APPENDIX. 381 



tions from which the estimated temperatures for 1000 and 1500 

 toises were derived were made at places situated on open 

 elevated valleys or plateaux. At the utmost, the results can be 

 regarded merely as rough approximations to the truth. 



By far the most important available observations in the 

 Andes are those of Mr. Whymper, made during his remarkable 

 explorations in 1880 ; but, unfortunately, the details have not yet 

 been given to the world, and, in endeavouring to make use of 

 them, I have been forced to content myself with the brief 

 summary published in \}i\Q Proceedings of the Royal Geographical 

 Society iox 1881. Mr. Whymper was able to secure a register 

 of the temperatures observed at Guayaquil during his stay in 

 Ecuador, which will doubtless be published along with the 

 record of his own observations ; but it does not appear that he 

 was able to obtain observations at Quito during his ascents to 

 the higher peaks ; and it seems that, in comparing the tempera- 

 tures for the purpose of reducing his barometrical observations, 

 he was forced to assume for Quito a mean temperature of 57*9 

 Fahr,, or 14*4 C, obtained from a series of thermometric obser- 

 vations made during his stay at that place. There is reason to 

 believe that the daily range of the thermometer at Quito is very 

 moderate ; and at the equator the differences of season are 

 comparatively slight ; nevertheless, the absence of simultaneous 

 observations at that place diminishes the value of the results 

 shown in the following table, in which Mr. Whymper's results 

 are reduced to metrical measure. 



I have adopted the heights determined by Mr. Whymper as 

 those deserving most confidence. They agree very well with 

 those published by MM. Reiss and Stubel, so that the limits 

 of error from this cause are inconsiderable. I have also 

 adopted the height assigned to Quito— 9350 feet, or 2848 metres. 

 Where Mr. Whymper remained long enough on any summit to 

 observe notable variations in the reading of the thermometer, 

 I have taken the mean of the observed temperatures ; but I 

 have entered separately the results of the ascents of Chimborazo, 

 one being made in January, the other in July, and in a separate 

 line I have entered the mean results of the two. 



In the following table I have entered in the first column the 

 names of the peaks ascended by Mr. Whymper ; in the second, 

 the height of each as given by him ; in the third, the observed 



