386 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



" norther " in the bay, and most unpleasant it was, the vessel 

 rolling and pitching as badly as if she had been at sea. The 

 26th I devoted to the exploration of various small quebradas 

 in the neighbourhood of Valparaiso, in search of plants, but 

 owing to the season did not obtain many species. The prin- 

 cipal found were the beautiful large white Mexican poppy 

 {Argemone Mexicana), an Escallonia {E. rubra) nearly out of 

 bloom, and many specimens of the " Anenuca " (Rahranthus 

 hesperius), an Amaryllid widely distributed in Chili, the 

 flowers of which vary much in colour — shades of orange, 

 crimson, and scarlet being the most common. I passed many 

 carcasses of mules and horses in various stages of decay, and 

 observed, rather to my astonishment, a group of hens feeding 

 on the flesh of the leg of a mule. 



On the 1st of July two of the officers and myself started 

 on an excursion to the small town of Santa Eosa, in the pro- 

 vince of Los Andes, situated at the foot of the Cumbre pass 

 leading through the Cordillera. We had been anxiously 

 hoping for suitable weather for the trip, and were favoured 

 with a very fine day, not particularly bright, but remarkably 

 clear. On arriving at the railway station, we took out tickets 

 for Llaillai, about fifty miles or rather more distant, and 

 nearly midway between Valparaiso and Santiago, the Chilian 

 capital. The train left at ten a.m., and soon after, when we 

 had left Valparaiso some distance behind us, we observed 

 a decided improvement in the features of the country, the low 

 hills and valleys being much more richly clothed with 

 verdure than those in the immediate neighbourhood of the 

 city, and there being a larger proportion of tall shrubs and 

 trees. Some of the land appeared very fertile, and droves of 

 oxen and large flocks of turkeys were pasturing on the fields. 

 At the station of Quillota, where we stopped for about ten 



