PERUVIAN REGIONS. 



197 



immensely elevated, and so steep as to have caused inquiry, " Why 

 the cattle do not fall off." I continued climbing, rather leisurely, until 

 noon ; when having reached a position hardly less than three thousand 

 feet above the village, I looked out of the ravine into the sky ; and 

 counted eight transverse successively-diminishing ridges interposed 

 before the place of the sea ; the distance being too great for the sea 

 itself to be distinguishable. The mass of matter is so enormous in the 

 Andes, that living on the slope may be compared to living on the side 

 of the globe instead of on its top ; as though the horizon itself were 

 inclined, fifty degrees or more. Notwithstanding the elevation I had 

 attained, the plants as yet presented no traces of the alpine habit of 

 growth ; so that this day's excursion served as a gauge or measure of 

 the extent and limits of the botanical region. The vegetable growth 

 proved in all respects similar to that in the Canta Valley above 

 Culuay. 



Negative Characters. Among the points of difference from the 

 mountain-region below, annual 'plants became rare or ceased altogether 

 on entering the Pararaera. The gaudy Cordillera tribes, as Mutisias, 

 Tacsonias, Tropseolums, Loasas, and scarlet Salvias ceased; and even 

 the Calceolarias became rare. Many genera of Gompositoi and Legu- 

 minosoi either ceased or became rare ; SolanacecB, so characteristic 

 below, were now extremely rare ; as also Lahiatm, Nyctaginaceoi, and 

 AmarantliaceoB. 



The continued rarity of Cyperaceae, and especially of the genus 

 Carex^ seemed remarkable. Orchidacece were not met with ; but 

 occurring higher up as well as lower down, are probably not alto- 

 gether absent. On the other hand, Saxifrageae did not appear to 

 extend downwards from the alpine ground into the Paramera. 



Paronycldacem and Qentianacem made their first appearance in the 

 Paramera ; the only acquisitions, or Tribes of plants gained on ascend- 

 ing out of the mountain-region. On the other hand, deficiencies were 

 numerous in the disappearing of 



Linaceae, 



Tropaeolacese, 



Polygalacese, 



Cucurbitaceae, 



Portulacaceae, 



Crassulaceae, 



the tribe Asclepiadeae, 



Bignoniaceae, 



Convolvulaceae, 



Verbenaceas, 



Acanthaceae, 



Plunibaginaceao, 



Salsolaceae, 



Phytolaccacese, 



Santalacese, 



Euphorbiacese, 



Scitaminaceae, and 



Iridaceaj. 



Composition of the Vegetable Growth. There seemed to be but 



50 



