Peru....From the Peruvian Mercury. 
it affords other advantages which are not 
only able’to keep up the balance, but 
alfo to give a preponderance to the fide 
of the territory. For the architecture 
of this Cordillera appears to be altege- 
ther diftin® from that which nature dif- 
plays in the organization of the reit of 
the globe; or, rather, it is its defgn 
and conviction. Divided into two parts, 
it compsies as many worlds, the one 
high, the other low, in which, as has 
already. been faid, is united whatever 
diftinguifhes Africa from Afia, and both 
of thete conjointly from Europe. 
The high world occupies the ground 
which feparates the two above mentioned 
chains of mountains, whofe fummits are 
diftant from each other, ten, twenty, and, 
in fome inftances, fifty leagues; it indecd 
happens that in fome places they micet 
and unite, by the interpofition of a third 
Cordilleta which runs eaft and weit. 
Such are thofe of Afiay and Moxanda in 
the kingdom of Quito *, notwithitand- 
ing their foil, covered with verdure and 
foliage, ‘is interrupted by innumerabie 
heaths and deep cleits. They can alone be 
delcribed by the words of a phiolopher 
who had oceafion to examine them. Jz 
afcending, fays he, the rude and terripe 
mountains which look towards the fouih fea, 
it! cannot poffibly occur to the human mind, 
that on thei? fooulders others of equal mag- 
nitude feould rife, and that all of them fowild 
ferve to fhelier, in their common bojomy, 
that happy tountry where nature, in, ber 
moje bourtiful mced, ev ratver, 1 her pre- 
digality, has painted the image of terrefirtal 
paradije +. 
- The low world is fituated, the chain of 
mountains being interpofed, between the 
weftern branch and the ocean, which are 
diftant from each other from ten to twenty 
leagues. It confifts of a multitude oi 

fuperficies of a mountain have to ftand per- 
péndicularly to the horizon, and muft. con- 
tequently have, on the horizontal bafe, as 
many points of correfpondence and fupport as: 
they occupy in the mountain. It. refults 
tromy hence, that, the fpace which the 
plane affords being already filled up, nothing 
moxe.can be.planted or fown in. ali the un- 
egual furfces, of the mountain by, which it 
is ocoupied. It is equally demonftrable that 
4 mountainous territory can contain no more 
houfes or inkabitants than the bafe it occu- 
_pies, fuppofing it levelled. 
* Father Amrich, in his cemplete hif- 
tory; in meanufcript, of the miffions to the 
andes mountaifs, aflerts, thet.there is anc- 
ther of thefe junétions in the province of 
}aen de Bracamoxos. , 
+ Bouguer, figure de la Terre, p. 42. 
Moxnruiy Mac. No. XXVUI. 
119 
: ee 
floping plains, which, defcending from . 
this branch, from the line to “Pumbes; 
terminate in immenfe foredis, and advance 
from hence towards the borders of the 
ocean, as if with a defign to limit its 
empire. ‘Fhe above plains are feparated 
from each other by vallies, which, ‘origi- 
‘nating at the coaft of the ocean with a 
breadth of from three to eight leagues, 
take an eaftern direétion, being bounded 
on the north and on the fouth by a feries 
of hills, which, augmenting in propor- 
tion as they enter Sierra, divide the 
wettern chain, occafionally crofs the fub- 
fequent fpace, interfect the eaftern chain, » 
and terminate in the plains of the country 
of the Amazons, preferving a great, re- 
femblance to their origin.* 
By this defcription it would appeary 
that the true direétion of the Peruvian 
Alps is by no means north and fouth, 
as has been afferted, and that thoge who, 
upon this ground, have tancied they 
could overturn, by a fingle effort, the 
iyitems of Copernicus and Newton, have 
not paid a futicient attention to this 
fubject. Formed of an_ infinite feries 
of high mountains, which run weft and _ 
eaft, or in a contrary direction, between 
the South fea and the country of the 
Amazons, and rifing to a prodigious _ 
height in the middle of their career, they 

* By the defcription we have juft given, — 
it appears that Peru is no other than two 
Cordilleras, which, by the declivities that | 
unite them, form Sierra, and one of which, . 
by its oppofite fides, compofes the mountains 
of the Andes, while the other, in a fimilar 
way, compofes the coaft. If the diviGen of Peru 
be tobe taken from the direCtion of the fum- 
raits of the mountains, by which, according | 
to the idea of Don Ulloa, in his American. 
Notices, it is feparated into the higher and 
lower worlds, the mountains belong exclu- 
fively to this plan of divifion. But if the 
diftinétive charaéteriftics be to be drawn from 
the qualities.of the foil and climate, Peru 
thould be divided into three parts, as has 
been done by Father Acofta, in his Natural 
Hiftory, page 175.. \‘Thefe divifions are as 
follow: if. The mountains of the Andes. 
2d..La Sierra. And.3d.. The, coaft, or plains., 
CharaCteriftics of the firfts conftant rain, every 
where mountaincus, the temperature warm. Of 
the iecond, regular fcafons, meteors, Of the 
third, drynclt, the temple of the [pring Since. 
the principal aim of divilions corfifts of order 
and perfvicuity in the {ubject matter treated 
of, we fhall endeavour to preferve both, by 
adopting the firft divificn; and although, in 
defcribing the low world, we have confined 
curfelyes to the hare mention-of the ccalty 
we hall, on a future opportunity, enter in- 
to 2 pa-ticular examination of the ceriepond- 
ing 1ections. ~ ‘ght 
RB bnhite, 
