382 NATURAL HISTOEY OF 



the small fruits of which are much esteemed by Chilian 

 children, while the roots are held in repute by their parents, 

 who employ them as medicine ; a small yellow-flowered 

 Calceolaria ; an Oxalis, with a short, thick, decumbent stem, 

 fleshy leaves, and yellow flowers, occurring on rocks ; wild 

 potatoes, and the Cuscuta seen at Lota, as well as several 

 species of ferns, including a fine Adiantum* were also abun- 

 dant ; and we were pleased by finding at one spot Viola 

 odorata in flower, doubtless escaped from some garden. On 

 subsequently ascending some steep rounded hills, we noticed 

 many specimens of a Cereus, growing from ten to twelve feet 

 high, and armed with very strong spines ; and bushes of a 

 strong thorny Adesmia, with yellow flowers and very small 

 pinnate leaves, the A. microphylla, abounded ; while the short 

 herbage on the summits was golden in many places with the 

 flowers of the little Oxalis lohata, or " Flor de la perdiz " of 

 the Chilians ; and here and there the old blackened flower- 

 stems of a remarkable plant of the pine-apple order, with 

 long leaves armed with ferocious curved spines, the Puya 

 coardata, formed conspicuous objects. After crossing various 

 low hills, and intervening narrow quebradas, we at length got 

 down to the beach at some miles' distance from the town ; 

 but as the tide was high, and a surf breaking, the only 

 objects observed by us were numbers of dead shells of 

 Concholepas, the inhabitants of which had served as a repast 

 to people in the neighbourhood. We then followed the line 

 of railway for some distance, paying a short visit to an 

 extensive slaughter-house, which presented a most repulsive 

 appearance, and finally wended our way into the town. 



On the afternoon of the 18th I walked with several of the 



* On the west coast of South America no representatives of this genus 

 were met with south of Chiloe. 



