47 



from sixty to seventy for one, and from forty to 

 fifty in the maritime. Between the 24th and 34th 

 degrees of latitude the husbandmen irrigate their 

 fields by artificial means,, which renders their 

 crops generally more certain than in the south- 

 ern provinces, where they depend upon the dews* 

 although the rivers and streams offer them the 

 same advantages. The estimate which I have 

 made, might, however, be increased, were the 

 grain which is lost during the harvesting to be 

 taken into account ; as the liusbandmen have 

 adopted a very injurious custom of not reaping 

 their corn until it begins to shell out, in conse- 

 quence of which much is wasted and serves as 

 food for the birds ; and it happens not unfre- 

 quently, that what is left produces a second crop 

 without any tillage or farther sowing of the 

 ground. 



The difference in the vegetation of the mari- 

 time and middle provinces depends upon the 

 qualities of their respective soils. That upon 

 the coast resembles the rich grounds of Bologna; 

 its colour is brown, inclining to red, it is brittle, 

 clayey, contains a little marie, and is filled with 

 flint, stones, pyrites, shells, and other marine 

 substances. In the interior, and in the valleys of 

 the Andes, the soil is of a blackish colour, 

 inclining to yellow; it is brittle, and frequently 

 mingled with gravel and marine substances in a 

 state of decomposition. This quality of the 



