XXXII COAST OF NORTHERN CHILE 479 



districts, frequently Compositae, I say nothing. The results of 

 my observations on the floating power of the seeds and seed-vessels 

 of some of the shore-plants of this zone are given in Note 71. 



Stranded seeds and fruits that belong to the proper beach-drift 

 are not easily found on the beaches of Southern Chile, as they are 

 often buried in rubbish. Those most characteristic are seeds of 

 Convolvulus soldanella and drupes of Nolana (paradoxa?), both 

 typical beach-plants of the zone. Portions of Salsola Kali bearing 

 mature fruits, as described in Note 17, are also frequent. Seeds of 

 Sophora tetraptera were found on the beach of Bahia San 

 Vincente, whither they must have been brought by the Humboldt 

 Current from the south, as T did not observe the tree in the 

 vicinity. On this beach, as well as at Valparaiso, the prickly fruits 

 of Franseria were abundant in the drift, doubtless derived from the 

 plants growing on the same beaches. In addition we get as 

 frequent components of the beach-drift materials that mark the 

 white man's presence over much of the globe. Corks are widely 

 distributed over the beaches of the world ; but on no coast have I 

 found them more numerous than on the Valparaiso beaches. Here 

 we find Medicago fruits, the empty stones of the cherry, the plum, 

 and the peach, empty filberts and other materials, all of which I 

 have gathered on the shores of the Straits of Messina and on 

 English beaches. Amongst this medley we find also Casuarina 

 cones and fruits of Eucalyptus. Then we find"special indications of 

 the New World in the pea-nut (Arachis hypoga^a) and in the 

 abundant seeds of a huge pumpkin (Cucurbita), which is a favourite 

 food with the Chilian indigenes. These seeds are cited as an 

 example of futile buoyancy in Chapter XHI. 



The Plantless or Desert Zone (Northern Chile). 



This zone of the coast, which stretches north for some 700 miles 

 from Coquimbo to near Arica (30°— i8°3o' S. lat), corresponds to 

 the great desert region of North Chile. On the beaches of Anto- 

 fagasta, Tocopilla, and Iquique, which are situated in the midst of 

 this zone, I found no plants. This rainless sea border of barren 

 mountains, presenting to the eye of the traveller from the deck of a 

 passing steamer nothing but rock and sand, must be one of the 

 most desolate coasts on our globe. It is therefore not a matter for 

 surprise that the beaches are of dry loose sand in which the hand 

 fails to find on scooping below the surface that refreshing coolness 

 which is the character of beaches in all latitudes where the land is 



