By Mr. Theodore Hartweg. 



131 



is determined to be between 9,000 and 10,000 feet above the level 

 of the sea ; the temperature on the 13th of May at two o'clock P.M. 

 was 58° Fahr. The deep vallies and ravines surrounding this moun- 

 tain no doubt contribute in a great measure to heighten the tem- 

 perature, which in combination with the heavy dews and mists, 

 produces a most luxuriant vegetation, which, under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances, could not be expected at such an elevation. The 

 whole mountain, up to the summit, is covered with large evergreen 

 Oaks and other forest trees, and their branches were loaded with 

 a variety of Tillandsia and Cereus Ackermanni, the latter in full 

 bloom, vying in richness of colour with Epidendrum vitellinum. 

 The first flowers I saw of that rare and magnificent Epidendrum 

 were at such an elevation on the trees that I was unable to recog- 

 nize what they were, until on the descent, about 400 feet lower, 

 I fell in with more, and procured several large masses ; in the 

 same locality I found Fuchsia splendens in flower and seed, from 

 which many plants have been raised and distributed. 



Towards the village of Betaza the vegetation is very poor, and 

 the soil, from its aridity, scarcely cultivated. From Betaza to 

 Yalina the road leads again over the river of Tabaa, about two 

 leagues higher than where it had been crossed before, and offers 

 again the same dry parched appearance. 



Passing over the " Monte de Yalina " I observed towards the 

 summit Myrtus montana forming a shrub two feet high, having a 

 great resemblance to the common narrow leaved kind. There 

 also I found again Abies religiosa and Finns Ayacahuite which 

 had been met with on the Pelado which is separated by a deep 

 ravine from the Monte de Yalina. Following the steep descent 

 the same plants appeared that had been observed on the ascent to 

 the Pelado, and after an absence of eight and twenty days, during 

 which time I travelled six hundred miles, I returned to the Ha- 

 cienda del Carmen with several loads of plants. 



