38 
SCENERY OF THE ANDES. 
We extract Humboldt's picturesque de¬ 
scription of the scenery of the mighty Andes. 
In the burning plains, raised but little 
above the level of the southern ocean, we 
find, in their greatest luxuriance. Bananas, 
Cycadeas, and Palms ; after them, shaded 
by the lofty sides of the vallies, arborescent 
Ferns, next in succession, in full plenitude 
of growth, and ceaselessly bedewed by cool 
misty clouds, the Cinchonas, which yield 
the far-famed and precious febrifuge barks. 
Where lofty trees no longer grow, we 
meet with Aralias, Thibaudias, and myrtle¬ 
leaved Andromedas, associated and bloom¬ 
ing in company. The Alpine rose of the 
Cordilleras, the Befaria rich in resinous gum, 
form a purple belt about the mountains. 
In the lofty region of the Paramos, all the 
more lofty vegetables, and large flowering 
herbs, gradually disappear. Glumaceous 
monocotyledonous tribes now cover the 
surface without variety, and form unbound¬ 
ed meadows, looking yellow in the distance, 
where the Llama sheep is seen feeding in 
solitude, and the cattle introduced by Euro¬ 
peans roam in herds. Upon the naked 
