VALLEY OF GUASCO. 107 



years, perhaps with not more than one shower du- 

 ring the whole time, a rainy year generally follows, 

 and this does more harm than even the drought. 

 The rivers swell, and cover with gi-avel and sand 

 the narrow strips of ground which alone are fit for 

 cultivation. The floods also injure the irrigating 

 ditches. Great devastation had thus been caused 

 three years ago. 



June 8f/t. — We rode on to Ballenar, which takes 

 its name from Ballenagh in Ireland, the birthplace 

 of the family of O'Higgins, who, under the Span- 

 ish government, were presidents and generals in 

 Chile. As the rocky mountains on each hand were 

 concealed by clouds, the terrace-like plains gave 

 to the valley an appearance like that of Santa Cruz 

 in Patagonia. After spending one day at Ballenar, 

 I set out, on the 10th, for the upper part of the 

 valley of Cojaiapo. We rode all day over an un- 

 interesting country. I am tired of repeating the 

 epithets barren and sterile. These words, how- 

 ever, as commonly used, are comparative; I have 

 always applied them to the plains of Patagonia, 

 which can boast of spiny bushes and some tufts of 

 grass ; and this is absolute fertility as compared 

 with northei'ii Chile. Here, again, there are not 

 many spaces of two hundred yards square where 

 some little bush, cactus, or lichen may not be dis- 

 covered by careful examination ; and in the soil 

 seeds lie dormant, ready to spring up during the 

 first rainy winter. In Peru, real deserts occur 

 over wide tracts of country. In the evening we 

 anived at a valley, in which the bed of the stream- 

 let was damp : following it up, we came to toler- 

 ably good water. During the night, the stream, 

 from not being evaporated and absorbed so quick- 

 ly, flows a league lower down than during the day. 

 Sticks were plentiful for firewood, so that it was a 



