556 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



according to Dusen,* their distribution is regulated by the amount of rainfall. In 

 the western parts of Tierra del Fuego, where the rainfall is heavy, the coast forest is 

 evergreen and is mainly composed of N. betuloides and Drimys Winteri; and 

 N. antarctica is only met with in the mountains. In the eastern part of Tierra del 

 Fuego, where the rainfall is slight, the latter species descends to sea-level and grows 

 in mixture with N. betuloides and A^. pumilio. 



In Western Patagonia, the evergreen forest predominates in the Archipelago 

 and on the western side of the mountain range, where much rain falls and the 

 prevailing winds are south-westerly ; whereas, on the eastern slopes of the mountains, 

 where the climate is comparatively dry, the forests are composed of deciduous trees. 

 According to Dus^n, the deciduous-leaved forest is well seen at a point 30 miles up 

 the River Aysen. In the inland region the ground is covered by a thin park-like 

 forest, which is almost exclusively composed of one species, A^. antarctica. This 

 tree does not grow in such close masses as the European beech, and, owing to the 

 absence of dense shade, there is a luxuriant undergrowth of herbs and shrubs. 

 These park-like forests prevail up to 2300 feet. Above this elevation steppes occur, 

 which are studded with small groves of N. pumilio, the ground being covered with 

 mosses. At 3000 feet N. pumilio is only a low tree, which gradually becomes 

 smaller as it ascends, until at 4300 feet it forms a stunted forest of dwarfed trees, 

 with their branches interlaced together. 



An earlier account of the Antarctic beeches is given by Sir J. D. Hooker,^ who 

 states that N. antarctica strongly resembles the European beech in its deciduous 

 leaves, form of trunk, and smooth bark. It ascends much higher at Cape Horn 

 than A^. betuloides, and is much the larger tree of the two when it is found growing 

 at sea-level. N. betuloides, however, grows to a very large size about the Straits 

 of Magellan, and being evergreen, is a marked feature of the scenery in winter, as 

 its upper limit is sharply defined, and contrasts with the dazzling snow that covers 

 the matted and naked branches of N. antarctica. Captain King ^ observed many 

 trees of N. betuloides 3 to 4 feet in diameter, one being as large as 7 feet. He 

 describes the wood as heavy and far too brittle for masts or even boat-hooks, 

 but cutting up into tolerable planks. Hooker considered the timber of the deciduous 

 species to be superior. 



N. betuloides, while much commoner in the south, extends along the coast range 

 as far north as Valdivia.^ It is replaced in the Guaitecas Islands by N. Dombeyi and 

 N. nitida.^ 



Nothofagus pumilio has been much confused with A'^ antarctica, of which it 

 was made var. bicrenata by De Candolle. It is very distinct in both foliage and 

 fruit. It extends from Chilian and Nahuelbuta in Chile southward to the Straits of 

 Magellan, and is usually a shrub, constituting the scrubby growth which prevails 



> Princeton Univ. Exped. Patagonia, Botany 2, lo, 26 (1903-1906) ; and 'EngUx, Bot. JahrbOch. xxiv. 179 (1897). 



' Fl. Antarct. ii. 345. 



3 Voyage 0/ the "Adventure" and "Beagle," i. S76 (1839). Ball, Notes of a Naturalist in S. America, 225, says that 

 A^. betuloides " has a thick trunk, commonly three or four feet in diameter, but nowhere attains any great height. Forty feet 

 appeared to me the outside limit attained by any that I saw at Eden Harbour or elsewhere." 



Reiche, loc. cit. 6 Pus^n, toe. cit. 



