bushes or small trees, such as ScJihms inolle, two 

 Acacias, Salix Hiimboldtiana, and others, are tolerably 

 frequent ; but on the rugged surface of the mountain 



* See note to page 184. 



