PLANTING OF FRUIT TREES IN THE DRY LANDS OF CHILE. 581 



ON AFFORESTATION AND THE PLANTING OF FRUIT 

 TREES IN THE DRY LANDS OF CHILE. 



By Senor Salvador Izquierdo, S.M.C., F.R.H.S. 



The climate of Chile possesses peculiarities worthy of study from the 

 point of view of afforestation. The country forms a long and com- 

 paratively narrow strip of territory lying between the Andes and the 

 Pacific Ocean, from the valley of Camarones, the northern frontier 

 between Chile and Peru, to the southern or Patagonian extremity of 

 South America. For this reason Chile possesses the most varied series 

 of climates, commencing in the north, with its intense heat and 

 tropical cultivation, to its extreme southern limit, where the climate 

 is almost frigid. 



The absence of rainfall is nearly absolute north of the city of 

 Copiapo during the whole year, and rain is very rare in the winter 

 season down to the province of Aconcagua. In the centre and south 

 of the centre, rains are more regular during the winter, which is from 

 May to September, giving an average of from 13 to 14 inches of water 

 in the central region, in which the capital city of Santiago is situate. 

 In the north, therefore, agriculture can only be carried on by means 

 of irrigation with water taken from the rivers which come down 

 from the Andes. 



From the province of Talca, southwards, the winter rains are 

 frequent and abundant, increasing in degree as one advances towards 

 the south, reaching a maximum of 40 inches in the city of Valdivia, 

 which may be considered to be in the region of virgin forest. 



From the province of Concepcion, it is noticeable that the rains 

 continue during the whole of the year ; from Valdivia to the south 

 the rains diminish down to the Straits of Magellan where water falls 

 only in the form of snow. 



With this slight idea of the character of the rainfall in Chile it 

 will be understood that the planting of forests does not present any 

 difficulty in the centre of the country, as there is always sufficient 

 humidity for their growth. But the interesting part of the problem 

 lies in the possibility of successful planting of the part of the country 

 where rains do not fall except in winter, in which are included the 

 land between the province Maule in the south and of Copiapo in the 

 north. 



In this section the length of the drought often reaches to eight 

 months ; notwithstanding this fact, there was in former times in this 

 region of scarcity of rain a nearly impenetrable forest of large trees 

 and undergrowth of many different shrubs, which grew and multiplied 



