VEGATATION OF COQUIMBO, 247 
scorea Swinnort Rolfe (Journ. Bot, 1882, p. 359) is, we are 
informed by Dr. Hance, indentical with his D, doryphora, published 
n Ann. Sei. Nat. (Bot.), 5th S. v. 244 (1866). 
VEGETATION OF COQUIMBO. 
[We are indebted to Mr. John Ball for the following abstract 
of a letter recently received by him from Prof. F. Philippi.] 
Professor Frederick Philippi, the son of the veteran explorer of 
Chili, has lately returned from a very interesting excursion in the 
province of Coquimbo, still imperfectly known to naturalists. 
Although Coquimbo lies but a short distance north of Valparaiso— 
the climate is remarkably different, as its northern border is on 
the verge of the so-called rainless zone, and the annual ge in 
the coast = ranges from five to ten inches only. e low 
country near Ovalle on the river Limari the vegetation wed ie 
mainly of "Cates and rely aes Composite, with a few fruticose 
representatives of other natural orders, of which ‘Cor dia decandra 
is mentioned as especially ornamental. Herbaceous vegetation is 
extremely scanty, and scarcely to be found except in spring. 
m 
t 
in hei ght. This range is known in the country as the mountain 
of Frai Jorje, and the height is sabuaated by Mr. Philippi at about 
1500 metres. During the greater part of the year the summit is 
covered with a stratum of fog which extends downward for a son 
hundred feet, and then abruptly ceases. On making the 
he found to his surprise that the upper part,  gaaly tices 
with the limit of the fog, for a distance of 8 or 9 miles in length 
magellanicu In descending the mountain Prof. Philippi was 
struck by ie extreme abruptness of the change in ~~ ee ae 
on emerging from the fog zone. ‘‘ A few steps farther down,” as 
he states, he found Pourretias, Haplopappus, and thes species of 
the arid region. The existence of such southern plants in this 
ing, 80 a9 as we ow, no 
ec 
may pos have ecated ae the range of the Andes and 
ably 
thence ‘aR carried to t 
migration of birds on the western side of the continent is more 
