146 



DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS. 



tomac, the Records of Lima mention, that " rain fell in the years 

 1701, 1720, 1791, and 1806;" and that there was "thunder and licjld- 

 nmg in the years 1552, 1720, 1747, and 1804." 



In a Tropical climate, and so near the Equator, I was greatly 

 surprised at finding cloaks and woollens worn in the streets of Lima. 



I was told, on inquiry, that it was " winter :" and soon ascertained, 

 that seasons are distinguished, with heat and cold, notwithstanding 

 the extremely slight variation in the weather and temperature. Mr. 

 Bartlett, during some years spent in Lima, had found the temperature 

 varying only " from 60° Fahr. to 85° :" and Mr. Thomas, at his resi- 

 dence " a few leagues farther South," had found the variation only 

 " from 62° to 79°." The lowest temperature obtained by myself at 

 Lima was 62° Fahr., observed in the open air at half-past ten in the 

 evening of June 10th: the highest, fairly obtained, was 76°, in the 

 afternoon of May 31st; but on another occasion, the thermometer, ex- 

 posed under woollen to the direct rays of the sun, rose to 82°. From 

 the 2d to the 13th of June, the morning temperature at Lima between 

 the hours of seven and eight, observed in my room facing the West, 

 the window wide open day and night, varied only from 65° to 69°. 

 In the harbor at Callao, I found the mornings cooler; and on the deck 

 of the Relief, at 7i a.m. on the 14th of June, I obtained 60° ; and at 



II A.M. on the 15th, 61°. 



I made at Lima but one observation on the subterranean or mean 

 annual temperature : on the 11th of June, a thermometer placed in 

 a fissure at the bottom of an archway under ground, indicated rather 

 less than 68°; the time being bl p.m., and the temperature above 

 ground in the open air, 65°. 



The changes in the weight of the atmosphere appear to be very 

 slight at Lima; the column in the barometer, according to Mr. Bart- 

 lett, "scarcely varying three lines." 



Earthquakes. We had arrived not only in the " winter," but in 

 the "earthquake season:" and three shocks were experienced during 

 our stay. The first took place on the 16th of May towards midnight; 

 our party being " seven leagues" North of Lima at Caballeros : I was 

 awakened by a long-continued noise, like the rolling of a cannon-ball 

 on a floor overhead ; and by a sickening sensation, that was certainly 

 not mental, for I had no thought at the time of earthquakes : the 

 sickening sensation was afterwards spoken of by others of our party, 

 and attributed by them " to the motion being communicated." Ac- 



