LIMA. 



93 



feet below the surface; and the first settlers 

 took advantage^ very generally^ of their know- 

 ledge of this fact^ which compensated for the 

 want of rain. 



The great coolness in this tropical region^ as 

 well as the absence of rain at Lima, have given 

 rise to many conjectures as to the cause. Ulloa, 

 in his travels, attempts to account for it by 

 the continuance and constancy of the trade- 

 winds. The clouds, in summer, are kept by 

 the strength of these winds, he thinks, at too 

 great an elevation to descend in rain, and are 

 attracted in heavy masses to the sides of the 

 mountains ; but in winter, when the trades 

 vary a little in direction, and diminish in force, 

 the vapours from the hills descend low enough 

 to fall in a mist-like dew, which renders the 

 neighbourhood of Lima green and flourishing, 

 adding still more to the coolness of the air, 

 though the rain is confined to the Andes. 



