142 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



LETTER FBOM CHILL 



Mr. Editor : — It is difficult to give one a correct 

 idea of Chili who has not seen the country itself It 

 (the country) consists of a series of plains or table 

 lands running from north to south, each plateau be- 

 coming more elevated as you approach the Cordil- 

 leras, and divided by ranges of hills running parallel 

 with the coast, also increasing in height. The hills 

 and mountains are cut up into large and deep ravines, 

 called " quebradas," which again have their sides cut 

 by similar quebradas, and so on ad injirdtuin. The 

 southern part of Chili is tolerably well supplied with 

 large trees, which as you go north gradu.ally diminish 

 into shrubs, and near the northern boundary all veg 

 etation disappears, and you find nothing but rocks 

 and sand. Wherever there is water, there is more or 

 less vegetation, but the proportion of streams is one 

 to a million of " quebradas." 



The productions are wheat, barley, a little corn, 

 apples of very poor quality, hardly fit for swine, pears, 

 peaches, plums, cherries, and oranges; besides which 

 there are good grapes, melons, strawberries and figs, 

 which in some parts of the country are delicious. 

 The farming is done in the most primitive manner 

 imaginable. The plow is the old fashioned crooked 

 stick, and the oxen are always yoked by the horns 

 instead of the neck. When the wheat has been cut 

 down and gathered to the threshing place, it is put 

 into a circular yard, enclosed by a high fence, and 

 from ten to fifty horses (according to the size of the 

 " corral ") are turned in and driven about with yells 

 and " carambas, " until straw, chafT, and grain are of 

 about equal fineness. The grain is separated from 

 the chaff by throwing it into the air, and letting the 

 wind do the work of cleaning. Fruits, and all natu- 

 ral productions are left to grow uncared for and un- 

 touched by the owner's hands or implements, and the 

 grain would be left in like manner, if it could be sold 

 without threshing. 



Of the politics of the country I know but little, and 

 care to know less; and as to the people, there must 

 be some good about them, inasmuch as God made 

 them, but I have found very little of it as yet. All 

 the improvements that have been made, have been 

 owiag to the influences of commerce, and the more 

 enterprising spirit of English and American residents. 

 The chief wealth of the country consists in its 

 mines of gold, silver, copper, and coal. Gold is about 

 equally distributed, silver is found principally in the 

 northern parts of the country, copper iu the central 

 portions, and coal at the south. Silver mines are 



discovered as much by chance as by regular mining 

 operations, while the copper mines require a large 

 capital in order to carry them on successfully. 



There are but two kinds of business here which 

 promise successful returns, viz, mining and commerce. 

 The former is proverbially uncertain, while the latter 

 requires capital and an intimate acquaintance with 

 the habits, customs, and prejudices of the inhabitants. 



If you have any friends who tliiuk of coming this 

 way, tell them to stay at home, unless they are anx- 

 ious to see the " elephant " and " feel his tusks." 



Yours, truly, M. A. J. 



Lota, Chili. 



HOW TO CATCH GOPHERS. 



Me. Editor: — Where gophers are at work and the 

 hills recent, say made the previous night, open the 

 hill and expose the burrow about a foot in length 

 wide enough to let in a common steel rat trap; clean 

 out the dirt nicely, and excavate a space at the bot- 

 tom of the burrow deep enough to reeeive the trap, 

 already finely set, so that the jaws and treadle will 

 be slightly below the plane of the bottom of the 

 burrow; cover the trap very lightly with finely pul- 

 verized earth, so that the top of the earth over the 

 trap and the bottom of the burrow be on the same 

 plane; cover the hole with a board, broad and long 

 enough to prevent any other dirt from falling on the 

 tr.ap; haul fine dirt all around the edge of the board 

 to exclude all light. Teach the boys how to do it 

 right, and give them a dime for each gopher caught. 

 I speak from experience, and this is the best way I 

 know of. Other ways are, open the hole by the side 

 of the hill, when the gopher will shortly bring dirt 

 to stop it up — shoot him. AVhen the earth is full of 

 water, they occupy chambers in their mounds — dig 

 them out. Sink a jar glazed inside one foot deep in 

 the bottom of the burrow, in lieu of a steel trap ; 

 cover its mouth with cabbage leaf or its equivalent, 

 and finish as directed for steel trap. They will fall : 

 in, and can not get out without help. Dose apples, 

 or potatoes, &c., with strychnine, lay them in theiir 

 burrows, and exclude the light. Tnos. Siveter. 



Salem, Iowa. 



Mount Hood, in Oregon, has now been ascer- 

 tained, by actual measurement, to be full eighteen 

 thousand three hundred and sixty-one feet high. 

 This is the highest peak on the American continent, 

 and one of the highest in the world. From this 

 peak, mountain tops five hundi'ed miles distant may 

 be distinctly seen. The mountain is volcanic, smoke 

 being seen to issue from its summit. 



