June i, 1892,1 THe TROI^lOAt 
do we find two of the same kind growing in company, 
— nature delighting ratlier in variety and contrasts, — 
one treo upright as an Areca palm, another sloping over a 
chasm ; one with bark smooth as ivory, the next prickly 
as " Acacia horrida." Exceptions there are, and one 
might be seen on most river banks, viz., the Balso wood 
(Ochroma piscatoria), as if providently placed there for 
the natives, who invariably use its remarkably light 
wood for their rafts. The Ochroma has a cotton-like 
fruit which might be used for stuffing beds, &c. 
The graceful ivory palm (I'liijtch-^ihas), may also he 
seen in small groups, indicating the very richest 
spots of soil. Near to this may be found a solitary 
Cacao (Thcohi-oma) 30 to 40 inches in circumference, 
and rising to the matm-e height of 50 feet. Coffee 
of course is not found wild here, but at intervals we 
came upon gigantic specimens of the Cincltona, both 
Calisaya and Succiruora, 6 feet in circumference. 
The Walnid of Peru is frequently seen in the Perene 
Valley, growing to a height of 60 to 70 feet. Satin- 
wood there is also, but not the Satinwood of Ceylon 
(Chloroxijlon); for though the wood looks similar, the 
family (Ehcnacea) is in no way related to our Ceylon 
tree. The indigenous Coca as an undergrowth we 
rarely came across, except in semi-cultivated patches. 
Gigantic cottons, the Screw Pine {Carludoinca) from 
which the famous Panama hat is made, the grand 
scarlet flowering Erythrina, and another tall and 
brilliant yellow flowering tree — probably the Laburnum 
of Peru— add much to the beauty of the scene. 
Many other leguminous plants we also noted, parti- 
cularly CaUiaiidra and CUtotia. 
Innumerable Orchids, mosses and ferns sufficiently 
indicated the humid nature of the climate and fully 
satisfied us as to the rainfall. 
Probably the chief distinguishing feature in Peruvian 
vegetation is that it is an essentially flowering and 
fruit-bearing vegetation, rather than the excessive 
leaf-producing which so distinguishes the luxuriant 
greenery on the Island of Ceylon. Pern undoubtedly 
possesses a richer soil and a climate more favour- 
able to fruit bearing ; while, compared with the 
massiveness and grandeur of the Trans-Andean forest 
monarchs, the jungles of Ceylon are somewhat dimi- 
nutive. A few plants we missed; the beautiful and 
useful yellow .^nmtoo is not there, nor are the Palmi/ra, 
Talipot and Coconut Palms. The Jak and Breadfruit 
trees might also be introduced with great advantage. 
The cultivated grasses of the East, the Guinea and 
Mauritius grass, are here already, but as a nutritious 
fodder they cannot be compared with the " Alfalfa " 
(Lucerne). Of the leaf products, perhaps none are 
destined to become more important than the Coca 
(Erythroxylon), which is bound to increase in value 
commercially as its undoubted virtues become better 
known. The land we have specially selected on 
the Perene, as hereafter shown, may be said to 
be the native home of this invaluable plant, and as 
we doubt if it can be grown in any other part of the 
world with equal success we would strongly recommend 
its being planted out ou an eztensive Ecale to meet 
the growing demand. 
The various kinds of Rubber found here might also 
be cultivated, or rather planted out, on a large scale 
with much profit and at little cost. 
ROUTES TAKEN, WITH tH03T DESCRIPTION OP THE 
CODNTRY PASSED THROUGH. 
Having thus indicated the nature of the climate, 
Boil, and vegetation of the country we visited, it may 
be of some interest, before dealing specifically with the 
land selected, to state shortly the routes taken in our 
search after land suitable for the purposes of tropical 
Bgriculture, and, as briefly, to describe the main 
features of the districts wo passed throngli. 
T.\ie western slopes of the Andean range 
extend, in the valley of the Kimao, from Oallno, the 
port of our arrival, to Chicla, the temporary terminus 
of the Central railway. 
The altitude of Chicla, at which the approximate 
limit of cultivation is reached, is 12,215 feet above 
sea level. 
