TIERRA DEL FUEGO AND THE WEST COAST. 313 



55° S. I have already remarked to what a degree 

 the sea swarms with living creatures ; and the shells 

 (such as the Patellce, Fissurella?, Chitons, and Bar- 

 nacles), according to Mr. G. B. Sowerby, are of a 

 much larger size, and of a more vigorovis growth, 

 than the analogous species in the northern hemi- 

 sphere. A large Vohita is abundant in Southern 

 Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. At 

 Bahia Blanca, in lat. 39° S.,the most abundant shells 

 were three species of Oliva (one of large size), one 

 or two Volutas, and a Terebra. Now these are 

 amongst the best characterized tropical forms. It 

 is doubtful whether even one small species of Oliva 

 exists on the southern shores of Europe, and there 

 are no species of the two other genera. If a ge- 

 ologist were to find in lat. 39°, on the coast of Por- 

 tugal, a bed containing numerous shells belonging 

 to three species of Oliva, to a Voluta, and Terebra, 

 he would probably assert that the climate at the 

 period of their existence must have been troj^ical ; 

 but, judging from South America, such an infer- 

 ence might be eiToneous. 



The equable, humid, and windy climate of Tierra 

 del Fuego extends, with only a small increase of 

 heat, for many degrees along the west coast of the 

 continent. The forests, for 600 miles northward 

 of Cape Horn, have a very similar aspect. As a 

 proof of the equable climate, even for 300 or 400 

 miles still furtlier northward, I may mention that 

 in Chiloe (corresponding in latitude with the nor- 

 thern parts of Spain) the peach seldom produces 

 fruit, whilst strawberries and apples thrive to per- 

 fection. Even the crops of barley and wheat* are 

 often brought into the houses to be dried and ri- 

 pened. At Valdivia (in the same latitude of 40°, 



