THE VALLEY OF QUILLOTA. 327 



mountains half enveloped in clouds, and seeing 

 another range through the light blue haze of a fine 

 day ! The one, for a time, may be very sublime ; 

 the other is all gayety and happy life. 



August 1-ith. — I set out on a riding excursion, 

 for the purpose of geologizing the basal parts of 

 the Andes, which alone, at this time of the year, are 

 not shut up by the winter snow. Our first day's 

 ride was northward along the sea-coast. After 

 dark we reached the Hacienda of Quintero, the 

 estate which formerly belonged to Lord Cochrane. 

 My object in coming here was to see the great beds 

 of shells, which stand some yards above the level 

 of the sea, and are burned for lime. The proofs 

 of the elevation of this whole line of coast are un- 

 equivocal : at the height of a few hundred feet, old- 

 looking shells are numerous, and I found some at 

 1300 feet. These shells either lie loose on the 

 Surface, or are embedded in a reddish-black vege- 

 table mould. I was nnich surprised to find, under 

 the microscope, that this vegetable mould is really 

 marine mud, full of minute particles of organic 

 bodies. 



loth. — We returned towards the valley of Quil- 

 lota. The country was exceedingly pleasant ; just 

 such as poets would call pastoral : gi'een open 

 lawns, separated by srnall valleys with rivulets, and 

 the cottages, we may suppose of the shepherds, 

 scattered on the hill-sides. We were obliged to 

 cross the ridge of the Chilicauquen. At its base 

 there were many fine evergreen forest-trees, but 

 these flourished only in the ravines, where there 

 was running water. Any person who had seen 

 only the countiy near Valpaj-aiso, would never have 

 imagined that there had been s.uch pictui'esque 

 spots in Chile. As soon as we reached the brow 

 of the Sien-a, the vallev of Quillota was immedi- 