From the sea tho vullsy is wide and flat, but it 
Barrows beyond Lima, and becomes steeper and some- 
whttrugged near Chosica, when tho hills lose upou 
AGSICULTljRlST. 887 
the plain. The valley is highly cultivated between 
Lima and Chosici, and at Chosica tillage of the 
terraces, at the base of and a'ong the mount lin slop in, 
begins. 
After leaving Chicli, beyond Casapalca, the Cor- 
dillera is encountered and crossed. The Country — 
especially the first twelve or fifteen miles— is wild 
and rugged, produciog on the slopes and in the valleys 
only the shortest grass, affording but sojiuty food for 
the llamas and do.ikejs proceeding to and returning 
from Chicia and the railway, with ores, produce and 
I! erchandise. 
From the summit, near Galera, the country be- 
comes more undulating, and, as Pucara and Pacba- 
ohaoa are reached, it is more suited tor grazing. Be- 
tween Pachachaoa and Oroya lies a fine grazing 
Country, along which sheep in large numbers every, 
where find abundant pasturage. 
Oroya, a hamlet consisting of an hotel or hostelry 
and a few lints, is at tho point where, by a wire 
suspension bridge, the bridle road leading to 
Tarma, Jauja, &c., crosses the Oroya river. Thence 
about a mile and a-half out, the roads to these 
towns diverge— for Tarma to the left, and for Jauja, 
Huancayo, &c., to the right. The former road ascends 
abruptly to over 16,000 feet and, crossing the Cordillera, 
descends towards Tarma by a rough and steep path 
leading through populous and thriving villages. 
Near that town the valley widens and becomes a 
scene of busy agricultural industry. The road to 
Jauja continues through bold, undulating, grazing 
country, ranging from 12,000 to 15,000 feet altitude, 
till, from near Acola, the whole area appears terraced 
and cultivated, the soil being everywhere exceedingly 
rich and friable. 
Tarma is a town of importance, having a popula- 
tion of about 6,000, engaged chiefly in trading. 
There are good hotels and schools, and a weekly 
market, to which the produce of the siuTounding 
country is brought. It is the centre of a considerable 
agricultural district, comprising a great portion of the 
terraces and slopes of the surrounding hills; and 
from it roads lead to Jauja, Cerro de Pasco, Chan- 
chamayo and other places. 
The country along the above route is mountainous 
and the slopes are steep, but where possible they 
are terraced and cultivated. A few miles below Palca, 
however, agriculture ceases, and the old bridle 
road— for which a fine new road at a gradient 
of 1 in 20, and about 9 feet wide is being 
substituted — trends alone the shoulder of a precipi- 
tous gorge, through which the Chanchamayo river, 
in a series of tumbling rapids, finds a tortuous course. 
Huacapestana, an hostelry, and Fande Azucsr, near 
the upper limit of tropical vegetation, are ou the river 
bank, in a deep and narrow ravine. From the latter 
place to Clialwapuku and Naranja), (the commence- 
ment of the Chanchamayo Valley, where we first saw 
the cultivation of sugar-cane) the bills recede towards 
Port San Ramon — near to which the road to Vitoo 
turns off to the right. The mountains close in again 
near end beyond La Merced, a thriving village, having 
two hotels, some good shops and stores, and situated 
in the centre of a suRar-eane and coffee growing 
district, the cultivated portion of which is now confiEed 
chiefly to the river banks. 
The valley is limited in area, and is bounded on ail 
sides, especially on the south, by high and somewhat 
precipitous hills and ranges. 
From the Rio Blanco, near the eastern boundary of 
Chanchamayo, the road trends along the left 
bank of the Chanchamayo River to its junction 
at Port Wertheman with the Rio Pancartambo. 
The whole country along this road, excepting two or 
three small "ohaorae," or gsrdens belonging to natives, 
is unoleired; but on the right bonk of the Chanch- 
amayo, which is rocky and bare, there is forest only 
at the base of the hills. 
From Port Wertheman, where there is a line flat 
of limited extent, to San Luis de Solinaro, is a continu- 
ation of country as above described. Opposite the 
latter place, which consists of a convent and a few 
huts, begin.s the western bouudary .if the lands 
looted by us along thy yMley ol thg Kio PereuO, 
